Maximillion Friend

We welcome Mr Maximillian Friend to Szenes House, who is the Tutor for Year 11 Szenes 2 on Thursday mornings.

Mazal Tov to:

• Year 11 students who donated blood this week. Thank you to Alex Burman (11) who initiated the drive.
• Blake Nixon (10) and Aidan Zlotnik (12) who were selected for the CDSSA basketball team. This week they participated in the AICES Boys Open Basketball competition.

This week:

• Elevate study skills were held on Thursday for various Year groups.
• On Thursday students in Years 7-9 attended a Cyberbullying presentation by Project Rockit reinforcing to students our School’s stance of NO Bullying
• The Inter-House Swimming Carnival was held today at Botany Pool.

Natasha (Tashi) Gering (10) wrote:

There is a hum in the air in the lead up to the Inter-House swimming carnival on Friday. The carnival is a wonderful chance for students to engage in friendly competitiveness and earn House points. Cheering for your team, eating sweets with your mates, diving into pristine pools and then sliding down the water slides to celebrate the end of the day makes the Swimming Carnival exhilarating and a favourite for everyone at school. We look forward to the Swimming Carnival report next week.

The HICES Debating Competition began on Tuesday afternoon

Natasha (Tashi) Gering (10) wrote:

This Tuesday the Emanuel School debating teams travelled to Georges River Grammar School to commence their first debates of the term in the HICES Debating Competition. One team from the Juniors and the Senior team were successful and had their first win of the season. All teams are to be commended for their hard work, dedication and for debating topics like ‘Should we increase the weekend to three days.” and “Whether Computer Science should become mandatory for all High School students.”

Well done to all Emanuel School students, especially Szenesians, including Year 7 students Anna Davis, Eden Glass, Eden Grynberg and Jesse Keyser, Year 8 students Liat Granot, Jessica Lowy and Chloe Miller, Year 9 students Beau Glass, Rebekah Goldsworthy, Isaac Grove, Elijah Grynberg and Miriam Itzkowitz, Year 10 students Isabella Flax and Natasha Gering, Year 11 student Liahm Simon and Max Woolf in Year 12.

The week that was:

Years 7 and 8 returned from Camp Somerset, with smiles on their faces and many stories to tell.

Report by Amelia Cohen (7)

Not only was camp a great opportunity to get to know our Peer Support Leaders, but also to grow a stronger bond between the other peers within our House. With all the challenges to face such as the long hike up a mountain, high ropes or even just sleeping in a tent with someone you did not know very well, everyone stepped out of their comfort zone and tried something that they never knew they were capable of doing. The amazing thing about camp was that every person in 7 Szenes encouraged each other and attempted all of the activities. Our Peer Support Leaders: Jade, Erin, Maddie, Joel, Danny, and Michele were all extremely supportive, caring and made friends with us despite the age difference. Camp was truly a brilliant experience full of difficulties, socialising and a ton of fun.

Report by Liat Granot (8)

We are all unique, that is what makes people awesome. Some of us love camp and voluntary physical activity and some of us do not. I have never been a very ‘outdoorsy’ kind of person, So when I found out that at camp we were sleeping in tents for three nights, doing a lot of voluntary physical activity (shivers) and having to stuff all my clothes in something other than a suitcase, I was more than a little concerned. You see, I am the kind of human being that likes to read and watch copious amounts of Netflix, eating while complaining how unfit I am. So the idea of this particular camp was my version of hell (well maybe not total hell but still pretty close). Although it had its fair share of challenges, camp was actually fun! Who knew, right?

Some challenges for me were that I had never actually been camping before and just generally prefer the great indoors to the great outdoors, I have more fears than elements on the periodic table, I get homesick and that I had only been at Emanuel School a bit less than a month. Nevertheless, I went and I am so glad I did, between outdoor rock climbing on real, actual rocks to hiking 17 kms in six hours, to canoeing 14 kms in two days, I barely had time to think about home. Our Tutors, Ms Philp and Mr Bell, and the staff at Somerset were so kind and supportive and listened to my every whinge and ugh and were devoted to making sure the all students had the time of their lives. We sang songs, roasted marshmallows around a campfire and floated down a river. I even attempted to teach one of the camp leaders Hebrew. The activities (as I mentioned earlier) were awesome, we rock climbed, hiked, canoed and had some pretty campfires. My favourite activity was tubing down the picturesque Colo River. It was around three hours of fun, singing, and laughter. All the kids held onto each other and floated down the river in one big Szenes line.

All in all, Camp Somerset was a really amazing and unforgettable experience. I found out that I was the kind of human being that can surprise myself and can have fun on camp.

Quotation of the week

If we are growing, we will always be out of our comfort zone. John Maxwell

Enjoy the weekend