Terry Aizen – Director of Kornmehl

It’s hard to believe we are at the end of the year. What a busy and exciting year we have had with so many special moments, so much learning and development of skills in all areas – socially, emotionally, physically, spiritually and intellectually.

We have watched the children grow and mature and develop strong relationships with both their peers and teachers. We know that the children are ready to take on new challenges next year, whether it’s going to Year K or moving up to be a Starfish or Dolphin. We look forward to 2017 and sharing another year together.

The concerts this week were another way to bring closure to the year, as well as to highlight how far the children have grown in confidence and maturity. They were all so excited to perform for their parents and we hope they made you all so proud.

At this time of the year it is important to thank so many people who have contributed to our program in so many different and positive ways.

Firstly, to Morah Anna, our amazing Hebrew teacher, a big thank you for your enthusiastic, interactive and fun Hebrew classes this year. The children loved seeing you and have learnt so much from you this year. Todah rabah and have a happy holiday.

To our lovely music teacher Susan Longney – thank you for your patience and for teaching us so many wonderful songs this year. We have loved our lessons with you.

Esti Lipson, thank you for your calm and friendly manner in which you always complete any photocopy task so effortlessly and capably.

Deborah Beder and Gail MacKenzie – thank you for your collaboration and efficient manner in which you process enrolments for the Pre-school.

Thank you to our Year 2 buddies and their teachers for reading to us each week.

Many thanks to Ginnette Cameron-Gardner and all her staff from the Primary School library for welcoming the Kornmehl children and families into the library. They have loved their visits each fortnight and we look forward to continuing with these visits next year.

Thank you to Tammy, Coach Al and Coach Terry from Playball for another incredible year. The children’s gross-motor and ball skills have improved so much and along the way. They have had a lot of fun and learnt many other important skills such as following instructions and listening. 

Many thanks to the Maintenance team of Andrew Delany, Peter Cummins, Santiago Alfaro, Simon Hamilton and Joshua Livingstone for their ability to get every job done so quickly and always with a smile. We really appreciate everything you do for us at Kornmehl.

Our thanks must also go to the IT department – Zoran Taleski, Nathanael Clarke and Jackson Lee – for constantly running up and down the hill to make sure our IT glitches are sorted out in good time. You all do an amazing job behind the scenes and we are very grateful for your expertise and support.

We must also thank Tom and his team from security, Greg, Max and Peter, who make sure we are kept safe and sound every single day. 

A big thank you to all our amazing Kornmehl staff, who have worked with complete commitment and dedication throughout the year, to make 2016 such an amazing year of learning and discovery for all the children. Your expertise, knowledge and experience are valued by us all.

Channukah

We have been learning about the Channukah story, the symbols and traditions. We have created beautiful art works of channukiot and dreidels. We have been singing and learning lots of Channukah songs and will be eating yummy latkes next week. What a joy it is to celebrate this beautiful and fun festival together.

Visit to University of Technology Sydney (UTS)

The Starfish were very lucky to be able to visit the Magic Lab at the UTS campus in Ultimo, the research laboratory Steve Wozniak (co-Founder of Apple) works in. We met Robot PR2 which is the only robot of its kind in the southern hemisphere. The children used the remote controls to make the robot called Gutsy move and respond. Gutsy also gave some of us a hug and told us he loves us.

We also went into the UTS Data Arena and saw a 3D movie, From Sydney to Space.  Data Arena is the only place of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. Many thanks to Shoshana Fogelman (Mimi Blumenstein’s mother) for organising this fabulous excursion for us.

Shabbat and Bush School

On Friday we celebrated Shabbat at Bush School with all our Kornmehl families. It was very meaningful to celebrate our last Shabbat for the year all together at our favourite spot at Centennial Park.

Happy Birthday

We wish a very happy birthday to Micah Pozniak (4), Ella and Lola Cohen-Peace (5), Aviv Smily (4), Tali Strous (4), David Lazarus (4), Jemima Hockley (5), Zoe Lyons (5) and Noam Mermelshtayn (5). We hope you all have a special birthday.

We wish all our Dolphins and Starfish moving on to Year K next year much success and happiness as they embark on the next leg of their educational journey. We hope you will all still come and visit us in the years to come.

We wish all our Kornmehl families a peaceful, safe and restful holiday.

We look forward to welcoming you all back on Tuesday 31 January 2017.