Sonia Newell – Development Officer

Returning to School

It is always a privilege for me to connect and reconnect with our past students, especially given the School is now 35 years old and the very first group of students to complete Year 12 here did so in 1989, 29 years ago. I recently took three alumni friends from the Class of 1999 on a tour of the campus when one of them, Natalie Gainsley (nee Vasin) was visiting from London where she now lives with her husband and baby son. As it is nearly 20 years since Natalie, Lisa and Nicole had been on the School grounds, they were all more than suitably impressed with how the School has changed and what amazing facilities we now have – something we all know, love and are very proud of as the School has grown over the years.

Natalie Gainsley and friends

Alumna Tamar Hoffman (Class of 2012) has returned to Emanuel as a casual teacher (English and Drama) and I caught up with her this week when she was preparing a lesson with some of the Year 12 extension English students.

On Tuesday morning, alumnus Benko Ure (Class of 2001) was guest speaker at High School assembly. He talked briefly about and then showed, at the first ever public screening, his film Leaving Home. Here is a short bio and link to this seven minute film, Leaving Home

Leaving Home is a short film about the effects of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder on its sufferers. The story is based on a real-life experience. In an emotional performance, Story Creator, Producer and Actor, Benko Ure, delves into some truthful human moments in order to offer the audience a glimpse into a moment in the life of a person living with the debilitating condition. “I wanted to tell this story without losing its rawness while exposing the light-hearted moments that accompany any sadness”. Leaving Home highlights the subject of Mental Health and OCD in a different way! It is a black comedy that explores how simple things like walking out the door can become major obstacles for people with OCD. Benko and Writer, Robert Bruce and Director Julien Perrottet wanted to create a film that brings this issue to the surface in a digestible format. We wanted to create a visual representation of the mind and what people are going through and tell a simple but effective story about how leaving home for some is not as easy as picking up your keys and walking out the door.  Sometimes leaving home can be very hard to do!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_hmIRSFOcQ 

Benoko Ure with Lara Sperber, his mother, Sylvia and some Year 12 – 2019 Hospitality students

A reminder …

ALUMNI PILOT PROGRAM – can you help?

Are you a current employer who may have vacancies to offer?
Would you be interested in helping out our Year 12s when they leave and/or other Emanuel alumni?

We are currently reviewing and gauging interest in a potential program.

1. 1. Paid/Unpaid?
   2. Industry
   3. Length of time
   4. Job Name
   5. Duties and descriptions
   6. Contact details

If this is of interest to you, please get in touch: snewell@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au

If you have news you would like to share with us, please let me know: snewell@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au