Anne Hastings – Principal

Chavayah

Students at lookout

After a week with the Year 10 students on Chavayah in Israel I’m writing this on my way home. The students are having a wonderful time and are learning so much by being immersed into Israeli history, culture, religion and politics. The program is very well thought through and clearly the teachers, madrichim and leaders of Alexander Muss High School in Israel are very experienced in providing impactful educational experiences for students from around the world. Our students are well cared for, with a nurse available to attend to their various colds and aches most hours and a doctor on hand as necessary. Students have suffered a little from jet lag and the dryness of the air (it has not rained for eight months here!), but are in very good spirits and are very much enjoying their time and learning a lot. 

I had not appreciated how cohesive and comprehensive the educational program is. Here is an excerpt from the AMSHI information to parents:

“The AMHSI Israel program unfolds the living drama of Jewish history using the land of Israel as its classroom.  The aim of the trip is not merely to examine the facts of the past and to see sites but to weave them into an historic narrative, one that teaches students about themselves and their place in Jewish history today. This trip enables our students to confront the issues and role models that shaped Jewish history and Jewish life and allows them to draw conclusions relevant to their own lives. We believe that the historical narrative method has proven immeasurably more effective than the conventional arrangement of experiences in a thematic, modular format or traveling around the country based on the geography. Many of our tiyulim (field trips) are chronological, enabling us to tell the story of the Jewish people and provide students with not only a journey throughout the land of Israel but also a journey through Jewish history and culture, as well as see and understand the modern Israel that they are now living in. The focus of the first unit is on the Biblical period.”

Students have the benefit of the expertise and wisdom of Israeli teachers who have been especially selected for their competence, knowledge and ability to get on well with young people. They provide a balanced view, often looking at issues from a number of perspectives and not imposing their own opinions. It was a great privilege for me to be able to join the program for a week.

I would like to thank all those who stepped in to assist while I was away, particularly Adam Majsay, David Camp and other members of the Executive.

Parking

Imagine this scene … It’s late, you haven’t had dinner yet and you rush home from work with the groceries and the kids to start dinner. You turn into your street and … there’s someone parked so far across your driveway that you can’t drive into your yard. You drive around and around the block trying to get a park and eventually get one a few streets away. You drag all your groceries, work bags and the kids to your home just as a person is getting into the offending car with their children, clearly having just been to an event at the school up the road. You express your frustration to them and receive, not an apology, but a few insults to add to the evening. These wouldn’t be Emanuel parents, I would think … or are they? (This happened this week in Market Street)

It is quite natural for our neighbours to be upset when their driveways are blocked or cars are parked illegally, since it really becomes a hardship just to get to their front door. It is not good role modelling for children to see members of their family do the wrong thing and inconvenience our neighbours, and it’s even worse if they witness some derogatory words pass between the two sets of people. These actions go against the values of the School and we do value the support of our neighbours.

Here are some guidelines:

• Give yourselves some extra time to find a park before an event, everyone knows that parking can be difficult for a big event at the School
• Don’t park across driveways or too close to the corner
• Don’t double park or in any way park illegally
• Never get into an argument with our neighbours about something you’ve done that inconveniences them.

My apologies to all those who make sure they do the right thing – there are just a few people who are giving us a bad name with our neighbours.

 Mazal tov to:

• All the Years K-6 children and those who starred in Seussical this week, and particularly those who have been rehearsing for months as part of the main cast. I have heard that it was a fantastic production
• Susan Longney and Brooke Oldfield for managing the production from beginning to end, making sure that it was a resounding success
• Diana Springford and Danny Burley, for their strong support of the Primary students’ Production
• All others who helped out with Seussical this week.

 Coming up:

• Year 9 Three-way learning conversations, Monday 5 December, 12:00 – 3:30 pm
• Year 8 Three-way learning conversations, Wednesday 7 December, 12.00 – 3:30 pm
• High School Speech Night, Wednesday 14 December, 7.00 pm, The UNSW, Clancy Auditorium
• Last school day of Term, Wednesday 14 December. High School students finish school at 1:10 pm, Primary School students finish at 3:30 pm
• HSC results are released Thursday 15 December, ATARs on Friday 16 December

Best wishes for a relaxing weekend.