Sonia Newell – Development Officer

What did you do during the recent school holidays?

During the July school holidays, Emanuel parent Tracy Newfield and her parents, Lee and Frank Dreyer, ran beginner bridge lessons for interested Emanuel children. They ran three two-hour sessions at Grand Slam Bridge Centre in Double Bay. The owner, Paul Marston, generously offered them use of his beautiful club at no charge. “

Twenty seven children participated in their lessons – 24 of whom are in Years 5 and 7 at Emanuel. There were also two Moriah boys and a Rose Bay Public student whose brother attends Emanuel.

Tracy said: “The children learnt the basics of card play and bidding, and played several hands during each session. They thoroughly enjoyed themselves, and every one of them expressed interest in continuing their bridge learning. My parents and I, together with Grand Slam Bridge Centre, have now arranged for two more lessons during Term 3 (to maintain their knowledge) and we hope to continue offering lessons to interested children during the school holidays and into the future.

“It wasn’t only the children who were enthusiastic about their experience. Several of their parents have expressed interest in beginning to learn, or have dusted off their long-forgotten bridge knowledge and begun to play again. We are happy for any other interested children to contact me if they’d like to join our sessions, available to students in Year 5 and up. Partner or prior knowledge not required.”

Contact Tracy on 0405103613. 

Our wonderful Emanuel Community is a great supporter of the Friendship Circle and we hope you can be part of their annual walk, to be held on Sunday 26 August.  To register or donate: www.sydneyfriendshipcircle.org.au/walk

Please join us for the Archibald Prize Private Tour on Tuesday 28 August. See poster for details and book your tickets online: www.tinyurl.com/archies2018

We look forward to our Primary Grandparents and Friends Day here at School on Tuesday 4 September. The invitation has been emailed to the grandparents and parents, so please pass it on as some of our grandparents are not yet on our database. RSVP to: snewell@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au

A message from Shira Sebban

“For the past 2 years, we’ve been assisting this Vietnamese failed asylum seeker family to survive hand to mouth.

Now won’t you join us in this exciting venture to turn their life around by helping them stand on their own 2 feet?

We’ve been trying to help this family ever since the father lost his ability to walk in a Vietnamese jail where he was serving a 2-year sentence for helping to organise an “illegal” departure by boat to Australia.

To this day, he is too traumatised to speak of what happened to him.

As a result, Quyen, his oldest son, 16, has become the family’s main breadwinner: he works in a cafe for $4 a day.

Now Quyen is just old enough to be accepted into a free 2-year English and hospitality-training program for disadvantaged youth in Hanoi. The course has a 100% success rate in placing graduates in their first job.

But to do so, he needs our help. We need to cover his wages for 2 years and would also like to pay for a part-time carer to look after his father and grandfather while he is away. We also hope to put his younger brother, 14, back in school to study carpentry. He left school in Grade 3 to sell lottery tickets on the street.

Click here for more: https://chuffed.org/project/standing-on-their-own-2-feet

Thank you so much for your interest and support.”

If you have news you would like to share with our School Community, please send to: snewell@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au