Dear Parents,

It has been reported that we have one case of a student with Whooping Cough in Year 9. The student is recovering at home. Should your son experience persistent bouts of coughing please keep him home from school and seek medical advice before he returns.

The text below includes information about pertussis and a link to the NSW Health pertussis factsheet.

WHOOPING COUGH

What are the symptoms?

In vaccinated cases pertussis may present as a very mild illness with very few symptoms, for example a mild cough at night.

Some cases may have a more typical presentation including a persistent cough that comes in bouts. Bouts may be followed by vomiting and a whooping sound as the child gasps for air. Pertussis can cause a severe illness in young children particularly those aged under 6 months.

How is it spread?

Pertussis is usually spread by direct contact with the droplets from the nose and throat of an infected person produced whilst coughing. People at greatest risk of getting the illness are those who have had a considerable amount of face-to-face contact with a person with the disease. Pertussis can occur in people previously vaccinated.

What should parents do?

Anyone developing symptoms should consult their local doctor and mention that there has been a case of pertussis at the school. Children who are diagnosed with pertussis cough need to stay away from school until they have taken 5 days of a special antibiotic.

For further information please refer to the NSW Health pertussis factsheet or contact the Northern Sydney Public Health Unit on 9477 9187.

Phil O'Regan

As we approach the halfway mark of first term, assessments are starting to loom. It has been fantastic to see students utilising the spaces in the Academy of Global Competency to study collaboratively both before and after school. If you are aware that your son will be absent on the day of an assessment task, then a Leave Application should be submitted. Leave applications should be submitted when your son will be absent for three or more days or when he will be missing a scheduled assessment task. If your son is sick on the day of an assessment task, then an Illness or Misadventure Appeal form should be submitted with a medical certificate.

Should you need to submit a leave application for the period of time that the Cadet AFX will be occurring, this will need to be done through Cadets. We ask that, where possible, leave applications for this period be submitted by the beginning of Week 7 (Monday 9 March).

Students were reminded last week that purchases from the canteen need to be made either with their student card or cash. Mobile phones cannot be used at the canteen. As per our mobile phone policy, students should keep mobile phones in their lockers during the day. Students using their mobile phones around campus during the school day will have them confiscated. In the first instance the phone is returned that afternoon. Should the phone be confiscated a second time, it will be returned after school and an email notification sent to parents. If a student has their phone confiscated for a third time, it will be kept at school for a week or until it is collected by a parent. 

Elizabeth Ruff 

As part of our Virile Agitur Man campaign we are looking at leaders whose actions reflect their great strength, under control, used for good. This week during Year Meeting one of our Year 9 Mentors, Mrs Sophie Cole, spoke to the cohort about Sojourner Truth. Sojourner was an African-American abolitionist and women's rights activist. Truth was born into slavery in Swartekill, New York, but escaped with her infant daughter to freedom in 1826. After going to court to recover her son in 1828, she became the first black woman to win such a case against a white man.

She gave herself the name Sojourner Truth in 1843 after she became convinced that God had called her to leave the city and go into the countryside 'testifying the hope that was in her'. Her best-known speech was delivered extemporaneously, in 1851, at the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio. The speech became widely known during the Civil War by the title 'Ain't I a Woman?'.  Sojourner’s life is an amazing reflection of courage, integrity and strength as she took a stand for her family and her human rights. She presents us with real food-for-thought; a provocation for each boy to be an upstanding citizen and a Knox man of courage.

As part of the continued conversation around student character, the classroom Values and Learner Protocols document should have been signed by yourself and your son and returned to his Mentor this week. For those who have not yet done so, please ensure your son has done this as a matter of importance. Furthermore, please continue the discussions with your sons around the dinner table about the contents of the document and what it means to be a student at Knox and the expectations we have for each student: the importance of developing skills and behaviours which will set you up for success in life during and after school.

On a final note, Mr Openshaw and I have been so pleased to see the large number of boys participating in completing their 'good hours'. Good hours are simply an opportunity to bring into focus opportunities for our boys to use their great strength for good. Already we are hearing some wonderful stories about boys helping and serving their respective communities and reflecting the learnings and understanding of how being a young man in today’s society can be played out.

As always, please feel free to contact your son’s mentor or one of the Team Leaders if there is anything we can do to help.

Craig Milligan

Students are now in the full swing of things and assessment due dates are upon us. A reminder that if your son is unwell or misadventure prevents him from attending or submitting an assessment task, an Illness/Misadventure Appeal (IMA) application together with relevant documentation (such as a medical certificate or an explanatory note from the parent/guardian) must be submitted to me 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.

More detailed information on the Assessment Policies and Procedures may be found here. Students are welcome to use this assessment schedule by date as a quick reference guide for Term 1, to help with planning for their assessment tasks as well as reminding them of due dates.

Urgent call for Café Volunteers for Monday 2 March
The tuckshop is in need of volunteers for Monday 2 March. Please click here to sign up or contact Caron Suleyman via email.

Knox International Women’s Day Breakfast 2020 - Tuesday 3 March 
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.

Clean Up Australia Day Sunday 1 March
There is an opportunity for families to clean up our environment – register here to join a Clean-up event. The boarders will be cleaning up at Wahroonga Park. There are many other opportunities near you and further information may be found here.

2020 Student Residential Address and Other Information notice
Please see attached important information regarding the 2020 Student Residential Address and Other Information notice.

Finally, we are fast approaching the Cadet Camp dates and this is a final reminder to place your orders for the camp. All orders placed will be available to collect from the Uniform Shop from Monday 2 March. Information on how to place your orders may be found here.

Crystel Hodgson, Tel: 9119 0881

Tuesday 3 March

International Women's Day breakfast

Tuesday 10 March

World's Greatest Shave

Thursday 12 March

CAS - Swim and Dive Championships

Sunday 15 March

Kuringgai Chase Fun Run 2020

Thursday 19 March - Saturday 21 March

'The Importance of Being Earnest'

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 

Last year Knox raised $20k for the World's Greatest Shave event and this year we are aiming for $25k. We have a Knox Grammar School Team, please encourage your son to participate by signing in via this link. The Social Justice Prefects and speakers from the World’s Greatest Shave presented at Year Assembly this week to encourage the boys to join this worthy cause.

On Tuesday 10 March the Knox team's top fundraisers will have their head ‘shaved’. Students must remember that haircuts are to be in line with the School’s regulation!

Calling all rugby enthusiasts!

We are recruiting for new members to be involved with the Knox Rugby Referee’s Association for 2020. We will provide you with training and support for whatever level of rugby with which you are comfortable. Whether you are a parent, old boy, sibling or interested party, we would love to have you as part of our team.

Please email Mr Craig Milligan (Rugby Referees Coordinator) or 02 94870166 for more information.

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 

It is with pleasure that we invite you and/or your son or any family member to participate in the 2020 KURINGGAI CHASE FUN RUN to show support for athletes taking part and, raise awareness and funds for Special Olympics Australia, Sydney Upper North Shore Region.

The Run is being held on Sunday 15 March at Claude Cameron Reserve, Wahroonga starting at 8am and finishing by 11am. Students are expected to make their own way to, and from, the venue.

The participation in the Fun Run is a great opportunity for our boys to help a person with a disability and is an important part of the School’s social justice program. As such, the value to both the boys and the Special Olympic Athletes is invaluable. There is no cost involved and this is an opportunity for students and families who are looking to give back to their local community, students to participate in the School’s Social Justice Program and help to support others. Participation and the invitation is extended to all where you and your son/s will be welcomed as will your extended family and friends.

Students do not need to pay a fee or fund raise. On the day Knox boys act in a supporting role to ‘buddy up’ with a Special Olympics Athlete and support their effort to complete the 5km walk or 10km run.

Students who do attend are required to wear good running shoes and PE uniform and students should be aware that this is considered an official school function. As such, school rules and expectations apply.

If your son would like to participate, simply reply to us by accepting the invitation in the Parent Lounge. There is no need to return a permission slip. If you or anyone you know would also like to participate, please register by visiting the website listed below.

Further information can be obtained by visiting the Run’s website or, by contacting the staff members below who are organising the event for the school.

We look forward to seeing you at the event for what promises to be an incredible day for our local community.

Aaron Nolan (Language Department) and John Diamond (History Department)

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

It was wonderful to see 163 students from our Year 9 cohort make the most of the opportunity provided to them at Knox taking part in Doing da Vinci Day on Thursday. The feedback from some of the students who participated was that it was a very rewarding experience and they are glad they participated in this event and challenged themselves. They are all now waiting to find out the results. Congratulations boys and well done for giving it a go!

This week at Year Meeting Mr Milligan and Mr Openshaw had an eating competition which generated a lot of cheer from the students. The important message that the Team Leaders were trying to get across is the fact that when students eat in the Academy of Global Competency space they create a lot of mess and should be cleaning up after themselves. This is to ensure that the students use the facilities provided to them in a respectful manner.

This week a few of our Year 9 students participated in the lunch time concert sessions on Wednesday and Friday. 

Congratulations to Sean Williams, Josh Harty, Pat Bull, Ben Craighill, Ethan Bailey, Ollie Davey and Kai Lilienthal who participated at the CIS Triathlon in Penrith this week. Well done boys and congratulations!