Volume 31 Issue 28 09 Sep 2022 13 Elul 5782

A bag, a life changer

Sonia Newell – Development Officer – Alumni & Community Relations

It is always wonderful to hear from members of our community past and present, with details about achievements and other information they would like to share with us. On my page today, I have included a variety of such “news”.

Sing out loud, sing out strong

We have so many amazing, beautiful singing voices amongst our students both past and present.  Alumna, AJ America (Head Madricha 2012), who was a big part of our vocal groups all the way through Primary and High School, was a member of the Gondwana National Choir when she was younger and is now the founder of Luminescence Chamber Singers, based in Canberra. 

This year, AJ will be a conductor at Gondwana’s National Choral School (NCS), an annual residential camp where hundreds of young singers live, rehearse and perform together each January. She shared: “I’m not gonna lie, I am totally stoked to be going back to the NCS. 14 year old me lived for those weeks in January, and could never have imagined that I might be back as a conductor one day. Time to crack out a floral sundress and my Dr Martens (…I presume this is still the height of choral school fashion?). In the meantime, if you know kids who love to sing, send them this way”.

Applications are now open for the Gondwana National Choirs 2023 Season! Experience the joy of choral singing with Australia’s most talented young people – apply today!

A jumper becomes a bag becomes a life changer

“The money from Among Equals to the Goroka bilum weavers has enabled the women to pay for all the little girls to attend school. Your support has meant that we can pay for our healthcare, our traditional obligations and the things we need for our home. It has made a huge difference to us.” ~ Florence Jaukae Kamel
Recently, many of you responded to a call out for pre-loved knitwear by Emanuel parent and Founder of Among Equals, Caroline Sherman. Caroline will be taking these items to artisan weavers in Papua New Guinea who will unravel the yarn and transform it  into beautifully hand-crafted wearable works of art known as Bilum (Bags). Caroline established Among Equals in 2015 as a  social enterprise aimed at empowering the Bilum weavers through ethical trade. You too can own one of these magnificent and very stylish bags, knowing that your purchase will help transform the lives of communities in PNG. 

Lorna Berger, past Emanuel parents and Caroline’s sister-in-law said: I wear these bags every single day and absolutely love them …and love knowing I’m playing a small part in supporting this community of women artists in Papua.

Be an Angel

Emanuel Parent, Simone Joffe, Founder of The Angel Network Australia, is appealing to Emanuel families to consider a life-saving donation to the charity in lieu of a Rosh Hashanah gift. The Angel Network supports women, children and families in South Africa who are living in impoverished conditions. You can choose from a variety of projects from soup kitchens to school packs, blankets to rape care kits and donations are fully tax deductible. 

SuccahFest

Alumnus and the Adamama Project’s Director, Mitch Burnie, encourages the whole family to visit the urban farm in Randwick to celebrate SuccahFest.

“There is no more ‘Adamama-ish’ Festival than the harvest festival of Succot. Shalom and Adamama are thrilled to welcome the community into our succah at the Adamama Farm. Over the week of Succot (9-16 October) take part in SuccahFest with fun, informative and unique events from seasonal floral design to kid’s craft, guided meditation, a pickle pop up and more. There is something for every age group with free and ticketed events.” 

Don’t forget to check out the new Adamama magazine, with all proceeds of sales going back into Adamama community projects.

Turning a negative into a positive

Cancer is certainly a not a word that anyone wants to hear or read about, but unfortunately it is very much present in our community. We all hope a cure is available or will become available soon through current research programs. You may have read the interview in last week’s AJN with past parent Odile Faludi who also contacted me earlier in the week to share: “As you know, I’m fighting a rare cancer and I’m really trying to turn a negative into a positive. I’m working closely with Prof David Goldstein and Prof Clare Scott at POWH to spearhead a project to increase research in this space. If you know anyone who would like to support research into rare cancers, please click on this link to help and all donations are tax deductible donations. Any help is much appreciated”.

It’s a goal!

Five Emanuel alumni – Brendon Rutstein, Nimrod Ktalav, Glenn Schach, Jake Green and Matt Angeles – have played soccer together ever since school days and now proudly represent UNSW Soccer, winning the all-age Mens ESFA championships last Sunday. After being down 1-0 in the first half the team came back to score two goals and seal the victory.  They have always valued the idea of playing with their mates and this win was a bonus and a first for them.

New Beginnings with Sydney Jewish Museum Youth Committee

The Sydney Jewish Museum Youth Committee (SJMYC) is made up of a diverse group of secondary students and tertiary students from across NSW that engage with the Museum in a variety of ways. Members of this committee, including our own Year 10 student Elise Kitchener, have the unique opportunity to make a difference and use their voice to make a better world.

Elise Kitchener

Elise said: “My Jewish Studies teacher from Year 9 told me about the opportunity to join this committee and she suggested that I should apply as I am very passionate about social justice and equality. I have been on the committee for nearly a year and have had an amazing experience working with the Sydney Jewish Museum to plan events, brainstorm ideas for youth engagement, discuss relevant current affairs issues and talk with Holocaust Survivors. We are very excited about the upcoming free youth-led event on Friday 30 September at 10 am and I encourage other students to attend”.  

This session has been specially curated for high school and university-aged students from all communities and walks of life where they will explore the Rosh Hashanah theme of “new beginnings” in a talk hosted by the SJM Youth Committee. It will feature a panel comprising of a Holocaust survivor, a member of the Youth Committee and an expert from the Museum. There will also be an opportunity to interact with the exciting new technologies currently being rolled out by the Museum. Book tickets here

Members of the SJMYC perform the following roles:

  • Act as an ambassador for the Sydney Jewish Museum, promoting its work on morality, social justice, democracy and human rights and embodying its corresponding core values. Partake in unique behind-the-scenes experiences that arise as part of different SJM projects (e.g. meeting with Survivors, testing new technologies, handling new artefacts).
  • Brainstorm ideas for temporary exhibitions, education programs, education resources and commemorative events from a youth perspective.
  • Discuss relevant current affairs issues and the SJM’s response to such issues.
  • Attend five meetings held outside of school hours onsite at the Sydney Jewish Museum. Funding is available to support the travel of students from outside of Sydney.

For more information about SJMYC email bfallon@sjm.com.au

1989 was an interesting year

As you may already know, we will be celebrating the School’s 40th birthday next year and Margaret Lowe, Acting Principal, has already asked our readers if they have any old photos/stories to share, to send them to me. By pure coincidence this week, a past student, Orly Snir, who was only here for Year K in 1989 before her family moved from Randwick to Lindfield, sent through  a newspaper clipping from 1989 about the new computer technology program the School had just started then. It is interesting that Orly’s godmother, now aged 95 had kept the newspaper cutting for all these years and gave it to Orly during a visit to her at her home in Lakemba last weekend. We know that Emanuel School is at the forefront of education and technology today and has been for a long time – this newspaper clip confirms Emanuel was innovative even in those early days.  

Changemaker Awards 2022 – honouring young people making a difference in our community

There is still time to nominate High School students or our younger alumni you know who would be worthy of one of these awards. B’nai B’rith Alfred Dreyfus Anti-Defamation Unit and JNF Australia are honouring individuals in our community who have made a difference and in the process, inspire others to get involved. This year, the Awards program has streamlined the nominating process and there are now only three nomination categories with prize money as shown:

  • Youth Volunteers for under 18’s: $1500
  • Young Adult Volunteers 18 to 36 years of age: $3000
  • Joshua Levi Professional Award 18 to 36 years of age: $5000

Nominations close 30 September 2022. Find out more here.

We look forward to sharing our news and yours, so if you have photos and/or news you would like to share with us, please send to: snewell@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au

Shabbat shalom, stay safe and have a great weekend.