Andrew Watt – Principal

Celebrating a milestone in the Emanuel journey 

The first of our events to celebrate Emanuel School’s 40^th Anniversary took place on Tuesday, at our Years 3-12 Celebration Assembly. Rabbi Kamins delivered a special d’var torah, in which he drew parallels with the 40 years in the wilderness experienced by the Jewish people, poised to begin a new phase, with greater wisdom and understanding. We were encouraged to stay true to the values of our School founders, to remain a warm, inclusive and egalitarian community. Our Head of Jewish Life, Adina Roth, gave a blessing of the School, under a tallit, followed by a special cake cutting ceremony.

Our staff and students learned about our School’s journey, which began in 1983 with 53 students in Years K-6, housed at its temporary home of Temple Emanuel Woollahra. We did not move into our campus until 1985. The School had already grown, with almost 230 students from Years K-8. The grounds, which had been owned by The Little Sisters of the Poor, needed quite some work to transform the landscape into a suitable place to learn and play. Today, almost 920 students walk through the Waxman Gates every day! 

As the years have passed, Emanuel has grown, become more established, better known and well respected. If Rabbi Brian Fox and the other founders and visionaries of Emanuel School could take a tour of our School today, and look into our classrooms, halls, theatres and playgrounds, they would be very proud. Their vision of a warm and inclusive community of learners, strongly connected to both its Judaism and to Israel has come to life. Ted Waxman, the first President of our School Board and one of our dedicated Founders wrote the following at the opening of the Lehrer Family Building (MPH) in 1996:

Our Head Madrichim, representing the school body, on their way to be blessed, by Adina Roth, Head of Jewish Life.

 “What we have accomplished will be appreciated by each and every student for years to come. It will make a tremendous contribution to their happiness, their future academic and physical development, to the enhancement of their love and practice of Judaism, as well as their desire to be good citizens of Australia and our community.”

If only Mr Waxman knew that, almost 30 years later, we would be sitting in that very building and that his words would ring so true. Our students were encouraged to imagine, in 10, 20 or 30 years’ time, the then Board President saying very similar words about our new B’Yachad Building that we will open this year.

We have much to be thankful for – and today’s assembly was all about looking back to our humble beginnings with gratitude and looking forward to our bright future in anticipation of great times ahead!

We are very thankful for the generosity of our donors, at each stage of our Emanuel School journey. Through their support, we now enjoy a beautiful campus, with purpose-built learning and play spaces. Perhaps most importantly, we have a wonderful team of professional, diligent and caring staff.

It’s magic!

Years K-2 students enjoying the magic show

Our Pre-school children and Years K-2 students celebrated our 40th anniversary with a magician show, which I understand was a great hit! Terry Aizen, Kornmehl Director, summed the show and the children’s reactions perfectly: “It was wonderful watching the joy and fun the children had watching the show. It was aimed right at their level of humour and it was interactive and fast-paced which kept their attention going for 45 minutes. Some of the children were so excited they could not contain their bodies and were jumping up and shrieking with delight. Some were also falling over from laughing so hard!”. 

Developing our student leaders

Week 5 has been a busy week for Year 6, with a 3-day focus on building leadership skills among our eldest Primary School students. The first day saw the students unpack what it means to be a leader, with workshops conducted by Natanya Milner and Carrie-Anne Thomas. Our students were then encouraged to apply these skills through a series of challenging activities which focused on areas of communication, collaboration, and creative thinking. Day two had students visit Sydney Olympic Park, where they competed against each other in teams, seeking to win the ‘Amazing Race’. Our students had a great time, demonstrating their growing understanding of ‘leading from within’. Our final day of leadership training saw the students experience what leadership looks like within our Jewish community. They were joined by our Jewish Life staff, who ran a series of engaging activities linked to influential leaders in Jewish history. Finally, after such a wealth of diverse learning and developmental experiences, the students were awarded their leadership badges, met their teacher mentors and were given a chance to plan out the year ahead in their new Leadership roles – all over a delicious pizza. The 3-day experience has been rewarding for our students – and listening to some of the ideas that were brewing on Friday, we look forward to what they will bring to the School in 2023.

Communicating with our staff

Our dedicated staff team consistently go above and beyond, to educate and care for our students. I have to remind them regularly that they need to enjoy life beyond school and to ‘keep their batteries charged.’ Parents can assist our staff by communicating before 6.00 pm, Monday to Thursday and before 4.30 pm on Fridays. Staff are not expected to respond to emails (and thus may not access their emails) after this time, or on weekends. Our staff will commit to responding to parents within 24 hours, even if just to acknowledge receipt of your message whilst they investigate or prepare a response. Your support of our staff in this way would be greatly appreciated.

Canteen closed on Monday

The canteen will be closed on Monday 6 March 2023 for the Fast of Esther.

Safe and efficient traffic management

Please remember to stick to our published traffic plans, including the use of Go With The Flow (GWTF). This week we have noticed parents using Market Street to drop off and pick up or to do U turns, and learner drivers in the GWTF, which can significantly compromise safety and hold things up. Your support would be greatly appreciated.

Mazal tov

Mazal tov to Year 7 students, Noaa Smily and Tamar Granot, members of the under 12 Maccabi team which was crowned Premier Champions of the Summer Netball League. Both students also played in the Teen Division (12 years and above).

Quote of the week

“It’s always good to remember where you come from and celebrate it. To remember where you come from is part of where you’re going.” ~ Anthony Burgess, British author