Over the past fortnight, the Class of 2024 have learnt about two very important themes of the Knox community – Respect and Service to others. Beginning last Thursday when we celebrated International Women’s Day along with over 100 young ladies from Pymble Ladies' College. Guest speaker Melissa Doyle spoke about the challenges faced by various groups in our society and how treating all with respect is the key.

Respect is – or should be – the underlying stance that each one of us takes with other people. The person next to you in an assembly, the person opposing you in a scrum, the person teaching you in a class or the person squashed with you on a train. This is true, regardless of race, nationality, appearance, ability or gender. You have probably heard it said that respect needs to be earned. I disagree wholeheartedly. Respect is given, not earned. As we have said to the boys, respect goes both ways – we will always treat them with respect and encourage them to do the same!

The second theme which is integral to our community is that of service to others. As we explore what it actually means to be a leader, we have been encouraging the boys to understand that the most effective way to lead is by serving others. Mr James has often said, 'You are going to get out of it what you put into it.' This should drive the boys to give full effort in all they do, especially in serving others. Service to others should be done with no expectation of reward or gain from giving to others.

There are many ways our boys can give back to our community. Last Tuesday, boys from Year 8 joined the Headmaster in the World’s Greatest Shave and on Sunday 29 March, the boys can join the Head Above Water 12hr Swim in the Knox pool to raise awareness of mental health. Through these opportunities or small acts of kindness each day, the boys will become more confident, happy, and more appreciative of the opportunities they have.  We encourage all boys and their families to keep an eye out for the many opportunities to give back to others in our community over the course of the year.

I would like to congratulate all boys on a magnificent summer sports season in 2019-20. The season was filled with many highlights and puts us in a great position as we move into the winter sports season. Finally, congratulations to all those boys who gained selection in the CAS Swimming and Diving Team this year and we look forward to celebrating their individual and team success in the coming weeks.

As always, please feel free to contact Ms Robinson or I should you have any concerns or questions. 

Julien Manuel

Period 7 Sport

If boys are required to change into PDHPE uniform during lunch, they should be in the following: Knox sports shorts and Knox blue collared PE top, (in winter they may wear Tracksuit top and/or bottom). No basketball/rugby/football jerseys, singlets etc are to be worn however, it is fine for them to have these sport uniform under their PE polo. 

There was great excitement at the CAS Swimming and Diving Championships at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre. The School Assembly and send-off for the swimmers, divers and spectators set a positive tone for the evening. The Knox Swim and Dive team performed with wonderful determination and talent. The supporters were in full 'war cry' voice and showed brilliant sportsmanship and spirit. Congratulations to the entire team for bringing the trophy back 'home' again.

Have a fantastic weekend! 

Renee Willson, Tel: 9119 0886

Assessments and private Music lessons

A reminder that it is the student’s responsibility to reschedule any private music lessons that clash with scheduled assessment task dates. If a student misses an assessment task due to attendance at a private Music lesson, a 10% penalty may be applied.

Academic Help in the JAPAC Lounge after school

There are many help options provided by the School to assist the boys to meet their academic goals. The JAPAC Lounge is a great place to visit after school, where students are able to work collaboratively. Social Learning Theory, theorised by Albert Bandura, posits that people learn from one another, via observation, imitation, and modelling. The theory has often been called a bridge between behaviourist and cognitive learning theories because it encompasses attention, memory, and motivation.  In short, boys learn best by collaborating and learning best practice skills from one another. What a great idea to stay back, get homework done and then relax when you get home!

In the JAPAC Lounge, there is a supervisor in attendance every day until 5.15pm. Boys are also able to gain assistance with homework and assessment tasks or study on the following days:

Mondays:

Maths help from current Year 10 students (Term 2)

Tuesdays:

Study Hub - Maths or general help as well as study guidance from Mrs Coetzee. This term we also have a recent former student available for general help.

Wednesdays:

English or general help from Ms Dawes. This term we also have a recent former student available for general help.

Thursdays:

Maths help from current Year 10 students (Term 1 – Weeks 7/8/9 only)

Fridays:

General academic help from Mr Inwood.

Please click here for a comprehensive listing of academic and curricular clubs available for students.

Doing da Vinci Day

In Week 5, our boys took park in the Doing da Vinci Day in the Great Hall. The boys were engaged in a series of tasks that demanded critical and creative thinking, problem-finding and problem-solving, collaboration and communication. All students who participated should be congratulated for their efforts and courage. Results for the 2020 event are as follows:

Janelle Charlton

Our current Prefect Executive group and Prefect body have put a strong emphasis on mental health awareness and literacy. They established ‘Mateship, Service and Culture’ as their three focus areas for 2020 and have set about providing initiatives to promote these ideals.

To that end, we have been working with Gotcha4Life and Head Above Water to create a unique and meaningful Knox community event. The Knox Head Above Water 12 Hour Swimathon/Challenge, based on the original 24 hour version of Head Above Water that now runs annually at Collaroy, will take place on Sunday 29 March between 6am and 6pm in the Knox Aquatic Centre. We are hoping to raise awareness and some money for these wonderful organisations whilst proactively promoting our own Total Fitness model.

Our Total Fitness model and current emphasis on ‘Mateship’ is synonymous with the mission statement of Gotcha4Life:

"Gotcha4Life was established because we do not accept the alarming statistics surrounding suicide in Australia, with eight people taking their life every day.

We believe in the power of prevention through connection and champion the idea of proactively building mental fitness and the resilience required to deal better with the challenges that life throws at us.

We trust the concept of starting meaningful conversations by developing better social and emotional connections with mates, family and community."

Gotcha4Life is a not-for-profit Foundation raising awareness of the importance of identifying a close friend in your life, someone you can speak openly and honestly to when times are tough. We fund educational workshops and innovative training programs throughout Australia that build mental fitness in individuals and communities to activate strong, open and binding relationships.

The founder of Gotcha4Life is media personality Gus Worland (OKG86). Gus will be presenting to the School at our Assembly on Thursday next week to speak to the values and desired outcomes of Gotcha4Life together with promoting this first time Knox event. Head Above Water is an activity based fundraising group which supports Gotcha4Life as a registered charity. Its founder, Andrew Ward, established this group as a result of having to rely upon others in order to deal with some extremely challenging and unforeseen issues in his own life.

We will be asking current Knox students, their friends and families, Knox Old Boys and other CAS/local schools to register and get involved with this fun and community oriented inaugural event. With the option to register and/or donate, we hope that all members of the extended Knox community will participate and show their support.

You can register according to your swimming ability and there will be relays for those interested between 1pm and 2pm, as per the registration portal. There will be a BBQ, music and other activities running throughout the day as well, with a short post event function at 6.15pm.

Registration is $20 as an individual (you register for a half an hour time slot) and $40 per relay team of four (team captains to register and pay for their team on the registration portal). Those that register will receive a Knox Head Above Water swim-cap when they sign in on the day.

To register or donate click here and please email me should you have any questions about the event.

Sam White

Thursday 19 March - Saturday 21 March

'The Importance of Being Earnest'

Thursday 9 April

Term 1 concludes

Friday 10 April

Good Friday

Sunday 12 April

Easter

Monday 27 April

Term 2 commences 

For the past 12 years the Knox community has been supporting the Wesley Mission each Easter with gifts of Easter eggs and pots of noodles for Sydney’s homeless. This small gesture for those who are struggling and isolated brings a lot of joy and appreciation.

Please bring your donations along to the SAOs office or to Room 15 (Mrs Helen Clarke in the Social Justice Office). 

The Science Department is organising participation in the Big Science Competition this year. 
An email was sent to all parents and students with the relevant information attached. 

The Big Science Competition is mandatory for all Years 7 – 10 da Vinci Science students.
Any student who is in a Years 7 - 10 Core class and wishes to participate in this competition is required to self-nominate.

All parents must accept their son’s participation in this competition through the Parent Lounge via the School Portal by Tuesday 31 March.

Winter uniform
As we approach the halfway mark of the first term we would like to remind all parents that Term 2 changes over into winter uniform. For further information on what the changes are, please refer to the Uniform Policy which is available on the Knox portal here. We strongly recommend purchasing the winter uniform earlier rather than later. Do not wait until the last week of the holidays as we cannot guarantee the sizes that will be available.

Special orders
Any special requirements regarding winter uniform items should be discussed with Uniform Shop staff as soon as possible. Occasionally, we have students that have allergies/sensitivity to wool and in these instances, time permitting, we can get winter trousers lined and jumpers made in a cotton/nylon blend. As these are special orders we need four weeks' notice for the trousers and up to eight weeks for the knitwear.

Other instances include if your son is not a standard size (for example, very tall but slim and may require extra length or he may be of a more solid frame like a Rugby player) then the standard sizes may be disproportional.

Please contact the Uniform Shop on 9487 0191 or email us.

Mrs Julie Blackburn, Knox Uniform Shop Manager

To download your son's portrait and year photo, please login to the Melba Studios website, select SchoolOrders and enter password KNOX. You will need your son’s student ID number which is located on his student ID card. This is privacy protected so only you can view your son’s portrait. Your son’s high resolution image will be sent to you via WeTransfer, and you can also order additional discounted printed copies. Your school account will be charged $20.00 for the student ID card and the electronic year photo and portrait for your record of his time at school. 

Our wonderful Year 8 Boarders volunteered their time last Sunday to help clean up Wahroonga Park for Clean Up Australia Day.

During Wednesdays Year Meeting, our Portfolio Leadership Teams received their badges.

Thirty-five students from the Senior School, along with the Headmaster Mr James and PDHPE teacher Mr Moloney, bravely had their heads shaved on Tuesday yesterday to raise money for the World's Greatest Shave.

The Knox Cultural Centre was packed with an audience of boys for the event during lunchtime, which has so far raised more than $27,000 for the Leukaemia Foundation.

Thank you to Greg from That Barber Shop In Wahroonga and Sid from Edge Hair Salon in Wahroonga who generously volunteered their time and skills with the clippers.

It's not too late to donate! If you would like to make a donation you can contribute here.

Congratulations to the boys from the Knox CAS Chess Team, who were crowned CAS Chess Champions for the third year in a row against perennial rivals Trinity Grammar School, Sydney. The friendly rivalry with Trinity has grown over the past decade and is always characterised by good sportsmanship and mutual respect between all players. This year it went down to the wire again, with Knox winning the CJS Purdy trophy by 1.5 points out of a possible out of 48.

The boys below were delighted to represent their school in the 1sts Chess Team under the enthusiastic leadership of Captain of Chess Aleksy Ginovic.