From the Principal

Anne Hastings – Principal

From the online news feed, ‘Governance’, comes some advice for parents who post photographs of children on social media, including for their own and other children:

‘Care when you share’

‘During Privacy Awareness Week 2017, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) is encouraging individuals to care about their privacy and to better inform themselves of what will or what might happen to their personal information before they share it online. There is also a concerted drive to educate adults, particularly parents and guardians, regarding how to safely share photographs of their children online or on social media accounts.

In Australia, children under the age of 18 years are not required under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth)(the Act) to give consent to their parents sharing images (personal information) of them online. But the legal position doesn’t mean that parents should disregard their own child’s wishes.

Generally, it is the image that would could be perceived by the child at a later date as being demeaning or embarrassing. Remember the footprint is there forever. If the child is old enough to be asked for consent and can understand what this means, then this could be argued to be part of the issue and part of the solution…

Asking if your child likes the photos of them and whether you can put it up online can be a very quick and respectful conversation. It also sets up a great approach to your kids understanding digital etiquette.

The massive rise in the use of social media platforms (Facebook has been around for 14 years now) and the increasing use of other social media platforms, such as Instagram has resulted in thousands of images of children, usually by their parents/guardians, being uploaded online…

Of greater concern is that many parents do not consider that there is any possible harm associated with posting images of their child on social media sites. However, this article notes that some of the images could result in online bullying issues as the children get older or, worse than that, end up in the galleries of pedophiles.

Schools are forever reminding parents that although they believe that they have a right to take photographs and images of their own children at school, they have no right to take photographs or images of other people’s children and post the images online. This message should be continually reinforced through school policy and cultural convention.’

So, in short, think carefully about what you post on social media in relation to your own children and never post photos of other children online.

Breakfast with Emanuel

The second in this semester’s series of Breakfasts with Emanuel happens next Wednesday, 25 May. There’s still time to book in for this (see the Community Connections page).

Twilight Music Concerts

This week has seen a number of delightful musical events, with performances from a large number of students to appreciative audiences. Congratulations to every student who performed, and to their teachers and tutors for preparing them so well. Many thanks to Danny Burley who organises these events and accompanies so many students.

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 the students’ addresses are correct by matching to the addresses 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 time next year, the 2018 term dates have been posted up on the parent portal, under ‘Calendar’.

Mazal Tov to

All those Emanuel School Striders who participated with their mums and grandmas in the Mothers’ Day Classic on Sunday 14 May
Mr Aron Kleinlehrer on the occasion of his 95^th birthday this week!

Coming up

Year 7 Study Skills Parents and Students evening, Tuesday 23 May, 6 pm
Breakfast with Emanuel, Wednesday 24 May, 7:30 am, PwC Barangaroo
Night of Dangerous Debate, Wednesday 24 May, 6:30 pm, in the Millie Phillips Theatre
Kenya Experience for Year 8 parents, Wednesday 24 May, 6:30 pm MPH
Mums@the Movies, Thursday 25 May, 7:15 pm in The Millie Phillips Theatre
School closes for Shavuot, Tuesday 30 May, 2:50 pm
School closed for Shavuot, Wednesday 31 May to Friday 2 June (inclusive)
Music Camp, 5 – 8 June (8 June at Emanuel School)
Music Camp Concert, Thursday 8 June, 6 pm, MPH

Quote of the week

‘Let us remember: One book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world.’ [Malala Yousafzai]

Best wishes for a happy weekend!

Shabbat Shalom

From the Head of Jewish Life

Rabbi Daniel Segal – Head of Jewish Life

Devar Torah

שבע

Satisfying Seven

BeHar Sinai, the seventh Torah reading from the book of VaYikra, focuses on the number seven – Sheva/שבע.

First, we are told the land is to be granted a Sabbath שבת- ושבתה הארץ שבת:

ובשנה השביעית שבת שבתון יהיה לארץ שבת לה

In the seventh year, the land shall have a Sabbath of Sabbaths, a Sabbath to the Lord.

We are to observe a Sabbatical – the seventh year is one of complete rest for the land.

As the seventh day (יום השביעי) is Shabbat, a day of rest for humanity, so the seventh year (שנה השביעית) is a Sabbath of Sabbaths in which the land, as well, is to experience respite and recovery.

Beyond the seventh day and seventh year is the observance of the Jubilee, following upon seven cycles of seven years.

וספרת לך שבע שבתות שנים שבע שנים שבע פעמים והיו לך ימי שבע שבתות השנים תשע וארבעים שנה והעברת שופר תרועה בחודש השביעי… ביום הכיפורים… וקראתם דרור בארץ לכל יושביה יובל היא

And you shall count seven sabbaths of years, (that is) seven years, seven times, so that the days of the seven sabbaths of years will be 49 years. Upon the seventh month, on the day of Yom Kippur, you shall sound the shofar…proclaiming liberty throughout the land for all its inhabitants, this is the Jubilee.

Upon completion of seven cycles of seven years, being seven sabbatical years, a great restoration of wholeness occurs, slaves and prisoners are released, property seized by creditors reverts to its original owners and families and the land experiences a fullness of rest.

The biblical mandate of the counting of seven times seven, bringing us to the Jubilee year, is reminiscent of the command to count the Omer which we find in the previous parashah (Emor):

וספרתם לכם ממחרת השבת… שבע שבתות תמימות תהיינה עד ממחרת השבת השביעית

And you shall count, from the day following the sabbath, seven complete sabbaths, until the day following the seventh sabbath

After counting forty-nine days of the Omer, Shavuot (שבועות) – being a culmination of and deriving its name from these seven (שבע) weeks, is observed by bringing an offering of new grain to the Temple.

Shabbat, Shemittah (the Sabbatical Year), Yovel (the Jubilee) and Shavu’ot all centre upon the number seven, as do the festivals of Sukkot and Pesach, which we observe for seven days (in Israel).

The import of seven (Sheva – שבע), which is the most significant number within our Jewish tradition, is reflected in another word of the same letters that is also found in our parashah.

ונתתה הארץ פריה ואכלתם לשבע

And the land shall yield its fruit and you shall eat your fill (Sova/שבע)

Seven (Sheva/שבע) constitutes a sense of fullness (Sova/שבע). Thus, Shabbat, the seventh day is holy when its observance makes for rest and a restoration of wholeness – it celebrates a fullness of being. The Sabbatical year extends this fullness of being in application and manifestation. And, as squaring a number renders its ultimate expression, so seven (Sheva/שבע) times seven brings us to the fullest realisation of Sova/שבע. This Jubilee year reinstates a primordial wholeness of being and spirit.

Lest we be consumed by our consumption, the Jewish observance of rest and restoration, every seven days, weeks and years, seeks fulfillment in the spirit of purposeful being and becoming rather than in preoccupation with procurement and production.

As the iPhone 7 ad reads: ‘This is 7’

Below are some examples of the significance of seven in Jewish practice, rituals and belief.

The first verse of the Torah, beginning the description of Creation (which ends with Shabbat, on the seventh day), consists of seven words.
Jericho’s walls fall on the seventh day after seven priests with seven trumpets march around the city seven times
We make seven circuitous processions (hakafot) with the Torah on Simchat Torah
The bride encircles the groom seven times
A bride and groom are feted with seven days of festive meals after their wedding, in which the Sheva Berachot (Seven Blessings), pronounced at the wedding ceremony, are joyously repeated.
When a close relative dies, we sit Shiv’ah, seven days of mourning
On Sukkot, celebrated for seven days, we take-up/shake seven plant products – one Lulav, one Etrog, two willows, and three myrtles
On the seventh day of Sukkot, there is a procession of seven circuits, with these seven plant products, around the Bimah or Sanctuary
The smallest allowable dimension of a Sukkah is seven cubits by seven cubits
The number of Ushpizin/Ushpizot, guests, invited into the Sukkah during the holiday are seven males (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron and David) and seven females (Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Abigail, Huldah and Esther)
Shavu’ot, celebrated after the counting of seven weeks times seven, includes the bringing of bikkurim (first produce) from the seven species of fruit for which the land of Israel is known (Wheat, barley, grapes, pomegranates, figs, olives, and dates)
We conclude our Yom Kippur prayers by proclaiming seven times, “The Lord is God!”

Student Divrei Torah

The following student Divrei Torah were written for and delivered to the Years 8 – 11 Minyanim.

Samara Trenaman – Year 9

The number seven seems to be a theme in the Torah and in Judaism. There are seven days of the week, seven heavens, and cycles of seven years.

This week’s Torah Portion, Parashat BeHar Sinai, talks about the seven year cycles of farming in Israel. Basically, we farm the land for six years, and then stop completely on the seventh year to let the land and the farmers rest. We also cannot sell the food that falls from the trees and grows naturally. It is anyone’s for the taking.

To sustain us through that seventh year, God promises to bestow blessings on us on the sixth year, and the land shall produce enough food to feed us for the next three years. Also, after seven cycles of seven years, there should be a massive Jubilee on the 50^th year. On this year, not only can we not farm and sell, every parcel of land must be returned to its original owner.

So, how is this relevant to us? As students living in the most populated city in Australia, why should we care about farming practices in Israel?

In modern times, the idea of a sabbatical, or long service leave is prevalent in most careers. This extended break is often used to fulfil some kind of goal or develop important skills. This Torah portion teaches us to take a step back, every so often, and look at our life; to take a break and enjoy what we have, instead of always wanting more. It also reminds us that we are visitors on this earth and to treat it with respect and kindness.

Sonia Redman -Year 11

This week’s Torah portion, BeHar Sinai, contains the mitzvah of Shemittah (the obligation, every seven years, for farmers not to work their fields). This time of mandatory rest did not only include the prohibition of farming and production, but also the forgiveness of all existing debts. Also all were commanded to let the poor of the society take freely from the produce of the fields. The parashah also discusses the Jubilee Year, occurring on the 50^th year, when all land and houses in Israel would return to their original owners, and all slaves were released.

But when all the fields in a country are required to lie uncultivated for an entire year, does the nation not face a very real risk of famine? Why would God invent, let alone implement such a radical device? What could the reasons for Shemittah possibly be?

It is clear that the commandments are not practical. Leaving all farms unworked for every seventh year is probably unreasonable (and maybe unethical, in a world still plagued by hunger and poverty), deconstructing property rights would probably have disastrous effects on the global economy, and cancelling all debts every fiftieth year would almost certainly wreak havoc on world markets.

But I don’t believe that this parashah is about the practical implementation of these commandments. It seems, that in a theoretical way, this parashah is encouraging us to focus more on justice and equality, than on profit.

The seventh year of agricultural rest may not be realistic, but does teach important values about the treatment of the land that serves us with the same holy care that we seek to show ourselves once a week. Just as we balance the chaos of the workweek with a day of Shabbat, so we balance the earth’s seven years of producing with a year to rest.

The Jubilee Year, when all land returns to its original owner, makes it inherently impossible to amass a large amount of land. Even though this is impractical, it highlights an overarching principle of equality. It eradicates the arrogance of ownership, the inability to understand that the earth is a gift to us, and not ours to profit from. The Jubilee Year also commands freedom of all existing slaves, making it integrally humanitarian in its essence. It recognises that servitude is a temporary condition, that no matter what dire straits we may face, once in a lifetime we should wipe the slate clean and enable each other to begin afresh.

This parshah, then, is giving us guidelines for an ideal society, a society where people do more than write cheques to organisations which help people in need. The equalising properties of Shemittah is one of the highest levels of tzedakah. Instead of only temporarily alleviating poverty, it changes the understanding of ownership and entitlement within the people, to make them more giving internally rather than promoting an obligatory service to others. Shemittah thus addresses the root problem. The parashah aims to eliminate the core phenomenon of our world – arrogance – a basic selfishness, a tremendous greed, along with a lack of gratitude for what we have been given and with whom we share it. This attitude runs right from the insane denial of climate change to the greed in which we receive, rather than give, to those who are in greater need. The insane notion prevails that somehow one person can be more entitled than another. It all stems from a failure to understand that we are not owners. We are recipients of a great gift, which we are bidden to share, unselfishly, with the rest of humanity.

But even if one doesn’t follow the explicit laws of Shemittah, we can still implement the values that Shemittah teaches. Therefore, the main point of Shemittah is not to follow it literally but to absorb the virtues that it teaches, so that we can take a step back from the march of time, as we do every Shabbat for our own rest and alleviation, and think about how we can achieve fairness, justice and balance for all.

Ma Koreh

Weekly Torah Portion

Parashat BeHar-Bechukotai – Leviticus 25:1 – 27:34

In this week’s double Torah portion, we read about the laws of shemittah – of resting the land and crops every seven years as well as the Jubilee year every 50 years, as a time of release and freedom from debts and servitude. The Torah also describes the positive results that may result from following the teachings of the Torah and the mitzvot, and negative consequences for the people of Israel if they do not follow the laws.

Family discussion:

Why do you think the laws of shemittah, of letting the land rest every seven years, is part of the Torah? How can this concept help us address our many environmental challenges, such as waste and overuse of natural resources?
Are rewards and punishments the same as positive and negative consequences for our choices and actions? Do positive and negative consequences come from our actions themselves or from external sources (like parents, teachers, police etc.)?

Year 4 sharing their Jewish short stories with Year 1

Last term in Jewish Studies, Year 4 learnt about Jewish short stories and how they can be used to teach Jewish values and morals. After reading and hearing a variety of classic and contemporary short stories, students wrote their own Jewish short story. This week they visited Year 1 to read and share their work.

Concept of the Week
Do not destroy – Bal tashchit – בל תשחית

This fundamental environmental concept of not wasting or destroying is found in the Torah (Deuteronomy 20:19) as a Biblical prohibition against cutting down fruit bearing trees during war. The Talmud expands on the concept of bal tashchit to include actions such as breaking vessels, tearing clothes, destroying buildings, clogging wells and wasting food. This ancient prohibition against waste and destruction serves as a reminder of our responsibility towards the environment and future generations. It remains particularly relevant in our modern, consumerist global society, with increasing gaps between rich and poor, environmental degradation and wastage of food and fresh water. Food wastage (the opposite of bikkurim and the valuing of food) will be one of the themes we explore for Shavuot.

To learn more about how Judaism understands and interprets this mitzvah, click on these links:

The ABC is tackling the issue of our own wasteful habits with a new program and website – War on Waste which can be found at:

To learn more about food waste, actions people are taking and what you can do:

www.ozharvest.org/food-saver/

www.lovefoodhatewaste.nsw.gov.au

Limmud Oz 2017

Limmud Oz, the Festival of Jewish Ideas, is happening soon over the June long weekend. Limmud Oz features performances, workshops, talks, panel discussions, international specialists and local experts exploring an array of topics covering Israeli and the Middle East, arts and creativity, Jewish thought, memory and history and society today. There is also a packed Young Limmud and a program for Teens. We hope to see you there!

Limmud Oz Schedule: www.shalom.edu.au/event/limmud-oz-2017/

To book tickets: www.trybooking.com/book/event?eid=275353

What is Limmud all about: www.shalom.edu.au/shalom-programs/limmud/

From the Primary School

Natanya Milner – Head of Primary

Student leadership

At Emanuel, we are committed to student leadership and empowering the children to generate ideas and take steps to see them through to fruition. This is a formal process for our Student Representative Council (SRC) and our Year 6 leadership positions. Thanks to the students involved and their accompanying teachers for all that has been accomplished so far this year.

The SRC has completed a review of the equipment and games available in the playground and has submitted a proposal to update this. The collection and purchasing of new items has begun. Thank you to the SRC, Julia Tritsch and Jenny Udovich for this initiative.

Our Year 6 portfolios are varied and see students as Madrichim, House Captains, K-2 Play leaders, Gross Motor leaders, SRC Executive, Charity and IT leaders as well as student leadership in areas such as Music, Debating, Art, Chess and more. Again, there has been a huge amount of activity and the regular Ma Nishma reports highlight what is being accomplished. This week’s report is from some Madrichim and provides a wonderful insight into how they have used the Leader in Me to assist in their roles. As recently as this week, we participated in an activity organised by the Charity leaders. Monday’s BBQ and plain clothes day raised money for Magen David Adom and was a wonderful success. Thank you to the charity leaders, Karon Rom and Diane Clennar for their efforts to organise this.

The final area I would like to explore is general student leadership. Each and every day, we have students who step up, take initiative and are leaders for good in our classrooms and playgrounds. Thank you to these students for the choices that they make to instill positive values in our School. If your child has a wonderful idea to pursue, can I encourage them to speak to their teachers or to me? We love being able to support innovative ideas that improve our School.

Mothers Day

Many thanks to the P&F, led by Ruby Berkovic and Jen Opit, for the incredible Mothers Day breakfast and stall. I am normally in the Northern Territory at this time and miss this event so it was wonderful to take part in the delicious breakfast. It was so well organised and the room looked beautiful. Thank you to the P&F volunteers for creating the lovely stall that allowed our mothers to all receive such gorgeous gifts on the weekend. I hope all the mothers and grandmothers in our community had a special weekend of celebration.

Northern Territory trip

I have spent this week jealously receiving updates and information from our Year 6 students, parents and teachers in the Northern Territory. It looks like they have had a wonderful time in Litchfield National Park, Katherine and Mataranka so far. They have also spent time in Jilkminggan School, furthering the special connection that exists between Emanuel and Jilkminggan. I look forward to their safe return on Monday night and to hearing more fabulous stories.

Mentoring and talent sharing

Please look at this week’s article by Sophie Poisel. She is our Year 5 Yavneh teacher and innovation leader. Thank you Sophie for creating such a fabulous connection with a mentor from UNSW/CSIRO and I also ask you to consider her request for possible mentorships and partnerships.

Music Concert

Thank you to the Music Department for this week’s beautiful Strings Recital and Twilight Concerts. We are grateful to them for providing such special opportunities for our children to perform for the community. Special thanks goes to Michael Brewer for organising the Strings Recital and Danny Burley for organising the Twilight Concerts. Thanks also to our wonderful team of visiting music tutors who prepared the students for the concerts. Mazal tov to all the children who did such a wonderful job entertaining the audience!

Upcoming dates

23 May: ICAS Digital Technologies
24 May: Yom Yerushalayim celebrations
25 May: No Y4-6 before school sport training
25 May: ASISSA Cross Country, 9.00 am – 2.30 pm Queens Park
25 May: Y5-6 Da Vinci Decathlon, 7.45 – 3.15 pm Knox Grammar
25 May: Mums@the Movies, 7:15 pm The Millie Phillips Theatre
26 May: Y1 Travel Bugs incursion
26 May: Y3 Bundeena excursion
26 May: Y4 NSW State Library excursion
26 May: JNSW Inter-school Chess competition
29 May: K-12 Shavuot Kabbalat Shabbat
29 May: ICAS Science competition
29 May: Erev Shavuot, school closes 2:50pm
31 May – 2 June: Shavuot, school closed
5-7 June: Music Camp, Naamaroo
8 June: Music Camp at Emanuel School
8 June: Y4-6 before school sport training
8 June: Music Camp concert, 6.00-8.00 pm Lehrer Family Multi Purpose Hall
9 June: JNSW Inter-school Chess competition

Term 2 K-2 assembly items

Week 6: 2 June: No assembly – Shavuot
Week 8: 16 June: 2T class item
Week 10: 30 June: YK-2 Music assembly

Primary Leadership

Mr Kleinlehrer’s 95^th birthday

On Monday some of the Madrichim visited Mr Kleinlehrer for his 95^th birthday. We were honoured to be asked to go to his office in Newtown for this special celebration. Mr Kleinlehrer had some family members there and other close friends and colleagues. He was very happy to see us and we were happy to see him. We sang Happy Birthday in English and Hebrew. Mr Kleinlehrer has a lot of energy and always seems optimistic. He loved chatting to us and is very wise. He doesn’t seem like he is 95 year old. Mr Kleinlehrer is a very special member of the Emanuel community. Many of our buildings in the school are named after him.

7 Habits for Year 6 leadership

Every student in Year 6 has the privilege of a leadership role. There are many leadership roles such as Chess, Charity, House Captains, Gross Motor, IT, K-2 Play, Music, Debating, SRC and Madrichim. In these leadership roles, we plan ideas to make the School a better place and be positive leaders of the School. In these leadership positions we use the 7 Habits.

Be Proactive: In your leadership role, you need to really think about the language you model to the younger children. So you need to use positive and proactive language rather than reactive language. We need to remember to be proactive all the time because there are always younger children looking up to us.

Begin With The End In Mind: If you have a leadership project, you can’t leave it to the last minute. You have to know when it is due and what the end result is. Then you can plan backwards from your end in mind.

Put First Things First: We have to organise our time wisely. For example, when we have homework and leadership responsibilities, we have to make the right decision and put our big rocks in first. Then we can enjoy time to relax, like watching TV. But these are the little rocks that fit in around and fill up the gaps in between the big rocks.

Think Win Win: When working in your leadership teams, you can’t always use your own ideas. You need to accept everyone else’s ideas and then work together to join the ideas. Then you can have a win win. If you negotiate together you may come up with an even better idea.

Seek First To Understand, Then Be Understood: When working in your leadership teams, it’s easy to get excited and talk over others. But you need to really listen to the other leaders and understand what they are saying. When leading the younger children, you need to listen to them so that they can have their own opinions and feel heard.

Synergise: In our leadership roles, we need to work together so that we can create really good ideas using all our skills. Someone might be really skilled at using IT but someone else might be really good at speaking in front of others. It’s always better when you work together.

Sharpen The Saw: When we use all these habits correctly in our leadership portfolios we are able to go to Gratitude Day. This is a day to celebrate and thank us for our hard work and commitment as leaders of the school.

Zoe Nebenzahl, Alexis Demos, Tess Endrey, Eden Levit and Jesse Carpenter

STE(A)M Partnerships

Sophie Poisel – Innovation Leader and 5 Yavneh Teacher

STE(A)M partnerships

Interdisciplinary curriculum design, such as STE(A)M, has gained momentum in education as it fosters the development of the key skills our students will need to be successful in the future. We are fortunate to have recently developed a partnership to further support this in the Primary School. The CSIRO SMiS Program connects skilled volunteers with teachers to provide “access to real-world, contemporary experiences that promote understanding of the importance of STEM and inspiring students”.

Last Friday Ned Western joined us at Emanuel in what we hope will be the beginning of a wonderful long-term partnership. Mr Western is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow from the School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering at the University of New South Wales. He spoke to Year 5, describing his pathway to this field. He fascinated the students with stories, images and short clips about his work. Mr Western also took some time to work with some of our students on their projects for the Young Scientist Awards. This involved conversations that ranged from the second law of thermodynamics and energy efficiency to how to ground electricity from lightning. Mr Western is an incredibly valuable resource to have in the classroom. We look forward to welcoming Mr Western back in Week 5 and fostering more partnerships like this with experts in STE(A)M.

Partnerships of this nature offer our students the opportunity for depth and challenge, as they learn from an expert in the field. They also offer our students a window into the practical application of their interest areas, highlighting the possible pathways to talent development, as they make real world connections. We are always interested in exploring opportunities like this. If you are interested in being involved in something like this, or know someone who might be, please contact me via email spoisel@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au.

Da Vinci Decathlon Practice

Da Vinci Decathlon practice

Before school and at lunchtime for the past few weeks the Year 5 and 6 Da Vinci Decathlon teams have been practising for the Academic Da Vinci Decathlon which will be taking place on 25 May at Knox Grammar School. Teams have been practising 10 disciplines: English, Art and Poetry, Mathematics, Code Breaking, Cartography, Philosophy, General Knowledge, Drama, Engineering and Science.

Report by: Jake ‘cubed’ (Fleischer, Newfield and Sharp)

Back row (Testing their General Knowledge): Cap (Jake Sharp), Rory Steinberg. Front row: Miri Stubbs-Goulston, Alice Milner and Sophie Masnick

Back Row (Philosophising): Alice Milner and Sophie Masnick. Front row (Engineering Challenge): Oren Levin-Kahn and Jesse Barrel

Chess

Chess results for Week 2

Primary

Emanuel A	Emanuel B
4	0

Emanuel C	St Spyridon
4	0

High School

Emanuel A	Scots B
3	1

Well done to everyone.

Ms Colleen Elkins

Music Camp

2017 Music Camp T-shirt Design competition

We are pleased to announce the winner of our inaugural Music Camp T-Shirt Design competition. Congratulations to Samara Trenaman in Year 9 (Visual Arts Elective) for her creative and eye-catching design. Samara’s design will be revealed at the Music Camp concert on Thursday 8 June and will also feature as the front cover for our concert program. Well done, Samara!

Further information and packing list for Music Camp

Our participants’ list for Music Camp has been finalised and a detailed information letter with a packing list will be sent out to attendees in due course. If you are unsure whether you have registered or not, please check your name is on the lists on the noticeboard in the Music Department.

Night of Dangerous Debate

Ethan Cohen – Year 12

This is for you, if you feel strongly for or against the rights and security of Israel, or Palestine, or both, or neither. It’s for you if you feel strongly for or against refugees, or euthanasia, or drug decriminalisation, or feminism, gay marriage, or transgenderism. It’s for you if you think we need to fight harder for equality in Australian society, and it’s for you if you think we’ve fought enough already.

The Night of Dangerous Debate will happen next week on 24 May from 6.30 to 8.30 pm in the Millie Phillips Theatre, and all of the above topics will be debated by a panel that includes a far-right Christian nationalist, a far-left Socialist Zionist, law students, philosophers, and high-profile members of both Labor and Liberal parties. Students in Year 9 and above are encouraged to attend, and are welcome to bring family and friends as well. If you hold strong political beliefs, you won’t want to miss it. If you don’t, you should come for an opportunity to learn about the world and experience a very wide range of opinions. Feel free to contact me at cohen.ethan@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au if you have any questions. See you there.

Year 9 Elective Drama

The Seven Stages of Grieving

On Tuesday, Years 9, 10 and 11 Elective Drama students went to the Sydney Opera House to see Enoch and Mailman’s play, The 7 Stages of Grieving. The play explored Aboriginal history, the colonisation of Australia, and how the Aboriginals were treated. Chenoa Deemal’s portrayal of the Aboriginal woman was phenomenal, as she herself has an Aboriginal background. All Year 9 Elective Drama students study the play this term and explore the techniques throughout the play. Overall, the play was an eye-opening experience which we all enjoyed and recommend to others. Thank you Ms Bauer and Mr Peacock for taking us on this amazing excursion.

Gabi Amoils and Rachel Jammy

Rashi Times

Hey Rashi, Eden Sadra and Liv (Olyvea) here.

This Monday a wonderful initiative took place in honour of the Cancer Foundation to raise money for further cancer research. In 2017, it is estimated that 134,174 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in Australia. It is a disease that affects almost everyone nowadays, whether it be a partner, a family member or a friend who’s been through the traumatic experience. Through a classic Emanuel-styled barbeque and mufti day I’m sure we raised an impressive amount that will hopefully contribute to finding cures and saving the lives of future cancer sufferers.

Two weeks ago twenty of the Year 10 students embarked on their practice journey for the Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award. The students involved in the journey paddled 20 km over three days along the Shoalhaven river from Bendeela Recreation area to Tallowa Dam.

Ella Springer – Year 10

Duke of Edinburgh’s Silver Award

When we first went on the water (after the long drive up) everyone found it a challenge to work with each other in the canoes, to avoid zigzagging, which inevitably ended up in many collisions. However, eventually we got the hang of it, and the first day went by very quickly, with the help of constant snacking on muesli bars and the off-key singing of various songs. We were very happy to finally arrive at camp, but were greeted by the frightening drop toilets and funnel web spiders! On the second day we got to test out our canoeing abilities by weaving through the mysterious waters of the ‘Dead Forest’, and Liv Akres and Rachel Jammy were lucky enough to test the waters, when their canoe tipped over.

Each night we collected firewood to keep our own campfire blazing, as we reflected on our adventures from the day, after we had used our outdoor skills to carefully craft delicious meals. The trip helped us bond as a group, whilst in an engaging outdoor learning environment, developing invaluable tools such as teamwork, determination and organisation. We all had such an exciting time. Thank you Mr Francis for organising this amazing opportunity. I strongly encourage the younger years to consider taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.

Cut for Cancer

Another fundraiser coming up at Emanuel is the annual Cut for Cancer fundraiser which both Eden and I participated in last year. If you haven’t thought about doing the cut we both highly recommend that you consider it as all the money raised goes to a very worthy cause. Your hair is also included in the making of wigs for strong women who are going through Chemotherapy and have lost their hair.

If you would like to donate with the group of amazing people who are cutting their hair to raise money please check out the link below:

https://secure.cancercouncilfundraising.org.au/registrant/TeamFundraisingPage.aspx?teamID=100686&langPref=en-CA

That’s it from us this week, have a great weekend.

Liv and Eden signing off

High School Sport

High School sporting events

Monday

All day

CIS 16s football championships

Morning

Years 7/8 basketball development squad
14s boys basketball training

Afternoon

Pilates
Tennis development squad

Tuesday

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 inter-school boys basketball competition
Sydney Schools Cup inter-school girls basketball competition

Wednesday

All Day

AICES open boys rugby championships

Morning

Boys fitness
14s boys basketball training
Gymnastics

Afternoon

Open boys basketball competition

Thursday

All day

Open boys and girls NSW Schools regional futsal championships

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

16s boys and girls NSW Schools regional futsal championships

Morning

Swimming squad
16 boys basketball training
Emanuel cross country team training

Legally Blonde

Careers

Claire Pech – Careers Advisor

As we have just had Mothers Day I felt it pertinent to bring the subject of women and careers together. This is a topic that I am interested in and a few years ago, whilst doing some postgraduate studies in careers, I did a research piece on the effect that motherhood has upon a career.

Having looked at a variety of countries that share certain similarities, both economically and from a careers perspective, there developed one universal theme. Looking at the Netherlands (which seemed to have the best balance for genders in the work force), the UK, Ireland, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand and certain parts of Scandinavia, there was a central conclusion to the data. Firstly, the data did show (to no-one’s surprise) that having children has a hugely negative impact on a woman’s career.

Her job opportunities shorten, her salary can shrink, she at times can face discrimination, can be overlooked for promotions, can be awarded less perks and not to mention the pay discrepancy. But the conclusion in dissecting this data was the fact that it was not motherhood per se that caused these negative effects towards her career. It was the propensity for mothers to be more prevalent in part-time work that resulted in these negative implications for her career. When women went from being a full-time employee in the workforce (from all levels) to a part-time employee, a whole bunch of natural effects took place.

If a woman at the age of 35 went back to her career on a part-time basis (not having become a mother), she would also face the same negativities in her experiences. It doesn’t take much to deduce why mothers opt for part-time work, but there is a financial and career pay off for this not to mention a big drop in superannuation earnings. I think this is something that women need to be aware of before they get to that stage in their careers, so that equality in home and career spheres can take precedence.

And now for some women-only-careers events:

Capital W – Women in Business Workshop

Friday, 25 August 9.00 am to 2.00 pm at 1 O’Connell Street, Sydney NSW 2000

This workshop is for Year 11 or 12 female High School students planning a career in business. You will have the chance to chat in person with some of Capital W’s esteemed sponsors, which include: Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Citibank, Commonwealth Bank, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, EY, Goldman Sachs, Macquarie Group, Morgan Stanley, UBS, Westpac Institutional Bank and Woolworths Limited.

The workshop will also explore the different career opportunities available after completing a business degree at UNSW Business School.

www.futurestudents.unsw.edu.au/capital-w-women-business-workshop

Women in STEM

This explores the careers of women STEM leaders who are at the forefront of the industry. The program explores six dynamic female role models and their individual career journeys with companies on the cutting-edge of technological innovation in Australia.

https://dayofstem.com.au/wis.html

Women in Leadership Australia

www.wla.edu.au/

Women in events and how to boost your career

www.eventmanagerblog.com/women-boost-their-events-career

Connecting our Community

Sonia Newell – Development Officer

What an amazing school

On Wednesday morning we held our Bondi Junction Breakfast with Emanuel, attended by over 20 parents. A huge thank you to Liz Kollias, Director of The Little Space, for providing the venue for this event. Following a light breakfast the audience heard an update from Anne Hastings about the new building, followed by a most enlightening presentation from Kim Slender, our School Counsellor, about our .b mindfulness program. Margaret Lowe, Deputy Principal then spoke about the wellbeing programs in High School and finally Max Woolf and Yael Grunseit, our Head Madrichim, spoke about what they have gained and learned from being at Emanuel School. The audience was mesmerised by these eloquent speakers – what a great forum at which to hear about some of the amazing things happening at school, as well as the opportunity to meet and chat with other parents.

On Wednesday 24 May we have our second Breakfast with Emanuel session for this term, in the CBD, at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). If you missed the Bondi Junction session and would like to hear these inspiring presentations but have not registered for next week’s session as yet, please send your RSVP now to: snewell@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au

If you are looking for somewhere local to hold a seminar or conference or to have casual office space, The Little Space is the perfect venue: www.thelittlespace.com.au

Don’t forget that if you have any news you would like to share with our School Community, please send it to: snewell@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au

2018 Kenya Expedition Evening

Information evening for current Year 8 parents

Striding out together

Michelle Favero – Marketing and Communications Manager

Striding out together

On Sunday, a group of eager Emanuel kids, their mums, grandmothers and fathers stepped out in their Emanuel Striders t-shirts to walk or run the Mothers Day Classic. Every year our team, co-ordinated by the Gesher committee, gets larger and the fun factor increases in proportion. The children run ahead, then turn back to their mums, only to sprint ahead again, bouncing around like Tigger. The older kids pretend to be a touch bored, but the smiles soon appear as the atmosphere of the day does its magic spell.

Emanuel parent Natasha Nesher had a wonderful and meaningful day out. “I had a lovely walk with my daughters and could not think of a better way to have spent my Mothers Day morning than by honouring my mother who is a breast cancer survivor of nine years.

“My husband Jonathan, who is an avid marathon runner, ran the 8km race and came third! We are so proud. Thank you for making us feel a part of the Emanuel School family.”

Kudos to all the Emanuel School Striders and to Jonathan for his great achievement.

Thanks to all those who sponsored our team. We raised over $700, which will help the National Breast Cancer Foundation to continue their invaluable work.

Kornmehl

Mothers Day

We celebrated Mothers Day on Monday morning with a special breakfast for all our wonderful mums, grandmas and special friends. The children were excited to have breakfast at Pre-school with their guests. The rooms were all set with a variety of activities to delight all the senses. In the Dream room we had back and hand massages while listening to quiet music and smelling the scents from essential oils and candles. In the Seashells room, we had threading beads to make a necklace or bracelet as well as decorating doilies and winding wool around sticks. In the main activity room was a delicious breakfast and painting a portrait of our Mums at the easel, together with straw and dough constructions and collage.

Everyone was busy and having lots of fun!

Many thanks to our wonderful dads who came in at 7.30 am to help prepare the breakfast – Elan Miller, Danny Stein, Omer Ingber, Jason Goldstein and Kevin Jacobson. Your help was very much appreciated.

Many thanks also to Sam Butt, Deborah Laurence and Naama Merritt for helping to bake delicious muffins and crunchie biscuits on Friday.

Lag B’Omer

On Tuesday morning, we celebrated Lag B’omer in the Kornmehl car park with a bonfire. We all sat around the fire, singing songs and eating baked potatoes and roasted marshmallows.

This was a very special and authentic time for everyone to understand the meaning of this special day.

A note about play

“Perhaps play would be more respected if we called it something like ‘self-motivated practice of life skills,’ but that would remove the light-heartedness from it and thereby reduce its effectiveness. So, we are stuck with the paradox. We must accept play’s triviality in order to realise its profundity”. Peter Gray, Free to Learn

Play is self-chosen. Children were born to play. They love to play. They will play all day if they’re allowed. If you have to coax them into doing something, then it’s not play. Play never feels like work or an obligation. Play is enjoyable, fun and has no agenda. Play is not the purpose of meeting adult goals. Play is inherently valuable. All play is learning, no matter what it is, whether you can clearly see the skills being mastered or not. There is no hierarchy of play. Play is unstructured. In play, children make the rules. They decide how long they play for and what direction their play takes. Children should feel free to play and use what is available, however they like, with no expectations. There’s a lot of work involved in play — problem solving, skill building, and overcoming physical and mental challenges going on behind the scenes.

There are many different types of play: solitary play, risky play, sensory play, parallel play, dramatic play, rough and tumble play, constructive play, active play, and co-operative play. Play builds the imagination, promotes social skills, advances physical development and helps children work through emotions.

There are seven basic characteristics of play:

voluntary – something children choose to do, but other children can be invited to join in
pleasurable – a deep sense of enjoyment, which will vary from child to child
symbolic – usually includes some type of make-believe or pretend and objects assume new meanings and purpose for the player/s
meaningful – to the player/s, but the meaning may not always be clear to an observer
active – requires active mental, verbal or physical engagement with people, objects or ideas
process-oriented – it’s enjoyed for the activity itself and is not concerned with an end product
intrinsically-motivated – it is its own reward.

“It is a happy talent to know how to play.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

From the Parents and Friends

Ruby Berkovic and Jennifer Opit

Hi everyone

This term is going by quickly! Less than one week to go until our Mums at the Movies Night! Be sure to book quickly so you don’t miss out:

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 catch up and enjoy a great classic – 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 7.15pm)

Tickets: $20

Raffle Tickets: $20

www.trybooking.com/pgjr