Sonia Newell – Development Officer – Alumni & Community Relations

2020 – What a Year it has Been

Drought, fire, flood and plague have affected our lives over these past twelve months and COVID-19 has meant we could not hold face-to-face events at School with parents and grandparents as we normally do but, thanks to technology, we have been able to stay in touch and celebrate milestones with you all in other ways. Chagim could not be celebrated in the usual way, with family and friends together. We hope however, that with some of the COVID-19 restrictions being lifted recently and state borders re-opening, you will have the opportunity to celebrate Hanukkah , which starts on the 10 December 2020, with your loved ones under the one roof, even though numbers are still restricted.

Technology has played a vital role keeping us all connected in 2020, no matter where we live. For some older members of our community this has been even more of a challenge. One grandparent who knows this very well is Victor Prager, who togetherwith his wife Rita, returned to Emanuel School this year, as grandparents – not that I am suggesting they are old. Both their daughters are alumni – Nicole Friedman (Head Madricha, 1994) returned this year as a parent with her daughters Lila in Year 5 and Ruby in Year 7, whilst her younger sister Jeanine Blachere (Class of 2000) has lived in Paris for many years with her husband and three young children. Victor says “We are so happy and proud that the next generation, our grandchildren Ruby and Lila, continue to be part of the Emanuel School family. As I’m currently semi-retired I find a lot of pleasure in helping our elderly community to keep active and connected to their loved ones by accessing technology like FaceTime, WhatsApp and others in their phones, tablets or computers. I have been volunteering to teach technology to seniors for a few years now at the Centre On Aging (COA). During COVID-19 having the seniors able to communicate with their loved ones was not only a nice thing to achieve but an essential part of family communications”. 

Adamama and pickles

If you were in the audience for one of our recent Gesher Online Speaker Series sessions where Gesher Chair Natalie Goldman interviewed alumnus Mitch Burnie (Class of 2011), Manager of Adamama, the first Sydney Jewish urban farm, you would have heard the story about this amazing farm located in Paddington. There are opportunities for you and your children to tour the farm and to join a working bee on a Sunday and experience for yourselves, the joy of learning about crops and compost whilst getting your hands dirty as you harvest some of these crops. 

After months of growth in their fertile soils, they recently harvested cucumbers and have been pickling and bottling them at Our Big Kitchen (OBK) in Bondi. These yummy pickles are for sale, although quantities are limited, so get your order in now.

B’nai B’rith & JNF Jewish Changemakers Awards 2020

It is not long now until the winners of these prestigious awards are announced, and we thank current high school students Ezra Hersch, Chloe Miller, Ari Merten, Liat Granot, Lara Fosbery and Sarah Manoy, as well as alumni Joshua Moses, Nadia Coburn and Julia Sussman who were all nominated for these awards, for their volunteering efforts to make the world a better place. You can join us on 14 December 2020 at 8:00 pm for the Live Panel Discussion and Awards. Julia is one of the panelists at this event. Register here for this free event and you will then receive the Zoom link. 

Friendship Circle (FC) needs your children

Friendship Circle Day Camp is on next month, and they are seeking teen volunteers who are Year 7 to Year 12 students. This is an amazing opportunity for your children to volunteer their time helping children and teenagers with disabilities who will attend this day camp from 18 January 2021 – 22 January 2021, based at North Shore Synagogue., Lindfield. There will be free transport available from Bondi by Telfords Bus to Lindfield and then back to Bondi at the end of each day. FC will have a COVID-19 Safety Plan in place. Find more information here. 

If you have photos and/or news to share, please send to: snewell@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au

On behalf of the Gesher Committee, I wish you a happy and safe summer break and look forward to sharing our School community news with you in 2021.