Knoxmail February 12

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February 12, 2021

Earlier this afternoon The Victorian Government announced we would be going into a State-wide Stage 4 lockdown from 11.59 pm tonight until 11.59 pm on Wednesday.

During Stage 4 restrictions, The Knox School will be closed to in-person learning for Junior, Middle and Senior School students from 4 pm today and Home Campus via Teams will resume Monday through to Wednesday. The Home Campus learning will follow the normal on campus timetable for the next 3 school days.
 
Our ELC and students of permitted workers can continue their learning on campus.
 
If your child previously attended school in person during stage 4 restrictions in 2020, please email to confirm their attendance before 8.30 am on Monday. If you feel that your circumstances in 2021 are different to 2020 and your child needs to attend school Monday -Wednesday, please email the appropriate Head of Sub-School to gain permission.

During the lockdown period buses will not run, and the canteen will not be open. Camp Australia will continue to operate for students permitted onsite.

As a school, we are experienced in adapting quickly to Home Campus. Your children are familiar with the platforms they need to access to continue their learning, but to ensure they are confident accessing materials, teachers have revised the basics of how Teams will operate throughout this period.

For new families, our Year 7 cohort have been taken through how remote learning works at The Knox School. The last of these sessions was run this afternoon.

For parents of Prep, parents of new students and other interested parents, the Head of Junior School will be running a parent briefing on how our Home Campus operates in the Junior School via Zoom at 8:45 am on Monday.

Teachers will assist students to pack devices, books and other necessary materials this afternoon, and our IT Support Services remain available via email or phone on 88053888 over the lockdown period. As a final reminder, students can access our school Psychologist Lucas Tuan-Mu if they need additional support throughout this time.

I remain optimistic that we will welcome students back to campus   Next Thursday

Mr Allan Shaw
Principal and Chief Executive

Unwell Student Guidelines

This is a reminder. A gentle reminder to please not send your child to school if they are unwell, especially with cold / virus like symptoms. If they exhibit cold or flu like symptoms please take them for COVID testing and isolate until you receive a negative result. If you need to give your child paracetamol for cold or flu like symptoms, they should not be coming to school. By keeping your child home if unwell you will help prevent infections spreading, others becoming sick and also needing to test and isolate.

Vaccines

Thank you to everyone who has returned the vaccine consent forms sent via email on Wednesday 3 February.

Anyone who has not yet done so  please return your form, whether you would like your child immunized on March 2nd or not.

We really appreciate your assistance in getting these forms back promptly. Please contact Colleen Norvill for further information via email or 8805 3838

Parking on Burwood Hwy

A reminder stopping or parking on Burwood Hwy can create visibility difficulties for cars entering and exiting the School.

The School encourages parents not to park on Burwood Hwy but use the designated Kiss and Drop and Pick-up Zones.

Become an Expert Science Advisor

Do you have expertise in an area of STEM? Would you like to share your knowledge and your passion with students? Your experience can help shape, inspire, and motivate our students!

The Expert Science Advisor program aims to match student queries with expert advice from our STEM community. From Astronaut to Zoologist and anything in between – if you think you can help, we would love for you to be part of this initiative. Contact with the students could be as simple as responding to email, organised video calls or being an invited to campus as a guest speaker. Find out more or register your interest.

TKS Tennis Stars

With the Australian Open well underway, Senior School students Laura Stone 10L and Arnav Chadha 11F are providing service as Ballkids along with Middle School student Darren Dineshkumar 9L. Our TKS Ballkids are not only the future of Tennis, but are garnering a range of skills in a high-pressure situation. Great work!

Chinese New Year Celebrations

12 February is the first day of the 2021 Chinese New Year, the Year of the Ox. To those of you who were born in the year of the ox, may you be blessed with good health, overflowing joy, amazing love and abundant wealth.

On Friday 12 February, everyone on campus was treated to a Mr Softy's ice cream or hot jam donut during lunch time while enjoying some traditional Chinese New Year music.
 
Each student also received a Chinese paper cutting bookmark signifying the Year of the Ox.

Auditions Open for Senior Play

“Getting away with murder must be quite easy provided that one’s motive is sufficiently inscrutable”

Auditions for the 2021 Senior Play, The Real Inspector Hound begin next week. If your interest is on the stage, a speaking or non-speaking role, or as backstage and technical support, if you’re a student in years 10-12, we want you! Sign up now on the sheet outside the music office.

Relay For Life

The Knox School will again have a team at the Knox Relay for Life, to be held on Saturday 13 March at Knox Athletics Track.
 
The event has been shortened this year and will not be an overnight event, instead running from 12.00pm to 10.00pm on the Saturday.
 
We would love you to be part of our team at this fantastic community event, which raises much needed funds for the Cancer Council. The idea of the relay is to have at least one member of the team on the track at all times during the event. Relay for Life is a fantastic and fun community event – stay through the event, or just come for an hour or so. If you would like to join the TKS team, please register at the link below. If you are unable to join the team, you can still contribute to our fundraising efforts, by donating to the TKS team through the link. If you have any questions, please email Nicola Thomas in the Junior School.

Join a TKS Choir

If you love to sing and express who you are, then come join a choral ensemble in the Music Department. All students are welcome and rehearsals occur each week.

Senior Choir – Year 7 - 12
Tuesday 3pm - 4pm, Auditorium

Murana Voices – Years 4 - 6
Wednesday 8am - 8:30am, Auditorium Foyer

Piccolo Voices – Year 2 - 3
Thursday Lunchtime MR2 (upstairs music classroom)

Footy with Fletch

This week our year 12 student Fletch Fraser talks with Allen Christensen about his 133 AFL game career.

Key Dates

Term 1 Parent-Teacher Meetings

On Monday 1 March and Thursday 4 March, parents will have an opportunity to meet classroom and specialist teachers. I encourage all parents to make an appointment during this period as Parent-Teacher meetings provide an invaluable opportunity for parents to discuss their child’s learning progress, achievements, and areas for continued focus with the classroom teacher. Click here for further details.

Co-Curricular activities

Co- curricular Activities are scheduled to begin on the week of Monday 8 February. Please click on the link below for details regarding the Co-Curricular opportunities for Term 1 2021.

Please ensure your children are aware of their afternoon arrangements and where they need to go. It is helpful for parents to communicate with teachers by writing a short note in the student diary if arrangements are different from what is usual.

Camp Australia

Click here for the latest information from Camp Australia

VCE Jackets

The VCE Jackets ordered by Year 12 students will be delivered for the start of Term Two. Payment of $85 can be made through the School's payment portal. Select the "events and other payments" option and be sure to list your name for reference

A reminder to Year 11 and 12 students that the Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) course will take place on Saturday 20 February – please collect a form from the Careers office if you are interested in participating.

Please see the Career News for this week and a reminder that this newsletter, as well as previous newsletters that have been sent out, can be found on the Knox School Careers website here under the For Students tab.  

Please see the Career News for the upcoming week here.

Dates to Diarise in Term 1
• News from Deakin University 
     - New Commerce/Communication Double Degrees 
     - Marine Studies at Deakin
          - Bachelor of Environmental Science (Marine Biology) 
          - Bachelor of Marine Science
• New Bachelor of Business Innovation and Enterprise at RMIT
• Studying Business at Victoria University
• What does a Meteorologist do?
• Skills Spiderweb
• Chiropractic, Osteopathy & Remedial Massage Courses in Victoria in 2021
• Universities in Western Australia

Jacky Burton
Career Development Practitioner

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