Whole Person Education - Knox Grammar School

What’s Happening in the Classroom?Rising Maths Whizz!Year 7 student Seyoon Ragavan won a BronzeCertificate in the recent Australian MathematicsOlympiad, and as a result was invited to sit the2011 Asian Pacific Mathematics Olympiad, inMarch. He was one of 33 students to representAustralia in this event, and the only Year 7student to do so; nearly all other candidateswere from Years 11 and 12!Furthermore, Seyoon was then invitedby the Australian Mathematical OlympiadCommittee to part of the squad of 25Australian students attending a preparationcamp at Macquarie University during theEaster holidays. These students were vyingfor six places in the Australian MathematicalOlympiad Team which will travel to TheNetherlands in July for the InternationalMathematical Olympiad (IMO); the pinnacleof excellence and achievement for schoolstudents of mathematics throughout the world.Nick Lillywhite (left) leads Fimmo and Mitchell Dewar leads Fonzie from the new cattle stable at InglewoodKnox’s Rural Commitment on Show,and In the ShowAt Knox Grammar School, agricultureis important, and our approach involveseveryone - students and staff, our Old Boys,and our parents. It is no wonder, then, thatthe number of students studying agriculture isgrowing as quickly as a Giant Atlantic!First up, the Year 10 boys prepared two steers,as part of their study of beef production, forthe Royal Easter Show.Fimmo, a Limousin steer was the gift ofAngus Barlow OKG85 of WakemanLimousins Narromine, and Fonzie, a PollHereford steer was the gift of Old Boy andcurrent boarder parent, Tim Capp OKG73of Gresford. Both steers arrived at Knox atthe start of the year, and took up residencein the new cattle stable which was built at‘Inglewood’, the school’s half acre agriculturalplot in Warrawee.The cattle were fed, led and groomed on adaily basis in preparation for the Royal EasterShow, and a team of Year 10 Knox boys spenttheir school holidays at the Show caring for,and exhibiting Fimmo and Fonzie.Fimmo and Fonzie were entered in the Schooland Open Steer and Carcase Championshipwhich involved the cattle being judgedon their live appearance and then theircarcase quality. Once judged the meat wasavailable for the boys to buy through EasternRoad Quality Meats at Turramurra. Thesale is always eagerly awaited by the Knoxcommunity, and by the time you read this, themeat may already be on the plate!This year, we had the extra involvement of BrucePaynter OKG71, past parent and now Knox’stireless representative in the bush, entering hisDevon cattle in the Royal Easter Show.Some of the boys preparing the steers forthe Show were among the twenty-three Year10 Agriculture students who recently visiteddairy and cattle farms in the Gloucester area;whilst there, the boys were lucky enoughto stay and work on the Moppy property ofJames Laurie OKG78 and Ted Laurie OKG81,current boarder parents and Knox Old Boys.In August it will be the turn of thirty Year 9Agriculture students who will visit propertiesin the Moree and North West region,culminating in AgQuip 2011, where againKnox parents, Old Boys and their families willwelcome our students.Fantastic relationships - the sort of thing thebush thrives on and the sort of thing whichmakes Knox Grammar School, the school it is.Mr Ian BrysonHead of AgricultureIt is an incredible achievement for Seyoon tobe invited to sit these challenging exams, whichare usually reserved for Year 12 students. Heacquitted himself well at the training camp,enjoying the camaraderie of students who havea real passion for mathematics and is lookingforward to using the knowledge and skills helearnt in future competitions.Question 4 (below) was Seyoon’s favourite and hewas very proud of his solution4. Determine all functions f defined for non-negative integers andtaking non-negative integers as values such that f (1) > 0 and( f (x) ) 2 + ( f (y) ) 2 = f (x 2 + y 2 ),for all non-negative integers x and y.Mr Michael VuletichHead of MathematicsThe Thistle / June 2011 | 11