We have come to the end of a very eventful Term 3!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Class of 2024 for all their efforts in making this term a resounding success. The boys have truly settled into the Knox community and only have one more term to go as Year 7's.

During our Year Meeting on Wednesday, the new 2020 Year 8 PLT candidates were announced. It was heart-warming to see how happy the boys were to be given their new roles. If your son was one of these boys, please take the time to congratulate him and encourage him as they begin their training next Term. I would also like to take the opportunity to thank the boys who applied and did not get a position. Mr Manuel and I were overwhelmed with the number of students who put their names forward and it was truly a very difficult task allocating roles. For the students who were disappointed on Wednesday, please note that there will be many more opportunities in the coming years and we encourage you to apply again. Philosopher Albert Schweitzer said, 'Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.' The students who have been awarded these positions must lead by positive example.

As we head off on holidays, it is important for the students to relax and recharge their batteries. Whilst it might be tempting to spend a lot of time online and playing games, we recommend that the boys get outside, play some sport, socialise with friends and have quality family time during their two weeks away from the classroom. When the boys return in Term 4, they should feel refreshed and ready for the demands of a fast final term, when they have Yearly Examinations which require additional time at home revising for their different subjects.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our Year 7 families a fantastic break and we look forward to seeing the boys as we enter our last term of Year 7 together! 

Carly Robinson

It has been an exciting and busy final week of Term 3. 

On Monday the day began with the Year 12 Leavers' Assembly. Thomas Constable (2019 School Captain) made a very moving speech reflecting on his time at Knox, and spoke fondly of his school days. It was a reminder of how time flies and that before we know it, our Year 7s will be in that position! On behalf of the Year 7 Team, I would like to wish the Class of 2019 all the best for their HSC examinations and future endeavours. Congratulations must go to Nicholas Reynolds, who was announced as the School Captain for 2020, and the new school leadership team. We look forward to your leadership in the coming year.

NAPLAN Online (2019) Reports

NAPLAN reports have been sent via post to all parent/carers. If you have not received your son’s NAPLAN report by 15 October, please check that your contact details and mailing address are up to date in the portal then contact Mrs Janelle Charlton, Director of Studies. 

This week I attended the Year Meeting and was amazed by the talent of the Year 7 Wind Band performance. Mr Brice (Head of Co-Curricular Performing Arts)  shared with us in August that the Year 7 Wind Band became the 2019 NSW Junior D Grade State Champions.  After listening to the pieces, 'Imaginarium' and 'Caliber' played by the boys, no wonder they are State Champions. Well done to our awesome Wind Band and Mr Brice!  

I've thoroughly enjoyed Term 3 with the boys and hope that you all have a wonderful holiday break. I look forward to seeing you all in Term 4 for the last leg of Year 7.

Renee Willson Tel: 9119 0886

Friday 27 September

• Term 3 concludes

Tuesday 15 October

• Term 4 commences. Summer Uniform

Thursday 17 October

• English Incursion. Further details to follow

Friday 8 November

• Vaccinations. HPV Dose 2

Thursday 14 to Friday 22 November

• Yearly Examinations 

Friday 15 November

• Knox Christmas Markets. Great Hall. 4pm - 8pm

Thursday 5 December

• Knox Presentation Day. Term 4 Concludes

Thank you to those who have notified us of amendments to School Reports. The Term 3 School Reports have been updated and will be refreshed by midnight tonight. Your son’s report will then be available through Parent Lounge. Please be aware, whilst your son’s marks may not have changed, other measures such as his Quartile or Average may have changed as these are measures relative to the cohort.

John Nelson

On a number of occasions this term we have addressed students during Year Meeting about the importance of wearing the correct uniform and wearing it well. Doing so shows respect for our School, its traditions and values. Members of our community often judge students and the School by the general standard of each student’s uniform and appearance so it is important that our students maintain the required standards while travelling to and from school, not just during the school day.

The boys have responded positively to these discussions and to the monitoring systems put in place at the School Gates. We have been pleased to witness a significant improvement in the number of students wearing with pride their boaters and blazers to and from school. To support a continuation of this positive trend, we will be introducing consequences for those students who are not able to comply with the School’s uniform code on a regular basis. Initially students will receive a warning when they do not have the correct uniform. Should a student arrive at school without the correct uniform on a third occasion, parents will be notified and the student will need to participate in an after school reflection. Additional reflection sessions will be scheduled should there be a fourth or fifth occasion.

In conjunction with our focus on uniform, it is timely to remind students that only school approved bags should be brought on campus.

Craig Milligan

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 31 October 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 inaugural OneWorld Robotics Competition category for 2019 will be 'Smart Cities'. A smart city is a city that is better able to cope with the demands of an increasingly over-populated, more globalised world. A smart city will be a city that is highly data-driven, demanding that world leaders understand technology such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence, and the myriad of digital technologies now available.

To develop cities in order to make them 'smart' also entails making them more 'inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable'. This will also involve considerations such as the need for higher data transfer speeds, greater storage capacities, better sensors, and faster vehicle-to-vehicle infrastructure exchanges as we contend with modern technologies to alleviate the changing situation. There will also be relevant legal, social, and ethical implications as a result, including issues such as environmental impact, regulating traffic and accidents, and consequent privacy and cyber security risks. In the OneWorld Robotics Competition, students will have to consider all of these challenges through their application of robotics.

The OneWorld Robotics Competition challenges students from all over the globe to apply STEAM-related skills through robotics to solve real-world problems. Area Competitions will be held over two days, where teams compete in technical challenges as well as present legal, social, and ethical solutions to AV application in Smart Cities. The Global Competition will involve the top three teams from all Area Competitions competing over five days. Students will have their projects assessed by a panel of industry experts. As the students take on the timely category of 'Smart Cities' they will contemplate topics such as the benefit of Autonomous Vehicles in alleviating the problems associated with transport congestion and over-population, while honing their critical thinking skills.

Further information about the OneWorld Robotics Competition may be found here. 

The Knox Robotics students performed amazingly.

On Saturday the team travelled to Barker College who hosted the 2019 VEX NSW State Robotics competition. The team ended up placing 3rd overall out of 36 teams wthat competed on the day. The boys competed against schools who entered multiple teams. James Wainwright’s (Year 11 Robotics Captain) leadership was outstanding.

After the rankings, we formed an alliance with a Pymble Ladies College team and were knocked out in the Semi-finals. We just missed out on qualifying for the National competition. This is an exceptional effort from the boys for our first rookie year. 

Next term we are looking forward to celebrating and promoting the co-curricular club to the School through Year Meetings and in the newsletter. The club meets on a Monday and Wednesday afternoon in MK31. 

Contemporary research and trend analysis highlight the importance of young people developing enterprise and entrepreneurial skills in order to rise to the challenges of our rapidly changing world. As such, Knox is committed to preparing our boys to thrive as global citizens and aims to extend our boys' capacity to engage in a world that is being shaped by automation and emerging technologies.

Our Year 10 signature program, Agent of Change, serves to meet the needs of our boys through a project-based experience that both leverages from authentic partnerships and exposes students to design thinking.

We are looking to engage parents, carers, members of our broader school community and beyond as potential ‘clients’ or industry mentors in this exciting educational experience.

 
Program Logistics:

 ·         The Agent of Change program will occur at Knox Grammar on 26-27 November.

 ·         Each Year 10 student will work collaboratively to build a prototype, design a product, and/or make a pitch to an external client.

 ·         External ‘clients’ will provide an authentic problem from their life or job that a student could provide/pitch a solution to.

We, are specifically interested in projects that would engage students in art, graphic or web design, data analytics, programming, urban spaces, research, and marketing/advertising. We also invite you to join us for our Meet a Change Agent speaker series at lunch time next term.

Please contact Mr Jake Plaskett (Director of Studies) at the Knox Middle Academy if you would like to be a part of this signature program or if you have specific questions about what types of projects might be suitable.

Mrs Julie Blackburn, Knox Uniform Shop Manager

All Year Groups - Uniform Changeover
Term 4 will be the changeover from winter to summer uniform. Please check your child’s uniform still fits them and 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.

If you require any uniform prior to the start of Term 4, the opening times of the Uniform Shop are as follows during the Term 3 break:

• Monday 30 September- 9.30am-5pm (Closed 12.30pm-1pm) 
• Friday 11 October -9.30am-5pm (Closed 12.30pm-1pm) 
• Saturday 12 October -9am-12noon 
• Monday 14 October -9.30am-5pm (Closed 12.30pm-1pm) 
• Tuesday 15 October – 8am-5.30pm 

Appointments are not required.

School photographs are now available to order.

For Portraits

• Go to the Melba Studios website:  www.melbastudios.com.au 
• Click on ‘School Orders’
• Enter the password knox

You will need to know your sons name and his student ID number to view his portrait and you can order from 2018 and 2019.

If you would like assistance, please contact Melba Studios on (02) 9438 4566.

Thank you to Ms Leilah Mawing for sharing the wonderful art work from the Year 7 Visual Arts students. The three-dimensional sculptures have certainly brightened up the wall in Room 19. The work on display is a digital collage of Native birds: three-dimensional photo sculpture Within this practical photo editing unit students were learning to manipulate different digital art practices and photo collage processes. They investigated how Photoshop tools and processes can be used to create intricate collage artworks. Their art work was based on native bird species, leading to final construction of a 3Dimensional artwork.