Sonia Newell – Development Officer – Alumni & Community Relations

It has been wonderful to see how excited the children are to be back at school and how well they are settling in to school routines. We take this opportunity to thank staff and parents and of course all the students too, for such a smooth start to the school year. Until such time as parents and grandparents can be on campus for the many special events we would normally hold if it weren’t for COVID, we hope you enjoy reading about life at School here in Ma Nishma and also on our Community Facebook page. If you are not already a member of our FaceBook page, please join here

World Jewish Relief

Formerly known as The Central British Fund, World Jewish Relief opened case files for each person who came to the United Kingdom fleeing Nazi occupied Germany and Austria before the Second World War. This organisation is intent on ensuring as many families as possible benefit from the material they hold to fill in many of the gaps they may well have in their family history. They also have files for over 700 orphaned child survivors, known as ‘The Boys’ who were brought over after the war.

After contacting this agency last year about records they might have on file for my now 95 year old mother who is a Kindertransport child, I received an email just this week from Tanya, one of their archive volunteers with some most unexpected but very exciting documents, including handwritten records from when my mother aged 12 arrived in England in June 1939. Tanya wrote: “We are so glad to be able to reunite you with your family’s documents. Our volunteer archives service is just one small part of what World Jewish Relief does today. We still work supporting refugees here in the UK as we did over 80 years ago, but we also provide care services to vulnerable older Jewish people in eastern Europe, respond to disasters around the world and provide training and employment support to young Jewish people”.

If you have family members for whom this organisation may hold records you’ve most likely never seen, Tanya and her colleagues would love to hear from you too.

worldjewishrelief.org | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

The Power of The Dog

We wish mazal tov to Emanuel parent, Emile Sherman, and the whole crew for the 12 Oscar nominations they have received for their film The Power of the Dog. Emile is producer of this powerful film, based on the 1967 novel by Thomas Savage – a domineering but charismatic rancher wages a war of intimidation on his brother’s new wife and her teen son – until long-hidden secrets come to light.

Gagman

Gagman is a touching and unique tale of survival through unimaginable horror written by Dov Fedler and his daughter Joanne Fedler, a past Emanuel parent and well-known internationally best-selling speaker and publisher.
 
A prisoner in a WWII concentration camp discovers a superpower that could keep him alive – he can make the commandant laugh by telling jokes. He must stay funny – or die. Pushed to the ends of his wit and humanity, Gagman is propelled into a spiralling madness in which he would sell his soul for a gag simply to live another day.

Enhanced by Fedler’s own haunting illustrations, Gagman masterfully juxtaposes humour and pathos, while exploring themes of survivor guilt, desperate determination, and the search for the meaning of life in the wake of the Holocaust.

The Book launch is at The Sydney Jewish Museum on Thursday 24 March 2022 with Joanne in conversation with well-known author Suzanne Leal.

Parent Safety Group (PSG) 
Important information

Firstly, a huge “thank you” to the following parents and grandparents who volunteered for last week’s roster: Nicky Abitz, Darren Isenberg, Ben Berger, Brett Churnin, Bob Kummerfeld, Brett Adler, Alan Arnott, Warren Aronstan, Raffy Shammay, Ros Shammay, Tony Gellert, Bradley Drutman, Brad Allen, Sol Caganoff, Alina Kirievsky, Zev Friedman, David Camiller, Daniel Stein, Craig Forman, Ian Doust and Leon Kantor.

A letter from our Emanuel School Security Committee was sent to parents this week but in case you missed it:

The safety and security of all students and staff is of paramount importance to the entire school community and the following sets out some important information you need to know about these issues.

The school works actively with the Communal Security Group (CSG) and there is a wide array of visible and less visible measures that comprise Emanuel School’s security arrangements. The most visible are the guards and the Parent Safety Group (PSG) volunteers who are present at drop off and pick up times. PSG volunteers provide an essential presence, eyes and ears to support the security guards. It is widely recognised that the level of security and safety is raised when PSG is active. Therefore, it is important to ensure that we have complete PSG teams on every morning and afternoon shift.

The responsibility of keeping our children safe must be shared equally between all our families.

Therefore we ask that one member from every Emanuel School family volunteers for up to two, 60 minute PSG shifts per term. We greatly appreciate this time contribution amongst work and family commitments. If you have not already done so, please send an email to the PSG Administrator to organise your PSG shift at: psg@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au

It is always important to be vigilant and security conscious. Taking notice of suspicious people, activities or objects and cars and making security guards or school staff aware of any concerns is an essential part of ensuring a safe and secure school environment.

Thank you for your cooperation.
Emanuel School Security Committee

Friendship Bakery

For those who are regular readers of my page, you know I am a keen supporter of this bakery, a social enterprise. You may recall that alumna Shoshi Blackman (Class of 2017) is a regular volunteer with them but you may not know about another volunteer at the Bakery week in week out – Emanuel parent Ilana Akres. You  will always see Ilana’s smiling face behind her face mask, as she serves customers. I know Ilana is very excited to let everyone know they will be baking hamantaschen in time for Purim next month.

Do you know someone in isolation? Friendship Bakery is now doing Care Packages with Wednesday deliveries in the Eastern Suburbs. Soups, salads, quiches and sweat treats – delivered to your loved one’s home. These are perfect for lunch or a light mid-week dinner. Please place your orders by Tuesday 5.00 pm for delivery on Wednesday between 10.00 am and 1.00 pm. 

If you have any questions, about Friendship Circle and/or if you or someone you know would like to join their programs as a participant or a volunteer, please email: hello@sydneyfc.org.au.

Calling all swimmers

If you’re keen to participate in this year’s Maccabi Jewish Swimming Championships on Sunday 27 February 2022, but haven’t yet signed up register here.  

Grandparents – we will always want you!

Thank you to parents who have been in touch to provide grandparent updates for our database, we look forward to getting more. As you know, it doesn’t matter how close or how far away our grandparents live from us, there are so many ways to stay connected and we hope you all continue to enjoy reading about our wonderful School whether you live nearby or on the other side of the world.

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.