Devastating fires and drought
On behalf of the Knox Grammar School community, I express our sympathy to all those impacted by the fires and drought. Many families have lost their homes and all their possessions; in some tragic cases, families have lost their loved ones. 

I also wish to express our everlasting gratitude to the men and women who have risked their lives in fighting fires this summer, and to the thousands of volunteers who assisted in so many ways.

In particular, I would like to recognise those members of our Knox community who have given up their time to volunteer in fighting fires across NSW and Queensland. I am aware that there are a number of community members who have been volunteering on the front line of the fires for more than a month.  They have given up time with their families and their work commitments to support those in the community in danger. We acknowledge your service; you are the embodiment of the Knox values and on behalf of the Knox community we thank you.

We are also thinking of those Old Boys and current Knox families whose homes and livelihoods are under threat from drought. Our hearts go out to you and we pray that this threat abates soon and that drenching rains come to assist in bringing relief.

Regarding the recent outbreak of Novel Coronavirus, I would like to offer my sincere thanks to all parents and students for their understanding and support during this difficult time. I appreciate how disruptive the recent measures must be for several families. However, we must act with the welfare of students as our key priority.

Future Learning
I would like to congratulate our 2019 graduates on their outstanding results in the HSC. This cohort demonstrated persistence and adopted the principles of a growth mindset, and it paid positive dividends in their final examinations.

Their outstanding results is a reflection of our strong community; one that is supportive, cohesive and caring. Knox was the top performing non-selective boys’ school in NSW and the tenth best performing independent school. The median ATAR was a phenomenal 90.

The HSC is a very demanding experience and the partnership between staff, students and families has been crucial in guiding our most recent graduates throughout the journey, especially with their differing abilities and interests. We are proud of the boys and the self-discipline, responsibility and resilience they have developed in the course of pursuing their goals.

As we commence the new academic year, I am confident that Knox is absolutely committed to innovation, wellbeing and academic excellence in the education of our students. Our aim is to nurture lifelong learners who are curious and eager to learn about themselves, one another and the wider world.

The ‘Education for the Future' document which has been emailed to all families outlines our plan to prepare the young people who learn at Knox to be ready for the future, whatever it holds. It closely aligns with our Strategic Direction 2018-2022. We believe this document will have the most impact on student outcomes, with a focus on developing new cultures of learning in order to improve and meet the needs of our students. The Knox educational model integrates a degree of flexibility so that we can respond positively to other, and maybe better, options which may come into play in the future.

On behalf of the School and School Council, thank you for entrusting us with the education of your child.

Note: an audition script for each role may be found in the link below. Students must email Mrs Gillian Jolly as soon as possible to indicate which day you wish to audition. Email Mr Michael Griffiths for further enquiries.

Click here for the audition notice and script. 

Our course will run on either a Tuesday or Wednesday (or both mornings), starting at 7.30am, once minimum numbers are confirmed.

A minimum of seven students, and a maximum of ten, ensures individual attention. The course costs $300 for seven sessions of 45 minutes. The Introductory 7 week course includes a tub of theraputty, that is designed to improve hand muscle strength and fine motor skills. Availability of places is dependent upon a first come first served basis. All students who miss out on a place in Term 1 will be placed on the waiting list for Term 2, 2020.

Should you be interested in pursuing this option for your son, please contact Rebecca Papageorgiou in the Learning Enhancement Department.

With strong representation from both SWE and Concert Band, given the challenges associated with the delayed start for some of our instrumentalists who were unable to participate, a total of 139 Knox musicians enjoyed the opportunity to forge outstanding musical and interpretive foundations on the newly sourced repertoire for 2020.



Concluding the day, with our annual ‘workshop performance’ in our wonderful Wenkart Theatre, the Knox Concert Band performed two works, including ‘Misty Rain, Softly Falling’ by Frank Erickson and ‘Chillers and Thrillers’ by John Williams, arranged by John Moss’. Featuring student participation across Years 8-10, the Knox Concert Band certainly exhibited tremendous musical focus and great enthusiasm for an exceptional year ahead.

Receiving their ‘unofficial’ 2020 Sydney Eisteddfod’ preview premiere performance renditions; our Symphonic Wind Ensemble (SWE) boys were thrilled to present three works, commencing with the ‘March from the First Suite in Eb’ by Gustav Holst, edited Colin Matthews, prior to their presentation of ‘December Dance’ by Andrew Boysden Jnr.



Concluding their performance presentation, SWE enthusiastically engaged in the highly ambitious challenge, in presenting ‘Lost Vegas’ by Michael Daugherty, for which KAPA has sourced and hired for SWE in 2020.

This was an absolutely magnificent afternoon for all involved. Sincere thanks and appreciation to our KAPA Staff comprising of Mr Geoff Power, Ms Leah Lock, Mr Jamie Watkins, Ms Telena Routh, Mr Tony Grimm, Ms Di Gardiner, Mr Andrew Doyle, Ms Jo Carey, Mr Simon Watts, , Ms Leanne Sullivan, Mr James Power, Ms Tina Brain, Ms Alison Pratt, Mr Dylan Sherman, Mr Dave Goodman, Mr David Kimpton, Mr Rob Ewan, Mr Tom Cartwright, Mr Liam Sherman, Mr Matt Kokolich, Mr Ben Close, Mr Joshua Lam, Mr James Austen, Mr Ollie Malnic, Mr Nicholas Rahme and Mr James Brice for their expertise, enthusiasm, support and tutelage throughout the day.

Finally, I would like to thank our boys for their brilliant participation and parents for your tremendous support, and I ask that you please diarise our next Rehearsal Day for the Knox Symphony Orchestra, and upcoming 2020 Bandstand Concert featuring all three large Knox Bands.

Sunday 9 February - Knox Symphony Orchestra (KSO) Rehearsal Day
• Time: 9.40am - 5.15pm
• Venue: Junior Academy & Performing Arts Centre - Wenkart Theatre and associated rooms


Tuesday 10 March - 2020 Bandstand Concert
• Time: 7pm
• Venue: Wenkart Theatre

Additional details (Parent/Student letter) to be issued shortly

Sincere congratulations one and all for a brilliant start to 2020!

Walgett PCYC
Thank you to James Brice and staff and families of KAPA who so generously supported the Knox Drought Appeal. $1720 was sent the Walgett PCYC so that Amanda Cheal, Luke Farr and others in the community could run activities, especially swimming, for the youth of Walgett over the school holidays. Walgett has not been lucky enough to receive any rain in the recent falls.

Bushfire and Drought Relief
We all are acutely aware of the impact of the drought and the bushfires over the holiday period.

We would like your support for the local organisations that have mobilised early in the year. The Facebook page ‘Mobilising for Mogo’ initiative is registered with authorities and data was collected on Mogo families and other community members to establish a specific list of essential donations which are below. Please drop off your donations to Room 15 (Mrs Clarke’s office) or as per the link.

• Back to school needs – exercise books etc. 
• Tools of trade – many people lost tools which limits how much they can clean up, repair or even work! No electrical tools please.
• Gift cards that can be used for petrol (e.g. Caltex) food (e.g. IGA)
• No clothing please.
• Register here.

MUNA - participants wanted
The Model United Nations Assembly Competition will be held on the weekend of 23-24 May 2020 at Epping Boys' High School, 213 Vimiera Road Eastwood. Applications are now open to be part of the Knox team. The commitment is for the whole two days of the competition. We will be allocated a country and you will represent and speak to various issues and resolutions for that country. Please apply to Mrs Clarke. It is necessary to complete a resume outlining your full name, age, mobile and parent's mobile.

Included with your application should be any experience you have in public speaking (human rights, world issues for example) and why you would like to be involved in this competition. Closing date for Knox MUNA applications is 1 February 2020.

Breaking a World Record and helping community projects.
The Rotary Club of Wahroonga is attempting to set a World Record of connected socks on 25 October this year at St Ives Showground.

• Schools and many community organisations  in the local area are among the community organisations participating.
• Start collecting your odd socks - you can also contribute old sports socks in Knox black and blue colours so they can be sewn in 50 m lengths for the event.
• Donation of $2 per sock so that we can raise funds for community projects.
• Socks need to be accompanied by the donations otherwise they can’t be included!

The Knox Social Justice Club - all invited to participate
At the beginning of the school term, boys visited an expo in the Great Hall and were introduced to the many organisations and clubs at Knox.
A whole of school assembly scheduled for 20 February will celebrate our Social Justice projects and cultural diversity at Knox. For example - Reconciliation Week, Diwali, Lunar New Year etc.

We meet each Friday in the Knox Cultural Centre and there are various committees to join - recycling, act for justice, community projects such as the World’s Greatest Shave, Daffodil Day, Red Shield Appeal, Ku-ring-gai Special Olympics etc.

There are opportunities for service at community events both within the School and in the wider community and immersions to overseas and regional areas.
Everyone across Years 7-12 is invited to participate and bring a friend. Presentations on issues and initiatives are led by our seven senior Social Justice Prefects.

Parents for Justice (Just Parents)
We have a group of parents who support Social Justice initiatives by helping out at fundraisers such as the Gala Day stall; baking for cupcake days; supporting appeals such as the Easter and Christmas Appeals for the homeless; transporting students to Social Justice events etc.

We have an International Women’s Day and International Men’s Day Breakfast each year and all parents are welcome to bring their sons along to these events.

If you would like to join up and offer support, please contact Mrs Clarke.

School Shoes for the Philippines - are your son’s school shoes from last year too small?
We will continue to collect school shoes for the children in the poorest communities. Please drop the shoes off to Helen Clarke’s office in Room 15 as we will be sending shoes to Manila mid Term 1.

Guide to Scholarships 2021

For more information and to apply, please visit www.knox.nsw.edu.au/scholarships.

If you have any questions, please contact the Head of Enrolments, Martin Gooding, or phone +61 2 9473 9768.

The School strongly recommends that every family at Knox takes out Private Health Insurance with full Private Health cover, as the cost of medical expenses to parents for accidents can be substantial, especially sports injuries.

The School provides Student Accident Insurance for all students, whilst they are participating in a school organised and endorsed activity, within Australia. This is designed primarily to help with permanent injuries of a serious nature, such as quadriplegia, paraplegia or loss of a limb. As most injuries are not of a permanent nature, this insurance is limited, as the law does not permit coverage of medical expenses otherwise covered by Medicare, or beyond the scheduled fee.

For school organised and endorsed overseas trips, the School arranges travel and medical coverage for students and staff via an alternate insurance policy.

To obtain a copy of the Student Accident application form and schedule of benefits of this policy, please email Mrs Tracey Sutton or Mrs Felicity Taubman.

A push notification is sent via the Knox Grammar School app when a new gallery is available.

If you have any issues logging into the Knox portal, please contact the Knox Helpdesk.

Parent Directory
Parents/Guardians may 'opt-in' the Parent Directory accessed via the Knox Parent Lounge.

The Parent Directory is designed for parents and guardians to optionally share contact details with other parents/guardians. 

It is an ‘opt-in’ system and requires that you select which contact details (if any) you wish to share with other parents/guardians.

If you have any issues logging into Parent Lounge please contact the Knox Helpdesk.

You are welcome to attend the Parent Community Meetings hosted by the KPA once per term, to hear from the Headmaster, the Chairman of the School Council, and expert presenters (details for the first meeting are included below).

This is your opportunity to ask questions and discuss issues that are important to you as parents.

Attending KPA community events has many positives:

• A fantastic way to meet other families
• Nurture and connect with the Knox community spirit
• Help to raise funds for the purchase of resources and equipment that ultimately benefit all the boys.

I look forward to meeting you in 2020.

KPA Meeting
Date: Monday 17 February 2020
Time: Drinks and nibbles from 6.30 pm with the meeting to commence at 7pm
Venue: Academy of Global Competency (old KG1 Building), Senior School

You are invited to attend the first meeting of the Knox Parents’ Association (KPA) for 2020. This is a great opportunity to meet the Heads of the Senior and Prep Schools and to hear their plans for the School in 2020. The invitation is open to all parents, Senior, Prep and Wahroonga Prep.

You will find the Knox Parent community to be a very social and rewarding experience if you allow yourself to get involved, whether it be in a sporting supporters group, helping out at the Tuckshop or assisting your year group with arranging functions. Any assistance is always most welcome and greatly appreciated.

KPA Name Badges
The KPA organises name badges for parents at the start of each school year for use at the various school functions you will attend throughout your son's time at Knox. They come with the Knox crest and your name, with a simple magnet on the back for attaching. They are a much better alternative to the sticky labels that always peel off! The cost of $16 includes postage.

Details on how to order and pay for a name badge can be found on the flyer. Be sure to put down your name as you would like it to appear on the badge. Orders close Friday 21 February 2020. This is the only opportunity to order name badges for 2020, so please put your order in now to avoid disappointment.

Parent Name Badge flyer

Senior School Tuckshops - Volunteers Urgently Required for 2020
The Senior School Tuckshops have a number of vacant spots that we are desperate to fill. If you are a new parent or an existing parent, helping out in the tuckshop is very rewarding experience and a great way to meet and socialise with new friends.

To volunteer, please click on the following links:

Term 1
Term 2
Term 3
Term 4

If you have any questions about volunteering in the tuckshops, please contact Caron Suleyman, Tuckshop Convenor.

For more information and details on how to pay, please see invite below.

Knox at Home 2020 invitation.

This is indeed challenging in this era of outrage, as there are countless examples every day of people reacting with both public and private outrage, often without all of the facts they need. Towards the end of last year, we noted that our boys often display acts of selflessness and kindness towards people they don’t know, whether that be when they are out in public, or when helping those who are less fortunate. However, they are often less kind in their interactions with their friends on the playground, and their family members at home.

So, we are asking you, our parent body, to come on this adventure with us. We are basing our initiatives on the work of Shaunti Feldhahn, who launched The Kindness Challenge several years ago. We will give you, and your sons, more information as to how our initiative will work throughout the course of the year but it is worth keeping the following little piece of information in mind – according to Feldhahn’s study, all it takes is 30 days of consistently thinking kind thoughts, using kind words and acting with kindness to become kind, but it takes all three elements working in concert with each other – one or two is not enough!

Congratulations to your sons for their smooth transition to their new academic year. There has been a lovely sense of camaraderie on the playground and in the classrooms. We are looking forward to working with your sons and with you throughout the course of 2020.

Kindness is a key ingredient that helps us all feel good. The development of kindness increases serotonin, which plays an important component in learning, memory, mood, sleep, health and digestion. Having a positive outlook allows for greater attention spans and enables more creative thinking.

David W. Orr, Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics, and Special Assistant to the President of Oberline College (United States) comments, “The plain fact is that the planet does not need more successful people. But it does desperately need more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers and lovers of every kind. It needs people who live well in their places. It needs people of moral courage willing to join the fight to make the world habitable and humane."

We will begin our K-2 Assemblies in Week 3.

Our first official day of school on Friday was filled with much anticipation and excitement. The boys looked so grown up and smart in their Knox summer uniforms, showing great courage as they bid their parents farewell when the bell rang. They showed much calmness and steadiness, bringing a positive energy. We all had a fun day reading stories, singing songs, learning rhymes, painting hands, role-playing and constructing. It was a great beginning for their first day of Kindergarten and we look forward to a fabulous year of exploring, discovering and learning together.

The boys have settled into the school year well and have been challenging themselves every day. The look of surprise on their faces when they achieve something new is such an elating feeling as a teacher and one that our parents have been a part of due to their interaction with Seesaw and the constant dialogue between the teachers, parents and students in the playground.

This year, all students will be focusing on the personal character strength of kindness. They will also explore the idea of gratitude. This term to boys will be encouraged to ‘dob’ on their friends for their acts of kindness. Thank you to all of the boys who have already spoken to a teacher about one of these moments. They truly make our day brighter!

Thank you for trusting us with your boys. We are so excited to go on the journey of 2020 with you all.

A strong and organised start to the year is vital. In light of this, I will endeavour to keep parents informed about what is relevant and upcoming for Year 3 throughout the year, however, if you do have any queries over planned activities, please also check the Year 3 Knox portal page for further details.

Although the Year 3 staff will be most understanding in relation to keeping organised and ensuring requests are completed, we do all have high expectations and are sure that with your support and help, all boys will be responsible and ready when preparing for school.

Last week the Year 3 students spent time getting to know each other by engaging in a variety of ‘meet and greet/icebreaking’ activities. Books and equipment were also carefully organised and important class routines established in preparation for the year ahead.

In class the boys have begun to unpack the Big Idea, 'Commemorating significant events connects us to our past', as part of the Knoxigations domain, 'Stories of the World and its People'. Within this unit of work, students will investigate significant events in Australia’s history that we commemorate as a nation; explore specific reasons for commemorations; and understand how commemorations in Australia and around the world are the same or different.

Dates for the diary
• Tuesday 18 February - Years 3-6 House Swimming Carnival
• Wednesday 19 February - Year 3 Parent Information Evening, 6pm-7pm
• Monday 24 February - Tuesday 25 February - Year 3 Camp to Point Wolstoncroft
• Thursday 19 March - Years 3-6 House Cross Country Carnival

At any point throughout the year, please do not hesitate to contact your son’s classroom teacher or me, should you wish to discuss his academic progress or overall wellbeing.

The Year 3 Team is very much looking forward to working together with all parents for the benefit of each student as we watch the boys grow and flourish throughout the year in all aspects of their school life.

Thank you for supporting us in preparing the boys for the first week back at school. We have been preparing books and equipment for Term 1 and we have also enjoyed getting to know them better through a range of activities. The boys will certainly be kept busy this year and I will therefore endeavour to keep you informed about events as they arise. Please refer to the Knoxonian and the Year 4 Knox portal page as a first point of call.

The Knox portal also provides information about our learning. You can learn all about the boys’ current inquiry unit by looking under the domain ‘Stories of the World and its People’

Over the coming weeks, the Year 4 team will continue to support the boys in establishing organisational skills and routines that will help them perform to the best of their ability. We thank you for your ongoing support in this area and for ensuring that the boys come to school dressed in the complete uniform, including school blazer and varsity cap. 

It was great to see the boys supporting each other at the Year 4 Swimming Trials on Tuesday. The upcoming Year 4 camp to Rathane Youthworks will be a wonderful opportunity to continue the relationship building amongst the boys.

I look forward to meeting many of you at the Year 4 Parent Information Evening on Wednesday 19 February and watching the boys thrive throughout the year in all aspects of their schooling.

The Year 5 Information Evening on Thursday 20 February at 6pm will be a great opportunity to meet the Year 5 team and learn more about the year ahead. We will start with an information session in the auditorium and then head to classrooms as a chance to meet with your son’s teacher.

Our first Knoxigations unit is 'Tinkering Towards Tomorrow'. You will find an overview of this unit and what content the boys will be covering on the Year 5 Knox portal page.

Homework will be updated each Wednesday on the Knox Portal. Homework is due every Monday and will start this week.

This Friday we have swiming trials. Please refer to the note for information. Your son can come to school with his swimmers under his sports uniform as we will be heading over to the pool after marking the roll. This is a great opportunity for us to see what level swimmer your son is, so that in the Knox carnival he is racing against swimmers who are similar to his ability in this regard.

We look forward to involving you in your son’s journey in Year 5 so that together, we can achieve a happy and successful year with your son. Please refer to the Knoxonian weekly and do not hesitate to contact me with any concerns or questions at any time.

Next week is all about camp as the boys begin to prepare themselves for a fantastic few days at Camp Somerset. The staff are thoroughly looking forward to spending a few days away with the boys and getting to know them better. If you have any concerns or queries in regard to your son on camp please feel free to be in contact with your son’s teacher.

Our first Knoxigations unit for this year will be the 'Tinkering Towards Tomorrow' unit, Technology protects communities. Throughout the next eight weeks the boys will be immersing themselves in the technological advances related to natural disasters. We look forward to seeing some of the work the boys produce and we encourage you to have discussions with your son in regard to their learning in this area.

Just a reminder that the boys will have swimming trials this Thursday on their sports day and will be required to bring their swimmers, goggles and a towel. We will be leaving from the Prep just after the morning bell so it is very important all boys are at school on time and bring their recess as they will not be returning until 12noon.

Library Policy on Overdue and Lost Items
A well-stocked library is a wonderful resource and provides our students with access to both high quality literature and informational resources. At Knox Prep, we pride ourselves on our up to date collection and we encourage the boys to borrow regularly. Returning these resources on time encourages the students to respect school property and share the resources amongst their peers. The careful replacement of unreturned items is an important part of collection development. With this in mind, please take note of the following procedures for collection of overdue and unreturned items.

For students in Years K-2
• If your son has an overdue item, a note will be sent home in his library bag during his class Literacy Centre lesson.
• When items are 100 or more days overdue, the replacement cost for any unreturned items will be charged to the student’s account.
• If the item is found and returned after the student’s account has been charged, the account will be credited.

For students in Years 3-6
• If your son has an overdue item, an overdue notice sticker will be placed in his school diary during his Library lesson.



• When items are 100 days or more overdue, the replacement cost for any unreturned items will be charged to the student's account.



If the item is found and returned after you have been charged, your account will be credited.

Scholastic Book Club
At Knox, we are involved with Scholastic Book Club as a way of encouraging students to further develop a love of reading, as well as building the K-6 library collections through the Scholastic Rewards program. Each term the K-6 libraries distribute Scholastic Book Club catalogues. The catalogue and payments are not to be returned to school, as Knox uses the LOOP payment system. This system requires you to create an account for your child once you log in.

Simply click here to register. Once you have registered follow these easy steps:

1. Click on ORDER and then select your school and your child’s class. As we have two libraries, K-2 and 3-6 are set up as two different schools, so please make sure you select the relevant one for your child.
2. Add your child’s FIRST NAME AND LAST INITIAL ONLY (so the School will know who the book is for)
3. Enter the item number from the Book Club catalogue, pay for your order via credit card.
4. All orders are then sent directly to the school and the books will be delivered to your son’s classroom if you order by the close date.

The cut off date from each catalogue distributed to students will be published in the Knoxonian, as well as being put on the Knox portal and displayed in the library window.

Any queries about Scholastic book club can be directed to Mrs Emma-Kate Smith. 

Ensemble rehearsal times for 2020 are below. 

• Junior Band - Friday morning 7am - 8.20am.
• Intermediate Band - Tuesday morning 7.15am, Wednesday Lunchtime in Ensemble Room 2.
• Senior Band - Wednesday Morning 7am, Tuesday Lunchtime in Ensemble Room 1.
• Performance Ensemble - Tuesday morning 7am, Wednesday Lunchtime in Ensemble Room 1.
• Jazz Band - Thursday Lunchtime in Ensemble Room 1 commencing Week 2.
• Concert Strings - Monday morning 7am in Ensemble Room 2.
• String Ensemble - Wednesday morning 7.15am in Ensemble Room 2. 
• Prep Orchestra - Friday morning 7am in Ensemble Room 2. 
• Little Lads - Friday morning 7.45am in the K-2 Music Room commencing Week 2.
• Knoxapella - Thursday morning 7.30am in the K-2 Music Room commencing Week 2.
• 5-6 Vocal Ensemble - Thursday morning 7.30am in the 3-6 Music Room commencing Week 2.
• Gallery Choir - Tuesday afternoon 3.15pm-4.30pm in 3-6 Music Room commencing Week 2.

Private Lessons
All private Instrumental lessons will resume in Week 2 of this term. If you have not heard from your tutor, or you would like your son to learn an instrument at school please email Miss Morris to organise lessons.

Choir
I would like to invite all boys from Years 3-6 to be part of our Vocal Ensembles on a Thursday morning. All rehearsals start at 7.30am with Year 3-4 boys rehearsing in Music Classroom 2 and Year 5-6 boys in Music Classroom 1. The choir is a fun way to be involved in the music program; we sing a variety of music styles like pop, classical, folk and contemporary and explore the possibilities of our voices. There have been many studies into the benefits of singing, and I encourage all boys to have a go.

For more information, please email Miss Ali Irwin or just have your boy turn up at the music rooms on a Thursday during term.

Orchestra
We made an excellent start to Orchestra this week. Reminder arrival time is 7am starting at 7.15am. It is an expectation that all boys who are in Concert strings will be involved in Orchestra. If you have not received an email, please let the Music Department know that you are added to the Orchestra list.

Musical Peter Pan Jr
We have started rehearsing for the upcoming Year 6 Musical, 'Peter Pan Jr'. The performance dates are:
• Wednesday 1 April
• Thursday 2 April

Ticket information will be coming out in Week 4, so make sure you add the dates to your diary. Below is a list of the leads for the show.



Band Camp Term 2
Band Camp will be on Saturday 30 May from 1pm - 6pm and Sunday 31 May from 10am - 5pm. All boys in the Band Program will be required to attend both days. Further information will be sent home next week, so if you can lock these dates in the diary that would be fantastic. Ensembles involved in this year’s camp will be the Performance Ensemble, Senior Band, Intermediate Band, Junior Band and Jazz Band.

More details about camp will come out at the end of this term.

ISDA Debating Competition - Terms 1 & 2
This is an inter-school competition run on Friday evenings from 4.45pm - 6.45pm at independent schools in Sydney. Parents need to be available to transport their son to and from the venue. There is also a training session before school on Thursday at 7.30am and boys will sometimes need to research at home. This is very competitive and boys may be required to audition for selection into the competition. The boys are given a topic on Friday night and have one hour to prepare before debating, hence need to be independent, efficient and articulate students.

IPSHA Debating Competition - Terms 2 & 3

This is an interschool competition run on Friday afternoons and is a less competitive competition and suitable for experienced debaters as well as beginners. Training is on Thursday mornings at 7.30am and boys are also required to research and write draft speeches for homework.

House Debating Competition - Term 4
This competition will be in house teams and will be a round robin competition run throughout term four at lunchtimes and is open to all boys. No preparation or research will be required at home.

An email will be sent out early next week to all Years 5 and 6 parents, with a link to a Google Form so boys can register their interest. You will require a Google Account to complete this form. Your son’s Knox email will work.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Knox Prep Debating Coordinators, Miss Feltham or Ms Irvine.

Please note that all new students will be issued with a Google Account/Email in the next few days. You will be able to complete this Google Form once these details have been received.

Tuckshop Convenor
We are looking for someone to coordinate the tuckshop roster for this year. The process will be streamlined and less time consuming as the roster will be setup on signup.com. If you are interested, please contact Gretel Sachs.

Basketball tour to the USA
26 boys and five staff travelled to the US around the West Coast area including Portland, Eugene, LA and San Francisco. A fantastic trip with a number of very competitive games for our three teams as well as wonderful local experiences such as two NBA games, Disneyland, visit the Nike factory, Alcatraz and much more.



We also hosted a huge Basketball camp with many boys enjoying a week of Basketball at Knox.

All this whilst the 1sts, 2nds, 10A and 9A played in a Sydney Schools tournament at Newington and Kings as well as a Blitz tournament to complete preparations for the final five games of CAS.

Swimming tour to Lennox Head
Nearly 30 Knox swimmers went away for a pre-season camp in Ballina and Lennox Head in early January.  The tour started with a race event hosted by Nudgee College (GPS Champions) and our boys had a great evening – we can now claim to be unofficial National Schoolboy Champions! 

The team also enjoyed racing in the open water Yamba event where incredibly three boys (Wil McDonagh, Tyler Krenkels and Josh Johnson) donated all winnings from this event to the Bush Fire relief.

Also through the break our elite swimmers competed at the State Age titles at Homebush. The Knox Pymble Swim Club were crowned State Champions by over 200 points!

Individually we had seven boys (Tane Bidois, Joshue Collett, Joseph Hamson, Tyler Krenkels, Justin Lee, Angus Menzies, Dylan Zhang) win as many as 16 Gold medals and five relay Gold medals as well as 10 Silver and seven Bronze.

Boys are primed and training the house down and ready for a crack at the CAS in March chasing their fourth title in a row.

Cricket 
Our 1st XI played two fixtures over the break including a touring match in December Vs Auckland Grammar School which included some billeting from our families and then a final warmup game vs Kings and a CAS T20 tournament to complete their preparation for the one day season ahead in Term 1.

Knox held a Tennis camp through the break whilst we had our Track & Field squad continue their training through the break with sessions held down at Gillespie. They are keen to build on a terrific 2019 this year. 

Our Diving squads held sessions at Pymble and are just as excited about the year ahead whilst the gym and weights room was packed with students keen to stay fit and healthy.

We were also proud to host the State Underwater Hockey Championships for five days in January.

Archery - Branden Tse (Y8)
Branden competed in the 2020 World Indoor Archery Youth Cup and the 2020 World Indoor Archery Series in Sydney. In the World Youth Cup Branden won the bronze medal whilst in the World Indoor Archery Series, he was the youngest competitor at the age of 13 and finished 7th.

At the same time, Branden raised money for the Bush Fire appeal.

Other highlights - congratulations:
• Mitch Smith selected in the NSW U16 Basketball team through the holidays.
• Charlie Anderson and Trystan Kennedy selected in the NSW U/15s Cricket team to compete at the National Carnival in February.
• Lachlan Stevenson and Tristan Barclay made the finals for the Junior lifeguard of the year.
• Jack Hildebrand and Archie Pethard won Gold at the recent Australian Youth 29ers Sailing Championships held at Sorrento, Victoria.

Sport choices
In Week 3, all students in the Senior School will be sent a link to complete their winter sport choice. Please ensure all boys choose carefully as we do not accept changes and swapping of sports once teams have been nominated, coaches organised and draws settled. Please assist in helping your son choose the right sport for him next week.

Term 1 at a glance
• Boys will enjoy five more weeks of summer sport.
• Many boys will be invited to compete at the Knox Swimming Championships later in February where the Knox Swim team will be selected.
• Week 7 will be our transition into the winter program whilst we enjoy our first big CAS event at SOPAC with our Swim & Dive team.
• Weeks 8 to 10 will be various trials and fixtures for majority of winter sports.

School App
May I encourage all parents to download the School app as this is our preferred method of communicating to share important messages from the Sports and Aquatic Academy. It is just as important to click on alerts for the sport your son is participating in so you only receive the alerts for your sport. The app is particularly useful for receiving team lists, last minute cancellations, draws and fixtures, weekly reports and training schedules.

Week ahead
We settle into a regular week of summer sport training then look forward to an 'away' fixture with St Aloysius' College  - an exciting start to the year.

As always, if you are in any doubt or have any queries, please do not hesitate to email the Sports and Aquatic Academy.

We look forward to watching so many new boys represent the Black & Blue for the first time this weekend.

Go the mighty Black & Blue!