What a dynamic and interesting week we have seen, with the introduction of off-campus learning and our first ever Senior School assembly streamed online! I am extremely proud of the boys and the maturity they have shown in embracing the new educational landscape and the many opportunities it offers.

Absences and on-site/off-site learning
• Our teachers will be taking the roll for all students in each class (including working on-campus and off-campus).
• If your son is switching to or from off-site learning, please follow our usual processes for reporting absences - use the School app or contact your Student Administration Officer.
• If your son is absent from classes, please continue to report this through the normal processes.

Protocols for learning at home
Student and Parent Online Learning Protocols will be provided at the start of next week.

Technical support
If you require technical assistance with your School laptop or online learning, in the first instance, please email the Help Desk helpdesk@knox.nsw.edu.au  with the following information:

• Student name and year level
• Asset tag on the laptop or iPad
• A clear description of this issue including anything you have tried already
• A photo or screen shot of the problem if possible.

We aim to resolve issues within the next business day of receiving technical support requests.

Timetable
Boys will be following the standard timetable each day, with Period 1 commencing at 8.25am and the School day finishing at 3.15pm. Boys should be at their learning space and ready for class to commence by 8.25am.

Please click here for the Week 9 timetable.

Uniform
Boys who are learning off-campus are expected to wear their school or PE uniform. Boys who are on-site should wear the uniform.

Uniform Shop
The Uniform Shop continues to operate with modified business hours in Weeks 9 and 10 and beyond - Monday through to Friday 11.30am-4.30pm and Saturday 9am-12pm. Please see the article in this week’s Year Group newsletter for more information. Please be mindful that when the School reopens in Term 2 all students will be expected to wear the Winter Uniform. If you cannot get to school all items are available to order through Flexischools and can be collected from the shop. For more information, call 9487 0191 or email.

Counselling Services
I know that students and families may require extra support at this time. We are now able to provide online counselling services via Google Meet for students as needed during normal office hours (8am-4pm).

For an appointment to speak with, in the first instance, your son’s Team Leader, or if you feel direct contact is required contact the counselling/psychologist team reception, call (+61 2 9119 0828) or email reception. We have established special protocols around online counselling and parents will be asked to complete a permission form.

Buses
Buses will run as normal for boys learning on-site

Canteens
Our canteen remain open.

Co-curricular
The following programs are continuing at school over the last two weeks of term:
Clubs: AI, Chess, Computer, CMAPs, Cru, Robotics, Social Justice, TAS Workshops and Tech Crew.

The following programs will continue at school and also have a blended program utilising Google Classroom and or Google Meet.

• Debating and Mock Trial: Training will continue as scheduled for each year group. Knox Debating Cup has been postponed until Term 2.
• Drama and Theatre Sports: After school sessions continue as scheduled.
• KAPA: Ensemble training will continue.
• KAPA peripatetic lessons: These lessons continue at the same time as scheduled each week.
• Pipes and Drums: Training continues as scheduled as does the tutor lessons at their scheduled times.
• Duke of Edinburgh: Students wishing to continue to work on their Duke of Edinburgh program need to contact Mr Goodwin.
•  The Year 10 Service Learning Program: This new initiative has been postponed. Information will be available at the commencement of Term 2.
• Art Club
• Cadets - including morning training
• Future Problem Solving

Sport
Please see the information about Sport in this week’s Year Group Newsletter.

Autumn holidays
A reminder, as per the Headmaster’s letter earlier this week, the last day of Term 1 is Friday 3 April 2020. Term 2 will commence on Tuesday 28 April 2020.

COVID-19 Policy
Protecting the wellbeing of our School community is our priority. In order to help reduce the spread of COVID-19, please do not enter our campuses if:

• You have been diagnosed with COVID-19
• You have had close contact with someone who has or is suspected of having COVID-19
• You currently have cold/flu like symptoms
• As per the Federal Government policy, you have travelled overseas in the last 14 days
• As per the School’s policy, you have had close contact with someone who has visited China, Hong Kong, Iran, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea or Mongolia in the last 14 days.

The School must be immediately notified if you become aware that you have had exposure or potential exposure to someone confirmed as having Coronavirus.

Phil O'Regan

This week the Middle Academy team visited Years 9 and 10 classes to discuss the code of conduct for students using ICT in a home or remote learning environment and the importance of hand washing. Students were asked to sign a copy of the document to indicate that they understood the expectations of the School and their teachers. There have been a couple of amendments to this document. The most up- to-date version is available here. Students who were not at school have been emailed a copy of this document and asked to email me to acknowledge they have read it.

With the blended learning environment, we have added additional attendance categories. For students who are engaging in their lessons online, teachers are currently marking them as 'absent - present online' when they engage with the lesson. If your son is sick and will not be attending school or engaging with online lessons, please notify the School in the normal manner. Should your son be encountering internet or technical difficulties that prevent him from engaging with online learning, please let Crystel Hodgson know, so that his teachers can be alerted to this. When the technical issue is resolved, your son should login to each of his Google classrooms to check what work needs to be completed.

Students are advised to check their timetable in Student Café each morning as this will be updated to reflect lessons and indicate if assemblies, Year Meetings or Mentor sessions will be occurring during the course of the day. They should log in to the relevant Google classroom for each lesson as indicated on Student Café each day.

Thank you for your support as we navigate the blending of off-site learning at home with on-site face to face teaching at school.

Elizabeth Ruff

These are strange times. In fact, these last few months have been arguably some of the most challenging that we have faced as a community in recent memory. From the tragic loss of the Hollander family, to the bush fires that devastated so much of our state and others, to COVID-19 - our community has been truly challenged in recent times. And in each of these testing moments we have seen our community draw together in order to draw strength from one another.

It is ironic that we are being advised to practise ‘social distancing’ at the very time when social connections are so vital. So, whilst we physically distance ourselves from those around us in order to do our part to protect ourselves and our community, I encourage boys to remember that they are not isolated. This community, this school, is still here to support every student. This is one piece of certainty that we can give in these times of uncertainty. Boys must stay connected with their school, even from home. They must stay connected with friends, and family, and they should know that help is always here when they need it.

If you are making the choice to support your son to learn off-site from home, I encourage you to set up a quiet and comfortable learning space where engagement can be monitored. I ask you to encourage your sons to communicate with teachers and reach out for help should they need it. Check in with your boys to see how they are travelling and have discussions about their responsibilities and commitment to learning online. Their reliance on technology at this time will test their maturity and motivation, and now more than ever parents and carers will need to work in partnership with teachers to ensure students are accessing quality learning.

I also want to encourage students to remember that at a time like this it is important to be kind and forgiving to themselves, to their peers, to their families and to their teachers. This is a challenging time for all and will only be made easier with a concerted effort to practise empathy, forgiveness and support in all relationships.

Please don’t hesitate to contact Mentors or Team Leaders should you have any questions or concerns relevant to your sons.

Alec Openshaw

I am very thankful to belong to such a wonderful school community and as challenging as current times are we are all helping each other navigate these unknown territories. Thank you to all of my parents and students for their flexibility in adapting to the changes to the learning methods this week. As we embrace learning off-site at home and on-site at School, please know that I am available should you need help and can be contacted via email or phone. 

Absence Notification

If your son is absent from school (on-site or off-site), please submit the usual absentee notification on Parent Lounge and in the parent comment section stating the reason for your son’s absence. All absences of three days or more will still require a medical certificate. I will continue to send SMS alerts out if your son has been marked absent for two consecutive periods and I have not been notified of their absence. Currently, if students are present online, we are recording them as absent from class - present online. 

For all students who are experiencing difficulties notifying their teachers of their presence online, please send the teacher and me an email so that we can update the roll accordingly.

If your son cannot submit an assessment due to Illness/Misadventure, then an Illness and Misadventure form is to be completed and sent to me.

School Newsletter

As families choose for their boys to study off-site at home, it would be great if you could share photos of them in their new learning space so that we can include it in the newsletter. If your son wants to write a couple of sentences to tell us how he is finding the experience so far and how he is keeping in touch with his friends, that would be wonderful. Alternatively, he could share some top tips that have helped him to make his learning experience online more enjoyable.

School Photos

If you haven't had a chance yet to access your son’s school photos, then please head to Melba Studios to download your son’s portrait and Year Group photo. Once on the page select SCHOOL ORDERS and enter the password (which is available below). This will lead you to the screen where you enter your son’s Student ID number and select Year 9 and submit. If you have any questions relating to the photos, please contact Melba Studios on 9438 4566.

Password: KNOX

Donation of Easter eggs and pots of flavoured noodles.

Thank you very much for your donation of Easter eggs and pots of flavoured noodles. The table in the SAO office is looking full and I am sure the Wesley Mission will appreciate your kind donations for the homeless. 

Finally, I cannot thank all of you enough for your patience and support over this past week. Have a great weekend!

Crystel Hodgson, Tel: 9119 0881

Friday 3 April

Term 1 concludes

Friday 10 April

Good Friday

Sunday 12 April

Easter

Knox is committed to providing all students with a comprehensive program whether it be from home or on-site. Please note the following to assist with plans from the Sports and Aquatic Academy through Week 9 and 10 starting Monday 23 March.

Period 7 - Boys on-site
Boys will attend to their regular winter sport training session and will be conducted in a modified manner ie. non-contact. Venues for these sessions have not changed unless you receive notification via School App primarily due to weather/cancellations.

Period 7 - Boys at home
The sports department will provide alternative physical activities that will be emailed to students. This will be in the form of online video clips and easy to follow exercises under the guidance of our experienced Strength and Conditioning Department.

The content will contain various body weight exercises that will vary across the age, development and experience levels to cater for a continuum between minimal physical activity levels to maintaining previous high physical activity. Each physical area of focus and subsequent exercises will have instructions, regression and progressions to allow flexibility of choice for individual circumstances.

Note - All boys whether on-site or at home are expected to participate in Period 7 sport through Weeks 9 and 10.

Before and after school training - Boys on-site
Boys will attend to their regular winter sport training session as per the advertised schedule on the School app. Trainings will be conducted in a modified manner consistent with current expert medical advice ie. non-contact. Boys are expected to bring boots and wear the appropriate sport attire as per any regular session.

Before and after school training - Boys at home
As per Period 7 above, boys may access video footage from the S & C Department which will help maintain physical fitness and mental wellbeing. This will be in the form of an email to the students.

Holidays
Any training throughout the Term 1 holiday period will be sent via School app to the specific sport.

From Term 2
The Sport Department will have sessions tailored specific to each of the chosen winter sports for all students to access. Further information regarding the roll out will be provided in the holidays. We look forward to offering your son an innovative approach to physical and mental fitness during this time. Physical activity plays an important role in maintaining physical and psychological health. Regular activity also assists with maintaining normal sleep routines and daily patterns, which could help in dealing with the uncertainty of the current situation.

We look forward to your support through this period.

Mr Martin Haywood

The Science Department is organising participation in the Big Science Competition this year. An email was sent to all parents and students at the start of the week with relevant information attached.
The Big Science Competition is mandatory for all Years 7-10 da Vinci Science students. Any students who are in a Year 7-10 Core class and wish to participate in this competition are required to self-nominate.

All parents must accept their son’s participation in this competition on Parent Lounge which can be located via the School Portal by Tuesday 31 March.

Ingrid Tuktens

Change to opening hours and operations
With students now learning on-site and off-site, the Uniform Shop has reviewed its opening times during this period.

We are still at this time very much open to help you fit your child for their winter uniform that they will require for Term 2.

To meet with standards for the health of our customers and staff, and adhere to social distancing guidelines, we will practise the following:

• Limit the number of customers in the changing room at any given time to three students and one attending parent. All other children will be asked to wait outside the changing area.
• Parent/guardians will be asked to assist their child but our staff will be on-hand to advise.
• All our staff regularly wash their hands and hand sanitiser is all around the shop for everyone to use. We also regularly spray down the changing area surfaces and the counter tops.
• Card payment would be preferred to limit the handling of cash.
• If your child is showing any symptoms relating to COVID-19 or other illnesses we would respectfully ask you not to bring them in.

Below are the revised times and dates of opening for the Uniform Shop. However, if you are unable to attend, uniform items can be ordered online. Size charts will be added to the Flexischools site to assist with sizing. Orders will not be dropped at Knox Prep until the start of Term 2 however parents are welcome to collect items from the Uniform Shop. Uniform Shop staff are more than happy to discuss sizing and requirements over the phone. Please call 9487 0191 or email here.

• Week commencing 23 March - open daily 11.30am-4.30pm Monday through to Friday Saturday 28 March 9am-12pm
• Week commencing 30 March - open daily 11.30am-4.30pm Monday through to Friday  Saturday 4 April 9am-12pm
• Week commencing 6 April - open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 9.30am-4.30pm
• Week commencing 20 April - open Thursday & Friday 9.30am- 4.30pm
• Week commencing 27 April - open Monday 9.30am-4.30pm, Tuesday onwards (subject to school re-opening) normal opening times resume.

Please note, circumstances permitting we will do our best to adhere to these amended times but should there be any change we will advise through the Knox app.

Colours Embroidery for Year 12
Due to the logistics of the embroidery of Colours, it has been decided that the Year 12 Colours will not be done over the Term 1 break and instead will be done over the Term 2 break. Further communication will be sent out during Term 2.

Thank you for your ongoing support and patience during this difficult time.

Mrs Julie Blackburn, Knox Uniform Shop Manager