On the morning of Saturday 12 October in Vienna, Austria, Eliud Kipchoge, the world's finest marathoner, became the first person in history to run the marathon in under two hours. His time of 1:59:40 required him to maintain an average pace of just under 2:50 per kilometre or 21.1km/h. That is, to put it mildly, soul-searing speed. Even a supremely fit person would struggle to run at so aggressive a clip for more than five or six minutes in a row. On Saturday, Kipchoge held it for just shy of 120.

So how did Eliud Kipchoge break the magical 2-hour barrier? Here are three reasons experts have identified and my advice to your son of how he can apply these same strategies to the final term of 2019:

1. He had Olympic champions running in front of him and mates on bikes hand-delivering drinks. Success at school and achieving the academic grades and sporting teams you hope for, are best achieved in a team. Surrounding yourself with friends and peers who can support you and help you achieve your goals is critical. And the best part is – when you start to succeed, so do those around you.
2. He had laser beams guiding the way. The laser beams were used to identify the ideal position on the road for Kipchoge to follow. Your teachers are the lasers in your life. They are experts in their subject field and experienced mentors. Knox has the privilege of having teachers who are masters of their craft, regularly updated on their teaching practice and passionate about seeing you succeed. They know the best path for you to run and you would do well to adhere to their direction and advice.
3. He had specially designed shoes. Without shoes, running at that speed becomes rather difficult. I think shoes are to marathon-running what organisation is to school. Having a diary and a plan and a schedule and clear goals and targets will ensure that you are able to run at maximum speed.

But if you asked Eliud Kipchoge whether the above criteria were the main reason for his success, as you may know he has failed in a previous attempt to break this record, his answer will probably be: "The improvement is happening in the mind."

It's all in the mind.

We can all draw much inspiration from what Kipchoge has achieved, as well as his comment after he crossed the finish line in Vienna. "I want to inspire many people, that no human is limited," said Kipchoge. If you put your mind to it, you can achieve it.

I would like to wish each of our boys everything of the best for the final eight weeks of the school year and look forward to celebrating the many successes to come.

Craig Milligan

Welcome back! I hope you and your families enjoyed a well-deserved break, and found some time to rest, recharge and reconnect, whether your break was filled with relaxation or adventure. Boys certainly seem to have returned to school refreshed and it is wonderful to hear some of the exciting ways they spent their time over the holidays.

At the beginning of this short term it is important to remind students about the importance of finishing strong. In sport, there is very little that is more frustrating than watching your favourite team squander an impressive lead as they take their eyes of the ball in the dying moments, or see players penalised for poor discipline as they fatigue. So too, our boys must continue their strong application to academics, and they must continue to make positive choices in the classroom and the playground, even as they see the finish line approaching. There is still much work to do and I know our boys have the stamina to make this a very positive term!

I want to congratulate boys on the quality of applications for Portfolio Leadership positions they submitted last term. These positions will be announced in Year Meeting next week. We look forward to working with the new team and watching them develop as young leaders.

Cadets starts today. It was great to see all our boys arriving in their new uniforms this morning, some very excited and some a little nervous. I know they are going to have a fantastic time and I can’t wait to watch them out on the parade ground this afternoon.

Lastly, and on a personal note: late last term you would have received communication from Craig Milligan, the acting Head of Junior Academy, advising that I will be staying on as Assistant Team Leader in a permanent capacity as our boys step in to Year 9 next year. I have very much enjoyed getting to know your sons over the past term and I look forward to continuing to work with your boys, alongside Craig, and watching these fine young men develop.

Alec Openshaw

I cannot believe that it is already the beginning of Term 4 and how fast this year has flown by. Seeing the boys in their cadets uniform today as they embark on a new journey at Knox makes me realise that it is their last term in the Junior Academy. The boys have all come so far since starting Year 7 and they are all doing a brilliant job embracing all the challenges given to them. I trust that you have all had a fabulous term break and are now feeling refreshed to start the new term. We are looking at a short eight week term that will be quite busy and I encourage all students to start planning their study schedule for their examinations which will be taking place towards the end of Week 5 and through Week 6.

As we begin the term, I would like to remind you of our Assessment Policy. If your son is absent on the day of an assessment then an Illness and Misadventure Appeal (IMA) form needs to be completed and sent to the School, accompanied by either a medical certificate or a parent letter. Please note that as per our Assessment Policy, late completion of an in-class assessment task without an approved IMA or leave form will attract a 10% reduction of marks as a starting point.

A reminder that we are still accepting donations of shoes in Room 19 to help the children who live in the underprivileged areas of Manila. We wish to thank those of you who have been sending your donations so far and encourage others to please look through their cupboards for unwanted school and sports shoes that your son might have outgrown. A pair of shoes means a child can attend school and have hope of a better future.

Congratulations to Thomas Nguyen who won the Golden Foil State Championship in Fencing during the school holidays. Well done, Thomas, and we look forward to watching your continued success. 

Welcome to Charlie Freeman who has joined the Year 8 cohort this term and we hope that you enjoy your time at Knox. Thank you to Pat Bull and Riley Green who have been instrumental in ensuring that Charlie adapts to his new environment on his first week at school.

Finally, I would like to wish all of you a successful Term 4 and please remember that I am always available to assist you should the need arise in regards to school matters. 

Crystel Hodgson, Tel: 9119 0881

Welcome back to the start of what is sure to be a very busy fourth term. My name is Dan Parker and I am the newly appointed Student Management Officer for the Junior Academy.

I come to Knox after having spent several years with the NSW Police Force in a variety of different roles and have experience working with adolescents. I am looking forward to working closely with the staff here at Knox to support and encourage all students to become the very best version of themselves and upstanding members of our community.

My role as a Student Management Officer is to assist the boys and staff in a multi-faceted way. This includes supporting the boys in complying with their responsibilities and ensuring that their rights and freedoms are preserved.

I will be a visible presence for the boys around the senior campus and am available throughout the school day. I will take this opportunity to remind the boys of their need to comply with the summer uniform standards as we head into the warmer months which includes appropriate cut.

As a final note for both boys and parents, my door is always open. If there is anything I can assist with please feel free to come and see me, send me an email or contact me via phone on 9119 0816. I am a big believer in encouraging the boys to ask as many questions as they can. I hope that as time goes on and as the boys get to know me, I will become an approachable and trustworthy person in their schooling journey.

Dan Parker

Congratulations to our 9As Basketball team that won the shield in a pre-season Basketball Tournament held at Knox during the holidays. The 2nds team also won the shield while the 1sts team were defeated 65-60 by The Scots College in the grand final.

Aria Nayer, Jack Vanasek, Ben Williams, Riley Pincott, George Taylor, Beau Morrison, Joey Badam, Deen Oreb, Ronan James and Jeremy Pan-Cassin with their coaches

Calling any budding triathletes!

For the first time ever, CIS will be introducing the CIS Teams Triathlon Championships as a qualifying event for the NSW All Schools Triathlon Championships in February 2020.This event will be held on Monday 28 October (Week 3) at Penrith International Regatta Centre. Further information may be found here.This event is for teams only and you will need to participate in this event to qualify for the teams event at NSW All Schools. Individual competitors will still be able to register directly for the NSW All Schools event in February.

We are seeking interest from individual swimmers, cyclists and runners to form teams for the CIS event. Knox will form seeded teams of boys who we deem to have the fastest qualifying times in their age category. Additionally, Knox will form social teams of boys wanting to give the sport of triathlon a go.

Please fill out the following form to express your interest in participating in this event.

For further information, please contact Mr Hart. 

Monday 28 October

Year 8 Parent Seminar by Dr Andrew Campbell. Wenkart Theatre JAPAC, 7pm

Tuesday 29 October

OKGA Special Event: Tomorrow Man - a Night with the Blokes

Tuesday 5 November 

Duke of Edinburgh Information Evening

Thursday 7-9 November 

Knox Musical - 'Oliver'

Thursday 14 to Friday 22 November 

Yearly Examinations

Friday 15 November

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

Wednesday 20 November 

Parent Seminar: Raising Boys in a digital world, Wenkart Theatre, 6pm-8pm

Thursday 5 December

Knox Presentation Day

Term 4 Concludes

Information for Parents on the Development of Teenage Males

Dr Andrew Campbell is a prominent adolescent psychologist whose seminars have always been well received and appreciated by our Knox parents. Andrew’s presentation covers areas including supporting your son through physiological growth change and social-emotional changes, giving strategies needed to guide young men through the teen years. Please note this is a parent only seminar and no supervision is available for children.

Year 8 Parent Seminar by Dr Andrew Campbell

When: Monday 28 October 7pm

Where: Wenkart Theatre JAPAC

The presentation is free of charge. Please click on this link Parent Seminar rsvp to register your attendance. I strongly recommend all Year 8 parents attend this important seminar.

Craig Milligan

Raising boys in a digital world
An evening with Dr Kristy Goodwin

When: Wednesday 20 November 2019, 6pm-8pm
Where: Wenkart Theatre, Junior Academy and Performing Arts Centre, Senior School
Who: Knox Prep, Wahroonga Prep and Knox Senior School parents of students in Years 5-9

Dr Goodwin will provide practical and effective strategies to ensure your son’s online safety and healthy technology habits.

Please RSVP by 15 November here. For more information, email Amanda Pooley.

Parent seminar - Raising Boys in a Digital World flyer

Students from Knox Grammar School will reprise the School's very first musical, 'Oliver', with a production of the much loved musical in the Knox Junior Academy and Performing Arts Centre from 7-9 November.

The production will be the first major show to take place in the new 750 seat Wenkart Auditorium.

Performances
Thursday 7 November 2019, 7.30pm
Friday 8 November 2019, 7.30pm
Saturday 9 November 2019, 7.30pm

Venue
Wenkart Theatre, Junior Academy and Performing Arts Centre, Knox Grammar School, Wahroonga

Tickets
All tickets $35 at www.knox.nsw.edu.au/oliver

The production will feature a cast of 170 students from Years 7 to 12 from Knox Grammar School, Ravenswood School for Girls and Pymble Ladies' College, with a live orchestra and sound and lighting by a student tech crew.

We have an exciting new initiative starting up in JAPAC this term: the McKenzie Pop-up Library!  Every second Friday (Week B) lunchtime, the pop-up library will appear in the JAPAC lounge, so that any boys who have not had the chance to visit the McKenzie Library during the week will still have the opportunity to borrow and return books.

We will have a great selection of popular books, graphic novels and magazines from the McKenzie Library for boys to choose from.  Library staff will be there to help them find the perfect book.

Boys, don’t forget to bring your frequent borrower’s card – for every 20 books borrowed, you will get a library certificate, and go in the draw to win a $20 book voucher!

The pop-up library will feature artworks by the winners of the design competition Christian Tan and Max McLeod from Year 7.

All welcome to join us for these upcoming events:

• OKGA Special Event: Tomorrow Man - A Night with the Blokes - Tuesday 29 October
• OKGA 2019 Golf Day - Wednesday 30 October

OKGA 2019 Golf Day 
When: Wednesday 30 October 2019, Lunch from 12.30pm; Tee Off 1.30pm 
Where: Avondale Golf Club, Pymble 

All members of the Knox community are warmly invited to participate in the 2019 Annual OKGA Golf Day.

Competitions to be held on the day include Individual Stableford + 2 Ball Team Event, Leavers’ Trophy ‐ Aggregate Four Ball, Father and Son, Mother and Son, Longest Drive and Nearest the Pin.

2019 Golf Day Invite

Please register online here by Friday 18 October. Contact the OKGA Office on 9487 0419 if you have any questions.

OKGA Special Event: Tomorrow Man - A Night with the Blokes
When: Tuesday 29 October 2019, Free BBQ from 6.30pm; Workshop from 7pm 
Where: Senior School Gymnasium, Lawson Centre 

The Old Knox Grammarians Association (OKGA) is delighted to be hosting a special Tomorrow Man event in conjunction with Gus Worland (OKG86), and Gotcha4Life.

Come and join with fellow men of the Knox community for ‘A Night with the Blokes’ - a space for a casual and honest conversation about the current man code and what tomorrow’s man might look like.

Throughout the night, we will explore how we can look after ourselves, our mates and families better while carving out our own version of the Aussie man.

Participants will leave this workshop with a deeper level of understanding and connectedness to their fellow men.

This event is open to all male members of the Knox community together with grandfathers, fathers, sons and brothers (under 16 must be accompanied by an adult male).

2019 OKGA A Night With The Blokes Invite

Register online here by Friday 25 October. 

Contact the OKGA Office on 9487 0419 or email okga@knox.nsw.edu.au if you have any questions.

Computer club takes place every Wednesday afternoon from 3.30 – 5.30pm.

Although we are currently working in the new innovations building, we are just about to move to the new iHub - old Music block (which will occur on Wednesday 30 October).

Our focus for the term will be the Grok Code Quest competition which starts Monday 28 October 2019.

All boys are welcome to attend.

For further information, please contact Mr David McGowan.

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.

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 or you can email Mr Beilharz. 

Each year the Knox community supports those in need in the lead up to Christmas. We ask the Knox community to donate food for families who will struggle to provide for their families at Christmas. 

Donations can be handed in to Room 19 or Mrs Clarke’s office (Room 15)

Suggested items:

Pasta and pasta sauce, breakfast cereals (no nuts), long-life milk, tinned ham and/or turkey, long-life custard and/or canned cream, Christmas pudding/fruit cake and/or mince pies, tinned tuna/salmon, tea/coffee/Milo/hot chocolate/Nesquik, canned fruit, cordial, savoury snacks (no nuts) and table trimmings (such as lollies, chocolate or Christmas bonbons)

In early December we will arrange to take all of the donations into Wesley Mission in the City for distribution to these struggling families.

For many years the Knox community have generously supported the STARTTS program. STARTTS is the acronym for the ‘NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors’.

The organisation provides a range of professional services to facilitate the healing process for refugees who have been exposed to torture and trauma, as well as access to health services for newly arrived refugees. The aim of the program at Knox is to provide your son with the opportunity to learn a little about the organisation and what it does, as well as to think about children of his own age who have had to cope with very real difficulties in their lives. It encourages the boys to think about demonstrating compassion in his life and how displaying that compassion is integral to our Christian compassion at Knox

The boys are asked to make a Christmas card for a child who is currently being assisted by the service. It would be wonderful if your son could provide a small Christmas gift ($10 in value) to which his card can eventually be attached.

The gifts should be handed to Room 19 by Tuesday 3 December. We intend to present the gifts to a guest speaker from STARTTS organisation that is coming to the School in the last week of term.

In previous years, the gift from our boys was often the only gift these children received. If possible, please wrap and label the gift indicating whether it is appropriate for a boy of girl.

We appreciate your support as always and hope that the boys will learn a great deal from their participation in this program.

For more information, please contact Mrs Helen Clarke.

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 boy’s 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 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.

  This week our Year 8 cohort all turned up in their Cadets uniform on Friday for their first cadets training session. 

Beau Penfold, Oliver Kingston, James Bradford, Hugo Duggan, Flynn Horley, Ollie Schliebs, Jack Wallis, Oliver Mills, Jackson Clarke, Elliot Chan, Ryan Cathcart and Jake Bennett looking sharp in their uniform

During the holidays  Luke Berlee, Malachi Chen, Ethan Florio-Yen, Jude Glendining, Yiming Guo, Paul Jo, Jeremi Lee, Jake Lee, Angus Wines and Roy Zhou formed part of a group of 15 boys from Year 7 and Year 8 who competed against schools from Australia, India and the United Kingdom as part of the International da Vinci Decathlon and Race Around the Renaissance. 

The boys took the time to increase their knowledge of Italian culture by doing some sightseeing around Rome and Venice, visiting the Leonardo da Vinci museum in Florence as well as taking part in a pasta making class in Tuscany. The boys all had a trip to remember for the years to come.