Volume 30 Issue 32 29 Oct 2021 23 Heshvan 5782

Sierra rocks

Sonia Newell – Development Officer – Alumni & Community Relations

Life returning to “normal”

We look forward to a busy November as more and more of our day-to-day activities return to “normal”. We truly appreciate everything the School has done to ensure the safety and well-being of our staff and of our students, all of whom returned to School this week. 

For the latest COVID rulings updates.

Sierra rocks!

Lockdown was a very difficult time in so many different ways, and during these four months apart, members of our amazing school community found innovative ways to keep ourselves busy and to stay connected. When we went into lockdown, Year 1 student Sierra Miller wanted everyone in her Year to know that she was thinking of them and hoping they were keeping safe. She came up with the idea of painting a rock for each child with their name on it. Each rock has its own design that she made especially for that child. She worked on them every day for weeks and finally gave them out last week to her class and teachers. This was a wonderful initiative and appreciated by everyone who received their very special hand painted rock. Here is a photo of Sierra with her work. Her mum Sharon Miller said: “She was so proud and she missed everyone so much!”.

Kira Friedman

Sydney Jewish Museum (SJM) gains a gem

Sydney Jewish Museum’s gain is sadly our loss. Over the past two years, we have all enjoyed seeing the many wonderful video clips and other amazing social media work produced by Kira Friedman, our very talented Digital Marketing & Community Engagement Assistant.

Kira leaves us this week to work full-time as Marketing and Membership Officer at SJM where she will join an inspiring team that includes a number of members of our School community including parent Ilana McCorquodale, Professional and Community Education Coordinator; alumna Rebecca Kummerfeld, Head of Education; grandparents Rony Bognar, Volunteer Coordinator and Rita Prager, Fundraising Manager as well as many past and current parents, grandparents and great-grandparents who are volunteer guides at the Museum. You may choose to visit when the Museum reopens on Monday 22 November 2021.

Emanuel grandparents Charles Aronson and Paul Drexler are on the Museum Board of Management, whilst Professor Gus Lehrer AM FAA, one of the School’s original Founders, is President of The Museum Board and our MPH – The Lehrer Family Building (MPH) is named in honour of his late parents.

If you have not been to the Museum, I encourage you to do so, and even if you have been before, you will want to see the major refurbishment that has been going on during lockdown – it is an amazing museum that documents the Holocaust, the history of the Jewish people in Australia and explores human rights issues in Australia. Twenty eight years since its inception in 1992, the Museum continues to give a voice to the victims of the Holocaust so their stories can start conversations and inspire change. The wonderful Museum Shop sells an amazing range of Judaica, books and gifts. 

Alumnus Dr Simon Holloway, who spent several years as an Education Officer at the SJM where he ran seminars on Nazi racial science, Jewish resistance and the history of the Holocaust, recently moved to Melbourne to take on the role of Head of Education at the Jewish Holocaust Centre in Elsternwick.      

Maccabi supporting Dementia Australia

Last Sunday Maccabi Life-Walkie Talkies hosted its first face-to-face event in four months.  Twenty of us, including members from our School community, walked around Centennial Park in support of Dementia Australia.

Did you know that dementia is the second leading cause of death in Australia and there is no cure? Maccabi and the Jewish Community have a long- standing relationship of supporting Dementia Australia and the work they do supporting people suffering from dementia and their families. President of the Maccabi NSW Board is Lauren Ehrlich, a past staff member at School. She headed our Visual Arts Department in the late 1980s and was responsible for stripping out the old Nun’s laundry and turning it into the then Art Block. That building has undergone numerous transformations over the years and is now the Lynette Sandra Phillips Kindergarten. Current parent Michelle Stockley holds the Marketing role on the Maccabi NSW Board whilst past parent Debbie Rutstein has the Compliance portfolio. Current Emanuel parents who also work tirelessly for Maccabi and joined the walk were Nicky Klugman and Lara Levin.

Kristallnacht Commemoration 2021
Tuesday 9 November 2021 at 7.30 pm

On the nights of 9 November 1938 – 10 November 1938, Nazis in Germany torched synagogues, vandalised Jewish homes, schools and businesses, and killed close to 100 Jews. Violent anti-Jewish demonstrations broke out across Germany as well as Austria and the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia. This time became known as Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, and every year we commemorate this tragic event that heralded the start of WW2, remembering those who perished and those who survived these horrific times. This year’s Kristallnacht Commemoration in Sydney will also be a tribute to the late Eddie Jaku OAM, Holocaust survivor and witness to Kristallnacht, who passed away recently aged 101. Bookings for this free online event are essential. 

Grandparents – we will always want you!

Ma Nishma is a great way to stay connected with our School and with our community no matter where in the world you live. Unfortunately, we are still missing up-to-date email contact details for many of our grandparents, so please send through grandparent contact details so they too can read Ma Nishma to find out what is happening at School, albeit it only online for now.  They will also receive our Grandparents and Friends newsletter. You can see past issues of this newsletter along with our alumni newsletters online. Living interstate and/or overseas, means some of “our” grandparents never have an opportunity to come to School, so connecting electronically can be really meaningful and a great way for them to see what their grandchildren are doing at School in spite of the distance apart. Having just come out of lockdown, no visitors can come onto campus so even for our local grandparents Ma Nishma and our Community Facebook (FB) page are the best ways to stay connected with us. If not already a member of our FB page, join here.

Australian Jewish Fertility Network (AJFN) 
Wednesday 8 November 2021 at 8.00 pm

There is still time to join AJFN online for their major event on Monday 8 November 2021 at 8.00 pm – an inspirational evening where you’ll see what an incredible impact AJFN, fuelled by community support, has and continues to have, creating miracles together and building the next generation, The documentary, One in Six, which will be shown on the night, tells the story of AJFN couple Janine and Shimon Davidowitz.

Book your free tickets now and you’ll also have the opportunity to purchase raffle tickets for some fabulous prizes at checkout. All funds raised from this appeal will go towards helping 29 couples in our community experiencing infertility who need support of AJFN.

Head On Photo Festival 2021

Watch this space for more details about this festival and announcement of the winners – artists from around the world including Israel and South Africa are exhibiting this year. Enjoy an interview with Emanuel parent Moshe Rosenzveig OAM, the founder and director of Head On Photo Festival, and his wife Anita Schwartz who is Festival Advisory Board.

This year’s event starts on 19 November 2021 and goes for nine days, through to 28 November 2021. Head On Foundation was established in 2008, dedicated to promoting the work of photographers at all stages of their career. This year’s festival includes a jam-packed online program and spectacular outdoor locations across Sydney, including Paddington Reservoir Gardens and Bondi Beach, all of which will be in line with COVID-safety. There will be exhibitions from over 700 contributing artists, workshops, panel discussions and artist live talks.      

Challah and sweet treats

Don’t forget you can order challah and sweet treats online from Friendship Bakery at Mark Moran Vaucluse (2 Laguna Street Vaucluse), a social enterprise initiative of the Friendship Circle engaging young adults with disabilities closing on Thursdays for “click and collect” pickup on Fridays between 9.00 am and 1.00 pm. If you miss this cut-off, you can just head up on a Friday morning, where no doubt you will see other parents, grandparents and friends in the queue waiting to buy their yummy challah and freshly baked treats for Shabbat and the weekend.

We look forward to sharing our news and yours, so if you have photos or news you would like to share with us, please send to Sonia Newell.    

Shabbat shalom, stay safe and have a great weekend.