From the Principal

Anne Hastings – Principal

This week at Emanuel School

In a short week our students had opportunities to be involved in a wide range of activities, along with their usual subject lessons. On Tuesday our basketballers played in the CDSSA Basketball Gala Day at Bankstown and the HICES Debating teams travelled to Thomas Hassall High School for their Round 4 debates. On Wednesday Year 11 Studies of Religion students participated in Interfaith at St Paul’s Manly, Year 10 Art students were engaged by Ellie Faktor, Guest Artist, Year 12 students had their usual morning careers talk and our students in the cast of ‘Legally Blonde’ had a full dress rehearsal.

On Thursday ‘Legally Blonde’ students had a second day of dress rehearsals and are ready for their opening night next week, for which we are eagerly awaiting. Samara Trenaman competed in the CIS Cross Country Carnival at Eastern Creek Raceway, Years 9 and 11 Jewish Studies students had the privilege to hear from Rabbi Greenberg, an amazing speaker who had presented at Limmud Oz, and students had a non-uniform day to raise funds for Brain Cancer.

Today saw the students at school ablaze in their House colours to compete in the annual Athletics Carnival and a few students competed in the UNSW Programming Comp in the afternoon.

Some might ask “When do they do their academic learning with so many other opportunities?” While these days seem like they are packed with events and activities, the opportunities relate to specific groups in the School and so do not often impact the same students. Many of the events are incorporated into the curriculum and happen during class time. All of the events present wonderful learning opportunities and reinforce for the students that they are learning all their lives, both within and outside the classroom.

The next two weeks will continue to be busy, with the Opening night of our High School Production, ‘Legally Blonde’ on Wednesday 21 June and a further 3 performances in the following days. We will also introduce at Assembly all of the Year 11 students who are putting themselves forward for a leadership role for the next year. Voting opens for student leadership positions next Tuesday and we hope to be able to announce the new team before the end of the term.

Reports

Teachers have been working on formal academic reports for each student. We will be sending emails with links to the reports in the next two weeks, beginning with Year 11 reports, which were sent today. Please read the reports carefully with your son/daughter and help them take careful note of their teachers’ suggestions for improvement so they can develop an action plan for Terms 3 and 4.

Staff news

Lior Misrachi

Our much-appreciated Lior (teacher of Hebrew in Primary and High School) will move with her family to Israel at the end of this term. We will be very sorry to see her leave us, but are also excited for her and her family that they are realising their dream of living in Israel.

We are very pleased to announce that we have secured an excellent teacher to replace Lior. Oren Thaler is an experienced and well-qualified teacher who has been teaching Hebrew at Moriah recently, having moved out from Israel 18 months ago. He will begin teaching Hebrew here at the beginning of Term 3, having had time for a handover from Lior to assist a smooth transition of Hebrew teacher for the students.

Mazal Tov to

• The Junior Boys Basketball Team 1, Ariel Odes, Matthew Bozic, Ethan De Melo, Zac Greenberg, Aaron Lemberg, Jonathan Sebban, Ben Shapiro and Jesse Waller, who won their Grand Final at the CDSSA Gala Day 
• The Junior Girls Basketball team who also qualified through to the final, going down to Galstaun College 8-18. Best and Fairest were Gabriella Goodridge and Isabella Shulz.
• The Seniors, Opens and both Middles HICES Debating teams who won their Round 4 debates this week.

Coming up

• Year 7 2018 Showcase, Monday 19 June, 7 pm
• High School Leadership (2017 – 2018) Assembly, Tuesday 20 June
• Leadership (Madrichim, House Captains, SRC representatives) voting opens
• ‘Legally Blonde’, our High School production, 21, 22, 24, 25 June
• Years 7 – 8 Art Exhibition, 21 June 4 – 5:30 pm, Angles Leadership and Learning Centre
• Years 9 – 11 Art Camp, 26 – 27 June
• East Timor Film night, Thursday 29 June, 6:30 pm, Millie Phillips Theatre
• Last day of Term 2, Friday 30 June
• First day of Term 3 for students, 18 July

Quote of the week
‘If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader’. [John Quincy Adams]

 
Best wishes for a relaxing weekend.

Shabbat Shalom

From the Head of Jewish Life

Rabbi Daniel Siegel

Aliyah with conviction

A central word in this week’s parashah, sehlakh lekha, is ,עלה go up/ascend – the root letters for the word/עליה Aliyah-going up, immigrating to Israel.

As they approach the Land of Israel, Moshe sends out chieftains for each tribe to scout the Land- –עלו זה בנגב ועליתם את ההר – “Go up to the arid land (negev) and then go up into the hill country”. We then read: ויעלו ויתורו את הארץ – “And, they went up and scouted the land”.

When the scouts returned with a report that demoralises the people, indicating the Land is beyond their ability to possess, Calev, the scout from the tribe of Judah, responds with conviction: עלה נעלה כי יכול נוכל לה – “Let us, indeed, go up, for we, indeed, are capable”. The other scouts repeat with resignation: לא נוכל לעלות “We are not capable of going up”.

In contrast to the scouts and the people who now, once again, ask to return to Mitsrayim  (the narrow place)/Egypt, Calev is described as “My servant who is imbued with a different spirit”. We learn that Calev will enter the Land, while the people, who, essentially, never left Mitsrayim/Egypt, will perish in the desert. 

The people are very “mournful” and then begin to go up toward the hill country-ויעלו אל ראש ההר They declare – הננו ועלינו אל המקום אשר אמר ה’ חטאנו “We are prepared to go up to the place of which the Lord has spoken, for we were wrong”. Remarkably, and perhaps unexpectedly, Moshe responds: אל תעלו “Do not go up, for God is not in your midst and you will be routed”.

One commentator’s reading of the words of the Israelites, regarding their sudden preparedness to “go up”, explains Moshe’s admonition: “We are prepared to go up to the place, for God has spoken that we are wrong”. This was not the aliyah of conviction demonstrated by Calev. There is no true turn about; they will “go up” to reverse the punishment, for it was God, not they themselves, who deemed them to be wrong. Devoid of real commitment, as expressed by Moshe’s words “God is not in your midst”, they remain a dispirited, and therefore doomed, people.

The opening words of this parashah, calling for aliyah, are shelakh lekhah – understood, literally, as ‘send yourself’. Aliyah requires motivation from within. It is not by accident that the very last word of the canonised bible in our Jewish tradition is ויעל ‘Go up’, connected with the following sentiment, serving as the closing statement of the Tanakh, “Whosoever there is among you of all His people – the LORD his God be with him – let him go up”.

Ma Koreh – Scouting the Land of Israel

Weekly Torah Portion

Parashat Shlach Leckha Numbers 13:1 – 15:41

This week we read the famous story of the 12 scouts, sent my Moshe to survey the Land of Israel and report back to Moses and the people. When they return, only Yehoshua and Calev bring back positive reports. The other 10 share stories of an inhospitable land inhabited by powerful people. The Israelites listen to the negative reports and turn against God and Moshe, wanting to go back to Egypt. God views the Israelites’ response negatively and Moshe intercedes on their behalf. The consequence for the lack of trust shown by the Israelites is to wander for 40 years in the wilderness, until a new generation is born and is ready to enter the Land of Israel, free from the baggage of a life of slavery in Egypt.

Family discussion:

• All 12 scouts SAW the same land and area, but they PERCEIVED it differently. How can our mindset and mood impact how we perceive situations?
• What can we tell ourselves to help us perceive situations in a positive manner?

Websites of interest:

Watch how an Israeli typographer creates a new typeface that combines Hebrew and Arabic: www.tabletmag.com/scroll/236938/this-typeface-combines-hebrew-and-arabic-equally

Limmud Oz connection: Hagai M Segal is a leading authority on geopolitical issues, strategic risk, the Middle East and counter-terrorism. Hagai gave several fascinating presentations at Limmud. Follow the link to read some of his articles and watch one of his talks. www.hagaisegal.com

Primary News – Mindfulness and the Archies

Emma Clemens – Deputy Head of Primary

Paws b Mindfulness

Earlier in the term I wrote about the Paws b Mindfulness course that is currently being taught to Year 2 students. Mindfulness has significant benefits for emotional wellbeing, mental health, ability to learn and physical health. “Mindfulness is about being fully awake in our lives. It is about perceiving the exquisite vividness of each moment” (John Kabat-Zinn). It also enables children and adults to think more clearly, perform at a higher capacity and feel less anxious or depressed. The title ‘Paws b’ comes from the idea that our mind can often act like a puppy. Therefore, training our attention is like training a puppy.

During the Paws b Mindfulness course, students are taught about ‘Team Brain’ made up of the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, amygdala and insula. Learning about the anatomy and functions of the brain is foundational to the course. The philosophy is that by understanding the roles and functions of different parts of the brain, students are better equipped to deregulate in times of stress and to make good decisions. Students learn that their brain is an organ which is inside their head, but their mind is where they focus their attention. This can be anywhere outside of of the body. They have the power to change and train their brain to be more effective and efficient – this is called neuroplasticity. 

Firstly students learn that the ‘Team Leader’ of the brain is the prefrontal cortex. This helps us to concentrate, make good choices and therefore be our best. Next students learn that the hippocampus helps us to make memories by connecting old and new experiences. Students learn about the insula, which helps us recognise our body state as well as interpret the emotions and thoughts of others. The insula is the part of the brain that helps us recognise when we are feeling wobbly. The insula works with the prefrontal cortex to notice the wobbly feeling and then make decisions about how to manage these emotions. Finally students learn that the amygdala is the oldest part of the brain and was designed to help us to survive and react to situations that are a matter of life and death. The amygdala responds with fight, flight or freeze. It doesn’t think, it just reacts. This is an important protective mechanism in a dangerous situation or time of crisis. However, sometimes the amygdala begins to fire a fight, flight or freeze response but you are not necessarily experiencing imminent danger. Mindfulness helps us to take a minute to pause and choose a good response.

I often use this scientific language when working with children, particularly when navigating difficult social and emotional scenarios. If a child comes to me distressed I might say to them: “I think your amygdala is firing, are you in fight, flight or freeze?”. Then I will say: “It’s going to be difficult to have a conversation or make a good decision whilst your prefrontal cortex isn’t able to think. Why don’t you take ten minutes of time out to calm down so that your amygdala stops responding and your prefrontal cortex is ready to concentrate”.

In future Ma Nishma articles I will summarise the concepts of our storytelling mind and learning to grow happiness. I will also outline some of the breathing meditations that we teach the students that they can use to manage their emotions, deregulate and make mindful choices.

Congratulations

Recently Timmy Simon in Year 5 entered the Write for Fun competition. This short story and poetry competition was held throughout Australia and had over 10 000 entries. Timmy submitted a poem entitled All About Me. He was selected as a finalist and will have his poem published in the Spread The Word edition of Write For Fun. Congratulations to Timmy for such a wonderful result.

Tennis champions

Over the long weekend, Aaron Khedoori and Jesse Gothelf entered the Queen’s Birthday Junior Gold Tennis Tournament in Wollongong. Both boys competed in the Under 12 Boys Singles competition and played extremely well. Jesse was the winner of the Consolation Main Draw competition and Aaron was the winner of the Consolation Qualifying Competition. Well done boys on such a wonderful outcome in such a competitive tournament!

HICES debating

On Wednesday the Emanuel A debating team competed against the Emanuel B debating team at the HICES competition. The topic was ‘That greyhound racing should be banned’. The Emanuel A team was affirmative and Emanuel B team was negative. The debate was extremely close and the adjudicator said she struggled to find any flaws in their presentation skills, rebuttals and content. The debate came down to one argument – that a sudden ban doesn’t make an issue disappear. A sudden ban would result in a ‘black market’ type competition where it becomes even more inhumane and unregulated. Therefore, the Emanuel B team came away with the win and remain undefeated. Congratulations Ethan Zines, Maayan Granot, Eden Levit, Jasper Selinger, Miriam Stubbs-Goulston, Alix Cane, Jake Newfield and Oren Levin-Kahn who took part in the debate. Thank you to Sienna Poswell for being the chairperson and Connor Mezei for being the timekeeper. Thank you to Lauren Wigan for coaching the teams and for her ongoing enthusiasm and support throughout the debating season. 

Chess success

Last Friday afternoon three of the Primary School chess teams competed in the JNSW Chess Competition. The Emanuel A team competed against Coogee Boys Prep A team and won 4-0. The Emanuel A team also competed against Coogee Boys Prep B team and won 4-0. The Emanuel B team competed against Coogee Boys Prep B team and tied 2-2. The Emanuel C Team competed against Claremont College and tied 2-2. Congratulations to the students who competed and thank you to Michael Todd for his coaching expertise and to Colleen Elkins for supporting the team.

Emanuel Archie’s competition

Emanuel’s Archie’s Portrait competition is an opportunity for all students to both get involved in art within the school and showcase their creative talents. This year’s exhibition was the first to include both High School and Primary works, giving us a wide variety of artistic styles ranging throughout all age groups.

To choose winners Ron Ramsey, the Executive Director, Art Gallery Society of NSW, helped us judge. There will also be a prize given for the People’s Choice, voted by the students of the School, which will be similarly awarded.

Being able to organise and set up this exhibition has been an enjoyable experience and one which I hope Emanuel School continues to hold each year. It has always been great to see both High School and Primary works showcased together.

The Primary winners are:

First place: Ella Hart (her painting is featured above)

Runner up: Toni Sher

Acknowledgeable Mention: Jake Joffe

Ronan Collins – Year 12

CIS Cross Country

On Thursday nine students competed in the CIS Cross Country Competition at Eastern Creek. Congratulations to Devan Bloch, Shai Farhy, Ashleigh Gold, Leah Grunseit, Aaron Harpaz, Aiden Kanevsky, Eden Levit, Amelie Mueller and Sienna Poswell for qualifying to compete in such a high level of sporting competition. Thank you to Stuart Taylor for supporting the students on the day.

Upcoming Dates

• 19 June: Y7 2018 Showcase, 7:00-8:30pm Lehrer Family Multi Purpose Hall
• 21 June: Netball Cup, Heffron Park
• 21 June: Chess Competition, Bellevue Hill Public School
• 22 June: Y4-6 Before School Sport Training
• 22 June: Y4 Pathways Ceremony, 8:30-10:10am Lehrer Family Multi Purpose Hall
• 23 June: JNSW Interschool Chess Competition
• 23 June: Year 5 Science Day
• 26 June: Y6 Interrelate Evening, 6:00-8:15pm Millie Phillips Theatre
• 27 June: Project Heritage Briefing for Historians 12:00-1:00pm, Primary Library
• 30 June: K-2 Music Assembly
• 30 June: Last Day Term 2
• 18 July: First Day Term 3, Primary lice check
• 19 July: SRC Pancake Fundraising Event
• 25 July: Y6 Project Heritage Interview 1
• 25 -27 July: YK, Y1, Y3 and Y5 Protective Behaviours Session 1
• 27 July: Y5-6 Australian Maths Competition
• 1 August: Y3-6 Tisha B’Av Ceremony
• 1 August: ICAS English Competition
• 1 August: Y6 Project Heritage Interview 2
• 1-3 August: YK, Y1, Y3 and Y5 Protective Behaviours Session 2
• 2 August: State Futsal Championship
• 4 August: Primary Athletics Carnival, Hensley Athletic Field

Term 3 K-2 Assembly Items

• 28 July (Week 2): Puppet Club
• 11 August (Week 4): 1B Miss Hynek’s Class
• 25 August (Week 6): YK Hebrew
• 8 September (Week 8): KH Ms Yunis’ Class
• 22 September (Week 10): School closed for Rosh Hashanah

Primary Pre-reports

Helen Maynard – Director of Studies K-6

Primary Term 2 Pre-reports

“Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential.”
Winston Churchill

Soon you will receive your child’s Semester 1 report. At Emanuel, we value the opportunity to share our insights into your child’s achievement and progress over the semester. We hope you find it a valuable snapshot of learning and effort and take the time to discuss this with your child.

It is a Government requirement that there be a five point scale offered on the reports for Years 1-6.  This consists of Advanced Achievement, High Achievement, Grade Level Achievement, Developing Achievement and Experiencing Difficulties. The traditional ‘C’ grading (Grade Level Achievement) is to be considered as the expected achievement of the year/grade level at the time of the report and therefore this is where most students are placed. We think of Grade Level Achievement as a celebration that the child has ‘got it’ and achieved what we expect for the year level. It therefore follows that only those who are successfully working on extension outcomes will be attaining Advanced Achievement. Similarly, children receiving learning support will more than likely be getting Developing Achievement and Experiencing Difficulties.

For effort, a four-point scale (Excellent Effort, Very Good Effort, Some More Effort Required and Considerably More Effort Required) is utilised to give you an insight into your child’s attainment in this area.

Please feel free to contact your child’s teachers if you have any questions relating to the Semester 1 report.

Reading Groups K-2

We have had two wonderful terms of reading with the help of our Reading Group Volunteers. Without your on-going support we would not be able to run this program, so a massive thank you! Please note that Reading Groups will finish for Term 2 on 23 June and we will begin in Week 2 of Term 3 (25 July). If you don’t already volunteer and would like to help on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday (Friday in Year 2) morning please contact me via email hmaynard@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au

Primary SRC

Primary Student Representative Council (SRC)

The SRC has been busy this term. We were excited to attend an SRC meeting with the High School. They gave us many ideas for new projects, and we look forward to working with them on future ventures.

The new Kindergarten area has been named Gan Kef. Congratulations to Lara Isenberg for coming up with a brilliant name and to Leah Grunseit for her wonderful illustration which will be displayed on a sign in this area. A ceremony will take place later this year to officially name the area.

In Term 1, the SRC undertook a playground survey to find out what students wanted to play with in the play areas. In response, we have bought a range of equipment for the Kindergarten, Infants and Primary play areas. These include:

Lego blocks

Tea sets

Plastic fruit

Cooking equipment

Farm animals

Dinosaurs

Wind chimes

Water play equipment

Skipping ropes

Chalk boards

Soccer goals

Cricket sets

Tennis balls

Hoola hoops

Skipping ropes

We hope that you all enjoy playing with the new equipment.

Mrs Julia Tritsch

Engineers in action

From the K-6 G&T Co-ordinator

In Year 5 and 6 Extension Mathematics, we have been learning about the processes involved in renovating the High School Library, so we asked some UNSW Engineering and Surveying students to visit us and explain the use of equipment and the mathematics involved in planning buildings. The students, Hannah Pearce and David Phan, presented the measuring equipment that is used in modern surveying and discussed with the Emanuel students the need for accuracy.

Our students then participated in a hands-on activity involving groups using a personal GPS system, hiding objects for another group, then exchanging the GPS with the saved co-ordinates so that each group could utilise these to find the hidden objects. Much discussion was had about satellites and the effectiveness of a GPS.

We are most grateful to David Phan and Hannah Pearce for giving up their time to come and talk to us and for their engaging presentation.

Below are comments from some Year 6 students: 

• “When the UNSW students came to teach us about surveying I thought it was a wonderful opportunity to see how a surveyor works on a job. I found it interesting when they did a test to prove that the surveying machine is more accurate than a distometer or a tape measure. I learned that surveyors don’t just measure distances, they also work with GPS. I thought that the way they presented was very good and the way they answered questions was clear and meant that it was easy to understand.” Samuel G
• “I learnt how to use a GPS to mark the spot that I am standing in and then ask someone else to find that spot; about the engineering course at UNSW and that the more satellites a GPS uses, the more accurate it is. 
I wonder what percentage of satellites launched by Russia and America have succeeded and are still in space?” Dan Blecher
• “I was fascinated by the measuring equipment used in surveying and how accurate it is. I learnt about the engineering and surveying courses that they do at UNSW. I also learnt that there are 32 satellites around the Earth’s atmosphere.” 
Ethan Berkovic

Ms Colleen Elkins

Donations for the Asylum Seekers Centre

Donations for the Asylum Seekers Centre – a Year 6 fundraising project

The Year 6 Fundraising team will be arranging a collection of goods to send to the Asylum Seekers Centre in Sydney. We will be collecting items from Monday 19 June until Friday 30 June. Collection boxes will be in Mrs Rom and Mrs Clennar’s room and Miss Hynek’s room.

These are some of the foods and toiletries that are most sought after.

Food:

• Baby Food (for six months; vegetarian and meat-chicken/beef)
• Baby rusks
• Breakfast cereal (cornflakes in particular are popular!)
• Canned beans (chickpeas, red kidney beans, mixed beans)
• Chilli flakes and powder
• Coffee (instant)
• Cooking oil (vegetable, one litre containers)
• Condiments (honey, jam)
• Dried fruit (apricots, prunes, dates)
• Dried lentils (red)
• Flour (small packages)
• Long life milk (one litre containers)
• Muesli bars
• Noodles (instant)
• Rice (1kg bags, Basmati is the most popular)
• Tea (chamomile, peppermint, jasmine, green, black)
• Tinned fish
• Tinned fruit
• Tinned vegetables (corn, tomatoes, mixed vegetables)
• Tomato paste

Toiletries:

• Baby wipes
• Deodorant (for men and women)
• Disposable razors
• Laundry powder (small packages)
• Moisturiser
• Nappies (mainly toddlers sizes 8kg+)
• Shaving cream
• Shampoo
• Shower Gel / Body Wash
• Toothpaste
• Washing liquid (for dishes)
• Washing powder (for clothes)

Thank you for your support.

Alix Cane, Daniella Nescher, Lotus Van Der Starre and Lilia Joseph (Year 6 Fundraising Team)

Music Camp Concert moments

Thank you to Ofer Levy for his fantastic photography.

Students’ review of Music Camp

Joshua Amoils – Year 11

Gabriel Sebban – Year 11

Music Camp 2017 in 499.75 words

Music Camp this year was particularly special, marking the first time in many years that there was a change in campus. For years, students had become accustomed to the campus at Galston Gorge, so a change in venue was a fresh addition to this year’s camp. The camp took place from 5-8 June at Lane Cove National Park.

As usual, the choirs were a huge success due to the organisational skills of Mr Burley and Mr Majsay and the amazing guest choral conductor, Elizabeth Scott. She pushed each singer to their limits, encouraging them to go above and beyond in their efforts. If any readers witnessed the concert, it was clear that her advice was noted and acted upon with great enthusiasm. Whether it be to add more expression to vocal tone through facial movements, or to allow for a greater contrast within the choir by exaggerating movements, Liz, through her dedication, patience and hard work, strengthened the choirs to become more cohesive units.

The Strings component of Music Camp was also quite interesting this year, being the first time both Primary and High School String orchestras combined and focused their efforts on a piece to play together. It was amazing being able to collaborate with all the string players at Emanuel from Year 4 up, although that many people in one room did make for some especially hectic rehearsals, more so than what is typical of normal Music Camp rehearsals.

On the louder (and much less reserved) side of campus dwelled the wide range of concert bands, stage bands and jazz ensembles. After two days of excitement and the surreal, the intuitive, unworried observer would note just how remarkable a phenomenon the Concert band really is. One would notice the diversity of the instruments, a plethora of finely crafted abstruse beasts of expression and higher order art. Indeed, such tools are literally brought to life by a mellow stream of action emanating from a player’s sensitive hands, to create an acoustic mosaic of beautifully constructed noise. The lower brass section provided the background, contributing the general colour tones beneath the more defined contour of the clarinets and trumpets. Adding on an extra level of sophistication are the flutes and oboes tweaking and tinkering in subtlety, whilst the percussion section contributes the much needed structural vectors and geometry of the artwork. Finally, stretched invidiously across the entire band sits the mob of saxophones, who kind of fill in the gaps, splattering paint all over the masterpiece. In a similar vein, that same observer related the senior stage band to freshly roasted seasonal chestnuts and the jazz band to a three-legged goat, galloping majestically through prospering rye fields. Through the guidance of guest conductor Jason Isaacs as well as the brilliant Emanuel music staff, these bands were able to enhance their quality of performance and musicianship.

Music Camp 2017 was a memorable experience and we look forward to creating more quality music next year.

Joshua Amoils and Gabriel Sebban

Emanuel School links with Gunawirra

Links within links with Gunawirra

Via different contacts and routes, different sections of the School have made connections with Gunawirra, a not-for-profit organisation that runs a number of ventures to support mainly Aboriginal stakeholders in NSW. This is a lovely complement to our relationship with the Jilkminggan community in the Northern Territory.

The Kornmehl Pre-school has been involved with Gunawirra since 2013, when the organisation and its work were first introduced through Donna Manoy. Donna is a psychologist and one of our fabulous parents, who facilitates one of the young mothers’ groups that provides essential support and connection to women in the community. The Kornmehl teachers and parents enthusiastically supported this signature program and others involving young pregnant Aboriginal women and mums with newborn babies. Kornmehl staff, parents and students initiated the Care Pack program four years ago. During this time, over 3900 packs of essential items have been donated.

This year, the drive is on to collect 600 Baby Packs. The goal is to meet with every pregnant Aboriginal woman in the regions served and give her a full pack of essential items for the baby and herself, in readiness for the birth.

So that Kornmehl students could experience a different dimension of painting, and another connection to the organisation and what it represents, they worked with Graham Toomey, a renowned Aboriginal artist and cultural advisor to Gunawirra, to create their own story.

The Specialist Learning Centre’s (SLC’s) contact with Gunawirra is via their network of 32 pre-schools in Sydney and regional areas of NSW. Since 2015, the SLC has collected and donated toys, games and books for distribution throughout that network.

The Gunawirra pre-schools also act as meeting places for the broader community, so the Jewish Studies Department partnered with the SLC to collect and donate items for older students. This formed part of the Tikkun Olam program (Repairing the World) that is a foundational element of Jewish Studies at Emanuel and part of the more general Emanuel ethos. The most beautiful and interesting games, construction sets, books and other tools to promote cognitive development throughout the age ranges were presented to Graham Toomey, in a happy event, as can be seen in some of the photos.

Graham Toomey with students and teachers filling his station wagon with toys, games and books

Micah and Saskia Esra with some of the toys they donated from their personal collections and some materials excess to school needs

Many students, parents and teachers in both Primary and High schools have cleared their cupboards and gift drawers so that car-loads of goods have reached new users. A clear-out of some of the school storerooms also yielded materials for art, drama and enjoyable mayhem.

We are excited to be able to support Gunawirra’s amazing work through our involvement in all these programs and projects. We thank all those who have helped us to contribute to the important work of those involved in Gunawirra’s attempt to break life-cycles of transgenerational and other trauma and poverty, by their work in inner suburbs of city and country areas in NSW.

As we connect to our Jewish heritage and the happiness and trauma this engenders for different sectors, and what this brings to our broader Australian heritage, so we are involved in the connection with what Gunawirra brings to both the pride and enduring heritage of Aboriginal communities and the healing of the trauma of their losses of country, culture and spirituality.

Kornmehl students gathering care packs

Graham Toomey, artist and cultural advisor to Gunawirra, with students and staff

Graham Toomey with Kornmehl children

Dr Lynn Joffe, Director – Specialist Learning Centre

Terry Aizen, Director – Kornmehl Pre-School

Daphna Levin-Kahn – High School Co-ordinator of Jewish Studies

High School Sport

Kristy Reed – Sports Co-ordinator & PDHPE Teacher

High School Sport news

1. Congratulations to Samara Trenaman who competed in the CIS Cross Country Championships on Thursday at Eastern Creek Raceway.
2. The Term 3 High School EActive program will be released next week. All parents and students will receive the term outline and registration details via email. 

High School sporting events next week

Monday

Morning

14s boys basketball training

Year 7/8 basketball development squad

Afternoon

Tennis development program

Pilates

Tuesday

Morning

Junior and intermediate rugby development squad

Running group

Afternoon

Sydney Schools Cup interschool boys basketball competition

Sydney Schools Cup interschool girls basketball competition

Wednesday

All Day

AICES 15 years football championships

Morning

Boys fitness

14s boys basketball training

Gymnastics

Thursday

Morning

Girls fitness

Senior boys rugby training

Lunch

Open boys basketball training

Afternoon

Skyzone

Year 9/10 Girls netball competition

Friday

Morning

Swimming squad

16s boys basketball training

Sunday

14s boys basketball competition

16s boys basketball competition

CDSSA Basketball Gala Day

CDSSA Basketball Gala Day

Last Tuesday Emanuel entered five basketball teams in the annual CDSSA Basketball Gala Day – two junior girls teams, two junior boys teams and one senior boys team. Enthusiasm was high on the agenda for all teams, as was some outstanding basketball performances and terrific sportsmanship.

All teams played some exceptional games, however, it was the Junior Boys 1 team that bought home the Championship shield. After a hard fought win over Pittwater House School in the semi-final, the ultimate match against Moriah College was always going to be a great one.

The game was tight from the outset and really went down to the wire. Emanuel held the lead throughout the match winning 15-11.

Best and Fairest on the day with some thrilling plays were Ariel Odes and Matthew Bozic.

Congratulations to all members of the team including Ethan De Melo, Zac Greenberg, Aaron Lemberg, Jonathan Sebban, Ben Shapiro and Jesse Waller.

Special mention also to our Junior Girls 1 team who also qualified through to the final, going down to Galstaun College 8-18. Best and Fairest were Gabriella Goodridge and Isabella Shulz.

Congratulations to the two Year 12 students, Aidan Zlotnick and Joshua Behr, who took time out from their busy Year 12 studies to compete on the day and lead an extremely young Senior Boys team.

The basketball program at Emanuel has really grown in participation and strength under the guidance of Kristy Reed, our High School Sports Co-ordinator. A special thank you to Kristy, who was the convenor of the event, and her merry band of helpers from Emanuel School who ran the Gala Day superbly.

Mazal tov

Sharon Fairfax

The winning Junior Boys 1 Team

Junior Boys 2 team

Senior girls team

Senior boys team

Rabin Bugle

Hello and welcome back to another week of the Rabin Bugle. First point of order is both last week’s and this week’s House assemblies.

Last week – with SRC and Madrichim nominations coming up  – our House Captains decided to give us some tips and guidance on how to be a good leader and how to excel in public speaking. Students from all years played public speaking games. My favourite was seeing students talk about pineapple on a pizza for one minute without saying “um” or “like.”

This week the whole House was deep in preparation for the Athletics Carnival. We got some great coaching from Dino, our resident sports expert and alter ego of our House Captain. We also learnt that the Athletics Carnival has been running for 15 years.

Mr Ezekiel shared his confidence in Rabin: “Of the 15 Athletics carnivals over the years, Rabin has won eight of them – a record we hope to continue this year.”

Our House Captains also farewelled us this week, as this was their last House Assembly. On behalf of everyone in Rabin House I thank them for their enthusiasm, fun, and love for Rabin House. They put so much effort into every House assembly and House event and they ensured that every event was enjoyable for all students.

Darren Sacks, Ricky Yavits, Erin Radomsky and Gabriel Kichkin

Thanks for reading and I’ll see you soon.

Dan Bethlehem – Rabin Bugle Editor in Chief

In this Issue: Connecting our community, from GESHER

What a treat!

For those who attended Limmud Oz last weekend, what a treat it was to hear so many amazing speakers!  We hope you were able to attend some of the sessions where our alumni presented, as featured on the Gesher page in last week’s Ma Nishma.  

Staff member Elena Rosin, who attended the weekend commented: “I just wanted to comment on how many of our former Emanuel students had a significant presence at Limmud Oz this weekend. Several were presenters; many were involved in security; a few were in charge of the youth programs; and a significant number were there as participants in the learning. Everywhere I went, I kept hearing “Ms Rosin, Ms Rosin” with students (some from so many years ago I couldn’t even remember their names) excitedly coming up to me to tell me about all of their Jewish-related activities and interests. It is somewhat unusual to see young adults participating in this type of communal event, and the majority of people there certainly much older. Many demographic studies have targeted the 18 – 35 year olds as a concern for communal participation and connection, which is why the Network organisation was created in the first place.

“It is wonderful to see how the Emanuel experience has so positively impacted our community, resulting in an adult connection to Judaism and Jewish communal events. Our Tikkun Olam programs have been particularly effective in encouraging this connection.”

Emanuel alumni speakers included:

Save the date

For your diary: our next Breakfast with Emanuel sessions are on Wednesday 2 August in Bondi Junction and Wednesday 9 August at KPMG, Barangaroo. 

Both sessions are from 7.30 am to 9.00 am. Further details will be out soon.

Careers

Claire Pech – Careers Advisor

Media morning

Alan Harca, Emanuel alumnus, gave a fascinating, informal and highly entertaining talk to our Year 12 students. It was interesting to hear about his adventures overseas, not to mention seeing some fascinating work he has been working on. Alan started studying Economics at university, a subject that he was not that interested in. He told anecdotes about running around the streets at 3 am trying to decide on his future and what he should do. He made the change into movie making, as Media was his real passion, and from an early age he was the School’s video maker, and loved creating movies. He also spoke about the variety of professionals he worked with including engineers, artists, copy writers, directors, actors/actresses, musicians and more. 

Aarin Regan-Lacey, Amy Altman, Alan Harca, Brianna Gadeley, Hannah Dukes and Jordan Fidler

Two of the messages Alan passed on was to follow your passions and take risks.  Alan has three qualities that sets him apart. He has talent, and that was really evident from the work he had done showcasing his creativity. He is also dedicated to his profession by studying it and working with and learning from key leaders in the field. He also has grit. Combining these attributes is what can propel people to success. All the talent in the world may not get you noticed if you are not willing to work hard, showcase your work, and go through some tough times. 

Here are links to some of the main media degrees and courses at Sydney’s universities, some private colleges and TAFE:

University of Sydney (ATAR 95)
www.uac.edu.au/undergraduate/courses/usyd/511207.shtml

UTS (ATAR 84.7)

www.uac.edu.au/undergraduate/courses/uts/600018.shtml

UNSW (ATAR 80)
www.uac.edu.au/undergraduate/courses/unsw/421200.shtml

Macquarie (ATAR 85)

www.uac.edu.au/undergraduate/courses/mq/300139.shtml

Academy of Interactive Entertainment (AIE) 

www.aie.edu.au/courses/courses

JMC 

www.jmcacademy.edu.au/courses

Academy of Interactive Technology (AIT)

www.ait.edu.au/courses

AFTRS

www.aftrs.edu.au/degrees/undergraduate-courses

TAFE

www.tafensw.edu.au/course-areas/media-and-entertainment-courses

Lorraine from the National Art School spoke to our students about studying Fine Arts and telling us about the variety of jobs within that career. 

Notices

HSC Economics and Business Studies workshop

9 am -1 pm, 22 July @ UTS Business School

www.uts.edu.au/about/uts-business-school/what-we-do/upcoming-events-and-info-sessions/undergraduate-info-sessions-7

Macquarie Technology taster day

On Wednesday 5 July, Macquarie is opening its doors to Years 11 and 12 students who are keen to study – and carve out a career – in the field of technology and engineering. Registrations will open soon.

www.mq.edu.au/study/school-portal/whats-on

Ten majors you might not have considered for your Arts degree

www.careerfaqs.com.au/news/news-and-views/10-majors-you-might-not-have-considered-for-your-arts-degree

Priority Bus Queues

Maxine Chopard – Assistant to the Deputy Principal

Priority bus queues for school specials

We are trialling new priority bus queues to address some concerns with overcrowding and students living further away not being able to get on their designated bus. Primary School lines will continue to take priority over High School queues and High School students with Primary siblings will join the Primary queue. A priority sticker and school stamp will help identify priority queueing for Buses 697 and 683. These stickers confirm the student will be travelling further than Bondi Junction. A new queue line has been set up for students who get off at Bondi Junction. These students will be boarded after priority lines are cleared, as well as on the Mt Sinai bus.

The Bus 704 queue does not require stickers. The bus lines have now moved to the Pizem Court area.

This new system has been advertised to students and many have come to get their priority stickers. We hope this new system will address some concerns and enable staff and students to have an easier end-of-day process for boarding buses.

From Kornmehl Pre-school

Terry Aizen – Director of Kornmehl

Bush School

This term, the Dolphins and Starfish have been participating in walks down to Centennial Park for Bush School.

Bush School is proving to be such a wonderful part of our curriculum, and it’s interesting to note that with each visit comes a very different experience. Each session in the bush is special and memorable.

For many, Bush School provides opportunities for new experiences and new skills. It may be climbing a tree or building a ‘nature house’ and decorating it with leaves. It might be creating a family of mice out of Banksia. Being in nature promotes imaginative play.

Children who have first-hand experiences of nature also appreciate what it means to live sustainably. The children are able to experience the natural cycle of the seasons and explore the various natural elements produced by varying weather. We see this every few weeks on our way to our bush classroom as we are greeted by ‘the upside-down tree’. We witness this special tree change with the seasons.

The bush can offer a sensual smorgasbord with lots of tactile experiences, a sense of timelessness, freedom, and a sense of belonging to the place. The children become confident, capable and relaxed in natural environments.

Bush School is about letting the children be, having time to explore and time to feel the sense of freedom. It allows for more open-ended communication and a less routine-based program. Outdoor nature play is authentic, real and hands-on learning. It develops an increase in children’s independence, confidence and creativity, and physical and emotional resilience. Bush School is about finding the extraordinary in the ordinary.

(Children in Wild Nature – Niki Buchan)

Collection of pre-loved toys and books

Once again, we are collecting pre-loved toys and books in good condition to send to the Aboriginal Pre-schools in outback Australia. These schools are in desperate need of quality resources and materials. Through our book and toy collection each year, we have been able to help these pre-schools and bring a touch of happiness and learning into these children’s lives.

Please bring in your donations between Friday 23 June and Tuesday 27 June. The toys and books will be picked up on Wednesday 28 June by Gunawirra, a not-for-profit organisation in Redfern that will distribute the materials to these Pre-schools.

Monty Prior (Boori) – Aboriginal performer

Monty Prior is a multi-talented performer who has worked in numerous industries including film, television, modelling, sport, music and theatre-in-education. He is also known as a public speaker on Aboriginal issues.

Monty was born in 1950 in Townsville, North Queensland. His father was from the Birrigubba of the Bowen region and his mother is from Yarrabah (near Cairns), a descendant of the KUNGGANJI. Monty is an accomplished didjeridoo player who has performed solo with the Brisbane Symphony Orchestra. Monty worked for many years with Joe Geia, performing in schools throughout Australia. He has written several award-winning books with Meme McDonald including Maybe Tomorrow, My Girragundji, The Binna Binna Man and Njunjul the Sun. His picture book collaboration with Jan Ormerod, Shake a Leg, won the Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Children’s Fiction in 2011. Monty’s stories are about finding strength within to deal with challenges, and his skill is to create positive visions of the future for both Indigenous and all Australians.

On Tuesday, the children were lucky enough to be entertained by Monty who shared a special time with us, telling us a story about the kestrel bird. This bird teaches the Aboriginal people how to hunt and go in search for food. It flies with its wings spread out, hovers and dives down for food. If the food is too big or heavy such as a snake, a goanna and a mouse, it will let it go. 

The children were then involved in a spirit dance in honour of the bird. The children dramatised a story by pretending to be the kestrel bird and the animals that it was catching. Boori used paints to represent the feathers of the bird. We learnt the didgeridoo he was playing was made from a Stringy Bark tree and was only played by those who lived at the top end of Australia.

Monty made different animal sounds using the didgeridoo and the children were encouraged to dramatise and move around the room like the animals. Once the music stopped they were to freeze. Some of the animals and actions included a kangaroo hopping and looking for food, a kangaroo sleeping and scratching, an octopus wiggling, snakes crawling, a starfish playing the guitar and a jellyfish shaking. Monty shared a beautiful story about a Willy Wagtail. We learnt that the story is 25,000 years old and was told to Boori by his uncle.    

There was a tribe on a mountain and another tribe on the earth that had stolen their fire and wanted it back. They were feeling cold. So, they asked the ancestors because they felt they were capable of getting it back themselves. Monty explained that every person has its own animal. This idea was represented in the story by different animals. The biggest and strongest ones said they would fly to the sun and bring back an ember. The little Willy Wagtail wasn’t big enough, so they kept telling him to wait out of the way. When the big birds flew, their feathers began to melt. They returned empty handed. It was the Willy Wagtail who was able to fly quickly and bring back the ember. Today he has a little red dot under his tail showing that he got the fire.

From the story, we learnt that you don’t have to be big to be strong. It doesn’t matter what size you are to make a difference.

We also learnt how the Aboriginal people stop themselves from being bitten by mosquitos, using a branch from a tree with leaves. The leaves are crushed, allowing the sap to come out. They brush and swoop the leaves over their bodies before they begin to dance.

Luca: I liked it when Monty counted and everyone had to hide and then we surprised him and jumped up.

Grace: He put feathers on his arms with the paint. Ochre goes on your arms like we put sunscreen on.

Hannah: We were lizards and caterpillars and then we had to hide.

Talia: He played the Didgeridoo.

Luca: He played sounds of the dingo, the kangaroo, the crocodile and a dinosaur.

Leo: I liked the singing and dancing.

Savannah: I loved all the parts of the show.

Micah: I loved the story about the animals and people.

Tomer: I liked the story about the bird.

Kornmehl Movie night

Movie night is this Sunday, 18 June from 5.00 pm – 7.15 pm. If you have not yet booked your tickets, please feel free to just come along on the night and purchase tickets at the event. We are looking forward to a fun and exciting evening.

The children have been working on making collaborative art canvasses to be auctioned on the night. Some of the artworks have been inspired by Aboriginal art works and artefacts. The Dolphins have explored the cover from a cushion that Renee bought when she was in Jilkminggan a few weeks ago. They have replicated the patterns and colours of the cushion cover on their artwork. The Starfish have been inspired by circles in Aboriginal art and decided on the colour blue for the background, to represent the ocean, which is a place the children are all familiar with. The Seashells have been inspired by the Aboriginal artwork that was done with Graham Toomey a few weeks ago. 

Some of the other artworks include portraits and drawings of each child in the group.

School Uniform Shop Trading Hours Term 3

Delicious challah for sale

Ruby Berkovic and Jennifer Opit

Hi Everyone,

 

We hope you enjoyed the long weekend.

 

We are now taking Term 3 challah orders. It’s an easy way to get your weekly challah while supporting the P&F at the same time. The Challot, which cost $5 each, need to be pre-ordered by the start of term and payment needs to be made in advance. Challah pick-up is in the Adler Courtyard on Friday afternoons.

 

To register your interest and receive payment details please email rubykb@gmail.com