From the Principal

Debating

Our Middle and Senior Debating teams in the HICES Debating competition won their semi-finals and have reached the grand-finals! We wish them all the best as they go on to their Grand Final on Thursday afternoon 12 September at the Powerhouse Museum. This is a fantastic achievement, being in the Grand Final in a competition of over 40 HICES schools (Heads of Co-educational Independent Schools). The Middle Grand Final begins at 1:10 pm and the Senior Grand Final at 2:30 pm, both in the Coles Theatre. 

HSC Exhibitions

Last night a very appreciative audience was treated to a night of beautiful music from our HSC Music students. To witness the culmination of years of learning their instruments, the thousands of hours of practice and the many individual lessons, was a great privilege. Each Year 12 student (Adam Doctor, Jessica Lax, Ben Levy, Jamie Lipschitz, Gabriel Jammy, Dylan Blecher and Dean Smuskowitz) gave polished, confident and inspiring performances of items that were technically complex and displayed their considerable skills very effectively. A number of the students performed their own compositions, showing their creativity as well as performance skills. We congratulate them all on gaining such high quality skills and showing their devotion to music so competently and wish them well for their HSC practical examinations coming up. We also congratulate and thank their teachers, Diana Springford, Danny Burley and David Gwilliam, for their superb guidance of each of the students over the years. 

Last week another audience was treated to a fantastic night of drama by our Year 12 HSC students. Again, our students showed amazing skills and the results of many hours of practice and guidance from their teacher, Sam Bauer. They undertook their HSC practical examinations last Friday under the watchful and very proud eye of their teacher and the Year 11 class as their audience. We congratulate Sara Ehrlich, Shanee Israeli, Asher Klein, Satchel Kolt, Taryn Langman, Jamie Lipschitz, Dana Rutner and Dean Smuskowitz for their passion and skills in drama and acknowledge the wonderful guidance of their teacher,  Sam Bauer, throughout the years of their development in drama.  

Networking Breakfast

We held the last one of these for Semester 2 this week on Wednesday at the new Barangaroo headquarters of KPMG. These breakfasts were a wonderful opportunity for parents to meet members of the community, discover connections and learn about others’ careers and work lives, as well as to hear about some of the School initiatives. They have been greatly enjoyed and appreciated by all who attend. This round of breakfasts focused on careers and our outreach programs, particularly our students’ trips to Israel, the Year 10 Chavayah and Year 11 March of the Living (see page 17 for more on this). Congratulations and thanks go to Ms Claire Pech and our student speakers, Pnina Hagege, Aarin Regan-Lacey, Shoshana Blackman and Indigo Penn from Year 11, who engaged the audience with their presentations, and to Sonia Newell, who does the lions share of the organisation for these events.  

Mazal tov to:

• All of our athletes who competed so successfully in the CDSSA Athletics championships last week (see page 11), and the 21 students who qualified for the next stage of competition, the AICES Athletics
• Our Library staff who brought all the Book Week activities to the students and staff last week
• Our P&F for bringing to hundreds of fathers and grandfathers the opportunity for some time with their children and grandchildren this morning, as well as a delicious morning meal, in the Father’s Day breakfast as well as the gift stall for the Primary children
• Our IT staff who are bringing to you the new Parent Portal (stay tuned for the launch of this on Monday) and our online Ma Nishma. 

Coming up

• P & F Trivia Night, Saturday 3 September, MPH, 7 pm
• Visit to Emanuel School by Mr Saul Mofaz (ex-Prime Minister of Israel) Wednesday 7 September
• Year 11 PDHPE Camp,    7 – 9 September
• Senior Chamber Choir and Alumni Concert, Sunday 11 September,    5 pm
• Year 12 Farewell Assembly and Graduation Dinner, Tuesday 20 September
• Grandparents Day and Rosh Hashanah celebration, Friday 23 September.

Quote of the week

‘Real success is finding your lifework in the work that you love.’ [David McCullough]

Best wishes for a wonderful weekend and a very happy Father’s Day for all our dads and grandads.

Anne Hastings

Ma Koreh

From the Head of Jewish Life

וללמד ללמוד

To Learn and To Teach

We would like to recognise and thank our Jewish Studies and Jewish Life staff members who participated in this year’s Tenth Biennial ZFA Jewish Educators Conference:

Shirley Arad, Hagit Bar-On, Kobi Bloom, Adam Carpenter, Jodi Cohen, Rebecca Gaida, Rebeca Goldberg, Erika Ktalav, Anna Maylis, Or Mondo, Lauren Satill, Rabbi Daniel Siegel and Jennifer Udovich.

In addition to learning with and from our peers, the following teachers also led sessions (S) or served on panels (P): Hagit Bar-On and Anna Maylis: Hebrew Drama Immersion (S)

Hagit Bar-On, Jodi Cohen, Erika Ktalav and Jennifer Udovich: Four on Four: Insights of a Foursome into Teaching Four in the Hggadah (S).

Kobi Bloom and Lauren Satill: The Best of Informal Jewish Education, 2016 (P)

Rebecca Gaida: How to Increase Student Leadership and Create Tefillah Leaders (S)

Rabbi Daniel Siegel: Some Stories Are True, Though They Never Happened: Teaching for Truth Rather Than Fact in Our Tradition’s Sources (P)

Devar Torah

Lauren Faul

Michal Wolstein

The following is an activity used to teach a lesson from this week’s parashah at Year 10 Camp. The activity was run and the related devar torah was written and presented by Lauren Faul and Michal Wolstein.

Rabbi Siegel

OUR AIM: To apply the idea of rewarding and punishing ourselves in our own lives → psychological study – positive vs. negative reinforcement. 

ACTIVITY: Cards/chocolate game – cards and M&M’s – message is that: 

when you do the right thing you can get a long term reward, even if you don’t get a short term one → everyone benefits. When you knowingly do the wrong thing, it is possible to get a short term reward → you sacrifice other people’s ability to get a reward – if you have to push other people down/negative reinforcement, is it worth it?

DISCUSSION:The ideas of punishment and rewards and in which situations they work best.

PARASHAT RE’EH

This week’s parashah Re’eh, is about the laws that G-d gives to the Israelites. These laws are passed down to the Israelites through Moses, who tells the Israelites that they have a blessing and a curse from which to choose – a blessing if they follow G-d’s laws, and a curse if they don’t. He then goes on the explain the laws to them, these laws including the laws of Kashrut, what to do with a false prophet (kill him), and several other laws to do with festivals and the sacrifice of animals. 

Who has heard of the carrot and the stick theory? For those of you who don’t know, it is the theory that if you put a carrot in front of a donkey, it will move forward willingly, but if you put the stick behind its back, it will move with fear. This can be seen within this parashah, If the Israelites do the right thing and follow G-d’s laws, they will be rewarded, which would be like the donkey being able to eat the carrot. However, if they do the wrong thing and don’t follow the laws, they will be punished, like the donkey being hit with the stick. 

Throughout Jewish history, there have been harsh punishments for those who have disobeyed G-d and His commandments, as well as great rewards for those who do obey. Think back to Noah’s Ark, where the entire world was flooded, or to Jonah and the ‘whale’ where the citizens of a corrupt town were threatened to change their ways or die. These are both examples of negative reinforcement, with the actual or potential punishment when the commandments are not fulfilled. 

Another example is in this parashah. While Moses is trying to convince the Israelites that they should obey G-d’s laws, he uses negative reinforcement. He tells the Israelites all the horrors and punishment they could receive if they were to disobey G-d, aimed to induce fear in the nation. 

In present day, when a teacher threatens to take 20% off your mark each day, she/he is using the idea of the proverbial stick to motivate us to not get our assignment in late. When promised a game at the end of the completed lesson, we complete the lesson to achieve the reward at the end. 

Now, I’m sure some of you are thinking, “Why don’t we just use the carrot? If I got a reward I might actually do stuff.” Now be totally honest with yourself – if there was no punishment for not doing your Performance of Understanding do you think you would be as motivated to do them? In the Pecha Kucha, many of you said that time and deadlines motivated you to do you work.

Historically, the Jews have suffered but they have also been able to regain strength through the unity of the nation. The wrongdoing of an individual was a reflection of the Jewish people as a whole. So we ask, what if your reward caused punishment for someone else, as the actions of an individual may have impacted the Jewish people? If you could personally benefit from a situation, but it would make other people suffer, would it still be worth it? We have to think carefully what is the blessing and what is the curse, and to whom.

From the Head of Primary

ZFA Conference

Last week, I was lucky enough to spend two days with our Hebrew and Jewish Studies teachers at the Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA) Conference. It was wonderful to be immersed in different ideas about Hebrew and Jewish Studies teaching as well as hearing different inspirational presenters from Australia and around the world. I was particularly proud of our Emanuel teachers who delivered presentations with passion, enthusiasm and expertise.

Thank you to the following Emanuel presenters: Hagit Bar-On, Anna Maylis, Jenny Udovich, Erika Ktalav, Jodi Cohen, Rebecca Gaida and Kobi Bloom.

Chess Success

Our Primary School A Chess Team has had a phenomenal season with last Friday’s game being the Metropolitan East final. We played Sydney Grammar and it was set to be a tough round! With much skill (and excitement) our team won 6-2. Our team are therefore the winners in Metropolitan East and progress into the Metropolitan finals. This is a HUGE accomplishment and we are so proud of Jesse Gothelf, Jesse Herdan, Daniel Melamed and Zac Sidley. What an achievement! I would also like to thank Colleen Elkins and Michael Todd for their amazing support, organisation, coaching and expertise. It has truly been a team effort!

Fathers Day

Thank you to the P&F for once again organising a wonderful Fathers Day breakfast and stall for us. The morning was a huge success and a special opportunity for us to welcome some very special members of our community to celebrate with us. We are also so grateful to the P&F for creating the stall for us and allowing us the opportunity to select some special gifts to take home. Wishing all our dads and grandfathers a wonderful Fathers Day and a special Sunday!

 National Tree Day

Thank you to Year 3 for their wonderful National Tree Day initiative. The Year 3 Make a Difference (MAD) project focuses upon environmental issues and action. Three students were inspired by this and created the National Tree Day initiative. Mazal tov to Devan Bloch, Ashley Cohn and Violet Nathanson – thank you for your proactivity.

Seven Habits of Successful Families

On Monday evening, Emma Clemens, Kim Slender and I thoroughly enjoyed presenting the first of our two-part series on Seven Habits of Successful Families. During the workshop, we introduced the structure of the 7 Habits and spent time exploring the first three Habits. These all focus on personal effectiveness and action and are outlined briefly below:

Habit 1 – Be Proactive

This course presents three key concepts within Being Proactive.

1. The first relates to the Circle of Control and the Circle of No Control. This encourages us to spend time and energy trying to impact things we can control (our preparation and organisation, our own reactions etc) and not waste time on things we cannot control (traffic, weather, managing other people’s reactions).
2. The second key concept within being proactive is Stop – Think – Do. This encourages us to ensure we are building a pause or thinking time between the stimulus and response. This pause time allows us to think and choose our responses mindfully, rather than reacting without thought. This section focuses on fizzy or reactive responses verses calm or proactive responses
3. Finally, Being Proactive focuses upon using proactive, not reactive language. Proactive language includes phrases such as, “I can”, “I choose”. Reactive language includes phrases such as, “I have to”, “It isn’t my fault”. Encouraging students and families to use proactive language is more likely to lead to a positive tone, taking responsibility and positive action.

Habit 2 – Begin With The End in Mind

This is the habit of vision and encourages us to crystalise our thoughts about what we want within our lives and families. It encourages us to look at the different roles and responsibilities we have in our lives and what legacy we would like to leave in each of these roles. This then connects us to the next habit so we are able to develop an action plan or steps that are likely to lead to the achievement of this legacy.

Habit 3 – Put First Things First

This habit encourages us to identify and prioritise the things that are important in our lives and put these first. Within this habit, we are taught to develop our personal and family mission statements that are guided by our values and give direction to our actions.

The program suggests prioritising activities that are likely to lead to our end goal. Relevant actions may include scheduling one on one time with family members, planning regular family meals, setting time aside to do activities together and building family traditions and rituals. 

Upcoming Dates

• 5 September: Parent Information Session – 7 Habits For Families Part 2, 7:00-8:30pm, Angles Leadership and Learning Centre
• 6 September: Years K-6 BBQ (See below)
• 6 September: Year 4 James Roy author presentation
• 6 September: HJEI Chess, 8:30-3:00pm Mount Sinai
• 8 September:  Parent Information Session – 7 Habits For Jewish Parenting, 7:30-8:30am, Primary Library
• 9 September: Year 5 Interrelate Minding Me program
• 9 September: Years 5-6 IPSHA Debating versus St Spyridon College
• 12 September: Parent Teacher Night, 4:00-9:00pm, MPH
• 13-14 September: School Photos – music, sport and extra-curricular 
• 14 September: Parent Teacher Night, 4:00-6:30pm
• 14 September: CIS Athletics
• 15 September: Year 3 Great Mates Day
• 16 September: Project Heritage, 11:15-1:10pm, MPH
• 16 September: 1 Be’er Sheva Assembly Class Item (Talia Hynek’s Class)
• 18-26 September: Year 6 Northern Territory Trip
• 22 September: Years K-2 Gala Day, Centennial Park
• 23 September: Rosh Hashanah and Grandparents and Friends Day, 9:30-11:45am MPH

BBQ Day

When: Tuesday 6 September

Why: Indigenous Literacy Foundation

Cost: $3.50 for sausage sizzle

Booking: On the day, students need to bring a sealed envelope with the correct money inside (no change will be given). On the front, please write the child’s name and the order. 

The options are listed below:

1. Sausage sizzle $3.50

2. Gluten free sausage sizzle $3.50

3. Vegetarian sausage sizzle $3.50

The canteen will also be open.

Primary Medal Winners

Winners of Week 6 Medals of Honour, Year 5 students, Lotus van der Starre and Toby Danon

From the Primary SRC

Last week we were fortunate enough to be invited to observe the High School SRC meeting. The High School SRC was busy organising the fundraising for the upcoming year.  Suggestions were made and SRC members were required to give reasons and justify their choices.

The Year 6 SRC leaders are working towards the Primary SRC being more student-run, similar to the High School SRC.  We have initiated student roles for Chairperson and Secretary. Like the High School SRC, each Year Group in the Primary School has representatives and the opportunity to voice ideas at our meetings.

We look forward to working again with the High School SRC and thank them and Mrs Ephron for a wonderful opportunity.

This term the Primary SRC have implemented a number of new initiatives. One of these initiatives is the Primary Origami Club run by Jesse Barel with the support or Morah Bar-On. This club takes place on a Wednesday lunch time. The SRC is also beginning to plan for ‘Emanuel’s Got Talent’ which will take place at the end of Term 4. 

Samuel Moliver, Jesse Keyser, Ellis Morris and Anna Davis

Year 6 SRC leaders

From the Head of Music

Save the date:  Night of Song – Tuesday 1 November

You are warmly invited to attend the Music Department’s annual Night of Song, at Emanuel School on the evening of Tuesday 1 November.  This is our main annual choral event and all Emanuel choirs from Years K-12 will be performing, along with some soloists.  The concert will be held at Emanuel School in the Lehrer Family Multi-Purpose Hall (MPH) at 6.00pm and should conclude by 7.40pm. Mr Burley has communicated to all students and parents with regard to audition requirements for soloists and further information about the event will be provided in due course.  

Deadline – Private Music Tuition

Thank you to all parents who have advised us of changes or intention to discontinue private tuition or Infants String Program for Term 4. The deadline for notification has now passed.  All students currently receiving private music tuition and students participating in the Infant Strings Program will be automatically entered into tutor schedules for next term and committed to the full term of lessons. Parents who wish to advise us of changes should urgently contact David Gwilliam, Head of Music, by email to music@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au as they are currently liable for Term 4 fees. 

All new enrolments for private tuition or ISP should be submitted please, using an online form which can be accessed via this link: tinyurl.com/PrivateTuitionEnrolment

High School Sport – CDSSA

Combined Districts Secondary Sports Association Athletics Championships

Last week a very strong group of Emanuel students competed at the annual Combined Districts Secondary Sports Association (CDSSA) Athletics Championships held at Hensley Athletics Centre. Following on from the School Athletics Carnival earlier in the year, over 70 students qualified to participate in this event. Many of these students had been training in the before-school training sessions each Wednesday morning and were well prepared for their individual events. 

All of the students who attended showed an exemplary level of dedication and effort and there were many outstanding performances on the day.

• Danielle Rutstein: first place in High Jump, first place in the long jump, first place in discus and second place in 100m
• Jake Kurlansky: first place in 100m and second place in long jump
• Alon Erez Rein: first place in shot put
• Richard Studencki: first place in 1500m and third place in 800m 
• Aarin Regan-Lacey: first place in 100m and second place in long jump
• Jade Christie: second place in shot put and third place in long jump
• Jared Elbourne: third place in 400m
• Gabriella Goodridge: first place in 400m and second place in 800m
• Tia Mallinick: third place in 400m
• Alanah Borman: second place in 800m
• Mitchell Nixon: second place in shot put
• Sarah Sharwood: second place in 1500m
• Nathaniel Spielman: second place in 400m and second place in 1500m
• Allegra Goldman: second place in 1500m and second place in 3000m
• Romi Lapidge: second place in 200m and second place in 100m
• Jake Hyman: third place in 1500m
• Timothy Troyanovsky: second place in shot put and third place in discus
• Hannah Lax: third place in discus
• Jordan Weizman: third place in discus

These excellent performances resulted in 21 Emanuel athletes qualifying to represent the CDSSA at the Association of Independent Co-educational Schools (AICES) Championships. Emanuel School finished in a well deserved third place on the overall points tally out of the 11 schools in the CDSSA. Mazal tov to the Emanuel Athletics Team!

Kristy Reed

Sports Co-ordinator and PDHPE Teacher

High School Sports Events Next Week

Monday

Morning

• Running Club
• Years 7 and 8 basketball skills
• 14s boys basketball training

Afternoon

• Pilates
• Senior Girls CDSSA Gala Day Netball Trials

Tuesday

Morning

• Girls fitness
• Junior boys rugby union training

Lunch

• 16s boys basketball training

Afternoon

• Open boys basketball training
• Kickboxing/Box Fit

Wednesday

Afternoon

• Tennis
• Ice skating
• Karate

Thursday

Morning

• Intermediate rugby union training
• Boys fitness

Thursday Lunch

• Open boys basketball training

Afternoon

• Trampolining and Dodgeball at Skyzone
• David Horwitz Challenge Rugby 7s

Friday

Morning

• Swimming squad
• Senior girls touch football training
• Netball training
• Junior Girls CDSSA Gala Day Netball Trials
• 16 boys basketball training

Sunday

• 14 boys basketball competition
• 16 boys basketball competition
• Open boys basketball competition

CDSSA Football Gala Day

CDSSA FOOTBALL GALA DAY

On Monday Emanuel School entered three teams in to the annual CDSSA Football Gala Day which was held for the first time at The International Football School (IFS) in Kariong on the Central Coast.

Moriah College, International Grammar School, McDonald College, Galstoun College, Heritage College, SEDA College, PAL Budhist College and our hosts IFS produced some quality football.

Our junior girls, junior boys and senior boys all placed third in their respective competitions. The junior girls played well and showed good sportsmanship and talent. Sienna Meyer and Megan Finn were solid in defense, Danielle Rutstein, Nina Brown, Isabella Schulz and Jamie Orleow energetic in midfield. Sarah Sharwood, Kaia Ziman, Jordan Weizman, Asha Friedman and Mia Gold were determined up front. Top scorers for the girls were Jordan Wiezman bagging five goals and Isabella Schulz, three.

All the junior boys produced some great football particularly against the International Grammar School. Standout performances on the day came from Justin Sarif, Oskar Beck and Ethan De Melo.

The senior boys were pipped at the post by Moriah College 0-1 to miss a place in the final against The International Football School. The Coaches’ Award for the day went to James Cohen.

It was a good day and we look forward to more football days on the Central Coast.

Mazal tov

Sharon Fairfax

PDHPE School Assistant

Rabin Bugle

Shabbat Shalom Rabinites!

It is hard to believe we are already in Week 7 and that there are only a few weeks left until end of Term! We have had a busy week with many fun activities and challenges, Science Week, Year 10 students going on Zionist Camp in rural NSW, Year 11 Examinations and student led House and whole School Assemblies. 

Science Week – Rabin Sweeps the Trivia!

Students across the year groups channeled the spirit of Einstein and Newton and participated in a range of intriguing challenges during Science Week. The week is always a hit with our students, thanks to our School’s team of inspirational Science teachers. 

Many Rabin students were involved and our House won the Trivia Contest this year! Ms Selinger, Mrs Henry and Mr Peacock, our Rabin Tutors who teach Science and Mathematics, will be especially proud of this feat. 

Rabin X – Factor auditions were held last week and were a great success. The new theatre is an amazing venue for these events and we had a beautiful mix of performances that were accompanied on piano and guitar. Rabin House thanks our fantastic IT Department who provided assistance with sound and lightning on the day and gave technical support with our online voting procedure.  

Chloe Corne, Jake Harpaz, Rachel Turtledove, Lara Rutstein, Amber Langman, Chase Weinberg and Samara Trenaman can all be very proud of their fine performances.

This year’s winner, who will represent Rabin House at the Inter-House Music Competition, is Amber Langman in Year 8. Amber’s stunning performance captured the audience and we are already looking forward to hearing her perform at the event next term. 

That’s the Bugle for this week, enjoy the weekend everyone.

Raw Challenge

Kol Szenes

This week in Szenes House:

• Year 11 students sat their Preliminary HSC Examinations
• Year 10 are enjoying Zionist Camp

A warm welcome to Gemma Beinart (10) who returned to Emanuel School on Monday after spending six months in America.

Kayla Orliesky (10) interviewed Gemma on her return.

Back on 1 January 2016, Gemma Beinart set off with her family to temporarily live in Michigan in America. It was extremely hard for Gemma and her friends to say goodbye yet she has made many amazing friends in America. Gemma has since returned and said she loved her stay in the US. She recalls Chicago being her favourite city as the food was definitely the highlight. She adored New York and Puerto Rico and says she made some of her best friends in both places. 

Gemma is glad to be back in Sydney, but says it may take some time to adjust back into things like learning how to drive on the other side of the road, but she is heart warmed by the support from her friends. 

Being Happy

Negative emotions are a normal part of life so if we can embrace them and see the positives within them we can enjoy more happiness and ultimately live better lives! 

Quotation of the week from the Happiness Institute

Feelings are like waves. You cannot stop them from coming but you can decide which ones to surf.

Shabbat Shalom

Gesher

Oh what a view!

We held our CBD networking breakfast on Wednesday morning in the Barangaroo Room on the 38th floor at the new KPMG Offices, Barangaroo. The view was captivating, as were all our speakers!

 Daniel Knoll, partner at KPMG, Gesher Chair and host for this event, started the session with a brief introduction, including a short history of Barangaroo.  The audience then heard from Anne Hastings about some innovative changes to the production of Ma Nishma and the development of a parent portal. Careers Advisor, Claire Pech, showed a short video of students and their thoughts on careers, followed by an informative presentation about her role and also about our recent 2016 E-Zone careers event.  It was great to see two of our E-Zone presenters, alum Kevin Jankelowitz and parent, Jason Schulz, at this networking breakfast.

 Year 11 students, Indigo Penn and Jordana Blackman, took time out of their study for examinations this week, to join us to talk about their experiences on March of the Living (MOTL) and Chavayah respectively.  How eloquently they spoke.  We really do have some amazing overseas opportunities and experiences for our senior students! See page 29 for information on March of the Living 2017.

 We would like to remind you about our Primary Grandparents and Friends Day on Friday 23 September.  Invitations have gone out to those grandparents on our database. Please help us keep this database up-to-date. If grandparents have not received the invitation, please pass the details on to them and also send their contact details to: snewell@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au  See the invitation on  page 31.

 Our final Gesher event for this year is our Nine and Dine golf event on Thursday 17 November.  If you enjoy a round of golf, even if you have no golf handicap, please put this date in your diary for an afternoon of nine holes of golf followed by dinner at The Coast Golf Club, Little Bay. Further details is will be out soon.

 If you have news you wish to share, please send it to: snewell@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au

Sonia Newell

Development Officer

Primary Grandparents and Friends Day

From the Careers Advisor

UAC Round Up

Much of what I am involved in at the moment is dealing with UAC questions for Year 12. Please find below answers to commonly asked questions as well as general information taken from the UAC website www.uac.edu.au

UAC Deadlines

• On-time applications close at midnight on Friday 30 September 2016. Cost is $41 Complete and submit you application by this date to avoid a higher processing charge (increases to $188)
• Main Round applications close at midnight on Friday 2 December 2016
• Final applications for Semester 2, 2017 close on Wednesday 12 July 2017
• Processing charge for 2016 Year 12 applicants (until 30 September 2016) is $41.00
• You should 
  • apply and pay by midnight on Friday 2 December 2016
  • provide all documents by 4.30pm on Friday 13 January 2017
• You can change preferences by midnight on Friday 6 January 2017.All undergraduate applicants will be unable to change course preferences between midnight Friday 6 January and 6pm Wednesday 18 January 2017
• Offers will be released on the UAC website at 6pm on Wednesday 18 January 2017

Questions and Answers

1. Can I check and change my preferences as often as I like?
   YES
2. Can I remove my preferences and add completely new ones?
   YES
3. Can I change my preferences after I get my ATAR?

YES and this is of critical importance.

1. Can I defer a place once it is offered?
   Deferment is a process decided by each institution but most institutions offer a 12-month deferment. Follow the institutions guidelines on their processes and do your research.
2. Should I be strategic in my preferences?
   Students get nine choices. Put them in order of your preference. If your ideal choice is currently listed as choice four you need to move it to choice one so that it becomes your first choice. UAC will then work through your list until an institution accepts your cut off for their course.
3. What happens if I do not get into any of my choices? 

You will need to apply in the subsequent rounds for options that are more realistic. In your preferences choose one towards the end as a back up – a course you are more certain of getting into … your plan B.

1. If I know a B.Business at UTS has a cut off of 90 does that mean if I get 90 that I will automatically get in?
   NO because the published cut offs were those from the 2016 entry. We never really know exactly what the new cut offs will be as you are competing in another year group. Use these numbers as a guide.
2. Can I put nine preferences, all for the same course at different institutions, for example, B.Science at UNSW; B.Science at Uni Sydney and B.Science at UTS?
   YES
3. Can I submit nine preferences all for the same University with nine different courses for example, B.Science at UNSW; B.Arts at UNSW and C.Comm at UNSW and so on?
   YES
4. Do I complete the EAS process and send it off?
   YES (usually with some school assistance) and only if it is applicable to you.
5. Can I apply to other states for Universities?
   YES but you need to follow the other states application system, for example, VTAC for Victoria, QTAC for Queensland etc (all very similar processes and dates). This means you get nine preferences for each State.

UAC is a much simpler process than people realise, so don’t feel daunted by it and just register to take the pressure off yourself, then at a later date you can change your preferences. Good luck!

Claire Pech

Kornmehl Centre

Jewish Educators Conference

Alex and Terry attended the ZFA Jewish Educators Conference in Melbourne on Sunday and Monday last week. The conference was for educators from Pre-school to Year 12 and was held at Mount Scopus College. The conference provided wonderful opportunities for educators to network, as well as to hear a wide variety of speakers on topics ranging from Bible Stories, the mystical power of Hebrew letters, through to Jewish Identity, Zionism, youth movements and Israel. We presented to a group of educators on how we link Bush School and Shabbat. The workshop was interactive, informative and very well received and was a wonderful opportunity for us to share what we do at Bush School.

Burger Centre Visits

On Tuesday and Thursday last week the Dolphins and Starfish visited the Burger Centre to entertain the elderly visitors. The children were confident, comfortable and performed so well, making us very proud and bringing so much joy to the appreciative audience.

Care Packs

Care Packs have been flooding into the Pre-school over the past two weeks and the foyer has been overflowing. On Monday and Tuesday this week, we began the task of sorting, counting and collating the Care Packs. My sincere thanks and appreciation goes to a group of special parents, who came in to help me with this daunting task. Many thanks to Mrs Zoe Boothman, Mrs Evelyn Marczak, Mrs Nadia Kaye, Mrs Simone Rappaport, Mrs Sharon Miller, Mrs Danielle Siegal and Mrs Joanne Sank. Your help was very much appreciated.

We have set aside 30 Care Packs for the Year 6 children from Emanuel School to take to Jilkminggan when they go in a few weeks’ time. These will be given to the Pre-school children in Jilkminggan.

The Olympics

The Children have been excited to follow the Olympics and are now learning about the Paralympics. The Dolphins watched a beautiful film clip on You Tube recommended by Alisa, Harry’s mum called Swimswam, superhuman, Rio, 2016. It was an amazing video clip about the Paralympians and their fantastic achievements set to wonderful music played by a band of musicians with disabilities. One of the saxophonists was a Neil Duncan, who used to teach the Klezmer band at Emanuel school. The song was called Yes I can! The children were quite fascinated with what they saw and had many questions.

Jack: He does a running race with no legs.

Nava: That’s the Olympics!

Tali: No arms, only feet! Only one leg hopping!

Nava: The man was playing the drum with his feet.

Aaron: Why did the drummers who played with their feet have no hands?

Nava: They said yes I can, because I can do it.

Aaron: They can do it and they’re really good at doing stuff. I liked it when he brushed his teeth and he said, yes, I can!

Noah: If you’re in a wheelchair, your leg will be broken, because I saw someone in a wheelchair who had a broken leg.

Manu: If you don’t have any legs to run, then you can use your hands.

Nava: If you can’t walk on your feet, then you can do a handstand and walk on your hands.

Ori: If you have hands, but you don’t have any feet, you could just walk upside-down on your hands.

Over the next two weeks we will be learning all about the different sports played at the Olympics and Paralympics and designing our own Olympic torch in preparation for our Mini Olympics on Sunday 18 September at 10am.

Preparations for going to school

Each child responds differently to changes and each child will deal differently with the transition into school. Children need help to adjust to the rules and way of doing things that school offers. Some of these changes include:

• Physical environment is bigger with playgrounds that are shared with older children and facilities spread across a wide campus.
• Routines may be a lot more structured, with set times to eat, play, go to the library or the toilet. 
• Relationships may be more complicated than previously, where the child will have to learn to relate to different teachers, specialist teachers and lots of different children across many age groups.

Children who make a positive start to school are more likely to feel comfortable, relaxed and valued, good about themselves as learners and develop a sense of belonging to the school community.

It is important for parents to talk positively about going to school, without building up unrealistic expectations. Try to listen to any concerns your child may have and answer any questions. Make sure your child attends the School’s orientation programs usually held in Term 4. If necessary take them for a walk around the School, pointing out their classroom and mapping the journey from the room to the toilets, library and other key facilities.

Below are a few tips to think about: 

Personal skills include the ability to look after yourself and your belongings, to manage your time, get tasks done and understand that particular rules and routines apply in each situation.

Relationship skills – include being able to join in games, take turns, make and maintain friends and learn how to talk with less familiar adults.

Learning skills – include being able to keep going with a task, knowing how to ask and answer questions, how to listen to and follow instructions and having a positive disposition or attitude towards learning new things.

Parents are the safe base from which children can move out to explore the world, to learn and grow and become socially confident, responsible young people.

Things you can do to build your child’s personal, social and learning capacity:

• Gradually ask your child to take responsibility for organising their belongings e.g. setting out clothes for the next day.
• Give your child small manageable responsibilities at home, such as cleaning up, setting the table, clearing their plate, putting their toys away.
• Involve your child in family decisions according to their age and ability; offer them choices about what to wear, what they want to eat, or where the family could go on an outing.
• Talk about the different rules that apply for different situations e.g. wearing a seatbelt in the car, crossing a road, in the park, at the pool and so on.
• Play games as a family and remind children about rules and turn taking.
• Invite children over to play and guide your child into joining in and making friends. It’s important for parents to model kindness and respect.
• Sit with your child doing small tasks, encouraging them to persist and solve problems.
• Read books and develop your child’s listening skills, concentration, comprehension, thinking and conversation.
• Encourage your child to explore, be curious, come up with questions and investigate how things work.
• Encourage your child to be independent, believe in themselves and take some risks in a protected way.
• Teach your child that things don’t always work out the way we want them to, but that we can learn from every situation and to keep trying until we succeed.

Taken from Your Child’s First Year at School – Getting off to a good start. A guide for parents – Jenni Connor and Pam Linke, 2012

Happy Birthday

We wish a very happy birthday to Eve Revelman (5), Noam Greenberg (4) and Elianah Brock (4). We hope you all had a very special day. We also wish our special educator, Marlene Einfeld and our wonderful office assistant, Maria Moses a very Happy Birthday.

Terry Aizen

Canteen Corner

Emanuel Uniform Shop