It has been another busy week for the Class of 2024 with most activities and clubs back to full capacity. It has been great to see so many of our boys arriving to school for music rehearsals, track and field training, swimming or just to spend some extra time with their mates before lessons begin for the day.

Over the course of this week and next, subject selection for the Middle Academy years at Knox will be a common point of discussion for all boys. Selecting Elective courses to study for these years can be a difficult decision. When choosing, boys should look at the level of enjoyment and engagement they think they will have in a subject to help make this decision. The more boys enjoy participating, the more likely they are to achieve their best.

Saturday’s matches against Waverley College mark our first official NAIDOC Round. We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land upon which we teach your sons and upon which my colleagues and I come to work each day. Knox’s vision is to acknowledge our shared  history, to accept that we all have a role to play when it comes to reconciliation and that we have a responsibility to build a community that values Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, history and culture.

As part of this NAIDOC Week at Knox, an acknowledgement plaque was unveiled that features the Guringai language on it. The Aboriginal students at Knox have worked with the local Aboriginal community to create a design which is focused around inclusivity, local knowledge and the Guringai community. The 1st teams will be wearing their jersey featuring this artwork for their matches this Saturday.

Assessment Tasks will also begin to ramp up over the next few weeks. We encourage our boys to attend the Junior Academy Lounge where there is a member of the Academic staff available to assist them with their school work.

As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to the Team Leaders if you have any questions or concerns.

Julien Manuel

It's been another very busy week around the School.

As part of the NAIDOC Week celebrations, a moving Acknowledgement of Country, smoking ceremony and plaque unveiling ceremony was held on the  Boarders' Terrace. The new plaque, created by Uncle Laurie Bimson, features an engraving of a stingray, the totem of the Guringai people. The special event included representatives from staff, parents, the OKGA and student leadership.

Well done to the Community Portfolio student leaders who gave up their lunchtime to collect litter around Borambil Park near Warrawee Station for a community clean-up. The boys collected two bags of rubbish leaving the area rubbish free. 

Absence Notification

A reminder that when logging your son's absence in Parent Lounge, please remember to include the nature of his medical condition in the comment section if you have selected Illness/Medical. Should your son be suffering from any symptoms associated with COVID-19, please follow the school protocol of having your son tested. Keep your son at home until results are known and his symptoms abate.

Uniform Shop - Term 4 Summer Uniform

Have a great weekend everyone. 

Renee Willson

Upcoming Assessment tasks

Dates subject to change if required. View published assessment task notifications for specific task details.

Janelle Charlton

The year of 2020 will be one we remember for a variety of reasons. Personally, I think it’s great the amount of quality family time that has occurred because of social restrictions. It’s not often that family, school, work, sport and social agendas align. Professionally, I have reservations on the digital habits the students have developed this year. The amount of online learning and screen time our students have clocked up this year is concerning and I believe as a combined teacher and parent team we need to be aware of their online behaviour. Some of us are of the age where if we needed knowledge or information we asked our parents or teachers. Today, search engines are progressively taking up that position. Research shows that during their mid teenage years, students start to move away from the beliefs of their parents and start taking on the values and beliefs of their friends and other influencers. Are we comfortable with our students getting their values and beliefs from online sources?

It is also timely to check in with the boys about who they are talking to online. They need to be aware and equip themselves with the same 'stranger danger' knowledge they were taught early in life and use that in an online setting as well. As an example, Discord app is currently used by many students. If you read the advertisement it’s 'Your place to talk', from what I hear most of our students talk about gaming or swapping extensions for gaming. The concerning point is the boys can be talking to complete strangers on that app who can also call them through the app. At school this app is blocked on the boys' computers; however, they can access it on their phones or when at home. We encourage you to have the conversation, if you haven’t already with your sons about what they are using online and who they are talking to. 

Andrea Wiffen

Friday 25 September

Term 3 concludes

Information regarding summer sport choices have been emailed to all boys in Years 7-11. Choices should be carefully considered and made as soon as possible. Submissions must be made by 14 August at the latest.

If you have any questions, please contact us here.

Martin Haywood, Head of Knox Sports and Aquatic Academy

School shoes for the Philippines
Later in the term, we will be seeking donations of school shoes. These shoes are life changing to many poor children and importantly, allow many to attend school. More information to follow.

The Knox Social Justice Club
The Club is meeting as a group again each Friday at lunchtime in the WSA Auditorium. Updates are still available in the e-Club platform. Please email Mrs Clarke for more information on how to join or volunteer. We collect a gold coin donation at each meeting to support projects for Youth of the Streets.

Helen Clarke, Head of Diversity, Justice and Stewardship

Congratulations to the winners of the 2020 Knox Battle of the Bands, Scapegoat (Y11). The boys were judged the winners by a panel of music industry judges in the Wenkart Theatre at lunchtime on Wednesday. Well done to our Year 8 entrants The Unknowns, made up of Lucas Joergensen, Ethan Bawtree, Hendrix George and Harry Liubinskas. You were sensational boys and can be extremely proud of yourselves.

This year's 'Inspired Performance Award' went to Hendrix George!

What a great start we had to NAIDOC Week with a traditional Smoking Ceremony and the subsequent unveiling of the acknowledgement plaque that features the Guringai language on it.