Andrew Watt

An attractive and restful campus

As we commence work on our Campus Masterplan, we are seeking to design learning spaces, gardens and playgrounds that are attractive, peaceful and essentially non-institutional. The provision of murals, green walls, colourful and contemporary furniture and playground equipment will form part of our plan moving forward. Work on a mural has commenced, in the alcove space between Year 4 and Kindergarten. This will be a “quiet zone”, where children can sit and read or play board games. The mural has been designed and will be painted by Alumnus Ronan Collins. The funds for this project were raised in 2017, from the Athon and Year 6 Fete. 

 Mother’s Day Breakfast and Stalls

Friday morning saw our Multi-Purpose Hall buzzing with activity and laughter, as a large number of mothers and their children enjoyed breakfast together. An array of delicious food greeted our guests and animated conversations continued throughout the occasion. A huge thank you to Jen Opit, Ruby Berkovic and their P & F team for putting on the Mother’s Day breakfast, which was closely followed by very successful Mother’s Day stalls. On Monday, our Kornmehl Pre-School community also enjoyed a belated Mother’s Day breakfast, where our mother’s had an opportunity to sit down with their child, receive their hand-made gift and card, and enjoy some playtime together. The bead stringing and the nail painting emerged as the clear favourites!

Careers Space 2018

Next week will see our 5^th major careers showcase for our senior students. In the last 3 years, what was previously known as E-Zone has become solely an alumni-based event. Careers Space will highlight an interesting variety of career pathways, illustrating how many of our presenters have embarked on a specific career direction, yet their journey has taken them to an entirely different career destination. For example, we will hear from a personal trainer who is also a journalist! Our alumni have achieved amazing careers. This year, we have 23 speakers from a diverse range of positions, across Business, STEM, People Professions and the Creatives. Our hope is that by attending this forum, our senior students will gain a deeper understanding of the career opportunities that are available to them and be encouraged to reflect on how they can work towards their preferred career options.

96^th Birthday Celebrations

Mr Aron Kleinlehrer (OAM), visited our Year 2 classrooms on Wednesday, as part of his 96^th birthday celebrations. A founder and generous supporter of Emanuel, Mr Kleinlehrer has retained strong connections with our school over the past 36 years. It was delightful to watch our Year 2 students sing Mode Ani and Adon Olam, read blessings in English and Hebrew, and join with special guests in singing Happy Birthday to our special benefactor.

Privacy and Social Media

As parents would appreciate, invasion of privacy remains a key issue facing our young people. Parents can support by checking the security settings on each of their children’s accounts – and by reading the (somewhat lengthy!) terms and conditions, so that they can talk to their young ones about exactly what rights they are signing away. I have included a link to an interesting article that unpacks the terms and conditions of use for Instagram, that most families ignore entirely. The article also provides links to other resources for parents:

A lawyer rewrote Instagram’s privacy policy so kids and parents can have a meaningful talk about privacy

Mazal tov

• We are proud to share with you that 5 Year 11 students have been selected by the National Art School to apply for a place in the HSC Intensive Studio Practice Course. 
  • Isabella Rosenberg – Digital Photography
  • Saachi Owen – Painting
  • Noah Klein – BW Photography
  • Nina Brown – Life Drawing.
• Congratulations to our High School Chess team who played the 1^st round of the Inter-Schools’ Chess Match of the season last Friday against St Andrew’s Cathedral School and won 4-0. 
• Congratulations also, to our first ever ‘Rookies’ team (Years 3 and under) who ventured out to their 1^st match last week. Of note amongst this youngest team, was the first official competitive game played by a girl.
• Last Friday, Gabriella Goodridge competed at the NSW All Schools Swimming Championships at Homebush. Gabriella swam in the 100m butterfly, finishing 6^th in the State. Well done Gabi!

Quote of the week

There is no failure. Only feedback.

Robert Allen