Sometimes we make education too complicated, so complicated that we cannot see the wood for the trees. In reality, however, it is very simple; education is about teaching and learning and about gaining the best outcomes for the students we teach. Critical to making this happen are our committed teachers.

I am enormously proud of the teachers at Knox. They impart far more than the curriculum they are asked to deliver; they impart life-lessons. Knox teachers shape young men into men of substance and significance.

This responsibility represents a high calling. Great teachers know and live this. A profound education is always the sum of many parts and I would like to acknowledge the teachers who serve and who have served Knox and our boys.

World Teachers’ Day was the perfect opportunity to show teachers how much we value them and to acknowledge the brilliant work they do every day to advance the learning lives of students.

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.

Please register at www.knox.nsw.edu.au/pauldillon no later than Sunday 22 November.

This online presentation will look at the latest data on alcohol and other drug (AOD) use of Australian secondary school students and discuss the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on teens and socialising and what effect the pandemic lockdown may have had on teen AOD use. There are huge challenges ahead for parents as they acknowledge the importance of their sons’ socialising but, at the same time, ensure their safety by having age-appropriate rules and boundaries in place as restrictions are gradually rolled back. To assist parents through this difficult time, some simple tips around alcohol, parties and gatherings will be provided to help ensure their child's safety now and post-COVID-19.

The online parent seminar will be live-streamed, commencing at 6.30pm and running for approximately one hour.

For more information, please email Ms Elizabeth Ruff, Head of Knox Middle Academy.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This week, our Prep boys have been busy running laps of our ovals, in support of the Headspace organisation. Some boys managed more than 50 laps! To see our youngest boys and our eldest, all working for a common goal is so fulfilling. Congratulations to our Year 6 Social Justice Leadership Team for their work in organising the event, and well done on such a fabulous initiative. Mental health and wellbeing is increasingly important this year and your efforts will benefit so many people in need.

This week, we received notification that the Prep has met the conditions of, and been awarded, the Bronze Award from EcoSchools Australia. Meeting the criteria has been a massive task, undertaken by our Prep EcoMonitors, under the enthusiastic leadership of Mr Hitchiner. Congratulations to all of the boys and staff who have been involved – Mr Hitchiner is now aiming for the Silver Award!

On Tuesday morning, we awarded the Music Colours Certificates at a brief Year 6 Assembly, and were entertained by our Rock Band. It was such an upbeat way to start the morning! Congratulations to all of our musicians, who have had many struggles this year with restrictions on playing lasting many months. It is testament to their hard work and the dedication of our music staff and tutors, that such a high standard has continued throughout 2020. Congratulations to all of our musicians!

This year, the K-6 Christmas Chapel Service will be prerecorded and amalgamated into our final Chapel of the term, in Week 7. A much loved part of our regular service is where the boys bring along gifts for the children of Burnside Homes and the Exodus Foundation. Ordinarily, we would ask the boys to bring their gifts forward to lay under the tree and we then distribute the gifts between the two organisations. This year, we are asking boys to bring a gift to School by the end of Week 6. Gifts will be stored in classrooms, and we will film the boys bringing their gifts into the Ewan House foyer, to lay under the tree. Given the difficulties so many sections of our community have had this year, we would appreciate you contributing a small gift so that a child living in challenging circumstances can have a celebration at Christmas time. Thank you in advance for your kindness and generosity. We will record the entire service and make it available to all of our families during Week 7.

This concept dovetails nicely with some of our end of year events coming up like our online K-2 concert which is an authentic demonstration of how Christmas connects us and brings us together within our school community.

Kindergarten is filled with wonderment and eager to explore the many ways Christmas connects so many of us throughout the world. We asked the boys what they would like to find out about Christmas and any questions they have about Christmas. Here is some of their thinking:

• Where does the word Christmas come from?
• Why does Santa only come at night?
• Does everyone celebrate Christmas?
• Why does Santa come down the chimney?
• Why does Santa give presents?
• How many countries does Santa go to?
• Why do we have Christmas trees?
• Why do we leave Santa cookies and milk?

“Live the Present, Dream the Future”

We should all encourage children to live to the

full the wonderful lives God has blessed them with. At the

same time, children should dream of a future where they aim

high for a life full of happiness.

Each day is a blessing from God, use it well.

It’s been an incredibly busy week for Year 2, with boys thoroughly enjoying an Introduction to Band concert this afternoon by the 3-6 Orchestra. This performance took place to provide boys with an exciting and eye-opening opportunity to view all of the instruments on offer as they enter Year 3 in 2021. The Lap-A-Thon for Headspace also took place this week, with all money raised by the Social Justice Portfolio being donated to the charity Headspace, an Australian non-profit organisation for youth mental health. Year 2 was also lucky enough to watch a performance by the Year 9 Drama students; the showcase included dramatic performances of well-known picture books.

Within the classroom, the boys’ attention has been turned towards exploring the final big idea for the year, ‘Significant Places Should Be Conserved and Protected’. This inquiry unit links with our ‘Global Changemakers’ domain which seeks to encourage students to recognise the power they possess to lead change in the world by exploring future outcomes of their actions. As part of this inquiry, the boys have recently researched various examples of significant sites around the world and what characteristics contribute towards making these places worthy of conservation and protection. Students are also in the process of conducting a case study on Macquarie Island, examining the impact of human interaction on this environment and its current status as a World Heritage Site.  

Debating
As part of our speaking and listening program, the boys are developing arguments and presenting rebuttals to their peers. This involves them respectfully listening to each other and debating a point using facts and evidence. Debate topics often revolve around current affairs and events and so an understanding of these can be beneficial.

Some useful sources of information for your son are provided below:

https://www.kidsnews.com.au/news
https://www.abc.net.au/btn/

Boaters in Year 5
As your son enters Year 5 next year, all students are required to change from the Varsity Cap to the Boater as part of their formal uniform. As the Boater is a unique item, we would strongly recommend your son having his sized at the Uniform Shop so allowances can be made for growth. Appointments are not required.

Leadership
Our leadership talks continued last week with an exciting guest presenter. Tim Anstee spoke to the Year 5 boys about leadership. Tim Anstee is a current rugby sevens player who has represented Australia across 19 legs of the World Series. He explained to the boys that leadership exists in different forms, highlighting notable leaders that he’s had throughout his career. Tim described his captain as someone that leads through his actions. He shared with the Year 5 cohort, different ways that they serve as leaders of the school in 2021.

Our boys completed the process of voting for the elected positions of Prep School Captain and Social Justice Captain this week. We used a preferential voting process to determine a number of students that would be selected for an interview with Mrs Floro and Mr Quach, which will take place in Week 6. House Captain Speeches will take place on Monday 16 November. The boys will be given the topic on the day and they have been asked not to start preparing it at home as we would like them to create their speech without parent input. Students in Years 3,4 and 5 in each house will vote.

All elected leadership positions will be announced on Presentation Day. As Year 6 students, all boys are natural leaders of the school. They have been asked to elect a portfolio group that they would like to be part of. Portfolio groups will be announced early next year.

On Friday 13 November the boys will have their first Orientation Day at the Senior School. To ensure this runs smoothly, the Senior School have asked if all Prep boys could come to the Prep School prior to the Orientation Day commencing. This allows the boys to have their temperature and health checks here prior to heading over to the Senior School. The Year 6 teachers will then walk the boys over for a 9:30am start at the Senior School. At the end of the day, the Year 6 teachers will walk up to collect the boys at 2:30pm. If your son gets the bus home, they will catch this from the Prep School as normal. We will walk any boys who get the train home to Wahroonga Station and dismiss them from there.

As we move towards the end of the year we have a number of events which are occurring for the boys in Year 6. A letter detailing each of these events will be sent to parents early next week.

If you wish to purchase some wraps, please order here.

Once you have indicated how many wraps you wish to order, you will need to pay through the school’s payment portal (see link at the top of this newsletter), select the ‘Prep Wax Wrap Sale' activity and make your payment.
After payment is made, please record your receipt number on the order form before submitting.

Thank you for your support and we look forward to sharing our progress with you.

AMEB – Australian Music Examinations Board
A huge congratulations to all boys who recently sat their AMEB exams. We had 86 boys sitting their music exams here in the Prep School and all boys have practised hard over the year to prepare for their exams! Well done, Boys!

Introduction to Band – Year 2 and 2021 Ensembles
On Wednesday afternoon the Performance Ensemble played a very exciting concert for all of the Year 2 boys to showcase all of the instruments available for them to learn in Year 3 if they want to join band. The concert was a lot of fun and the Year 2 boys were both engaged and mesmerized by the pieces and solos that some of the boys performed! If your son would like to join band next year please fill out this application form which will go live this Friday the 6 November at 7am.

2021 Band Information - All boys who are already in the Band Program AUTOMATICALLY move up into the next band (unless of course your son is in Year 5 and is in the Performance Ensemble already and in this case will stay in the Performance Ensemble). So boys in the Intermediate Band will automatically move into the Senior Band, Boys in the Junior Band will automatically move into the Intermediate Band and boys in the Senior Band will automatically move into the Performance Ensemble. More information will be emailed out to parents later this term in regards to 2021 ensembles.

We look forward to hosting Trinity Grammar this week in the Senior School – whilst the Prep boys continue to enjoy their IPSHA experience.

Special mention to Charlie Anderson (Year 10) who top scored on Saturday with 99 not out. This is Charlie’s top score for our 1^st XI and his first ton is just around the corner. I love seeing the results of hard work and effort – and Charlie thoroughly deserves a special mention.

Good luck – and fingers crossed for some sunny skies this weekend.

Go the Black & Blue.