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 10 Book List

Mrs Karen Yager

This week in Year Meeting we discussed the importance of finishing strong. Term 4 is short, and with the finish line in sight almost as soon as the race has begun, there can be real temptation for boys to become complacent about their attitudes, application and behaviour. Just like in sport, a game can be lost in the final moments, but it is also true that it can be difficult to claw your way back into the lead after a poor start. I really do encourage boys to play hard right through to the final whistle, by ensuring the simple, controllable things are done well: uniform, punctuality, manners, homework etc … the rest will follow.

Congratulations to our newly announced Mentor Rep executive: Will Goddard (Chairman), Matthew Clayton (Vice Chairman), and Harry Cumming-Simm (Secretary). These boys will work together to lead the Mentor Representatives and to represent and serve the year group as a whole. I wish them luck in their new roles.

We also unveiled our final video production of our Virile Agitur Man Creed video. You may remember when we asked boys to interview women and girls in their lives in order to learn about what respect looks like from a woman’s perspective. Boys distilled these conversations down to a set of commitments that they have now solidified into a Creed document, designed by competition winner Sean Wang, and in a video production directed by Nick Hocker, with music by Ben Tippett. Mr Milligan and I are so proud of the hard work of these boys, and the many others who assisted, to bring life to the work of the whole year group, who have worked hard to reconsider what masculinity should look like to a Year 9 Knox boy. We hope to be able to share these with families and the Knox community very soon.

As always, please do not hesitate to touch base with your son's Mentor, myself or Mr Milligan if you have any questions or concerns.

Alec Openshaw

Here we are already halfway through Term 4. 2020 is certainly flashing before our eyes and yet we have all been through so much this year and we have had to learn to adapt to a new normal. This week, some students in our cohort have had to submit a few assessments whilst also focusing on their preparation for their Yearly Examinations that start next week.

In light of the upcoming examinations I would like to remind you that if your son is absent the day prior to, the morning of or on the day of an examination then an Illness and Misadventure Appeal form is to be completed and returned to the School. 

Social Justice - Items for Christmas Hampers and Christmas gifts for families in need

This term is a time when the Knox community generously supports families for who Christmas is a particularly difficult time. For the last 13 years we have supported these organisations.

Our focus this this year is for the Wesley Mission and Parramatta Mission. Both organisations aim to support families at Christmas with basic food supplies and Christmas fare. For example: Christmas cakes, puddings, custard, serviettes, tins of ham, bon bons, biscuits, cordial as well as staple goods such as long-life milk, cereals,  tea, coffee, hot chocolate, canned meats, pasta, sauces etc. Your support this year will be most appreciated.

For a number of years Knox has worked with STARTTS to support children who received no gifts without our support. The social workers continually reinforce what a positive difference our donations make to these children and their parents. Please send in a wrapped the gift with a card to indicate the  suitable age and sex of the gift for a value of $10 (or more if you wish).

All donations can be sent to my office or Mrs Clarke's office.

Welcome to Knox

Wishing a warm welcome to Simeon Ling who has joined the Year 9 cohort this week and we hope that you enjoy your time at Knox. Thank you to Jason Liu, Peter Liu and Jack Stapleton who have been instrumental in ensuring that Simeon adapts to his new school environment.

Jason Liu, Peter Liu, Simeon Ling and Jack Stapleton

As we are heading into the examination weeks, I hope everyone has studied hard and are ready for what lies ahead. I strongly encourage our cohort to use this weekend for the final touches in their study plan and hope everyone has stuck to their schedule so far. Good luck, gents - remember to go to bed early so that you are well rested for your exams.

Crystel Hodgson, Tel: 9119 0881

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 to Sunday 15 November 

National Recycling Week

Tuesday 10 November 

Dr Caroline Donovan- Understanding and Responding to Anxiety in Secondary School Settings - 3.45pm to 4.45pm

Thursday 12 - Wednesday 18 November

Yearly Examinations 

Monday 23 November

Paul Dillon Talk to students

Paul Dillon Online Parent Seminar - 6.30pm

Tuesday 24 November

Ride with Richter Cap Day - please click on the image below to enlarge

Thursday 3 December

Term 4 concludes

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
1st place Joseph Guo (Y7)
2nd place Marcel Rudas (Y7)

Wild Graphics
1st place Brodie Shearer (Y7)





2nd Hugo Hoskin (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.

Karen Pentland

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

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.

Parent seminar - Parents, sons, parties, alcohol and other drugs: What's happening now and what can we expect in a post COVID-19 world?
Knox parents are invited to register for a webinar with Paul Dillon, Director of the Drug and Alcohol Research and Training Australia on the topic, 'Parents, sons, parties, alcohol and other drugs: What's happening now and what can we expect in a post COVID-19 world?”.

When: Monday 23 November, 6.30pm
Where: Online seminar (livestream only)
Who: Aimed at parents of students in Years 9, 10 and 11 (Year 12 2021) – other Knox parents welcome to register.

Please register at www.knox.nsw.edu.au/pauldillon no later than Sunday 22 November.

This online presentation will look at the latest data on alcohol and other drug (AOD) use of Australian secondary school students and discuss the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on teens and socialising and what effect the pandemic lockdown may have had on teen AOD use. There are huge challenges ahead for parents as they acknowledge the importance of their sons’ socialising but, at the same time, ensure their safety by having age-appropriate rules and boundaries in place as restrictions are gradually rolled back. To assist parents through this difficult time, some simple tips around alcohol, parties and gatherings will be provided to help ensure their child's safety now and post-COVID-19.

The online parent seminar will be live-streamed, commencing at 6.30pm and running for approximately one hour.

For more information, please email Ms Elizabeth Ruff, Head of Knox Middle 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

Introducing our year group photographer, Will Wood. Will will be providing photos for the newsletter when he can.

Thanks for all your great work, Will!