Andrew Watt

Into the Woods

The opening performance on Wednesday, in front of a full house, was a great success. This musical production is complex, demanding much from our actors, dancers and singers. The audience was entertained by a polished performance, bright costumes and supported by excellent music from our orchestra. Auditions for the Musical were held in Term 4, 2017. Since then, our students have committed to a comprehensive rehearsal schedule. We have a great depth of talent in our Performing Arts. Congratulations to the cast and crew on a wonderful production. Our sincere thanks to Samantha Bauer (Producer and Director), Adam Majsay (Musical Director) and Abi McPherson (Choreographer).

Thank you Ofer Levy for the wonderful photographs, many of which will appear in next week’s edition of Ma Nishma.

 A brief glimpse of the Innovation Centre

Our new building is nearing completion and it is shaping up very nicely! The learning spaces are capacious, light-filled and some have wonderful views. Our hope is that we will be ready to move in and commence teaching on the first day of Term 3. The official opening will take place on 26 July.

The Staging Post: A story of a community of refugees

The story of what happened to refugees turned away from Australia since the introduction of the government’s Stop the Boats policy in 2014 is told through the eyes (or camera lens) of 2 young Afghan refugees, in the documentary, The Staging Post. Life in the refugee camp is portrayed, as these young men set up a Learning Centre within the community. A viewing of The Staging Post will be held on 4 July at 6.45 pm, preceded by a meet and greet at 6.15 pm, in the Millie Phillips Theatre. Khadim Dai, who filmed his life in the refugee camp on his mobile phone, will be speaking prior to the commencement of the movie and as part of a Q&A session following the screening. To book tickets please click on the link: https://tinyurl.com/StagingPost

Academic reports

Reports for Years 7-12 will be released before the beginning of next term. These reports contain valuable information on academic achievement and effort, feedback on class participation, performance in assessment tasks, completion of homework and suggestions for how to improve performance. Parents are encouraged to read the report and discuss the key take-aways with their children. Our students will be encouraged to look beyond the ‘result,’ to reflect on what will be required to improve. With a growth mindset, there is no ‘fail’, but rather a ‘not yet’ mentality.

Year 11 students and their parents should pay heed to the feedback provided in the school report when considering the subjects that students will continue through to Year 12, as the HSC course commences in Term 4, and in the lead up to their Yearly Examinations next term. Likewise, Year 12 students should implement the strategies provided in the report comments as they commence their preparation for their final term of school.

Rabin House Captains, Tai Oshlack and Alanah proudly holding their Athletics Carnival trophy with Mr Watt

High School Athletic Carnival presentation

On Tuesday at Assembly, Ray Francis, Head of PDHPE, announced that Rabin were the winners of the recent High School Athletics Carnival with 2334 points. They were closely followed by Rashi on 2230 points and Szenes on 2172 points. Mazal tov Rabin.

Mazal tov

• The cast and crew of the Into the Woods production, on an outstanding, entertaining musical.
• Ethan De Melo in Year 10 has been selected for the men’s Australian Futsal team to represent Australia in Indonesia.
• Isabel Hartstein, Class of 2012, graduated on Friday 15 June with Honours Class 1 and received the University Medal in Bachelor of Economics from UNSW.

Quote of the week

“It is literally neurobiologically impossible to think deeply about things that you don’t care about.”

Immordino Yang