From the Principal

Andrew Watt – Principal

As I understand it, editions of Ma Nishma have been issued uninterrupted since its inception. With this in mind, I have committed to contributing to a leaner, more streamlined edition, over the next two weeks.

e-Manuel goes live

Our e-Manuel learning platform was launched this week, with the vast majority of students working from their homes. I have received a number of images of students of all ages working at their desks, on the kitchen table, on their veranda or on the floor. A huge thank you to our parents, who have supported the program from home, many of whom have a fresh appreciation of what teaching involves!

Our teachers and students, as partners in life-long learning, are rapidly adjusting to the different pace and rhythms of online work. Whilst our first week has not been without its glitches, we continue to adjust our delivery, resources and expectations, to match our new way of teaching and learning. We are very proud of our resilient staff and students!

There has been much to celebrate in our move to e-Manuel. I have included some snapshots of our e-learning adventure below:

French classes are progressing well, using the digital French textbook for listening, reading and writing activities. Year 8 students are recording themselves speaking French and uploading audio files into OneNote. Students have said they love the connection of the Zoom lessons, which they start the period with to say “bonjour”. A highlight was a Year 8 French online Zoom lesson, where some students invited their pets to the virtual classroom and introduced them in French! “It was such a delightful lesson and the students really impressed, with their engagement and sense of inclusion and fun. C’est vraiment formidable.”

Year 8 French students with their pets
A Maths teacher observed that he had three back-to-back lessons and every student was present in the Zoom…their usual lesson structure was followed, and slides were shared while he wrote on them. “All of my students behaved very well – I didn’t have to mute any of them!”
Another teacher observed that Zoom worked well with their Year 8 students; that they much preferred it to just watching a video – “Dogs barking in the background, mothers saying they are going for a haircut – hilarious, I had to mute them”. Everyone joined in.
A Year 5 teacher stated that they would love to tell parents how proud they are of their students, for the way they are politely asking for help, helping each other out and doing their best work. It’s so much to expect from 11-year olds, and they are really rising to the challenge.
After recording themselves reading the Shema, Year 3 students took photos of mezuzot around their home, or created their own LEGO

LEGO Mezuzah
Mezuzah.
The Year 7 HSIE students completed a modified Performance of Understanding based on their research on Landforms and Landscapes. They were given 80 minutes to write a PEEL paragraph based on their knowledge they had gathered in class this term on their specific landform as well as some live online research. They all did extremely well in a new situation, demonstrating calmness under pressure!
Our Year 8 Meir Tutor Group all rated their day of learning 7-8 out of 10!
Next week the Year 10 PASS students will be presenting their PoU (Shark Tank EActive Pitch Proposal) via Zoom.

I have also captured several comments from students working on campus:

“I loved it because I love learning stuff. It was a bit different…but yeah, I loved it!”

“I liked learning at school on computers because you didn’t have to sit there and when a student interrupted a lesson…you didn’t have to restart the lesson again (while the teacher explained the lesson all over again.)”

“I learned that online learning can be fun but also dangerous ‘cos you never know when someone could call you for bad reasons. I enjoyed a new game on Cool Maths. I enjoyed using my iPad for Drama and Music. I enjoyed being with friends at school.”

“I loved everything about online learning because it’s really fun and exciting: all the things you can do on it! I enjoyed being here at school with my friends. Also, you can talk to people online.”

“I didn’t like it that much. I did like the links from one thing to another, so I didn’t have to go find it. I also liked the class discussion.”

Acknowledging our Administration team

We have a large number of administration staff who have worked tirelessly on campus, behind the scenes to support the delivery of e-Manuel. Their strong support has been sincerely appreciated.

The staff supervising the children on site have been incredibly dedicated and strong during a very uncertain time. They have stepped up and in across a variety of quick changing situations. They have approached every aspect of the day with kindness, humour and patience. They have created a calm and comfortable environment for the children who remain on site each day. They have supported these kids through their online learning tasks and have reduced the nerves of some who were unsure. Their care has been exceptional – our thanks to Tracey Kluck, Renee Segal, Katya Sacks, Fiona Singer, Denise Pilgrim and Isabela Oliver.

Good news for our Year 12 cohort

The University Admissions Centre (UAC) have recently responded to a multitude of questions about The Educational Access Scheme (EAS) and COVID-19. Their understanding is that NESA will put procedures in place in order to combat the disruptions to students’ study if needed. If the total Year 12 population shows weaker results, then university entry will reflect this, and no student will be disadvantaged.

COVID 19 is not covered specifically under EAS as the disadvantage must be long term. It would be expected that students who become ill through infection, will not last for six months or longer. UAC does, however “advise students to apply for EAS if they meet the criteria for any EAS disadvantage, if applicable.”

Emanuel School Careers Facebook Page

We have now launched our Emanuel School Careers Facebook group for our Years 10, 11 and 12. To explore, please follow the link https://www.facebook.com/groups/825129791321514/ . This is a service for students in Year 10, Year 11 and 12, but especially important for Year 12 students to join up to stay current, in light of moving online and so staying up-to-date.

Art vs Isolation

The Visual Arts team has been busy with lessons and bringing light to our lives through self-expression and art. Their 14-day challenge, Art vs Isolation, has seen students and staff submitting their creative response to a daily prompt. We’ve had deep, funny, heartfelt and random offerings, beautiful songs, rough scribbles and detailed drawings.