To put it simply, the challenges this year were no match for our community.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge all our wonderful Year 12 parents, who for many, the journey with their sons at Knox is coming to an end. To Boarder parents who have consistently made the long journey down for school events; to our international families who have shown enormous confidence in the School to look after their sons; and to all Year 12 parents for their collective generosity and care as they supported charities and social justice initiatives over the past six years.

Although this year is drawing to a close there is a real sense of anticipation about 2021… our world is filled with promise.

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.

Wanted - items for Christmas hampers and gifts for families and children in need
Thank you to our Knox community for your continued support of families who find Christmas a particularly difficult time. For the last 13 years we have supported the following:

• Wesley Mission and Parramatta Mission through the Uniting Church Family projects will be supporting families at Christmas with basic food supplies and Christmas fare. Some examples of goods to donate include Christmas cakes, puddings, custard, serviettes, tins of ham, bon bons, long-life milk, cereal, tea, coffee, and hot chocolate.
• STARTTS helps children who would otherwise receive no Christmas gifts without our support. The social workers continually reinforce what a positive difference our donations make to these children and their parents. Christmas gifts to the value of $10 or more would be most appreciated. Please wrap and indicate the appropriate age and gender of your gift.

Donations of Rugby or Football shoes are still being sought for an outback community. We are also seeking shoes to donate to a school in the Philippines for children who would otherwise be unable to attend school. Please send in all your generous donations to the SAOs or to my office in Room 15. Thank you.

Finally, a reminder that the Social Justice club meets at 1pm each Friday in the KCC Auditorium. For more information, please email Mrs Clarke.

Year 10 student Berend (Ben) and Year 8 student Matthew, were two beautiful young men who were thriving members of the School community. Martin (OKG89) and Barbara were loving parents, caring friends and active members of the School and wider community.

The School wishes to acknowledge the generosity and vision of the Hollander family, and the cooperation and contributions of those individual and families, including Barbara’s family in the United States, who have assisted the Hollander family to fulfil their wish; and, the cooperation and support of the GO Foundation, with which the School has a strong relationship in providing opportunities for local indigenous students.

The first recipient of the Martin, Barbara, Berend, and Matthew Hollander Indigenous Scholarship will commence at Knox in 2021. A scholarship recipient has been found from our 2021 scholarship applications and we look forward to welcoming them to Knox in January.

Applications for Knox Grammar School’s Academic, Regional Boarding, Music, All Rounder and Sons of Old Boy Scholarships for 2022 will open in early November. For more information, visit www.knox.nsw.edu.au/scholarships.

Last Friday, our Year 6 boys had their first taste of Year 7, with the Orientation Day at the Senior School. It is fitting that, just as our eldest boys are leaving, a brand new cohort of tiny Kindies enters, ready to embrace the opportunities that Prep provides. By all accounts, the Year 6 boys enjoyed their day, and they’re more excited than ever to be donning the blue blazer in so few weeks’ time. We are looking forward to celebrating their contribution to the Prep School at their Farewell Assembly in Week 8, and at our Presentation Day service. A reminder to all Year 3-6 families to indicate your intention to attend Presentation Day on Knox 1, via the link sent last week.

We are continuing our orientation sessions for new families, all via Zoom, and will also run a session next Thursday evening 26 November, for all Year 5 2021 families. This session, titled will provide us with an opportunity to give the same information to all Year 5 families, about the program of learning and the allocation of classes for Year 5, our largest intake year at Prep.

You will recall that I announced some weeks ago that Mrs Sharon Dewar has indicated that she will retire from her role as Sports Coordinator at the end of 2020. We have appointed Mr Mark Hitchiner into the role from the commencement of the new academic year in 2021. Mr Hitchiner is well qualified for the role, and extremely enthusiastic about all that lies ahead for him next year. Congratulations Mr Hitchiner - we know you’ll do a tremendous job!

Holidays also bring large amounts of unstructured time, opportunities for greater independence, and a range of social activities. Neuroscience tells us that the wise decision-making parts of the brain aren’t fully developed until young people are in their 20s.

Remember that children of all ages require limits and boundaries - and that these should be adjusted as your child grows older. 

As always, try to work on maintaining a strong, healthy relationship with your son - as the basis for all parenting. Find a way to keep the lines of communication open, and coach them to make healthy and helpful decisions. 

We are continuing to learn about different Christmas traditions that families have and how they connect us.  We are also learning about Christmas in other countries. Some facts we have learned about Christmas around the world have been:

• At Christmas, it is winter in China but summer in Australia
• In Russia, people walk outside in a procession at midnight
• In Japan people eat KFC on Christmas Day.
• It snows in Iceland at Christmas time.
• In Iran, they fast from December 1 until Christmas Day when they have a big feast
• Even though countries are next to one another in Europe, many have different Christmas traditions.
• Santa is called Santa-san in Japan.
• In Germany, they celebrate on Christmas Eve.
• People go to the beach on Christmas Day in Brazil.

We have observed that some countries have similar traditions even though they are in different parts of the world.

Last week Year 1 also participated in NAIDOC Week. This provided an opportunity for the boys to learn about the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, culture and history. We especially enjoyed listening to Dreamtime stories and music during our DEAR and mindfulness times.

Year 1 also commemorated Remembrance Day. The boys made a red poppy, a symbol of remembrance, to mark this occasion. We watched the Remembrance Day assembly and learnt all about why we celebrate this special day. We were very proud of how respectful and reverend Year One were during the assembly.

Just a reminder that there will be no swimming in Week 7. We look forward to enjoying and celebrating the success and growth of all the Year 2 boys in the coming weeks as they prepare to move into Year 3.

This week, the boys participated in our Prep Summer House Gala Day and we commend them for the spirit in which they played. 

Homework
This is the final week of homework. Despite this, we encourage the boys to continue regular shared reading with you as well as independent reading throughout the summer holidays.

Today is our Summer Sports Gala Day. The boys have had an opportunity to be involved in Water Polo, Speed Ball, Touch Football, Cricket, Tennis, Basketball or Squash. It is an opportunity to get outdoors and perhaps try a new sport. What a great way to meet new friends and build up some new sporting skills and in terms of teamwork. Collaboration is becoming such an important skill that our boys will need in preparation for our very quickly changing world.

Today the boys participated in their final Gala Day as a part of the Prep School. We would like to congratulate the boys on their magnificent efforts and the way in which they went out of their way to encourage the younger boys in their house to achieve their personal best. This was the last chance to represent their colour house at the Prep.

As we begin to progress into the final weeks of the term, the Year 6 Staff would like to acknowledge the tremendous effort and persistence the boys have shown throughout the year. We have been speaking to the boys a lot about legacy and ensuring that they finish the year strongly. So far, the boys have continued their excellent behaviour. We look forward to finishing the year off in style.

Any items that are 100 days overdue will be charged to your son’s account. The 3-6 boys are able to access our Library Database System, Infiniti, from home, to check their loan records. Students will need to log in using their Knox email and password. 

Students in K-2 will be given an overdue notice at the end of Week 6.

End of Year Band Concert
On Tuesday 1 December, all bands will be performing at our End of Year Band Concert from 5-6pm. This is exciting as it will be our first concert ALL YEAR and the boys are very much looking forward to finally having the opportunity to perform for their friends and family!!!! This year we are having a twilight concert outside in the Amphitheatre on Ireland Field. The bands will all set up on the large steps of the Amphitheatre outside Ewan House and parents/family are asked to bring a rug and a picnic (no sharing food with other families and no alcohol on the premises). 

Upon entry, families will be required to log their attendance via the End of Band Concert QR Code available at the Billyard Gates as you enter. Families will then be seated via an usher with ample space between families due to COVID-19 restrictions. Boys will need to be at school by 4.30pm for a quick tune and warm up before the concert. Boys are to wear their full summer uniform (minus boater). All boys will meet their conductor in the Music Building. All school instruments being hired will be returned after the End of Year Band Concert (unless your son is in Performance Ensemble and needs it for Presentation Day).

ENROLMENTS FOR 2021 NOW OPEN
If your son would like to learn an instrument or is already learning an instrument and will continue next year, please fill out the 2021 Private Instrumental Lessons form.

There is also a new link for 2021 Ensembles. With the end of term fast approaching, it is with great excitement that I inform all parents on the movement for bands next year and attach all information for anyone who would like to JOIN band next year. Below is the link to the information booklet that has all of the information in regards to band next year. If your son would like to join one of our ensembles (including strings and choir) please fill out the online application form.

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.

Please don’t hesitate to email me any time if you have any questions about learning an instrument at school or joining one of our ensembles!

Which camps will be running at Knox?

• Spark - Ages 7-12 years, new students. Learn the fundamentals of coding.
• Blast - Ages 8-14 years, returning students. A pure JavaScript camp.
• YouTube Creators, Ages 8-13 years, new students. Story telling and video editing.
• Animation Camp, Ages 6-10 years, new students. Create two movies from scratch using stop-motion animation.

Bookings may be made by clicking here.

Camp Summer Dates
Camp Information Flyer

Congratulations also to our team of talented Table Tennis players who train hard every week. Last week at Homebush our Knox boys played the undefeated Kings and won 16-9 to secure top place in the Independent Schools competition. Kings won last year so this is a great achievement and full credit to the boys and staff led by Ms Amy Chen.

Congratulations to Jack Craig selected for his 1st XI Cricket debut on Saturday. Jack was part on a huge win at Curagul against Waverley and can't wait for their game this week against the undefeated Cranbrook 1st XI.

 

Prep Sport
Our Prep boys continue to amaze with some extraordinary performances this term. The extra skills sessions each week are paying handsome results however the fun and enjoyment these boys are having each week is for all to see. Saturday 21st November will be the last round of Summer sport for the Prep School, so no training or games from this day. The only exception is Track & Field training which will continue through until Monday 30 November. Fundamental Movement Skills will conclude on Wednesday 2 December.

Boys all the best for this week’s sports – continue displaying fine sportsmanship, drive to perform and enjoy your game/activity.

This week, we were lucky enough to have Ben Crowe, one of the sports industry’s most in-demand professional mentor and leadership coaches, speak to the PEAK group, as well as our Year 12 cohort and a number of First teams. The focus of the presentation was on connection and performance mindsets. It was a fascinating presentation and I would like to share some key points relevant to everyone.

When discussing connection, the concept that we must connect to yourself first before you can connect to others was discussed. In particular, we must embrace the fact that we are imperfect BUT ALSO that we are unconditionally worthy. The only way to do this is to embrace vulnerability as a strength.

While it sounds counter-intuitive, embracing vulnerability and “leaning in” to uncertainty creates the following benefits:

•  You become more open-minded and curious
•  You become incredibly compassionate, first for yourself by becoming more kind and gentle on yourself, and then for others
•  You create the most amazing connections that as humans, we are hard wired for.

Conversation then shifted to having a performance mindset and in particular, how can we focus our attention on the things that we can control (and putting forward the best version of ourselves), and not get distracted by the things that typically sabotage our performance.

Creating the best version of yourself and “performing” can be summarised using the following formula - C x U = Results, which stands for Controllables (the best version of me) x Uncontrollables (the things outside of our control that distract us) = Results.

Typically, the two things that we can control and subsequently our focus should be on:

•  Our training (or our preparation for any activity)
•  Our mindset

All other uncontrollables are simply a distraction that could sabotage the fulfilment of our potential. In order to perform, we must accept the uncontrollables and focus on the controllables.

If you have any questions about PEAK or believe you are eligible for the PEAK program and would like to apply for the 2021 intake, please see here or email Mr Donohue.

This coming week -
This Friday Knox will host Cranbrook School in our first Friday event for some time here on campus. The Tartan Army are keen to get behind the Tennis players, Volleyballers then finish up in the Great Hall to watch our undefeated Basketball team. This will be a great event however numbers are limited due to COVID restrictions. Invitations have been sent to students and those successful will be advised on Thursday.

Also coming up is the first opportunity for our Track & Field Athletes to perform in competition. These are exciting times as some events start to get back into competition so I encourage boys to consider these opportunities and see/test how far they have come over the last 12 months. More details and registration can be found here - NSW All Schools Athletics Championships  or email Mr Fowler with any queries you may have.

Camps / holidays
I encourage all families to consider the sport offerings over this coming break to stay fit and healthy whilst keeping up skills and having lots of fun. We will be holding Cricket camps as well as Basketball, Tennis and Squash here at Knox. If you would like any information please do not hesitate to email us.