Division Winning Teams
Congratulations to the following teams who achieved the most wins in their division: Senior A, Senior C (undefeated), 10A, 9A (undefeated), 8A, 7A and 7B! We are especially impressed with all of our Year 7s winning their first competition!

Message from Mr Jackson to this year’s CAS Debaters
“Congratulations to all our debaters for their remarkable success in the CAS competition. It's been fantastic watching each of you work hard and achieve results befitting that effort. On a personal note, I'd like to wish all of our Year 12 debaters the best of luck in their future endeavours. Each of you has made a real contribution to this program, both through your efforts as debaters and your leadership. The example you've set establishes a high bar for all debaters at Knox, and it's been a real joy watching each of you grow over the years as debaters, thinkers and people. I hope your HSC exams and all other activities go as well as you deserve,” said Mr Ben Jackson, Head Coach.

Congratulations everyone. Go the Black and Blue!

School shoes for the Philippines
Later in the term, we will be seeking donations of school shoes. These shoes are life changing to many poor children and importantly, allow many to attend school. More information to follow.

The Knox Social Justice Club
The Club meets each Friday at lunchtime in the WSA Auditorium. Updates are available in the e-Club platform. Please email Mrs Clarke for more information on how to join or volunteer.

We collect a gold coin donation at each meeting to support projects for Youth of the Streets.

It is fun to have fun but you have to know how. – Dr. Seuss

Our Year 6 boys certainly had fun having fun on Monday, and showed us all that they do know how! Each year, the Year 6 cohort works together to raise funds for their gift to the school at the end of their last year at Prep. While usually this means baking cakes and slices to sell to the boys throughout Prep, COVID ensured that this was not possible, so a Colour Splash Run was planned instead. The boys clamoured over hay bales, shimmied under a limbo pole, and commando crawled through a cammo net, amongst other obstacles, being showered with colour as they did. The event finished with a wonderful pop of colour as all of the boys gathered to set off a final colour bomb, which left us all sporting an assortment of colour that we hadn’t started the day with! Our thanks to the Year 6 parents for their organisation, planning and preparation of the course, which we all enjoyed together. A truly fabulous afternoon of much needed fun.

If you have not yet seen the latest edition of the Knox Prep News (included further down in this edition), it is well worth your time.  Produced entirely by our Prep boys, with just a little help from Mr Milner, it is brilliant viewing.

We asked the boys to think of what solutions they could come up with to pull the turnip out. The boys were very creative and imaginative in their responses. Some ideas were:

• call Superman to help
• get Pokemon to use their powers
• get a tractor to dig it out
• put rockets under the ground
• ask inventors what to do

Our unit about forces is science-based and the boys are looking forward to being scientists and conducting experiments, testing predictions, summarising the results and making conclusions from our observations.

In other news, a big congratulations to Dean Malouf who has won a Silver Award in the New South Wales WriteOn competition with his story entitled, 'Felton’s Nanny'. Dean’s sensational story will be featured later in the year along with other competition winners in The Best of WriteOn 2020.

Please enjoy reading his narrative below.

Felton’s Nanny by Dean Malouf
“Uurg!” Felton came home from school in the same old, black car. He had a nanny who was the boss of the house from 3pm-7pm. He wished Mrs Black didn’t exist. She was mean, bossy and had a witch's voice. Sometimes Felton thought she really was a witch. How could he make her go away?

“Go upstairs and do your homework, you helpless child," growled Mrs Black.

Felton was lucky he had the best dog in the world. He lay on his bed. He tried to think of a plan to make that grouchy old lady away. Suddenly…’Ding!’ He thought of something.

“I can make her look so bad in front of my mum so she will get fired,” Felton told his dog, Max. Outside of Felton’s room, Mrs Black’s ear was on the door. She was shocked when she heard what Felton said. She went downstairs. “I must reveal my identity,” Mrs Black said to herself. “I’ll show him tonight.”

“Dinner!” called Mrs Black. Felton came down with a naughty grin on his face. She took off her suit. In front of Felton there was a human-shaped mechanical robot.

"Aarrghaa!" shrieked Felton with great fright.

Felton raced up to his room. He grabbed his secret cameras he got last year and videoed his nanny while she didn’t have her suit on. He took a snap and sent it to the police force. The next day the national army came. The army tried to take her away but the robot blasted off into space. Due to the sudden pressure loss, the robot ended up in flames.

“It’s party time!” Felton told Max with great delight.

On another note, I would like to congratulate all of the Year 3 boys for completing the 2020 Premier’s Reading Challenge! The combined effort and participation of every student across the grade has been fantastic and the Library team looks forward to awarding the completion certificates in the coming weeks.

Dates for the diary:
• Thursday 24 September – House Cross Country Carnival
• Friday 25 September – Term 3 concludes

If you have any queries with upcoming events, please do not hesitate to contact your son’s classroom teacher or me.

Our students are raised in a world of rapid information exchange; because of this, it can be increasingly difficult to hold their attention when it comes time for extended observation. Shari Tishman, a researcher for Project Zero at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education offers the concept of ‘slow looking’ to counter this.

Activities like GeoGuessr encourage the practice of ‘slow looking’ by observing detail over time to move beyond a first impression. Instead, the observation becomes a more immersive experience and involves clearing the space for our students to hold and appreciate the richness of the world they live in. It’s also a lot of fun!

If you are interested in exploring GeoGuessr with your son, links are available on their Google Classroom page.

Congratulations to Marcus Lin for his Bronze Award in the NSW WriteOn competition.  Marcus' text is below for you to enjoy.

Cricket with Jumper by Marcus Lin

“Heads!” I yelled as the heavy leather ball fell from the sky. Then out of nowhere Jumper leapt across the cricket pitch and caught the ball in mid-air. “And he’s out!” I called to my dad. I didn’t know who looked more self-satisfied – Jumper or me!

I am 10 years old and I live with Cindy, the most selfish, bratty sister on this planet. On the good side I also get to live with my parents and my best friend Jumper, my trusty canine companion.

This year Jumper’s health has deteriorated. Every time we play cricket in the yard I have noticed he has been limping more and more. He often drops or even misses the ball completely and he really isn’t living up to his name. Because of this I’ve become really anxious about him as cricket has been our shared favourite activity since he was a puppy. He is now getting to the age where we have to give him medicine every month, and take him to the vet for regular check-ups. He is starting to look sad and he sleeps most of the day.

During dinner tonight we had a family discussion about what my bratty sister would like for her birthday. She said a kitten, and because she is young and a real cry baby she gets whatever her selfish-self needs and desires. To make matters worse it was another thing to bother Jumper, and it did not occur to her that Jumper was getting old and frail, even finding it difficult to get out of bed. I belligerently thought that the last thing Jumper needed was a hyperactive kitten to bother him!

Today my dad announced that it was time for Jumper to be put down because his limp was now even more pronounced and he was constantly whimpering in pain. It just wasn’t fair to keep him alive under those circumstances. To try and soften the blow dad said we could get a puppy but I still thought no dog anywhere in the galaxy could be a better companion for me than Jumper had been.

That evening we played one final game of cricket with Jumper before we had to go to the vet. I was sad and Jumper seemed to have a sixth sense about what was soon to happen. He looked at me with his big, round trusting eyes but he actually seemed to be at peace. Jumper gave the game his best shot, jumping higher and faster than he had in months, this one last time.

As I lay in the sun on the cricket pitch with my new puppy I thought about all the good games of cricket that I have had, all the amazing catches that have been caught by one single, drooling mouth. Come to think of it, Jumper really was my best friend. He definitely epitomised the old adage, ‘A dog is a man’s best friend’.

WriteOn Competition
I am proud to announce that Jeremy Owen has entered and won a Gold Certificate in the recent WriteOn Competition – the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) annual writing competition for students in Years 1-6. The stimulus was an image of a small boy with his puppy. This was a challenging competition as the number of words were limited.

Please enjoy reading his entry below.

My Best Friend by Jeremy Owen 
I feel like my world is ending, as I know it. As I lie here, trying to imagine my life without him. My cheeks are hot and scorched from shedding tears. I knew it was coming. Mum and Dad had told me to prepare myself, to cherish these last few hours, and to say goodbye forever. I can feel his shallow breathing next to me. I sense his weakness, his exhaustion. He is trying to stay strong for me, like he always has. His name is Jax.

I lovingly stare down at him now, noticing the grey around his ears and mouth. His nose, dry and rough. The light gone from his eyes. As I gently stroke his soft fur, he acknowledges gratefully, attempting to lift his head and meet my gaze.

I will never forget that time he chewed up my homework. His tail wagged as he looked up at me, anticipation in his eyes. We could go and play now. Except we couldn’t. Mum was really mad. I yelled at him and chased him out of the room. When I emerged hours later, he was still sitting there waiting for me. His tail was between his legs, his head lowered, and his little soft ears pinned back. I bent down and whispered in his ear, that I was sorry too.

He was small in size, but mighty in nature. He was brave enough for the both of us. Ferocious looking dogs would stride towards us, on the end of heavy chain leads, walked by bigger boys than me. Jax was ready to take them all on.

Tennis lessons were another story. Jax tried to be helpful. The only problem was, he didn’t really understand that once he collected the balls, he was supposed to bring them back. It was a big joke. Not to Dad, who was paying for the lessons. I pretended to be mad, but I was laughing on the inside, and Jax knew it. It was always fun like this with Jax. He was so loyal, adventurous and knowing.

Every night he curled up next to me. If it was hot, he chose to sleep at the end of my bed. Tonight though, he wanted to be close. He was scared, because he knew I was. My strong little friend, my favourite companion, the keeper of all my secrets, was weakening. The pads on his feet were worn and rough, his tail wispy, as his breathing slowed. Tomorrow, I will say goodbye for the last time. My heart was heavy. I gently covered him the blanket, fearful of how fragile he now was. He had been with me my whole life, in all of my adventures, and memories. His favourite red ball sat next to my bed. I would keep it there forever. As I drift off to sleep, I feel him snuggle in closer, as we both know, this will be the last time.

This week the boys are continuing with our work on our Sustainable Solutions unit. The boys are working on their design thinking processes and are beginning to delve more deeply into some sustainability issues which are currently affecting the world. The boys are focusing their ideas on the UN Sustainable Development Goals and over the coming weeks will narrow their focus to one issue they hope to research further. We can’t wait to see what they have in store.

Just a reminder that this Thursday is class photo day. The boys will not be wearing their sports uniform on this day and will need to wear their full winter uniform. There will be no sports skills on Thursday morning due to the photos.

2020 NSW Premier's Reading Challenge (PRC)
FINAL week! We are so close to having all boys at the Prep complete the challenge this year! A Prep first!

Please see the staff in the Library if you need assistance with logging on and adding books to complete the challenge. The 2020 PRC concludes on August 28. Certificates will be distributed at the end of Term 4.

Bands update
• Performance Ensemble - rehearsals at School as per normal minus instrument (the boys will be learning a fun drum piece and working on their rhythm reading and ensemble skills with drumsticks provided by the School).

• Senior Band - rehearsals at School as per normal minus instrument (the boys will be learning a fun drum piece and working on their rhythm reading and ensemble skills with drumsticks provided by School).

• Intermediate Band – Tuesday morning rehearsal online via Zoom 7.15am – 7.50am to allow boys to then dash to School.  (No Wednesday lunchtime rehearsals for the remainder of this term).

• Junior Band - Friday morning rehearsal online via Zoom 7.15am – 7.50am to allow boys to then dash to School.

• Jazz Band – No rehearsal for the remainder of this term.

• Rock Bands – rehearsals as per normal.

 The ZOOM links for all the above rehearsals can be found in your son's Google Classroom and have also been mailed out to each band member.

Choir Update
Come sign with us..... 
The COVID school regulations have meant the end of the choir for the moment. So in the interim, we are looking to creating a signing ensemble. Using Auslan (Australian sign language) we will be signing 'Look at the world', this is a whole school project, and hopefully, we will put together a recording for the end of the term.

All boys in 3-6 choirs are invited, but there is strictly no singing. Rehearsals will be from 8am to 8.20 am on Thursdays in the Auditorium. If this is something that your son would be interested in trying, we would love to have him come along.

Individual Instrumental Lessons
All Private Instrumental Lessons will continue as per normal with social distancing and strict hygiene measures in place to ensure the safety of our boys and the tutors.

If you have any questions in regards to our Ensembles or instrumental lessons, please do not hesitate to email Mrs Morris any time.

For the remainder of this summer, boys will transition into the summer season and will also have the option of attending the Track & Field program on Saturdays. Trials for many sports will take place on Saturday 19 September.

Staff News
Congratulations to Senior Performance Swim Coach and NSW Age coach of the Year – Nick Dobson. Nick has been invited by Swimming NSW to participate in a coach development course. He is amongst 11 other coaches selected across the state to participate in weekly lectures helping the coach to better understand their purpose, values,  truths and beliefs in order to become better at what they do. We are proud of Nick’s inclusion on the course and look forward to what he will bring to the program in the future.