Last week during Mentor, our Year 8 boys wrote a letter of gratitude to the COVID-19 front line workers, and it was so lovely to read some of their responses. I know many of you reading this newsletter have been on the frontline in some capacity, but regardless, we as a country are indebted to the unsung heroes of 2020, who have worked in care homes, stacked grocery shelves, worked endless hospital shifts, and so many more, to keep us all safe.  We are grateful when we get something we want, but really, the first step to happiness is to be grateful for what we have right now. Only after you build an ‘attitude of gratitude’ can you grow and build on your happiness and be where you want to be in life. A few years ago, I travelled to Cambodia to volunteer and supervise students who were going to teach young Khmer children English. Part of this involved travelling around local villages and talking to families about their experiences of living in Cambodia, (particularly after the Cambodian Genocide.) I will never forget the generosity shown to us as we travelled around different homes. Many of these people did not have beds, had never seen a fridge or washing machine and did not own shoes - but they were the most generous people I have ever met. They insisted that teachers and students take bottles of water to stay hydrated, they cooked for us and answered all the questions to help the students learn. So many of these people had nothing, but they gave everything, without hesitation.

In the newsletter, we have been asking for donations for the food bank and school shoes for the Philippines. We strongly encourage our Year 8 boys to get involved and give to those in need.

As mentioned by our Headmaster, a huge event being launched this weekend is the ‘Ride with Richter’ fundraiser. Alex Richter is our popular Year 12 student who has suffered spinal injuries. I implore the boys to get involved and get donating. We are keen to hear ideas from the 2024 cohort on how we can get around this and show support to this courageous young man.

2020 has been a year where lots of things have been taken away from us. Let’s flip that and think about others. Let’s be a Year Group that cares for others.

I hope everyone is looking forward to Spring. I am certainly loving the longer evenings and enjoying the warmer weather!

As always, please get in touch with the Team Leaders, or your son’s Mentor if we can assist you with the pastoral care of your son. 

Carly Robinson

First place: Daniel Chen, Boy reflected in a puddle

Second place: Alex Pallant, Shadow photograph

Third place: James Hong, Aqua ball.

Food Drive

Thank you for all the donations that we have received so far for the Food Drive. We have an office full of non-perishable food that has been collected for Ku-ring-gai Neighbourhood Centre, to support local families in need. Please feel free to donate long-life milk, cereal, coffee, tea, cans of meat, vegetables, fruit and/or soup, cup of soup and dried fruit. No glass items, please. Items can be dropped off at my office and/or Mrs Clarke's office (Room 15). A reminder that our campuses are currently closed to parents and therefore it would be greatly appreciated if your sons bring in any items for the Food Drive.

Music/Pipes & Drums Lessons

There seems to be some confusion lately with the boys attending private Music/Pipes & Drums lessons. At the start and conclusion of their lessons, they are required to come to my office to sign out and then sign back in to class. If this does not occur, many boys will find they have been marked absent from their academic class for unknown reasons. 

Parents are reminded to check your contact details in Parent Lounge and update where necessary.

Have a wonderful weekend. 

Renee Willson

If your son is required to quarantine at home whilst waiting for COVID-19 test results for himself or a close contact, please inform SAO Mrs Willson, who will then liaise with your son’s teachers to inform them. Teachers will provide work for your son to complete at home, either via Google classroom or school email. Your son can also actively reach out to his teacher via email should he have any questions about the set work. Please note that we are not running regular online Zoom lessons in Term 3. Should your son be unable to sit or submit an assessment task as a result of quarantine, please complete and submit an Illness/Misadventure Appeal application.

Upcoming Assessment tasks

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

Janelle Charlton

This year has been a challenging one to say the least. It has been encouraging to see the resilience and mental fortitude of so many of our boys in getting on with life as normally as they can in what has been a time of so much change and uncertainty.

The Year 8 Leadership Team have noticed more and more each week the changes happening before our eyes with some of your sons. They are growing both physically and mentally, changing and maturing in different ways. With this growth though comes new challenges for the student, parents and staff as we all attempt to steer them through the journey of adolescence and out the other side into young adulthood.

We have noticed from conversations and interactions with students that they have ever increasing social lives, with new found freedoms, responsibility and trust from you, as parents, allowing them to explore their independence. This same independence however, has a potential for harm where some students may choose to partake in risk taking behaviour or poor lifestyle choices. These behaviours and/or choices can be due to peer pressure, a lack of maturity, trying to grow up too fast, false courage or any combination of the above.

When gaining more independence, it is important for students to realise that with this new found freedom comes the responsibility of being accountable for their actions. As much as possible we are all trying to prepare the boys for life, both inside and outside of the classroom. We are all striving to empower our students with the best knowledge and understanding of the world around them. This knowledge and understanding will hopefully be used to allow them to make positive lifestyle and social choices for themselves and their mates when away from our direct voice of advice or control.

Nevertheless, as parents and as a school, we understand that these life lessons can’t be learnt sitting at home. I’m sure some of the best fun we all had as children and young adults was when we were outside, carefree and with our mates (and we didn’t have mobile phones). I encourage you all to have a conversation with your sons about the positives and potential negatives that come by way of independence and the importance of making good decisions.

With spring just around the corner, daylight saving time not too far away and a whole lot of holidays ahead of us, it is fair to say the boys are looking forward to the times to come. For some, it will be their first experience heading out by themselves with just their mates which undoubtedly will bring about a few nerves for both boys and parents. Listed below are a few ideas that may help ease some of these nerves and give confidence in their newfound freedom:

• Have a set drop off and pick up location and agree on a pick up/home time
• Set a geographic boundary (e.g. Westfields only, the beach and main street only)
• Know the names and phone numbers of the people they are with and their parents
• Ensure their mobile phones are charged and remain switched on at all times
• Ask them what they are going to be doing
• Identify a ‘safe location’ near to where they are going to be
• Ensure that in an emergency, they have a plan and know what to do

While only a small piece of the puzzle I hope that this provides some insight into what could be just around the corner for you and your family. As always, we are all here to help. If you would like to discuss any of the above information or have further questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact your son’s Mentor, his Year 8 Team Leaders or I and we will endeavour to help wherever we can. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and make the most of the warm weather to come.

Dan Parker

Friday 25 September

Term 3 concludes

Year 8 are scheduled to begin Cadet training in full uniform with the Cadet Unit in Week 1 of Term 4. In light of the current health situation however, this is still to be confirmed but it has been decided we will go ahead and size all Year 8 students who want to purchase the uniform. This will be recorded at the Uniform Shop but no payments will be taken. For further details, please click here.

McKenzie Library News

These are the most popular books to read from the library. All are available for you to borrow:

Ernest Cline 

'Ready Player One' 

James Dashner

'The Maze Runner' 

Laura Hillenbrand

'Unbroken'

Kazu Kibuishi

'Amulet: The Stonekeeper. Book One' 

'Amulet: The Stonekeeper’s Curse.  Book Two'

Some movie suggestions for you to watch on Clickview include:

'Wall-E' - rated G. A small waste-collecting robot inadvertently embarks on a space journey that will ultimately decide the fate of mankind.

'Red Dog' - rated PG. Based on the legendary true story of the Red Dog who united a disparate local community while roaming the Australian outback in search of his long lost master. Directed by Kriv Stenders

Finally, a reminder that the library is open from 8am to 4pm for study, homework help and borrowing. 

Sally Thomson

In line with the current NSW Health guidelines and in order to mitigate the risks posed by COVID-19, the Uniform Shop staff have taken measures to ensure the safety of students, parents and other staff. External cleaners professionally clean all high-touch areas and surfaces every evening with a non-toxic, hospital grade disinfectant. During the day our staff spray down the changing rooms and service areas. Each room is equipped with hand sanitiser and wall-mounted hand sanitiser stations are at the entry.

Each room is limited to the number of people permitted and that is stated on the entrance to each room. Because of this, we have limited capacity in the changing rooms of only two rooms being operational and only one parent per child who is trying on uniform. As Term 4 is the changeover to summer uniform, can we please request that you take this into consideration. For the remainder of Term 3, we will also be sizing uniforms for Year 8 Cadets.

The options for purchasing uniform are as follows:

• Where possible, if you know the correct sizes to order, please order online through Flexischools.
• If you do require sizing, please make a note before coming what sizes your son is currently wearing.
• In Years 7-12, your son can come to the Uniform Shop at lunchtime. We can provide the sizes required and order online via Flexischools.

To avoid long waiting times towards the end of term, we would advise checking your son’s summer uniform now and, if you require new uniform, please order early. Students in the Senior School are permitted to collect orders at lunchtime or after school. Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding.

Uniform Shop opening times: Monday through to Friday, 12.30-5pm.

Julie Blackburn

I would like to remind all Senior School boys that they are invited to take part in our Knox Track and Field Meet Series from this Saturday at Gillespie Field. Despite there being no official CAS Track and Field Season due to COVID-19, Knox is determined to push ahead with an internal Track and Field Series to support their physical and mental health.

The event will take the form of a ‘Nitro Challenge’, with boys invited to take part in a series of individual and team events, which will be a lot of fun.

Senior School boys should arrive at 10am for training (hurdles, sprints, middle distance, javelin, discus, long and high jump) followed by the Nitro Challenge from 11.30am to 1pm. Boys are also welcome to simply attend the training session at 10am, or just the Nitro event, boys are not required to attend both sessions unless they desire.

The events are taking place each Saturday until Week 8 (Saturday 29 August, Saturday 5 September, Saturday 12 September). A reminder, we are unfortunately unable to have any parent spectators on-site due to COVID-19 protocols. Please drop-off your son and return to collect him at the end of the session.

For more information, please contact Mr Matt Fowler, Head of Athletics.

Martin Haywood, Head of Knox Sports and Aquatic Academy

Ride with Richter
Ten months ago, the Knox community received the news that now Year 12 student Alex Richter had an accident on his mountain bike, resulting in a spinal injury. After 10 months of hospitalisation and rehabilitation, he was discharged and given the all-clear to return to school. The Stage 6 Team worked with Alex and his family to put a gradual return to school plan into place, which included doing the HSC over a few years. These intentions were short lived as Alex decided he wanted to be back at school full time and complete his HSC this year! Despite having missed three terms of class work, Alex is currently completing his Trial HSC exams in all subjects and is on track to meet all NESA requirements to be eligible to complete his HSC with the Class of 2020. Wow!

I am proud to commend to you a fundraising initiative that kicks off this Saturday. Register now at the Ride With Richter website which is a challenge to either ride, run, row or walk from 29 August to 20 September (Tour de France dates). The idea is to commit to a goal within one of these activities. I have heard of some lofty targets within the Stage 6 team as they endeavour to ‘Ride With Richter’. Me, I will be aiming to walk and row as part of the challenge. I encourage the entire Knox community to register for this event either as an individual or as a family.



Scott James