The staff are all looking forward to welcoming Year 10 students on Monday as they begin the transition back to face-to-face lessons. There has been much preparation this week to ensure that appropriate procedures are in place to support the return of Middle Academy students. Yesterday during their Mentor session information was provided to Year 10 students about the arrangements for their return to school.

Students are expected to adhere to the Knox dress code and should wear winter uniform when attending school. On Monday students should arrive at school between 7.45am and 8.20am. On Friday lessons will commence at 9am and students should arrive at school between 8.30am and 9am. There will be supervision for students in the Academy of Global Competency who travel to school on school buses and arrive earlier than 8.30am on Friday morning. On arrival at school the boys should make their way to the Lawson Centre Gym where they will complete health screening measures for COVID-19 symptoms and have their temperature checked. It is important that they have their student ID card with them to be scanned once they have completed this process.

Students will not have access to their lockers and will be carrying their school bag with them to lessons. They will need to ensure they have their laptop, books and equipment for each of their timetabled lessons. On Monday this includes their PE uniform for period 7 sport. Boys will not be required to wear their Boaters while they do not have access to their lockers.

The school canteens will not be open so students will need to bring their recess and lunch with them. They are not permitted to leave school grounds to purchase food or order Uber eats.

Students are reminded to check their timetables in Student Café on Sunday evening. While the subjects timetabled for each period will remain the same, a number of changes will be made to the classrooms where those lessons will be held.

Hand sanitiser will be available in all classrooms and learning spaces as well as the entrances and exits of buildings. All students are to use the sanitiser when entering and exiting buildings and classrooms. We would recommend that students carry a small packet of tissues in their pocket. Boxes of tissues will also be available in each classroom. Furniture in classrooms has been arranged to provide appropriate social distancing and staff will be reminding students of the need to be compliant with social distancing regulations which includes no handshakes or high-fives.

The Academy of Global Competency will not be open after 3.15pm for individual or group study. All Year 10 students should leave school grounds by 3.45pm.

Parent meetings will continue to be conducted via Zoom. Should you need to enter school grounds, you should make an appointment with the relevant staff member and sign in at reception upon arrival.

NSW Health offers vaccinations against four types of Meningicoccal disease given as one injection through the school vaccination program. Vaccinations for Year 10 students is scheduled for 17 June. On Monday your son will be given a vaccination card by his mentor. Should you wish your son to be vaccinated, this form needs to be completed, signed and returned to Ms Smith by Monday 8 June.  We cannot accept electronic copies. During the vaccination process, the nurses will be asking your son if he has received any vaccines in the past 12 months. If your son has received any vaccines in the past 12 months, please attach a copy of the vaccination certificate to the immunisation consent form.

Elizabeth Ruff

The countdown is on until we welcome the boys back on Monday!

During the past few weeks we have been running our live streamed Year Meetings from different locations around the School to try and provide the boys with a sense of connection to the spaces they might have been missing. However, it is not the classrooms nor the sports grounds that make this school what it is, it is the students and the energy that they bring with them that make it a community. It is this energy and enthusiasm that we have all missed and can’t wait to welcome back on Monday morning!

Whilst the boys have undoubtedly missed being at school and seeing their peers, we reminded them on Thursday about the ‘new norm’ and precautions that have been put in place to keep the community safe. Whist we have all run the risk of over quoting the Michael Jordan documentary, 'The Last Dance', there are certainly some messages that we can take from that heading into next week. The one moment that stood out to me was when Michael Jordan won his first NBA title. Sitting in the change rooms feeling the joy and elation that came with this incredible achievement, coach Phil Jackson embraced Michael and told him 'You did it, but more importantly you did it the right way'. I am certainly not trying to compare our return to school next week with the Chicago Bulls NBA championship, but I am going to be reminding the boys about returning to school - the right way. We are all keen to continue to teach face to face but we have to ensure that we are practising social distancing and maintaining our personal hygiene. We are hopeful that common sense will prevail and the boys will understand why certain precautions have been put in place. There may not be a canteen, there may be sport restrictions and they won’t be able to hug and hi five their mates but they will be at school. That is what is important. I am hoping that the boys focus on this and ensure that their behaviour allows us to continue to return to face to face teaching in the upcoming weeks. Let’s display gratitude and understanding next week as we adjust to this new norm but more importantly enjoy being back at school!  

See you on Monday, boys!!  

Vicky Cowell

Can't wait to see you on Monday morning (18 May) looking sharp and in full winter uniform. The students will have no access to their lockers, so just pack what is needed for the day - laptop, books required for the day's learning, recess and lunch (please note, canteens will not be open). Given the bubblers are not operational due to COVID 19, please ensure the students bring sufficient water with them to school. We are waiting further advice over the weekend, however boys should bring their sport uniform for Monday Period 7. The School will provide an update via the School app. 

Here is the link for the latest Wellbeing Support video that David Schofield and his team have put together. As per last term, these videos are designed to support the boys and their parents through this difficult time by providing well directed messages from our Wellbeing/Psychology team, with the assistance of some of our boys.

From Monday 18 May, the Uniform Shop will resume normal operating times from Monday-Friday, 12.30pm-5pm. Please note it won't be open on Saturday mornings during Terms 2 and 3.

The commencement dates for Terms 3 and 4 have been brought forward slightly to add additional teaching days to help cover those which were lost at the end of Term 1.

• Term 3 start date – Monday 20 July 2020
• Term 4 start date – Monday 12 October 2020

Full term dates for 2020 and 2021 can be found here.

Pathways to Medicine webinar – presented by NIE. This forum is an excellent opportunity for teachers, students and their parents to find out about the UCAT, pathways into medicine. Have all questions answered by an expert teacher who has been working in the field since 1999. The webinar will be held on Tuesday 19 May, 6pm – 8pm. Registration for the webinar is essential, via this link.

Have a lovely weekend.

Rebecca Smith
 

Academic reports for Term 1 2020

We are very excited to introduce our reimagined academic reports for Years 7-10. These reports are expected to become available from 4pm today, Friday 15 May, through Parent Lounge. The new report format will include:

• The Knox Learner Protocols assessment and reporting tool;
• A refreshed grade distribution table that highlights where your son sits within the SOA/letter grade (upper, middle, and lower);
• New executive summary and subject specific pages;
• An abbreviated guide to interpreting the report.

We invite you to use the new ‘T1 Report – Mediative Questions’ document that will be available alongside your son’s report on the portal. This document contains personalised questions, based on your son’s overall performance against the Knox Learner Protocols in each of the 8 descriptors. We strongly believe that utilising these questions in your conversations with your son could support him to reflect more meaningfully about his learning and consider how he might improve.

We are offering three online ‘parent-breakfast’ style sessions about interpreting the new report next week. These sessions (hosted via Zoom) will introduce the Learner Protocols in more depth, unpack the intent of reporting against the Knox Learner Protocols, discuss how to interpret the new executive summary and subject specific pages, and explain quartiles in relation to the task average and graphs in the report. We expect the session will take approximately 15 minutes.

Specific questions about interpreting your son’s report or the Knox Learner Protocols can be directed to your respective Director of Studies; subject-specific questions should be directed to your son’s classroom teacher.

If you would like to join one of the online sessions with the Directors of Studies for Stage 4 and 5, please use this link to RSVP as soon as possible.

You will receive an email at least one day prior to your registered sessions with a link to the Zoom session. We recommend that you download the Zoom application on your device prior to the session and contact IT Helpdesk if you require assistance.

Technology disruptions during the Year 10 History and WLF assessment

We would like to thank your sons for their commitment to doing their best in the History and WLF task on Thursday. We are aware that some technological issues were experienced. Unfortunately, unforeseen and unpredictable connectivity issues occurred for some of the boys; we share your frustration about the technology failure.

An email was sent to all parents/carers from our Assistant Head of History, Mr John Diamond, indicating that if a student went slightly over time that they would not be penalised, noting the delays experienced.

Moreover, I have invited your sons to apply for an Illness Misadventure Appeal (IMA) application if he believes that technology issues made it impossible for him to complete the task, or that he did not have the full time to work and believe this has impacted his response. These applications should be directed to your SAO or to the Middle Academy email.

Re: Assessment tasks in the coming weeks

Please find the upcoming assessment tasks for Weeks 4 and 5 below for your convenience. Please refer to the assessment schedule and specific task notifications for more details.

WEEK 4: 18-22 May

Geography – Task 2

• DATE CHANGE: The task will now be administered, on-site, Friday 22 May in Period 5 for all students. Students will be emailed more specific details.
• The task will be administered at Knox but will be made available online from 4pm for all boarders (or other approved at-home arrangements) to complete.
• Note: If your son misses the assessment task at school on Friday, he can complete the online version of the task between 4pm Friday 22 May and 8.15am Monday 25 May but will attract a 10% penalty unless he receives approval through an Illness Misadventure Appeal application to the Middle Academy.

Music – Task 2

• Currently there are no changes to this assessment task.
• The task will be administered between Week 4 and Week 5.
• Please refer to the assessment notification 2 weeks prior to the task for specific details.

Design and Technology – Task 2

• The task has been swapped with AT3 and will be due on 22 May; a new due date for the swapped task will be advised in Term 3.
• Please refer to the assessment notification two weeks prior to the task for specific details.

WEEK 5: 25-29 May

Languages (Chinese, German, French and Japanese) – Task 2

• The task is tentatively being administered through Education Perfect.
• The syllabus outcomes assessed in this weighted task have changed; please refer to the assessment notifications in Week 3 for specific outcomes and submission details.

Jake Plaskett

The Year 10 (Year 11 2021) subject selection information livestream occurred last Monday evening. While this was done with no audience present in the Wenkhart Theatre, it was wonderful to be told 340 unique log ins occurred with a total of 424 unique playbacks on Monday. We both spoke about the NESA requirements in Year 11 along with assessment and the reporting of results at the HSC. Mrs Richmond addressed English and Mr Vuletich Maths. The main message that hopefully came across in the livestream was the importance of choosing a subject based on your interest, skills, study and career goals and of course passion and enthusiasm. 

The recording is available via this link (the same link shared with parents for Monday’s stream).

We now move into Stage 2 (Weeks 4 to 6), where the boys will be able to attend Department Q&A lunchtime Zoom sessions. The dates and Zoom invitation links for each Department are on the Year 10 portal. We encourage the boys to use the coming weeks to do their research, speak to Year 11 and Year 12 boys they know, speak to their teachers and visit the NESA website details on subject information.

Stage 3 will run over Weeks 7 and 8 where each Department will outline their courses in some detail (other than English and Maths) via a recorded Zoom session. Details will be sent out over the coming weeks.

Important dates:

•       Online selection of subjects – Monday 27 July (Term 3 Week 2)

•       Preference Receipt –This needs a parent signature and returned to Ms Smith by Friday 31 July. 

•       The website to select subjects will be opened later this term. The preference receipt will be generated when subjects are selected on this website

Change of Preferences

•       Unlimited until 27 July then changes need to fit within the subject lines created

Andrew Weeding and Greg Nunan (WSA Stage 6 team)

With the staggered return to school over Weeks 4 and 5 for all Year Groups, the co-curricular program has had to make further adjustments. Please download the PDF document here for all the information for students to continue to be involved in these important and beneficial programs.

For any questions or concerns regarding the co-curricular program offered in Term 2, please feel free to contact me via email.

Chuck Ardron

Parents are warmly invited to join the Knox Psychology Team for a live webinar.

When: Thursday 21 May 2020 from 7.30pm
Topic: 'What research tells us about raising successful children'

Presenters (Knox Psychologists):

Dr Rebecca Lazarus
Dr Laura-Kate Dassos
Ms Melinda Price
Mr David Schofield

We all want the best for our children in every way, including their academic performance, job prospects, social skills, character and health. Our parenting has been shown scientifically to influence the outcomes. So what works best?

This webinar presents the key findings about optimal parenting: from what hinders to what brings out the very best. A Q&A will be included.

To register, please click here.

Enquiries - David Schofield (Head of School Psychology).

David Scholfield

Monday 18 May

Year 10 - learning on campus

Tuesday 19 May

Pathways to Medicine webinar, 6pm-8pm

Friday 22 May

Year 10 - learning on campus

Monday 25 May

Year 10 - learning on campus

Friday 29 May

Year 10 - learning on campus

Monday 8 June

Queen's Birthday - Public holiday

Friday 26 June

Term 2 concludes

Student reports for Years 7-10 will be uploaded to Parent Lounge later today. Before reading your son’s report, we encourage you to watch this short video which provides background on our updated Senior School reports and the Knox Learner Protocols.

Friday 5 June will now be a standard teaching day for students in Years 7-12. A full schedule for the format of learning in Weeks 6 and beyond will be provided in the coming weeks.

The on-campus Parent Teacher Interviews scheduled for Friday 5 June has been cancelled due to COVID-19. Parent Teacher Interviews for Years 8-10 will take place via Zoom and telephone during Weeks 6-9. Further information about how to book appointments with your son’s teachers and participate in the meetings will be provided shortly.

Date: Sunday 17 May 2020
Time: 8.30am

While our ANZAC Service and Parade scheduled for this Sunday 17 May 2020 has been cancelled, we will be sharing an online service via live stream on the day, which will feature an address by Dr Brendan Nelson AO, readings by members of the Cadet Unit, musical items and a performance of ‘Amazing Grace’ which has been compiled using recordings of pipers from the Knox Grammar School Pipes and Drums playing at their homes.

Cadets are encouraged to wear their cadet uniform while watching this important service on Sunday.

Please click on the following link to view the Service which will commence at 8.30am.

http://www.knox.nsw.edu.au/anzac

We look forward to sharing this important annual event with you online.