Kornmehl

Terry Aizen – Director of Kornmehl

Grandparents Day

We celebrated Grandparents Day on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings this week. All three groups delighted their appreciative audience with their songs and dances, which were sung so confidently. We value the special relationship we have with the grandparents at Kornmehl and feel privileged that they can be involved in the daily lives of their grandchildren as well as attend our special Grandparents Day events. This is such a significant and memorable time of being together, especially since we have not been able to hold this event for the past two years.

Our special visitors were invited to join in creative craft activities together with their grandchild. On offer were sculpting clay pots, decorating bookmarks, threading bead bracelets, painting, drawing a still life or merely building with blocks, playing outside, or reading a book together.

Even though the room was full, it was filled with the sweet sounds of lovely conversations and the business of sharing, of enjoyment and of learning too. There were smiles all around. Everyone enjoyed a delicious morning tea together on the deck.

The feedback received from Grandparents was very positive and the smiles on their faces during this time was evident of a very special and beautiful time shared together.

Comments from children:

Grace: I love giving cuddles to Omi. On a Sunday, she takes me and Michael to Cooper Park to play.
Ella: Nanna, Anna and Babba come to have dinner with me. I like to have picnics with them at the beach.
Tahlia: Pappa always gives me treats like ice cream and chocolate cake. I am happy and excited he came to Pre-school.
Oscar: I like it when Nanni, Pappa and Granny come over to visit. I go to their house to sleep over. I am excited for them to come to my school.
Juliette: Pappa picks me up from Pre-school on a Friday and we have afternoon tea together. I sleep over with them after dinner.

Many thanks to all our wonderful and super-efficient parent helpers this past week – Jonathan Kummerfeld, Michelle Cohen, Hilary Ezekiel, Szilvia Kovacs, Eva Gerber, Michal Alhadeff, Talia Kersh, Craig Haifer, Sarah Robuck and Matti Gild. Our thanks also to the canteen for their delicious catering and to the maintenance team for their assistance.

Terry Aizen and Alex Levy

ZFA Biennial Jewish Educators’ Conference

On Sunday and Monday, Alex Levy and myself attended the Zionist Federation of Australia’s 12th Biennial Jewish Educators’ Conference in Melbourne. The conference was held at Mount Scopus Memorial College and catered for educators from the early years through to High School. There were over 400 participants, 60 presenters and 78 sessions to choose from to attend over the two days. The focus of the conference was Jewish Studies, Informal Jewish Education, Hebrew, Israel Studies and History.

The ZFA Conference affords many opportunities to network, share, and inspire each other. The enthusiasm, ideas, and engagement from everyone created a wonderful atmosphere.

Alex and I presented a workshop to educators on an Action Research Project we have been actively involved in for the last nine months titled: What does it mean to be Jewish? Looking at Jewish identity through the eyes of the children.

This is the third time we have presented at the ZFA conference and received great feedback after the event: “Thank you, your presentation was inclusive, professional, and so meaningful. I enjoyed it very much.” – Leon B
“Mazal tov on a truly outstanding presentation – so inspirational” – Cathy M

Both Alex and I came back feeling inspired, spiritually uplifted, and eager to share what we have learnt with our team. We both feel incredibly privileged to have been given the opportunity not only to present at a conference of this nature but to have attended and been inspired by so many wonderful speakers – international and local, and to have had the opportunity to network with so many like-minded educators. We found the conference both personally and professionally uplifting.