I’m writing to advise you of an incident which occurred earlier this week and ask you to please speak to your son about the importance of staying safe when travelling to and from school.

We were notified one of our Senior School students was approached one afternoon by a man in a car and this incident was reported to Police. We will be reminding the boys in their mentor or year meetings about safe behaviours when travelling to and from school.

When discussing these matters with boys, we reference the NSW Police Keeping Me Safe information kit. Below is a section relating to before and after school travel.

When you are out or walking on the street:
• If you can use a phone call 000 and say you are scared
• Don’t let anyone see if you have money or a purse, keep them in your pocket or bag
• If a friend is frightened or hurt get them help from an adult right away
• Know where safe places are - Doctors surgeries, schools, churches, shops etc

In Cars:
• Never get in a car with someone else unless your parents have told you to or is in the way you usually get home from school - a car pool
• Don’t talk to people who pull over to the side of the road in cars
• Remember many drivers can’t see people who are small, especially out the back of the car

On the train:
• Always travel in the guard’s compartment identified by a blue light if it is late in the day
• Travel in groups of friends if you can

Walking:
• Stick to major routes and roads and don’t take short cuts
• Use footpaths that are well lit and not closed in by bushes or obstacles
• Stay in groups of people
• Don’t talk to people you don’t know and go straight home or to wherever you are going
• Don’t take short cuts especially around rail tracks etc or when other people tell you to especially if you don’t know the way
• If you are frightened find a shop, school, church or ‘professional’ place like a doctors and tell them you are frightened and ask them to call the police, or if you see a police station go there

Phil O'Regan

In response to the current situation with only students and staff allowed on campus, our Years 8-10 Parent Teacher Interviews will be run virtually via Zoom or phone (depending on any bandwidth and internet connection issues).

The interviews will commence from Thursday afternoon on 4 June until the last week of school. As per our face-to-face interviews, five minutes has been allocated for each interview.

We would normally have had all day on Friday 5 June as a student free day for the interviews, but we have made the decision to keep the Friday as a teaching day taking into consideration missed face-to face teaching time. Your son’s teachers will be making a range of times available during the day and after school over the three-week period. They are not expected to be available every evening.

We are using PTO for all bookings. You will have received an email regarding this today. The Zoom link will be provided when you book a time slot.

Our normal practice is to run the interviews as a Student Led Conference; however, this is not feasible in the virtual world when some of the available times will be during the day. Therefore, in preparation it would be ideal to go through the Learner Protocol questions with your son provided in the recent report.

Karen Yager

What a month this week has been! In a matter of a few short days, the formerly, quiet and serene Knox campus became abuzz with noise and excitement on Tuesday as our Year 9 students returned to face-to-face teaching full-time. I have been so impressed with our students’ enthusiasm and energy as we got back to 'normal' and the positive impact it has had on staff and students alike has been fantastic to be a part of.

One does not often get moments to reflect in a busy school term, but the significance of the COVID-19 break to our regular rhythms, must surely make for time to consider what we have experienced as a community. On one hand, I, as a parent too, have a fresh appreciation for what teachers do day-to-day and the lengths they go to, to ensure your son is given the best opportunity for education and learning. I would like to extend my gratitude to the Knox teachers, mentors and staff who have worked so unbelievably hard and adjusted so quickly to teaching online and have ultimately made this past experience that much more manageable.

On the other hand, I know this experience has provided each student with an opportunity to build their resilience, perseverance, adaptability and agility. We all know how quickly things can change in the workplace so the skills and attributes our students have developed will hopefully prove to be invaluable to them in their future. Hopefully this has been a time for each student to learn a little more about themselves, build some more self-control and develop their characters throughout. I know the Year 9 cohort will bounce back from this small setback with renewed passion and vigour, ready to embrace every opportunity which lies ahead.

Craig Milligan

Looks like it’s been an easy transition for students to be back at school full-time. I am sure they are all looking forward to the weekend where they can all enjoy a nice sleep-in and have some quiet time. As we have resumed school I just wanted to bring to your attention that if a student is absent from school, please submit a Parent Lounge notification or send me an email prior to the start of the school day. All early departures and late arrivals also require a notification from parents otherwise I will be contacting you to confirm you are aware that your son is leaving early or arriving late.

Temperature checks

It has been lovely to see the boys every morning as they come in to have their temperature checked and then sign in. Please remind your sons this weekend of the importance of checking in with me every morning so that we can ensure that we keep everyone in our School community safe. If your son arrives at school after 8.45am, he should head to the Clinic first prior to coming to me to sign in late.

Cadets

Cadets will continue with the online courses on Friday afternoons throughout Term 2.  As physical cadets is still suspended by Defence, the boys are to wear their winter school uniform. When home at 4.30pm for their online cadet presentations, they are welcome to wear the cadets uniform should they wish. Please note that the online session will not take place in Week 6 and the boys can begin the long weekend earlier.

Recharge Canteen Open

The Recharge canteen will be open as of next week with new procedures in place to keep the students safe. Every week I will be uploading the menu in the Community Notices section. Please note that no cash will be accepted in the canteen and if you require information on how to set up a Flexischool account to keep your son’s card topped up, please click here.

Year 9 Parents Morning Tea
Just a reminder that the Year 9 Parents’ Morning Tea that was scheduled for Tuesday 9 June has now been cancelled.

Crystel Hodgson, Tel: 9119 0881

The FAQ for the Academic Reports have now been uploaded to the Portal. Thank you again for your attendance in our Parent Zoom sessions about the new reports and for offering some great questions for our comprehensive review document.

Please find the upcoming assessment tasks for Weeks 6 and 7 below for your convenience. Please refer to the assessment schedule and specific task notifications for more details.

WEEK 6: 1 to 5 June

iSTEM – Task 2
• No changes to this assessment task.
• Please refer to the assessment notification for submission details.

Languages (Chinese, German, French and Japanese) – Task 2
• The task is scheduled for Tuesday 2 June and both parts of the task are tentatively being administered through Education Perfect.
• The syllabus outcomes assessed in this weighted task have changed; please refer to the assessment notifications in Week 4 for specific outcomes.

Music – Task 2
• Currently there are no changes to this assessment task.
• Please refer to the assessment notification two weeks prior to the task for specific details.

WEEK 7: 8 to 12 June

Agriculture – Task 2
• No changes to this assessment task.
• The task will be administered online or face-to-face, where appropriate.

Mathematics – Task 2
• This task has been tentatively scheduled for Tuesday 9 June.
• The task is likely to be modified into an online multiple choice assessment task.
• Please refer to the assessment notification two weeks prior to the task for specific details.

Drama – Task 2
• Currently there are no changes to this assessment task.
• Please refer to the assessment notification 2 weeks prior to the task for specific details.

Photography and Digital Media – Task 2
• This task is due on Friday 12 June and there are currently no changes to the outcomes or weighting of this task; please refer to the assessment notifications in Week 5 for submission details as this may require an online submission.

Visual Arts – Task 2
• This task is due on Friday 12 June and there are currently no changes to the outcomes or weighting of this task; please refer to the assessment notifications in Week 5 for submission details as this may require an online submission.

Jake Plaskett

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

Wednesday 27 May - Wednesday 3 June

Reconciliation Week

Monday 8 June

Queen's Birthday - Public Holiday

Friday 26 June

Term 2 concludes

Monday 20 July

Term 3 commences

Please find below the menu for the Canteen for Week 6. 

A reminder for everyone to check a revised training schedule for Weeks 6-9 on the School app. There have been some changes to the current schedule as buses become available at 5.30pm.   

Whilst there will be no Saturday sport or competition through to end of Term 2, we have taken the opportunity to run a speed and fitness session at Gillespie each Saturday from 8am. This session holds many opportunities to possibly gain some speed, build fitness, enjoy a healthy start to the weekend, dusting of the 'cobwebs' and put your name in front of Knox Athletic selectors for Term 3 selection. A great opportunity so please encourage your boy(s) to come along and enjoy a good workout. Everyone is welcome. Enquiries should be directed to Mr Matthew Fowler. 

ATLAS HUMANOID TEAM LIVE Q&A

What: The Atlas Humanoid Team at Boston Dynamics have agreed to a live Question and Answer (Q&A) video chat with 20 students about their work. Selection of students is based on three criteria; a question you would ask the Atlas Humanoid team about their work, your involvement in co-curricular and further interests and subject involvement.

You will need to register here to be part of this unique opportunity.

When: Wednesday 24 June at 7.30am

Where: WSA Lecture Theatre

Contact: Melinda Valent

Click here for further information on Boston Dynamics.

Would you believe…

Knox Flix 2020 registrations are now open!

This year we have two versions of one theme, and two versions of one competition.

The theme is either

'I Believe!' or 'Would you believe…'

Tell us a tall tale, or a deep truth.

Similarly this year for the first time you have the option of submitting a narrated story board, or a film.

All film entries will need to be accompanied with an outline of how you worked within the isolation rules as they existed at various times of filming.

Please read the attached information and register here. A hype reel for Knox Flix can be viewed here.