Well done to the boys of Year 8 for a positive start to 2020. By all accounts the Class of 2024 are impressing all their teachers with their enthusiasm for learning. Across the board, the standard which the boys have set as the new leaders of the Junior Academy has not gone unnoticed. Despite the mixture of oppressive heat and torrential rain, there has been a lovely buzz around the campus over the past few weeks and we look forward to building on this success over the coming weeks.

As mentioned in last week’s newsletter, this term we will be reiterating the school values and protocols so that we all have a collective and shared understanding of the School’s position, and so that you can reinforce the messages we give to your sons.

This week’s focus in Year Meeting was on Servant Leadership and the importance of respect and care for one another. For us at Knox, respect is deeply embedded in the School’s values and we celebrate the worth of the individual. These early years of secondary school are an opportunity for the boys to expand their horizons, explore new possibilities and make new friends. We will continue to challenge our boys to get out of their comfort zone as we are confident in the knowledge that your sons will be better equipped for the years after Knox if they have a broad base of interests, skills, knowledge, experiences and memories by the time they leave the gates for the final time.

I would also like to thank the boys and all parents for your patience as we have conducted sport trials over the past two weeks. Our coaches have been striving to ensure that boys get a fair chance to demonstrate their ability and attitude in their preferred sport. At the beginning of the season, there is naturally some anxiety around team selection we emphasise that the first rounds are viewed as ‘trials’ and some movement across teams is to be expected. Although no one will begrudge the rain, which is most welcome after a dry summer, fingers crossed the conditions begin to clear for the weekend so that we can enjoy a competitive round of sport versus traditional rivals, Trinity Grammar School.

I look forward to seeing many of you this evening at the 'Knox at Home' gathering.

Jules Manuel

As Week 3 comes to an end I am sure you and your families are looking forward to the weekend.

Students are reminded of the Mobile Phone Policy which can be found on Page 18 of the Student Diary. Years 7 to 10 students are expected to have their mobile device in their locker throughout the course of the day. If a parent has an urgent need to pass on a message to their son he can briefly access his phone at his locker during either recess, lunch or the conclusion of the school day.

Art Classes: To sign up for Co-Curricular Art Classes please click here.

Sports Update: 
Any boy that missed Knox Swim trials on Saturday 1 February has one last chance to qualify on Monday 17 February from 7am in the Knox pool.

All boys have been sent an email with a link to an electronic form to enable them to select their winter sport choice. The email is from forms@edsmart.com.
If the email has not been received please contact the Sports office. All forms are due to be submitted by Friday 21 February.

Projects wanted for Year 10 Service Learning Project:
The Middle Academy is launching an ambitious project to refresh our Service Learning Program in 2020. We aim to engage all Year 10 students with local and national community organisations in order for the boys to fill these organisations’ needs. This will involve staff and students working directly with the organisations to identify areas of need and design and deliver products, services or initiatives for the organisations.

In order to ensure an effective program for both the students and the organisations, Knox is encouraging all community members with connections to community organisations, Rotary clubs, non-for-profit organisations and special interest groups to reach out to us with the hope we will be able to fill a need for the organisations.

Some examples of potential projects might include:
• Design and deliver a new awareness campaign
• Webpage design and publication
• Developing a fundraising initiative
• Creation of a community mural to replace graffiti
• Providing IT support of senior citizens

We are encouraging community organisations from all walks of like to reach out to Knox. An information evening for all potential organisations will be held on Wednesday 26 February from 6.30pm – 7.30pm.

If you have a connection to an organisation you think may be able to benefit from our project, please reach out to Tom Waterhouse, Director of Student Development Stage 5 or RSVP for your organisations here .

Have a great weekend and Happy Valentine's to you all.

Renee Willson, Tel: 9119 0886

Learner Protocols, the Knox APA, and Academic Reports – Request for participation in Focus Groups

I have been honoured to work alongside many of our school's inspiring leaders and thought leaders as we consider how best to communicate your son’s achievement in our termly reports. A literature review was conducted and the team has been inspired by the Chicago Consortium’s Learner Protocols, which outlined some of the most meaningful contributors to students achieving their academic personal best. You may be familiar with the Learner Protocols as we have started using them in our pastoral care programs and as contracts with students at the commencement of 2020 – we are looking to enhance our academic reports and APA to pivot from these contemporary research findings.

If you are interested in participating in a focus group Tuesday 18 February from 7.30am to 8.15am regarding the Learner Protocols, the Knox APA and our Academic Reports, please email me and indicate if you have any dietary requirements.

On behalf of the team, I am very excited to consult our parent community to help co-construct reports that are increasingly useful and are underpinned by our Total Fitness and Education for the Future models.

Jake Plaskett

This week you would have received an email from me outlining a program we are running with the Year 8 Cohort. If you missed this email you can look over the parent communication here. This program is part of our Knox Total Fitness aims for your son and developing skills required for success at school and beyond. Please take the time to read to document and if you have any further questions please do not hesitate to email or call me on 94870492.

At Knox we have a plethora of co-curricular activities for the students to find their connection. What I find is a lot of the boys don’t know who to ask or just need a gentle push. Over the next few weeks boys in the Year 8 cohort who last year only picked sport as their co-curricular are going to be my next project. In the next week information regarding co-curricular for Stage 4 and who to contact will be sent out. If you can start to have a conversation with your son about areas of interest outside of their chosen sport that would be a great lead in for when I start to encourage them to look into broadening their interest. Remember this could be music, coding, robotics or even a school tour. 

Andrea Wiffen

Friday 14 February

Knox at Home

Thursday 27 February

Doing da Vinci day - open to all boys in Core and da Vinci

Monday 2 March

Battle of the Bands - Heats

Thursday 9 April

Term 1 concludes

Tuesday 28 April

Term 2 commences

Knox Grammar School provides a large range of Co-Curricular activities.

• Co-Curricular opportunities as Knox
• Co-Curricular Art Classes
• Co-Curricular Weekly Training Schedule

Please note that the Photography and Digital Media classes have been moved to Thursday afternoons due to a scheduling conflict. The details for the two Art Classes are as follows:

Photography and Digital Media
Date and Time: Thursdays 3.30pm-5.00pm
Location: Art Building (VG02)
Cost: $50 (see link below to sign up)

Ceramics – Hand Building
Date and Time: Thursdays 3.30pm-5.00pm
Location: MK12
Cost: $50 (see link below to sign up)

To sign up for either of these, please follow the process explained here.

WHAT IS DA VINCI DECATHLON?

The da Vinci Decathlon is an academic competition designed to challenge and stimulate the minds of school students. Students compete in teams of eight across 10 disciplines: engineering, mathematics and chess, code breaking, art and poetry, science, English, ideation, creative producers, cartography and legacy.

The da Vinci Decathlon began in 2002 as an exciting offshoot of the very successful da Vinci Program for gifted and talented students at Knox. The Decathlon is designed to celebrate the academic gifts of Australian youth by providing a stimulating and challenging competition run in the spirit of an Olympic Decathlon.

Welcome to the Doing da Vinci Decathlon 2020 

THEME: ICONs

Thursday 27 February 2020 Years 7 - 10

Venue:  The Great Hall, Knox Grammar School, Wahroonga, NSW

Time: Arrival time 8.25am. Competition will conclude by 12.50pm and students are to bring their own morning tea and lunch and attend normal period 5 and period 6 lessons. 

Registration: Prior to registration online individually please plan your team of eight students as follows:  

1. Identify eight students to be in your team within your year group. 
2. Choose one student as the Team Captain of your team (used for team identification only)
3. Each team member needs to complete the registration form. To clearly identify your team please use your Team Captain's full First and Last name. If there appears to be more than eight in a team when we review the information. The date stamp of registration will be used to identify the first eight for that team, and others will be allocated to a team without eight. 
4. Each student is to complete the registration form.
5. DO NOT HAVE A TEAM OF eight no problems.
6. If you don't have a team please identify your team captain name as 'Individual'. You will be placed in a team. Please ensure you speak to your peers to see if they would like to this before registering as an individual. 
7. No changes will be made after the closing date. 

 
Enquiries: to Mrs Bieman  (02) 9487 0481. If you have any questions please see Mrs Bieman in Room 27 in the Main Administration Building. 

Register here. Registration closes on 13 February 2020 at 4pm. 

The Senior School Tuckshops have a number of vacant spots which we are desperate to fill. If you are a new parent or an existing parent, helping out in the tuckshop is very rewarding experience and a great way to meet and socialise with new friends.  

To volunteer, please click on the following links:

Term 1:                https://signup.com/go/TDxCBuJ  

Term 2:                https://signup.com/go/nsosvqa  

Term 3:                https://signup.com/go/NNEATps

Term 4:                https://signup.com/go/OYyUGPj

If you have any questions about volunteering in the tuckshops, please contact Caron Suleyman, Tuckshop Convenor at tuckshop@knox.nsw.edu.au

Clean Up Australia Day Sunday 1 March

There is an opportunity for families to clean up our environment – register with a Clean-up event on the link below. The boarders will be cleaning up at Wahroonga Park. There are many other opportunities near you. Click here for further information.

Sallianne McClelland, a local champion of the Hornsby Women’s Shelter and other community groups will be our guest at the Knox International Women’s Day Breakfast. Prep, WPS and Senior School students and parents are invited.

·       Venue The Great Hall Foyer 7am-8am

·       $20pp and a light breakfast is included

Please pay on the Knox Payment Portal. Go to the Knox Payment Portal and click on ‘other activities’ and scroll down to the International Women’s Day Breakfast.