A highly successful and respected coach who focussed on effort admitted he knew very little about the game he was coaching when compared to other coaches, but the one advantage he had over them was how to get the best out of his players. He enforced some very simple rules and as a result, his athletes were far more successful under his leadership than under a coach who knew far more about the tactical aspect of the game.

His simple rules for his players included:

1. Never be late. This included for training and game day.
2. Be neat and clean. The way you present sends a strong message to the opposition. It shows you are focussed, proud and committed to the team.
3. Do not use one word of profanity. Swearing is a sign of weakness. It’s very easy to resort to the lowest common denominator in regards social skills when you are tired, behind on the scoreboard, or weak of mind. The opposition have mentally won when they see and hear their opposition player resort to swearing. It shows weaknesses, that you are rattled.
4. Never criticise a teammate.
5. Be humble.

The fifth point is extremely important - in sport you can lose even when you outscore the opposition. Equally, you can win even when you have been outscored and outplayed. To expand on this point… the team that really wins is the team that, at the end of the game, if someone didn’t know the final result, they couldn’t tell by your actions. That is what being humble is all about.

If this is your son or his team, then this is a victory in regards the character test. The final result is just a number, a score. Remember, humility cannot be scored, but it can be judged.

Sport in school is about so much more than the winning. It is about developing a set of life skills to be mastered both on and off the field. We play to develop the understanding of team; we play to develop grit and perseverance; we play to learn the joy of practise and execution; we play to express our talents and to develop them; we play to enjoy the camaraderie of teammates; and yes, we play to win but we may not play to win at all costs.

This summer sports season is an opportunity for boys to play to learn, to grow, to thrive, to celebrate our being young, to build our lifelong friendships. Playing well is our aim; winning is a bonus. Let’s ensure Knox remains a school of strength, humility, and above all else, one built on character.

Staff news – Mr Andrew Weeding
I am pleased to congratulate Andrew Weeding on his appointment to Scots All Saints as the Deputy Head of College K-12 and Head of Senior School (9-12) from the start of 2021. While we are hugely disappointed to lose Andrew, we are so excited for him and the new opportunities this role will entail, including the chance for Andrew to live and work in a rural area.

Andrew first attended Knox as a student. His employment at Knox has spanned more than 29 years, which included a year of exchange in Scotland. In his time at Knox, he has held the roles of Swimming Coach, classroom teacher, Assistant Head of Science, Head of Science, Boarding Residential Master, Boarding Housemaster of Gilmore, Housemaster of Murdoch House, Stage 5 Senior Academic Master, Director of Studies - Senior Academy and, most recently, Head of Senior Academy.

On behalf of all of us, congratulations Andrew. We will now commence recruitment for the role of Head of Senior Academy.

To assist with the running of the morning, we ask that all boys arrive promptly by the report time as advised in this schedule here.

KAPA Ensemble members will be greeted by their Ensemble Conductors/Directors in the JAPAC Foyer, where all students will unpack ready for the photos for which will be occurring on the Wenkart Stage.

All enquiries should be directed to the Ensemble Conductor/Director in the first instance.

On behalf of all in KAPA, we are thrilled to offer this opportunity for our dedicated KAPA students.

AMEB Diploma Exam Success
Congratulations to Leo Cui (Y11) (Clarinet), for his successful completion of the AMEB AMusA Diploma Exam during the October holiday period. The Associate of Music Australia, AMusA, is awarded to students of both outstanding performance and theory achievements.



Program:
Shaw: Concerto
Berio: Lied
Spohr: Concerto Op 26
Perier: Etude XVI

Thanks to Ms Ingrid Sakuovs who supported Peter as piano accompanist for the exam.

Leo is continuing his performance developments through HSC Music 2 and Extension programs.

Ms Jo Carey, Woodwind Coordinator

The PEAK program includes:

• One on one mentoring with Knox high performance coaches, including the development of an Individual Performance Plan (IPP)
• Keynote speakers focusing on the Knox Total Fitness pillars, including:

  • Academic Fitness – covering themes such as time management, goal setting and habits for academic success
  • Physical Fitness – covering effective nutritional practices for athletes, sleep for recovery and effective rehab/prehab
  • Spiritual Fitness (Personal Development) – covering communication, mental preparation and leadership
  • Social/Emotional Fitness – covering resilience, performing under pressure and respect and responsibility

• Small group workshops to further enhance each student-athlete’s skills and learning capabilities.

Please see the PEAK website for more information about the program, including a copy of the prospectus.

To apply, please complete application form here. Applications will close on Thursday 3 December (last day of Term 4), with successful applicants to be notified before school resumes in 2021.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email here.

Parramatta Mission Partnership
We are partnering with Parramatta Mission to enable them to support the many in their area including those who are homeless as well as youth, cross cultural groups and those seeking domestic violence support. You may read about their organisation Thread Harvest here where they collect good clothing to sell on in an online shop. Their focus is on ethical supply lines to ensure justice for wages and conditions across the clothing industry.

Please contact Helen Clarke to discuss any help of good quality clothing that you may like to donate to this cause.

Has your son outgrown his Football or Rugby boots?
We are supporting a community in the outback who have no access to any sporting equipment. They are particularly keen to receive Football or Rugby boots as most cannot play as they have no boots. Donations may be dropped to the SAOs or to Mrs Clarke. Any clean Football socks would also be appreciated.

Christmas Hampers and gifts for children
This term is a time when the Knox community generously supports families for who Christmas is a particularly difficult time. For the last 13 years we have supplied Christmas Hampers for struggling families through the Uniting Church Family projects. The Wesley Mission and Parramatta Mission aim to support families at Christmas with basic food supplies and Christmas fare (Christmas cakes, puddings, custard, serviettes, tins of ham, bon bons, biscuits as well as staple goods such as long-life milk, cereals, pasta, sauces). Your support will be most appreciated.

Christmas gifts for children to the value of $10 (or more if you wish)
This has been a long-term project at Knox to support children from STARTTS who receive no gifts without our support. The social workers continually reinforce what a positive difference our donations make to these children and their parents.

Seeking shoes for children in Manila
For a number of years, the Knox community have donated school shoes and sport trainers to the British School Manila that supports many poor children who live on the edge of the city. Without shoes, they cannot attend school. The donated shoes can be school shoes, sport trainers, sandals and/or Crocs, for boys and girls. Donated shoes must be polished and clean with the shoelaces tied together, where applicable. Please drop these off to the SAOs or to Mrs Clarke.

The Knox Social Justice Club, 1pm each Friday in the KCC Auditorium
The Knox Social Justice Club is Meeting as a group again each Friday at lunchtime, although there are still important updates in the e-Club platform. We have been meeting in the KCC Auditorium as we can socially distance.

Encourage your son to come along as there are also opportunities for volunteering as well. If your son would like to join in, please ask him to email Mrs Clarke. 

We collect a gold coin donation at each meeting to support projects for homeless young people Youth of The Streets.

I'm very pleased to announce that our guest speaker at the AGM will be the Chairman of the School Council, Mr Simon Rothery. It will be great to hear from the Chairman as he gives us an update from the School Council during these extraordinary times.

The Headmaster, Mr Scott James, along with the Head of Wahroonga Prep (Mrs Julie Wiseman), Head of the Prep School (Mrs Sue Floro), Deputy Headmaster, Students 7-12 (Mr Phil O’Regan) and Deputy Headmaster of Student and Teacher Excellence K-12 (Mrs Karen Yager) will also be attending to give an update on the different campuses.

The AGM also provides the opportunity to express our sincere thanks and appreciation to everyone involved, say farewell to those parents who will be leaving us with their Year 12 sons and welcome any new parents who may be joining the KPA.

A nomination form is available here and on the Knox portal should you wish to nominate for a position on the KPA committee for 2021. 

We look forward to welcoming you via live stream on Tuesday 10 November.

The other was a morning of Micro:bit learning challenges, led by our Year 5 boys. To see our Year 5 boys so confidently teaching quite challenging technological processes, to whole classes of their peers, alongside their teachers was incredibly exciting. Our boys have come so far in these past two years, in their confidence, their sense of efficacy, and their ability to communicate confidently about quite challenging content. I know that our teachers, who have been learning alongside the boys as they are mastering quite high level coding content, were grateful for the expertise of the boys, and similarly impressed with the skills that were on show on Monday. Congratulations to all who were involved!

We are currently in a state of uncertainty with regard to end of year celebrations and events. Whilst we are so keen to have parents on-site to celebrate the achievements of the boys, we are also not yet in a position to guarantee what that will look like. The NSW government has suggested that they will revisit COVID-19 guidelines for schools at some point this term. In the meantime, we have several contingencies planned, and will settle on the most appropriate version, once these new guidelines are released. Be assured that if we are allowed to have parents on-site, then we definitely will. After most of our contact throughout this year being virtual or incidental, we are keen to celebrate the incredible community that we have face to face, before the year ends.

For the individual:
• increased happiness and positive mood
• more satisfaction with life
• less materialistic
• less likely to experience burnout
• better physical health
• better sleep
• less fatigue
• lower levels of cellular inflammation
• greater resiliency
• encourages the development of patience, humility, and wisdom

Start by being a grateful gazer - be on the lookout for opportunities to feel grateful. Count your blessings at the end of the day and practise saying thank you in a real and meaningful way. This will train your brain to be more in tune with positive emotions where we celebrate the present, become more stress-resilient, thus strengthening our social ties and sense of self-worth.

Actions lead to gratitude – smile and appreciate the people and the world around you.

The boys have carried out different experiments, testing their predictions about motion and aspects that affect it like speed and friction. We have investigated which objects float and sink, with some surprising observations, and looked into air resistance as we had fun launching our paper airplanes. Not only has this allowed the boys to try and work out what is happening, to figure it out and form independent opinions; it also helps build their problem-solving skills, expand their vocabulary and learn to work co-operatively.

We are now excited to begin our final unit on 'Christmas connects communities' to discover how different countries celebrate Christmas.

Next week all of Year 1 will be participating in the Knox Preparatory School Lap-a-thon to raise money and awareness for Headspace. Headspace is an organisation focused on supporting young people to strengthen their ability to manage their mental health and wellbeing now and in the future. Please make sure you have logged onto the Parent Lounge and given permission for your son to participate in this event.

What a wonderful week Year 1 had during Book Week. The boys really enjoyed our teacher swaps and author visit from Aura Parker. Aura spoke to the boys about the process she goes through when writing and illustrating a book. We learnt all about how she came up with her glow worm characters in the book ‘Goodnight Glow Worm’. The boys then became illustrators as Aura taught them how to draw their own glow worm character. I think we have some budding illustrators in Year 1!

Boys began our fifth and final Knoxigations unit, 'Global Changemakers', this week. Over the coming weeks, students will be exploring the UN Sustainable Goals and the rights and responsibilities of a child. The importance of collaboration and working effectively in teams will also be a focus of the unit.

The Year 3 Team continues to encourage boys to read regularly. Apart from the pleasure of being able to escape into another place and time, it is a skill that underpins all other subjects. Finding time to just stop and read can be tricky in our busy lives, but reading to your sons and having them read to you creates shared memories that are so very precious.

During Week 4 in PE (week starting 2 November), K-6 students will be participating in the Knox Preparatory School Lap-a-thon to raise money and awareness for Headspace. Headspace is an organisation focused on supporting young people to strengthen their ability to manage their mental health and wellbeing now and in the future.

Students will have 45 minutes to complete as many laps as possible around the Lap-a-thon course (400m) set up at school and are encouraged to seek sponsors to donate money per lap completed or pledge a lump sum donation for their efforts.

Dates for the diary
• Friday 30 October: Photos (details of which photos will be taken were sent out last week)
• Week 4 - Lap-a-thon to raise money for Headspace

Character Strengths in Year 4
The discussion of character strengths plays an important role within the Year 4 curriculum. They have been a regular part of our homework program and they are often referred to in our novel studies and Knoxigations units. The Year 4 teachers regularly refer to actions which demonstrate particular character strengths throughout the school day.

We have been so proud of the boys’ constantly improving effort and application to school tasks and the way in which they conduct themselves on a daily basis. We intend to continually monitor and support the boys for the remainder of the year. You can assist us by maintaining good routines and ensuring that your son has plenty of sleep. Please reach out to your son’s teacher if you have any concerns and we will, of course, be sure to do the same.

The boys participated in the following modules:
• Counting Sensor
• Laser Module
• Tilt Sensor and Communications
• Moisture Sensor
• Detecting Water Levels
• OLED Screen and Sensors
• Button 4 Digit Module

The conference really made a difference to student learning - whether it be in the use of Micro:bits and the accompanying app or the development of presentation and collaborative skills. Here’s what the boys had to say:

"I liked the conference today because firstly, I got to go out of my comfort zone. Secondly, I got to work with a partner and collaborate with my peers and lastly, I liked it because the presenters and my peers were encouraging to everyone.”

"I enjoyed this conference because it improved my abilities with the Micro:bit and Micro:bit app. It gave me a wider view on how we can shape the future with these devices.”

"I loved today's conference because it really helped to learn more about coding from other kids and I learnt lots of new and exciting things.”

A few stats from the survey:
• 91% of students feel more confident in using a Micro:bit because of today’s conference
• 89% of students feel they have learnt brand new skills today 
• 85% of students really enjoyed the conference today 
• Students really enjoyed using the laser module and the button

Feedback from the presenters:

“ I felt like I was teaching students my knowledge and passion for technology. It was a nice thing to have people asking for assistance and able to collaborate with my peers."

"I enjoyed today's conference because I felt as if people depended on me to help them and teach them about our creation.”

"I like teaching things to other people and seeing the amazement on their face when it actually works.”

"I felt very responsible and very happy during this conference because it gave me a sense of leadership and I enjoyed helping people that didn’t understand, speaking to everyone and explaining things to people.”

"The reason why I liked today's conference is because we got to meet other students from various classes and see their ability with the Micro:Bit. It was really enjoyable to do the presentation and help others to master the OLED Screen."

The conference will provide the boys with many new skills which they will utilise in our new unit, 'Sustainable Solutions' starting this week. We explore the big idea ‘Human Solutions to Global Problems'. Our novel, 'Blue Back' by Tim Winton integrates with this unit beautifully, detailing themes of population and the impact of over fishing.

A big focus for the Year 6 boys as we enter the final weeks of their time at the Prep is the legacy they will leave behind. The Year 6 cohort this year has been incredible, particularly dealing with many challenges along the way. As a part of this we encourage you to have discussions with your son about the importance of finishing the year strongly. They have done an amazing job so far and we look forward to the boys putting their best foot forward in the final weeks of this term.

Author/Illustrator Visits
The Prep was fortunate to have three guest authors who shared their own reading and writing journey with students across different year groups via Zoom; Aura Parker (Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2), Gus Gordon (Year 2, Year 3 and Year 4) and Tristan Bancks (Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6).

Aura Parker: Aura is passionate about art, design and children's literature. She spoke to our K-2 boys about the process she goes through when writing and illustrating a picture book. Aura showed the boys rough sketches and storyboards illustrating the evolution of a story from concept to finished book. The boys learnt all about how she came up with her glow worm characters in the book ‘Goodnight Glow Worm’. Aura and her family visited the Glow Worm Caves in New Zealand for inspiration for her characters. The boys then became illustrators as Aura taught them how to draw their own glow worm character in a guided illustration session.

Gus Gordon: Gus’s parents gave him the gift of reading and he was immersed in stories from an early age, feeding his imagination, and in his own words, ‘growth as a reader and a human being.’ Gus started out illustrating other people’s stories before he had the courage to write his own. His writing is always anthropomorphic, where characters with human traits are represented as animals.

Gus spoke to the boys about the process of creating picture books, where the words are the glue that binds the pictures together, and the significance of their relationship in telling the story. He showed the boys many of his sketches, in the hope that one day, it may inspire the start of a new story. Gus spoke about the illustration process and how he uses a variety of mixed media, such as paper and old magazines, to create fabulous illustrations. He encouraged the boys to be persistent, continue writing and illustrating, and always be creative.

Tristan Bancks: ‘Would you rather’ sit in class and listen to your teacher or have Tristan Bancks, author extraordinaire and professional funny guy, put on an engaging and inspiring presentation for you?

Tristan Bancks brought stories of his life, lessons he has learned, advice on how not to make the mistakes he has made and comedy to the boys in Years 4, 5 and 6 through his Zoom session. The boys were completely entertained by Tristan’s humorous way of presenting his stories. With titles like ‘My life and other weaponised muffins’ and ‘My life and other exploding chickens’ in his ‘Tom Weekly’ series, you can get an idea of the fun and crazy stories the boys were entertained with for an hour.

Tristan showed the boys that writing is fun and can be whatever you want it to be. He has now inspired many boys to become writers and we are sure to see some stories coming out with Tristan Bancks' inspired plots shortly.

K-6 Literary Day Art Posters/Sculpture Prizes
The boys in Years K-6 have been busy creating posters and sculptures to tie in with the 2020 Children's Book Council of Australia Awards.

Congratulations to all the boys who have created wonderful artworks and sculptures that will be on display in the auditorium. Classes will visit this showcase of amazing artworks during their Art lessons. A huge thank you to the K-6 Art Department of Mrs Le Couteur and Mrs Glascott.

The winning artworks are on display in the foyer area near the 3-6 Library.

KB Austin Huang
KG Darius Samari
KM Ian Li
KP Louis Han
1D Jayden Li
1E Knight Wang
1S Jamie Strumendo
2A Jonathan Wei
2B Eric Jeong
2C David Green
2F Aaron Yang
3A Luca Pica
3D Rohan Fleming
3R Ethan Gill
3S Thomas Zhou
4B Felix Murphy
4H Alvin Alford
4M Lachlan Olbourne
4R Elvis Ma
5F Suveer Manav
5H Finn O’Regan
5K Dominic Hayes
5O Matthew Florio-Yen
5P Adam Zhao
5R Luke Swemmer
5W Fred O’Hara
6C Thomas Harding
6F Angus Skeen
6G Oliver Tan
6H Jaxson Briggs
6K William Li
6N Christian Keane
6P Patrick McMurrough

Knox Giving Tree
Thank you to our generous Knox community who helped our Giving Tree bloom by kindly donating to St Lucy’s School, as part of our Knox Service Learning Program, through our online bookshop. A total of $1,035 has been donated to St Lucy’s to purchase new resources for their expanding school. Thank you for your generosity.

Teacher Swap
On Friday, all teachers at the Prep participated in a class swap for the first period of the day. Teachers were rostered on a different classroom and had the opportunity to share their favourite story with the boys. It was a lovely way to start the morning and conclude our celebrations for Book Week. We hope the boys enjoyed the morning as much as our staff did.

What a week! A wonderful celebration of literature with lasting memories for our students and staff.

Congratulations
• All boys nominated to Captain of their respective 1st teams were presented to the School at last week’s assembly along with the selected 1st Teams for Round 1.
• Many boys were also selected to make their debut for their Open Firsts on Saturday. They all looked very proud and did the Black and Blue proud. A dream come true. Well done, boys.



Our new Swim Captain Josh Collett (above) was involved in an NSWIS Relay event at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre last Thursday night. Josh was a part of the Sydney Sharks 4 x 50m freestyle team, competing against other Australian cities in a relay ‘virtual’ showdown. Josh was the youngest swimmer selected to compete against some of the fastest swimmers in the country – nailing a 22.04 sec for the 50m freestyle in his race. The NSW Shark team is currently top of the board in the inter-city competition!



Year 7 student Daniel Rigby (above) is a national qualifier and state multiclass gold medallist for swimming. Well done, Daniel.

The weekend started with the support of the Tartan Army invited to Barker College to watch our Basketballers enjoy two big wins in 1sts (84-34) and 2nds (46-24) whilst the results were turned on the Tennis Courts with Barker enjoying two very competitive wins over our defending premiership teams – 1sts (3-5) and 2nds (2-6). All teams enjoyed the Friday night experience and already look forward to Round 2 v St Aloysius’ College.

Water Polo (30-3) and Volleyball (3-0) also enjoyed some big wins whilst our Cricketers unfortunately were washed out.

Pathways for Elite Athletes at Knox (PEAK) Program - 2021 Applications
We would like to invite students who have competed at the state/national level to apply to join the PEAK program for the next intake. PEAK will be going into its third year of operation and is designed to support high-performing student-athletes who aspire to have a career in elite sport. We aim to develop healthy, resilient and capable students by supporting the holistic wellbeing of each individual, whilst assisting them to achieve their academic and sporting potential.

For more information, email PEAK or read the detailed report under Senior School News here.

COVID-19 update
No changes around Knox venues for this weekend but we are aware things will be slightly different for those scheduled to play at St Aloysius’ College. Two parents will be permitted to spectate - indoor or outdoor venues.

For those at Knox venues this weekend, 31 October:
• Two spectator parents/guardians per player at our outdoor venues
• One spectator parent/guardian per player at our indoor venues
• QR code registration will be in place across all facilities at entry points, with standard health checks and questions
• Players in all teams should turn up ready to play - no change rooms will be available
• Canteens will be closed. Players should bring their own labelled water bottles and snacks, if required
• Players should leave immediately after completion of their fixture
• Standard 1.5m social distancing on sidelines for all spectators

Any variation to this will be communicated immediately. It is really important to check the weekly draw and know the venue and school your son is playing, then understanding the school/venue’s own protocols.

If anything changes, we will be in touch and also communicate everything via the Knox app.

Good luck everyone for another wonderful week of sport.