Andrew Watt – Principal

Celebrating Israel’s 74^th Independence Day

This week is always a highlight in our school calendar! Dave Sharma, Federal Member for Wentworth, spoke at our High School Assembly and to our Year 11 students in their Speaker Series on Tuesday, in the lead up to Yom Ha’atzmaut. He spoke fondly of his experiences as Australia’s Ambassador to Israel and of Israel’s growth and unique contributions globally in the face of challenges, as well as his hopes for Israel’s future on the local, regional, and global stage. 

On Wednesday, the day before Yom Ha’atzmaut, a special event was held to commemorate Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day for the fallen soldiers The message of linking these two days is clear: Israel owes their independence – the very existence of the state – to the soldiers who sacrificed their lives for it. The student-led service was both poignant and respectful. Thanks to the Informal Jewish Life Team and Year 12 students for creating and presenting the event, and to Coby New, Jamie Schneider and Adam Rothschild for their performance of Od Ach Echad by Hadag Nahash. I hope you find their performance (below) as moving as I did.’

The first celebration took place when the State of Israel was established formally, on the 5^th day of Iyar, when the provisional government, led by David Ben Gurion, read and signed the Declaration of Independence in Tel Aviv, in 1948. Some 74 years later, the celebrations of Yom Ha’atzmaut are equally joyful, with our Primary School students arriving at school wearing blue and white and engaging in a variety of activities to learn about and celebrate Israel. The High School celebrations commenced with a special assembly, again with students wearing blue and white, followed by dancing and Israeli trivia and games. Many thanks to the Informal Jewish Life team and the Primary Jewish Life team.

Year 8 Israel Expo

The Expo was timed to coincide with our celebration of Israel’s independence. This event is the culmination of Year 8 students’ collaborative and creative efforts throughout their Term 1 Jewish Studies. We were pleased to see so many parents and grandparents as well as other students and Kornmehl children enjoy the event, as one of the first High School events they have been able to attend in a long while.

Kol Hakavod to the Year 8 students for their engaging and informative displays and fun activities!

Creating a Start-Up – Business Creators Day

Our Year 9 and 10 Business Creators Course includes a full-day interactive and collaborative workshop, led by our HSIE staff, and supported by UNSW student consultants. Using the mindset, skills and scaffolds developed through this course, our students enjoyed the opportunity to focus single-mindedly on the development of a new product or service, in a group exercise. Each idea was researched and developed in detail, followed by a ‘pitch’ to the panel. This experience provides a small glimpse into the frustrations, challenges, and joys of developing a start-up. Our students will now complete a Performance of Understanding (PoU) on their idea.

Congratulations to the students on the range of interesting and creative ideas put forward – and thank you to David Bartlett and Max Friend.

Young Archies

Grandpa Maurice by Jessica Linker

A hearty mazal tov to Lotus van der Starre, Year 11 and Jessica Linker, Year 9, whose submissions to the Young Archie’s portrait competition, run by the Art Gallery of NSW, have been accepted into the competition. Only 70 entrants out of 2400 were selected from around Australia. This is an outstanding achievement for both students. 

From the Mountain by Lotus van der Starre

Lotus’ portrait (left), From the Mountain, is of her grandmother: “The portrait depicts my oma Marian. My oma has been someone I looked up to since I was a child. I don’t see her often but she has always inspired me to help others as she has a very caring and nurturing nature and I love her very much.”

Jessica explained the inspiration for her entry, Grandpa Maurice: “This is a drawing of my paternal grandfather Maurice, who is a special person in my life. He holds a photo of his teenage self when he was in a displaced persons camp just after World War Two, not long before he migrated to Australia. I love the youthful, almost cheeky grin that his older self bears, in juxtaposition with the solemn expression of his younger self. I think it tells quite a story!”

Humanitix – partnering for good

As part of the School’s ethos of Tikkun Olam, we favour partnerships with companies that embrace the same spirit of giving back and working towards supporting the Jewish and wider communities. You may have noticed that we have started using the Humanitix ticketing platform for various events and activities across the School.

Humanitix donates 100% of profits from their booking fees towards helping to create a brighter future for disadvantaged children and communities around the world. To date they have raised over $1 million dollars, helping their partner charities like Room to Read and code.org to provide access to and resources for education.

We encourage our students to be compassionate advocates – to actively live the values of Tikkun Olam and be optimistic changemakers who have the courage to act. Humanitix’s commitment to giving aligns with this and shows us that every action, no matter the size, can have a significant impact on the lives of others. 

Visitors on campus

The Public Health Order requiring Education and Care Workers to be vaccinated will cease on 13 May 2022. As all our staff are vaccinated, this will have no impact on our teaching and learning. After conducting a risk assessment, a decision has been made to permit access to our campus for unvaccinated parents or visitors, from Monday 16 May 2022. Parents should continue to use GWTF in the morning and make an appointment or email, if they need to communicate with their teacher. 

I urge you to read the updated COVID-19 Parent Handbook which reflects these and other important changes. 

Happy Mother’s Day

Wishing all Emanuel Mums and special friends a very Happy Mother’s Day. I hope that you have a lovely weekend together.

Thank you to the P&F for arranging the Retro Schvitz and the Mother’s Day gift stall. It is always a highlight for the students who love choosing their perfect gift for Mum.

Mazal tov

• Tamar Granot in Year 6 was selected for the ASISSA representative netball team. She will play at the CIS competition and trials at Genea Netball Centre, Homebush this Friday 6 May 2022.
• Our Senior Ethics Team – Ella Hart, Willow Gelin, Alice Milner, Gabrielle Utian and Ashley Goldman – were awarded the bronze medal for finishing in third place at the Senior Ethics Olympiad. 
• Eden Levitt, Year 11, has been very busy at the Surf Life Saving Nationals Beach Sprit event in Queensland, bringing home Gold, Silver and Bronze medals! When not competing for the SLS team, Eden is playing soccer at national level and will be off to Israel to represent Australia at the Maccabiah Games in July this year. 

Quote of the week

“To move forward, you have to give back.” Oprah Winfrey