The penultimate week of Term 3 has passed and the Spring holiday break is just around the corner. The sense of excitement amongst the boys is very evident but our team have kept reminding them to focus on the moment and ensure that they finish the term on a high note. Both Carly and I are so proud of every boy. They have pushed through this week with three major Assessment Tasks due within the space of four days, driving them to really work on their time management and collaborative learning skills, which came were particularly useful when making videos for Geography and PDHPE.

On the topic of videos, I have been very lucky to see many of the Geography “pitches” the boys have proposed to help make Knox more liveable. The Geography department is currently collating the best pitch from each class and these will be passed on to Mr O’Regan to watch. Mr O’Regan is planning to visit our Year Meeting in Week 2 of Term 4 to speak about these proposals and how can we can look to adopt some of these ideas as a school.

We are also in the final stages of farewelling our Year 12 boys this week with various assemblies and this will culminate with the Valedictory Assembly on Monday morning. We remind all boys that this a time for celebration for our Year 12 boys and their families and that we should and learn from the legacy this group of men leave behind.

I would also like to congratulate all Year 7 boys who gained selection in the CAS Track and Field team this year. Your selection is a true reflection of your hard work and dedication.

I would like to remind all parents and boys to sign up to the new Knox App so that you can keep up to date with the latest news from the School. This may be relevant this Saturday morning with Summer Sport trials scheduled for all our boys as there is a chance that venues and times may change due to the rain.

Finally, as this is my last newsletter for Term 3, I would like to wish all families a fantastic holiday break. We look forward to an even bigger and better Term 4!

Julien Manuel

Firstly, congratulations to the entire Knox Track and Field team for your outstanding effort and commitment despite the challenging weather conditions in the week beforehand. Well done to you all!

On Monday 23 September we farewell Year 12 at their final Presentation Day. We wish them the very best for the HSC and in their future aspirations.

In Term 4, all students are expected to change over to the summer uniform. If you require any items prior to the start of Term 4, the opening times of the Uniform Shop are as follows:

Monday 30 September- 9.30am - 5pm (Closed 12.30-1pm)

Friday 11 October - 9.30am- 5pm (Closed 12.30-1pm)

Saturday 12 October - 9am -  12.00pm

Monday 14 October - 9.30am - 5pm (Closed 12.30-1pm)

Tuesday 15 October – 8am - 5.30pm

Appointments are not required.

Boys must clean out their lockers over the final week of term. They are permitted to leave books, stationery etc in their lockers but all food and drink must be removed. School officially closes at 3.15pm next Friday afternoon. 

Summer sport trials will occur for most sports this weekend and attendance is compulsory. Please check the Knox app for details. 

As an avid rugby union fan, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed chatting to the boys about the upcoming Rugby World Cup. At long last the tournament is about to begin. I certainly hope that those of you who will be watching enjoy every moment cheering on and supporting your team. I look forward to catching up with the boys on Monday to discuss the first few opening games.

Have a lovely weekend everyone.

Renee Willson Tel: 9119 0886

Assessment Tasks and Illness/Misadventure Appeals (IMA)

 As we finalise reports for Term 3, I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight our assessment policy and Illness Misadventure Appeal process. Our policy is informed by best practice and the NESA requirements in Stage 6 (which requires medical documentation completed by the practitioner to approve on the basis of illness); we are committed to ensuring an equitable assessment experience and the IMA application policy, among many others, supports the academies to make special considerations to help your son achieve his academic personal best, wherever appropriate.

An abbreviated explanation of the Stage 4 IMA policy and procedure as it pertains to both hand-in and in-class assessment tasks can be found below:

If illness or misadventure prevents your son from attending or submitting an assessment task, an Illness/Misadventure Appeal (IMA) application together with relevant documentation (ie. a medical certificate) must be submitted to the SAO within one week of the assessment task date, to avoid a task penalty. 

As per our Assessment Policy:

• Late completion of an in-class assessment task without an approved IMA or leave form may attract a 10% reduction of marks.
• Late submission of a hand-in assessment task without an approved IMA may attract a 10% reduction of marks per day for two days. If the task is submitted more than two days late, the mark reduction will be determined by the Head of Department and Director of Studies on a case by case basis.

Please refer to the Assessment Policies and Procedures booklet that has been made available on the portal for more in-depth explanations.

UNSW School Mathematics Competition

Congratulations to Jingni Liao and Kevin Hao who participated in the 2019 UNSW School Mathematics Competition in June. 779 students from around NSW sat this competition which tested mathematical insight and ingenuity rather than ability in routine situations. Knox invited 24 participants and received 11 awards, including Credit awards for Jingni and Kevin. What a fabulous achievement - well done!

Janelle Charlton

Saturday 21 September

• Summer Sports Trials

Monday 23 September

• Valedictory Celebration – Great Hall

Friday 27 September

• Term 3 concludes

Tuesday 15 October

• Term 4 commences

Thursday 17 October

• English Incursion. Further details to follow

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

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.