Andrew Watt – Principal

Reflecting on the power of expressing gratitude

As I was walking down a nearby street this week, an Emanuel father stopped me and expressed his gratitude to the Emanuel School leaders and teachers, observing that his children were happy, connected, settled and growing in confidence and in their learning. A family visiting the School and joining me for morning tea also expressed their gratitude for our welcoming and receptive student culture and for opportunities to see firsthand the inner workings of our School. Words carry great transformative power, to either build up or to pull down the mood of both the giver and the receiver. Simple and genuine expressions of gratitude can transform our feelings and provide both feedback and encouragement.

The discipline of regularly conveying gratitude is practised in our weekly staff briefing notes, which overflow with expressions of gratitude for various acts of kindness. The act of regularly and intentionally expressing gratitude can help us appreciate what we have, instead of consistently reaching for something new, in the hope that it will make us happier. This refocus on what we have, rather than what we lack, is consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude is a thankful acknowledgement or appreciation of those good things in our life. It helps us feel more positive emotions, enjoy good experiences, build strong relationships and deal with adversity.

“Gratitude is not simply an emotional response; it is also a choice we make.
We can choose to be grateful, or we can choose to be ungrateful—to take our gifts and blessings for granted.
As a choice, gratitude is an attitude or disposition”
~ Angeles Arrien

Both our staff and students are reminded regularly to be grateful for all that we have, pausing to notice and appreciate the things that we often take for granted, like having a place to live, food, clean water, friends and family. It’s taking a moment to reflect on how fortunate we are. Being grateful for all that we have in life is one of the keys to true happiness.

MensLine Australia share some simple things we can do to begin the practice gratitude:

• Don’t be picky: appreciate everything, even the small stuff.
• Keep a gratitude journal. Just note one or more things you are grateful for on a daily basis.
• Give at least one compliment daily or share your appreciation of something.
• Sit down daily and think of five to ten things you are grateful for. Then picture them in your mind and enjoy the feeling of gratitude in your body.
• Improve your happiness in other areas of your life. For example, before you sit down to eat dinner, say one thing that you are grateful for.

A wonderful Night of Song 

Our large audience was entertained by a range of vocal performances from both Primary and High School students. It was clear that, for both our choirs and individual performances, our students were enjoying the experience of singing before an appreciative audience. The depth of talent of our soloists is impressive and evident at all ages. This augers well for our future Musical Productions! I also thoroughly enjoyed the Pop-up Community Choir’s performances of Hine Ma Tov and A Million Dreams.

Thank you to Danny Burley, who was involved in almost every aspect of the concert, and to our highly professional Music Department. I am also grateful to Ofer Levy, parent photographer, for capturing so many special moments.

The Festival of Sport

Eden Levit and the JDS Chagha Cup

The annual contest between Moriah College and Emanuel School took place over the past two weeks. Hard-fought contests, across futsal (boys and girls), basketball (boys and girls), netball (girls) and rugby union (boys) have maintained the tradition of fierce but friendly competition. The JDS Chagha Sport Cup provides senior students (especially graduating Year 12 students) with an opportunity to represent their school one final time.

The JDS Cup currently proudly resides in the Emanuel School trophy cabinet, after taking out three of the four events in 2022 – Football (girls and boys) and Netball (girls) but losing the fourth event, Rugby. With two events added this year, the final tally was a 3-all tie, which meant that we retained the JDS Cup for another year. Instagram and Facebook have been flooded with commentaries of each match, and it is clear that both Schools enjoyed both the competition and the camaraderie.

Mazal tov

• Our Open Boys Relay team smashed the CDSSA 20-year record at the Athletics Championships. Mazal tov to Jett Sher, Aden Goodridge, Shai Farhy and Zac Urbach for their sensational win which you can witness here.
• Click here to watch our Open Girls Relay team also win their race too! Mazal tov to reigning CDSSA Relay champions, Ashley Urbach, Amelie Trope, Mariah Lewy and Eden Levit. 
• Emanuel’s Super 6 Netball team defeated IGS 31-17 in the final of our Thursday inter-school sport competition. Mazal tov to all the players!
• Ella Bortz (Year 9) competed in the Sydney Vocal Eisteddfod in August, placing 1^st in the Jazz category, 3^rd in the Musical Theatre category, and was a finalist for the Junior Singer of the Year. Well done Ella!
• Mariah Lewy (Year 12) was awarded a High Distinction for her 8^th Grade singing exam. Well done Mariah!
• Julia Manoy (Year 8) organised an afternoon of netball to raise money for Dignity, a charity that aims to help eradicate homelessness. Julia and her friends raised $1400 which will be used to purchase items for the charity’s four homes. There is still time to support Julia and her friends – click here to donate and in the comments section enter Netball Dignity Day.
• Jesse Herdan (Class of 2022) was accepted into UNSW’s prestigious Co-Op Scholarship. There is significant competition for the Co-op program, which is a career development scholarship that, along with financial support, incorporates industry exposure, leadership, networking and mentorship.

Quote of the week

“The more you practice gratitude, the more you see how much there is to be grateful for, and your life becomes an ongoing celebration of joy and happiness.” Don Miguel Ruiz