From the desk of Szenes House ………

Welcome to Term 1, 2021

We hope that everyone had a good start to the term. May 2021 bring everyone good health and happiness.

Szenes House Tutors

We welcome back to Szenes House, Mr Bloom, who is our Year 7 Tutor and Ms Minton, our Year 11 Tutor, who has returned from a leave of absence. We also welcome our new Support Tutor, Ms McAndrew.

The Szenes Wellbeing Team for 2021:

Mr Bloom (Year 7 Tutor)

Ms Goldmann (Year 8 Tutor)

Mr Gilhooly (Year 9 Tutor)

Mrs Starkey (Year 10 Tutor)

Ms Minton (Year 11 Tutor)

Mr Bell (Year 12 Tutor)

Ms Greenhill (Head of Szenes House)

Peer Support at Camp Somerset

Although sleeping in tents with soaking shoes and sandy hair might not sound ideal, this Year 7 camp was an amazing, fun-filled experience for everyone. Certainly, one to remember! The Peer Support Leaders enjoyed watching our Year 7 students transition from just a group of kids to a close-knit group with special bonds with each other. From enjoying nights around a campfire and kayaking, to facing our fears on bush walks and high ropes, this trip was certainly one of a kind. Even throughout the hardly ideal weather everyone made the best of it and kept positive with the help of a song or two.

Thank you to Mr Bloom, Ms Korotkov and Samo for making this incredible experience possible. By Eden Glass

Year 7 Camp Somerset 2021

The Year 7 camp challenge arrived last week, with everyone feeling differently towards going to camp – some people were excited, some people were scared but everyone inside was nervous. Year 7 camp was made to make every single student step outside of their comfort zone in many different ways. Some people think it’s a crazy idea but it is not. Stepping outside of your comfort zone comes with many rewards. Some of which were learning to face your fears, understanding how to help each other or when to help each other. Being able to sit with discomfort and learning are very important skills that you will need throughout the rest of your life. Each and every student was facing one of their fears or doing something that they were not comfortable with. We we were lucky enough to have five Peer Support Leaders per House helping us through this time.

Thank you to: Eden Glass, Layla Goldberg, Sasha Goldmann, Matthew Lowy and Remy Waller. They helped us so much and made camp a whole lot easier for everybody in many different ways. The amount of effort, patience, support and kindness each and every leader showed was fabulous and we can not thank them enough. 

Every morning we would wake up really early have breakfast then go to an activity, then come back go to another activity. The activities were so fun but really nerve racking.  We got to learn how to work as a team with different people and to build resilience. The nights were frightening for some but there was always someone who would be there for you no matter what.

Going to camp and doing activities in Houses gave us a chance to meet new people and strengthen our relationships. Overall camp was like a rollercoaster, fun with lots of bumps, twists and turns. Camp was awesome. By Gemma Odes

Last week the Year 7 went on camp for four nights and five days. It was a challenging and fun experience for everyone. We had some very fun and nice Peer Support Leaders who helped us during the whole experience. We got to make food each night for our camp and we also had to cook, which was very fun. We did so many activities such as kayaking, low ropes, high ropes, obstacle course, crate stacking and many more fun activities. Each day had more fun things to bring. One thing that was funny, was when a snake appeared and everyone started screaming and running. Another fun time was when we were doing our hike and everyone was tired ten minutes into the hike.

My favourite activity has to be Base Seven. It was a very fun and challenging game where there is a hill and you need to try to get up there and there is a tower with people in it and if they see you, you have to start from the beginning.

Overall, Somerset camp was a really fun experience for all and we learned so much from the camp. It was an amazing camp. By Oscar Saul

Year 7 camp

Year 8 Camp Somerset 2021

Year 8 Somerset 2021 was an amazing experience!

It was tiring and filled with hard work at some points, but it was a great chance to step out of our comfort zones and try something new. There were several activities involving teamwork and collaboration, which only made the bonds with our friends and peers stronger and we intend to keep these friendships throughout our high school experiences.

We had a lot of fun during activities like canoeing and the river run where we would sing songs, make up words and tell funny jokes and this would only fuel teamwork in the activities. There were times where we faced challenges or things that we may have not done before like a six hour hike over a mountain with our heavy packs strapped to our backs. It was very tiring and we struggled but, as we persevered through it, we overcame these boundaries and we finished the hike with a rewarding swim and a sense of accomplishment and triumph. The biggest growth for us on camp was learning to be be organised and ready. At the start we really struggled with this and all of our clothes were strewn out across the tent and we were always the last to pack up because we could not get out of bed but by the end of camp we had really improved and we were on time for all the meals and we were not left behind on walks and activities. One of the favourite things on camp was the food. Although many times we spilled it or dropped it, it was amazing. The best meal we had on camp was the woodfired pizza. We went all out with the stuffed crust, and we topped the pizza up with double layers of cheese and added many toppings. We are looking forward to  Year 9 Ski camp and being able to ski with friends and peers. In general, skiing is very fun and we are looking forward to being able to do it next year.
By Jonah Ernster and Bodhi Friske

History Debating

This week in High School Assembly we had some skilled debaters get awards for the J.A History Debating competition held last year. Out of the four teams entered, two teams made the grand final:the Year 9 and the Year 11 teams. Two out of the five members of the Year 9 team were from Szenes House; Jake Newfield and Daniel Solomon.

We are especially proud of the Year 11 team, where ALL four members were proud Szenesians – Max Kidman, Romi Lapidge, Tara Linker and Jesse Koslowski.

Also a special mention to Ellie Morris, a Szenesian, who was one of the members of the Year 10 team, who made it to the quarter finals.

We are very proud of all the members of the Debating teams. Remember, if you would like to join the History Debating team for 2021, please contact Mr. Friend.

Reminders

• Lockers: Lock your locker! 
• Be in your Period 0 activity or class by 8.20 am
• Hats to be worn whilst outside in the sun
• If you are not wearing the correct uniform, please ask your parent to email: uniform@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au 
• Follow @szeneshouse on Instagram for some wellbeing and just general Szenesian spirit.
• Also follow your madrichim on @es.madstagram for some updates, challenges, wellbeing and overall fun times.

Birthdays

Happy Birthday to our Szenesians who have recently celebrated their birthdays.

Quote of the Week

‘You may encounter many defeats but you must not be defeated’

Dr Maya Angelou

Stay safe and well. Enjoy your weekend.

Chag Sameach