Volume 30 Issue 8 19 Mar 2021 6 Nisan 5781

From the Principal

Andrew Watt – Principal

Supporting all our learners to grow and thrive 

A key aim of teaching and learning at Emanuel is to support each and every student at the School. We work to identify and support our gifted students, our students with learning needs, and all students across the full spectrum of ability and interest, to provide opportunities for each of our students to grow and thrive. This can be achieved broadly through differentiated programs that provide both extension and support activities. Our Specialist Learning Centre and our Gifted and Talented teams work in close collaboration with our teachers, to develop our K-12 academic program.

I have offered my ‘From the Principal’ article this week to our Deputy Principal (Teaching & Learning) K-12, Mr Adam Majsay, who writes below about our extensive program for gifted and talented students at the School.

Where the individual excels…

For many years, the tagline for Emanuel School, beyond our motto of Mind, Spirit, Being, has been ‘where the individual excels’. It’s a truism that such catchphrases develop their own meanings over time and come to mean different things to different people. Over my almost fifteen years at Emanuel, I’ve often thought of ‘where the individual excels’ as highlighting how, no matter how unique, quirky or different a student (or a staff member) is, Emanuel School will truly be a place where they can thrive. In more recent times, and no doubt as a result of my role overseeing teaching and learning across the whole school, I’ve thought about Emanuel as a place ‘where the individual excels’ in terms of our students as learners: that no matter how unique a student’s learning profile, be they a highly gifted learner, a student with substantial learning support needs, or a student at any other point in their personal learning journey, Emanuel is a place where they can be supported and encouraged, challenged and stretched.

One aspect of our learning programs that I’d like to promote to our community is the work that our staff do in catering for our gifted learners, through our K-12 Gifted and Talented programs. There are a number of key areas that characterise a quality gifted program. These range from highly visible externally delivered programs to the more subtly embedded, exceptional classroom practice of our teachers. 

Adam Majsay – Deputy Principal (Teaching and Learning) K-12

In catering for our gifted learners and top academic achievers, it is the high-quality differentiated teaching practice delivered by each of our teachers that is the most important for student learning yet is likely the least visible beyond the classroom. We will soon be in the enviable position of being a school at which every single teacher has undertaken formal certification in gifted education, through UNSW’s Mini-COGE (Certificate of Gifted Education) program. This is a unique step for a school, and a demonstration of our commitment to ensuring that our students are the recipients of learning programs that specifically cater for gifted learners, delivered by expert teachers. 

Beyond the walls of each classroom, our gifted students benefit from the support of a dedicated team of Gifted Education specialists, including Colleen Elkins (K-6) and Craig Moss (7-12), our Co-ordinators of Gifted & Talented Programs, and Roisin McGrath, our specialist Mathematics: High Potential Learners teacher. One key aspect of the work Ms Elkins and Mr Moss undertake in supporting our gifted learners is their small group and individual work with students. Over the coming terms, our support for gifted students in the High School will be enhanced through our in-school withdrawal programs for gifted students, ensuring that their unique learning needs are well catered for.

The most visible and (for students) perhaps the most memorable aspect of our gifted programs are the out of class opportunities and extra-curricular programs we offer. These competitions, clubs and opportunities to work with like-minded students, both at Emanuel and from other schools, are an outstanding adjunct to the quality teaching programs delivered by our teachers. Over the course of this year, we aim to keep information about the broad range of extra-curricular programs for gifted students front and centre, through Ma Nishma, and at School Assemblies. 

This week, High School students were encouraged to join the Future Problem Solving challenge, a “research-based, academic program that teaches problem solving strategies, collaboration, critical thinking, and effective communication… [through an] interdisciplinary approach [that] helps develop ethical leadership skills and provides a unique opportunity for students to learn and apply essential life skills in the 21st century” (https://fpsp.org.au/). It is opportunities like these, along with our extensive suite of similar programs (some of which I’ve outlined below), which build our gifted students’ capacity to apply their unique interests, skills and subject-specific content knowledge to new and challenging contexts. 

These are exciting learning opportunities for our students, but they also have relevance and resonance in regular classroom learning and make a considerable contribution to students’ overall academic achievement, right through to Year 12. 

It is notable that following a review of the NSW Curriculum completed in 2020, the NESA syllabuses which guide our High School subjects, and the HSC examinations which capture student achievement at the end of their schooling, have undergone the beginnings of a seismic transformation. Students in the coming years will experience a move away from the type of exams that we as parents and teachers would recall, in which memorisation and factual recall were rewarded, to a Year 12 in which being prepared for the unexpected, having a capacity to think outside the box, to undertake investigation in an area of interest and to be able to apply knowledge through analysing information, and employing critical and creative thinking and communication skills is most highly valued. Through our focus on challenging students’ thinking and inspiring their curiosity, both in the classroom and beyond, and through our extra-curricular academic programs, we are confident that all Emanuel students are being equipped with the skills and dispositions required for their future. 

To end where I began, Emanuel truly is a place in which every one of our students can be supported, nurtured and challenged. Emanuel is a place ‘where the individual excels’, and where, for all, including our most gifted learners, there need be no limits to learning.

By Adam Majsay, Deputy Principal (Teaching & Learning) K-12

Launching Business Boost

I’m delighted to share Business Boost with you – an online directory listing businesses and services by Emanuel parents, grandparents and alumni. Many have generously provided special offers for the Emanuel community. COVID-19 has impacted so many of us and this is a wonderful way to support our community. So if you’re looking for a vet, plumber, computer or spa, visit Business Boost today. 

If you would like to add your business to the directory, click here. 

 

Mazal tov

Eden Levitt, Year 10, competed in the Junior State Athletics Championships this past week. She finished 7th in the State in the 100m in the under 18 years group and placed 4th in the 200m in the under 17s, her correct age group. Eden has a busy few weeks ahead of her. One of her longer term goals has been to represent NSW at the Australian Track Championships – her times from previous competitions means that she will realise this dream in April. Additionally, Eden will compete in Little Athletics State this coming weekend and Australian Beach Nationals in April. We wish Eden the best of luck for these events. What an inspiration and positive role model she is.

Quote of the week

“Vulnerability is not knowing victory or defeat, it’s understanding the necessity of both; it’s engaging. It’s being all in.”
Brené Brown, lecturer, author, and podcast host.