Community support for charity partners is an important part of The Knox School, underpinning the development of character within the 3 Journeys framework, sitting alongside academic and skill development. In addition, the opportunity to support community initiatives that are student-led give students agency and develop their leadership and organisation skills while raising awareness of charitable organisations.
The Term 1 fundraiser is determined by the Year 12 Prefects, often addressing topical needs of the wider community. Recent years has seen support for bushfire and flood tragedies in Victoria as well as close-to-the-heart organisations such as the Epilepsy Foundation. The chosen fundraisers must align with the School’s values as well as take into account the limitations within our community to donate to multiple fundraising initiatives, limiting the number to two per term.
This year, School Captain Danu Liyanage, with the support of the Prefect Group, has chosen the Starlight Superswim Fundraiser as the organisation supported in Term 1. The Starlight Children’s Foundation works in partnership with health professionals to bring joy and laughter to sick children, and their programs are based on positive psychology principles which show that fund and happiness paly a big role in enhancing wellbeing. Superswim has been chosen by the Year 12 students as they recognise the positive impact of physical wellbeing, a sense of belonging through House Spirit and service to the community.
SuperSwim is a national fundraising challenge supporting the Starlight Children’s Foundation, where students and staff can set personal swimming goals and log distances throughout February to the School’s team page.
The initiative aims to encourage healthy habits, inclusivity and teamwork, while building a strong sense of community and supporting seriously ill children and their families. With the involvement and recognition of participation and effort in the Senior School and Junior School Swimming Carnivals, SuperSwim has the potential to become a meaningful annual tradition at TKS.
Danu has set a goal for the TKS community to raise $5000 for the Starlight Children’s Foundation to swim 32km in total. Please click on this link to donate to the TKS team page: https://superswim.org.au/the-knox-school
At the Senior School Swimming Carnival, students participate in the Continuous Race, a fun activity for swimmers of all abilities to earn points for their House: 1 point is awarded for every 50m length completed. It is a fabulous activity that encourages participation, creating a sense of belonging with the strong House Spirit demonstrated by the show of House colours of red, green, blue and yellow.
This year, Paterson House demolished the opposition, recording an incredible 400 laps completed in 20 minutes. Lawrence made a valiant effort, recording 341 laps, with Chisolm completing 273 and Flinders completing 223 laps, totalling a distance of 61.85 kms, a fantastic contribution to the overall goal. This has prompted Danu to reconsider the goal distance, now setting a new goal of 100 kms!
Danu and the Prefect Group are grateful to the TKS community for considering to support their Superswim initiative and they look forward to reporting on their achievement later in the term.
