From the Principal
Andrew Watt – Principal
A brief farewell
I suspect that my term away from the School will fly by, and before too long, I will return all the wiser from my course in strategic leadership. My wife and I are grateful for the opportunity to take a break from the frenetic pace of school life and to take time to pause, rest, and reflect on my leadership journey thus far. I hope to return refreshed, invigorated and full of new ideas that will be of benefit to our School. I depart very confident in our Acting Principal, Margaret Lowe and our high performing Strategic Advisory Team (SAT) and Executive. Lehitraot!
Our emerging leaders
Our Year 11 students who aspire to be our Madrichim will be presenting their case at assembly in early Term 3. In my final assembly address in Term 2 our students were encouraged to select their leaders wisely:
It is good to remember that before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. But when you become a leader, success is all about growing others. The motives for wanting to be a Madrich or Madricha should focus on serving, on giving, on wanting our School to thrive, on wanting to be a great ambassador for Emanuel. It should not be about the prefect badge, the power, the extra ATAR points for leadership, or having it on your CV. Every student in their senior years carries the responsibility of being a leader at Emanuel, whether it be a formal or informal position, or whether they want it or not! In practice, this means that they should:
- Never walk past poor behaviour or bullying in school, but rather, they should intervene and report
- Step in, if the behaviour of our students in the playground, on buses or at the shops is disruptive or rude
- Take the lead and help-out, if a student is upset, or if the canteen needs help, or if an event needs setting up; and finally,
- Be a role model, in the way that our uniform is worn, or the way they contribute to Shabbat celebrations and chaggim, or participate in House activities.
I remain confident in the wisdom of our students to select their leaders based on far more than popularity alone.
Not just bricks and mortar
The construction of our new building is well underway. We interviewed Years 4 and 5 students about their hopes, dreams and blessings for what will be their future ‘home’. I know that you will find their responses as inspiring as I did.
Primary School Athletics Carnival
Students from Years 3-6 enjoyed a day of athletics competition and cheering on athletes from their House, at Hensley Athletics Field. Despite the windy conditions, there were many outstanding performances, with school records broken. A more detailed report can be located in the Primary Sports Carnival article of this edition. Many thanks to Stuart Taylor, Kristy Genc and their team of teachers and sport coaches, on a fantastic carnival, as well as parent and photographer, Ofer Levy, for taking photos of our athletes in action.
Making art
Throughout Monday and Tuesday of this week, our Years 9, 10 and 11 elective Visual Arts students immersed themselves in specialist art learning experiences at the acclaimed National Art School in Darlinghurst. Our students took full advantage of our privileged opportunity to engage with world class facilities and expert technical and conceptual instruction in etching based printmaking, wheel thrown ceramics and portraiture in oil paint.
Pathways Ceremony
This morning our Year 4 and new Year 5 students participated in their Pathways Ceremony. This is always a much-anticipated event, bringing together many generations to witness their children and grandchildren receiving their first Tanakh. Kol ha’kavod to Adam Carpenter, Bec Gaida, Stacey Rosenfeld and the Jewish life team for leading and organising this special morning.
What a mitzvah!
On Monday and Tuesday nights, Primary School parents chopped, mixed and diced a vast array of fresh ingredients for our Mitzvah Meals program. Run by our wonderful P&F and led by parent, Carli Rothman, this program provides nutritious meals for parents and staff who are facing hardship, serious illness or a bereavement. I am eternally grateful to all those parents who show such care and support to our community.
Community Career Connections
As our young adults journey to their next stage of adulthood, blessed with so many wonderful career choices and paths, they seek practical experiences and conversations to help them make sense of a complex and every changing world of study and work. Many of our parents and grandparents have successful careers in areas in which our senior students have shown interest. If you would like to share your experience and wisdom, I urge you to join our Community Career Connections database. For more information on how you can help become part of our students’ futures, click on Careers Space in this week’s Ma Nishma, or contact Claire Pech, Careers Advisor at cpech@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au
Grandparents, save the date
The time is coming to welcome our Grandparents on campus to once again experience the joy of an Emanuel School Rosh Hashanah celebration with their grandchildren. We have not been able to host our annual Grandparents and Friends Day in the past two years and so are excited to announce this special event will take place on 16 September 2022. Grandparents, while September may seem far away, please diarise the day, which promises to be the biggest yet! We’ll be sharing further information at the start of Term 3.
Quote of the week
“What a bargain grandchildren are! I give them my loose change, and they give me a million dollars’ worth of pleasure.” ~ Gene Perret, writer and producer of the Carol Burnett Show