Throughout this year there have been many obvious, and in some cases less obvious, changes to the boys of Year 8. Many have moved through a growth spurt physically and some have learned ways to navigate themselves through challenging social-emotions issues. All the while parents are on the sideline, or at times even in the middle of the field, to add support and advice to their son. Recently we were fortunate to have Dr Andrew Campbell visit Knox. Dr. Andrew Campbell has been researching and teaching in the area of e-Mental Health and Child, Adolescent and Family Mental Health for more than a decade. He is currently a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the Co-Director of the Bachelor of Health Sciences. At the School’s request, Andrew has provided a presentation to parents on effective strategies that can be employed by parents across a range of teenager issues and within a range of contexts. As a parent, I know that many of the strategies mentioned I routinely use with my own children; however, I have found new and additional strategies as a result of listening to Dr. Campbell’s advice. I commend to you this presentation and hope you find it useful as you manoeuvre your son through adolescence.

Wayne Inwood

I would like to take this opportunity to say well done to the Year 8 cohort for their excellent behaviour whilst sitting their end of year examinations. I am sure it is a big relief for many boys that they are now completed, but with the finishing line so close in sight, it is important for the students to maintain high standards right up until the last day. It is not the time to let the hair down just yet; they should all be arriving to School on time, with correct uniform and equipment for their classes for the day.

As you may be aware, school Presentation Day on Thursday 3rd December. All students are expected to attend as we recognise and celebrate 2020. Presentation Day, while this year on a smaller scale, will mark the end of the boys' journey through the Junior Academy. 

Donations for the Wesley Mission Parramatta Christmas hampers are still very much needed. Please donate what you can for those struggling this Christmas to put food on the table. The STARRTS organisation is also still looking for gifts for children who will not receive any, for example, puzzles, games, books.

Last but not least, Year 8 will have guest speakers at our Year Meeting on Wednesday 25 November. Conviction Group will talk to the boys about Mental Health and Healthy Relationships. We hope the boys take away lots of positive messages, which given the long summer break ahead, are timely.

As always, please touch base with the Team Leaders or your son’s mentor if will can assist with the pastoral care of your son.

Carly Robinson

There have already been overwhelmingly generous Year 8 donations for the Wesley Mission and STARTTS program Christmas collections. The Christmas tree in the SAO office is ready to receive non-perishable hamper items and wrapped children's gifts for these charities. Our aim is to be unable to see the tree at all by the end of term! Thank you so much to those families who have already donated.

Knox Senior School Presentation Day
Senior School 7-11 Presentation Day will be held on Thursday 3 December in the Great Hall, Senior School. Senior School Presentation Day will be structured into three separate events:

• Year 11 - 11am-12pm
• Years 9-10 - 12.30pm-1.30pm
• Years 7-8 - 2pm-3pm

Students will be dismissed at the conclusion of their Academy Presentation Day ceremony. Knox buses will run at 1.45pm for Years 9-11 students and at 3.30pm for Years 7-8 students.

All Senior School students are expected to attend on Thursday 3 December. Due to COVID-19 protocols and indoor venue capacity limits, we will only be able to welcome parents of prize recipients on-site. However, the service will be live streamed. The parents of prize recipients will be sent an invitation to attend their relevant Presentation Day ceremony no later than Friday 27 November (prize recipients can only be finalised once examination marks have been collated). Parents of prize recipients will be required to pre-register to attend and register by QR on arrival.

If you have any questions about Senior School Presentation Day, please email Zsa-Zsa Monardo (Senior School).

Friendly reminder - 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.

Have a lovely weekend.

Renee Willson

Yearly Examinations and Reports
Yearly Examinations are now completed. Examination papers will be returned to students and marks finalised by early next week. You will be able to view your son’s Semester 2 reports in Parent Lounge in the last week of term. Class placements for 2021 will be emailed to you after reports have been published online.

Progressive Achievement Testing (PAT) for Year 8 students
Knox utilises the ACER Progressive Achievement Testing (PAT) data to compare our boys against the state and national standards; moreover, it helps inform us about what topics our boys are particularly successful at and where we may find areas of opportunity in our teaching and learning programs. Please note: PAT testing results are not published and your son’s performance does not impact his academic reports nor his class placement for Year 9.

All Year 8 students will complete the PAT tests for Reading, Writing, and Numeracy next week during one of their Science, English and Mathematics lessons. These three tests provide powerful data that (combined with our internal assessment program) assist with student tracking and year level academic interventions.

Your son will be emailed specific details about his test sessions; a fully charged laptop will be required for all three tests as they are administered electronically. Moreover, for the numeracy test, your son will need a calculator in addition to his laptop.

For further information regarding PAT can be found at this website.

Janelle Charlton

Body confident children and teens - free webinar for parents
Historically, research in the area of body image and eating disorders has focussed primarily on females. However, a quarter to a third of those struggling with an eating disorder are believed to be male. Additionally, disordered eating behaviors are increasing faster in males than females.

The truth is that body image issues affect people of all ages, genders and across all cultures and so it is important as parents and carers to aim to establish environments that support healthy eating habits and body image.

The Butterfly Foundation is the national charity for Australians impacted by eating disorders and body image issues, and for the families, friends and communities who support them. In conjunction with the Sydney North Health Network, Butterfly are offering a free webinar for parents on this important topic, titled ‘Body Confident Children and Teens’.

With a focus on prevention, this session provides information and practical tips to help parents and carers of children and teenagers better understand and promote positive body image and healthy relationships with food and physical activity in the home.

The webinar is being offered via Zoom on Thursday 26 November at 7pm. To register, click here.

Body Confident Children and Teens flyer

Some additional helpful reading in this area can also be found at the following links:

• https://butterfly.org.au/body-image/who-does-it-affect/
• https://childmind.org/article/boys-and-eating-disorders/
• https://www.nedc.com.au/assets/Fact-Sheets/NEDC-Fact-Sheet-Eating-Disorders-in-Males.pdf

Tuesday 24 November

Ride for Richter Cap Day - please click here for further details

Thursday 3 December

Term 4 concludes 

Each school has a different policy with regards to the number of spectators, so it will be important to carefully read the information below.

1. Check the team list to see your son’s team - see the Knox app (download instructions)
2. Check the sports draw to see where and when your son’s team is playing – check the Knox app
3. Is he playing at a Knox Grammar School venue? If yes:

• 2 spectator parents/guardians per player at our outdoor venues
• 1 spectator parent guardian per player at our indoor venues
• QR code registration will be in place across all facilities at entry points, with standard health checks and questions
• Players in all teams should turn up ready to play - no change rooms will be available
• Canteens will be closed. Players should bring their own labelled water bottles and snacks if required
• Players should leave immediately after completion of their fixture
• Teams due to play in Great Hall, MacNeil and Lawson court will need to wait on Boulevard until they may enter the facility. This will depend on finish time of previous fixture
• Water Polo players will need to wait in JAPAC rec area for clearance to enter the pool area
• Standard 1.5m social distancing for all spectators

4. Is your son playing away? Which school is he playing against?

Cranbrook School
• Indoor venues – 1 spectator parent/guardian per player
• Outdoor venues - 2 spectator parent/guardian per player

St Aloysius’ College
• Indoor venues – 1 spectator parent/guardian per player
• Outdoor venues - 2 spectator parent/guardian per player

Newington College
• Indoor venues – 1 spectator parent/guardian per player

Please ensure you follow social distancing guidelines at all times and leave immediately after your son’s game. As always, any sports cancellations due to wet weather will be announced via the Knox app (make sure you have subscribed to alerts for your son’s summer sport).

If you have any questions, please email the Sports and Aquatic Academy here.

Thank you and best wishes to all our students this weekend.

Martin Haywood, Head of Knox Sports and Aquatic Academy

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

Future Events
The Magazine Giveaway is happening in Week 8. Please come to the library to take advantage of this opportunity to top up your magazine collection. Lots of titles are here for your selection and collection, including 'National Geographic', 'Science Illustrated' and more.

New Reads are available for you to borrow from the Fiction section and include;
'Sword in the Stars' by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy
'The Great Unknowable End' by Kathryn Ormsbee
'The Survivors' by Jane Harper
'Tom Clancy’s Firing Point' by Mike Madden

Non-fiction books
Do you like reading factual information? Do you have a hobby or a particular interest? Non-fiction books are plentiful and remember you are most welcome to borrow these with titles ranging from Mathematics, Science and Psychology all the way through to History.

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

Year 8 Technology students doing the Agriculture Unit can be seen here after harvesting their vegetables to create a salad. The vegetables were planted by the students and grown in the Vegepods for each class for just over a month. This unit is part of the new National Curriculum for Technology and they are the first Year 8 group to undertake these fun practical activities.

Melinda Valent