It was lovely to welcome back our students after an extended break. They have returned refreshed and appear well equipped to adapt to the ‘new normal.’ Whilst many of us approach the commencement of the school year with some degree of apprehension, we remain confident that we have done all that we can to provide a safe start, regardless of the circumstances. Our students will be encouraged to be resilient, to adapt, to pivot and to pursue creative solutions, all of which will stand them in good stead for the future.

Welcome to our new parents and students

For many families, this week was the start of a new beginning. A special welcome to all our new students, new parents and new grandparents. As you join the Emanuel family I know that you will embraced by our warm and wonderful community.

On Tuesday the Class of 2033 started their 12 year school journey in the care of their  teachers, Annabelle Turrall and Leisha Strub. We wish the students an exciting term filled with adventure and wonder.

Introducing our new Head of Jewish Life

After completing an extensive national and international recruitment process, we are delighted to announce that Adina Roth has been appointed as our Head of Jewish life. Due to prior commitments, Adina will join us online from South Africa in Term 3, before joining us on campus in Term 4. Daphna Levin-Kahn has graciously agreed to take on the Acting Head of Jewish Life and Jewish Studies role for the interim period. We are looking forward to Adina bringing her deep knowledge and creativity to this role as she leads the next phase of Jewish learning and living at Emanuel with passion and wisdom. Adina spoke to our staff via video on our Staff Development Day and she has also written to our School community:

Hello Emanuel parents,

My name is Adina Roth and my family and I are coming on a life-changing journey from South Africa later this year to become a part of your community. I am thrilled, excited, and honoured to be joining the Emanuel community to serve as Head of Jewish Life. My husband Farryl is a musician and physio and I have a twelve-year-old daughter, Maya and an eight-year-old son, Adam who will both be attending Emanuel!

As I see it, I will be partnering with you to ‘raise the sparks’ of Jewish life, of meaning-making, Jewish learning and ritual, spirit and soul for the students of Emanuel and our wider community. For almost 17 years, I have been working in the field of Jewish education in South Africa. I offer an independent bar and bat mitzvah programme, which is about making the years in the build-up to this coming of age as rich and meaningful as possible. I am also a Clinical Psychologist and I run a small psychology practice. I try to bring psychological insight into my teaching of kids, pre-teens, and teens at these incredibly impressionable times in their lives. 

My first great loves were literature and poetry. So, when I teach, I incorporate stories and poetry as I teach the profound stories and teachings of our heritage- making them relatable. Where possible, I encourage the use of art, music and dance in Torah learning and at times, I like to take my students out to nature to learn in earthy settings. For years, I have taught Melton and my own Torah classes to adults drawing on insights from traditional midrash, psychology, and literature. I am a second-year rabbinical student at Yeshivat Maharat, the ground-breaking modern-orthodox institution in New York currently ordaining women! I hope to bring all my experience and love for this work to your community and I look so forward to meeting you all and to understanding what it is that your children and yourselves are interested in Jewishly, what you are looking for and longing for, so that we may go a journey together to create it,

Warm regards and brachot for this year ahead,

Adina Roth

Welcome to our new staff

Our new staff members enjoyed a one-day induction program, followed by two Staff professional Development Days prior to the arrival of our students. They have settled quickly into their new roles, and we are fortunate to have employed an experienced and caring group of teachers, leaders, and administrators.

Alice Bowman: joins our English Department and will take on the role of Meir House Tutor. Alice has recently relocated to Sydney from Orange, where she spent the last three years at Kinross Wolaroi School in various roles, including English Teacher, Senior School Literacy Integrator, Learning Support Teacher, and in Student Wellbeing. Alice also spent two years as part of the graduate program at Geelong Grammar School. 

Eli Hajun: joins our Jewish Studies Department. He relocated from Israel last year, just in time for our lockdown. Eli has a background in Psychology and has been teaching for 14 years in Israel. During this time Eli also worked for the Ethiopian National Project, where he empowered and mentored small groups of Ethiopian Israeli youths, guiding their personal and educational progression.

Shirley Leader: also joins our Jewish Studies Department. After 20 years in the corporate sector, Shirley has had a distinguished career teaching English as a Second Language to international students, in preparation for their university studies. Most recently, she volunteers as a guide at the Sydney Jewish Museum.   

Sean Baggott: joins our Mathematics Department. Sean is in his second year of teaching, spending last year at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart School. Prior to commencing his career in teaching, Sean spent 35 years as a Chemical Engineer, working throughout Asia-Pacific.

Virginia Harding: joins our HSIE Department. Originally from Hong Kong, Virginia has spent the last three years working at Punchbowl Boys High School in various roles. In addition to being a HSIE specialist, Virginia also teaches Korean.

Felicity Donohue: joins us as the Coordinator of Gifted & Talented (K-6). After a career in marketing, Felicity made her switch to Primary teaching and has taught in Hong Kong and, most recently, in Melbourne. She has held various leadership roles including Subject Coordinator and Deputy Head of Primary School.

Joshua Aghion: joins us as the Coordinator of Innovation (K-6). Joshua has spent the last 3 years teaching at the Australian International School in Hong Kong. Prior to that he taught at several schools around Sydney and spent a year working for ClickView, which saw him travelling across the country to integrate ClickView into schools across Australia.

Barnaby Wilbury:  joins our Primary School teaching team as our Year 6 OC teacher. After a successful career in photography, both in London in Sydney, Barnaby made the switch to teaching. He joins us most recently from Queenwood School for Girls. where he worked as a Maths Enrichment teacher. 

Dale Kessler: joins our Primary School teaching team as a Year 6 Teacher and our Student Leadership Team Leader. Dale has spent the last 25 years at Moriah College, prior to which, she worked here at Emanuel School.

Orly Mizrahi:  joins our Primary School Hebrew Department. Originally from Israel, Orly has spent time living overseas in Singapore and Manila and recently migrated to Australia. Orly has been teaching Hebrew for a number of years, to both adults and children.  

Britt Grundy: joins our Primary School Administration team, supporting Carrie-Anne Thomas and Katie Brody. She has worked previously in sales and administration in the food industry, and prior to that in the beauty industry. Some of you might know Britt as Britt Kaplan from her days as an Emanuel student.

Grace Condon: joins our Primary School Administration team as our Library Assistant. She has recently relocated to Sydney from Wollongong, where she worked in the Children and Youth Services Department of Wollongong Public Library. 

Jane O’Gorman: joins our Health Centre team, taking over from Genna Onuchukwu whilst she is on maternity leave. Originally from Ireland, Jane has over 20 years’ experience in nursing, where she specialised in paediatrics and has also spent time as a Community Nurse.

Gavin Dennis: joins our Maintenance team and is already hard at work getting the campus ready for the new school year. Gavin has many years’ experience in the construction and events industry including working for the Federation Harbour Trust on Cockatoo Island, Aged Care facilities and Councils.

Daniel Van Sluys Erlich: joins our Alumni Informal Jewish Life Educator team. A graduate of the Class of 2019, Daniel currently studying a Bachelor of Arts at Macquarie. Since leaving school Daniel has been a volunteer with the Habonim youth movement, and in 2020 took part in their GAP year ‘Shnat’ program in Israel, developing his educational leadership skills.

HSC Success

Please join me in our continued celebration of our Class of 2021’s HSC success. For full coverage, impactful stories, key statistics, interesting interviews and more, click on the article A Celebration of Success. If you have not yet had the opportunity to view our indepth HSC video featuring students sharing their school experiences I encourage you to do so by clicking on the the image below. 

Tikkun Tonga

Our warm and caring community has embraced the Siale family who has been directly affected by the Tongan disaster. We are currently developing a plan, with the input of our students, to help support the effort to help rebuild the village of Kanokupolu where Jeff Siale’s family live. Please click on the article ‘Tikkun Tonga’ for a timely update. 

Australia Day Honours

Mazal tov to the two members of the Emanuel School community were recognised this year:

1. The late Dr Geoffrey Symonds, a past Board President and member of the School’s Foundation Board, received a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to tertiary education and to public health; and
2. Alan Joffe, father of parent, Sharon Berger, received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to the Jewish Community

These are significant achievements for our School community to celebrate.

Passing on the baton

After five years of outstanding service as Co-Presidents of our Parents and Friends (P&F) Association, Ruby Berkovic and Jen Opit have passed the baton to Justine Hofman. We wish Justine well in her new role. The P&F have played a key role in both fund raising and friend raising, with a focus on building a sense of community and belonging. We owe a debt of gratitude to Ruby and Jen, who have been wonderful ambassadors for Emanuel.

Mazal tov

Horses for courses

Mazal tov to Avalon Gold and Phoebe Machlin – during the school holidays the girls represented Emanuel School at the Berry Interschools Equestrian Championships in sweltering conditions, winning a collection of medals between them. 

Avalon, on her pony Westlake Grand Affair, won three first place ribbons in the 60cm jump off, 60cm Superphase and 60cm Grand Prix classes.

Phoebe, riding her new horse, Kaewing Maximus, took home 1st, 2nd and 3rd in three Showjumping classes and 4th and 5th place in Dressage. She participated valiantly in the Cross Country class too. 

Quote of the week

“Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect.”~ Alan Cohen, author