Zoom, Chat, Google Meet, Streaming, Whole Year Landing Page - what the heck! In his lifetime William Shakespeare is credited with creating over 1,700 new words for the English language. I think even William, if he were alive today, would be impressed with the many new words and phrases that students, teachers and parents have had to learn within the last week due to home isolation and online learning. Bearing this in mind, I want to express my deep pride and admiration for the way, as a community, we have all worked together to face the current adversity. Through the hard work of our talented and dedicated teachers, the agility of our young boys and the encouragement and support at home by parents there has been a very successful transition to remote learning. I am sure for most it feels very uncomfortable, and it is an environment that is certainly a far cry from the desired human need for physical social contact; however, present circumstances dictate the necessity.

Well done teachers, parents and boys on embracing this new mode of learning and do continue to stay connected in the weeks ahead. Together we will weather this storm and days will become brighter once again. 

Wayne Inwood

A lot can happen in a week. This past week being no exception. It has certainly been a challenging week for everyone and one of the most extraordinary weeks in memory for Knox. There have been many changes to the way that we do things; however, we are working hard to maintain a sense of security, routine and optimism for our boys. Whilst it may seem that things are changing quickly and that to some extent the things that we know to be constant might not be, I would like to remind our community that our commitment to the care of your boys will not change.  

Staff at Knox have been immensely impressed with the boys' approach to this new form of learning. They have engaged in lessons wholeheartedly and completed everything that we have asked of them seamlessly. Whilst the mode of delivery may well change and the connection between teachers and boys is online rather than face to face, I want to remind everyone that all teachers are working to provide boys with opportunities to engage in a meaningful learning program that will challenge them to grow. 

In addition to preparing for teaching and learning, the team are also working through our wellbeing programs for boys. In speaking to boys this week, I have heard of disappointments about things that won’t happen, or at least not happen in the expected way, due to the COVID-19 outbreak. We recognise that this is tough for our young men who deal not only with uncertainty about their learning but also in relation to the potential for missed opportunities to represent the School, be it on the sporting field, in musical recitals or on stage wearing the Black and Blue. 

Humans are very much social creatures by nature and we know that connecting with one another is fundamental to mental health and perhaps even more so for boys of this age.  Social media and virtual connectivity will only do so much and the message which I shared during our 'Virtual Year Meeting' on Monday morning was around what it means to be a true mate, especially at this time. Speaking to one another and being in each other’s corner to support will become more and more important as we move forward and I encourage all families to regularly speak openly and honestly to help maintain social contact.

I pay tribute to the teaching staff, and in particular, our team of Mentors for their outstanding work at this time. They continue to provide day to day support for the students outside the classroom as well as considering how this will need to be adjusted as we shift, at least temporarily, into remote learning mode. Please remember that your son’s Mentor remains as the first point of call for all boys and their families and they are ready to assist in any way possible.

I would like to thank you very much for your ongoing support during these unprecedented events. I understand this a challenging time for all, and I encourage your patience and care for all members of our community. Lastly, the most important message for the boys is that: we are here for you Year 8! We are an amazing team and we reach out to each other, support each other and laugh and learn together.

Julien Manuel

What a week it has been. I once again congratulate the CO2024 for their remarkable resilience and perseverance during this challenging time. Thank you to the boys for your kind messages of encouragement and support. It has been heartwarming receiving your emails.

Thank you to the many families who have contributed old school shoes, joggers and football boots to the Shoes for the Philippines appeal. The shoes will be sent to the British School in Manila where they are sorted and distributed to various underprivileged groups. The whole school response has been marvellous and we have six full shipping boxes (each with about 90 - 100 pairs of shoes in each box).

Uniform Shop

The Uniform Shop is now closed until further notice. If parents wish to order items online, this can be done here. There will be an option to collect the orders. The dates for this will be advised on the Knox app in the next few days depending on the volume of orders.

Please note that I am contactable to assist students who continue to attend on-site classes as well as field any online queries from boys who are learning off-site at home.

A reminder that the last day of term is Friday 3 April 2020. Term 2’s educational delivery will be determined later.

Have a fantastic weekend everyone! 

Renee Willson, Tel: 9119 0886

Online Learning and Homework

Our amazing Stage 4 teachers have embraced online delivery of lessons and our boys are engaging in their learning with enthusiasm. It has been a true wonder to witness the agility of teachers and boys as they adapt to navigate this new educational landscape. If you believe your son is struggling to manage the online learning environment, please do contact me to discuss.

Considering that the boys are working online from 8.25am - 3.15pm, we have requested our Stage 4 teachers to set only essential homework (such as preparation for an assessment task) for the remainder of Term 1.  The reason for this is that in ‘normal’ school days, the boys would receive a more blended lesson with lots of screen down time. We are seeking to encourage the boys to get offline and spend some of their after school hours doing non-screen activities.

Online access to the Stage 4 Study Skills Evening

Given the uncertainty around group gatherings for the foreseeable future, we have set up an alternative for you for the Stage 4 Study Skills Evening scheduled for later this year. We have arranged for you to be able to access a filmed version of the study skills evening online in the comfort of your own home until 13 April 2020. We do not want you and your son to miss out on this valuable learning experience. Now that the students have a frame of reference for senior school learning, it is time to fine-tune, assess and adjust as needed their approach to their studies with tips and techniques from the study skills expert, Dr Prue Salter. There is also a section included with tips for managing remote home learning.

If we can still go ahead with the evening later this year we will - parents often say that once is not enough! But just in case, and so you can get started now, please explore this online version with your son.  

Ideally it is best that you watch these videos together with your son, just like you would if you attended the evening in person. The study skills seminar has been broken down into bite sized chunks so if you do not have time to do it all in one go, you can work through the session at your own pace. You can also go back and watch again any of the videos during the two week period. The video page will prompt you to download the workbooks for the session and will show you at the end where you can then access all the slides from the session that are shown in the video.

Please take advantage of this valuable opportunity before access ends on 13 April. To access the evening, please click here. 

Username: knox

Password: 7success

Janelle Charlton

On Thursday during our Mentor Group the boys were introduced to the first ‘Brain Break’. The concept behind these initiatives is to get your son up and away from his computer for short breaks between classes or break periods. But, more importantly, to reconnect with each other within our community in fun activities. If the boys want to record their attempt at the brain break and upload it via the challenge assignment on the ‘Whole Year Group Google Classroom’ we are having House point competitions for winners. Extra points if the whole family gets involved!

The winning post will be available for everyone to see and celebrate this achievement. This week is an easy break but they will get harder and have different options such as photo, music, fitness and acting challenges to come. So please take a moment to talk to your son and see what the current challenge or Brain Break is for their Year Group.

We have had many staff get involved with filming these challenges and I have to say they may have enjoyed doing this a little too much! I would like to thank them for putting themselves out of their comfort zones with being involved. If your son has not done so lately, encourage him to Facetime friends as a catch up - we are social beings and it’s nice to check up on our friends. I look forward to communicating with you all soon with some of the entries from these challenges.

Andrea Wiffen

Friday 3 April

Term 1 concludes

Friday 10 April

Good Friday

Sunday 12 April

Easter

Tuesday 28 April

Term 2 commences 

Our students have made an excellent transition to the online learning environment. This opportunity to adapt and embrace these new challenges is a great exercise in building resilience for our young men, and it is likely that most of the them will manage this time well. The Wellbeing team is committed to providing a series of information videos and written material for both  boys and parents, to provide extra support during this time. The following are the videos that have been sent to students this week:

Getting remote counselling

Mindset video

If there are boys that would like extra support, we are able to offer scheduled counselling sessions via Google Hangout. These can be arranged by phoning 9119 0828 or emailing the team here. 

Laura-Kate Dassos