From the Principal

Anne Hastings – Principal

Wellbeing Workshops

Many of our High School students have been involved very thought-provoking workshops this week (see the article on Wellbeing Sessions). Alumnus Matt Friedman has been leading groups of students towards realising the potential very negative impact of pornography on young people. Through his university course and the research he’s done, Matt has developed presentations around this theme, designed for school students, and is bravely addressing some of the issues that many are afraid to raise. Our students have been very lucky to have benefitted from Matt’s presentations and we thank him and congratulate him on the success of his initiative.

This is a comment from a parent about these sessions:

XX came home and immediately started talking about the content of Matt’s talk. It made for interesting dinner conversation, although we have always been open about the topic before. This morning I collected another student and the conversation continued. It was fascinating to hear their opinions and understanding of the issues around pornography. The topic of addiction was discussed a number of times as we waited for the traffic lights to change. 

I love the way that Matt’s talk gave the kids the language and an open understanding of the subject. I am sure the conversations will continue as they experience life as young adults.

Thanks to the School for taking the leap and putting a controversial and topical subject out there.

Students have also had some wellbeing sessions delivered by Brent Sanders, which focus on keeping safe, respectful relationships and managing themselves in tricky situations at parties etc.

In our role of preparing students for life beyond school and helping develop in them the power to make good decisions, these workshops provide the stimulus and potential for our students to further take on attitudes and actions that will protect them in the future. I invite parents of Years 7 – 11 to have conversations about these sessions with their sons and daughters, to reinforce the messages that have been passed on.

Breakfasts with Emanuel

These events, brought to us by our Gesher committee, have been very popular and enjoyed by all who attend. This semester’s breakfasts are coming up in the next few weeks (please see the article ‘Must Read’ for more information).

NAPLAN

All of our Years 3, 5, 7, and 9 students have undertaken the NAPLAN tests this week, which provide for us a snapshot of the students’ progress in their mastering of the curriculum and identify areas of our program that we might need to give more emphasis. NAPLAN results should be available within a few months. NAPLAN results are one piece of the great breadth and depth of information and feedback we use to refine our teaching programs and target students’ specific needs.

Mothers’ Day

Over 300 Mums and special women in the children’s lives enjoyed a delicious breakfast this morning with their young ones, brought to us by our hard-working P & F committee to mark Mothers’ day on Sunday. Students in Years K – 6 were then able to purchase gifts for Mothers’ day from a gift stall. This has become a great tradition at Emanuel School and reminds the children how special their carers are, and how important it is to say thank you. It’s a huge effort to prepare these events and I would like to acknowledge and acclaim the P & F committee for their enthusiasm and intensive preparation to ensure everything goes so well (see the article on this under the P & F header).

A group of eager participants will walk together under the Emanuel School Striders banner in the Mothers’ Day Classic on Sunday. We wish them well.

Opal cards

All students who travel on the school buses should have their Opal cards. When a student is applying for an Opal Card, the School needs to certify that student’s address is correct by matching to the address held on our database. Please ensure that any address provided for this purpose is the same as the one on Edumate, or if necessary, update the address on Edumate if it’s wrong. 

2018 Term dates

For those who are keen to organise their year next year, the 2018 term dates have been posted up on the portal, under ‘Calendar’.

 Mazal Tov to

• Jesse Gothelf (Year 6) for his success in the CIS Tennis, coming third in his age group
• The mixed senior netball team for winning the CDSSA netball competition
• Romi Lapidge (Year 8), for her selection in the CDSSA 15 years’ representative Netball team to play in the AICES competition
• Jared Elbourne (Year 11), for his success in the CIS Swimming carnival, coming fifth in breastroke, and Gabriella Goodridge (Year 9), for her placings in the freestyle and butterfly at this meet
• Oskar Beck (Year 10) for his selection in the AICES football team to play in the CIS competition
• Year 8 and their Jewish Studies teachers for their impressive work on their Israel Expo
• Louise Heilpern and Sarah Clark for their presentations at the recent Visual Arts Conference. Louise’s Tree of Life Etchings-Teaching abstraction to Primary School Aged Students, examined the intricacies of the creative process in Primary Visual Arts teaching and learning, and Sarah’s presentation – Accessing Online Resources: My Winner for 2017 – explored one of the latest innovations form Google called Google Arts & Culture and how this can revolutionise our digital pedagogies and citizenship.

Coming up

• Breakfast with Emanuel, Wednesday 17 May, 7:30 am the Little Space at Bondi Junction
• Twilight Music Concerts 1 & 2, 18 May 4 pm – 6:30 pm
• Year 7 Study Skills Parents and Students evening, Tuesday 23 May, 6 pm
• Breakfast with Emanuel, Wednesday 24 May, 7:30 am, PwC Barangaroo

Quote of the week

“Innovation isn’t easy. But it’s not something that only geniuses can do, either. When it comes to innovation (and many other things) brilliance is overrated, and determination and hard work are underrated.’ [James O’Loghlin]

Best wishes for a happy weekend and a wonderful Mothers’ Day to all the Mums, Grandmums and special women!

Shabbat Shalom

From the Primary School

Emma Clemens – Deputy Head of Primary

Paws b Mindfulness

At the end of Term 1, I was very fortunate to participate in the Paws b Mindfulness training through Mindfulness in Schools Project (MiSP). In 2016 the students in Years 2-4 were all trained in the Paws b curriculum. This program is designed for students who are 7-11 years old. We also teach .b Mindfulness in Year 6. This program is also developed by MiSP and is designed for students who are 11-18 years old. In the Primary School we now have an ongoing cycle of children in Year 2 participating in Paws b and children in Year 6 participating in the .b program. Throughout this term I will be writing about the content in the Paws b curriculum and how parents can implement some of the strategies and key concepts at home.

Mindfulness has significant benefits for emotional wellbeing, mental health, ability to learn and physical health. “Mindfulness is about being fully awake in our lives. It is about perceiving the exquisite vividness of each moment”’ (John Kabat-Zinn). It also enables children and adults to think more clearly, perform at a higher capacity and feel less anxious or depressed. Mindfulness assists with quieting the mind’s chatter to concentrate on what really matters. The powers of neuroplasticity mean that children can use mindfulness to train and develop neural pathways so that there is a higher left to right dominance in the prefrontal cortex. The left prefrontal cortex is associated with feelings of compassion, happiness and positivity.

The title ‘Paws b’ comes from the idea that our mind can often act like a puppy. Therefore, training our attention is like training a puppy. Our mind wanders around sniffing aimlessly and it doesn’t stay put when we want it to. When training a puppy you might say “sit” or “stay”. But when you ask a puppy to sit it doesn’t always listen the first time. Sometimes it rolls on the floor, jumps up or even runs away. Likewise, our minds also don’t always stay still, particularly in the early stages of our mind training.

A puppy also brings things back that you don’t want. Similarly our mind often brings back things we didn’t ask for and it can make a mess. A puppy often finds an old sock or a chewed tennis ball and playfully brings it back to you. This is just like our mind. We want it to pay attention to one thing and then it goes off in a totally different direction. When training a puppy you need to be firm, patient, kind and have lots of repetition. This is also important when training our mind.

The first key concept taught in Paws b is that we can use our mind to train our brain. Our brain is an organ in our skull. But our mind is often outside of our body, travelling around focusing and thinking about all different things. Different experiences and activities make changes to our brain and this is called neuroplasticity. It’s really exciting that we can train the muscles of our mind to be more effective and efficient. We can use our mind to place more focus and attention on skills we’d like to improve and manage things that are difficult. The more we train our mind, the better we get. We can also train our mind to grow happiness. Mind training is about problem solving as well as focusing on pleasant and positive experiences to help grow happiness. In my next article I’ll outline the concepts taught to students about ‘Team Brain’ made up of the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, amygdala and insula.

Mobile phones

These are the rules for use of mobile phones for Primary School students at school. These guidelines are in place to reduce unnecessary screen time as well as preventative measures for viewing or sharing unhelpful digital content.

• Primary students are not to use mobile phones before school or during the day
• Mobile phones must be kept in school bags throughout the day
• Primary students can only use mobile phones after school to contact parents/carers regarding pick up arrangements
• Any mobile phone that is out during the day or being used for games after school will be taken from the student and stored in my office to be collected in the afternoon
• Students who break the rules repeatedly may have their phone taken for longer periods of time and we may request parents to come in in person to sign out the mobile phone.

Congratulations

Congratulations to Jesse Gothelf who was placed third at the NSW Combined Independent Schools (CIS) Tennis. Jesse was competing against thirteen other teams. The competition was incredibly tough as the students selected to participate were from across NSW. Jesse was also selected to be one of seven boys to represent NSW at the National Championships in Victoria. Well done Jesse on an outstanding result.

Chess success

Last Friday afternoon the Primary School Team A chess team competed against St Therese Mascot. They won 4-0. Congratulations to the students who competed and thank you to Colleen Elkins for training and supporting the team.

NAPLAN

This week the Years 3 and 5 students were involved in the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). NAPLAN assesses key skills that are important to school and life including reading, writing, spelling and numeracy. Whilst the NAPLAN results provide helpful data to inform student learning, we know that the result of a test cannot fully represent what is exceptional and unique about each child. We are proud of all Year 3 and 5 students who completed the NAPLAN assessments this week, but more importantly we celebrate the growth and development they will make in all aspects of life throughout the year.

Mothers Day breakfast and stall

Thank you to the P&F team lead by Ruby Berkovic and Jennifer Opit for all their wonderful organisation for the Mothers Day Breakfast and stall today. Thank you too to the Canteen. It was lovely to see so many mothers and children celebrating together. The students were also very appreciative of all the gifts prepared and sold at the stall. We wish all our mothers a very Happy Mothers Day for Sunday.

BBQ and plain clothes day

When: Monday 15 May

Why: Raising money for MDA Magen David Adom

Cost: $3.50 for sausage sizzle

Uniform: Plain clothes day

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

Please remember: The canteen will be closed on Monday 15 May and it is requested that students do not bring dairy to school.

Upcoming dates

• 14-22 May: Year 6 Northern Territory Trip
• 14 May: BBQ and Plain Clothes Day
• 17 May: Y5-6 IPSHA Debating, Inaburra School
• 17 May: Y6 Aboriginal Dance Fusion Incursion
• 18 May: Y4-6 Before School Sport Training
• 18 May: Twilight Concert, 4:00-5:30pm and 5:30-6:30pm Millie Phillips Theatre
• 19 May: Y6 Aboriginal Virtual Reality Incursion
• 19 May: Emanuel Debating Cup Round 1
• 19 May: Y4 Allwell Testing
• 19 May: JNSW Interschool Chess Competition
• 23 May: ICAS Digital Technologies, 8:00-9:30am
• 24 May: Yom Yerushalayim celebrations
• 25 May: No Y4-6 Before School Sport Training
• 25 May: ASISSA Cross Country, 9:00-2:30pm Queens Park
• 25 May: Y5-6 Da Vinci Decathlon, 7:45-3:15pm Knox Grammar
• 25 May: Mums@the Movies, 7:15pm Millie Phillips Theatre
• 26 May: Y1 Travel Bugs Incursion
• 26 May: Y3 Bundeena Excursion
• 26 May: Y4 NSW State Library Excursion
• 26 May: JNSW Interschool Chess Competition

Term 2 K-2 assembly item

• Week 4: 19 May: Year 2 Hebrew
• Week 6: 2 June: No assembly – Shavuout
• Week 8: 16 June: 2T class item
• Week 10: 30 June: K-2 music assembly

Primary Leadership

Primary Madrichim

Aaron Khedoori – Head Madrich

Ruby Miller – Head Madricha

The Primary Madrichim have a number of responsibilities this term. Each fortnight we run assembly where we prepare a segment called News of the Fortnight. We have also helped with two Open Day Showcase events for families thinking about joining Emanuel. At these events we gave speeches and helped with serving food and taking tour groups. It makes us feel proud to be involved in these showcase events and represent our School.

This term we have three initiatives that we’re planning for. The first is a table tennis competition. With the new table tennis tables, many of the Primary students have been enjoying playing table tennis. So we thought it would be good to have a competition. We will run competitions for each year group and students can complete individually to win a prize and House points. We are also considering a round of finalists from each year group.

The second initiative is a video series on the 7 Habits. The videos will be shown in assembly to help children learn more about the 7 Habits and how we can use them wisely. The videos will also teach in what situations to use each of the 7 Habits. The third initiative is exploring a connection with the Prince of Wales Children’s Hospital. We are interested in visiting children who are unwell and playing games with them to lift their spirits.

In conclusion, being a Year 6 leader is a lot of fun and we are looking forward to the exciting things we have planned for this term.

Ruby Miller and Aaron Khedoori

From Primary Library

Ginette Cameron-Gardner – Teacher/Librarian

NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge

We have had an exciting start to the NSW Premier’s Reading  Challenge (PRC). Nine students have completed the Premier’s Reading Challenge 2017 as at 9 May 2017. Mazal tov to:

There are many books in the Primary Library that are shorter reads in each age group that make it easier to complete the required number of books. These are as short as 32 pages but have more complex language and require the application of a more complex thinking process than the format might seem to indicate. Two examples by Australian authors are below:

Arabella by Wendy Orr is a delightful picture book with superb illustrations by Kim Gamble. It has a nautical theme and focuses on the relationship between a boy and his grandfather whilst imparting the inclusive message that all can be heroes.

This is on the PRC reading list for Years 3 and 4 and has the ID # 9571.

The Jewel Fish of Karnak by Graeme Base is a cautionary tale based in Ancient Egypt. Beautifully illustrated, two thieves brought for punishment are given a second chance and a quest to retrieve a beautiful, precious Jewel Fish for the Pharaoh. The stunning visual journey includes wonders of ancient Egypt hieroglyphics and code to be deciphered.

There are only 32 pages, the book is on the PRC reading list for Years 5 and 6 and has the PRC ID #79876

Parents please continue to assist your children to enter their reading on the PRC website.

https://online.det.nsw.edu.au/prc/home.html

The students retain the same logon and ID from Years K to 9.

Kindergarten play area – The Gan Kef Garden

The Gan Kef – The Garden of Fun

This year a competition was run by the Student Representative Council (SRC) to come up with a name for new Kindergarten play area. Lara Isenberg in Year 1 thought of the wonderful name Gan Kef – the Garden of Fun. We also needed to design a sign for the new area. Another competition was run by the to find a suitable design. Leah Grunseit in Year 4 came up with a colourful and thoughtful design to represent the fun Kindergarten students would have in this lovely new area. Later this term we plan to have a small ceremony to formally acknowledge the new name and to unveil a welcoming sign. Congratulations to both Lara and Leah for such amazing efforts to name and design signage for the Kindergarten’s new play area.

Julia Tritsch

Primary Teacher

From the Head of Jewish Life

Rabbi Daniel Siegel

Emor on Omer

This week’s parahsah, Emor, presents us with an accounting of the Omer.

“You shall count for yourselves, from the day after the Shabbat, from the day when you bring the Omer offering, seven weeks, they shall be complete.

Until the day after the seventh week you shall count, fifty days, when you shall bring an offering of new grain.”

(Leviticus 23:15-16)

The Torah further elucidates:

“You shall count for yourselves seven weeks, from when the sickle is first put to the standing crop (grain) shall you begin counting seven weeks.

Then you will observe the Festival of Shavu’ot (Feast of Weeks) for the Lord your God offering your freewill in contribution as the Lord your God has blessed you.”

(Deuteronomy 16:9-10)

The beginning of the grain harvest was marked with bringing an omer (a unit of measure) of barley on the “Shabbat” (understood by the Rabbis as connoting the second day of Passover) as a Temple offering. Upon the conclusion of counting seven weeks (shavu’ot), known as Sefirat HaOmer, the produce of the wheat harvest was brought to the Temple, serving as the concluding rite of the grain harvest. (With the discovery of the Dead Sea Temple Scroll, we learned our ancestors conducted four different 49 day ‘countings’ relating to agricultural celebrations).

Accordingly, Shavu’ot, as it appears in the Bible, is solely an agricultural festival as reflected in its names: Chag HaKatsir – The Feast of Harvest and Chag Hkbikkurin – The Feast of First Fruits.

(From Shavu’ot to Sukkot, which marked the end of the agricultural year, farmers would bring their first fruits to the Temple). Shavu’ot as Zeman Matan Torateinu (The Time of the Giving of the Torah) and marking the Siniatic revelation is a Rabbinic innovation which began to take root following the destruction of the Temple and the sacrificial rite.

The centrality of human endeavour in bringing God and divine revelation into our world, a focus of Rabbinic Judaism following the destruction of the Temple and its core tenet until today, is an idea whose seeds can be found in the Omer ritual itself, which our Rabbinic Shavu’ot came to supplant.

The festival of Shavu’ot was marked by an offering of two loaves of leavened bread (Leviticus 23:17). This concluding rite of the Omer ritual pointedly proclaimed the human role and initiative in being blessed by what God has given us. This divine-human partnership which makes for producing, securing and enjoying the bounty of nature reminds us of the role we are challenged to play in making Torah an ongoing revelation of rightful living through our mindful appreciation of the dynamic of the divine-human relationship.

A story

(Rabbinic Midrash)

What is the difference between the Written Torah and the Oral Torah?

To what can it be compared?

A king had two servants and loved them both. He gave each of them a measure of wheat and each a bundle of flax. What did one servant do? He took the flax and spun a cloth. He took the wheat and made flour. He cleaned the flour and ground, kneaded and baked it, and set it on top of the table. Then he spread the cloth over it, prepared for when the king would come back. The other servant did nothing but retained in safe keeping that which he was given.

A while thereafter, the king returned and said to his servants:

“My children, bring me what I gave you.”

One brought out the table set with the bread on the table cloth. The other brought out the measure of wheat and the bundle of flax. After commending the first servant, the king, in sadness, turned to the second servant and said:

“Woe to the servant who presents but wool and flax.”

אם אין קמח אין תורה אם אין תןרה אין קמח

If there is no flour, there is no Torah; if there is no Torah, there is no flour.

(Pirkei Avot)

Student Diveri Torah

The following Divrei Torah on Parashat Emor were written by our students and shared with their peers in our Monday morning minyanim.

Lachlan Corne – Year 9

1. Emor, is the largest parashah in Sefer Vayikra, the Book of Leviticus, consisting of no fewer than 124 verses. The parashah relates many laws regarding Kohanim. Perhaps I was asked to do this Devar Torah because I am a Kohen (Corne is actually derived from the Hebrew word Kohen).

So here are some of the laws that relate to the Kohanim.

• They’re not allowed to come in contact with a dead body
• They can only attend the funeral of a close relative

A Kohen is required to maintain a higher spiritual level than an ‘ordinary’ Jew and is considered/asked to be more kadosh, ‘holy’.

Jewish tradition describes how we should honour a Kohen (I like this part). For example:

• A Kohen should be served first at a banquet
• He should wash his hands first before a meal
• He should be called first to the Torah, before a Levi and Yisrael.

The Parashah also talks about the conditions required of an animal to be fit for sacrifice, including that it must be physically perfect. An animal is acceptable only from the eighth day after birth onwards just as a baby boy is to be circumcised on the eighth day.

The Torah then relates the prohibition against slaughtering a mother animal and its young on the same day, showing mercy. It goes on to speak about many other things such as the various festivals and the menorah and its lighting.

Included in these additional matters, God tells the Jewish people that they need to a leave a corner of their fields unharvested to allow the poor to come and take from it. God doesn’t tell them to give some of their crops to the poor, but rather they should leave them some of their crops. The difference, although seemingly insignificant, is actually quite powerful.

When someone in need has to take from someone else, this not only takes courage but can also be quite embarrassing. There are times when we all need help from someone else of one kind or another. But no one wants to feel dependent upon someone else for his/her basic needs.

In an effort to allow this needy individual not to feel ashamed, God tells the owner of the field to leave the crops. This way, perhaps in the middle of the night, the one who’s in need can simply take without any embarrassment. To be able to pick up the crops with no one seeing him is an effort to lessen the receiver’s emotional pain of knowing that at this moment he is dependent upon someone else for life’s necessities.

What if you don’t have a field in which to leave your crops? Today most people aren’t farmers and the Torah is also an instruction guide for living in modern times. So, what lesson does this come to teach us?

Perhaps it’s providing for others without ever letting them or anyone ever know that it was you who gave. To give anonymously to someone powerfully demonstrates that your motives are totally altruistic and you seek nothing in return except for knowing that you helped someone in need.

The more you can give without the receiver ever knowing who you are, the more you’ll be giving for the right reasons. It will be all about them and not about you.

It won’t be for the sake of an award, gratitude, or to see your name in lights. Giving in this way not only ensures that the recipient won’t be embarrassed, but it also enables you to become completely in touch with the true and only source of all your possessions.

Hannah Shteinman – Year 11

2. In this Parashah, God describes the rules that apply to the Kohanim, the priests of the Temple, so that they stay ‘pure’. Among these rules are: They aren’t allowed to touch dead people, they should be careful not to profane the name of God through their actions and they can’t marry a ‘harlot’. In fact, when the daughter of a priest ‘defiles’ herself through harlotry, it is her father whom she ‘defiles’, and she must be burned in fire. They can’t marry a divorced person, they can’t bare their heads or rend their garments, practices associated with mourning, and they MUST marry a virgin, from their people of course. If they are ‘blemished’ by any of the above, they can’t serve at the altar to give offerings to God.

Moreover, any man with a ‘defect’; which includes being blind, being mutilated, having broken any limb, having limbs that are “too long” OR even if they have a scab, cannot make an offering upon God’s altar.

Clearly there is this massive emphasis on ‘purity’ and avoiding profaning the holy areas of the Temple and its practices. So it seems like being physically imperfect makes one unholy.

Now while this isn’t still a necessity in modern Jewish law, this idea of being physically perfect, still exists. Girls with the ‘perfect’ body, and the ‘perfect’ hair, skin, teeth, eyes, face, are seen as the modern day version of holy, the ultimate goal. The same goes for guys: perfect body, hair, skin teeth, eyes, face etc! This is drilled into us constantly; through celebrities, Instagram, mass media, and businesses that profit from our insecurities, that are entirely based on this notion of being perfect.

In a way, like God is presented in the Bible, we have set these standards that honestly are based on nothing. If we can see how strange it is to prohibit someone from the precincts of the Temple for having a ‘defect’ then surely we can see that judging someone for their level of ‘attractiveness’, is no different.

However, specifically to the Torah portion, if we think about it, it isn’t just the issue of attractiveness it’s the idea that having these ‘defects’ makes one ‘un-whole’ and therefore unholy. So it’s also this lack of wholeness that excludes them from being able to go up to God’s alter and maybe we need to consider what we define as being ‘whole’.

We need to question why we have created this idea of ‘holy’, why it has such rules and why it’s exclusive. We need to redefine its meaning and reconsider these standards that we have set for ourselves.

Our students speak

Our students speak

The most enjoyable moment of my school day is when I have the opportunity to hear our students share their ideas, thoughts and reflections. This may be during class time, as expected, but it is also during other times of our day, as well. It might be during recess, lunchtime, before school, after school or other special moments.

This week I had the privilege of hearing our students deliver their speeches for Round one of the Mikolot Speaking Competition. With only a one sentence topic/saying to address, our students are free to present whatever perspective, understanding and insight they wish to share.

This week’s Parashah is Emor, which means ‘Speak’! I am happy to present here the thoughts of our Year 11 student, Sonia Redman, whose speech, on Each year we recite the words of the Haggadah “Now we are slaves, next year we will be free”. Are we truly free today? I hope you will enjoy.

Rabbi Daniel Siegel

Sonia Redman

Mikolot prepared speech 

Each year we recite the words of the Haggadah “Now we are slaves, next year we will be free.” Are we truly free today?

Every year, Jews throughout the world celebrate Passover, telling the story of Hebrew slaves fleeing from Egypt. But there’s much more to Passover than a commemoration of historical events. At the root of all the symbols, customs, storytelling and ritual, lies one central idea that binds the Seder’s distinct parts into a single whole: “Now we are slaves, next year we will be free.”

Today, we live in a free country. But are we truly free? There are two main ideas that prove our perpetuated slavery that I will briefly discuss; freedom of self, and freedom of others.

Firstly, through examination of our alleged freedom of self, it is revealed that in fact we are not free today. How often do we feel constrained from being who we really want to be and from doing what we really want to do? We are slaves. Slaves to our own inhibitions, fears, habits, cynicism and prejudices. These self-appointed pharaohs prevent us from expressing our true inner self, from reaching our spiritual potential. Our souls are incarcerated in selfishness, laziness and indifference. 

Freedom is more than freedom from slavery, tyranny or persecution. True freedom is in the mind. On the night of Passover, this idea of freedom is given full expression in the Haggadah. It is revealed to us that the miracle of the Exodus was not completed with the people’s departure from their slavery, they needed to develop to become a truly free people and not merely runaway slaves. In other words, the slave is bound by two things: first, by his subjugation to another’s will, and secondly by his lack of a will and personality of his own. A person who retains his own essential character can never completely be enslaved; and, conversely, a person who has no independent self-image can never be truly free.

A further example of this is the atrocities of the Middle Ages that did nothing to damage, alter or diminish the spiritual vitality of the exiled Jewish people. Despite persecution and exclusion, the Jewish people’s exile was never really complete, for they did not lose their essential character. Paradoxically, it was assimilation that made Jewish exile complete, for when the assimilated Jews parted with their own distinctive character, they gave up the last shred of independence. Thus, even if they had gained freedom as an individual, they became exiled in terms of spirituality. 

Through all the laws and customs of the Seder night, what we are really emphasising is the most important thing about ourselves: “Now we are slaves, and next year we will be free.” As we go through the rituals and recite the Haggadah, we must bring ourselves to understand that we shall truly be free only when we live as individuals.

Self-awareness is one aspect of freedom that deters us from true redemption. Another involves the freedom of all people. To truly be free, we must understand what it means to not be free, to connect to those who are constrained, to lack indifference and to demonstrate empathy. 

We read in the Maggid section of the Haggadah about the maztah and the bitter herbs. The bitter herbs represent slavery due to their sharp taste. The matzah symbolises the Exodus of the Hebrews, their freedom from slavery. It is not just the symbolism, but also the order these items are spoken about in the Haggadah that is interesting. First we speak of the matzah and finally the bitter herbs. But this seems strange. Why does the symbol of freedom precede that of slavery? Surely slavery preceded freedom so it would be more logical to talk of the bitter herbs first? The answer, according to the Chassidic teachers, is that only to someone who is free, does slavery taste bitter. Had the Israelites forgotten freedom they would have grown used to slavery. The worst exile is to forget that you are in exile.

How does this relate to contemporary society? I will explain. Freedom is reflected in two Hebrew words, chofesh and cheirut. Chofesh is ‘freedom from’, cheirut is ‘freedom to’. Chofesh is what a slave acquires when released from slavery. But this kind of liberty is not enough to create a free society. A world in which everyone is free to do what they like begins in anarchy and ends in tyranny. That is why chofesh is only the beginning of freedom, not its ultimate destination. The important definition is cheirut. Cheirut is collective freedom, a society in which my freedom respects yours. It rests on self-restraint and regard for others. The ultimate aim of Torah is to fashion a society on the foundations of justice and compassion, with recognition towards the integrity of all creation. Thus we say in reading the Haggadah, “Next year may we all be bnei chorin,” invoking cheirut not chofesh. It means, ‘May we be free in a way that honours the freedom of all’.

In conclusion, the Pesach story remains the limitless source of inspiration to all those who long for freedom. It teaches us that freedom and justice must belong to all, not some; that all human beings are equal; and that in order to experience true freedom, we must hear the cry of slavery.

Our Prayers for Peace in Israel

Our Prayers for Peace in Israel

In celebration and commemoration of Yom Ha’Atzmaut and Yom Ha’Zikaron last week, Year 7 students began their exploration of Teffilah (prayer) by writing a collective Prayer for Peace in Israel.

I wish for peace in Israel

Because it is where we belong

We all stand together as one

As Jews, we stand together

I want no wars, no racism and equal amounts of money for all

Israel will be a cleaner country if there is no war

Wouldn’t it be nice if there were no bombings in Israel?

No war makes happiness

Protect the families in Israel

We can all live free

We can all live with peace and harmony

I wish for peace for the Land and the People

I hope for happiness for the Children of Israel

The Land of Israel deserves to be treated with peace and harmony

Amen

Year 7 Jewish Studies B 

I pray for the land and the community that there will be no more violence.

I wish for love to be spread in all of Israel!

I wish that someday Israel will not grieve but smile in happiness

I wish that there was more happiness on people’s faces

I wish for peace in Israel, and for the tears of joy not pain

I wish for everlasting peace in Israel

The fighting between nations, the biting between siblings will always be there

until peace comes to put it all away                                                

I pray for soldiers and families to have pride and love

I wish for the children to be able to play outside together with no danger around them

May God bless the Holy Land and its beauty.

I want to see all the proud Israelis standing for their country not fallen

I pray for all the soldiers that have gone to war

I wish for peace in Israel because if world peace was a real thing,

then there would be no wars, no racism and

the world be a safe and happy place

I wish for peace in Israel, and for the tears of joy not pain.

I wish for peace in Israel so that families won’t have to suffer from loss of their loved ones,

so that everyone is happy and never saddened by that

I pray for the wealthy and the poor, the employed and unemployed

I pray for soldiers and families to have pride and love

May God bless the Holy Land and its beauty.

Try to prevent war as life is everything and family to spend it with

I hope they can recover and live in peace                

I hope that one day Israel won’t have to live in fear of war

Watch over the State of Israel and guard its people.

 Year 7 Jewish Studies J-44

Ma Koreh

Weekly Torah portion:

Parashat Emor – Leviticus 21:1 – 24:23.

This week’s Torah portion includes special sets of laws and requirements for the kohanim (the Priests). These laws included not coming into contact with the dead and restrictions on whom a kohen could marry. The Torah then describes a variety of holy days – Shabbat, Pesach, Yom Kippur and Sukkot and what is entailed to observe these days. We are currently in the Omer period, counting forty-nine days between Pesach and Shavuot. The Torah describes the obligation to bring the Omer – the first reaping of barley to the Kohanim as an offering during this time. The Israelites are reminded that during the harvest period to leave the corners of their fields for the needy.  

Family Discussion:

• Do you think there should be different rules and expectations for people, depending on their position and role?
• What is your favourite Jewish holiday and why?
• What can we learn about the commandment to leave the corners of one’s field during harvest time for the poor and needy? Given many of us are not farmers, how can this mitzvah relate to our lives today?

General Sir John Monash Commemorative Service

Last Friday, the Primary House and Vice Captains joined some of our Year 9 students to attend The Spirit of Australia Foundation Monash Commemorative Service, which was held at St Catherine’s School. The service was held to acknowledge and pay tribute to a great Jewish Australian who was an influential and inspirational scholar, engineer, soldier and nation builder. Students from various local schools and representatives of the military and a Monash scholar spoke about the life, achievements, values and legacy of Sir John Monash, who is regarded as one of the greatest Australians.

Monash House Captains and Vice-Captains reflected on the commemoration:

Jake Sharp: “General Sir John Monash is such an interesting person. He was very clever and valued education. He used his degrees in Engineering, Law and Arts to help others and make a difference in the world.”

Jett Sher: “The ceremony was very informative and I learnt a lot about the life and achievements of Monash. He is such a respected person who has inspired many people.”

Ava Rose: “I learnt that General Sir Monash faced some discrimination because he was Jewish and his parents were German. But he worked hard and achieved great things during the War and afterwards”

Try the following links if you are curious and would like to learn more about the amazing life and achievements of General Sir John Monash:

www.awm.gov.au/people/P10676516/

www.smh.com.au/world/did-an-aussie-general-john-monash-actually-win-the-decisive-battle-of-the-western-front-not-the-british-whove-hogged-all-the-glory-20160421-gobrqz.html

https://johnmonash.com/john-monash

Hebrew

Ruth Harvey – Head of Hebrew

Examinations versus assignments

The jury is still out on the debate around examinations, as opposed to assignments, at school. The ‘Jewry’ at Emanuel is no exception. Students in Year 8 Hebrew reflected on the advantages and disadvantages of both options, and explained their preference.

Some prefer assignments, which give them more independence and enhance their learning. They find examination conditions to be too stressful and the learning from exams limited. Others express that examinations help them to set boundaries and that they find the pressure beneficial to their success.

Here is what some students had to say, in Hebrew, of course:   

בעד או נגד בחינות

 יש בתי ספר רק עם בחינות ויש בתי ספר רק עם עבודות, ויש בתי ספר עם בחינות ועבודות

 בבית ספר עמנואל, כמו בבית ספר של אריאלה, יש בחינות ועבודות. אני תלמיד בבית ספר עמנואל. בבית הספר שלי התלמידים כותבים בחינות במתימטיקה ואנגלית ועברית ולפעמים יש עבודה בטכנולוגיה ואומנות ולימודי יהדות

אני נגד בחינות כי, כמו אריאלה, אני לא באמת לומד. אם יש עבודה אני לומד מהאינטרנט ומשפחה ומורים, אבל אם יש בחינה אני לומד וקורא מהספרים שלי וזהו. אני גם מרגיש לא טוב עם בחינות

Jordan Stein – Year 8

For and against examinations

There are schools with only exams and there are schools with only assignments, and there are schools with exams and assignments.

At Emanuel School there are exams and assignments. I am a student at Emanuel. At my school students write exams in Mathematics, English and Hebrew, and sometimes there are assignments in Technology, Art and Jewish Studies.

I am against exams because I don’t really learn. If there is an assignment I learn from the internet, from family and from teachers, but if there is an exam I just read from my books and that’s it! I also don’t feel well in exams.

 בבתי ספר יש בחינות ועבודות. יש בתי ספר עם רק בחינות ויש בתי ספר עם רק עבודות. בעמנואל יש בחינות ועבודות.

 אני בעד בחינות כי אני אוהב ללמוד לבחינות. אני זוכר מה אני לומד ואני כותב בחינות. אני אוהב לכתוב בשקט. אני לא נגד עבודות אבל אני אוהב בחינות יותר

אני מרגיש טוב בסוף של בחינות. אני מרגיש עייף בסוף של עבודות

Jordan Stein – Year 8

Ezra Hersch – Year 8

Schools have exams and assignments. There are schools with only exams and there are schools with only assignments. At Emanuel, there are examinations and assignments.

I am for examinations because I like studying for exams. I remember what I learn and write in the exam. I like to write quietly. I am not against assignments but I like exams better.

I feel good at the end of an exam. I feel tired at the end of an assignment. 

Ezra Hersch – Year 8

Israel Expo

Emanuel Israel Expo opens its doors

For the first time ever, Year 8’s Israel Expo opened its doors to parents, grandparents, families and friends. The Israel Expo is an exciting opportunity for our students to strengthen their personal connection to Israel. Our students work collaboratively to research topical areas of interest relating to Israel, ranging from Art to Politics, Environment to Defence, and from Science and Technology to Gender Issues. The students’ research and preparation throughout Term 1 in Jewish Studies culminates in the Israel Expo itself.

Hear from the exhibitors and visitors below and enjoy perusing a sample of photographs from the evening.

I have always had a passion for Music and learning about Music in Israel really strengthened my connection with Israel. I also thought I would enjoy the project more if I was able to research a topic I enjoyed. My group worked very well together and we divided what each of us would research so we got the best quality research possible. The most fascinating thing I learnt during my research is about the history of radio stations during World War II; how radio was used and how it evolved during the War.

Chloe Miller (Music)

The Expo was a very inventive way of presenting information. The kids had lots of fascinating information to share. Kol Hakavod. Anonymous parent comment

Interviewing my grandpa was my highlight of the Israel Expo. He was in the Israeli Defence Force and I learnt some really interesting information from him. I feel a lot more connected to Israel now as I have a better understanding about the responsibilities each Israeli plays in keeping the country safe. I am also interested in going to visit Israel to see the places I have researched.”

Tara Israel (Defence)

It was a joy to see the students’ hard work, hear about their research and witness their deep connection to their topics.

Esther Rothman, (Tara Israel’s grandmother)

I enjoyed researching about gender issues in Israel because I learnt that there are so many organisations in the country that support the LGBTQI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning and Intersex) community. I learnt that the Israeli military has an accepting policy towards gay and lesbian soldiers and that many Israelis support same-sex marriage even though it’s not legal in Israel at present. 

Jessica Turtledove (Gender Issues)

It was wonderful to see the energy and learning and effort of these inspirational children. Well done.

Rosalie Fishman (grandmother of Saskia Auerbach)

I was impressed by the quality of the students’ work and the care they took in creating their informative stands. Israel Expo involves many hours of research, team work and collaborative effort and I commend the students for their enthusiasm and desire to delve deeply into their chosen topics.

Anne Hastings (Principal)

Congratulations to all our Year 8 students and their Jewish Studies teachers, Kobi Bloom, Rebecca Gaida, Rebeca Goldberg and Elena Rosin, for their great effort, hard work and enthusiasm that made the Israel Expo such a resounding success!

Our appreciation also goes to the Maintenance Team for their fantastic assistance with setup.

Daphna Levin-Kahn, Elena Rosin, Rebecca Goldberg and Kobi Bloom

From the Head of Science

Jennifer Selinger – Head of Science

Year 10

The National Health and Medical Research Council recently published a report banning clinics from allowing parents to choose the gender of a baby during the IVF process. It is always very nice when the outside world conspires to make our teaching immediately relevant, and this event coincided nicely with the beginning of the ‘Design a Baby?’ topic in Year 10. We begin by asking the students to consider the ethical aspects of this question, before launching into whether we actually can do some of these things, and if we can, how they are done. This is the basis for a topic on genetics where the students learn about the structure of our DNA, and the mechanics of inheritance. Scientists and the general public have to consider both whether we can do something and whether we should, and this topic introduces this dilemma to our students. Here are some initial ideas provided by Year 10 students, written before they had done any formal learning in this topic:

Dear Future Self

I feel that designing a baby has its pros and cons but I am against designing a baby. I think designing a baby is bad because the child isn’t born as its true self, it’s being born as what you want it to be, meaning that you want the child to have the personality you want it to have, the looks you want it to have and the brain you want it to have, but no children are like that. Making a child means letting it be born as the person it should be, with the looks and qualities it should have. I should love the baby for what it is and not what I want it to be.

Vicky Krielman

Dear Future Self

I think that I should design my baby because it would improve the child’s future. By making it not having any diseases and not being hideously disfigured, it would be greatly benefit its life because of the superficial world we live in. It’s not pretty, but in the society we live in, good looking people have a head start and I couldn’t think of intentionally not giving my child this start.

Leo Lipman

Year 9

Year 9 is also starting a new topic, kicking it off with a visit to ANSTO to find out as much as possible about the work they do there in the field of nuclear chemistry. The students found it “so cool” to actually see a nuclear reactor and they left the place with their heads filled with new ideas about radioactivity, atoms and chemistry and the importance these hold in their world. They have further developed their understanding of the structure of atoms and their enjoyment of chemistry by building and eating models of an atom using M&Ms – nothing like bribery to induce enjoyment.

Their previous topic featured highly in our most recent MakerSpace Focus Group meeting, where a group of teachers get together fortnightly to discuss and plan our fledgling MakerSpace and the new, purpose-designed space that will be part of the building going up where the Senior Library used to be. Group members were treated to a view of two lovely devices designed and built by members of Year 9 as the culminating task of the ‘Sparky’ topic. Students were given free range in developing a device or display – the only criterion was that it had to have one series and one parallel circuit in its design. The results included an impressive device which filled a glass with coca cola without needing someone to tip the bottle, a wildly spinning dancer and a variety of vehicles with moving parts and flashing lights. All the bells and whistles, literally!

Year 8

Year 8 is also finding learning sweet as they set off across the solar system clutching carefully chosen lollies that perfectly (or as closely as possible) model the planets. Their skills in measurement and scaling will be tested to the utmost as they pace out the correct distance between planets on the scale of the lollies and head off to Randwick in pursuit of a better understanding of the real size of our Solar System.

Life might not be quite like a box of chocolates, but in the Science department, it comes close!

Chess

The Chess season begins!

The first round of Inter-Schools Chess began last week, with our Primary A team playing St Therese Mascot and our High School team playing Reddam House.

The players did an excellent job and both teams won 4-0. We are so proud of them, both for this result as well as for the sportsmanship with which they participated.

Well done to all our players:

Primary A team                                  High School A team

Sol Biton                                             Daniel Melamed

Joshua Leslie                                     Jesse Herdan

Dan Blecher                                        Myles Cohn

Daniel Zipser                                       Zac Sidley

Myles Cohn showing the utmost poise whilst strategising. (Grandpa looking on!)

A link to some chess puzzles.

 http://www.chesspuzzles.com/mate-in-two

We wish them and the other teams starting this week, all the best for the season!

Colleen Elkins, Chess co-ordinator

Wellbeing Presentations

Wellbeing – Talking about pornography with Matt Friedman

The world is rapidly changing, and classrooms today look very different from how they did only a generation ago. The Information and Communication Technologies available in this day and age have opened up a wealth of shared knowledge that was not readily available before. This has clear benefits for the students of the 21^st century, but there is a flipside. Not everything on the Internet is age appropriate.

Pornography is not a new concept, but the proliferation of pornographic content easily accessible through this platform is having a negative influence on the youth of today. Pornography is responsible for developing an unrealistic understanding of sex and sexuality in young people, while the increasingly coercive sexual behaviours depicted in much of the online content are normalising sexual violence.

Experts suggest age-appropriate education that delves more deeply than the simple mechanics of sex is an important tool to help young people understand and resist this dark side of pornography. Open and frank conversations with their parents are another important aspect for helping adolescents to make informed sexual decisions.

Matthew Friedman, an alumnus of Emanuel School, developed an interest on the impact of pornography on young people through his tertiary studies. He developed a presentation called XXXposed: Taking a second look at pornography, aimed at students in Year 10, which he describes as a talk he wishes he could have heard at that age. This week he addressed groups of boys and girls to discuss the misrepresentations of sexual behaviour prevalent in pornography, and the harm they have the potential to cause. Small groups of students, in a safe and supportive environment, were able to initiate conversations about cultural issues relating to pornography such as body image, gender roles, ‘sexpectations’ and neuroscience.

Matthew’s friendly and relaxed approach helped students feel comfortable and able to contribute to candid discussions about topics that are normally taboo for students in a school environment.

Further information can be found at https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/2016/05/04/children-and-young-peoples-exposure-pornography

Supervising teacher testimonial:

I found Matt’s presentation at times quite confronting and uplifting but at all times captivating. Matt created a safe, open forum where students felt comfortable to ask such frank questions that they wouldn’t have otherwise.

Wellbeing – Taking about risk with Brent Sanders 

This week the School welcomed Brent Sanders to talk to all Years 9-12 students about peer pressure, decision making, self-discipline, respect, motivation, date rape, aggression versus assertion, and legal definitions of actions and consequences. Brent brought a wealth of knowledge, experience and real life stories to highlight the potential dangers related with risk-taking behaviours. Coming from a distinguished career in the Police Force, Brent drew from past experiences to caution the students about potentially harmful situations that they could encounter.

I enjoyed learning about the many different rules and restrictions around the law and found it interesting when he spoke about different scenarios that he has experienced as a Police Officer.

Brent’s presentation to the young men at Emanuel included detailed discussions on all aspects of sexual crime. They talked at length about the key factors behind poor decision-making, including alcohol, peer pressure and fear of losing face in front of mates. 

It was interesting to learn about the difference between legal definitions and the definitions that people perceive.

Brent’s focus when presenting to the young women at Emanuel was highlighting strategies that work and those that are not effective in de-escalating a potentially volatile situation. He also spoke about the increased risks a girl faces when leaving a party with someone she thinks she knows.

I found the strategies he told us about really interesting and worthwhile. Learning about things that we can actually use, I think, is the most important and interesting information that we could possible receive.

Rabin Bugle

Adam Ezekiel – Acting Head of Rabin

The first few weeks of Term 2 have been very busy for Rabin students. Below are a few of things that Rabin students have been involved in so far this term.

Year 12 students

Year 11 March of the Living students

Year 10 – Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Adventurous Journey

 

Years 7 and 9 students

Silver Duke of Edinburgh Camp

Ray Francis – Head of PDHPE

One for the Duke!

With the Duke of Edinburgh (D of E) announcing his impending retirement from public life last week, it was fitting that the Year 10 Silver D of E award participants should be heading out on a three-day canoeing expedition.

I’m sure the Duke would have liked to join us (palace life must get a bit stuffy after 90 odd years!) as the glorious weather and a top group of participants made this a most pleasurable and rewarding trip.

Paddling along the Shoalhaven river from Bendeela Recreation area to Tallowa Dam provided opportunities for physical challenge (those pesky canoes never go where you want them to!) and personal reflection away from the bustle of school life. 

Camping on the banks of the Shoalhaven was beautiful, with our only concerns being where to find firewood for the evening, and would it be humanly possible to eat all the snacks that were brought (we were successful in both regards!).

Congratulations to the 20 participants who have taken the silver D of E challenge this year. You are a great group to go camping with!

CDSSA Netball Gala Day

High School netball

Last Wednesday Emanuel School entered a junior girls, senior girls and a mixed senior girl and boys teams in the CDSSA Netball Gala day held at Minto Sport’s Centre.

It was a very successful day indeed!

Our mixed senior girls and boys team took out the title with an absolutely powerhouse performance in the final, defeating Heritage College 32-8. All representatives received medals on the day.

Our junior and senior girls both finished in third place narrowly missing out on Finals appearances.

Congratulations to Year 8 student Romi Lapidge for being selected in the 15 years CDSSA Representative Team to compete in the AICES tournament to be held at Netball Central Homebush next Tuesday.

Mazal tov

Sharon Fairfax

Mixed senior winning team

Senior mixed boys and girls team

Junior girls team

Senior girls team

CIS Swimming Championships

Kristy Reed | Sports Coordinator & PDHPE Teacher

CIS Swimming Championships

Last week two of Emanuel’s elite swimmers competed at the prestigious Combined Independent Schools (CIS) Swimming Championships. This event was held over two days at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre, with the best swimmers in the NSW independent system participating.

Jared Elbourne once again qualified to compete at the CIS Championships this year. He swam a personal best time of 34.46s in the 50m breaststroke and was placed fifth in this event, which is a fantastic result.

Gabriella Goodridge qualified to compete at this Carnival for the first time this year, for three individual events. She competed in the 50m freestyle, the 50m butterfly and the 100m butterfly in which she finished in fifth, sixth and seventh respectively.

Congratulations to both of these athletes for the dedication that they have to their sport and the intense training programs that they have undertaken which have enabled them to achieve at this high level and to represent the School at such a prestigious event.

Representative Football

Representative Football

Over the past few weeks the top footballers in the School have attended various trials for possible selection in the Combined Districts Secondary Sports Association (CDSSA) football teams. Congratulations to Oskar Beck, Jordan Weizman, Ellie Morris and Ethan De Melo on their successful trial and their selection in these teams.

Oskar and Jordan went on to compete at the Association of Independent Co-educational Schools (AICES) Open Football Championships at Valentine Park on Monday. Both the girls and boys CDSSA teams performed exceptionally well on the day and were very competitive.

Oskar Beck – Year 10

This event also acted as a selection process for the AICES football teams and I congratulate Oskar for being selected in the AICES 16 years boys football team. He will now take part in the CIS Football Championships. Good luck Oskar.

High School Sport

High School sporting events next week

Monday

Morning

Years 7/8 basketball development squad

14s boys basketball training

Afternoon

Pilates

Tennis development squad

Tuesday

All day

AICES 15 years netball championships

Morning

Running group

Junior boys rugby training

Intermediate boys rugby training

Emanuel cross country team training

Lunch

16s and open boys futsal training

Afternoon

Sydney Schools Cup interschool boys basketball competition

Wednesday

Morning

Boys fitness

14s boys futsal training

14s boys basketball training

Gymnastics

Lunch

14s girls futsal training

Afternoon

Open boys basketball competition

Thursday

Morning

Girls fitness

Senior boys rugby training

Lunch

16s and open girls futsal training

Afternoon

Skyzone

Years 9/10 Girls netball competition

Friday

All Day

14s boys and girls NSW schools regional futsal championships

Morning

Swimming squad

16 boys basketball training

Emanuel cross country team training

 Sunday

14 boys basketball competition

16 boys basketball competition

Careers

Macquarie University Careers Advisors Day 2017 

Ms Watson-Browne (Careers Advisor from Masada College), Claire Pech and Kerry Turner (Careers Advisor from Moriah College) amongst the lovely backdrop of Macquarie University.

Last Friday I was out with NSW Careers Advisors at Macquarie University. It was a fantastic day learning about what is new at Macquarie University and what they are doing differently, and visiting such a vibrant campus. For those of you thinking Macquarie University is “so far away”, it only took me 28 minutes driving from Maroubra (in off-peak traffic) and the campus is a stunning, green, vibrant space.

Professor David Wilkinson

We heard about how Sydney is undergoing a transformation. There is an expectation that there will be three to four universities in the next 40 years to cater for the growing population of students.

• $150m has been invested by the State government
• $2.5bn is being invested in the next eight years (an incredible amount!)
• The very big picture:
  • The MPID – Macquarie Park Innovation District – where ideas come together –  Macquarie University wants to make this space for collaboration, new start-ups, jobs, growth and incubators. 
  • Macquarie University has a new pop-up incubator hub for collaboration, including a full program of mentoring, support, advisors and curriculum of innovation which is all free for students.
  • Macquarie University Cyber Security Hub is a $10m investment between Optus and Macquarie University for teaching and up-skilling the Optus workforce. A new Masters of Cyber Security and Cyber Security is being offered.

Faculty of Health Sciences – Future of medical education – Prof Patrick McNeil

Their Health Sciences Centre is the only one in a university that operates its own clinical space, working with a Hospital and Clinical Programs and specialising in:

• Neurosciences, Cardiovascular/Respiratory, Cancer, Surgery, Bone and Joint, Primary Care and Wellbeing, Critical Care and Anaesthetics.

Bachelor of Clinical Science – ATAR of 90 

• This is a multipurpose degree for students interested in becoming a doctor, physiotherapist, medical researcher, and those wanting to help people and are fascinated by human body
• This is a fast-tracked degree with three years of study collapsed into two years by using full academic year
• Students do tests and interviews in preparation for medicine through GAMSAT
• Students gain practical and technical experience and can register for a research stream
• They also offer a Masters of Public Health and Doctor of Physiotherapy
• Macquarie MD is on track for a 2018 entry for postgraduate medicine. It is a full fee-paying four-year degree with 60 students in the cohort. Potential students sit a very competitive admissions examination, based on GAMSAT, and also attend an interview.
• Macquarie has a big research faculty studying Motor Neurone Disease, Dementia, Melanoma and Health Services.

Simulation hub

As Macquarie University is renouned for Psychology we had a fabulous tour of the simulation hub, visiting Car, Flight and 3D Motion simulators, where Medical Science students collaborate with Psychology students to solve problems in an inter-disciplinary fashion.

Flight simulator

Car simulator

Virtual Reality simulator

Cancer Council Biggest Morning Tea student event

Romy Berson – Year 11

On 25 May we will be hosting a Biggest Morning Tea event for the whole school (including Primary). This is a national event that aims to increase awareness about cancer around Australia and raise funds for Cancer Council’s research into prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the disease.

Sadly, many of us  know somebody who has been affected by cancer in one way or another. The most common cancers in Australia are skin, prostate, breast, bowel, melanoma and lung cancer. This amounts to 60% of all cancers diagnosed in Australia.

By supporting this fundraiser, you will be making a huge difference, and helping the Cancer Research team, getting one step closer to finding a cure for this awful disease that many are affected by.

I wanted to initiate this fundraiser, along with Lauren Faul and Ashne Amoils, as I too have had many family members affected by this cruel disease. After having just returned last Friday from March of the Living, and seeing the horrors of what our ancestors went through in Poland, it made me realise how important family is. It is for this reason that my grandmother is my hero as she is a three-time survivor of cancer, and this proves her true strength. I hope that one day research teams will find a treatment to prevent this disease and hopefully one day cure it.

Our goal for this fundraiser is to raise over $500, and we would greatly appreciate your support.

REMINDER: Students will be able to purchase giant choc-chip cookies and vanilla or choc-chip cupcakes for $2.00 – $2.50 at recess. Primary students with dietary requirements must indicate on the form sent to the parents by Mrs Milner and High School students with dietary requirements must email Ashne Amoils (amoils.ashne@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au). We will be selling dietary specific goodies on the day, and we’d like to know an estimate of numbers so that we order enough special ingredients.

Thank you for supporting this initiative.

Lauren Faul, Romy Berson and Ashne Amoils

Staff Biggest Afternoon lunch for Cancer Council

Must Read

From Kornmehl

Terry Aizen – Director of Kornmehl

School readiness

On Tuesday night, we had the privilege of listening to Occupational Therapist, Carla Port, who spoke to her audience of Pre-school parents about school readiness, sensory processing and self-regulation.

Key points from Carla’s talk covered the following areas:

Fine motor skills

Children need to have an established hand-dominance before starting school.

A mixed dominance at this age will impact negatively on:

• Handwriting (letter formations, reversals)
• Reading (scanning from left to right)
• Left/right discrimination
• All bilateral skills (catching, cutting, supporting page when writing, construction toys, tying laces).

Gross motor skills

• To develop bilateral integration for:
  • Crossing the midline to develop a dominant hand
  • All motor planning
  • Ball skills
  • Scissor/pencil tasks
  • Reciprocal arm/leg movements
  • Riding a bicycle
• To develop balance skills in preparation for: hopping, skipping, climbing, galloping and marching.
• Examples of gross-motor activities – completing a puzzle or drawing while lying on their tummy, negotiating stairs with alternating feet, catching a ball and balancing for five to ten seconds. 

Visual motor skills

• To develop visual motor control to be able to: trace, cut, colour in, copy, thread with accuracy
• To be able to copy all shapes, especially diagonal lines (/ \ x) in preparation for early letter and number formation
• Examples of visual motor activities – colouring in, lacing, weaving, stringing beads, peg board patterns, cutting out shapes, copying a design of three steps using cubes, joining up dots, tracing around your own hand and copying shapes or sequences 

Play/social skills and self-care skills

• To develop confidence/self-esteem in their ability to perform or attempt all tasks
• To understand social cues, rules and limitations
• To initiate new friendships and interactions with peers.
• Eating and dressing independently.
  • For school excursions
  • Changing for sport
  • Sleeping at friends
• Examples are dressing and undressing independently, toileting independently, understanding rules of games and being able to participate in games meaningfully, taking turns and sharing.

Cognition is important

• To develop pre-academic skills for reading/writing
• To organise themselves and their belongings.
• To develop visual perceptual skills (especially memory) for:
  • Spelling, reading and writing
• To develop sequencing skills for:
  • Following instructions
  • Early mathematics.

Sensory processing is how we interpret incoming sensory information.

Sensory Processing Disorder is the inefficiency in our central nervous system to process incoming information or stimuli. Difficulties in processing can lead to numerous problems such as disrupted motor co-ordination, sleeping, eating, concentration, learning, behaviour and social/emotional functioning.

Self-regulation is a person’s ability to adjust or control their energy level, emotions, behaviours and attention.

Appropriate self-regulation means adjustment and control is conducted in socially acceptable ways.

Behaviours to look out for include:

• Fidgeting
• Restless/rocking in chair
• Knocking into people/objects
• Difficulty sitting upright during floor time
• ‘On the move’, easily distracted.
• Seeking/avoiding touch
• Wrapping legs around legs of chair
• Aversion to change
• Dislike of music time
• Unpredictable behaviours
• Feeling overwhelmed during outdoor play
• Sucking on clothes or objects.

Important points to remember in preparing your child for school

• Provide your child with spontaneous learning experiences (colours, shapes, how things work)
• Look for opportunities to teach in every day experiences
• Make school exciting – talk positively about school and this new adventure that they are embarking on
• Minimise after-school activities, especially in Term 1
• Make reading, writing and other homework tasks an enjoyable experience
• Give your child positive reinforcement and praise for effort
• Encourage independence (dressing, eating, bathing, packing their bags, putting on school shoes, opening lunch containers and looking after their belongings).

Other points

• It’s OK for children to be bored at times. This allows them to use other parts of their brain as well as their imagination.
• Limit screen time for your children during the week.
• Put your toys at home on rotation. Don’t have them all out at once as this gets overwhelming for children.
• Encourage your children not to sit with their legs in a “W” shape, as this is not good for their knees and hips, but most importantly it weakens their core muscles and postural tone and limits their ability to interact in the environment.
• Children tend to avoid activities they find difficult. Be positive, give them lots of praise and encouragement to build up their confidence to try things that might be challenging for them.
• Teaching your child to breathe deeply is a great strategy for helping them to calm down.
• Early intervention is important to address any issues or concerns.
• Carla also spoke about a steady dose of Vitamin N – saying NO. Children are suffering from over-indulgence and are expecting to get everything for nothing. Children need protection, affection and direction. Children need to hear their parents say NO more often. In the process of trying to protect children from frustration, parents have turned reality upside down. www.prageru.com/referrers/youtube

From the Parents and Friends

Ruby Berkovic and Jennifer Opit

Happy Friday everyone!

By now our Mothers Day Breakfast and Stalls will have finished. We will include photos in next week’s instalment but would like to thank everyone who made today possible.

A special thank you to Biller Property for sponsoring our coffee cart, to Nudie Juices for the juice boxes and of course our wonderful Canteen.

We would also like to thank the wonderful Michelle Stockley and her helpers for running the Gift Stalls. We hope you enjoy your gifts!

A big thank you goes out to all our wonderful volunteers, some of you braving a crazy early start, that helped us make today possible. And finally, thanks to all of you that came out and enjoyed the morning with us.

We wish all the mums and grandmothers in the Emanuel community a very happy Mothers Day for Sunday!

Mums at the Movies

We are really looking forward to our next event on Thursday 25 May. Mums at the Movies is a chance for the Emanuel Community mums and their friends to come together for a catch up and to enjoy a great classic as we will be screening Dirty Dancing. 

There will be a drinks bar with daiquiris donated by Dr Smoothie Australia, popcorn, chocolates and fabulous seat prizes!

There will also be a raffle for a gorgeous diamond necklace from Fine Jewels by Claudia retailing at $2250.

Seating is limited, so book ASAP! 

Details:
When: Thursday 25 May

Movie: Dirty Dancing

Where: Millie Phillips Theatre

Movie Begins: 8 pm (Doors open at 7.15 pm)

Tickets: $20

Raffle Tickets: $20

https://www.trybooking.com/pgjr