Andrew Watt

The depth of talent in our creative and performing arts programs

Our HSC Visual Arts and Drama Showcase exhibited an impressive array of major works that highlighted creativity, originality and advanced technique. Our drama performances were engaging, entertaining and not without a strong element of humour! The thoughtful and creative preparation was evident across both Visual Arts and Drama, and we are very grateful to Eytan Messiah, Samantha Bauer and the staff team who supported our students through this ‘long and winding road’.

On Thursday evening, the audience was treated to a wonderful display of musical talent, at Night of Song, as students across Primary School and High School entertained with polished performances.

We are blessed with a very strong pool of talent across our creative and performing arts.

A glimpse into the findings from a study tour to North America

A recipient of the NSW Premier’s STEM Teacher Scholarship, our Primary School Innovation leader, Sophie Poisel, has captured her study tour experience where she investigated how innovative learning institutions in North America are reimagining learning through transdisciplinary opportunities, such as STEM. Her report sets out her learning across three key areas:

1. Catalysts for Innovation: Space, Culture, Community and Leadership
2. Design Thinking
3. Assessment Practices

These study findings were shared with Emanuel staff on several occasions. We have benefited from Sophie’s experience, through her professional learning sessions and student workshops, where she has supported staff to embed design thinking and piloted new STEM programs, building a local network of STEM professionals. Please follow this link https://tinyurl.com/reimagininglearning2018 for a detailed report on the study tour.

Success at CDSSA Athletics Championships

Junior Girls Relay Team

Our squad of 69 athletes represented Emanuel with distinction, placing third out of 11 schools, with 29 first places, and taking out two CDSSA records. Kristy Reed reports that 28 of our athletes have now qualified for the AICES Championships, a wonderful achievement. Performance highlights include:

• Greg Allen: Under 17 boys age champion
• Danielle Rutstein: broke the 15 years girls high jump record
• Jett Sher: broke the 12 years boys javelin record
• Shai Farhy, Eden Levit and Danielle Rutstein have each qualified for five events at AICES.

A full report with photos can be accessed in the Sport section.

CEO Perspectives: The Future of Schooling in Australia

Principals of Independent Schools joined together for a breakfast launch of CEO Perspectives: The Future of Schooling in Australia, a comprehensive report (commissioned by AISNSW and Knowledge Society) that shares insights into the views of many of Australia’s leading CEOs on how schools can better equip students for the future of work.

Globally, societies are debating how education systems need to adapt to the changes occurring in our communities and economies. The disruption taking place in organisations of all types, largely driven by changes in technology, have numerous implications for all levels of education. With the impending NSW Curriculum Review, school leaders must be active contributors to this debate. Emanuel School continues to engage in how we can best future-proof our students for the workplace.

Thank you

Jonathan Schach (Year 9) asked me to pass on his thanks for the amazing contribution from parents, students and staff, towards the farmers suffering from the drought. He raised an overwhelming amount of essentials for them which has now been distributed. We made a big difference!

Chess success

On Wednesday, our High School chess team comprising Daniel Melamed, Jesse Herdan, Zac Sidley, Dan Blecher, Jesse Gothelf and Myles Cohn, won their semi-final of the Sydney Academy of Chess Inter-Schools’ Chess Competition. This event is for Years 7-12 and our boys in Years 7 and 8 beat the older students in Years 11 and 12.

Daniel Melamed came first overall and Jesse Gothelf came third. The team will now move onto the finals of the competition to be held on 21 September. Many thanks to their coach, Michael Todd, for his continued guidance.

Dan Blecher, Myles Cohn, Jesse Herdan, Zac Sidley, Daniel Melamed, Colleen Elkins (not pictured, Jesse Gothelf).

Mazal tov

• Anton Blair (Year 8) and his grandmother, Ilonka, are the current faces of Dementia Australia’s direct marketing campaign. His involvement with the organisation is as a direct result of his Mitzvah Project from last year.
• Ariella Tracton (Year 9) has been selected to play the role of Belle in ‘Beauty and the Beast’ to be performed in December at the Actors Centre Australia Auditorium in Leichhardt
• On Tuesday evening Amber Langman (Year 10) came second in the Sydney Eisteddfod Musical Theatre category 16 years, scoring 95/100.  

Quote of the week

“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”

Benjamin Franklin