Year 12 Week 6 Term 1 2021

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Term 1 is always one of the busiest terms of the year, with so many activities and opportunities on offer.

Over the last few weeks we have seen our boys take part in Years 4, 5, 7 and 8 Camps at Port Hacking, Lake Macquarie, Arcadia and the NSW South Coast.

There has been a flurry of excursions and incursions including a Chinese New Year celebration for Year 1, a Religion and Ethics visit to the Sydney Jewish Museum and even a Geography trip to a chocolate factory to learn about sustainable and ethical cacao production.

This weekend is the final round of the Senior School summer sports season, with one more week left for our Knox Prep students.

With one week to go, our 1sts Basketball team is currently placed equal first with Trinity Grammar, our 1st Table Tennis team is placed first, our 1sts Volleyball and 1sts Tennis team is placed second and our 1sts Cricket team is placed third. Our Water Polo team is equal first and remain unbeaten with Newington College with just two games to go in the joint CAS/GPS competition. Our Mountain Bikers are currently sitting in 1st place on 427 points ahead of Riverview on 304 and Barker on 167 points - an incredible achievement.

Earlier this week, our Knox Prep Swimmers represented Knox at the IPSHA Swimming Competition. It is so great to have these interschool competitions resuming after the long break.

Next week will see our Senior School Swimming and Diving Team compete at the CAS Championships at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre. While crowd numbers are limited this year, we are so excited to have the Tartan Army coming along to support our students. This year we are aiming to win the swimming competition for a fifth successive year. Best wishes to all our swimmers and divers.

The cast, crew and orchestra of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ are also counting down the days to their first performance in the Wenkart Theatre on Thursday 18 March. The students and staff have been working together on this production since the end of last year after our 2020 musicals were sadly cancelled due to COVID-19. It will be very special moment indeed when the curtain lifts for this production.

In just a few weeks, our Senior School Cadets will be joining students from Ravenswood for the Annual Field Exercise (AFX). This year’s camp is taking place in the Lithgow and Newnes area. Organising a camp of this scale is a huge logistical exercise and the students and staff have been working on planning for more than a year. Anticipation is building for this much-loved camp.

As you can see, there are so many opportunities on offer for our students at Knox. We often say ‘regardless of what your boy is passionate about he will find it here at Knox’. There is no doubt that the students who embrace the experiences and programs on offer are the ones who get the most out of their time at the School. Whether it is trying a new sport, joining a club or learning a musical instrument for the first time, it is through taking on these new challenges that boys grow the most and develop as a person.

Scott James

Week 6 is behind us, and we are on the downhill run towards the halfway point of our Year 12 journey. We are at the beginning of one of the busier assessment periods for this year, and the afternoon numbers in the WSA have been reflective of this.

The boys are to be commended for the way in which they came together en masse this week, at both our Year Meeting and our Chapel service. During our Year Meeting, we were given an opportunity to hear from Mrs Gomez again with a focus on Early Entry Schemes into Universities, as well as information about cadetships and co-operative programs. It was evident that this piqued the interest of a great many of our cohort, and the boys are reminded to regularly check the Careers Hub page on the Knox portal to stay abreast of the latest in this space.

Week 6 ended on a high today with two Year 12 bands competing in the first round of heats of Battle of the Bands 2021. Following performances by bands 'Reckless Parade' (Y9) and 'The Red Line' (Y8) we heard band 'The Boarders and Tom' consisting of Archie Dwyer (Drums/ Vocal), Harry Clydsdale (Guitar), Syd Kensit (Guitar) and Tom Wilson (Bass). This was followed up by the well known band 'Scapegoat' consisting of Aria Nayer (Y10 - Vocal), Asha Nayer (Guitar), Nick Grattan (Guitar), Oli Gordon (Bass), Bill Parker (Keyboard) and Finn Carolan (Drums). It is always such a great way to spend lunchtime and I encourage the Co2021 to get behind the three more Y12 bands playing in heats next week- Tuesday 8 March is 'Band 12' and Wednesday 9 March we will hear two bands perfom - 'Band 4' and 'Sledgehammer'.

Next week, we have two key events to acknowledge and support. Monday 8 March we celebrate International Women's Day. We encourage you to take the time to acknowledge those important women in your life. Thursday 11 March we have the CAS Swimming and Diving Championships at SOPAC. This should be another amazing event and hopefully the Co2021 will be there in full voice to support the competitors.

Over the coming weeks, the Year 12 staff are looking forward to reporting on the progress of all boys.

Half Yearly Reports
To ensure reports are available for the Student/Parent/Teacher Evening (Student-Led Conference) via Zoom, reports will be published on Friday 12 March and will be available to view through Student Café and Parent Lounge. The electronic version will be formatted to ensure ease of printing by each student if a hard copy is required. When accessing the report, take the opportunity to download this report (and all others from previous years) to have them for next year and beyond when access to the portals will be deactivated in early January 2022.

Student/Parent/Teacher Evening (Student-Led Conference) – Monday 15 March
Bookings will be done online and the site to do this will open at 8am on Wednesday 10 March. On Monday 8 March, an email will be sent to all parents with instructions on how to book appointments.

CAS Swimming and Diving Championships 2021
This event will be held at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre on Thursday 11 March.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions the CAS committee has limited the number of seats available for each CAS School.

The prefect body have spoken to each year group and asked for students wishing to attend to enter their submissions via a Google Form.

Students who have completed a submission to attend and have been selected will be invited through the school system and parents will receive an email requesting acceptance for this opportunity. Please note that if you are the recipient of that email, you will also be asked to confirm your son's medical details. Boys will be provided with a mask.

The CAS Team Assembly will be held on Thursday 11 March in the Great Hall at 1.40pm.

The Swim and Dive Team students and parents will receive an email from the KSAA outlining the requirements and expectations for the day.

Spectators will be required to wear winter uniform except for Year 7 spectators who can wear their summer uniform to the Championships. All non-spectator students are to wear their summer uniform to school.

Spectators will remain in the Great Hall at the conclusion of the assembly at 2.20pm where they will be organised into their bus groups and provided with a food pack for the evening. Students will be able to purchase food at the venue but only in allocated time slots to ensure safety and adherence to the venues COVID-19 plan requirements.

Student spectators MUST travel to and from the venue by bus (no school bags are allowed to be taken) and all spectators will return to Knox between 9pm - 9.30pm. Locker areas will be open to allow students to collect their bags and proceed home.

Colours, Honour Awards and Presentation Day Prize Criteria
The School's prizes and colours and honour award system is based on history, tradition and current students achievements.

The criteria for these awards and prizes will be available on the Knox portal under Senior School/Awards, Colours and Prizes from Friday 19 March.

They are currently being reviewed and are being aligned with the Learner Protocols and the Global Competencies.

The lists are provided as follows and information for blazer collection is provided prior to the list dates:

Year 12 summer - Academic, KAPA and summer sport, Week 8 Term 1
Year 12 winter - Co-Curricular, KAPA and winter sport, Week 4 Term 3
Year 11 - Academic, Co-Curricular, KAPA and Sport, Week 10 Term 3
Year 7s to 10 - Academy Honour Awards, Week 7 Term 4

Year 12 Summer Colours
This list will be posted in the WSA by Thursday 18 March.

The final list will be posted on Monday 22 March at 9am. The full process for confirming parent acceptance of the costs associated with colours on blazers will be provided in Week 7.

Students attending AFX Advance Party will be required to hand in blazers to Mrs Blackburn in the WSA on Monday 22 March.

All other AFX Year 12 Colour awarded students will be required to hand in their blazers by 5pm Wednesday 24 March in the WSA.

Year 12 students remaining at school will be allowed to wear their Year 12 Jersey in lieu of their blazer for the remainder of Term 1.

Chuck Ardron

Head of Knox Sports and Aquatic Academy

As we charge towards the end of our summer season, I cant help but feel proud of all of our Year 12 boys playing their last summer game in the Black and Blue. Some boys have been playing summer sport for more than six, seven or eight years for Knox and no doubt will enjoy Saturday but with many mixed emotions. Perhaps a memory of the day they were moved from the d team up to a c or b grade team. Perhaps their first ever win for Knox, first ever goal or even the day they met their new best mate. I hope our Year 12s have a great day this Saturday and wrap the season up with their 'best game ever' - Im sure their Year 11 team mates and spectators will help them enjoy a great day.

Congratulations to all teams across all levels and all age groups on a wonderful summer – one could only wish we had some more sun and our outdoor sports were not so interrupted through Term 1. There are too many teams to list here that will celebrate premierships this weekend – those teams and more details can be found on the Knox app under their respective sport reports.

The importance of modelling
In Week 3 of the School Newsletters, the Headmaster wrote about the importance of stopping to “pause” before reacting and how challenging this can be in the fast-paced world in which we find ourselves. In our role as school psychologists, we often see the impact when the ability to “pause” was somehow skipped, and young people land themselves in situations which could often have been avoided. There are many things we can do as parents to teach our kids how to stop, think, and, reflect before reacting. As Mr James mentioned, one core component of this is our important role in modelling these behaviours for our children.

Sunday 7 March

• Clean Up Australia Day

Monday 8 March

• International Women's Day

Thursday 11 March

• CAS Swim and Dive Championships - SOPAC

Thursday 18 March

• Worlds Greatest Shave. Sign up here or sponsor the team here

Thursday 18 to Saturday 20 March

• Musical - Disney's Beauty & the Beast

Thursday 25 March to Thursday 1 April

• AFX camp

Saturday 27 to Wednesday 31 March

• Senior Academy Expedition. Blue Mountains to Chowder Bay

Thursday 1 April

• Term 1 concludes

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Matthew 5: 7 & 8

2021 Student Residential Address and Other Information Collection

Each year, all Australian schools are required to report specific school-based data to the Australian Government Department of Education, Skills & Employment (DESE).

The Address Collection data is used to:
• calculate Australian Government recurrent funding to non-government schools, specifically the capacity to contribute score (CTC score)
• inform school education policy, particularly non-government school funding

The Address Collection data (collected under sections 52 (1), 52(3)(c), 52(4) and 58B of the Australian Education Regulation 2013), will source the following data from Knox Grammar, relevant to each campus:
• Student residential address (excluding student names)
• Whether the student is a primary or secondary student (education level)
• Whether the student is boarding or a day student (boarding status)
• Names and residential addresses of students’ parent(s) and/or guardian(s)

The school reporting requirement specifically requires reporting of a physical residential address, not a PO Box or the mailing equivalent.

If your family has recently changed its residential address, and you have not yet provided these details to the School, we seek your cooperation to update your family details via the Knox Parent Lounge, Parent Details Update function – by Friday 5 March.

The DESE has provided a 'Collection Notice for Parents' for your reading and reference. Please click here to view.

Damian Ferguson, Chief Financial Officer

Beauty and the Beast

A Knox Drama and Theatre Production
Disney's Beauty and the Beast

18-20 March 2021
7pm in the Wenkart Theatre

Box Office now open! All tickets $30 (+ booking fee). Click here to book your seats.

Masks mandatory for all audience members. There is a limit of four seats per booking with seating gaps automatically assigned between groups to adhere to distancing requirements.

Please note that the Box Office reserves the right to relocate your tickets, if required, and will advise accordingly.

For ticket enquiries, please email here.

Knox Prayer Meetings

Our informal prayer meeting for Term 1 will be held at 10am on Friday 19 March, at the home of Prue Feather. Morning Tea will be included.

There will also be an evening meeting at 8pm on Wednesday 10 March, at the home of Fiona van Horen.

Please RSVP if you plan to attend so that we comply with the gathering limits prescribed by the government’s Public Health Orders in place at the time.

A warm welcome is extended to anyone from our Knox community who would like to attend.

Any enquires to Prue Feather.

Knox Uniform Shop

For Term 2 the Uniform Shop is introducing a new style grey wool blend trouser, phasing it in with Years 11 and 12 and then following with the rest of the school next year. The style is a straighter leg than the current style with flat front and no turn up making it easier for parents to alter. Prices start from $92.50

Social Justice

This weekend is Clean Up Australia Day. It's a good time to speak as a family of the importance of caring for our environment. Boys are invited to join our KEST program here at Knox. We aim to make Knox a sustainable and enviromentally aware campus. Please contact Helen Clarke for more details.

The Knox Social Justice Club meets as a group each Friday at lunchtime in the Knox Cultural Centre Auditorium. New members welcome and this is especially important for those looking to commence their Certificate of Global Competency.

Battle of the Bands - Heat 1

Year 12 Bands, 'The Boarders and Tom' followed by 'Scape Goat', performed in front a supportive cohort at lunchtime.

Band 'The Boarders and Tom'
Band 'Scape Goat'

Studies of Religion Excursion - Wednesday 3 March

Following are some photos from the Year 12 SOR excursion to the Nan Tien Buddhist Temple. The boys had a wonderful time learning about Buddhist Beliefs and Practices. They enjoyed a vegetarian lunch and participated in a guided meditation. They even sat under a Bodhi tree like the Buddha in quiet contemplation - it was a great day.

Headmaster's Column

Team Leaders

Student Administration Officer

Senior Academy Team

Director of Co-Curricular Operations