It was fantastic to have so many members of the class of 2022 back in classrooms for a couple of days this week. The boys did an excellent job of following the signage placed around the grounds to remind them of the new procedures introduced this week. Next Wednesday, students in Years 7 – 12 will once again all be onsite for their lessons. During period 3 on Monday, Year 10 students will be given an update about arrangements for Wednesday. This information will also be communicated to students via email on Tuesday.

Students will need to check their timetable in student café on Monday and Wednesday morning. While there will be no changes to the subjects they have in each period, the classrooms their lessons are held in may change.

Next week the canteens will remain closed. Students will need to bring their recess, lunch and a water bottle with them. They are able to refill their water bottles at the taps in the Academy of Global Competency building. Bubblers, however, will not be operational.

On Monday we will trial Year 10 students using their lockers. Students will not be able to enter the locker room on Monday morning until after they have been through the health screening and temperature checks which will take place in the foyer of the Lawson Centre. Students will enter the building via the Boarders Walk (next to the Great Hall). There will be staggered access to the locker room on Monday. Specific information about access to the locker room will be emailed to students over the weekend. To assist with the smooth running of the health screening, temperature checks and access to the locker room, when possible, Year 10 students should use the Woodville Avenue gates to enter school grounds. Please note that there is no supervision provided for students before 7.45 am unless they are attending a rehearsal or training session. Students should not be arriving at school prior to 7.45 am unless they are attending an organised school activity.

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 tentatively scheduled for 17 June. Confirmation of the date that vaccination will occur will be provided in the coming weeks. On Monday students who attended face-to-face lessons were given a vaccination card by their mentor. Should you wish your son to be vaccinated, this form needs to be completed and returned to Ms Smith in room 19 by Monday 8 June. 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.

I am looking forward to seeing our Year 10 students at school on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday next week. Have a lovely weekend.

Elizabeth Ruff

It does not matter how slowly you go, as long as you don’t stop. Confucius.

On Monday we welcomed back our Year 10 students to the Middle Academy. The boys were incredibly well-behaved and it was so good to see all of their wonderful faces and personalities again. Each of the boys knew the process and filed in through the Lawson Centre to have their temperature checked. It was evident so many of the boys had grown over the past nine weeks as there were many short pants, tight collars and variations of the Knox haircut! We certainly know that our boys are preparing to move across to the Senior Centre as some could not fit under the door frames in height.

The Middle Academy was a-buzz with noise, as if on the very first day of school as the boys reconnected and shared stories with all of their peers of changes, funny times and new experiences ahead. As the day progressed, so many of the Year 10 staff commented on the positive and focused mindset exhibited by the boys who have arrived back with a renewed sense of appreciation and love of discussion and collaboration with their peers in person!

This week our Mentor program shifted to talk of careers, goals for the future and subject selection. The Mentors have been introducing these concepts in Mentor time, engendering interest, discussion and questions. Our Careers Advisor, Ms Gomez, has recorded clips for the Mentor Groups with an introductory seminar on careers. She will continue with this process throughout the term. As many of you already know, the Senior Academy have been presenting seminars on subject selection together with Heads of Departments. The feedback from these seminars has been overwhelmingly positive. The students have been encouraged to talk to as many people as possible regarding their future, particularly their parents. I encourage parents to open conversations with their sons if they haven’t already done so. What an exciting future these students have, full of so many opportunities and possibilities.

Margie Raymond

The news we've all been waiting for - face-to-face teaching commencing on Wednesday 27 May 2020 full-time as per the Headmaster's recent communications. Please note, we will still see Year 10 for their scheduled day of face-to-face teaching on Monday 25 May 2020. 

Once students turn 16 years of age they can receive a Student Concession card. These are now available from Mrs Barnard (Year 11 SAO) or Mrs Cherry (Year 12 SAO) who are located in the Senior Centre.

Please click here to view the slides from the recent Year 11 2021 Subject selection Zoom evening. 

Friday 5 June will now be a standard teaching day for students in Years 7-12. 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.

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.

Have a great weekend and stay warm.

Rebecca Smith
 

I trust that you have viewed your son’s Term 1 report which is available via Parent Lounge and found the mediative questions in the Realising Potential document useful in your conversations with your son to support him to reflect on his learning and consider how he might improve. 

All boys were provided a link to a How to guide (video) about the academic reports to help them read and interpret their reports. We are also collating a Frequently Asked Questions document which arose from the three online parent sessions that we held this week. We are still working on this document and will not be able to get you the full FAQ until early next week; however, in the interim, the following two questions were raised in all three sessions so we wanted to provide you with these answers as soon as possible.

Q: How is the cumulative grade determined?

The cumulative grade is based on the weighted assessment results only. Weighted assessment tasks are listed in the Assessment-related policies and procedures handbook which has been uploaded to the Parent Portal.

Q: What are the mark cut-offs for each letter grade? Are they consistent across all subjects?

The grade cut-offs (A-E) are individually determined by the Heads of Department for their respective subjects, informed by the NESA grade descriptors.

You will have the opportunity to speak with your son’s teacher online later this term, commencing from Thursday 4 June. (Please note that Friday 5 June is now a school day). Further information will be provided to you by the end of next week about how to book an online interview with your son’s teachers.

Please find the upcoming assessment tasks for Weeks 5 and 6 below for your convenience. Please refer to the assessment schedule and specific task notifications for more 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.

Week 6: 1 - 5 June

Agriculture – Task 2
• No changes to this assessment task and will be finalised on Thursday 4 June.
• The task will be administered online or face-to-face, where appropriate.

Visual Arts – Task 1
Currently there are no changes to this assessment task.

• Please refer to the assessment notification two weeks prior to the task for specific details.

Jake Plaskett

With the School returning by Wednesday of Week 5 for all year groups, the co-curricular program has made the following 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

Monday 25 May

Year 10 - face-to-face learning on campus

Wednesday 27 May

Year 10 - full-time face-to-face learning commences on campus

Monday 8 June

Queen's Birthday - Public holiday

Friday 26 June

Term 2 concludes

The Reconciliation Week Assembly is a very special event every year at Knox. The theme for this year is  ‘In this together’. The School will hold a ceremony on  Wednesday 27 May at 10.30am with Uncle John Francis Kinsela OAM as our guest speaker. John is a decorated soldier, ex-Olympian and Aboriginal elder and he is also the uncle of Bill Humes (Year 8 boarder). A few of John’s amazing life experiences may be found here.

You are warmly invited to watch a video of the Knox ANZAC Memorial Service 2020 which took place on Sunday 17 May.

This video features 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.

Optimal parenting webinar
We are pleased to share the slides and video from this week’s parenting seminar.

David Schofield