Andrew Watt

Tech Girls are Superheroes 

Our team of Year 6 girls, STEAMA 6, have progressed as one of the four NSW Primary School finalists in the Tech Girls are Superheroes competition. As part of the competition, the girls used Design Thinking to find a problem in their community and developed a solution that included a business plan, an app and a video pitch. The students decided to take on the challenge of changing the statistics of women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) fields, starting with shaping the minds of Primary students at Emanuel. After working with their mentors through several prototyping cycles to develop their characters, improve their app and design their business and marketing plan, STEAMA 6 was launched.

The girls should be commended on their dedication to this long term project that stretched them to learn far beyond the Stage 3 curriculum. The girls even came in to school to work on their project in the winter school break. While the process was valuable in terms of learning to work as a team and develop new technical skills, the result also shows that hard-work, perseverance and commitment can yield strong returns. I look forward to hearing about the girls feeding their learning forward, by sharing their project with others.

Grandparents and Friends Day 

On Tuesday, our MPH was filled to the brim, as we welcomed our grandparents and friends of Emanuel to celebrate Rosh Hashanah with our Primary School staff and students. Our special ceremony and celebration included various brachot, shofar blowing, Israeli dancing, and a beautiful performance by our Junior Choir, K-2 and whole school. As always, Rabbi Ninio’s story was entertaining, with a great message. The Family workshops, including shofar and card making, canvas pomegranate art and interesting discussions, provided our students with the opportunity to create and learn, with their grandparents. A special morning for all!

HSC Music Showcase 

The performances on Thursday evening were both technically sophisticated and enjoyable, showcasing a very strong Music cohort. The audience of staff, parents and student supporters were treated to a wide range of core and elective pieces across vocal, saxophone, drums, piano and flute. The high level of musicianship bore testimony to the commitment and talent of each performer. Our musicians will carry with them our sincere best wishes for a successful HSC performance. A huge thank you to Daniel Burley (Music 1), Adam Majsay (Music 2) and Diana Springford (Extension Music), for their guidance and support of our students.

Emerging social media concern for young people – advice for parents

Fortnite, a video game for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows, Mac and mobile, is a fast-paced third-person action shooter. There are two modes to the game: a solo version called Save the World and the hugely popular multiplayer version called Battle Royale. Whilst the official age rating of Fortnite is 12+, the game does contain “frequent scenes of mild violence” and simulated killing. Battle Royale also contains an Online chat feature, which may expose your child to strangers of all ages. The game has recently surpassed 125 million users world-wide. 

Across the globe, many parents are finding their children are spending a huge amounts of time playing Fortnite, with a growing number reporting their children becoming addicted to the game.

If you’re unsure whether to allow your child to play Fortnite, it may be wise to start a conversation, and ask for a demonstration. The very best way to protect your child is to be involved in his or her online world. Whilst we block access to Fortnite on school-supplied devices, we understand that students have access to Fortnite and similar games on their personal or other home devices. If you are concerned about the time your child spends gaming or you need assistance managing access to Fornite or other online content on your home devices please visit https://myportal.emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au/parent/cyber-safety/

Year 9 Commerce

Year 9 Commerce students are currently experiencing the highs and lows of investing as part of the ASX Sharemarket Game. Jordan Fleischer and Oscar Morgan were ranked 8^th in Australia (as of Monday 3^rd of September) and are to be commended for diligently researching their stock portfolio and adapting their strategy to best suit market trends. As we approach the half-way point of the challenge the students know that this is still anyone’s game and are all eager to finish the 10 weeks in profit!

Mazal tov

Zoe Nebenzahl in Year 7 performed in the Sydney Eisteddfod on Tuesday.  She was in the 15 and under jazz singing section and came 3^rd, singing L.O.V.E.

Quote of the week

“There is no learning without trying lots of ideas and failing lots of times.”

Jonathan Ive