Andrew Watt – Principal

Only 13 sleeps to the end of the school year – but who is counting? As has been the case all year, our prize presentation events will be ‘special’ or ‘unique’! We have held back as long as possible, to see if restrictions would be eased. Moving forward, we plan to hold the following events:

Primary School Presentations

This year’s K – 2 and 3 – 6 presentation events will be replaced by 2 wonderful websites that will highlight all the elements of what usually happens at these events. You will be able to see photos, recordings and messages from students and staff, musical items, speeches and more. We have chosen this exciting format so that your children can sit with you and your family to enjoy sharing each of the items. It also allows sections to be watched again and again if desired.

High School Presentation

This Year 7 – 12 event will take place on Wednesday 9 December at 2.00 pm, in our Multi-Purpose Hall. This will be a livestreamed event, with all students attending.

Message from White Ribbon Day 

Each year, Emanuel students have joined the community walk from Coogee to Randwick, to mark White Ribbon Day. This year was different. The impact of COVID-19 meant that the walk was no longer viable, but also brought issues of domestic violence to the surface for many Australians. The theme of White Ribbon Day this year was to raise awareness and commit to action to prevent men’s violence against women. Workplaces, schools and communities all over Australia were asked to “stand up, speak out and act to end gendered violence.” Our Year 9/10 stage-based meeting last week (livestreamed to Years 7,8 and 11) featured our first guest speaker in quite a while. Brandon Jack, son of rugby league legend, Gary Jack and previous Sydney Swans player, spoke frankly about his experience of toxic masculinity in a male, competitive team sporting culture. He explained how this harmed men emotionally and physically and how ultimately it can lead to violence against women. He also spoke about how some of his female friends had been impacted by violence and abuse. His presentation, followed by a brief Q&A session, was well received, and was followed up with a program in our Tutor Groups. On Friday, our High School students were asked to wear white, in recognition of White Ribbon Day. Thank you to David Whitcombe, who organised and introduced the guest speaker. Special thanks to Tali Ezekiel and Kim Slender, who planned the week and prepared a very engaging Tutor Group program on this important issue.

Sydney Academy of Chess Inter-Schools’ Competition

Congratulations to our Primary School chess team, who came in first place, on 19 points in the Semi Finals! Our team will now progress to the finals. Congratulations and good luck to Joshua Barnett, Daniel Zipser, Oscar Salek, Max Tsipris, Dylan Vitek, Alexander Gellert and Leah Joshua. Stayed tuned next week for the outcome!

Congratulations also to our Secondary School chess team who finished in 2nd place by 0.5 points, to Killara High School.  Our players represented Emanuel with pride and sportsmanship. Congratulations and commiserations to Daniel Melamed, Joshua Moses, Luca Calderon-Havas, Samuel Moliver, Dan Blecher, Jake Newfield and Amadeus Tjanaria.

Quote of the week

“Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning”.
Gloria Steinem