2017 JCA Fundraising Campaign

To book please click here:  www.jca.org.au

From the Principal

Anne Hastings – Principal

Mazal tov

On Sunday, the Senior Chamber Choir participated in the Sydney Eisteddfod, in the Youth Chamber Choir U19 section, at The Concourse, Chatswood. We were placed third, in a field of nine choirs. It was a very pleasing result – the first (Fort St High School) and second (Frensham) placed choirs were very deserving of their results.

Our placing means that we’ve automatically qualified for the Choral Championship in a couple of weeks from now. 

Adam Majsay – Director of Studies 7-12

From Positive Parenting by Michael Grose comes the following advice

‘Parenting the in-between years

The in-between ‘tween’ years can be challenging for parents. Here’s five ways for parents to negotiate these years.

Toddlers and teenagers have traditionally been the stages that are most problematic for parents. Toddlers have a bad reputation as their body outgrows their brain, which is testing for a parent’s patience and their ability to manage behaviour. The teen period with its massive physical and emotional changes requires parents to make significant changes to their parenting and communication methods. Personally, this was a stage that tested my communication skills to the limit. It seemed that every conversation with one of my teenage children was like going for a job interview. I had to concentrate on every word I said to make sure there was no misinterpretation or argument.

There’s a third stage that causes stress and anxiety for parents – the tween stage.  This is the age from 8 – 12-year-olds that bridges childhood and adolescence and it often goes under the radar when we talk about stressful developmental stages. 

Tween issues are complex.

The issues that parents face when raising toddlers such as sleep, obstinence, eating and separation worries seem simple compared to the complexities that parents face with tweens including social media, bullying, friendships and puberty.

This is an age when kids are maturing at different speeds, which can impact dramatically on how they see themselves. It seems also that the relationship between girls and their mothers can be strained during this stage, although dads and daughters aren’t immune from testy times either. Boys also have difficulty negotiating this age but they have an innate naivety, which saves them from much of the angst that many girls face.

This is a stage when children need their parents but the shift to puberty and the accompanying social pressures means you may have to shift your parenting gears well before you are ready. Here are five ideas to help you stay connected to your tween.

1. Spend real and close time together

​Most kids are great when you get them one-on-one, but getting the chance to spend some time away from a digital device or screen with a young person today is seriously hard.  But close personal time is how you can talk to your child and provide the support they need during these times of transition. Make the opportunity to spend some idle, chatting time with your tween.

2. Allow them to have two faces

​Many children in the in-between years wear two faces. They have a face for the outside world of their peers and one for home and their family. The outside face maybe a little older, and have more attitude than you’d like, so try to gently manipulate that face into something softer.  Recognise that the tough or older exterior maybe his or her way of coping or gaining acceptance. On the other hand, you may find your tween acts and plays like a young child while at home. Make room for this to happen.  

3. Create the path for greater independence

Many children at this age want more freedom and independence, but they frequently don’t know how to ask for it. Recognise that healthy development at this stage involves expanding their horizons into different areas of endeavour (hobbies, interests, subjects at school) and around their neighbourhood. Set limits, and expect them to stick to them. Give them more responsibility, not less as they move into the tween years. 

4. Explain the changes that are going on

Puberty begins as young as eight for some girls, a little later for boys. It begins before we see any changes to body shape or form. Many children battle their physiology (and their feelings) at this stage, while we parents focus on their psychology (“What’s he trying out now?”) so calmly explain the changes that are going on while teaching them how to manage their emotions. 

5. Remember, it’s not personal

​I haven’t met a parent who doesn’t take the cutting/sarcastic/hurtful remarks that a tween can make personally. That’s why parenting tweens can be hard emotional labour. It can also be a sad time as your child is moving from one stage to the next. In a sense, you give birth twice – to a child first and then again to a teen. The second gestation is longer and in some ways more painful. But life does get better and more bearable with time.

Most parents are raising tweens when they have a lot going on in their own lives. Partners, work, friends and broader family are competing for your attention at the very time when your tween maybe challenging you. If you can simplify your life even just a little during this stage you may find that the some of the stresses of raising a tween start to disappear or at least seem less complex and hard to bear.’

Breakfast with Emanuel

Both of our recent Breakfasts with Emanuel were engaging and positive. Meeting parents in such interesting environments and being able to take a moment or two for a conversation about different aspects of the School make these mornings inspiring starts to any day. We are particularly grateful to our speakers, Kim Slender and Margaret Lowe, who gave their time to enlighten us about student wellbeing, along with our two Head Madrichim, Yael Grunseit and Max Woolf, who spoke about the impact our School has had on their growth as individuals. Sincere thanks also go to Sonia Newell for her organisation of these events, Liz Kollias, Ronen Vexler and Ashley Rockman, who assisted with hosting the events in their work places.

Mazal tov to

• Ethan Cohen (Year 12) for the very successful management of his event, Night of Dangerous Debate, on Wednesday
• Our Year 7 da Vinci Decathlon team who came third in Ideation (from the 70 schools who competed)
• Zev Shteinman (Year 11) for his moving report on Hadi’s story (under ‘Bound and Released’ in this Ma Nishma)
• Romy Berson and Lauren Faul (Year 11), who worked hard to raise money for the Cancer Council for yesterday’s Biggest Morning Tea
• Our staff, who raised over $2000 yesterday for the Cancer Council, in our ‘Biggest Afternoon Lunch’. Many thanks go to Michelle Favero and her team for their wonderful organisation of this event.

Coming up

• Year 11 Tikkun Leil Shavu’ot, Monday 29 May 6 pm overnight
• School closes for Shavu’ot, Tuesday 30 May, 2.50 pm (school buses to pick up students at 3 pm)
• School closed for Shavu’ot, Wednesday 31 May to Friday 2 June inclusive. There will be no Ma Nishma next week, 2 June.
• Music Camp, 5-8 June (8 June at Emanuel School)
• Music Camp Concert, Thursday 8 June, 6 pm, MPH
• Year 10 Subject Selection Evening for Year 11 2018, 14 June, 7 pm
• High School Athletics Carnival, 16 June
• Year 7 2018 Showcase, 19 June, 7 pm
• ‘Legally Blonde’, our High School production, 21, 22, 24 June (see the flyer for booking tickets in this Ma Nishma)

Quote of the week

‘When the world outside appears to have fallen apart, teachers will make sure the world inside remains reassuringly familiar … Being a teacher, being a school leader – these are never easy jobs. Too much of what they do goes unnoticed. Today, quietly and without fanfare, the education profession will have done us proud.’

Best wishes for a restful weekend.

Shabbat Shalom

Important – Parking Restrictions

Two Hour Parking in Ethne Avenue, Randwick

Randwick Council has designated and instituted a residential two hour parking area in Ethne Avenue, off Market Street, Randwick from 8:30am-6:00pm and it will be patrolled.

There is also a new No Stopping sign at the corner of Market and Ethne Streets, Randwick.

Margaret Lowe

Deputy Principal

Bus Times for Tuesday 30 May

Special bus times for 30 May

Please see below School bus special timetable for Tuesday 30 May 2017.

Must-read news and reviews from Primary

Helen Maynard – Director of Studies K-6

Deepening thinking – a parent guide Part 1 by Helen Maynard

The staff at Emanuel School focus on leveraging thinking in their classrooms. They use a variety of strategies, routines and structures to make what is happening in their students’ minds visible. These strategies give us insight into student thinking. It enables us to see the connections students are making, whether or not they can look at issues from different perspectives and reason with evidence.

I thought it pertinent to provide the parent body with some ideas to deepen thinking with your child/ren. It is by no means an exhaustive list but is a starting point. With imagination and creativity you can adapt the initial idea to cater for your child/ren. Next week I will continue with more ideas.

Focus and self-control

Focus and self-control involve paying attention, remembering the rules and thinking flexibly in order to exercise self-control.

Tip for parents:

• Games: Play simple games like Simon Says and I Spy.
• Work puzzles: Solving developmentally appropriate puzzles helps your child focus on different perspectives and patterns simultaneously. For older students you might like to use Sudoku, crosswords, board games and card games such as Set and Skip-Bo.
• Perseverance: Encourage your child to persevere at tasks they may find difficult or challenging.
• Story sharing: Story sharing is a great activity that can be played anywhere – even in the car. One person begins a story with a short sentence and then the other members of the family take turns adding one sentence at a time.

Perspective taking

Perspective involves thinking about what others think and feel, and forms the basis of children understanding their parents’ and teachers’ intentions. 

Tip for parents: 

• Reading to and with your child: Ask your child to think about the perspectives of the characters in their books. Why do they think that person acted a certain way and what must he or she have been thinking or feeling?
• Step inside: Ask your child to step inside the shoes of others such as people on television, in newspaper articles, their lives and those of others.

Communicating

Communication is the skill of determining what you want, expressing this to others and realising how your communications will be understood by others. 

Tip for parents: 

• Make time to chat with your children
• Let them know you are listening
• Engage your children in conversations that extend and elaborate their past experiences by asking ‘wh’ questions: why, what, where or who
• Answer a question with a question
• Use the question: “What makes you say that?”.

Making connections

Making connections is at the core of learning. It is the skill of identifying what is the same and what is different in disparate pieces of information or experiences. Making connections also involves transferring an idea learnt in one area of life to another one. Transferring connections is at the core of creativity. 

Tip for parents:

• Play sorting games with your child
• Discuss similarities and differences such as holidays, situations, news articles and storybooks
• Connect a new idea, concept or word with prior knowledge.

Helen Maynard, Director of Studies, Years K-6 

Year 6 Northern Territory trip

On Monday, the Year 6 students returned from the Northern Territory. During this trip the students had an opportunity to experience elements of Aboriginal life and culture and connected with students at Jilkminggan, a remote Aboriginal school. This year we again are running two trips due to the high demand from Year 6 students. This wonderful experience would not be possible without the incredible work of Natanya Milner and Holly Dillon who have spent considerable time this year planning and preparing for the trips. Thank you also to Hugo Adrian and Karon Rom for accompanying the students on the May trip.

Primary incursions and excursions

Over the last two weeks we had a number of Primary incursions and excursions. These are wonderful opportunities for students to further extend their learning with practical, hands-on and real world activities. Thank you to the classroom teachers for organising these events and to the parents who accompanied the children on the excursions.

• Year 1: Travel Bugs incursion
• Year 3: Aboriginal Cultural Experience Bundeena excursion
• Year 5: Science Day incursion
• Year 4: State Library excursion
• Year 6: Aboriginal Dance Fusion and Virtual Reality incursions

Emanuel Cup Debating competition

Last Friday we hosted the first round of the inaugural Emanuel Cub Debating Competition. This initiative was led by our Year 6 Debating Leaders, Ethan Zines and Jake Newfield. It is an opportunity for Years 5-6 children who are not involved in HICES debating to compete in a social competition at school. A large number of Primary children attended the debate and were inspired by the students who competed. Thank you to Lauren Wigan and to Ethan and Jake for running this competition. Round 2 will take place on Friday 16 June.

ASISSA Cross Country

On Thursday, 75 students competed in ASISSA Cross Country at Queens Park. The younger children completed a 2km race and the older students completed a 3km race. Schools from across the ASISSA association were involved and there were approximately 150 students competing. Thank you to Stuart Taylor, Adam Ezekiel and Sharon Fairfax for accompanying the students to the competition.

Da Vinci Decathlon

On Thursday two teams of Years 5 and 6 students competed in the Da Vinci Decathlon hosted at Knox Grammar. After several weeks of preparation and training, the teams competed against over 1000 students from schools across NSW. They worked collaboratively to solve a myriad of problems throughout the day.

Congratulations to the Year 5 team who came third in Creative Producers and the Year 6 team who came third in General Knolwedge.

The students completed the academic challenges at a very high standard, solving problems from over ten disciplines. Thank you to Helen Maynard and Colleen Elkins for training the teams and accompanying the students on the day.

Chess success 

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

Upcoming dates

• 29 May: YK-12 Shavuot Kabbalat Shabbat
• 29 May: ICAS Science Competition
• 30 May: Erev Shavuot, school closes 2.50 pm
• 31 May – 2 June: School closed
• 5-7 June: Music Camp Naamaroo, students arrive 8.30 am on 5 June and return by 5.30 pm on 7 June
• 8 June: Music Camp at Emanuel School, students arrive 9.30 am
• 8 June: Music Camp Concert, 6.15-7.40 pm Lehrer Family Multi Purpose Hall
• 8 June: Y4-6 before school sport training
• 9 June: JNSW Inter-school Chess competition
• 12 June: Queen’s Birthday Public Holiday, school closed
• 15 June: Y4-6 Before school sport training
• 15 June: CIS Cross Country, Eastern Creek Raceway
• 16 June: Y6 Light incursion
• 16 June: Y2 Our Big Kitchen excursion
• 16 June: Emanuel Cup Debating competition Round 2
• 16 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

Poems and more from Year 4

Sam Levi – Year 4

Poetry

This term the Year 4 students are learning about poetry in English. We are using similes, metaphors, personification, assonance and alliteration to create free verse poems like…

‘Roses are Red,

Term two is blue,

We all have a smile

and you should have one too!’

Here are other examples of some poems we have written:

Lily Besser – Year 4

Our new Teacher, Miss Carroll

At the start of Term 2 our class was introduced to a new teacher, Miss Carroll. Here is what some of the students had to say.

“Miss Carroll is funny and awesome!” Raphael

“On the first day of Term 2 we played fantastic games. It was amazing!” Avalon

Things in our classroom were moved around and when we got back from the holidays it looked very different.

“It was a bit confusing at first, but people soon got the hang of it.” Kaila

 Students are excited about the change and are wondering what will happen next.

 “New teacher, new start. I’m so excited for what Term 2 will bring.” Sarah

Term 2 has been very busy so far. We started playing soccer at 7.10 am at Queen’s Park. It was hard and I was so sleepy, but I soon got used to it. It is exciting to be training so early. In the afternoons we face other teams. I feel very proud of myself at the end of the day because I know that even if we don’t win, I tried my best.

What are they up to in the Primary Library?

Ginette Cameron-Gardner, Teacher Librarian

In the Primary Library is an interesting series ‘Before they were famous’. This is Historical Fiction suitable for readers aged nine and above.

In this exciting series Caroline Corby looks at the early lives of some of history’s more fascinating, charismatic characters –  how they made their mark and became famous historical figures.

One of my favourites is Boudica: The Secrets of the Druids

Boudica started life as a tribesman’s daughter and became the well-known warrior Queen who defied the might of the Roman Empire.

Others in the series are:

Cleopatra: Escape Down the Nile

Pocahontas: The Prophecy of Doom: A Princess Betrayed

Julius Caesar: The Curse of the Gods

Meet Gaius Julius Caesar – the young boy who overcomes a turbulent childhood and grows up to conquer the world.  In Ancient Rome, the young Gaius Julius Caesar sets out to decipher a vestal’s prophecy and restore his family’s name. As Rome descends into civil war, Gaius seeks refuge outside the city walls, and is forced to fend for himself as his family is torn apart. The time will come to face his enemies – and embark on his rise to Rome’s most famous emperor.

NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge update

We have had more students complete the NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge:

Year 1

Saskia Esra                  

Year 2

Gil Banna, Sofia Berkovic, Leon Besser, Samuel (Sam) Carpenter, Maxim Demos, Archie Ernster, Micah Esra, Zac Fraser, Elise Goldberg, Milla Goldberg, Zarah Gorelik, Noah Gottlieb, Leah Joshua, Pablo Magid, Julia Manoy, Jemma Michel, Sanne Nathan, Max Pittorino, Louisa Rodney, Rebecca Salamon, Isaac Shammay, Dana Stiassny, Leah Stiassny and Cyrus Waldner           

Year 3

Jemma Adler, Tehya Miller and Gabriel Pozniak           

Year 4

Aaron Berkowitz and Ashley Cohn                

Year 5

Gabriel Stiassny           

Year 6

Tess Endrey and Lilia Joseph            

‘Being Torah’ from the Head of Jewish Life

Rabbi Daniel Siegel – Head of Jewish Life

Being Torah

This week’s parashah opens with the command to conduct a census of the Israelites now encamped in Midbar Sinai – the wilderness of Sinai. Accordingly, the book is called Numbers in English and Sefer Pekudim (The Book of Counting), in Rabbinic tradition.

The final tally (pekudim) we are told is 603,550. The famous Hasidic Rebbe, Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev (1740–1809) notes that this final count corresponds to the total number of letters in the Torah. As the Torah, tradition maintains, was given at the iconic mountain of this wilderness, one can see the ready connection that the Berditcher Rebbe draws, between the census of the Israelites and the revelation taking place within the same region.

However, a count of the letters in the Torah yields the number 304,805. Levi Yitzckak, though, is concerned with exploring truths rather than recounting facts.

There is a tradition, that when a Sefer Torah is commissioned by a synagogue, each of its members writes a letter in the scroll or sponsors the sofer/scribe to do so on her/his behalf; both practices testifying that our Torah is a communal document reflective of a shared way of life, to which we all contribute.

This Rebbe, however, may be asking us to cull more from his suggestive words. Perhaps, we are all letters of the Torah, its living embodiment. In which case, the Torah has no life outside of us who are called upon to be Torah. The Torah is a ‘Tree of Life’ in terms of its organic nature-the roots, trunk and branches of a tradition that lives through us.

Significantly, the last of the 613 commandments is for each of us to write a Sefer Torah. The Rabbis declare that writing a Sefer Torah constitutes receiving it at Sinai. Beyond the physical act of writing, living Torah by being Torah would make us true scribes of the Sefer Torah. In doing so, we are enacting the Sinaitic revelation through(out) our lives and that of our community.

Like our ancestors, the true census of our people is to be reckoned not by numbers but by the life each of us leads. 

Scholarships, holiness and the Torah

What has a scholarship got to do with it?

The following Devar Torah, was written for and presented by Jessica Lowy and Jacob Rose at the Years 8 and 9 Minyan. 

Jessica Lowy – Year 8

Jacob Rose – Year 8

Jessica: Everyone put up one hand. Now, everyone imagine that Emanuel School is rewarding their best students with a full scholarship. If your hand is still up at the end, you get that scholarship. Now, put your hand down if you are a first-born child in your family. Not only have you missed the scholarship, but you have been expelled from Emanuel. Now, put your hand down if your name starts with a consonant. If you still have your hand up, congratulations. You got the scholarship! Remember this for the end.

Jacob: This week’s parashah, BeMidbar, is the first reading of the book BeMidbar, also called the Book of Numbers. In this Torah portion, two main things happen. First, Moses is instructed by God to count how many people there are over the age of 20. Why? Because these are the people going to war to claim the land of Israel.

Jacob: The second thing that happens in this Torah portion is that the Levites, in place of the first born, were selected to serve God in the Mishkan/Tabernacle. This prompted some commentators to argue that these Israelites lost their holiness because their ancestors participated in creating the golden calf. The Levites, therefore, ended up being the ones engaged in the holy work of the Mishkan and not going to war – this being their service to God.

Jessica: The main question is “why”? To get a better idea, let’s talk about what happened during World War II.

Firstly, prior to the War, the situation in Germany wasn’t going well. There were people starving and the wealth of the country had gone down. Germany, Hitler believed, needed a scapegoat. Unfortunately, Jews were already hated in Germany and Europe. So, Hitler found it quite easy to do what people had been doing for centuries – blame the Jews. Many Germans started to torture and kill the Jews under Hitler’s law.

Jacob: This gave us Jews good reason to hate the Germans at the time. However, do you actually think it makes sense to be angry at the current descendants of those Germans? No. That is because they are different people with different views on life and definitely different morals.

Jessica: Let’s now relate this back to the Parashah and the seemingly unrelated scholarship ‘test’. The first-born Israelites were stripped of their holiness, some say, because of what their ancestors did ages ago. Yet we do not blame the present day Germans for what their ancestors did. You had to put your hand down AND get expelled from Emanuel just because you too were a first-born, perhaps as random as having your name start with a consonant. And, therefore, like your ancestors (who were also first-borns) who made the golden calf, you are being denied. The Torah tells us to not blame people for what their ancestors did and it helps us realise that, unfortunately, sometimes things are just luck-of-the-draw, and it’s how you deal with them that matters.

Is kadosh always kadosh?

This weeks parashah is BeMidbar Sinai, the first Torah reading in the book bearing the same name. In this book, starting with this portion, kedushat sha’ah is a central theme. Kedushat sha’ah is a rabbinic concept meaning ‘temporary holiness’. It is relevant, as this book describes the Israelites journey through the desert, the midbar, after leaving Egypt. This temporary holiness can be found mainly through the tabernacle; a portable tent that is the closest thing the Israelites have to a temple in the desert.

The continuous movement of the Israelites doesn’t allow for proper settlement, stopping them from building a temple. This also means that they don’t have one place in which they sleep, nor a proper structure of their camps where they settle for periods of times. In this Torah portion, God instructs Moses on the way in which the tribes will set their camps and has Moses recording all of the men over the age of 20 in all the tribes, except the Levites, as they become responsible for the tabernacle.

The temporary structures that have been set up for the Israelites during their time in the desert, as well as that kedushat sha’ah that they have, reminds us that many things in life aren’t permanent. Knowing that most things are temporary and will pass can help one have a healthier outlook on life. If you fail a test, argue with a friend or are involved in anything else that may upset you, know that things will mend with time. Focus on good things, because, like kedushat sha’ah, they will not last either. So we need to cherish things as they come our way, rather than dwelling on the past or only thinking of the future.

These instructions from God not only give the Israelites a form of structure for their tribes, but also a role for each person to play in order to help their people. These roles and instructions were set up for Israelites and couldn’t be done by other people, allowing them to feel how important they actually were.

Is it possible for there to be permanent holiness or is holiness by its very nature temporary/transient? What does it mean when someone says His Holiness the Dalai Lama or Aron HaKodesh? Is the Aron ‘kadosh’ without a Sefer Torah? Is the Kotel kadosh? If we don’t say kiddush is shabbat ‘kadosh’? Can shabbat be kadosh if all other days are kadosh? Is kadosh a relative or transient phenomenon?

Michal Wolstein, Year 11

The Jewish census and Shavu’ot similes

Adam Carpenter – Head of Jewish Studies Primary

The Jewish Census

Parashat BeMidbar Numbers 1:1 – 4:20

This week we begin a new book in the Torah, the book of Numbers, in Hebrew called BeMidbar, means ‘In the Wilderness of Sinai’. The book received its name based upon the census discussed in the first parasha. God told Moses to count the entire community of the sons of Israel by counting the names of all males 20 years old and upward. The Levites were not allowed to number themselves among them, as they had a special role attending to the Mishkan (Tabernacle). Each of the descendants of Aaron (Moses’ brother) were anointed as priests (Kohanim),

Family discussion

• What can we do to make ‘everyone count’, or to feel included and valued, in our community?
• Being BaMidbar – in the wilderness or in nature – can be a spiritual experience. Share stories of when you have been in the desert or have experienced nature in a spiritual way. How can nature assist us in our spiritual growth?  

Student similes for Shavu’ot

During Jewish Studies lessons in the lead up to Shavu’ot, we have been asking students to create their own similes comparing the Torah to various aspect of nature, following a much loved tradition of likening the Torah to various foods and elements in nature. The students’ similes have been collected and will be placed onto a sefer, or scroll, that will be displayed as part of our Shavu’ot celebrations on Monday.

Here is a sample of the beautiful Torah similes created by our Primary students.

The Torah is like fire because:

• each word is powerful like a flame
• when people stop believing and studying the Torah, the flame gets blown away
• it ignites us and brings us closer. The Torah is very important because it shines a light that people can follow
• it is always burning and it’s a place for the community to gather around. The Torah gives us life and lights up our world.

The Torah is like water because:

• its words of wisdom wash over me and can cleanse me
• it is like a well… really deep.

The Torah is like a tree because:

• it has many mitzvot and teachings, like the branches and leaves of a tree
• it provides us with shelter and nourishment
• it is as beautiful as trees
• our understanding grows like tree wings
• the Torah is as strong as the roots of a tree.

Shavu’ot –  שבועות

Shavu’ot is called Zman Matan Torateinu, The Time of the Giving of our Torah, and celebrates the giving of the Torah to the Jewish people. We count the 49 days (seven lots of weeks) of the Omer from the second night of Pesach and Shavu’ot falls on the 50^th day. In Biblical times, Shavu’ot also marked the beginning of the new agricultural season and was called Chag HaKatzir, The Harvest Holiday. Shavuot is also known as the Feast of Weeks and Chag HaBikurim, meaning The Holiday of First Fruits.

During the Temple times, Jews made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to bring their first fruits to the Temple on Shavu’ot. After the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, Shavu’ot was linked with the giving of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai to the Jewish people.

Tikkun Leil Shavuot: On Shavu’ot we study Torah and engage in Jewish learning all night. On Monday evening, our Year 11 students will be participating in Tikkun Leil Shavu’ot at school.

Aseret Hadibrot and Megilat Ruth: Reading the Aseret Hadibrot (the 10 Utterances) and the Scroll of Ruth. Ruth was the first convert to Judaism, reflecting our acceptance of the Torah on Shavu’ot.

Decorating with greenery: This custom is based on midrashim that described how the barren mountain burst with plants, spices and roses as the Torah was being given.

Dairy foods: Dairy foods and cheesecake are Shavu’ot favourites. One reason is because an alternative name for Mount Sinai is Har Gav’nunim, the Mountain of Majestic Peaks. The Hebrew word for cheese is gevinah, etymologically related to Har Gav’nunim.

Bound and released

Bound and released by a blessing

In Judaism, prayer seeks to effect change by stimulating us to be agents of the same. Accordingly, while our Year 12 students may engage in the study of specific prayers and their meanings, they also have the opportunity and are encouraged to see prayer as or make prayer a personal call to social activism.

Thus, the daily morning blessing of releasing the bound (matir asurim) has become a call for and is being translated into action by several of our students who are learning about refugees in their prayer elective. Below is a report and reflection of one of the students attending a recent session, who himself visited Villawood and was moved by the need “to stand up for Asylum Seekers”. This refugee was ‘released’ from Villawood, due, in no small part, to the facilitator of this elective, who writes the introduction to Hadi below.

Another student, in this elective, understands that being released from Villawood is only the beginning of a new life. She collected necessary provisions and products for a newborn and visited a refugee released from Villawood, who recently gave birth to her first child, to provide personal support and to present her with this generous assistance. Having first met this woman at the Detention Centre she was moved to help effect the blessing of releasing one who is bound.

Actions such as this, or having a recently released refugee at one’s Shabbat dinner, as related below, puts us on a path of becoming “masters of prayer”.
Rabbi Daniel Siegel

Shira Sebban

Hadi

I first met Hadi in early 2016 when I began visiting asylum seekers at Villawood Immigration Detention Centre as a member of Supporting Asylum Seekers Sydney (SASS), an organisation co-established five years ago by former Emanuel parent and P&F President Anna Buch. I was immediately struck by this polite, softly-spoken man, who was keen to converse on a broad range of subjects from politics to religion. I have been enriched by our friendship and truly admire his courage and resilience and his constant efforts to improve and learn new skills. Since he was released from Villawood earlier this year, he has joined my family for Shabbat dinner several times and was happy to visit Emanuel School to speak with students about his experiences. As he told our students: “You have wonderful opportunities in front of you, but I’m now 42 years old and I still need to work out what to do with my life.”   

Mrs Shira Sebban

Zev Shteinman – Year 11

Hadi visits Emanuel

A man called Hadi recently came to Emanuel to speak with our tefillah group about his life as an Arab Iranian refugee. He was recently released from Villawood Immigration Detention Centre in Western Sydney. His incredible life story, like that of many other refugees, involves oppression, violence and trauma.

He was born in the south west of Iran, near the Iraqi border. His proximity to the border became a serious problem during the Iran Iraq war (1980 – 1988). Hadi’s town was under serious threat of Iraqi rockets and most people in the town fled as soon as possible. Many hours in bomb shelters and hearing rockets exploding was very traumatic for him to endure as a five-year-old.

Hadi, unlike most Iranians, is not Persian; he is an Ahwazi Arab. Being a part of a minority ethnicity in Iran was and still is a dangerous situation for non-Persian Iranians. The Iranian population consists of 63% Persians, 16% Azeris, 10% Kurds, and only 2% Arabs. The Iranian government, as well as many Persians, look down upon Arabs, and Hadi, being an Arab in Iran, experienced severe persecution by the authorities.

Hadi joined a protest about the suffocating oppression against the Arabs – it was a peaceful protest. However, due to the hard-line authorities, Hadi was sent to jail. He was isolated in an extremely small cell where he was interrogated and tortured. I could tell that it was hard for Hadi to talk about his time in this cruel jail.

After months of torture and isolation, Hadi escaped the prison. Living as a fugitive, he hid from the authorities with his family. The authorities became suspicious of Hadi’s family and harassed them to turn him in so it became clear that the only option was for Hadi to leave the country. His family helped him obtain false papers so he could get a flight out of Iran. He flew from Iran to Malaysia, and from there, travelled by boat to Indonesia.

In Indonesia, Hadi paid around $15,000 (the source of which is another story) to earn a spot on a boat heading for Australia. The boat was in extremely bad condition and very overcrowded. During the very long and agonising journey from Indonesia to Australia, the boat was intercepted by the Australian Navy, leading to Hadi being sent to multiple detention centres, including Christmas Island, Darwin Detention Centre and Villawood. Hadi endured and suffered many years in these dreadful detention centres, largely just for seeking asylum.

Unfortunately, in Australia, asylum seekers are punished and imprisoned as if they had committed something like murder, when in fact all they’ve done is seek safety in our country. It’s a great shame that a vast number of people around the world have to suffer from so much oppression and persecution that they need to flee their country. However, it’s an ever greater shame that in Australia, we add to their trauma by sending them to these unfair and harsh detention centres.

Hadi’s story really reiterated the hardship and pain asylum seekers have to deal with, both in their home countries and in Australia’s immigration detention centres. Thank you to Mrs  Sebban who is good friends with Hadi and invited him to come speak with us. I will not forget Hadi’s story and I’ll let it be a reminder of the necessity to stand up for asylum seekers.

Zev Shteinman

Music Camp Information

David Gwilliam – Head of Music

Music Camp

Here are a few reminders for students attending Music Camp from Monday 5 June to Thursday 8 June. This note and a detailed packing list have been emailed to all participants and hard copies are available for collection outside the Music Staffroom. 

The first three days of camp will be held at Naamaroo and the final day will be held at school.

Music Camp 2017 dates for your diary:

Monday 5 June: arrive at Emanuel by 8.30am for departure at 9.00am sharp.

Wednesday 7 June: depart Naamaroo and return to school by 5.30pm.

Thursday 8 June:  camp continues at school from 9.30am sharp.

Thursday 8 June:  Showcase Concert at 6.15pm, concluding by 7.40pm

LOCATION:  Naamaroo Conference Centre, Lady Game Drive, Chatswood, 2067

TRANSPORT: Students will be transported to and from camp on privately chartered buses with seatbelts. Students are required to arrive at School on Monday 5 June by 8.30am as it takes quite a long time to call the roll and board buses. Students who miss the bus will need to be driven to the venue by their parents. Students should wait inside the Waxman Gates on the grass next to the driveway.  If your child is sick on the day, please notify Reception on 8383 7333. On Wednesday 7 June, students will depart for Emanuel School, arriving back on campus by 5.30pm.  Students will wait for parents to collect them inside the Waxman Gate.  Please note that students will not have had any dinner prior to leaving the venue. 

REHEARSAL: On Thursday 8 June, rehearsals will commence at 9.30am and students can either come to school at their normal time and go to class until P2, or they can arrive at school to begin rehearsals in the MPH at 9.30am sharp.  Students will need to bring their lunch and recess as normal on the Thursday.  A BBQ dinner for performers only will be provided prior to the concert.   

MEALS: The campsite will provide a menu in keeping with the School’s kashrut policy. The details of students with specific dietary requirements have been forwarded to the caterers. 

MEDICATION: All required medication should be labelled with the student’s name, dosage and times required. Medication is taken under the supervision of Emanuel staff.  Ms Genna Radnan, our school nurse, will be attending camp.  Medication must be given to Genna on arrival at School on Monday 5 June at 8.30am.

CAMP ATTIRE: School uniform is not required at Music Camp. Be sure to pack warm clothes and wet weather gear.  For the day of rehearsals on campus on Thursday 8 June, please see ‘showcase attire’ in the next section.

MUSIC CAMP SHOWCASE CONCERT: Thursday 8 June, 6.15pm

SHOWCASE ATTIRE: For the Showcase Concert, students need to wear black shoes and black formal trousers/skirt. These clothing items should be worn to school on Thursday 8 June with a top of their choosing. On the evening of the Showcase Concert, students will be given a Music Camp T-shirt to wear for the performance and to keep afterwards.

The Showcase Concert will take place in The Lehrer Family Building (MPH). After the concert, Primary School performers will need to be signed out by supervising staff before collecting their instrument (if applicable) and going home.

Visitors with limited mobility who are planning to attend the Concert should please contact Joanne De Araujo for advice (jdearaujo@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au).

Music Camp Showcase Concert

From the Head of Science

View from the Kleinlehrer Family Science Building

Dear Year 8

I have to say that I really don’t appreciate you leaving me behind the other day. In fact, I feel excluded and if yellow blow-up balls had a union I would be complaining to it, but as we don’t, I am settling for writing an opinion piece in your weekly newsletter instead.

Here I am, a perfectly crafted yellow blow-up ball, exactly the right size and shape to represent the sun in your scale model. I always behave myself and stay blown up long enough to participate in your task, and what is my reward? You leave me at the gate! Every time! I sit here and watch you pace up the street, carefully counting your way up towards Randwick Junction using that scale you worked out before you left. At appropriate moments I see you stop and ingest the planet that pertains to that section of the model, considering the size range from a ‘hundred and thousand’ for Mercury to a chupa chup for Jupiter. You are chattering and laughing and discussing the model and the Solar System with delight – and you have left the central character behind! I don’t think this is acceptable.

To make matters worse, from my position at the gate I can also see Year 7 students roaming the playground with paper and pencil, clearly engrossed in some other interesting Science activity. When they approach, I can hear them animatedly discussing the physical characteristics of the nearby plants – apparently they are developing a key for these plants that will be used by another class later on – they seem quite excited about it all, but do they take any notice of me languishing at their feet? They do not!

Just to add insult to injury, when I am finally retrieved by the Year 8 class and returned to the lab, I have to sit on the front desk, slowly deflating, watching the Year 9 group currently occupying the room making models of atoms from M&Ms and having a marvellous time whilst discussing the benefits and limitations of models in Science and the difference between a physical model (like they are making) and a theoretical model (like the one they are basing their physical model on). I’m sure they could take some time out to notice my predicament, but they do not see the problem and head out when the bell rings, munching on chocolate and ignoring me completely.

I am just glad that Ms Hunter rescues me eventually, just in time for me to avoid the lesson that I can hear beginning in the classroom. I don’t think that I could bear to sit through another Year 10 reproduction and genetics lesson – yellow becomes me much more than red cheeks, and while I agree that it is important that young people get correct scientific information about these things, I am glad that it is not my job to provide it! I will sit back in my dark cupboard for another year, flat as a pancake, waiting for my chance to shine once more.

Rabin Bugle

Dan Bethlehem – Year 10

Hello one and all, welcome to the Rabin Bugle. I am your new ‘Rabin Editor-in-Chief,’ Dan Bethlehem. I am a current Year 10 student and have been a part of Rabin House for the past three and a half years. I will be bringing you all the important information from events and student achievements from Rabin House.

This week there were two events to cover – House assembly and the Biggest Morning Tea fundraiser run by Lauren Faul and Romy Berson.

House assembly

Mitch Lippman and Jake Greenberg attempting to eat jelly with chop sticks

Last week was a truly ground breaking experience. Thanks to the work of our House Captains, Rabinites had to attempt to break a variety of weird and wonderful World Records.

These included:

• How many sticky notes one could attach to one’s face?
• How much jelly you could eat with chopsticks in one minute
• How many times you could pass a basketball through your legs in a minute.

Unfortunately, no records were broken, but a good time was had by all.

Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea

This Thursday, after weeks of announcements building interest, Lauren Faul and Romy Berson made a great showing with their baked goods for the whole school, including chocolate-chip cupcakes and giant cookies. Mazal tov to Lauren, Romy and the whole Emanuel community for raising an incredible amount of money for Cancer Council Australia.

Lauren Faul preparing the cookie mixture

Romy Berson making giant cookies

This marks the conclusion of my first Rabin Bugle article. I hope you enjoyed reading it and I will see you in a fortnight!

Dan Bethlehem

The two faces of Yom Yerushalayim

Yom Yerushalayim by Nathaniel Knoll – Alumnus

Yom Yerushalayim commemorates and celebrates the reunification of Jerusalem during the six day war. This year’s celebration was particularly notable as the 50^th anniversary of the reunification. The streets of West Jerusalem were packed with people dancing, partying and parading. Meanwhile, East Jerusalem has once again been partially evacuated to “protect” the Palestinian citizens from a fringe group of violent extremists who, each year on this day, take it upon themselves to knock on Palestinian doors and scream at the residents about how this is the Jewish city and they should all leave. And this is the milder form of violence committed.

Don’t get me wrong, I think it is wonderful to celebrate the fact that once again the Jewish people have managed to survive a war and retain the state of Israel. However, I think it is very important to recognise the other side of Yom Yerushalayim to realise that, as we celebrate, some of those who live in Israel are mourning, feeling unsafe and tensions arise.

The problem is not only due to the fringe group committing acts of violence towards Palestinians, but also one that is similar in nature to the debate over the date of Australia Day. The main argument against Australia Day being on the 26^th of January is that the chosen day marks the beginning of a long period of violence, oppression and other atrocities towards to Aboriginal community. Similarly, Yom Yerushalayim marks the beginning of a period wherein the West Bank region was no longer part of Jordan, and Palestinian citizens became second-class citizens of Israel with less rights and lower quality of life.

Today I went with my youth movement, Netzer, to join a form of peaceful activism that recognises the duality of Yom Yerushalayim. We gathered flowers tagged with stickers marked “Flowers of Peace” in English, Hebrew and Arabic, and took them to the Jaffa Gate where we handed them out to as many passers-by as we could. The goal of this was to simply spread peace and make people a bit happier. We gave no words except for “would you like a flower for peace?”. I would like to share with you the responses we got. Some individuals came up and asked for flowers. Some of them knew what this was about, others just wanted a flower. Some would thank us and gratefully accept the flowers we offered to them, and some would simply take them and walk on. Some avoided our group entirely. Some said “Peace? I don’t want peace!” and took the flowers to stomp on or refused to take them at all. One individual remarked that “having peace in Israel is like having a soccer game without the soccer”. These mixed responses truly represent the situation in Israel. Some people will happily have peace but won’t work for it. Some will do what they can to achieve peace. Some are entirely impartial and some don’t want peace at all.

This was my Yom Yerushalayim experience in Jerusalem that I wanted to share with the Emanuel Community. I hope that each of you who read this can still happily celebrate Yom Yerushalayim, and I do hope that your Yom Yerushalayim this year was a joyous one. I only ask that as you celebrate, you also acknowledge that there is more to this day, and that we should not just ignore the face of the coin that we don’t like, because that will not change the fact that it is there.

Legally Blonde bookings now open

A room with a view

Sonia Newell – Development Officer

Connecting our community

Thank you to Ronen Vexler and Ashley Rockman at PwC, Barangaroo, for providing the venue for our CBD Breakfast with Emanuel session on Wednesday morning. Sitting in the conference room on the 15^th floor of International Tower One, the view over Darling Harbour was just stunning! The parents who attended this session listened intently to all the presenters, hearing from Anne Hastings about the plans for the new building, whilst Kim Slender spoke about our Mindfulness program for the students. Margaret Lowe acknowledged the tragedy of the terrible Manchester incident the night before, and spoke about how the world has changed so much for our youth in particular, compared to the environment and times in which she and their parents grew up. She talked about some of the societal challenges facing our students and the wellbeing programs on offer for them here in High School. Margaret outlined the Wellbeing Platform at Emanuel School…Chayim tovim – a good life!

C         –          Character                                                        T          –          Tikkun Olam

H         –          Health                                                              O         –          Outlook

A         –          Action                                                              V          –          Values

Y          –          You                                                                  I           –          Immersion

I           –          Inter-connectedness                                       M         –          Mastery           

M         –          Meaning

Our confident Head Madrichim, Yael Grunseit and Max Woolf, ended the session with their views on what Emanuel School has taught them, both in terms of their academic learning and also leadership skills and community responsibility, which they will take with them well beyond their time at school.  

For those who missed the Breakfast with Emanuel sessions, but are interested to know more about Mindfulness, here are the two links Kim Slender recommends:

www.dotbe.org/

https://mindfulnessinschools.org/

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

Careers exhibitions and all-important bonus points

I have emailed all Year 12 students and parents about the HSC and Careers Expo being held at Entertainment Quarter next week over four days. The event is for anyone from Year 10 to Year 12 looking at tertiary study and future careers. I encourage you all to attend. Use the following links to help with your planning: 

The Expo 

www.hscandcareers.com.au/

Exhibitors

www.hscandcareers.com.au/Exhibitors

Map

www.hscandcareers.com.au/venue-map

Seminar timetable

http://hsc.prod.kfsres.1stba.se/Seminars/pdf.pdf

Bonus points

Before the Year 12s had their Half-Yearly Examinations I spoke to them about bonus points. To recap:

Subject bonus points refer to the extra points that a university automatically adds to your original ATAR (not to change your ATAR) but to change your selection rank for University. 

An institution always adds Subject bonus points automatically. The purpose of a university doing this is to encourage Mathematics and Physics students into Engineering by giving them extra points for those subjects, rather then rewarding them for History and Extension English, for example. The Bonus Points links for each university can be found at:

http://emanuelschoolcareers.com/?page=uni-info

Education Access Scheme (EAS) bonus points: Bonus points are awarded based on a case-by-case basis through UAC for students who have had a disadvantage for at least six months in Year 11 and/or Year 12, ranging from refugee status, disabilities, personal illness, disrupted schooling or home-life issues. Students who apply need to understand this system as it is not automatically awarded. 

Details can be found at: www.uac.edu.au/eas/ and www.uac.edu.au/documents/eas/eas-booklet.pdf. Applications open on 1 August. Students and/or parents can discuss their situation with me if they would like more information.

Finally there are extra bonus points that can be awarded based on merit/sports achievement and leadership. They are usually at a very high level and do need to be applied for separately. An example would be the Elite Athlete Program at UNSW: www.futurestudents.unsw.edu.au/bonus-points.

It is always good to do research on the preferred institution to see where bonus points could be awarded, as this may change how you put in your preferences.

Notices

UNSW events
7 June 2017, Scholarships Information Evening. Booking in advance is recommended.

UNSW Law and Business information evening

22 June 2017, 6.00 pm-8.30 pm at UNSW Law, Union Road, UNSW. Years 11 and 12 and their parents are invited to attend a combined information evening.  Register online at:

www.futurestudents.unsw.edu.au/law-business-information-evening

University of Sydney

The Faculty of Engineering and IT is having an information evening on Tuesday 30 May for all Years 11 and 12 students. I recommend this for anyone interested in these subjects, even if the University of Sydney is not your first preference.  Please book below:

www.eventbrite.com.au/e/engineering-and-information-technologies-year-11-12-information-evening-tickets-34059278218

Studying Medicine at University of Sydney

Click on the link or interesting clips about the University’s Postgraduate Medicine facility, http://sydney.edu.au/medicine/study/md/index.php 

The Future of Work
This is a great story about the next generation needing a selection of job skills as opposed to professions. It makes for interesting reading, especially if you have a conservative mindset about the job market and stability.

www.bbc.com/capital/story/20170424-the-next-generation-of-jobs-wont-be-made-up-of-professions?ocid=ww.social.link.linkedin

Careers with STEM

This website is a great resource for anyone interested in pursuing a career in a STEM field. Find out where Mathematics, Science, Engineering, Coding and Health could take you, and learn about possibilities you didn’t know existed.

https://careerswithstem.com/    

Australian STEM video game challenge

To enter, High School students design, create and test a video game that engages with STEM . This year’s theme is Reaction. The challenge runs until Friday 25 August.

www.stemgames.org.au/    

From Kornmehl

Building Aboriginal ways of knowing and being

On Tuesday, we were lucky enough to have Aboriginal artist and designer Graham Tooney visit the Pre-school for three and a half hours. Graham engaged the children in a hands-on, interactive workshop, learning all about Aboriginal culture, traditions and art. He talked to us about the bush and what kind of animals lived there. Suggestions from the children included lizards and snakes.

We learnt that Aboriginal people have ceremonies and faces are painted using ochre which is paint made from the earth. Girls’ faces are painted with spots and boys’ with stripes.

Sticks were rubbed together to make a fire. A boomerang was used in several different ways and these included to hunt for birds, for digging, as a plate and when playing sports to throw and catch.

The coolamon was used to put babies in. Feathers and soft leaves were placed on the bottom for warmth and comfort.

After the talk the three groups engaged in a collaborative art experience. Graham painted a blue circle in the middle and told us that it symbolises that we are all gathered together: “This is our place”.

We are salt water people because we live near the ocean. The people who don’t live near the ocean, are the fresh water people. The dots symbolise us at Kornmehl. It’s about us being in this place: Kornmehl Pre-school.

Each child then painted their hands to make a hand print on the canvas. We’re a community of learners.

What a truly meaningful and authentic experience! We thank Graham for coming in to teach his passion and impart his knowledge to us all.

Yom Yerushalayim

On Wednesday, the Pre-school children built a Kotel out of blocks or cardboard boxes. The children engaged in writing special notes that express peace and kindness for the world and placing them in the cracks in the wall. It was wonderful to see how easily these concepts and ideas come to children and how freely they are able to express themselves.

Baby packs

We are overwhelmed with the generosity of our community in supporting our Baby Pack project. Packs have begun to pour in from near and far and the Pre-school foyer looks like a Baby Pack factory. Families have been more than generous in what they have purchased for the Aboriginal pregnant mums and their babies. What a fantastic gift to give them all! Many thanks to Evelyn Marczak, Zoe Boothman and Samantha Schwartz for helping to sort and pack the Baby Packs this week. Gunawirra has begun to collect the Baby Packs this week and will continue to do so over the next few weeks. Our goal is to collect 1000 Packs. To date we have collected 200, so keep them coming.

Building resilience – part 1

“One of the keystones for me about resilience is that it is very hopeful – that building it is an ongoing process and you’re never too old to learn new tricks.”  Anonymous parent

Life can be challenging and may include many stressful situations. Parents and children can feel overwhelmed by different things at different times like sudden changes, relationship difficulties, serious challenges, hectic schedules, feelings of isolation, discrimination and financial hardships.

Resilience is the ability to steer through serious life challenges and find ways to bounce back and to thrive.

We are born with the capacity for resilience. But resilience is not something we have or don’t have. We work on it throughout our lives and we need to start as early as possible. Parents are the most important people to help build their children’s resilience.

Children learn a lot by watching their parents. When parents cope well with everyday stress, they are showing their children how to do the same.

Why is it important to develop resilience?

Resilience makes a big difference in people’s lives. People who respond to hardships with resilience are:

• healthier and live longer
• happier in their relationships
• more successful in school and work
• less likely to get depressed.

What builds resilience?

Many of the things that support healthy development in young children also help build their resilience, including:

• a secure bond with a caring adult
• relationships with positive role models
• opportunities to learn skills
• opportunities to participate in meaningful activities.

We need both outside supports and inner strengths to build our resilience.

Outside supports include:

• caring relationships
• positive role models in families and communities
• community resources such as community centres, parent-child drop-in centres, faith groups and support programs for children with special needs.

Inner strengths include:

• self-control
• thinking skills
• confidence
• positive outlook
• responsibility and participation.

Outside supports and inner strengths work together to develop our resilience.

Building a close, loving relationship with your children is the most important thing you can do to support their resilience. Children do best when they feel loved, understood and accepted, and are protected from harm. Feeling wanted and loved helps us get through the hard times in life.

Children learn to feel safe and secure through a close attachment with at least one caring person. They also learn that their needs will be met. All of this gives them the confidence to explore their world.

• Caring relationships provide accepting places where children can learn to regulate their:
  • bodies
  • feelings
  • attention
  • thoughts
  • behaviour.

Positive daily interactions with parents teach children how to have caring relationships with other important people in their lives and it makes it easier for them to reach out to others when they need help.

Taken from Building resilience in Young Children – A booklet for parents from birth to six years

www.beststart.org/resources/hlthy_chld_dev/pdf/BSRC_Resilience_English_fnl.pdf

Kornmehl movie night

A reminder to reserve Sunday 18 June for our exciting Kornmehl movie night from 5.00 pm to 7.30 pm in the MPH. Tickets are available by clicking on the link below:

www.trybooking.com/QEWT

Happy Birthday

We wish a very happy birthday to Alfie Berger (5) and our special Educator, Julie Bowman, who both celebrated their birthdays in the past week. We hope you had a special day.

From Parents and Friends

Ruby Berkovic and Jennifer Opit

Comedy for a Cause