From the Principal

Andrew Watt – Principal

With only three days of school remaining, this will be last edition of Ma Nishma for the year! This has been a year that will long be remembered, as we taught under the cloud of COVID-19 restrictions. I have no doubt that many silver linings will continue to emerge, and we will look back on this as a year of growth. I am very grateful for the support of our School community – and of course, for the work of our dedicated and caring teachers. Wishing you and your family a special and rejuvenating summer break.

Farewell and thank you to Adam Blackman

At the November Board meeting, Adam Blackman stood down from the Board President’s role and David New was appointed as our next Board President. David has two sons, Joshua (Head Madrich 2019) and Coby (Year 9). Previously our Board Vice President, David has served on the Board since 2015, has chaired the Security Committee for the past five years and currently serves on the Finance and Sport Steering Committees. We wish him well as he leads the governance of our School.

Adam Blackman joined the Board in 2012, served as Treasurer for five years and was Board President from 2017 – 2020. He departs after overseeing the transition of a new Principal and securing the JCA 2021 Capital Appeal, amongst other things. Adam will remain as a valued member of our Capital Appeal Committee and will of course maintain a strong interest in the School. I am very grateful for Adam’s support, wisdom and advice over the past three years.

Ashley Rockman was appointed Board Vice President. He has served on the Board since mid-2016. Ashley currently serves on the Investment and ICT Steering Committees and is a Director of the Foundation Board. We are fortunate to have such an experienced Board leadership team.

Maintaining good relationships with our neighbours

One of the conditions of our Development Application for the Redevelopment of our Adler Building was that we are required to establish a Community Consultative Committee. This will provide a means for our concerned neighbours to communicate regularly with the School, particularly in relation to traffic issues. Sadly, I have recently received several complaints from our neighbours in relation to the congestion, particularly around Stephen and Chepstow Streets. Parents have been double parking, blocking driveways and holding up traffic, as they wait for their children. It seems that some parents are instructing their children to wait to be collected from these two streets, rather than use the Go With The Flow. Additionally, cars are remaining in the Kornmehl car park for well beyond the prescribed times, generating further build-up of traffic. Your support, in using our GWTF and car park procedures would be sincerely appreciated, as we work towards reducing the congestion.

Primary Presentation Day and High School Speech Day

Due to COVID restrictions we have had to be increasingly creative in the ways that we organised Primary Presentation Day and High School Speech Day.

On Tuesday, Primary School parents will receive links to K-2 and 3-6 websites that have been developed to mark the year that was and the students’ wonderful achievements. Please look out for an email from Tany Milner in this regard. I have promised not to give any more details away, so I haven’t. I think. The suspense is killing me.

High School Speech Day will be held onsite with the majority of students, staff and parents watching the live stream from classrooms, offices and homes. Prize winners will attend the event in person and Year 12 parents will be able to watch the event online, together, in the Theatre (with appropriate distancing requirements). They will then be able to join the Year 12s for a COVID-friendly afternoon tea. This will be the last of the Year 12 functions and we are so pleased that we have been able to celebrate their year, albeit in a way that Ms Lowe would call “Interesting”.

Join the live-streamed High School Presentation Day at 2.00 pm sharp on Wednesday 9 December. You will need to enter the password ESSD2020 to access the link.

Mazal tov

Liat Granot Year 12 (2021) received The NSW Association of Jewish Services and ex-Service men and women (NAJEX) annual student leadership award.
Arielle Melamed (Year 9) and Lara Fosbery (Year 11) have both made the UN Youth NSW Voice Competition 2020 Grand Final. They will compete at NSW Parliament House on Monday 7 December 2020. We wish them the best of luck.
Avalon Gold and Phoebe Machlin, Year 6, represented Emanuel School at the Equestrian Inter-school Championships last week. Whilst they completed their dressage tests, the jumping and cross country eventing were both cancelled due to the heat. Avalon also competed in the Shibumi Equestrian competition fun day and was awarded 1^st place in both 45cm and 65cm, jumping for the fastest time by six seconds.
Year 6 Hebrew, led by Oren Thaler, won the 2020 Linguafest Film Competition with their movie, The Black Shoes. Kol Hakavod!
The JA Thompson History Debating Grand Finals
- The Year 9 team (who were competing in the Year 10 competition) lost on a split decision and our Year 12 team fought valiantly.
- Our Year 9 team consisted of Jake N, Arielle Melamed, Daniel Solomon, Maayan Granot and Alix Cane; and
- Our Year 12 team consisted of Jesse Koslowski, Romi Lapidge, Max Kidman and Tara Linker.