Campion Books 2021
Please be aware that decisions regarding da Vinci placements and Mathematics placements for Years 8 to 10 are made in week 8, the last week of school. To avoid the need to swap texts please hold off submitting your order until you are notified of your son’s placement. The Campion deadline for orders is the 9 December 2020.

Year 9 Book List

Mrs Karen Yager

In a 2018 NSW parliamentary research report, which analysed the Australian Bureau of Statistics data, it estimated that there are just under 40,000 homeless people living in New South Wales. Imagine the Senior School students, timed by 20. That is roughly how many people in our state, live on the streets or in homeless shelters.

But why should we care? One of our School values is compassion, but compassion isn’t just about, being nice to everyone, donating a bit of lose change; it’s about actions. It literally means, ‘to suffer with others.’ One of the qualities I find most admirable in a person is empathy; the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes, even when what is happening does not necessarily affect you. Empathy is an innate and learned skill, that is fostered by a child’s primary and secondary socialisation. If we want our boys to care, we need to help them learn why. At our Year Meeting this week, we heard from the new Social Justice Prefects in Year 12, who spoke about some initiatives that the Social Justice Portfolio Leadership students are encouraging our boys to get behind. I would like to highlight some messages.

Each year on the run up to Christmas, we ask our students and families to donate items for the Uniting Church, Wesley Mission Parramatta, and Appeal for Christmas Food Hampers. The students are encouraged to bring in non-perishable items. For example: tinned goods, packets of pasta, rice, etc - you get the idea! But alongside this, items such as baby formula, nappies, soap and laundry detergent would also all be very gratefully accepted.

The STARTTS organisation is another initiative we are encouraging our boys to connect with. This is done through donating Christmas gifts to children who receive no other gifts at Christmas. Items such as toys, puzzles and games would again be received with deep thanks. Please note that there is no need to wrap the gifts as this will be done at school and allocated for boy/girl and age. Should your son want to donate any of the above, please leave in Mrs Clarke’s office in Room 15, the SAO office, or in my office which is right beside the lockers! The Dali Lama said, 'Compassion is a necessity, not a luxury.' I hope our Year 8 students can think about others this Christmas and donate what they can.

The students will begin their Yearly Examinations during Week 5, kicking off with Mathematics, and either History or Geography. Mr Manuel and I wish them the best of luck! There are study sessions happening in the JAPAC lounge from 3.30pm-4.30pm, and we encourage the boys to attend so that they're feeling prepared and ready for the final set of examinations in Year 8.

Lastly, a gentle reminder that hair should be a suitable length and style, as per instructions on page 23 of their school diary. Our high expectations follow right up to the final day of Term 4.

Have a lovely weekend ahead and as always, please get in touch with the Team Leaders or your son's Mentor, if we can assist with the pastoral care of your son.  

Carly Robinson

It has been yet another action packed week for the boys. I do have to mention how grown up they all looked in their full Cadet uniform last Friday and those (and there were many!) who popped into the SAO office to show me how they looked. It certainly made me a proud SAO.

Cadets
The next stage of uniform has begun for our Year 8 recruits. On Saturday 21 and Saturday 28 November, recruits may collect the rest of their gear from the Q-Store that will be on loan to them. The Q-Store will be open from 8am-4pm and the days are divided by company. Accompanying parents will need to follow the policy as per Saturday sport spectating and sign in with the QR code at Borambil gates prior to entry to collect the gear.

• Saturday 21 November 2020 – BRAVO, CHARLIE and DELTA companies
• Saturday 28 November 2020 – ECHO, FOXTROT and GOLF companies

Any questions, please email the Cadet Office.

Friendly reminders
Please remember that morning temperature checks and ID scanning are still ongoing. It is imperative that all students have their temperatures taken upon arrival and are scanned in with their ID cards.

During the school term, the campus remains closed to parents due to COVID-19 restrictions. Please contact me or reception if you have any queries about this.

If your son is absent from school or will be arriving late/leaving early, please let me know of the details regarding this via Parent Lounge or send an email prior to 9am on that day, to allow me to promptly reconcile the absences each day.

It certainly is beginning to look like Christmas in the SAO office. A huge thank you to our generous families for all your donations.

As a School, we would like to continue supporting Alex 'AJ' Richter and his family, to assist in the purchase of equipment that is vital for his continued rehabilitation. An initiative of the Prefect Executive is to hold a Ride for Richter Cap Day on 24 November at Knox. Boys can wear their purchased cap to school with smart casual clothes. There will also be other fundraising initiatives including a donation at the gates and a raffle.

Have a lovely weekend.

Renee Willson

As we enter the Yearly Examinations period next week, I would like to encourage each boy to strive to achieve his personal best. It is important to remember that Yearly Examinations in Stage 4 are important for building the foundations of good study habits and techniques that will be critical as your son progresses towards the HSC and beyond. Could you please read through the Knox Examination Code of Conduct with your son to ensure he is aware of expected behaviour during the Yearly Examinations?

A reminder that if your son is absent for any examination, you should inform his SAO as early as possible on the day of absence. We will endeavour to administer the missed examination on the next or subsequent day, where practicable. An Illness/Misadventure Appeal (IMA) application together with relevant documentation (such as a medical certificate or parent note) must be emailed here and a copy to the SAO by Thursday 19 November to avoid any task penalty. As per our Assessment Policy, late completion of an examination without an approved IMA or leave form may attract a 10% reduction of marks.

Dates subject to change. Check assessment task notifications for final dates and further details.

Note: PAT tests (Progressive Achievement tests) in Maths, Reading and Writing will be administered in designated lessons from Thursday 19 November -  Friday 27 November.

Janelle Charlton

As your child moves throughout his adolescence, one of the most common issues that he’d encounter is anxiety. There are many perspectives on anxiety and its function, and as parents it’ll be helpful to gain an understanding of this.

There is a free webinar being run by Dr Caroline Donovan through the 'Be You' organisation that will talk about anxiety in secondary education settings. The program will cover:

• What is anxiety and types of anxiety; identifying those with anxiety and internalised anxiety
• What underpins anxiety; treatment of anxiety
• The importance of the relationship with the school
• How schools can support the student with anxiety
• What teachers need to be aware of with anxiety - the avoidance cycle

If you’re interested in this, the details are below.

Understanding and Responding to Anxiety in Secondary School Settings
Tuesday 10 November 2020 (3.45pm-4.45pm)
Click here to register.

Does your child demonstrate avoidant behaviours when it comes to academic work?
The counselling Psychologists have put together some information here that discusses strategies to deal with procrastination, which is a common issue among students throughout Prep School and Senior School. As always, feel free to speak to your Mentor and/or Team Leader if you believe it’s a significant issue.

Monday 9 - Sunday 15 November

National Recycling Week

Tuesday 24 November

Ride for Richter - please click here for further details

Thursday 3 December

Term 4 concludes 

Cadet Leave Form Instructions

To access the Cadet Leaver Form in the Knox app, please go to CONTACTS> SCHOOL CONTACTS> CADETS

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 13 November 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.

Thank you to all those students who entered into the Book Week Competitions. Some truly remarkable and colourful entries were submitted.  

The results are in and the winners of the Book Week 2020 Wild Creative Writing and Graphics Competitions are;

Creative Writing

First place: Joseph Guo (Y7)

Second place: Marcel Rudas (Y7)

Wild Graphics

First place: Brodie Shearer (Y7)

Second place: Hugo Hoskins (Y9)

These students will each receive a $20 book voucher from Novella Bookshop, Wahroonga Village. All entries are available to view in the McKenzie Library.

Thank you to all who entered.  

Future events

Magazine Giveaway in Week 8. Come to the library for the free giveaway of this year’s magazines. 

Holiday Borrowing - you are welcome to borrow for the school holidays. Books will be dated to return the first week of Term 1 2021.

Returning Books - have you received an overdue reminder? Do you need more time to read your selected book? Just come along and speak to the staff in the library or email us to extend your loan.  

Enjoy your reading.

Sally Thomson

2021 Applications
We would like to invite students who have competed at the state/national level to apply to join the PEAK program for the next intake. We understand that COVID-19 may have impacted some state/national championships, so PEAK eligibility criteria has been extended to include the last 12 months, or the last state/national championship event that was run.

What is PEAK?
PEAK will be going into its third year of operation and is designed to support high-performing student-athletes who aspire to have a career in elite sport. We aim to develop healthy, resilient and capable students by supporting the holistic wellbeing of each individual, whilst assisting them to achieve their academic and sporting potential.

The PEAK program includes:

• One on one mentoring with Knox high performance coaches, including the development of an Individual Performance Plan (IPP)
• Keynote speakers focusing on the Knox Total Fitness pillars, including:

  • Academic Fitness – covering themes such as time management, goal setting and habits for academic success
  • Physical Fitness – covering effective nutritional practices for athletes, sleep for recovery and effective rehab/prehab
  • Spiritual Fitness (Personal Development) – covering communication, mental preparation and leadership
  • Social/Emotional Fitness – covering resilience, performing under pressure and respect and responsibility

• Small group workshops to further enhance each student-athlete’s skills and learning capabilities.

Please see the PEAK website for more information about the program, including a copy of the prospectus.

To apply, please complete application form here. Applications will close on Thursday 3 December (last day of Term 4), with successful applicants to be notified before school resumes in 2021.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email here.

Kieran Donohue, Director of PEAK

Given the lovely sunny weather on Wednesday afternoon, Mr Nolan, took his French class out and onto Memorial Lawn to play a game of Pétanque.

What is Pétanque?
It is a sport that falls into the category of boules sports, along with raffa, bocce, boule lyonnaise, lawn bowls and crown green bowling. In all of these sports, players or teams play their boules/balls towards a target ball.

Why Pétanque is such a great leisure activity:
• The boules are not expensive and last a lifetime
• Little or no special preparation is needed for the playing surface
• Everything you need to play fits into a small box
• No great strength or athleticism is required
• People of all ages and gender can compete on an equal basis
• The rules and strategy of the game are easy to learn
• Pétanque is a wonderful centerpiece for more general social activity such as picnics, camping trips, or family outings. In French villages, the place where pétanque is played is often central and an important discussion and meeting place.