Sonia Newell – Development Officer – Alumni & Community Relations

Here is a little more history about our School, as we gear up to celebrate 40 years of amazing education. 

The building now known asThe Kleinleherer Performing Arts Centre (The PAC) started off as the Sisters of the Poor Nuns’ Chapel. In the 1990’s it was our students’ Library for a number of years before it was refurbished on several occasions in more recent years to its current state now, where it is used for small musical performances, drama and other small classroom activities, meetings and events.

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Past students

We have so many amazing past students acheiving in so many fields. Here are some of them:

Rebecca Kummerfeld and George Sternfeld

Rebecca Kummerfeld, Sydney Jewish Museum (SJM)
(Class of 2003)

Rebecca says, “ I have worked with a truly incredible team. It is through their work and the work of the volunteer community they support that the museum is imbued with its neshama, its soul, and their warm energy fills it with ruach – spirit. It is a museum like no other. I feel so lucky to have been part of its story. It has been such a privilege to lead the Education team. Some of the highlights have been: initiating a move toward object-centred learning, developing an online learning offer during the early days of COVID that continues to serve rural and interstate students and the most significant, but probably least widely known: improving the pastoral care support for survivors. Over my time in this role we moved to a more supportive interview format for survivor talks, we trained a team of volunteer floor assistants to care for survivors before, during and after their talks and a recruited a pool of volunteer drivers to assist our less-mobile survivors getting to and from the Museum. As the Museum moves towards its next chapter, I feel comfort in the knowledge that the survivors who are so central to the work of the Museum will continue to be supported and celebrated.

Rebecca leaves SJM today to take on the role of Learning Manager at the newly formed Museums of History NSW (previously Sydney Living Museums). She says, “it is an exciting opportunity to lead learning programs across numerous historic sites, the NSW state archives and to contribute to the development of new sites including a new Aboriginal Cultural Centre. I am looking forward to a new challenge and a return to my scholarly roots in Australian history.”

We wish Rebecca all the very best in her new role. She is pictured here with Holocaust survivor and SJM guide, George Sternfeld, who was one of the Living Historians for our Year 6 students’ Project Heritage in 2018.

Hannah Beder
(Class of 2012)

Hannah Beder

Late last year, as part of Women in Engineering at UNSW, The Maria Skyllas-Kazacos Young Professional Award for Outstanding Achievement was presented to alumna Hannah Beder, Learning Designer & Research Lead at Creatable. She is an industry-leading technology educator who researches, develops, and facilitates courses in coding, technology, and future skills. Her role at Creatable helps develop engineering and entrepreneurship syllabi for international partners, teaches creative technology to high school students, and develops professional development courses for teachers. At the presentation Hannah said, “I studied a Computer Science degree at UNSW, but back then I didn’t really think I would work in education. It was at UNSW that I first learnt about teaching and education, through being an academic tutor ,which was a very fulfilling experience for me. When I started to work full-time, I continued to teach technology and that ultimately led to my career pivot into EdTech. So thank you very much for recognising my work and the early part of my career.”

In 2020 Hannah was named NSW Young Woman of the Year for her work empowering young women in the technology industry.

Ashleigh Werner, from Bobsleigh to Football

Instead of training and competing on ice in below-zero temperatures in Europe and America at this time of year, as she has done since 2016, Australian women’s bobsleigh squad member past Emanuel student, Ashleigh Werner, is tackling Sydney’s late summer heat and humidity as a rugby league player for the Wests Tigers – the defending NSW Rugby League (NSWRL) Women’s Premiership titleholders.

“It’s obviously been such a switch!” Ashleigh Werner told The AJN recently after playing in round one against the Cronulla Sharks in 32 degree heat, “but I’m absolutely loving it, and it has reignited my passion and love for sport. Everyone who knows me knows that I love challenges.”

After much thought and soul-searching, Werner made the difficult decision to take this international bobsleigh season off, due to a combination of a lack of funding for her sport and experiencing the pain of missing out on qualifying for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, due to the misfortune of catching COVID at the worst possible time. She has been embracing the extra time at home to refocus on her work, herself, and new opportunities as an elite athlete. “What happened towards the end of last year forced me to sit down and think about what’s next,” Werner, 30, said. “I realised I’d put, blindly, everything into bobsleigh for the last seven years, mentally, physically and financially – I don’t regret any of that at all – but I came to the decision that I needed a bobsleigh season off. “I actually have a team sport background, I’d played touch rep footy as a junior, and rugby 7s, and last played a rugby league match in 2018 for the North Sydney Bears.

“I missed my footy, and a team environment, so I thought I’d have another crack. The opportunity with the Wests Tigers came about suddenly in November, and I can’t thank this incredible team enough for welcoming me. Running onto the field for my first match for the Tigers felt amazing, and it’s driven me to push myself.”

Register for the 2023 NSW Maccabi Swimming Championships
Last chance

There is still time to register for this event, taking place on Sunday 5 March 2023:  Maccabi flyer-2023. 

Did you know?

Jewish communal leader and NSW Supreme Court judge, The Honourable Justice Stephen Rothman AM, has helped to draft a statement by Jewish legal professionals worldwide addressing Israel’s proposed judicial reforms. Rothman, an Emanuel grandparent, sits on the board of the International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists (IJL), which was founded in order to promote human rights and oppose antisemitism and more recently the delegitimisation of the State of Israel. His daughter, Carli Rothman, is a member of our Gesher Committee.

Brave Talks 2023

It’s not too late to get in touch if you want to be part of the movement tearing down the stigma of mental health and inspiring our community to reach out for help – now is your chance!

Talya Rabinovitz, Chief Mental Health Development Officer at Jewish Care is looking for speakers and volunteers to be involved with a series of Brave Talks events in 2023, following the sell-out evening last November organised by Jewish Care and The Choice Foundation – whose Manager is Emanuel alumna Danielle Wakerman (nee Lewis). The audience heard from Emanuel alumnus Jake Biggs (Class of 2012) and five other amazing human beings. Email Talya if you would like to know more.

Friendship Circle (FC) – volunteer and mentor opportunities
Teen olunteering (ages 11-18)

Are your children part of a sports team, Bar/ Bat Mitzvah program, or a group of friends who love to be active together? FC is looking for teens to join them for a team volunteering experience at their Sunday Sports Club program. If you are able to co-ordinate a team, please reach out to Lara Kopelowitz.

Check out their website for other volunteering opportunities available, including: Junior Sunday Circle, Teen Sunday Circle and Friends at Home. Contact jaimiknep@sydneyfc.org.au for more information.

We look forward to sharing our news and yours, so if you have photos and/or news you would like to share with us, please send to: snewell@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au

Shabbat shalom, stay safe and have a great weekend.