This week marked an exciting moment for the Year 9 cohort as we launched our vision for 2020 entitled 'The Virile Agitur Man': Great Strength. Under Control. Used for Good. Please read this letter for more information. 

Research has suggested that the average modern-day city dweller interacts with 80,000 people in their lifetime. If we crunch the numbers and work the Maths on this statistic, this means that our Year 9 cohort has the opportunity to positively influence more than 400,000 people this year alone. That’s two-thirds of Sydney’s North Shore and Northern Beaches population. One doesn’t have to think too long to realise the massive potential for good and the impact and influence this group of young men could have on society. When we use our capacity, passions, time and resources to make our sphere of influence a better place, we really can make a huge difference. 

That being said, our primary focus of being at a school like Knox is to ensure a rigorous academic education, and I have been very impressed with the energy and enthusiasm I have seen from the boys so far this year. The locker room is a vibrant space with boys coming in and out throughout the day, fervently trying to stay on top of their workloads and ensuring they get the year off to a really good start.

I encourage each boy to be proactive in communicating with their teachers if they have any queries or concerns. Their classroom teachers will be able to assist with any academic support, whilst their mentor can help with anything outside of this domain. There are a plethora of other support staff wrapped around your son, who are more than willing to help and guide each student in his school journey, so please do feel free to get in touch if there is anything we can do to further aid your son in this regard.

Craig Milligan

Just a reminder that the After-School Mathematics Help sessions started this week and students are welcome to sessions between 3.30pm to 5.30pm. The session days and venues are as follows:

• Tuesdays
This session will run in Room MO306 with Mr Glen Charlier

• Wednesdays

This session will run from the Middle Academy Learning spaces with Ms Clare Keegan-Ward. 

School Photos 

All students who have had to complete a photo catch up session have now had it done last Thursday 13 February. If your son has still not had his photo taken, please ask him to come and see me so that I can organise for this to happen.

Shoe collection for the Philippines

Thank you to those of you who have sent in your donations so far for the children in the poorest communities. Trainers or school shoes are still welcome to be sent to Mrs Clarke’s office in Room 15 as we will be sending shoes to Manila around mid Term 1.

Finally, wishing you all a Happy Valentine's Day and I encourage you to let your loved ones know that they are loved. 

Crystel Hodgson, Tel: 9119 0881

Assessment tasks and Illness/Misadventure Appeals (IMA)

As the boys approach completing their first assessment tasks of the year, I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight our assessment policy and Illness Misadventure Appeal process. Our policy is informed by best practice and the NESA requirements in Stage 6 (which requires medical documentation completed by the practitioner to approve on the basis of illness); we are committed to ensuring an equitable assessment experience and the IMA application policy, among many others, supports the academies to make special considerations to help your son achieve his academic personal best, wherever appropriate.

An abbreviated explanation of the Stages 4 & 5 IMA policy and procedure as it pertains to both hand-in and in-class assessment tasks can be found below:

If illness or misadventure prevents your son from attending or submitting an assessment task, an Illness/Misadventure Appeal (IMA) applicationtogether with relevant documentation (such as a medical certificate or an explanatory note from the parent/guardian) must be submitted to the SAO within one week of the assessment task date, to avoid a task penalty. 

As per our Assessment Policy: 

• Late completion of an in-class assessment task without an approved IMA or leave form may attract a 10% reduction of marks.
• Late submission of a hand-in assessment task without an approved IMA may attract a 10% reduction of marks per day for two days. If the task is submitted more than two days late, the mark reduction will be determined by the Head of Department and Director of Studies on a case by case basis.

Please refer to the Assessment Policies and Procedures booklet that has been made available on the portal for more in-depth explanations.

Assessment Schedule for Term 1 (by Date)

The 2020 Assessment Schedule and Assessment Related Policies and Procedures booklet was sent via the newsletter and is available on the portal. The assessment schedule provided in that document is sorted by subject; however, I have created a quick reference of the assessment schedule, by date, for use when applying for leave, which may be found here.

Note: assessment dates are subject to change; official due dates for all tasks will be noted on the respective assessment notification. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure they have read and understood the notification.

Afterschool support in the Middle Academy

We are pleased to offer flexible working spaces for the boys to use after school until 5.15pm in the Middle Academy every Monday through Thursday – there are beautifully designed alcoves, break out spaces, charging stations, conference tables and handheld white boards available for the boys.

In addition to the general supervision in the space, we are pleased to offer specialised English and Mathematics support on Monday and Wednesday afternoon, respectively, in our learning space on Level 1 (AGC 205).

• The English department is offering a drop-in support offering Mondays from 4pm-5pm; students must attend for the full hour but are not required to sign up or attend every week.
• The Mathematics department is offering Maths support on Wednesdays from 3.30pm-5.15pm; students can come at any time between 3.30pm and 5.15pm and are asked to bring home learning or revision to work through.

Learner Protocols, the Knox APA, and Academic Reports – Request for participation in Focus Groups

I have been honoured to work alongside many of our School's inspiring leaders and thought leaders as we consider how best to communicate your son’s achievement in our termly reports. A literature review was conducted and the team has been inspired by the Chicago Consortium’s Learner Protocols, which outlined some of the most meaningful contributors to students achieving their academic personal best. You may be familiar with the Learner Protocols as we have started using them in our pastoral care programs and as contracts with students at the commencement of 2020 – we are looking to enhance our academic reports and APA to pivot from these contemporary research findings.

If you are interested in participating in a focus group Tuesday 18 February from 7.30am to 8.15am regarding the Learner Protocols, the Knox APA and our Academic Reports, please email me and indicate if you have any dietary requirements.

On behalf of the team, I am very excited to consult our parent community to help co-construct reports that are increasingly useful and are underpinned by our Total Fitness and Education for the Future models.

Jake Plaskett

Winter Sports Choice

By now all students should have received an email with a link to an electronic form to enable them to select their winter sport choice.The email is from forms@edsmart.com.  Please encourage your son to select their winter sports carefully as changes have a huge impact on the teams, coaches, bookings and logistics. If the email has not been received please contact the Sports office. All forms are due to be submitted by Friday 21 February.

Knox Swim Trials Catch Up session

If your son has missed the Knox Swim trials held on Saturday 1 February, he has one last chance to qualify on Monday 17 February from 7am in the Knox pool.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Martin Haywood 

Friday 21 February

Winter Sports choice due

Thursday 27 February

Doing da Vinci day

Thursday 2 April - Thursday 9 April

AFX camp

Thursday 9 April

Term 1 concludes

Friday 10 April

Good Friday

Sunday 12 April

Easter

Monday 27 April

Term 2 commences 

The Middle Academy is launching an ambitious project to refresh our Service Learning Program in 2020. We aim to engage all Year 10 students with local and national community organisations in order for the boys to fill these organisations’ needs. This will involve staff and students working directly with the organisations to identify areas of need and design and deliver products, services or initiatives for the organisations.

In order to ensure an effective program for both the students and the organisations, Knox is encouraging all community members with connections to community organisations, Rotary clubs, non-for-profit organisations and special interest groups to reach out to us with the hope we will be able to fill a need for the organisations.

Some examples of potential projects might include:

·         Design and deliver a new awareness campaign

·         Webpage design and publication

·         Developing a fundraising initiative

·         Creation of a community mural to replace graffiti

·         Providing IT support of senior citizens

We are encouraging community organisations from all walks of like to reach out to Knox. An information evening for all potential organisations will be held on Wednesday 26 February from 6.30 – 7.30pm.

If you have a connection to an organisation you think may be able to benefit from our project, please reach out to Tom Waterhouse, Director of Student Development Stage 5 via email or RSVP for your organisations here .

Our guest speaker will be Sallianne McClelland, who is the Development Director Women's Community Shelters and founder of ‘Mobilising for Mogo’. This would be a great opportunity to participate in this annual event with your son.

Venue: the Great Hall Foyer from 7am-8.15am

Cost: $20 per person and a light breakfast is included. Payments can me made via the Knox Payment Portal. Go to the Knox Payment Portal and click on ‘other activities’ and scroll down to the International Women’s Day Breakfast.

The Senior School Tuckshops have a number of vacant spots which we are desperate to fill. If you are a new parent or an existing parent, helping out in the tuckshop is very rewarding experience and a great way to meet and socialise with new friends.  

To volunteer, please click on the following links:

Term 1

Term 2

Term 3

Term 4

If you have any questions about volunteering in the tuckshops, please contact Caron Suleyman, Tuckshop Convenor at tuckshop@knox.nsw.edu.au

Please note that the Photography and Digital Media classes have been moved to Thursday afternoons due to a scheduling conflict. The details for the two Art Classes are as follows:

Ceramics - Hand building 

Time: Thursday 3.30pm – 5pm 
Location: MK12
Cost: $50 (see link below for sign up)

Students will be shown hand building techniques including coil building, slab and pinch pot construction. Students will experiment with different clays, glazes, stains and firing techniques. These skills will be applied to specific projects. These projects can be student selected or alternatively have been developed by the teacher.

The classes accommodate beginner to advanced skill levels and will be delivered in a happy and relaxed environment.

Photography & Digital Media

Time: Wednesday 3.30pm – 5pm 
Location: Art Building (VG02) 
Cost: $50 (see link below for sign up)

Unlock your photo skills and creative potential

Students will be shown a wide variety of digital photography techniques including Photoshop and Lightroom editing techniques, iPhone photography, filters, studio equipment, lighting, videography and much more!

Students will experiment with different camera and studio techniques. These skills will be applied to specific projects. These projects can be student selected or guided by the class teacher.

The classes accommodate beginner to advanced skill levels and will be delivered in a happy and relaxed environment.

Teachers will provide individual advice as well as group demonstrations and technical information throughout the class and all materials and equipment are provided.

To sign up for either of these, please follow the process explained here.

At the end of Term 1, students will be going on Cadet Camp. The Uniform Shop has some items available for purchase for Camp. Please complete this order form and email or hand it in at the Uniform Shop by Friday 28 February.

The orders will be available for collection from the Uniform Shop at the end of February. If an order is not placed, we cannot guarantee we will have all items in stock.

Alternatively, all items will be available to order from Flexischools and collection for these items will be as per the dates given on the order.

Julie Blackburn 

The trading hours for the Uniform shop is as follows:

Monday - Friday : 12.30pm to 5.30pm

Saturday (Term 1 and 4 only): 9am - 12noon 

For further information, please visit the Knox website or feel free to contact Mrs Julie Blackburn on (02) 9487 0191.

 This week Mr Plaskett's iSTEM class spent time in the iHUB area during class time.