Margaret Lowe, Acting Principal

Camps

I remember attending my first camp. I arrived at the campsite to see a terraced, clay hillside dotted with large tents cascading toward the low road and an industrial looking building above the high road. Turns out that was the ‘mess hall’. Little did I know that in the first downpour, those cascading tents certainly would be just that. The experience was character building as well as giving me a deeper appreciation for home comforts.

This week our Years 3, 4, 5, 9 and 10 students attended a range of camps. This was quite challenging for some of our students especially those who had missed out on camps in the last two to three years as COVID reigned supreme.

Year 9 students enjoyed a week of skiing while our Year 10 students commenced their Machane Ayekah experience, a week of discovering themselves and others within Judaism.

Years 3, 4 and 5 spent Wednesday to Friday at the Point Wolstoncroft Sport and Recreation Centre with 15 teachers. There was lots of energy and outdoor activities!

Why do we send our students to camp?

A wise Emanuel parent once told me that from a relatively young age, parents have to let go until their children are autonomous. Parents should feel they are not needed but know they will always be wanted, their counsel will be sought and their love will be the most important part of the relationship. There are many views on parenting and some of those views, like this one, support and encourage things like camp attendance.

What are we hoping students will learn by attending camps?

• Personal development skills – Independence, confidence, organisation, teamwork, decision making, risk taking or the ‘try something new’ skill
• Social skills – Seeing their teachers and being seen in a different light; making friendships and connections beyond those in school; creating memories
• Specific skills – skills based on the activities students participate in at camp eg archery

This Australian Camps Association article mentions the mental and physical health benefits and how camps prepare young people for future employment. “The Australian Camps Association believes that universal access to camps and led outdoor experiences in schools is key to producing happy, healthy and employable young people and ultimately a healthier community.“

We also hope our students will have an increased awareness of the environment while they spend time in nature, a great salve for modern ills.  Most of all, we hope our students have fun away from technology!

My thanks goes to all of the staff who gave up their nights to care for our students and help them grow through the camp experiences. We can never underestimate the great work our teachers do during these important years.

No Camp?

A group of students who were unable to attend Ski Camp enjoyed a program specially created by Daphna Levin-Kahn and tailored to their needs. This program began with a full day of technology and innovation with Joseph Peacock in the Design Lab, designing keyrings using CAD programming and the 3D printers, and then collaborating to design and build bee-houses that are to be situated around the campus to promote pollination. On Wednesday Adam Ezekiel took the group to explore Equine Therapy – understanding how horses can be used to improve mental health and other health issues, with Lorna Saxbee, a trained Equine Therapist at South East Equestrian Club in Malabar. The week culminated in a hands-on session helping sort new clothes at the Thread Together Warehouse, responding to fashion excess and clothing security, and then on to participate in The Art of Self Cloning, an art session with Karan Singh and adults with disabilities at the One & All Hub in Alexandria.

Equine Therapist, Lorna, commented, “I was amazed at how well they worked together as a team. Beautiful young people all round, very intelligent, creative and kind”.

Jewish Educators of Tomorrow

Emanuel School and Moriah College students at the Jewish Educators of Tomorrow Open Day

Last week, two of our Year 12 students, Eden Grynberg and Tori Shapiro, represented the School beautifully at the inaugural Jewish Educators of Tomorrow (JET) Open Day at Sydney University. This is a collaborative initiative of the Jewish Board of Deputies, Mandelbaum House and Sydney University’s Department of Hebrew, Biblical and Jewish Studies. 

Survey reminder

Parents and students in Years 6, 9 and 12 will have received a letter about our regular survey process. In the next two weeks, we hope all parents and students in Years 6, 9 and 12 respond to the confidential survey to provide us with rich feedback on our practices. The results of the surveys are usually released at a later date. 

Sports photo day reminder

Sports Photo Day will be held on Tuesday 6 September 2022. All students appearing in these photos are required to wear the appropriate sports attire, including footwear for the sport being photographed.

Tikkun Olam

Oliver Silberman, Year 7, will be surfing everyday this month to raise funds for Surfaid, a charity that gives people in remote communities access to healthcare, clean water, sanitation and improved nutrition. Keeping healthy while helping others – kol ha’kavod. You can donate to Surfaid via Oliver’s fundraising page. 

Mazal tov

There are many sporting mazal tovs this week, a full list which can be found on the Athletics news page.

I would like to share, in particular, our exceptional CDSSA Athletics Championships results:

• The Emanuel Senior Boys relay team won the 4 x 100m relay;
• Aden Goodridge, Shai Farhy and Eden Levitt were named CDSSA Athletics Age Champions;
• Eden won all five of her events and broke the CDSSA records in the 100m, 200m, long jump and high jump and
• Zac Urbach broke the 200m record. 

Quote of the week

“Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit.”
~ E.E. Cummings, poet 1894 – 1962