The Class of 2021 have now hit the halfway point of their first action packed term of Year 12. They are to be commended for their ongoing support of the Class of 2020 by respecting their study spaces as they complete the finals stages of this year’s HSC examinations.

The Mentor Program has continued to explore the notion of study stress in the lead up to the exam period. A focus on wellbeing during this time is crucial as the academic expectations of many departments has risen substantially and boys have been instructed to reach out for assistance, if required. Whilst this is a school that places a great focus on academic achievement, this should not be in any way placed ahead of the wellbeing of the boys.

The Year 11 team would like to wish all students participating in the Summer Sports Fixtures against Trinity Grammar this weekend all the best. Please feel free to contact your son’s Mentor or any of the support staff in the Year 12 team if you have any questions, inquiries or concerns. 

James Stubbs-Mills

It's not too late to place your order for a Ride with Richter cap. The 'Ride with Richter Cap Day' takes place on Tuesday 24 November and we would like to have every single Year 12 student arriving to school not only wearing smart casual clothes, but wearing a cap as well.

We have begun to see some Christmas spirit in the office with the addition of a few Christmas lights and decorations to celebrate our final Christmas together at Knox. This also acts as a visual reminder to the Co2021 to please bring in Christmas food for the hampers and any gifts you may be able to give. Thank you in advance for your donations and to those who have already sent in gifts and food items.

At this week's Year Meeting we congratulated Sam Druce on his award for the Lawrence Campbell Oratory competition. Further congratulations went to Tom Hocker on receiving his Silver Duke of Edinburgh award.

Debra Barnard

At the incursion two weeks ago, we spoke about self-efficacy. This is a characteristic aligned with Social Learning Theory.  It is a measure of a learner’s belief that a particular skill or task can be mastered with perseverance.  Self-efficacy is “the belief in one’s capabilities to organise and execute the courses of action required to manage prospective situations” (Bandura, 1995). People with high self-efficacy believe that they have the ability to accomplish difficult tasks.  Because of this confidence, they recover quickly from set-backs and continue to work on tasks. They understand that it may take a while to master a task or skill but that it can be done.

According to Bandura and his colleagues, self-efficacy can be enhanced in four ways (Bandura, 1977). First, learners can have a mastery experience by accomplishing simple tasks and then progressing to more difficult tasks. Second, learners can engage in social modelling by watching (or listening to) a model accomplishing the task. Third, learners need to be physiologically prepared for learning, thus the importance of sleep, exercise and diet in a study routine. Fourth, learners can experience verbal persuasion when they are encouraged by others to persevere with a task.

Evening study provides a great environment to develop these key areas of self-efficacy. Key to this is the assistance offered by the Old Boy Coaches. We encourage all boys to take advantage of the opportunities offered in Seniors’ Hall and the Senior Library after school.

Andrew Weeding and Greg Nunan


Bandura A (1977). Social Learning Theory. Prentice-Hall: Englewood Cliffs 
Bandura, A. (1995). Self-efficacy in changing societies, NY: Cambridge University Press.

The Knox Careers Hub is an online careers resource for students and parents. The Careers Hub was developed to support students’ capability to plan and make informed decisions with regards to post-school options and to enable effective participation in working life. Notifications and messages are regularly posted on the Careers Hub to communicate important information to students. Therefore, it is encouraged that students and parents access the Careers Hub on a regular basis.

In order to have full access to the Careers Hub, students, teachers and parents will need to create an account. Click here to access the direct link (the Careers Hub can also be accessed via the Knox portal – under Senior School – Careers Program).

• Fill in the details (your name and email address).
• Enter the school code -  KNOX20
• Create a password
• Complete the remainder of the form to create a profile / account.

Once you have registered, you will have full access to the Knox Careers Hub. This includes all newsletters, how-to guides, and access to a wealth of information on study options and career pathways. Upcoming career events are posted on the Careers Hub under 'messages' so I encourage students, parents and teachers to keep checking the Careers Hub for announcements on upcoming workshops, seminars and events.

Upcoming online OKGA Career event
The next online career event will be focusing on careers in Allied Health. Students and parents will hear from speakers in areas including physiotherapy, psychology and exercise physiology. Below are the details:

When: Wednesday 18 November, commencing at 6pm
Where: Online via Zoom (a link will be sent to you after registration and shortly before the evening)
Who: Years 10, 11 and 12 students and their parents
Register: Click here to register no later than Tuesday 17 November

Linda Gomez

As your child moves throughout his adolescence, one of the most common issues that he’d encounter is anxiety. There are many perspectives on anxiety and its function, and as parents it’ll be helpful to gain an understanding of this.

There is a free webinar being run by Dr Caroline Donovan through the 'Be You' organisation that will talk about anxiety in secondary education settings. The program will cover:

• What is anxiety and types of anxiety; identifying those with anxiety and internalised anxiety
• What underpins anxiety; treatment of anxiety
• The importance of the relationship with the school
• How schools can support the student with anxiety
• What teachers need to be aware of with anxiety - the avoidance cycle

If you’re interested in this, the details are below.

Understanding and Responding to Anxiety in Secondary School Settings
Tuesday 10 November 2020 (3.45pm-4.45pm)
Click here to register.

Does your child demonstrate avoidant behaviours when it comes to academic work?
The counselling Psychologists have put together some information here that discusses strategies to deal with procrastination, which is a common issue among students throughout Prep School and Senior School. As always, feel free to speak to your Mentor and/or Team Leader if you believe it’s a significant issue.

Monday 9 to Wednesday 11 November  

• Breaking the Man Code by Tomorrow Man. Online sessions from 6.30pm - 8pm

Monday 9 to Sunday 15 November 

• National Recycling Week

Monday 16 November 

• Melissa McGuinness Guest Speaker Incursion. Co-founder You Choose - Youth Road Safety

Wednesday 18 November 

• OKGA Careers Event. 6pm online. Register here

Monday 23 November 

• Paul Dillon Guest Speaker. Drug and Alcohol Research and Training Australia (DARTA) Incursion. Parent session online 6pm

Tuesday 24 November 

• Ride with Richter Cap Day

Thursday 3 December 

• Term 4 concludes - Presentation Day

Knox has a new initiative - the Knox Environmental Sustainability Team (KEST) - driven by Nick Weickart, Nick Tanna and Lachie Ardron. The team will be starting this initiative with a healthy competition between the academies. 

The KEST Eco bin competition will encourage and educate students and staff on the correct processes of recycling in order to better our personal carbon footprint. There will be two bin stations per Academy which will be checked daily for correct items in the bins with points to be allocated accordingly. There will be clear signage on what should and shouldn't go in each bin. There will also be separate criteria the money each Academy makes from the return and earn scheme.

The winning Academy will celebrate victory with a yummy sausage sizzle to which the recycling 'champions' from the other academies will be invited. As Year 12 and the only Academy with one year group we need to double our efforts!

Meet a PEAK (Pathways for Elite Athletes at Knox) student athlete
This week we hear from Year 12 2021 Boarder and swimmer, Joseph Hamson.

1. How did you first get involved in your sport and what do you love about your sport now?
I got involved in swimming as my three older siblings swam and, instead of waiting for them to train, I joined in. There are many things I love about swimming, but the main things are the friendships/bonds you make with others, having goals and aspirations.

2. What has been your best/recent sporting achievements?
Personally, my best achievement in swimming was in 2019 winning the 16 years boys 100m freestyle at the Australian Age Swimming Championships.

A recent sporting achievement was being selected to compete at the 2020 Jr Pan Pacific Games for Australia in the 100m freestyle and 100m butterfly.

3. What are your career ambitions for your sport?
My career ambitions are to represent and to compete for Australia at the Olympics.

4. How has the PEAK program supported you in managing your sports, co-corricular and academics?
PEAK has assisted me in managing my academics by providing me with talks based around time management and organisation skills. PEAK athletes also complete a daily form about how we are feeling, both physically and mentally. If I am unable to handle my school or homework, the School will organise with me to see an Old Boy or academic mentor to assist me.

The PEAK program also supports me in managing my sports by having monthly meetings with my mentor where we discuss how the past month has been, review and reset goals for the next month and talk about upcoming events. This has allowed me to keep things in perspective.

Applications are now open to join the Pathways for Elite Athletes at Knox Program in 2021. For more information click here or email Kieran Donohue.

Parent seminar - Parents, sons, parties, alcohol and other drugs: What's happening now and what can we expect in a post COVID-19 world?
Knox parents are invited to register for a webinar with Paul Dillon, Director of the Drug and Alcohol Research and Training Australia on the topic, 'Parents, sons, parties, alcohol and other drugs: What's happening now and what can we expect in a post COVID-19 world?”.

When: Monday 23 November, 6.30pm
Where: Online seminar (livestream only)
Who: Aimed at parents of students in Years 9, 10 and 11 (Year 12 2021) – other Knox parents welcome to register.

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 Wesley Mission and Parramatta Mission aim to support families with basic food supplies and Christmas fare. Lets make our last Christmas at Knox a generous one. Some donation ideas are:
• Christmas cakes and puddings
• Long life custard and milks
• Table decoration items such as bon-bons and serviettes
• Tinned ham
• Biscuits - both sweet and savoury
• Nuts
• Jelly and dessert packet mixes
• Milo
• Sweets - no chocolates please

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 WSA office.

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.

The 1sts Volleyball team in action against St Aloysius' College on Saturday. They have continued their winning streak and have not lost a set so far this season. The students from Year 12 are Flynn Wood, Alec Wartho, James Jiang and Brian Cheng. Well done, gents!