The staff are all looking forward to welcoming Year 9 students on Tuesday 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. On Monday during their Mentor session information will be provided to Year 9 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 Tuesday and Wednesday students should arrive at school between 7.45am and 8.20am. 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 Tuesday 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 Monday. 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 to 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 9 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.

Elizabeth Ruff

I began to realize how important it was to be an enthusiast in life. He taught me that if you are interested in something, no matter what it is, go at it at full speed ahead. Embrace it with both arms, hug it, love it and above all become passionate about it. 

Lukewarm is no good.

This is a Roald Dahl quote up on the wall of my office and serves as a daily reminder for me. Nobody likes a lukewarm cup of coffee! My message to the cohort of Year 9 this week was to strive to avoid being lukewarm. Recently, there has been a slight tendency for students to passively attend Zoom lessons with their cameras and microphones off, which can make both teaching and learning quite challenging and frustrating. What I’ve missed most about 'normal' teaching, is just the ability to have a chat and engage in some banter with the boys in the classroom. Let’s not lose this aspect of the classroom. Let’s encourage our boys to engage with enthusiasm. I know this time has been challenging for all but there is light at the end of the tunnel and hopefully we can begin the journey of returning to normal.

Speaking of which, next week the Year 9 cohort will be returning to School on Tuesday and Wednesday. Over the weekend, Ms Ruff (Head of Middle Academy) will email each student with details of this return and the protocols which we are all required to follow. Please work through this with your sons as every effort needs to be made for the health and safety of all staff and students on campus. We will also be speaking to the cohort in Year Meeting on Monday via video so that each boy has an opportunity to hear and understand how the new school day will look. The reality is that students will not be returning to the Knox they left in Term 1 and it will take some time for us to get back to that place. Until then, let’s keep working hard to adhere to the advice and regulations provided by the school.

I am really looking forward to seeing our boys back on campus next week, sporting their spiffing new school-ready haircuts and the enthusiasm for learning we know they all possess! Have a good weekend.

Craig Milligan

I am very much looking forward to welcoming the boys back on Tuesday 19 May and have already started the count down. The school grounds have had a few changes since they’ve been away and I have included some photos of the new Boarders’ Terrace in the Photo Galleries section. In the time I have been at Knox I have not seen the grass on the oval look any greener than what it is now. The trees on the boulevard have also changed colour and are starting to lose their leaves all letting us know that Winter is near. 

In readiness to the boys return next week please find below some key points to remember:

• Uniform and appearance
Upon returning to campus, all students are expected to comply with the dress and appearance regulations of the School. It is each student’s responsibility to be correctly and neatly dressed, to be clean and tidy, clean shaven with hair cut according to the School requirements. Students should wear winter uniform. If you have been unable to purchase a winter uniform, your child may continue to wear their summer uniform in the interim.

If you need to purchase a new uniform the Uniform Shop will resume normal operating times from Monday to Friday, 12.30pm-5pm as of Monday 18 May. Please note that the shop is not open on Saturday mornings during Terms 2 and 3.

• Canteens
Canteens will be closed. Students are required to bring their own food and drinks. Please note that the bubblers aren’t operational due to COVID-19 back to school measures currently in place.

• Lockers
The locker rooms will be closed for access when the boys return next week. Should students desperately need to access their locker they are to email me and book a time so as to gain access. Please note that I will not be available first thing in the morning to allow students to access their lockers prior to the start of their lessons.

• Creating a Covid Safe Environment at Knox
Please take the time to familiarise yourself with the guidelines students are to observe for Weeks 3-5.

Term Dates

Just a reminder that 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.

Wellbeing Support Video

The latest Wellbeing Support video that Mr David Schofield and his Team have put together may be found here.  These videos are designed to support students and parents through this difficult time by providing well directed messages from our Wellbeing/Psychology Team, with the assistance of some of our boys.

Four more sleeps to go before the boys are back and I hope they are all eager to come back.

Have a lovely weekend. 

Crystel Hodgson, Tel: 9119 0881

We are very excited to introduce our re-imagined 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 eight 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 the following 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.

Assessment tasks in the coming weeks

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

Week 4: No Year 9 assessment tasks finalising.

Week 5: 25 - 29 May

Geography (Core) – Task 2

• The presentations will take place across week 5 and week 6 in the regularly scheduled geography lessons either online or face-to-face.
• The syllabus outcomes assessed in this weighted task have changed; please refer to the assessment notifications in Week 3 for specific outcomes.

Photography and Digital Media – Task 1

• This task is due on Thursday 28 May and there are currently no changes to the outcomes or weighting of this task; please refer to the assessment notifications in Week 3 for more details.

Visual Arts – Task 1

• This task is due on Thursday 28 May and there are currently no changes to the outcomes or weighting of this task; please refer to the assessment notifications in Week 3 for more details.

Jake Plaskett

The bells will soon ring for school to begin.

And as we slowly emerge from the

Covid-19 curse we should reflect,

Are we better or worse from our social disperse.

Coming together again will broaden our smiles

to see our friends, at least for a while.

We've down the hard yards but we

must keep our distance to show this

wretch of a curse our strength and resilience.

You've done so well in this time

of despair supported by school, family

and friends of whom we all care.

Walk through the school gates and

say a small prayer for those at this 

time where life was unfair.

And when you return you can

be sure I'll be there, checking

your dress and in particular your hair.

Ian Mulray

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

Sunday 17 May

ANZAC Service 

Tuesday 19 May - Week 4

Year 9 - Return to campus

Wednesday 20 May - Week 4

Year 9 - Learning on campus

Tuesday 26 May - Week 5

Year 9 - Learning on campus

Wednesday 27 May - Week 5 

Year 9 - Learning on campus

Monday 8 June

Queen's Birthday - Public Holiday

Friday 26 June

Term 2 concludes

Monday 20 July

Term 3 commences

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.

Whilst the boys were away construction work did not stop around the School and we now have the new Boarders’ Terrace open. Our Boarders will be able to build new memories in this new area as they return over the coming weeks.