Paul Dillon, the Director and founder of Drug and Alcohol Research and Training Australia (DARTA) will be presenting to the Class of 2022 on Monday 23 November. Paul has been working in the area of drug education for more than 25 years. During this period, he has worked with many school communities across Australia to ensure they have access to good quality information and best practice in drug education.

The session, 'Alcohol and cannabis: What if something goes wrong?' addresses practical strategies around looking after your friends, provides information on cannabis and will highlight ‘positive norms’, i.e., the majority of young people do not use the drug and use has declined over the years. Potential cannabis-related harms will be discussed, with an emphasis on the drug’s impact on mental health. Students will be provided with some warning signs that could indicate a person may be experiencing problems with their cannabis use. The impact of alcohol on the adolescent brain will also be discussed, highlighting the potential risks of drinking during the teen years.

Parents will have the opportunity to hear Paul talk on the evening of Monday 23 November. The session will be live streamed, and run for one hour with the opportunity ask questions afterwards. Paul will address the topic, 'Parents, sons, parties, alcohol and other drugs: What's happening now and what can we expect in a post COVID world?' 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.

Information about how to view this online session will be communicated closer to the date.

Elizabeth Ruff

This week the entire year group were immersed into an incursion on the topic of relationships, sexuality and manhood. The boys were immediately engaged with each of the presenters who spoke to qualities, values and morals of what it is to be a young man in 2020 and the pressures and stereotypes which are part of the adolescent experience. The day contained a number of break-out sessions which enabled the students to move into their mentor groups with our mentor staff to discuss the issues and take time to dive deep into aspects of manhood presented in the sessions.

The last part of the day ended in a summary session which enabled the boys to reflect upon their own experiences and how these paralleled society, school, and family expectations. During the mentor sessions the boys were also able to ask questions and discuss the many ways they could find out further information on topics such as consent, pornography and mental health. 

It was an outstanding day with many of the boys expressing gratefulness towards their mentors and the presenters who presented the latest research and data on relationships in an adolescent world. Please use this incursion as a possible discussion point to speak to your boys about relationships and sexuality. Some of the key questions addressed included; What is a definition of manhood? The hardest thing about being a young man. If they have a son, what would be the most important things to teach him? What are the qualities we want to develop on our journey to manhood? Click here for further information.

We are now fully entrenched into workloads for the term and many of the students will be preparing for upcoming assessment tasks. I encourage them to stay motivated and to ensure that their organisation is in great shape. This will help them to navigate through the assessment periods this term. Our Academic Leadership Team have presented some great sessions to the entire year group last week in mentor to reinforce this important point. They presented a very useful seminar on preparing a study timetable and specific subject revision. Very impressive stuff!

Finally, this week is our first full Induction cadet parade together as a unit. We welcome the return of cadet uniform and Ravenswood students joining us. The parade reflects a proud time for many of our Year 10 students who have been appointed into further leadership positions taking rank and running platoons. I have every confidence that these students are developing their leadership qualities into the cadet year and their senior experience - ready for Year 11!

Enjoy the weekend and summer sport rounds.

Margie Raymond

Congratulations to the following Year 10 boys who have been selected to play for Knox 1st teams for summer sports:

The 2020 Yearly Examination Schedule has now been finalised and uploaded to the portal; should you have any specific questions about a task please contact the classroom teacher and/or relevant Head of Department. 

As your son prepares to do his personal best in the upcoming Yearly Examinations, it becomes inherently important that he commits himself with diligence and sustained effort in the coming weeks - mentors are available to support your son with creating a study timetable.

I will be providing all Middle Academy students with a list of available after school supports that they may choose to engage in; moreover, you may receive an email from your son that highlights his academic goals, levels of confidence by subject, and his general preparedness in direct response to our Years 9 and 10 Skills of Accomplishment program.

Research shows that students experience less academic anxiety when their parents/carers engage in honest dialogues regarding performance expectations prior to a major assessment or examination; if you do not have specific performance expectations, a recent contemporary research project found noteworthy positive impacts on general wellbeing and higher levels of student perseverance whilst under test conditions when you tell your child, “I just want you to do your best, whatever result that is” on the day of an assessment.

I wish all of our Middle Academy students, and families, the very best as we approach the examination period and end of the academic year. 

Jake Plaskett

*please click on the image below to enlarge and read the Examination Schedule as a PDF.

Students and parents are invited to attend the next online careers event, to be held on Monday 26 October, commencing at 6pm. Details are below:

Topic: Careers in Information Technology
Date: Monday 26 October, 6pm - 7pm
Venue: Online via Zoom. Registration essential by 12noon, Monday 26 October.

Students and parents will hear from three Old Boys:

• Paul Gladigau (OKG85) is currently CIO/General Manager of Institutional Banking and Markets Technology at Commonwealth Bank and is responsible for delivering major technology change programs.
• Ed Colyer (OGK13) is Head of Product at Clipboard and will speak about his current role working across the whole product and software development process, including design, planning, building and testing.
• Akhil Bonu (OKG16) is a final year student at UNSW studying Business Information Systems and will be speaking about his journey from high school to university graduate and how students can take charge of their self-development. In particular, he’ll be giving his insights into a career in technology and the countless possibilities it holds.

Students interested in a career in IT are encouraged to register to attend this upcoming careers event. More information may be downloaded here.

Linda Gomez

Monday 26 October

Online Careers event - 'Careers Information Technology'

Monday 9 - Sunday 15 November

National Recycling Week

Thursday 3 December

Term 4 concludes

For many years the School has offered a ‘fees in advance’ program to enable increased flexibility of such payments. The program is attractive for many reasons, enabling parents to make lump sum payments for years ahead which attract discounts to the scheduled fees. To qualify, upfront full year payments must be made for a minimum of one year and the payments must be made by 13 November in the year before your payment program begins. Payments will only be accepted by direct funds transfer or cheque (credit card or BPAY payments are not permitted for this program).

Details of the Fees in Advance Program can be found here on the Knox website. Alternatively, you might like to discuss this in confidence with Betty Fowler from the School’s Accounts Department on 9487 0442.

Each school has a different policy with regards to the number of spectators, so it will be important to carefully read the information below to plan for this coming Saturday.

1. Check the team list to see your son’s team - see the Knox app (download instructions)
2. Check the sports draw to see where and when your son’s team is playing – check the Knox app
3. Is he playing at a Knox Grammar School venue? If yes:

• 2 spectator parents/guardians per player at our outdoor venues.
• 1 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.
• Teams due to play in the Great Hall, MacNeil Court and Lawson Centre will need to wait on the Boulevard until they may enter the facility. This will depend on finish time of previous fixture.
• Water Polo players will also need to wait in JAPAC rec area for clearance to enter the pool area.
• Standard 1.5m social distancing for all spectators.

4. Is your son playing away? Which school is he playing against?

Barker College
• Players plus only one spectator for indoor sporting activities
• Players plus two spectators for outdoor sporting activities
• Barker COVID-19 Sports Protocols

Cranbrook School
• 2 spectator parents/guardians per player for all outdoor sports
• 1 spectator parent/guardian per player for all indoor sports
• Cranbrook COVID-19 Sports Protocols

Waverley College
• 2 spectator parent/guardians per player at outdoor fixtures at Queens Park
• 1 spectator parent/guardian per player at indoor fixtures and tennis or any other fixture on Waverley College campuses

Abbotsleigh School – Aquatic area
• No parent spectators allowed

Please ensure you follow social distancing guidelines at all times and leave immediately after your son’s game. As always, any sports cancellations due to wet weather will be announced via the Knox app (make sure you have subscribed to alerts for your son’s summer sport).

If you have any questions, please email the Sport Department.

Thank you and best wishes to all our students this weekend.

Martin Haywood, Head of Knox Sports and Aquatic Academy

This term is the time when the Knox community generously supports families that find Christmas particularly difficult. For the last 13 years, we have supplied Christmas Hampers for struggling families through the Uniting Church Family projects.

Our focus this year is on the Wesley Mission and Parramatta Mission. Both organisations aim to support families with basic food supplies and Christmas fare (Christmas cakes, puddings, custard, serviettes, tins of ham, bonbons, biscuits etc. as well as staple goods such as long-life milk, cereals, pasta, sauces etc.) Your support with this initiative 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.

Please send in your donations to the Year 9 and 10 SAO offices and/or Mrs Clarke's office.

This week has seen a celebration of Book Week in the Library. Many entries from students into the writing and photographic competitions will be judged soon. Announcements as to the winning entries will be posted and prizes awarded.

Some new additions to the collection which are available for immediate borrowing include;

'The Reckless Afterlife of Harriet Stoker' by Lauren James

'Small Spaces' by Katherine Arden

'Ordinary Matter' by Laura Elvery

'Ruby Tuesday' by Hayley Lawrence

'The Darkest Minds' by Alexandra Bracken

'The Lost Book of the White' by Cassandra Clare and Wesley Chu

If you are looking for a place to study, remember the Library is open from 8am to 4pm Monday to Thursday and on Fridays from 8.50am to 4pm.

Enjoy your reading.

Sally Thomson