From the Principal
Andrew Watt – Principal
Maintaining a strong focus on what is important
Each month, our leaders receive a steady stream of requests for funding, time allocation outside the timetable and/or the staffing of new initiatives. A wide range of suggestions are received from both key stakeholders and those outside the School, as to what direction we should be taking, across our five operational areas. Which building projects? Which educational programs? Which staff professional development programs? Which Jewish life events? A consistent challenge for our Board and Senior Executive is how to choose which of the many proposed initiatives we should direct our time, efforts and funding towards.
Fortunately, our three-year Strategic Plan (2022- 2024) outlines our key commitments and under each key commitment, our priorities for that school year. It is to these priorities that we devote our energies and our funding. Over the past two years, we have maintained a steady focus on what is important, as defined through our Strategic Plan. Looking back, we have achieved much, and we have not been distracted by initiatives that fall outside our remit. For the past five weeks, our Strategic Advisory Team (SAT) have been working closely with their teams to review and develop our priorities for 2024. The final year of our Strategic Plan can be accessed here – and I encourage every parent to read through our action plans that lie within
- Future focused learning.
- Inspired Jewish living and learning.
- Wellbeing Culture.
- Learning beyond the curriculum.
- Sustainable practices
The Strategic Plan document can also provide parents with an insight into what we value; our mission; our aspirational graduate attributes and our commitments. It is well worth a read!
Welcoming our new (and newish) parents
This morning, our senior leaders enjoyed the opportunity to meet our new parents informally, over a light breakfast. Most capably hosted by our Primary School and High School Madrichim, our parents heard from the Board President, Mr Gary Joffe, the Principal and our Head Madrichim. I wanted to share an excerpt from my presentation:
Head Madrichim, Amelie Trope and Kian Hamburger
At Emanuel, we have worked hard to maintain a caring, inclusive, and connected community, one in which our students feel safe and supported. As a Jewish Day School, our key purpose beyond providing a top-quality education is to connect our school community deeply with their Judaism and to Israel. We seek to foster a sense of pride and ownership of our history, culture, traditions, and teachings. Our strong academic program is undergirded by a wellbeing program that seeks to provide a safe place and to develop student voice and agency, along with a strong sense of connectedness and belonging. For we all know that happy students learn more easily! As a community of learners, of both staff and students, we aspire to produce graduates who are compassionate advocates, curious and resilient learners, open-minded thinkers, adaptable innovators and tenacious problem solvers. In short, we aspire to be a School of very capable and well-adjusted Menschen who will make a difference in our world.
The welcome event was held in Chadar Chalomot, Room of Dreams, on the first floor of our B’Yachad Building. Upon departure, each family received a gift – a plant to take home and nurture. The inscription reads: “With water, food and perhaps some interesting conversation, this young plant will develop strong roots and leaves that reach towards the light. We hope that, like this plant, your child continues to flourish and find their light”. Thank you to our string quartet, led by our Head of Extra-curricular Music, Lisa McCowage, and a big thank you to our Marketing and Events team, for organising this special event.
I encourage you to read Amelie and Joa’s speech, Welcome to Emanuel, in this edition of Ma Nishma.
Leadership opportunities and preparation for every student
Year 6 students putting their leadership skills into practice.
Our Year 6 students participated in a three-day Leadership Development Program, promoting a range of life skills that will hold them in good stead as they learn what it is to be a good leader. This engaging and interactive program seeks to develop a foundation of personal beliefs each student can draw upon to support them through several challenges designed to develop their collaboration, communication, listening, prioritisation and teamwork skills. Our students reflected on what true leadership is, met their staff mentors, planned out 2024 and finally, received their badges. Accepting the badge represents each student’s commitment to leading all Primary School students, as champions of the Emanuel School values. For an in-depth article, please visit Primary News.
Mazal tov
The Open Boys AICES Basketball team are the AICES Basketball Champions having defeated SEDA (a Sports Speciality School). This is an exceptional achievement – we are so proud of our athletes!
Quote of the week
“As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.” ~ Bill Gates, philanthropist