Volume 26 Issue 13 12 May 2017 16 Iyyar 5777

From the Principal

Anne Hastings – Principal

Wellbeing Workshops

Many of our High School students have been involved very thought-provoking workshops this week (see the article on Wellbeing Sessions). Alumnus Matt Friedman has been leading groups of students towards realising the potential very negative impact of pornography on young people. Through his university course and the research he’s done, Matt has developed presentations around this theme, designed for school students, and is bravely addressing some of the issues that many are afraid to raise. Our students have been very lucky to have benefitted from Matt’s presentations and we thank him and congratulate him on the success of his initiative.

This is a comment from a parent about these sessions:

XX came home and immediately started talking about the content of Matt’s talk. It made for interesting dinner conversation, although we have always been open about the topic before. This morning I collected another student and the conversation continued. It was fascinating to hear their opinions and understanding of the issues around pornography. The topic of addiction was discussed a number of times as we waited for the traffic lights to change. 

I love the way that Matt’s talk gave the kids the language and an open understanding of the subject. I am sure the conversations will continue as they experience life as young adults.

Thanks to the School for taking the leap and putting a controversial and topical subject out there.

Students have also had some wellbeing sessions delivered by Brent Sanders, which focus on keeping safe, respectful relationships and managing themselves in tricky situations at parties etc.

In our role of preparing students for life beyond school and helping develop in them the power to make good decisions, these workshops provide the stimulus and potential for our students to further take on attitudes and actions that will protect them in the future. I invite parents of Years 7 – 11 to have conversations about these sessions with their sons and daughters, to reinforce the messages that have been passed on.

Breakfasts with Emanuel

These events, brought to us by our Gesher committee, have been very popular and enjoyed by all who attend. This semester’s breakfasts are coming up in the next few weeks (please see the article ‘Must Read’ for more information).

NAPLAN

All of our Years 3, 5, 7, and 9 students have undertaken the NAPLAN tests this week, which provide for us a snapshot of the students’ progress in their mastering of the curriculum and identify areas of our program that we might need to give more emphasis. NAPLAN results should be available within a few months. NAPLAN results are one piece of the great breadth and depth of information and feedback we use to refine our teaching programs and target students’ specific needs.

Mothers’ Day

Over 300 Mums and special women in the children’s lives enjoyed a delicious breakfast this morning with their young ones, brought to us by our hard-working P & F committee to mark Mothers’ day on Sunday. Students in Years K – 6 were then able to purchase gifts for Mothers’ day from a gift stall. This has become a great tradition at Emanuel School and reminds the children how special their carers are, and how important it is to say thank you. It’s a huge effort to prepare these events and I would like to acknowledge and acclaim the P & F committee for their enthusiasm and intensive preparation to ensure everything goes so well (see the article on this under the P & F header).

A group of eager participants will walk together under the Emanuel School Striders banner in the Mothers’ Day Classic on Sunday. We wish them well.

Opal cards

All students who travel on the school buses should have their Opal cards. When a student is applying for an Opal Card, the School needs to certify that student’s address is correct by matching to the address held on our database. Please ensure that any address provided for this purpose is the same as the one on Edumate, or if necessary, update the address on Edumate if it’s wrong. 

2018 Term dates

For those who are keen to organise their year next year, the 2018 term dates have been posted up on the portal, under ‘Calendar’.

 Mazal Tov to

  • Jesse Gothelf (Year 6) for his success in the CIS Tennis, coming third in his age group
  • The mixed senior netball team for winning the CDSSA netball competition
  • Romi Lapidge (Year 8), for her selection in the CDSSA 15 years’ representative Netball team to play in the AICES competition
  • Jared Elbourne (Year 11), for his success in the CIS Swimming carnival, coming fifth in breastroke, and Gabriella Goodridge (Year 9), for her placings in the freestyle and butterfly at this meet
  • Oskar Beck (Year 10) for his selection in the AICES football team to play in the CIS competition
  • Year 8 and their Jewish Studies teachers for their impressive work on their Israel Expo
  • Louise Heilpern and Sarah Clark for their presentations at the recent Visual Arts Conference. Louise’s Tree of Life Etchings-Teaching abstraction to Primary School Aged Students, examined the intricacies of the creative process in Primary Visual Arts teaching and learning, and Sarah’s presentation – Accessing Online Resources: My Winner for 2017 – explored one of the latest innovations form Google called Google Arts & Culture and how this can revolutionise our digital pedagogies and citizenship.

Coming up

  • Breakfast with Emanuel, Wednesday 17 May, 7:30 am the Little Space at Bondi Junction
  • Twilight Music Concerts 1 & 2, 18 May 4 pm – 6:30 pm
  • Year 7 Study Skills Parents and Students evening, Tuesday 23 May, 6 pm
  • Breakfast with Emanuel, Wednesday 24 May, 7:30 am, PwC Barangaroo

Quote of the week

“Innovation isn’t easy. But it’s not something that only geniuses can do, either. When it comes to innovation (and many other things) brilliance is overrated, and determination and hard work are underrated.’ [James O’Loghlin]

Best wishes for a happy weekend and a wonderful Mothers’ Day to all the Mums, Grandmums and special women!

Shabbat Shalom