Anne Hastings – Principal

We had a very special ceremony to welcome our new and very beautiful Ark to the School on Tuesday. As a School that does not have a lot of excess space, our new mobile Ark provides a new flexibility for prayer spaces. Built lovingly from red and white cedar, with intricate carvings on the doors, this will be a long-lasting and significant addition to the School (see photo on Rabbi Siegel’s page).

We are very grateful to Paul and Lisa Werner and their family for instigating this project and making a significant donation to bring it to fruition. We also thank Brian and Leon for the care and dedication with which they created our Ark. Thank you also to Rabbi Siegel and Shira Sebban, for following the creating of the Ark closely throughout its development, for liaising with the creators and with Paul on such a regular basis, and ensuring that the outcome is one of which we will all be proud and which will stay in the Emanuel School community for many, many years. Many thanks also to all the students and staff who contributed to our moving ceremony on Tuesday.

Goals for 2017 and beyond

In the second half of 2016 we (all staff and the Board) began considering the future focus of the School. We agreed that the main areas to ensure that our students will be well prepared for their future should be:

• Enterprise skills and community connections
• Cross-curricular, real-life problem solving
• Inquiry-based, project-based learning
• Collaboration
• Resilience
• Creativity and critical thinking
• Confidence with making/inventing/learning through trial and error
• Personalised learning and student choice

Putting all these areas together, we’ve decided on the theme of Building Innovative Thinking and Personal Growth, for our next strategic plan.

In this context we see innovation as thinking of, and then implementing, a better way of doing things, rather than completely new and different inventions. It’s a mindset that sees people having a positive, ‘can do’, problem-solving attitude towards continuously improving their lives, work and that of their organisation or workplace.

With this in mind we have developed a set of goals for 2017. Tany Milner talks specifically about the areas of focus for the Primary School this year in her article, which I commend to you. The following are the main areas for our school as a whole:

• Develop the detail of our strategic plan for the next five years
• Further our path towards building innovative thinking in students and staff
• Develop a MakerSpace P – 12
• Continue to focus on STEM thinking (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)
• Build our mentoring programs further (eg UNSW Engineering students)
• Increase connections with the outside community, particularly within the STEM areas
• Explore enterprise skills and their place in our teaching 7 – 12 (focus group)
• Continue our quest to develop global citizens through strengthening our East Timor, Jilkminggan and Israel programs and expanding to other connections
• Build knowledge and understanding of world issues (eg Geography Global Citizen Leadership project in Year 10)
• Enhance the engagement of students, particularly around Years 7 – 8
• Further focus on Literacy (Reading/Spelling) K – 12
• Implement cross-curricular projects and inquiry-based learning 7 – 12 (eg Music/Visual Arts, JST/D&T in 7 & 8)
• Encourage students to take responsibility for their learning (3-way learning conversations 7 – 12)
• Enhance collaboration skills, provide more opportunities for collaboration
• Staff professional learning through focus groups and other Professional Learning activities
• Develop Student Leadership programs further 6 – 12
• Review Jewish Studies and our approach to chaggim K – 12
• Enhance the CyberSafety education program 7 – 12
• Improve our record keeping for individual students in relation to wellbeing, welfare and academic progress
• Ensure consistent communication to students and parents through our online learning platforms 7 – 12.

Student success

Mazal tov to:

• Talia Rabin (Year 6) who competed with great success at the NSW Maccabi Swimming Championships at the Des Renford Leisure Centre on 12 February. Talia made a clean sweep of the 100m Open Freestyle, 50m Butterfly, 200 Individual Medley and 50 Freestyle and was named the Swimmer of the Meet.
• Talia (Year 12) and Michael Rubinstein (her dad), who delivered 300 roses to patients in Prince of Wales on 14 February
• All of the Emanuel School JNF Green Sunday callers for their work on the phones last Sunday
• Eden Levit, (Year 6) who won Gold and defended her title at the Sydney Branch Surf Life Saving Championship. For a third year in a row, Eden beat out competitors from 15 other clubs, winning gold in the Beach sprint.  Eden will defend her title of State Champion at the Championships in Newcastle in March
• Chloe Corne (Year 12) and Gabriel Sebban (Year 11) for their significant part in the Ark Dedication ceremony on Tuesday.

Talia Rabin

Talia Rubinstein

Eden Levit

Coming up

• Years 7 & 8 Camp, Tuesday 21 – Friday 24 February
• Year 9 Parent and Student Information Evening, Tuesday 21 February, 7 pm in the Millie Phillips Theatre
• Drugs and Alcohol Presentation with Paul Dillon, Wednesday 22 February, 7 pm in the Millie Phillips Theatre
• Year 8 Parent and Student Information Evening, Tuesday 28 February, 7 pm in the Millie Phillips Theatre
• New Parents Welcome and Year 7 Parents Meet the Teacher, Monday 6 March

Quote of the week

‘Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.’ [John Steinbeck (1902 – 1968)]

Best wishes for a restful and reinvigorating weekend.

Shabbat Shalom