As part of the sequential Outdoor Education program, boys in Year 8 spent last week discovering beautiful Murramarang National Park and the south coast. It is important for boys to stay connected to and immerse themselves in nature. While increased emphasis is being placed on the importance of digital learning, it is critical students are given the opportunity to disconnect from technology and engage in the outdoors.

Music and the performing arts have always been part of our culture and  grown to be an essential part of school life at Knox. Undoubtedly, performing arts is an essential part of education. The skills gained in taking part in music and theatre are skills that set students up to cope with life after Knox.

Recently, boys from the Prep and Senior School participated in the Australian Band Competition and the State Band Championships respectively. I am extremely proud of the boys’ accomplishments, and such events are important because they give students a way to connect with peers. Ensembles and bands allow young people to work together towards a final product. This encourages bonding and will provide students with something to reminisce on together in the future.

A significant benefit of a well-established Co-curricular program is the opportunity for staff to build meaningful connections with students. Developing positive relationships between a teacher and student is a fundamental aspect of quality teaching and student learning.

Positive teacher-student relationships, including interactions outside the classroom, promote a sense of school belonging and encourage students to participate cooperatively. Students develop confidence to experiment and succeed in an environment where they are not restricted by the fear of failure.

For these reasons, Knox places a high importance on its Co-curricular program. We believe it adds significantly to the quality of each student’s school experience, while at the same time introducing them to significant opportunities for personal growth and development.

I look forward to seeing every student play a full and active part in the Co-curricular life of Knox.

Our thanks to the following ensembles for their professionalism and musicality at the event:

Knox Flute Quartet: Dominic Rodriguez Russell (Y10), Hamish Chan (Y10), Angus Dunk (Y10), Austin Swaffer (Y10). Directed by Mr Watkins

Knox String Quartet: Tony Du (Y10), Nicholas Walker (Y9), Nicholas Gummerson (Y9), Jeremy Loui (Y9), David Wang (Y9), Cody Kim (Y10), Ben Savundra (Y9), Oliver Heller (Y10) 

Knox Clarinet Quartet 2: Oscar Chen (Y9), Oliver Chen (Y9), Ashton Lee (Y10), Ethan Jones (Y10). Directed by Ms Oakes 

Miss Jo Carey, Knox Academy of Performing Arts – KAPA

  

2019 State Band Championships

What a tremendous weekend of exceptional musical performances from our three Knox Senior School Bands.

Our entire Knox community has every reason to be extraordinarily proud of the 189 boys from our Knox Symphonic Wind Ensemble (SWE), Concert Band and Y7 Wind Band returning from the 2019 NSW Band Association State Championships with a ‘bag’ of awards.

On Sunday 25 August, our Knox Academy of Performing Arts musicians performed with absolute distinction once again, across three separate divisions at the 2019 NSW Band Association State Championships at the Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre, Penrith. The performances were also streamed live across the world by www.brassbanned.com.au  

Attracting 55 participating Concert and Brass bands, inclusive of school and community bands from across NSW, Knox was represented across three junior aged divisions (U/19 years) in which we have once again achieved extraordinary results at this annual event!

Knox represented exceptional breadth and depth across multiple divisions, at a State Championship level. This in itself is something for which to be exceptionally proud of.

The following results were achieved:

• Knox Symphonic Wind Ensemble: 2019 NSW State Junior B Grade Champions!
• Knox Concert Band: 3rd Place - 2019 NSW State Junior C Grade Championships! 
• Knox Y7 Wind Band: 2019 NSW State Junior D Grade Champions!

May I also publicly and most sincerely thank and acknowledge, the extra support and commitment from our musicians who performed as guest permit players across our bands. Special thanks and congratulations to Adam Soonius, Ryan Walsh, Luke Berlee and Willoughby Thomas for their generous assistance in helping with the Y7 Wind Band, together with Aiden Lowe-Yip and Luke Berlee who generously assisted with our Concert Band.

Special congratulations and thanks to our Year 8 Debaters (Angus Wines, Conor Miliken, Tom Kidston, Jacob Johnstone, James Handley and Judah Limantono) who jumped off the bus from Year 8 and camp and straight on to the debating bus, uniform in hand, ready to represent their school. Even after a massive week on camp, the 8A and 8B boys still debated their way to a victory. Well done! Thank you also to the Year 8 parents for their support in what was a tricky logistical exercise.

Further congratulations to our 9A, 7A and 7B teams on their wins to underline an excellent season.

Finally, congratulations to all your Year 12 CAS debaters who completed their final debate representing Knox Grammar School. To James Price, Eugene Bakker, Zac Slonim, Henry Cross, Austin Thomson, Lachlan Hogan and Aiden Kumarasinghe; thank you for your dedication and leadership in debating over the years! On behalf of the Oratory Team, we wish you all the best with your HSC and hope that you find good use for your skills in public speaking and persuasion!

Term 3

Friday Evening Debating has concluded for 2019, however, training and KDC will continue as normal. Please keep and eye on the Knox Debating Board for the status of both training and KDC week-by-week. Remember, 1on1 sessions can still be booked using this link for Wednesday afternoons. 

The 40 Hour BackPack Challenge - calling all boys to participate on Friday 6 September-8 September 
Participating boys will undertake number of challenges over the 40 hours over the weekend.

Here is what to do!

1.You need to register on the website under Knox Grammar School and in your year group (Year 10)

2. You need to start getting sponsors- from family, friends, neighbours etc. (you need to raise a substantial amount – a minimum of $200 but of course aim for more!)

3. Think about packing your backpack for the evening of the 6 September to the evening of the 8 September

You do not have to go anywhere but you need to accept the challenge that whatever you pack on the Friday night will carry you through until the Sunday.

Read the How To Manual on the website. 

Wanted:  Donations of Cupcakes for another sale THIS FRIDAY for World Vision

Thank you to the Just Parents group who supplied us with marvellous cupcakes to sell last Friday!

Donations of cupcakes/ slices etc are also requested for this Friday’s Cake sale at lunch time to raise donations for World Vision. Please deliver to Helen Clarke’s office in Room 15 or the SAOs.

Please list all ingredients and NO Nuts at all please. Gluten free options also welcome!

 
Jersey Day - Friday 30 August
This day is the opportunity for the boys to wear their favourite supporter’s jersey (not a singlet). The theme is to build awareness of the importance of organ donations. Supporting Jersey Day has been a long tradition at Knox as we support the family of Nathan Gremmo, a local boy.

Legacy Badge Day - Friday 6 September
Each year we support Legacy Badge Day. Volunteers will attend the local shops, Warrawee and Wahroonga train stations, and be outside the school gates to sell badges. The Badge Day raises funds for the vital work it does for families of veterans. Legacy Week is always the first week of September and has been held since World War II. It also provides many opportunities for Legacy to talk about the work it does.

RUOK? Day   Thursday 12 September
This important day is a poignant reminder to all of us to check in with each other and check if others are OK.  This day is our national day of action dedicated to reminding everyone that every day is the day to ask, “Are you ok?” and support those struggling with life's ups and downs. This year we want everyone to: trust the signs, trust your gut and ask R U OK? Read more here.

Term 4 will be the changeover from winter to summer uniform. Please check your child’s uniform still fits them & if you require new items, these are all available at the Uniform Shop or can be ordered via www.Flexischools.com.au

This also applies to summer sport uniform. Appointments are not required.

Year 8- Cadet Uniform Fitting

Just a courtesy reminder to all Year 8 parents to book an appointment for their son’s cadet fitting. These appointments will only be available until the end of this term. Please login to the PTO booking system, all login details were emailed at the start of Term 3.

To launch the Global Café and inspire us all, we will hear from Mr David Caspari, Vice Chairperson of Knox Grammar School Council. 

In between each 20-minute coffee table discussion where we will explore provocative questions, we will hear TED style talks delivered by our students and staff about the future of education and work.

Come and join us and help contribute to the future of education at Knox. Morning tea will be provided. Please RSVP by 30 August 2019.

Global Cafe 2019 (399 KB)

Michelle talked about the 4 reasons why children must be adequately supervised and why strong pedestrian safety education is vital. These are summarised below:

Cognitive limitations

Children are easily distracted and tend to focus on only one aspect of the complex roadway environment. They are unable to cope with sudden changes in the environment.

Height

Lack of height means children are limited in their abilities to assess the roadway in its entirety and correctly judge the changing traffic environment to make safe choices. They also often assume that drivers can see them.

Eyesight

Children are unable to identify safe places to cross and rely heavily on visual cues to determine their behaviour. Their peripheral vision has not fully developed until their optic nerves have matured in their teenage years.

Hearing

Children are unable to accurately predict the origins of sound and are limited in using sound as a measurement of distance from objects, such as moving vehicles.

Unfortunately, the driving practices around our school are too often dangerous and put our boys at risk. Parents are regularly seen crossing the road between the parked buses, which is incredibly dangerous. Please, for our boys’ safety, cross at the crossing, and adhere to the street signs. And, importantly, at all times, exercise patience and restraint while driving.

Our Prep boys have performed admirably at the State Snowsports Championships which were held this week. Congratulations to Jackson MacDonald and Max Halliwell, who have now qualified for Nationals. Well done to all involved and good luck Jackson and Max!

Our track and field athletes braved the rain and cold on Monday at the IPSHA Championships.  congratulations to all boys on their strong performances.  a number of boys have now qualified for the CIS Championships, and w wish them continued success at that level. Further details of results can be found in Mrs Dewar's sport report.

To all of our Dads, we wish you a very special Father's Day with your boys on Sunday. Thank you for making the time to attend the myriad of events that we ask you to be involved in at Prep. Your sons are so appreciative of your time! We are looking forward to celebrating Father's Day with our K-2 Dads on Friday, at the Kindy Breakfast and then with the Year 1 and 2 Dads at the BBQ and Build on Friday afternoon – such fun will be had by all!

We are also excitedly anticipating the Kindergarten Father’s Day Breakfast this Friday. The Mother’s Day High Tea earlier in the year was such a lovely event, that the boys can’t wait to show their gratitude and celebrate their father’s  special day. We look forward to all the fathers attending and sharing this fun-filled event with their son.

During the week the boys will begin the Knoxigations Unit of Inquiry, Tinkering Towards Tomorrow. The Big Idea that the boys will focus on will be ‘Energy powers and enhances our world’. Over the next seven weeks the boys will investigate forms of energy and how they are used in our world. They will predominately look at sound energy and how this energy form impacts our emotions.

There are powerful connections between sound, music, emotion, and memory, and that our personal experiences and preferences determine the type and intensity of emotional response we have to various sounds. Therefore, our brain transforms sound energy into emotions. We cannot wait to explore this unit with the boys and learn all about how sound impacts our everyday lives.

Over the next week, the Year Three students will take part in a number of different MAP assessments in order to gauge the boys' understanding of the content and skills taught this term, ascertain levels of growth and set appropriate goals for the remainder of the year. In light of this, the boys will complete tasks across different Key Learning Areas and students have already been reminded of the need to record the dates of these assessments in their diaries prior to administration.

Dates for the diary:

 ·         Friday 27 September – Term Three concludes

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

The Year Three team hopes you have another enjoyable week.

Celebration of Learning

We look forward to seeing you at our Year 4 Celebration of Learning this Thursday 29 August from 3:00pm until 4:00pm. The boys will be sharing their learning on our Knoxigations unit ‘Thriving communities in growing cities’ which is a unit in the Sustainable Solutions domain.

In third place – William Bryan 5T

In second place – Jason Viviers 5S

In first place – Harry Burwood 5P 

Poetry Slam

We are looking forward to the Poetry Slam this Thursday 3:30 in the Auditorium. You will be blown away by the improvement that the boys have made throughout this poetry recital exercise! If your son is performing, he will need a parent present. Out of respect for all performers, please stay until the end. All Year 5 parents and their sons are welcome to come and watch. 

Dates for the diary: 

Friday 30 August - Father's Day Stall

Tuesday 3 September -  ICAS Digitech 

Thursday 5 September -  ICAS Science 

Tuesday 10 September - ICAS Writing 

Wednesday 11 September - Maths Olympiad Contest 5 for 5P, 5S and 5R Maths classes 

Thursday 12 September - Year 5 excursion Sydney Jewish Museum 

Tuesday 17 September - ICAS English 

Thursday 19 September - ICAS Maths

What a fabulous week of celebrating children’s literature at the Prep School. It was a wonderful opportunity to develop positive attitudes towards reading, with the boys thoroughly engaged in our book week activities to celebrate this year’s theme, ‘Reading is my Secret Power.’

Book Week K-6 Character Parade

Much loved book characters were brought to life at our annual K-6 Book Character parade. The exuberance from the boys was contagious and it was wonderful to watch as each class paraded around Ireland Field. Thank you to all the students and families who created the magnificent costumes. The range of costumes was vast; dinosaurs, piranhas, lions, robots, dragons, dogs, crayons, and ninjas, to name a few. Well Done to all the boys and teachers for embracing our parade with such zest! 

Author/Illustrator Visits

The boys were treated to three outstanding author visits throughout the week; Matt Cosgrove, James Foley and John Heffernan.

K-2 students were treated to a fabulous author visit with Matt Cosgrove. Matt is most renowned for his picture books ‘Macca the Alpaca’ and ‘My Dad is a Robot’. Matt explained how he has a passion for writing and demonstrated his incredible artistic skills by drawing ‘pirate’ Alpacas and fun robots! Matt has also written a series for children: ‘Epic Fail Tales’ and used this series to demonstrate how he develops amazing ideas for his stories. It was inspiring to observe someone who followed his childhood passion. Matt encouraged the boys to follow their dreams too.

Years’ Three and Four classes were entertained and motivated by James Foley, who makes picture books, novels and comics for kids. He’s the author and illustrator of the S.Tinker Inc, graphic novel series: Brobot (2016), Dungzilla (2017) and Gastronauts (2018). The star is Sally Tinker, the world’s foremost inventor under the age of twelve! James started his career in primary school, drawing cartoons for the school newspaper! James had kept several copies of his stories from his primary school days and shared them with boys. There were plenty of laughs amongst the boys and they also asked relevant questions regarding the processes involved in creating a book. James emphasised that the key to success is perseverance, working hard and lots of editing!

John Heffernan visited Years 5 and 6 students and gave an valuable insight into how his latest books, ‘Naveed’ and ‘Hotaka’ came to life. These two books are contemporary fiction and are part of the ‘Through my eyes’ series which tell stories of young people’s survival in times of war and conflict, or natural disasters.  John explained the importance and process of researching your subject when writing, sharing photos and experiences of visiting and living in both Afghanistan and Japan, in order to write these stories. Students were encouraged to ask questions and develop a greater understanding of how real-life stories and events can be told through fiction. Since John’s visit, many students have inquired about the ‘Through my eyes’ series, as well as other fiction books that are based on real-life experiences and events, developing a greater interest in contemporary fiction.

K-6 Literary Day

Secret reading powers were unleashed at our annual K-6 Literary Day on Friday 23 August. The anticipation and excitement displayed by the boys was tangible. Students were so eager to purchase their chosen book before school that they had arrived well before the staff from the book shop had had a chance to set up for the day. Thank you to our generous Knox Community who helped our Giving Tree bloom by kindly donating over 100 books to St. Lucy’s School, as part of our Knox Service Learning Programme. Our Knox Core Values were certainly in action on Friday when some boys decided to combine their change to purchase a book for donation. One student used the prize that he was awarded from the Art Poster competition to donate a book, rather than purchasing one for himself.

A special thank you to Fiona Onikul and her army of volunteers who put up over 700 artworks in the auditorium and assisted with setting up books for Literary Day.

2019 NSW Premier's Reading Challenge (PRC)

This is the final week for all student reading records to be submitted online. The 2019 PRC concludes this Friday 30 August. Certificates will be distributed at the end of Term 4.

Scholastic Book Club

The closing date of the latest Scholastic Book Club is September 5. No cash or order forms are to be returned to school. Please order online using the LOOP payment system.

Individual Qualifiers:

Div 1M – Alpine Bodhi Phillips                                   

Alpine - Div 2M - William Constable

Snowboard GS – Div 1M - Team A                                                           

Alpine - Div 3M - Michael Salerno

Snowboard Cross – Div 1M - Team A                                                             

Alpine - Div 5M - Jackson Macdonald                                                                                                     

Ski Cross - Div 1M - Bodhi Phillips

Ski Cross - Div 2M - Travis Cox, William Constable

Ski Cross - Div 3M - Michael Salerno

Ski Cross - Div 5M - Jackson Macdonald

Moguls – Div 3M - Zavier Lim

Moguls - Div 5M - Max Halliwell

Snowboard GS - Div 1M - William James, Charlie Moore

Snowboard Cross - Div 1M – William James, Mac Omm, Charlie Moore, Archie Elliott

Slopestyle Snowboard GS - Div 1M - Mac Omm, Archie Elliott

Slopestyle Snowboard GS - Div 3M - Jay Lambert

Australian Cross Country Championships

Congratulations to Sean Williams, Mitch Westhuizen and Sam Rockcliff who competed  in the National Cross Country Championships last weekend in Dapto. The best of the best from around Australia and New Zealand turned up to race and we couldn't be more proud of our boys.

Sam Rockliff (Yr. 10) finishing 40th overall (as an underager) in the 16/17 Years event in a time of 19:57min for the 6km event, just in front of Mitch Westhuizen (Yr. 11) who finished 57th overall in a time of 20:24min.  In the 13 Years event, Sean Williams (Yr. 8) finished 67th overall in a time of 10:55min for the 3km event.

To have three boys from Knox representing NSW at the National Champs is outstanding. Well done boys.

Track & Field Invitational #2

Another good turn-out for the second of five Track & Field Invitationals, with 80+ students attending Sydney Olympic Park Athletics Centre to run, jump and throw last Saturday.

Sprints

In the sprints, Kisho Carlino-Mizuno has had a great start to the Invitational season, running a top 3 result for both the 100m and the 200m in a time of 13.01s and 26.5s.

The heat is definitely on in the 15 Years sprint events, with a number of runners, including Archie Saunders, Michael Dibiase, Aidan Lau, Alex Sherlock, Will Tsui, Tom Plasto (Yr. 9) and Damien Jarrett (Yr. 10), all pushing each other to perform and all running times within tenths of a second of each other in the 100m and 200m event.

Team captain, Harrison Muller (Yr. 12) ran a season best 200m time of 22.32. This was ably supported by Nick Boyd (Yr. 12) who ran a blistering 11.25s 100m time in his first Invitational.

Ben Macnamara (Yr. 10) and Will Hopkins (Yr. 9) also impressed with their first 100m hurdles events for the season running 15.06s and 15.24s respectively. This was followed up by Davey Sherlock *Yr. 12) running a season best 16.31 in the 100m 17 Years Hurdles

A very impressive effort from Max Mandera (Yr. 10), who returned from an ACL injury to run a 400m in a time of 54.01s

Jumps

A big day of PBs for the Anderson family, with Henry Anderson (Yr. 7) jumping 1.30m in the High Jump in his first ever competitive jump, followed by Charlie Anderson (Yr. 9) jumping a PB of 1.68m, the best jump out of any 14 Years athlete at Knox this year.

Our boarding trio of Toby Harding, Jarrah McLeod and Lawson Henaghan all jumped an impressive 1.5m with very little training. Plenty of upside there!

Throws

Al Ramsay (Yr. 8) showed that persistence pays off with a great throw of 25.88m in the javelin.

James Coughlin is returning to form, throwing 39.43m in the 16 Years discus.

John Hunter (Yr. 12) is creeping ever closer to the CAS record mark, throwing the discus  48.21m and always tweaking with his technique.

Nicky Lake (Yr. 11) also threw a season best in the 16 Years shot put, throwing 11.92m. Great to have you back involved

Middle Distance

For the middle distance program, please see weekly column from Head of Middle Distance, Gary Mullins, titled “On The Run”

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

And that is what the Knox team showed on the weekend. 

With all of Year 8 and many in Year 9 coming back from camp, the boys showed great spirit in turning up and running in either the 3000 metres or 800 metres events. Times didn't matter. It was about getting out and moving. 

Well done to Ewan Shingler (Yr. 11), who ran 9:04.03 in the 3km event, after transitioning from Orienteering back into Middle Distance.

Part of this week’s invitational was getting something out of the sessions and challenging yourself, rather than just racing.

The middle distance team completed a gruelling half hour session, which involved running the 1500 metres, followed straight after by running a lef in the 4 x 400ms. 

Each runner had a specific task in each event. 

To see the boys smile, then switch on and work when required was amazing. Some jibes, high fives and camaraderie was great to watch. 

Well done to Rich Hildebrand, Ben Craighill, Mitch Roberts, Max Evans (self-appointed Motivator), Jackson Crocker, Dom Goddard, Adam Soonius and Angus Kellaway.

Special mention goes to Justin Nelson who went out hard in his 800 metre event, led until the 500 metre mark, fell at the 600 metre mark, but got back up and finished. It took him a good 20 minutes to recover, showing just how much he put in.

This was topped by Harry Taylor who executed his training perfectly. However, by the time he had recovered, the sun was setting on the stadium and all that remained were the seagulls and melting ice.

SWIMMING - 2019 Senior State Age Championships

A total of 25 Knox boys aged 14/over competed in this year’s short course state championships at Homebush on the weekend. Competing against almost 1200 swimmers, representing 130 clubs from around NSW. The Black and Blues were ready for the battle. Even our Y8 boys fresh from camp, swam some great races.

In 56 male events over the three days, Knox Boys won an astonishing 18 individual Gold medals, and two relays.

Josh Collett (Y10) was outstanding with 6 individual Gold and a NSW record (1:01.16 in 100m breaststroke). Josh also won 2 silver medals.

Joseph Hamson (Y10) won 4 individual Gold.

Tane Bidois (Y9) won 3 individual Gold.

Justin Lee (Y9) won 2 individual Gold and 4 Silver medals.

Tyson Bujak-Upton (Y11) won a Gold and a Bronze medal.

Dylan Zhang (Y10) also won a Gold and Bronze medal.

The relay team of Tane Bidois, Josh Collett, Justin Lee and Owen Fung (Y8) won two Gold medals.

Our other medalist was Angus Menzies (Y11) winning a Bronze.

A superb meet for the Knox boys, many of who have put themselves in a good position to be selected for the NSW team.

Cricket

Congratulations to Yr 11 student Jayllen Naganayagan just selected in the Hobart Hurricanes Strike League squad as they prepare for the upcoming Big Bash Season. We look forward to watching Jay perform for our 1st XI this Summer.

Staff News 

Knox Grammar School Head Basketball Coach Jacob Jackomas was an assistant coach for the U/17 Australian Men’s Basketball team in the FIBA U/19 Oceania Championships last weekend. The team finished undefeated in the champs with an 86-63 victory in the finals against New Zealand. This means the Crocs are now eligible for the Asian Championships which will be held next year in the hopes to qualify for the World Championships. Well done Jacob.

Prep News 

State Snow Sports

Last week we had eleven Prep boys from Year 1-6 competing in the State Snow Sports Championships striving to give their best performance in extreme conditions – Owen Dixon, Charlie Halliwell, Max Halliwell, Xavier Luzar Oliver Ma, Jackson Macdonald, Kingston Rahme, Archie Stanley, Callum Sweeney, Jonathon Wastell and Lucas Zhang.

Congratulations to Jackson who has qualified in Alpine and Ski Cross and to Max in Moguls to compete at Nationals in the next couple of weeks.

IPSHA Track & Field

On Monday our Track & Field team of 32 boys ventured out to SOPAC to compete in the IPSHA Carnival. Conditions were less than favourable but the boys worked through the cold and rain to record a number of personal best times, throws and jumps.

A number of boys were selected in the IPSHA team to contest the NSWCIS Championships on 12th September - Kieran Bott (8-10 high jump), Lukas Dunn (8-10yrs shot put), Maks Saravanja (11yrs high jump), Chester Swaffer (12yrs 800m), Oliver Dawson (12yrs 100m & 200m), Nicholas Williams (11yrs 1500m), Owen Dixon (8-10yrs 1500m) & James Lynch (9yrs 100m).

Congratulations to all boys on their efforts at both training, the Shore & Barker Invitation Carnivals and IPSHA.

Have a great week – and go the Black & Blue