Whole Person Education - Knox Grammar School

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Preparatory SchoolNo Cramp for Knox WritersYear 6 Excursionto CanberraMr John Larkin working with Year 5 boys, from left, James Burns, James Pegg and Toby PatstonJohn Larkin, the author of over 20 booksfor children, teenagers and adults includingSpaghetti Legs, Growing Payne, Goon Town, LarkinAbout in Ireland, and the soon to be releasedThe Shadow Girl, has joined the Knox staff asthe Writer-in-Residence to get the Prep Schoolboys excited about creativity and writing.‘What we’re doing is really starting to have animpact,’ said Mr Larkin. ‘Boys are stopping me in thecorridor and sharing the stories that they’ve writtenover the weekend. Suddenly it’s cool to be a writer.’John is a terrific role model for our boys.Having him at Knox, has given our writingprogram a wonderful balance betweencreative development and teacher directedlearning. Traditionally many boys do not liketo write, however, we felt that if John couldinspire the boys by opening the door to theirimagination and showing them the way heworks and looks at the world, they couldapply that to their writing.‘Students need to take risks and have fun withtheir writing,’ said Larkin, also known to theboys as Mr Larkin Around!Larkin also says, ‘I want students to break outand try things and make mistakes. That’s howthey’ll learn. You can unpick a story to the nthdegree but you won’t find the magic. It’s my job toshow the boys how to create magic of their own.’Since the publication of his first novel SpaghettiLegs in 1992, Larkin has visited countless schoolsas a guest speaker and workshop presenter. Hehas been a regular visitor to Knox but now hisrole has been expanded to Writer-in-Residenceand he couldn’t be happier. ‘Most of the time youvisit a school for a day and it’s full on. You give a talkand then perhaps a workshop for selected students,but you never really get to see what, if any, impactyou have on their writing long term,’ said Mr Larkin.‘Now I can follow the boys’ progress into high schooland beyond. I don’t just want Knox to be a schoolwhere creative writing flourishes, I want it to be“the” school.’John’s interest in spreading the word ofcreative writing doesn’t just stop at hisstudents. He eventually hopes to run weekendworkshops for parents at Knox.Mrs Kathryn MorelliDirector of Teaching and Learning,Knox Preparatory SchoolBlessed with beautiful late summer weatherin February, Year 6 set off for what promisedto be an exciting adventure to our nation’scapital. The boys visited many attractions inCanberra with Questacon, the Australian WarMemorial, CSIRO Discovery, the NationalGallery and the Australian Institute of Sportfeaturing high on the list of most popularplaces. While at Parliament House, the boysparticipated in an engaging and informativerole play. A number of boys dressed in robesto designate their role within the mock Houseof Representatives and then they debated,with great gusto, a bill about homework.While on this tour, the boys participated ina variety of educational programs focusedon Australia’s history, culture, heritageand democracy. The boys also completedworksheets, either during the day or as anactivity before bedtime, detailing informationlearnt from each attraction visited, as well asan evaluation of that particular place.The boys drew praise both for their generalknowledge and their good manners frommany members of the public as well asthe guides at the attractions, which wasextremely pleasing to hear. The excursion toCanberra was a great success and the boyswill hopefully look back on this time in theirlives with happy memories.Mr Dougal ColeYear 6 TeacherThe Thistle / June 2011 | 8
Outdoor Education DayKnox Prep andSt Lucy’s SchoolIn Term 1, Year 3 participated with greatenthusiasm in their annual Outdoor EducationDay. The weather was perfect and the locationat Chowder Bay, Mosman provided many greatchallenges and opportunities for team building.The boys were divided into four groups androtated around four interactive activitiesthroughout the day.One of the highlights of the day was therafting activity where two teams of eight boysdonned life jackets and raced each otheraround the bay, paddling with enormous gusto!Eventually the rafts capsized and the boysenjoyed climbing aboard and jumping off intothe refreshing water.Other activities the boys found very excitingwere the team ball games, the Chowder Baytreasure hunt and of course exploration of theunderground forts at George’s Heights. Theboys’ torches were put to good use examiningthe holding cells and learning about the cannonsthat were used during World War II.The Prep School’s Social Justice vision is forour boys to support the local communityand make a difference to the lives of others.We can achieve this goal by our boys givingtheir time, energy and skills to work withour neighbours and enrich their lives. Inconsultation with St Lucy’s, a Year 6 classvisits on a weekly basis to implement anoutdoor sports program. Throughout theyear all Year 6 boys will have the opportunityto work with the students of St Lucy’s. Thisprogram provides St Lucy’s with sound rolemodels, assists in the delivery of gross motorskills, and helps with the social interactionand communication between students.Feedback from the boys of 6H indicates thatso far this program is most worthwhile:‘Going to St Lucy’s was a wonderful experience, itwas so rewarding for all of us.’ – Connor‘It was exciting to see the smiles on the children’sfaces. They were so happy to see us and they lovedplaying with us.’ – Luca‘It was great to be able to help the students playsport, we are so lucky to be at Knox.’ – HarrisonYear 4 CampOn 24 March I woke up ready for a brandnew day. I looked on my calendar, as I doevery morning, and realised it was Year 4Camp! I was soon on the way to school.After roll call it was time for camp. We weregoing to Point Wolstoncroft. We were goingto get know our friends and teachers better.The trip there was kind of boring but I wasstill very excited.When I got to camp I made my bed, didarchery and rock climbing. For dinner wehad fish and chips. It was the best foodever! After that we played night games.They were fun. We went to bed at 8.30pm.The next day we went canoeing. It was funtoo. When we went to an island we hadone apple each. On the way back I fell outof the canoe and ended up pushing thecanoe. Canoeing was awesome!After that we had free time for one hour.My friends and I started up a game ofequipment tip. It was really fun. The sand feltnice between our toes in the play ground.After lunch we went back to school. It wasthe best camp ever! I will always rememberthat camp!Jonathan Dowse, 4MThe Thistle / June 2011 | 9
Page 2 and 3: CONTENTS //June 201102 From the Hea
Page 5: egard to those strengths, structure
Page 10 and 11: Preparatory SchoolKindy at the Farm
Page 12 and 13: Life at KnoxKnox teacher becomes
Page 14 and 15: Life at KnoxCadet Annual CampMember
Page 16 and 17: Social JusticeABBOX Camper with Ham
Page 19 and 20: Above: The Cycle for SMILE route ar
Page 21 and 22: Why Should Boys Sing?‘The only th
Page 23 and 24: KNOX SPORTS ACADEMYAFL comes to Kno
Page 25 and 26: AdieuMr AW Mitchell at Knox: Teache
Page 27 and 28: five year strategic plan that encom
Page 29 and 30: From the Opera House to the WorldMa
Page 31 and 32: OKG SportIan MacPherson OKG55, Col
Page 33 and 34: Nicholas Henning OKG97Major League
Page 35 and 36: DeathsThe OKGA extends its sincere

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