From the Principal

Andrew Watt

Building resilience

One of our key priorities at Emanuel is to work with our parents to produce resilient young people who will impact our world as ethical, caring and responsible citizens. Resilience will however only be achieved through resisting the temptation to jump in and help, rather than encouraging our students to solve their problems independently. Difficult as it is to stand by and support from the sidelines, our students need to experience discomfort, so that they can learn to work through it and develop their own set of coping skills. Without these skills, our young ones will experience anxiety and may shut down in face of adversity. So, what could this look like in Emanuel?

Not ‘rescuing’ our children when they forget PE uniform or lunch. Let them learn;
Not intervening when our children miss out on a team selection, or an award, or receive a ‘consequence’;
Not displaying anxiety or worry over a minor social interaction or friendship issue.

Michael Grose, Founder of Parenting Ideas, advises us to say, “Oh well,” which translates as: that ‘stuff happens’; don’t look to blame; maintain your perspective; and pick yourself up and continue what you were doing. Clearly, interventions would be required for experiences such as bullying, but the narrative to the child can always remain calm and solutions-focused.

School Harmony Day

Emanuel partnered with the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies on Wednesday, to host this special interfaith program. The event was attended by Year 9 students from Killara High, Pymble Ladies College, Emanuel, Strathfield High and Al Faisal College, with a theme of respect, understanding and acceptance. I have included a small part of my welcome address below:

It may be useful to think about Australia, with its rich diversity of races, cultures and religions, as a fruit salad, rather than a jam. What do I mean by that? I mean that it would be great to be part of a nation where each different group was like a piece of fruit, retaining their individual flavour and value, yet part of a bigger thing…rather than as a jam, where all fruits are mixed up, boiled together, to make just the one flavour. A nation of ‘fruit salad’ would only thrive through respect, understanding and acceptance. As you see the news unfold each day, it is not difficult to see that we live in troubled times, with tensions within and between countries. We are all very blessed to live in Australia, where we enjoy our multiculturalism, without the toxic, deep-seated hatred and clashes we see elsewhere in the world. We are, however, far from a perfect society – and it is conversations such as today that will help us to better understand each other, and to enjoy and appreciate each other’s company. For in 10-15 years’ time, you will be our new leaders, and your voice will be increasingly powerful.

Derech Eretz: Dropping off our children

The Emanuel WhatsApp groups have been running hot for some time now, in relation to the behaviour of a number of our parents (or grandparents), as they drop off or collect their loved ones on Stanley Street. Commonly described as “a nightmare,” parents are getting out of their car or remaining in the drop off lane for extended periods. They have been observed doing their children’s hair, helping them out the car, texting on the phone – and even applying sunscreen. So far, no names passed on to the Principal! It would be great however, if, in the interests of the entire Emanuel community, we could stick with a swift stopover and move on, which would reduce traffic jams and endear us to our neighbours.

Mazal tov

Eden Levit (Year 8) won gold and three titles at the NSW SLSC State Championships last week-end
Jared Kleviansky (Year 12) received the Best and Fairest award at the Esport touch football match on Wednesday
Alexandra Machlin (Year 7) has qualified for the Equestrian NSW Interschool State Championships, and will be competing on behalf of Emanuel School in a five-day event at the Sydney International Equestrian Centre, Horsley Park, from today.
Ezra Hertz (Year 10) was one of the composers selected last year for his Year 9 elective music composition and attended the launch of the national Artology Fanfare competition in Brisbane on Monday. Ezra’s composition was also played at the Art Gallery of NSW in the Resonate series of concerts on February 17.
Amelie Mueller (Year 5) has been highly commended in the Young Writers Award for 2018. No small feat, given the number of participants!