From the Principal

From the Principal

Once again our newsletter is packed with interesting articles about the various events of recent weeks – further testament to the breadth and depth of the learning opportunities our students are privileged to enjoy. There are accounts from the students about the visit by Professor Tsvia Waldon, the daughter of Shimon Peres, who lead some of our students in an engaging discussion about feminism (in the Year 9 Jewish Studies page), as well as of the activities organised by our Head Madricha and the House Captains for International Women’s Day on Wednesday (the House pages). There’s a report of the guest speaker at our Diversity Assembly this week, Laura Sweeney, who is the advisor to the Human Rights Commission on issues related to the LGTBQI community (see the Szenes House report).

In addition, there are reports on the High School Swimming Carnival last Friday, held in quite wet conditions (in and out of the pool!). Despite the weather, the spirit was high and our students got involved by competing, even when swimming was not their thing, and supporting their fellow students. I was impressed that they did not let the rain dampen their spirit and by the positive approach of both the staff and the students to just getting on with things. Our thanks go to Ray Francis, the Head of PDHPE, and his team of assistants who organised and ran the carnival.

And today we’ve had the annual crazy day of Purim! It’s always a joy to see how creative some of our students and staff are in their costumes. More of Purim will be in next week’s edition of Ma Nishma.

A tip

If you really liked the old version of Ma Nishma where the newsletter was a pdf document, you can achieve the same outcome with the online version, by beginning the process of printing it (without actually pressing the final print button).

New Parents and Year 7 Parents Welcome evening

This week also saw our Welcome evening for new and Year 7 parents. It was wonderful to meet up with many of our new parents in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere and hear about the positive experiences their sons and daughters have been having since their start with us this year. Our sincere thanks go to Michelle Favero, our Manager of Marketing and Communications, along with her team of helpers, for organising another successful and important event.

Professional Learning

Along with Tany Milner I was privileged to be able to join with a group of educators in Melbourne this week to undertake some professional learning around the Australian Curriculum area of Digital Technologies. Victoria and Queensland are quite a long way down the track of implementing this curriculum, while NSW is yet to determine how and when it will be introduced. The Scope and Sequence which has been developed (https://acaraweb.blob.core.windows.net/resources/Digital_Technologies_-_Sequence_of_content.pdf) provides a very useful summary of the intended student learning and a framework against which we will map our K – 10 curriculum. This is one of the steps we will be taking this year on our path towards building Innovative Thinking and 21^st century skills. 

We also learned about how other schools are setting up their MakerSpaces and incorporating the acquisition of up-to-date digital skills into their curriculum. Visiting the Lauriston Girls School Fab Lab and speaking with Principal Susan Just about their digital journey were also instrumental in building our knowledge and assisting in the planning for our MakerSpace. We will continue to research and visit other MakerSpaces as we develop our plans in these areas.

Student success

Mazal tov to:

• All of the Age Champions from the High School Swimming Carnival last Friday and Rabin House for winning on the day (see the report from the House Captains in the Rabin page)
• Aidan Zlotnick (Year 12) for his selection in the AICES basketball team
• Luca Calderon Havas and Jordan Fleischer (Year 7) for winning the Junior Boys Tennis CDSSA championship and Luca for his win as Junior Boy Champion
• Ava Rose, Jordin Sank, Sol Biton and Tobias Topolinsky, who were our Year 6 Ambassadors for the Pre-school Open Day this week (see the Kornmehl article)
• Adena Sheps (Year 10) for placing third in the Randwick Council Art Competition for International Women’s Day
• Aidan Sheps (Year 6) who was one of the winners of the Australian Jewish News Purim mask competition. His entry will be printed in this week’s paper.

Coming up

• Purim Disco for K – 6, Sunday 12 March, 4 – 6 pm
• SRC Fete for High School, Monday 20 March
• Year 12 Three-way learning conversations (previously Parent/Student/Teacher meetings) 22 March, 4:00 – 8:00 pm
• Jazz on the Hill, 26 March, 2:30 – 5:00 pm
• Year 11 Three-way learning conversations (previously Parent/Student/Teacher meetings) 30 March, 4:00 – 8:00 pm
• Year 10 Three-way learning conversations (previously Parent/Student/Teacher meetings) 3 April, 4:00 – 8:00 pm

Quote of the week

‘Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame’. [Benjamin Franklin]

Best wishes for a restful and reinvigorating weekend.

Shabbat Shalom

From the Primary School

Emma Clemens – Deputy Head of Primary

Anxiety and school refusal – part 1

Last week I attended a very thought provoking course on anxiety and school refusal. The workshop was presented by Professor Michael Gordon who is a child and adolescent psychiatrist. Increasingly, anxiety and school refusal are challenging and more prevalent issues for parents and teachers. School refusal is present in almost every school and has significant consequences for young people. There are a number of factors that contribute to school refusal including anxiety (separation, social or generalised), learning issues, poor social skills, bullying and online gaming addiction.

Professor Michael Gordon’s key message was that the treatment for school refusal is exposure to school. The longer students are away from school the harder it is to reintegrate. The reason for this is:

1. A foundation of learning can be lost and students can feel behind academically
2. Friendships can be difficult to re-establish
3. The student can exaggerate the concept of returning to school more than the reality.

Professor Gordon offered a number of practical strategies to assist with anxiety and school refusal:

1. Encourage the Stretch Zone: Picture three concentric circles. The inner circle is the comfort zone, the middle is the stretch zone and the outer is the danger zone. By default we prefer to stay in the comfort zone, but it is very important for our mental health to move into the stretch zone every day. The stretch zone varies for each individual. For some children, coming to school is in the stretch zone, but they confuse it with the danger zone. The child needs to understand that they are safe at school and the uncomfortable stretch feeling is important and good in the long run.
2. Routine: Establish a consistent routine for night-time and morning. Children need sleep to manage their emotions effectively, so a consistent early bed time is critical. Likewise, morning routine is central to arriving to school on time. Expectations drive outcomes. So if there are clear expectations and routines, children will soon stop questioning or pushing back. There is also security and safety in knowing and keeping to a set routine.
3. Tip the seesaw: A child experiencing anxiety and school refusal is in constant mental flux, like the tipping back and forth of a see saw. It is important to tip the seesaw just enough to get the child to school. This involves frequent positive reminders and prompts from adults in the child’s life, such as the parent, teacher, counsellor or school leadership team. If the child feels all the adults in their life are encouraging the same message the seesaw is more likely to tip towards school.
4. Changed drop off: Have a different adult drop the student to school, such as the father, neighbour, family friend or school mate. Often a school refusing child struggles with separation anxiety from the mother. So removing this separation in the morning can be advantageous.
5. Red and green apple choice: Offer the child choice, but the outcome will still be to return to school. So they can choose who takes them to school, where they are dropped off, which teacher will meet them at the gate or whether they participate in all lessons during the day. These choices are like selecting a red or green apple. The child must still choose an apple (coming to school) but they have a sense of a control.
6. Be aware of difficult days: The research shows that returning to school after a holiday period or after the weekend is always the hardest. Therefore, anticipate that Monday will be more difficult and put in place a plan that sets the child up for success.
7. School refusal is a problem: The research also shows that students who do not return to school have future disadvantages with regards to academic achievements, work, relationships and social functioning. Non-attendance can lead to lowered academic success and higher risk of mental health problems. Therefore, if a child is showing signs of school refusal it’s important to be very proactive to develop a plan to change this pattern of behaviour.

In Week 8 I will publish part 2 of this article, which will include seven more practical strategies for managing anxiety and school refusal.

Internet filters

I had a parent contact me asking for advice on internet filters at home. My response was as follows:

Firstly, it’s important to acknowledge that no web filter is completely safe. So it is really important to have best practice use and storage of technology. We recommend that all devices are used in shared living room spaces. We suggest that children do not charge their devices in their room overnight. Below are three suggestions for web filters you could use at home:

Family Zone is helpful for preventing children accessing inappropriate material. It also allows parents to set screen-time limits. Dr Kristy Goodwin who presented at Emanuel two years ago recommends this product.

Net Nanny is another widely used tool that also has parental controls, 18 filtering categories and blocks pornography. It also has time limits and social media monitoring.

Covenant Eyes promotes internet accountability by monitoring the websites used and then generating a report that can be used to start a discussion about healthy online habits. So it allows you to track what your children do. The purpose isn’t to block, it’s designed to start a conversation and educate. This might be helpful for when the children are older. 

I would also encourage you to set up Safe Search when using Google through using  Google Safe Search for Kids, GoGooligans, KidzSearch, KidsClick, KidRex and Swiggle.

Purim

Today we had a wonderful time celebrating Purim. The children began with a fashion parade to showcase their costumes, Their parade was accompanied by a special song for each class. The children then had three periods of activities relating to Purim. Years K-2 participated in a magic show, craft tasks and the reading of the Megilah. Years 3-6 created movies about Purim, made masks and learnt about leadership and values in the Megilah. Year 6H also visited Montefiore Home to celebrate Purim with the elderly as part of their Make A Difference (MAD) project. The other Year 6 classes will visit the elderly later in the year. Thank you to the Year 6 Jewish Life Leaders for running a Purim quiz and song. Thank you to Adam Carpenter, Hagit Bar-On, Rebecca Gaida and Stacey Rosenfeld for organising the day. Thank you also the the Hebrew, class and specialist teachers for running the activities for students.

BBQ day

Thank you to the Year 6 Charity Leaders, the mothers who so generously volunteered their time, and Holly Dillon for running the Primary BBQ Day on Wednesday. The money raised will be going to Giant Steps, a school founded to help educate children and families experiencing autism.

Upcoming Dates

• 13 March: ASISSA Swimming Carnival, Warringah Aquatic Centre
• 15-17 March: Year 5 Bathurst Camp, Year 6 Canberra Camp
  • Year 5 arrive 7:00 am Waxman Gate, return 2:30 pm Waxman Gate
  • Year 6 arrive 7:00 am Avoca St Gate, return 3:00 pm Waxman Gate
• 16 March: ASISSA Netball Gala Day, Heffron Park
• 16 March: Year 3 Swimming, Allsorts Fitness Centre 1:15-2:45 pm
• 22 March: Primary Open Day for prospective parents
• 23 March: Year 6 Jilkminggan Information Evening, Millie Phillips Theatre 6:00-7:30 pm
• 23 March: CIS Swimming Carnival
• 23 March: Year 3 Swimming, Allsorts Fitness Centre 1:15-2:45 pm
• 24 March: Year K Pathways Ceremony, MPH 8:20-9:30 am
• 24 March: Primary Anti-Bullying Day
• 27 March: Parent Teacher Interviews, MPH 4:00-9:00 pm
• 29 March: Parent Teacher Interviews, MPH 4:00-6:30 pm
• 30 March: Year 3 Swimming, Allsorts Fitness Centre 1:15-2:45 pm
• 31 March: Years 1-2 Swimming Carnival, Des Renford 10:30-2:15 pm
• 31 March: YK Back to Pre-school Day

Years K-2 assembly 2:00-2:50 pm Millie Phillips Theatre

Term 1

• 24 March (Week 8): Year 1 Hebrew
• 7 April (Week 10): Year 2Y Mrs Esra

Term 2

• 5 May (Week 2): EActive dance group
• 19 May (Week 4): Year 2 Hebrew
• 2 June (Week 6): Shavuot, school closed
• 16 June (Week 8) Year 2T Mrs Strub
• 30 June (Week 10): Music assembly

Tips for homework for Primary School students

Helen Maynard – Primary Director of Studies

Tips for Homework

There are many articles and links on the web that provide valuable information regarding how to make homework successful in your household.  Please find a few of the better ones below for your information:

http://school.familyeducation.com/homework/parenting/38543.html?page=2&detoured=1

http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/learning/homework.html 

The articles focus upon making a time, space and plan for homework.  Praising effort is also a good rule of thumb as children respond more positively to this than being praised for results. Most vital is communicating with your child’s teacher should they find the homework too challenging or not challenging enough. 

Another tip is to sit for 10 minutes at the start of the week and map out what is achievable throughout the week with your son/daughter and record this in the diary.

Our Policy recommends the following time frames:

•  Kindergarten: Reading and no other additional tasks after school
• Years 1 and 2: 15 minutes, three nights per week plus reading
• Years 3 and 4: 20 minutes, three nights per week plus reading and instrumental practice
• Years 5 and 6: 30 minutes, three nights per week plus reading and instrumental practice.

Homework can be a rewarding experience for both the children and adults. We are here to support you and your child with homework so please contact the class teacher if you have any queries.

Years K-2 Synthetic Phonics parent information evening

Primary Parent Teacher Night

Helen Maynard – Primary Director of Studies

The Primary School’s Parent Teacher Night interviews will be held on Monday 27 March (4:00-9:00 pm) and Wednesday 29 March (4:00-6:30 pm), in Week 9 of this term. Staff will be available to discuss your child’s progress.

Please note that specialist teachers in Art, Drama, Music and PE will have meetings with Years 3 to 6 parents in Semester 1 and Years K to 2 parents in Semester 2.

Next week you will receive an email with your code for the on-line Parent Teacher booking system. I am sure most of you are now experts but please read the email carefully.

 You must indicate:

• which night and the times you are available to attend
• siblings
• which teachers you would like to speak with in preferential order.

Please keep the email as you will need the booking code again to retrieve your allocated times.

You only need to make a booking with the teachers with whom you would like to speak.  Remember to link all your children so we can create the best schedule for you.

 We look forward to the opportunity to share insights into your child’s learning.

Year 6 Hebrew

Hagit Bar-On – Head of Primary Hebrew

Yachid, Yachad and cooking (one, together and cooking)

The Jewish Studies focus this Purim is the concept of Yachid (individual) and Yachad (collective). Throughout a person’s life, one shifts from being an individual to living in a community. The concept of being one and at the same time together, emphasises that while it is important to be part of a community, it is also important for everyone to stay unique. 

In our Year 6 lessons we have been learning about baking, writing a shopping list and reading a recipe in Hebrew. Last week we made a fruit salad and rice bubble chocolate cookies.

You may ask what does cooking have to do with the concept of Yachid and Yachad? When Year 6 students cooked in class, each one had a specific chore. Some students peeled, others chopped, mixed and poured. While each student had an individual task, the combined result was a fantastic yummy fruit salad and cookies. And together (Yachad) we all enjoyed eating it.

 Have a Happy Purim

Purim Sameach 

Jordin Sank and Maayan Granot

Lucia Meyer and Leah Wolf

Aron Harpaz

From the Head of Jewish Life

Rabbi Daniel Siegel – Head of Jewish Life

Yachad and Yachid

In reading the Megillah, the central text of our Purim holiday, we are quickly introduced to the hero of our story, with the following words:

איש יהודי היה בשושן.ושמו מרדכי

There was a Yehudi/יהודי (Jew) in Shushan and his name was Mordechai.

The Rabbis comment:

אל תקרא יהודי אלא יחידי

Do not read only Yehudi’/ יהודי(Jew) but Yechidi’/יחיד – a singular person.

As we soon discover, Mordechai together with his fellow Jews, are threatened to be destroyed due to their uniqueness.

And Haman said to Achashveirosh: There is a distinct people whose practices and beliefs are different from all others … they should not be tolerated … let it be decreed that they be destroyed. 

Ester, our heroine, is unaware of the threat facing her people as she is in the palace, hiding her identity and enjoying the safety it brings her.

It is at this point in the narrative that Ester’s dilemma is confronting for us all. To stand up, we, like Ester, must stand out. To sacrifice uniqueness for uniformity, as Mordechai tells Ester, ensures a destruction more profound than that which we seek to avoid.

Our heroine’s action, at this critical point, gives fuller meaning to the words Megillat Ester – the Scroll of Ester. The root letters סתר of the word Ester/ אסתר signify hiding, while the root letters גלה of the word Megillah/מגילה indicate revealing.

Ester reveals her hidden self, and, in so doing, she secures her life and that of her community.

The Purim story proclaims that an authentic life is one in which Yechidi’/יחיד the unique individual, and Yachad/ יחד, the united collective are mutually confirming. One need not and should not trump the other.

Through the mitsvot of Purim, sharing gestures of friendship (Mishloach Manot) with one another and provisions for the poor and marginal (Matanot le-Evyonim), we remind ourselves that it is only in valuing each individual (Yachid) we can truly make for community (Yachad).

Devar Torah

Jenna Kaplan – Year 12

The following Devar Torah was written by Jenna Kaplan in Year 12. Jenna is helping to facilitate our tefillot in Year 7 for whom she wrote and delivered the following reflections on the parashah of the week.

Rabbi Daniel Siegel

This week’s parashah is Tetzaveh. This parashah describes the clothing of a specific group of people, the priests who serve the Israelite people. It then continues with God giving instructions to Moses and directing him to appoint Aaron and his sons as priests saying: “Make sacred vestments for your brother Aaron, for dignity and adornment.” This could be thought of as saying: “Make sacred special outfits for Aaron, clothing that will reflect the dignity of his position, and make them beautiful.”

This quote is still relevant, if not more relevant today, with people expressing who they are and their personality through the clothes they wear. Our clothing speaks. What we wear can shout or whisper, invite or repel – it sends a message, and is never silent. Clothing makes a statement.

Are the items you wear mass-produced or made by hand? Are the labourers who make the clothes you wear paid a fair wage? Are you intentionally or unintentionally advertising a company, brand, a designer or an attitude? Or like us, every day, are you declaring a connection to a camp, community or school?

Five days a week, we are all in our school uniform, so regardless of whether we are in class, or out on the streets, when wearing it we are declaring a connection to our Emanuel community. You all know how it works, you look at another school and regardless of your intentions you make a judgment on it largely based on their uniform and the way they wear it.

So, what message do you want to give people with the way you wear your uniform?  What we may think of as ‘high standards’, that we have as Emanuel students, are just expectations from the community that reflect our school spirit, values and morals. So, what impression do you want to give people about Emanuel and about yourselves?

Ma Koreh

Adam Carpenter – Head of Jewish Studies Primary

Weekly Torah portion:

Parashat Tetzaveh Exodus 27:20 – 30:1

This week’s parashah  תצוה– Tetzaveh emphasises the role of the Kohanim (Priests) and the construction and institution of the  משכן Mishkan – the portable sanctuary carried while wandering in the wilderness. Parashat Tetzaveh focuses upon the Kohanim, the Priests who perform the rituals and sacrifices on behalf of the people. We are given detailed descriptions of the complex ritual garments worn by the Kohen Gadol (the High Priest) – regally decorated in gold and adornments of precious stones. We are also given details for the seven day period of sacrifices and rituals required to consecrate the priests for service. The parashah ends with a short description of the golden altar upon which incense was to be offered, including the נר תמיד ner tamid – the eternal light, that remains a key feature in synagogues to the present day.

Family discussion

* How many Jewish rituals can you name that involve light? What is the power, meaning and symbolism of light?

* The prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 49:6) called on the Jewish people to be ‘light unto the nations’. What do you think it might mean for the Jewish people to be a ‘light unto the nations?

Yiddish phrase of the week

As we dress up for Purim and revel in things not being as they seem, here is some Yiddish wisdom to get you scratching your chin.

Hebrew words of the week: זכור

The Shabbat preceding Purim is known as שבת זכור Shabbat Zachor – the Shabbat of Memory or Shabbat of Remembrance, where we remember what Amalek did to our ancestors in the Torah.

One of the most frequent Torah commandments connected to memory relates to remembering that we were slaves in Egypt and to remember the Exodus from Egypt. These words are found in the siddur, in the Shema and in the Friday night Kiddush. This act of recalling and memory etches into our consciousness to shape our values and sensitivity.

 – Yizkor: meaning ‘will remember’ יזכור

 – Yom HaZikaron – Day of Remembrance יום הזכרון

This is one of the names for Rosh Hashannah and the name given to the modern commemorative day in Israel to remember Israel’s Fallen soldiers.

Contemporary Jewish thinker, Avraham Infeld, developed a metaphor for describing a strong and stable Jewish identity. According to Avraham, there are five components, or ‘legs’ that combine to make up a person’s Jewish identity; Memory, Family, Covenant, Israel and Hebrew. Choosing at least three of the components of Jewish identity, or ‘legs’, provides a stable platform for living a Jewish life and contributing to the world. Less than three, and your ‘table’ or platform of Jewish identity will topple over; more than three makes it more sturdy. Choosing three also means that every Jew shares at least something with every other Jew, even though they may look different and have very different lifestyles, cultures and customs. Despite the difference in Jewish expression, Jews share some of these elements through the way they build their own identities. Which ‘legs’ make up the foundation for your Jewish identity? Source: www.5leggedtable.com

Follow this link to hear more about Avraham Infeld’s interesting take on Jewish history and memory: www.5leggedtable.com/memory.

Jasper Selinger

Student contribution

In Year 5 Jewish Studies this term we have been given a weekly task of having a discussion with our family about the week’s Torah portion. As I was flipping through our Torah Table Talk booklet, I was reminded of our class discussions that had taken place during Jewish Studies that week as we were exploring the Purim story. So I got out my Tanakh and re-read the first chapter of Megillat Ester to remind me of the details of the story. In class we had interesting discussions about Queen Vashti, the choices she made and how she stood up for her rights and dignity as a woman, thousands of years ago. This led me to make connections with what we have been learning in history about the fight for woman’s voting rights in Australia in the late 1800s and women’s rights in our world today. Over Shabbat my dad and I had a great conversation about what it means to have rights and what a powerful role model Vashti can be.

From the Head of Hebrew

Ruth Harvey – Head of Hebrew

You and me together

As we continue, as a society, to oscillate between an emphasis on the collective and a focus on the individual, we are learning more and more that the two, indeed, are interdependent. For each of us our unique attributes and individual characteristics distinguish us from others, but they need not exclude us from the whole.

In Hebrew, the words יחד  (together), יחיד  (individual, singular) and מיוחד  (special), share the same DNA. They all contain the common root letters י.ח.ד . Hebrew tells us that these concepts are strongly connected. So how are they related? Students were given the opportunity to explore this connection and write their thoughts about it.

Casey Flior, Year 7 writes:

אני חלק מ׳יחד׳ אבל אני יחיד ומיוחד. יחד כי אני עם החברים שלי, המשפחה שלי ובית הספר שלי. יחיד כי כל אחד מיוחד, אנחנו לא אותו הדבר. אנחנו יחד בבית הספר כי אנחנו עוזרים זה לזה. אבל בבית הספר אני גם יחיד כי אני לא אתה, אני אני!

I am part of a yachad but I am meyuchad, a special individual. I am yachad (together) when with my friends, my family and my school. I am yachid (individual) because everyone is meyuchad (special), we are not the same. We are yachad at school as we help one another but at school I am also yachid, a singular individual, because I am not you, I am me!

Ben Rozen, Year 7 writes:

בקבוצת הכדורגל שלי כולם עובדים יחד כמו אחד, אבל אני בקבוצה יחיד ומיוחד. כל השחקנים בקבוצה הם בהגנה או בהתקפה. התפקיד שלי הוא להיות בהגנה אבל אני רץ ומשחק גם בהתקפה, אז בעצם אני משחק בכל המגרש וזה מה שעושה אותי מיוחד. אני יחיד עם תפקיד מיוחד אבל עדיין כולם עובדים יחד.

In my football team we all work together as one, but I am a special individual. Each player is either in offence or defence. My role is in defence but I run all over the field and play in the offence as well, and that makes me unique with a special role. But still everyone works together.

Mimi Silberstein, Year 9 writes:

כל יחיד הוא חלק מ׳יחד׳. כל איש מיוחד ולכל אחד יש תפקיד בעולם. יש אמונה ביהדות שיש ל׳׳ו צדיקים בעולם ויש עולם מהם. יש דוגמה במגילת אסתר: מרדכי רק יחיד אבל יש לו תפקיד ליהודים ואם הוא עושה את התפקיד שלו הוא עוזר לכל היהודים. יש גם דוגמה בביטוי ׳עם ישראל׳, יש יחידים בעם אבל העם גם יחיד בעולם

Every individual is part of a ‘together’. Every person is unique and everyone has a role in the world. There is a belief in Judaism that there are 36 righteous individuals in the world and that the World is sustained because of them. There is an example in Megilat Ester: Mordechai is only an individual but he has a role and when he fulfils his role he saves the Jews. We also say: Am Yisrael, the People of Israel, there are individuals in the People but Am Yisrael is One and unique in the world.

Rebekah Goldsworthy, Year 9 writes:

בעולם שלנו יש הרבה אנשים, כל אחד עם רעיונות ודעות, חלומות וחברים אחרים . אין שני אנשים שהם אותו דבר, ואז כל אחד הוא יחיד. הדברים שעושים אותנו יחידים גם עושים אותנו מיוחדים. כולנו אנשים שונים אבל בעולם הזה אנחנו גם יחד, אנחנו אחד. הדבר הכי מעניין זה הקשר במילים האלה: יחיד, מיוחד, יחד ואחד. כולנו יכולים לראות את הקשר  במילים האלה ולחשוב על זה בחיינו.

In our world there are many people, each with their ideas and opinions, dreams and other friends. No two people are the same and everyone is an individual. The things that make us individuals are the things that make us special. We are all different but we are together, we are One. The most interesting thing is the Hebrew connection that all these words share: yachid (individual, singular), meyuchad (special, unique), yachad (together) and echad (one). We can all see the connection and we need to think about these in our lives.

Sasha Baskin, Year 9 writes:

 בעולם הזה, יש הרבה אנשים שרוצים להיות מיוחדים. כולם נוסעים לעבודה הם עובדים ביחד והם מאמינים שאין מישהו אחר כמוהם. אבל כולם יחידים. לכולם יש תפקיד אחר ומיוחד. כולם עושים משהו אחר כי לכל איש יש דברים שונים מאיש לאיש. יש תפקיד לכל איש בקהילה. אם כולם משתמשים בדברים החזקים שמיוחדים ויחידיים, ביחד אין גבולות.

In this world there are many people who want to be special. Many travel to work, they work together and believe that there is no one else like them. But everyone is an individual. Everyone has a different and special role. Every role is different from another in a community. If everyone uses their unique and special strengths and attributes, together there are no limits.

Year 10 Hebrew students write:

כולנו יחידים אבל אנחנו גם בקהילה ביחד. גם בקהילה של בית הספר ״עמנואל״ כל התלמידים והמורים הם מיוחדים ויחידים כמו משפחה אחת. כולם מיוחדים אבל אנחנו חלק מתמונה גדולה. כמו הקהילה ״בעמנואל,״ הקהילות של היהודים והקהילה של העולם הם יחידים ביחד של האנושות. בעולם אנחנו צריכים אהבה וקבלת האחר כדי להשלים את המשפחה של האנושות, כדי שיהיה שלום!

We are all individuals but we are also in the community together. Also in the Emanuel community all the students and teachers are special individuals and are as one family. Everyone is special but we are part of a big picture. Just like the Emanuel community so the Jewish communities and the world community are individuals in the yachad, together, of humanity. The world needs love and acceptance of Other in order to complete the family which is Humanity, in order that there is Shalom, peace!

Chloe Corne, Year 12 writes:

 בית ספר ׳עמנואל׳ רואה את עצמו כמשפחה. אנשים רבים בבית הספר, תלמידים, הורים, מורים וצוות העובדים, מרגישים כמו קהילה אחת. זה ה ׳יחד׳.

אך ׳עמנואל׳ גם גאה בעצמו בכך שהוא בית ספר פלורליסטי, שמקבל אנשים שונים ואחרים כפי שהם, ונותן להם אפשרות להיות עצמם, להיות ׳יחיד׳ ו׳יחידה׳ ובכך להיות מיוחד.

אך האם זה באמת כך? מה קורה אם דעתי היא לא כמו הדיעות של רוב האנשים בבית הספר? היחיד לא צריך לפחוד או להרגיש מנודה מכיוון שהדיעה שלו נראית לא ליברלית לאחרים. אם אנחנו באמת מקבלים את היחיד אנחנו צריכים לספק ולאפשר סביבה בטוחה ופתוחה, כך שהיחיד יכול לבטא את המחשבות והאידאלים שלו. רק אז היחיד יכול להרגיש ׳אחד׳ באמת, שמורכב מיחידים שונים ומיוחדים

Emanuel School sees itself as a family. Many at school – students, parents and staff – feel like one community. This is the yachad.

But Emanuel also prides itself on being pluralistic, accepting of others and embracing differences, allowing the yachid and yechida to be themselves, to be meyuchad.

But is this really so? What if my opinion is not shared by most at school? One should not be afraid or discriminated against for holding an opinion that might seem not liberal to others. If we are truly embracing the yachid, we must provide a safe and open environment for that yachid to express their thoughts and ideas. Only then can the yachad be a true One, comprised of diverse and special individuals.

Year 9 Jewish Studies

Professor Tsvia Walden

Mimi Silberstein

Visit by noted feminist 

On 7 March the Year 9 Jewish studies class studying Judaism’s perspective on gender and sexuality were privileged hear a presentation by Professor Tsvia Walden.

Professor Walden is the daughter of Shimon Perez and a well-known Israeli feminist. Her area of expertise is Psycholinguistics, which she studied in order to explore how the structure of the language impacts on one’s view of gender and equality.

Professor Walden spoke about the fact that English does not specify gender whereas Hebrew does. This can play a large role in shaping one’s beliefs on gender ‘norms’ and gender equality. She also spoke about the history of feminism and how we are where we are today. One example she cited was the Women of the Wall Movement, in which Jewish women are fighting for equal access to prayer at the Kotel. 

Professor Walden gave us many examples of this to demonstrate the progress women have made over the past few decades and how they have impacted society. 

Mimi Silberstein

Miriam Itzkowitz

On Wednesday, the Year 9 Gender and Sexuality Jewish Studies class had the privilege of meeting Professor Tsvia Walden, a psycholinguist and daughter of Shimon Perez. The talk was very insightful and quite enjoyable with her great sense of humour. We learnt about how there are issues with female rabbis in Israel and all over the world and the fact that Hebrew is a very genderised language, as opposed to Swedish or Finnish. This may affect people’s impact on world views, such as the acceptance of female rabbis. In English, we have the word ‘rabbi’, however, in Hebrew there’s a word for a female and a male rabbi (Rav and Rabbah). 

Professor Walden made the lesson interactive and when asked about her opinions on the Kotel, she explained how the amount of space given to women is completely unfair in comparison to the space given to men. She said it was also unfair how Progressive Jews can’t pray together so she took the Orthodox Israelis to court and now Progressive Jews can have a small section of the wall. While it’s about the same size as the women’s section, I find it amazing how much Judaism has progressed. 

I think it is also worth mentioning that apparently Shimon Perez was disappointed that Tsvia was a girl when she was born, however, as he got older, he admired his daughter tremendously. Tsvia told us that when her mother died, she recited Kaddish, a practice which traditionally is unavailable to Orthodox Jewish women. After the funeral, Shimon Perez said that her mother would have been proud of her, hinting that she should do the same thing when his time arrives. She also recited Kaddish at her father’s funeral, leading to women from around the world writing to her, thanking her because she empowered and enlightened them.

I think that Professor Tsvia Walden is a great inspiration for young women and Jews both in Israel and the Diaspora because of how influential she is and her beliefs and actions. I really enjoyed getting to know her and really support all the work she’s done for women.

Miriam Itzkowitz

From the Head of Music

David Gwilliam – Head of Music

Deadline – Private music tuition and Infant Strings program

The due date for new enrolments, notification of changes or intention to discontinue private tuition or Infants String Program for Term 2, is the end of Week 7 (Friday 17 March). All students currently receiving private music tuition and students participating in the Infant Strings Program will be automatically entered into tutor schedules for next term and committed to the full term of lessons. Please advise us of discontinuations or register new enrolments using one of the online forms which can be accessed from the links below. If your child intends to discontinue, formal notification must be given using the online discontinuation form, otherwise parents will be liable for fees for next term.  Please contact David Gwilliam, Head of Music, by email to music@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au  if you have any questions.

Links to online forms

New enrolment requests for private tuition: tinyurl.com/PrivateTuitionEnrolment

To discontinue private tuition: http://tinyurl.com/PrivateTuitionDiscontinuation

New enrolment requests for the Infant Strings Program: http://tinyurl.com/InfantStringsEnrolment

To discontinue Infant Strings Program: http://tinyurl.com/InfantStringsDiscontinuations

Emanuel School Music Camp 2017 

The annual Emanuel School Music Camp for students in Years 4-12 is a wonderful celebration of our vibrant music culture and the talents and hard work of our young musicians. Each camp is a special experience for students as they unite in a shared love of music and work together in the pursuit of excellence. Emanuel School music staff join with a team of highly-skilled professional musicians and outstanding special guests to develop and hone students’ musical skills in preparation for an exciting showcase concert.

Emanuel School Music Camp 2017 is a four-day camp that will take place from Monday 5 June to Thursday 8 June. The first three days of camp will be held at Naamaroo Conference Centre in Chatswood and the final day will be held at school. Students will return to school on Wednesday 7 June, to be picked up by parents at 5.30 pm.

This will be our first year at Naamaroo, located next to Lane Cove National Park. The centre is set in eight hectares of natural bushland and will provide a private and peaceful environment for our students and staff, as well as excellent accommodation and rehearsal facilities. Students will be transported between school and the camp on privately chartered buses.

All Years 4-11 students who are members of the following ensembles are expected to attend Music Camp: Emanuel String Orchestra, Intermediate String Orchestra, Copland Concert Band, Bernstein Concert Band, Gershwin Concert Band, Senior Stage Band, Junior Stage Band, Senior Choir, Senior Chamber Choir, Junior Choir, Junior Chamber Choir.  Please note that ensembles at camp are not always exactly the same as ensembles at school and all camp participants are expected to perform in large ensembles.  

Involvement in Music Camp for Year 12 musicians is encouraged but due to the importance of the HSC, it is not compulsory.    

Music Camp 2017 dates for your diary:

• Monday 5 June: arrive by 8.30 am, depart Emanuel at 9.00 am sharp
• Wednesday 7 June: depart Naamaroo and return to school by 5.30 pm
• Thursday 8 June: camp continues at school from 9.30am sharp
• Thursday 8 June: Showcase Concert at 6.15 pm, concluding by 7.40 pm.

On Thursday morning students can either come to school at their normal time and go to class until 9.30 am, or they can arrive at school to begin Music Camp rehearsals at 9.30 am 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. The Music Camp Showcase Concert will begin at 6.15 pm in the Lehrer Family Building (MPH).

To attend Music Camp two actions are required. The first is to register and pay online via TryBooking by Friday 24 March. The second is to complete the online permission form by Friday 31 March.  

The cost of Music Camp 2017 will be $486. You can pay in full, OR in two instalments of $243 each.

Below is a link that will take you directly to the TryBooking website where you can follow the prompts to register your child’s full name, their 2017 year group, and to pay either the first instalment OR the full amount by credit card. You will be notified by email in April when the second instalment can be paid.

To register and pay for Music Camp 2017, please paste the following link into your internet browser: www.trybooking.com/PBPZ

To complete the online permission note, please paste the below address into your browser: https://goo.gl/forms/IVsKejmwo8M9hUZK2

If you have any questions regarding Emanuel Music Camp 2017 please contact David Gwilliam, at dgwilliam@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au  

High School Swimming Carnival

Ray Francis – Head of PDHPE

Swimming Carnival spirits not dampened by rain!

Congratulations to all students and staff who participated with great enthusiasm at Friday’s High School Swimming Carnival at Botany Pool.

Despite some heavy showers we pushed through to complete over 150 races, with students often ten deep in the marshalling area. A big thank you to all the staff who got the job done despite a few soggy results sheets.

Congratulations to our age champions and the mighty Rabin House who retained their Inter-House champion status for another year.

Emanuel Swimming Carnival 2017 results

House Points

House                                      Place                                 Points

Rabin                                       1^st                                        827

Rashi                                       2^nd                                       795

Szenes                                    3^rd                                         724

Age Champions

New records

Photos: Hannah Adler – Year 10

High School Sport

High School sporting events next week

Monday

Morning

Year 7/8 basketball development squad

14 boys basketball training

Year 8-12 girls touch football training

Afternoon

Pilates

Beach volleyball

Tuesday

All Day

CDSSA Swimming Championships

Morning

Running group

Years 8-10 boys touch football training

Girls football training

Afternoon

Sydney Schools Cup Interschool futsal competition

Sydney Schools Cup netball competition

Open boys basketball training

Touch football competition

Wednesday

All Day

CDSSA football gala day

Morning

Boys fitness

Sydney Schools Cup futsal training

 Afternoon

Cricket development squad

Open boys basketball competition

Thursday

Morning

Girls fitness

Years 11-12 boys touch training

Afternoon

Rockclimbing

Years 9 and 10 Girls netball competition

Friday

Morning

Swimming squad

16 boys basketball training

Surfing

Sydney Schools Cup netball training

Sunday

14 boys basketball competition

16 boys basketball competition

Open boys basketball competition

ACIES Basketball

High School basketball

Kristy Reed – Sports Co-ordinator & PDHPE Teacher

Earlier in the term Aidan Zlotnick, Blake Nixon and Amy Altman were selected for the Combined Districts Secondary Sports Association (CDSSA) Open Basketball teams. These teams are formed by the best players across the 11 schools in the association and compete at the Association of Independent Coeducational Schools Championships (AICES). This tournament allows the association to play against other organisations throughout the AICES region, including strong teams from the Central Coast and Northern Beaches. The championships also serve as a selection day for the AICES team.

Amy Altman competed on Wednesday at Hills Stadium and played exceptionally well in what was an excellent day of competition. The Emanuel boys were standout performers in their team when they competed at Bankstown last week, with Aidan being selected for the AICES team for the third consecutive year. Aidan will now go on to compete in the Combined Independent Schools (CIS) Basketball Competition. Congratulations to all players and good luck to Aidan in the upcoming tournament.

Amy Altman

Aidan Zlotnick and Blake Nixon

CDSSA Tennis Gala Day

On Monday Emanuel School competed in the CDSSA (Combined Districts School Sports Association) annual Tennis Gala Day held at Tennis World, North Ryde. We entered a junior boys team and a senior girls and boys team.

Jordan Fleischer and Luca Calderon Havas

The stand out performances on the day came from our junior boys team, Luca Calderon Havas  and Jordan Fleischer. The boys won five of their six matches to take out the Junior Boys title and Luca taking out the Junior Boys individual medal.

All students played to the best of their ability and showed wonderful sportsmanship.

Senior girls: Tashi Gering, Gabriella Amoils, Tasha Lapidge and Isabella Reichel

Senior boys: Marc Kanevski, Ben Leslie, Tarn Feldman-Gubbay and Elia Berelekhis

This is a highly competitive day featuring schools including Seda College, McDonald College and the International Football School which all run extensive tennis programs within their school. Moriah College, International Grammar and Pal Budhist School also participated. Kristy Reed, PDHPE Teacher

Our senior girls and senior and junior boys teams

High School Debating

Suzanne Plume – Gifted and Talented Co-ordinaor

Round one: HICES debating

Last Tuesday marked the beginning of the HICES debating season for 2017. Accordingly, we made the long coach trip out to Georges River Grammar wavering between apprehension and quiet confidence after only one practice session with our coaches Joshua Moses, Danielle Santos and Jonty Katz.

Our Opens launched the season in a spirited debate, arguing the negative on the topic: “That the minimum driving age should be raised.”

Our Senior team argued the negative case against the notion “That Computer Science should be mandatory throughout High School.” Our team distinguished between computer science and computer literacy and prevailed by asserting that computer science isn’t necessary but that computer literacy is.

Both Middle teams argued against the topic: “That every weekend should be three days long.” Our Junior speakers addressed the topic: “That we should be allowed to keep native animals as pets.” Both teams argued the negative case.

Altogether, Round 1 was the beginning of what promises to be an exciting year for Emanuel debating as we defend our hard-won titles from last year!

Speakers were:

Opens: Lara Joffe, Sienna Amoils, Max Woolf, Liahm Simon (Lost to Inaburra)

Seniors: Beau Glass, Rebekah Goldsworthy, Bella Flax, Tashi Gering (Won against Moriah B)

Middles A: Eden Glass, Anna Davis, Ruby Hurwitz, Lara Fosbery (Won against Inaburra)

Middles B: Liat Granot, Jessica Lowy, Joshua Moses, Ariella Tracton (Won against Moriah B)

Emanuel A – Jasper Selinger, Sienna Poswell, Eden Levit, Ethan Zines (Lost to Inaburra)

Emanuel B – Miriam Stubbs-Goulston, Samuel Garvin, Jake Newfield, Oren Levin-Kahn (Won against Thomas Hassal)

Debating Co-ordinators:

Ms Wigan (Juniors)

Mrs Lopis (Middles)

Ms Plume (Seniors and Opens)

Rabin Bugle

Rabin House Captains, Erin Radomsky and Gabriel Kichkin with the Swimming Carnival trophy

Veni – Natavi – Vici   Rabin swims home gold!

Swimming is all about good times and Rabin House certainly had that last Friday, as our mighty House took on Rashi and Szenes in the pool. The House spirit was high, chants loud and our training session with ‘Deno’, our special swimming instructor, had certainly made us ready to make the most of the day. Rabin House’s participation was at a record high and proved that if you have a lane, you have a chance. Our House made waves and scored 827 points – a new record for Rabin! It was great to see everyone happy and give their best. Participation, team spirit and individual achievement mixed with lots of fun has been a great recipe and we can now add swimming success to our fine achievements in Athletics, Inter-House Music, the Science Challenge and Debating. It is also important to praise the fine sportsmanship of Szenes and Rashi Houses who gave their very best and also recorded some outstanding results.

The House Captains, Head of House and the Tutors commend all of you for your effort and we look forward to celebrating together at our next House Assembly. We also congratulate the students who were fortunate to reach new heights and become Age Champions and/or set new records – amazing achievements!

Age champions – Rabin House

 13        Ethan Trenaman

14        Jade Berson

15        Gabriella Goodridge

16        Gabriela Amoils and Greg Allen

17        Jemima Firestone Greville

18        Chloe Corne and Jake Sharwood

New records

Photos: Hannah Adler – Year 10

Artistic recognition

Adena Sheps, Year 10 Rabin, is passionate about Art and she works hard to develop her creative talent. She was instrumental in designing the Rabin House flag and she contributed to the design of our new and stylish caps. Adena recently entered Randwick Council’s International Women’s Day Art Competition, in the 12-19 years old category. Her artistic flair and determination showed and her work Respect placed third in the competition. Congratulations Adena!

That’s the Bugle for this week. We hope everyone has a great weekend and congratulations again on winning the Swimming Carnival.

Kol Szenes

Inter-House Swimming Carnival

Mazal Tov to the Swimming Age Champions, especially students in Szenes House:

• 12 Mark Kang (7)
• 14 Jacob Rose (8)
• 16 Allegra Goldman (11)
• 17 Tammy Sologub (11)

Joshua New, Year 10, wrote:

This year’s Swimming Carnival was full of neck-and-neck races, heaps of ribbons and a huge amount of House Spirit. Not even the heavy downpour of rain could dampen the spirits of the competition between the Houses. It did, however, more than dampen the belongings of anyone sitting up in the stands! Considering the miserable weather, the number of students who competed in the many races, both from Szenes and from the whole of High School was exceptional. House Captains, Bella Kidman and Charlie Wrublewski, and Sports Captain Dylan Kramer, along with the rest of the Year 12s, kept the House Spirit high and the Year 12s’ bizarre costumes made the day even more entertaining. The Swimming Carnival overall was a huge success. Congratulations to Rabin House, the winners of the Carnival and to anyone who participated on the day.

Photos: Hannah Adler – Year 10

Tennis Gala Day

On Monday 12 students represented the School at the CDSSA Tennis Gala Day. Four of the competitors where members of Szenes House. Three out of four students in the girls team included Szenesian’s Isabella Reichel (9), Natasha Gering (10) and Tasha Lapidge (10). Luca Calderon Havas (7) also competed. We did Szenes and Emanuel School proud and came 2^nd in our pool despite competing against elite ‘sporting’ schools. We won all three matches against Pal sports and tied in a few matches with Seda (‘sporting’ school). We gave it our best against the Tennis school but in the end were not successful; we lost most matches except for the doubles.

Report by Isabella Reichel, Year 9

Diversity Day assembly

Laura Sweeney (opposite) briefly addressed the student body at our High School Diversity Day assembly this week.

Liron Smith, Year 11, wrote: “Diversity Day at Emanuel School acknowledges that every individual has the right to be themselves. Laura Sweeney was the guest speaker this year who is a Specialist LGBTQI Adviser to the Human Rights Commission. She spoke about the acronym LGBTQI, which is the abbreviation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender, Queer, Intersex communities. A message in her speech was that we need to make these people feel as equal as people who do not identify with a group in the acronym.”

International Women’s Day

During our High School assembly this week Rabbi Kamins asked the student body why has it taken so long to recognise the equal rights of women?

International Women’s Day was celebrated on 8 March. The theme this year was Be Bold for Change. To celebrate students were asked to wear purple, green and white.

Our Head Madricha, Yael Grunseit, together with House Captains, ran various activities during House assembly to raise awareness and celebrate International Women’s Day. All money raised on the day will go to the Malala Fund, which supports girls’ education around the globe.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/malala-fund-supporting-girls-education-globe/story?id=18399402

Purim

Purim was celebrated today, Friday 10 March, with students wearing an interesting array of costumes. Students participated in a variety of Purim activities this morning.  

Coming up

Monday Week 8 SRC Fete – theme around the world. More details to follow.

Quotation of the Week

‘Let us make our future now, and let us make our dreams tomorrow’s reality.’

Malala Yousafzai

Enjoy the weekend,

Szenes House

Rashi Swimming Carnival Photos

Photos: Hannah Adler – Year 10

New Parents Welcome Evening

Michelle Favero – Marketing and Communications Manager

New parents welcome evening

Every year we welcome our new parents into the Emanuel community. It is one of the highlights of the school year, particularly for our new Primary Madrichim, being the first time they are taking part in a school function in their official capacity.

It was the perfect opportunity for new parents and those from Year 7 to meet each other, members of the Board and Executive and their children’s teachers. Our Madrichim rolled up their sleeves to help with serving, pouring and greeting, while Yael Grunseit, High School Head Madricha and Aaron Khedoori, Primary Head Madrich, shared their love of Emanuel in their speech for the parents.

Gesher – Connecting our School Community

Life after Year 12

I just received the following messages and photo from members of the Class of 2016:

Over the last month and a half we have begun our journey of a lifetime with Israel By Choice (IBC). Since our arrival in Jerusalem we have visited many new and exciting places such as Eilat, Mitzpe Ramon, Tel Aviv and parts of the West Bank. IBC offered us several options for activities to spend our time in Jerusalem, including volunteering at schools for children with disabilities, teaching English to Israeli youth, gardening and old age home care. We have been offered to learn at Stand With Us, an Israel Advocacy program that has educated us about the history and complexity of the Israeli/Arab conflict. Some of us studied at a yeshiva or midrasha. We look forward to the next four months (for some even longer) of adventures with IBC.

By Asher Klein, Rikki Stern and Dana Rutner (Class of 2016)

Yarden Erez-Rein, Dean Smuskowitz and I arrived in Israel for Habonim Dror Shnat on 31 January, and have been living in Kibbutz Revivim since 5 February. Since arriving on the kibbutz, we have been formally learning Hebrew, working on the kibbutz and getting some experience with living a socialist lifestyle. We’ve also gone on weekly trips to see different parts of the Negev, such as going on an amazing hike in the Ramon crater (Makhtesh Ramon), a crater formed by natural erosion rather than a meteorite impact.

In the photo shown below, some of the Masa-sponsored groups, such as our Habo Shnat and IBC, gathered to learn about Jerusalem, as well as partake in workshops and tours that taught us how to effectively debate with anti-Zionists and exposed us to the life of Palestinians in East Jerusalem. Shiran (in the middle of the top row), who was one of our Israeli Madrichim back on Year 10 Zionist camp, was one of the facilitators on the day that took care of one of the groups.

By Nathaniel Knoll (Class of 2016)

2017 Habonin Shnat and IBC

Jazz on the Hill is just over two weeks away. Book your tickets now!

Join us on Sunday 26 March at School for an afternoon of amazing music, yummy food prepared by our Year 11 Hospitality students and good company.  You can relax and enjoy all of this whilst Primary-aged children are entertained with exciting supervised activities.  Don’t forget to bring your picnic rugs. We will also have some seating available for those members of our community who can’t manage to sit picnic-style. All are welcome so don’t forget to invite grandparents too!  
Book online http://tinyurl.com/JOTH2017

Breakfast with Emanuel – Save the date

• Wednesday 17 May at The Little Space, Oxford Street Bondi Junction
• Wednesday 24 May at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Watermans Quay Barangaroo 
  Invitations will be out soon.

Helping our school community and helping others 

Friendship Circle annual Walk Awareness/Fundraiser day for the entire community

Chana Kafka, Program Director, NSW Friendship Circle has asked me to pass this message on to members of our School community:

“We would like to start promoting this annual event early on, so that families are able to schedule around it. Last year there were many birthday parties held on the same day. Some of the birthday kids had children with disabilities in their class and they felt bad that they could not attend the walk to support them. So this year, we are hoping if we get the word out early enough we will prevent this from happening again.

This year the walk will be held on Sunday 10 September and our theme, We Walk Together, emphasises that we are all part of the community and each of us adds in our own way.

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

Sonia Newell | Development Officer

Careers

Claire Pech – Careers Advisor

University of Sydney

I was lucky enough to be at University of Sydney last week for their equivalent Careers Advisors Day.  Careers Advisors from all over the country were told about what the University has to offer, what is new for 2018 and more importantly why to encourage students into their courses. 

Dr Michael Spence – Vice Chancellor and Principal

USYD has been looking at what current students need. They have come up with four major focuses: 

(1) Asking the questions – how can courses be revised to ensure they are meeting the needs of all students?

(2) To ensure that students have knowledge about an open learning environment.

(3) The inclusion of learning about ethics.

(4) Having students undertake an extended real world problem to solve.

The USYD aim is to have 50% of students studying overseas at some stage of their degree. There is also a new curriculum, which will be coming in for 2018 and will have a huge impact.

2018 update

USYD is reducing their 120 degrees to about 40 or 50 degrees. They want to have degrees where students learn from the best, experience real collaboration, have a global perspective and solve real world problems. These four tenets are what is going to underpin the Sydney University Undergraduate experience.

Professor Pip Pattison – Rationale

Professor Pattison shared that as the world is changing so must education. There will be four pillars for their degrees:

1. Academic rigour
2. Cross-cultural perspectives
3. Cross-disciplinary learning to solve complex problems
4. Real world projects on industry, community and research.

A new four-year combined degree called the Bachelor of Advanced Studies is being introduced. This allows students to do a second major and advanced projects.

For Bachelor degrees in Liberal Studies, Professional or Specialist degrees there will be a shared pool of majors (about 100) and a new open learning environment, e.g.

• The Arab World today
• Visual Communication
• Business entrepreneurship
• Global Health challenges – Diabetes
• Symmetry
• Programming with Interactive media

They will introduce the Dalyell Scholars Program, which is only for the 98+ candidate. Features of this program include:

• Accelerated degrees to masters level
• Access to languages/maths/science
• Mentoring
• Skills development
• International experience.

Anders Sorman-Nilsson – Futurist – Guest Speaker

Mr Sorman-Nilsson spoke about the future of work and the effect it will have on our young workers. He spoke about digital disruption, about businesses who are all being disrupted, or how they will be very soon.

• 50% of all banking jobs will all be automated in the next 10 years.
• Skills for the future in 2020 where we will coin the term STEMpathy with the usual mixture of Science/Technology/Engineering/Maths with the empathy skills needed to work with people
• Complex problem solving skills are required
• People will crave transformation and self-actualisation and be more about the right brain than the left brain
• People will need breadth and depth
• The future of jobs is about the “gig” economy, about working remotely.

Arts Department

So what is new in Arts with the new restructured 2018 undergraduate experience?

• More than 450 academic staff
• Number one choice in Australia for Arts
• Global 230 partners worldwide
• Founding faculty
• Ranked 14^th in the World (QES Data)
• Cross disciplinary learning
• ArtSS Career ready program
• Sciences Dual Degree program (B.Arts or B.Economics at Sydney)
• More flexible than the original BA – it allows more choice and breadth

Business Department

• First ever business school established in 1920
• Top 20 business schools in the QS2016 data
• Globally recognised
• International exchanges and case studies
• Flexibility for more majors from finance to IT to History
• Real world projects, social entrepreneurship
• Focus on leadership capability (new unit of “Leading and Influencing in Business” – have to develop a career plan)
• Bringing industry into the classroom
• Learning business is diverse, experiential, industry-current and international.

 Science Department

• Academic Leaders are innovators
• Breadth of disciplines and depth of knowledge
• Research field school
• Can have majors from different faculties.

 B.Advanced Studies – A fourth year qualification

• ‘Supercharges’ the first bachelor degree
• Focuses on interdisciplinary depth, access to projects, internships
• Starts preparing students for employment interests
• Could then complete a second major OR learning projects
• It is not a postgraduate qualification – it is more of an energy boost
• There will be OLE (Open Learning Environment), with taster units of study that provide a small number of credit points.

 The University of Melbourne Virtual Fair

This will be held on 22 March, 5pm – 8pm (AEDT) and will provide the opportunity to chat to university staff and find out about  tertiary options. Register online. https://unimelb.6connex.com/event/recruitmentcenter/login?in_c=webtile_fshome|oa_im_2017_events_virtualfair_march

Bond University Medical Program

Bond’s Medical Program is comprised of two sequential degrees – the Bachelor of Medical Studies (BMedSt) and the Doctor of Medicine (MD).

All students selected for entry into the Medical Program will have to complete both the BMedSt and MD to be eligible for registration as a medical practitioner in any state or territory in Australia or New Zealand. Both degrees are awarded at the completion of Year 5.
https://bond.edu.au/program/medical-program

 Macquarie University’s Global Leadership Entry Program

Opens 8 May – closes 28 August

The Global Leadership Entry Program (GLEP) will support and inspire students as global leaders of tomorrow. If a student is selected for GLEP, they receive an early offer for 2018. They’ll also participate in exclusive activities while still at school. Are you active in the community and achieving good results? Register at: www.mq.edu.au/study/find-a-course/undergraduate/macquarie-entry/global-leadership-entry-program

Kornmehl

Terry Aizen – Director Kornmehl

Purim

What an incredible time we had on Friday morning. The children have enjoyed learning about the Purim story and making Mishloach manot, masks, rashanim and Hamentashen.

We had some wonderfully creative costumes which were just right for all our young charges. It was lovely to see some brave parents come dressed up too and getting right into the spirit of the day.

The children enjoyed shaking their rashanim very loudly as we sang, danced and clapped to the Purim music.

A big thank you to Philip Einfeld from Puppetoons for a fantastic, entertaining and interactive puppet show. The puppets were magnificent and both the children and parents enjoyed the show and a delicious morning tea of hamentashen.  We exchanged our Mishloach Manot baskets with a friend, thus fulfilling one of the mitzvot of Purim. A big thank you to all the staff and parents who helped make the day such a resounding success. We thank all our parent helpers who came in on Monday and Tuesday to bake Hamentashen with the children – Ilana Gellert,  Wendy Botsman, Janice Eliovson, Rebecca Jacobson, Gina Becker, Naomi Benko and Janice Benko. Your help was very much appreciated.

Open Day

On Wednesday, we held an Open Day for the Pre-school. We had about 70 visitors who enjoyed their time in the Pre-school as well as having the chance to spend time in our beautiful indoor and outdoor environments, observing the children engaged in play and learning with their peers and educators.

Thank you to the four Year 5 students from the Primary School – Ava Rose, Jordin Sank, Sol Biton and Tobias Topolinsky – who helped us to welcome our guests. They were beautiful ambassadors for the school and capably welcomed our visitors and assisted with registration. All of these lovely students are past Kornmehl students. That makes us feel very proud to think this is where it all began for them.

Many thanks to Deborah Beder and Gail MacKenzie for all their hard work and support in making sure the day flowed smoothly and was such a success. We thank the Maintenance team for all their efficient help as well.

Parent Club meeting

Our first Parent Club meeting for the year was held last week Friday. We discussed fundraising, social events, baking and catering in the Pre-school.

The staff relies heavily on the help and support from the parents during the year for all sorts of tasks such as baking, shopping, wrapping, cooking, gardening and sewing.

We hope over the year that all the Kornmehl families will volunteer a small amount of time to help us in the Pre-school.

The Parent Club is a great way parents can be involved and contribute to the program. We value the support and help we get from parents to ensure the smooth running of the Centre. If you cannot come along but would still like to be involved and help please let Terry know and we will be more than happy to accommodate busy work schedules. The Parent Club co-ordinators this year will be Gail Stein, Sharon Miller and Lissa Prosser.

Two dates to reserve in your diary are: Sunday 18 June for our Kornmehl Movie Night from 5.00-7.30 pm in the MPH and Sunday 27 August from 10.00 am-12.30 pm for our Recycling Buddy Challenge.

A visit from the Montefiore Home

On Thursday, we enjoyed a very special visit from seven lovely friends from the Montefiore Home in Hunters Hill who joined us to bake hamentashen with the children. 

It’s difficult to express how heart-warming and special this visit was. Our visitors were thrilled to be around the children and were also eager to share with us where they had come from and how old they were!

Whilst baking, there was lots of chatter, discussion about how to fold the dough into a triangle shape and then a big decision about what to put inside – jam or chocolate chips. Yummy!

We hope they will come back again soon. What a special way to connect with the elderly members of our community.

Programs and documentation

It’s important for parents to know that the educators spend time each week having a team meeting where the program for the week is discussed and planned, taking into consideration the interests of the children and the group. The needs of individual children are also discussed and much time is spent reflecting and reviewing goals for each child as well as group dynamics. This program is available for all parents to view, next to the lockers for each group. Please feel free to contribute ideas to our program by writing on the parent feedback section of the program or discussing it with the educators.

The educators also have non-contact time off the floor each week where they write up observations and reflections and post these on Educa for parents to read and enjoy. Educators also use this time to plan goals for each child as well as to write up documentation to make learning visible for parents.

Music at Kornmehl

Each week the children look forward to their music lesson with Mrs Longney.

Mrs Longney has started the lessons by teaching the children a name song, whereby each child introduces themselves through song and the use of a little bee toy. We will be focusing on developing in-tune singing skills, echo singing, keeping the beat in our bodies and with instruments, playing games, singing folk songs, memorising speech rhymes with actions and moving to music.

The lessons are fun and interactive and we thank Mrs Longney for her enthusiasm and wonderful lessons.

Year K visit for Shabbat

On Friday, Year K Haifa visited Kornmehl for Shabbat. How wonderful it was to see so many familiar faces and siblings. Our Shabbat table consisted of a mix of Kornmehl children and Year K children. How happy and proud they all were to sit together and share in the special songs and brachot of Shabbat. We are very lucky and privileged to all be on one campus so that special times like these can be shared together. We will be welcoming Year K Eilat on Friday 17 March too.

Mazal tov

Please join me in wishing our special educator Lindi Bloch and her family, a hearty mazal tov on the occasion of her son Brayden’s Bar mitzvah this coming Shabbat.

Holiday care

Holiday care will take place in the holidays on Wednesday 19 and Thursday 20 April from 8.00 am to 4.00 pm.

Primary Open Day

Sibling Enrolments 2018

Deborah Beder – Enrolments Manager

If you have a child you wish to enrol for 2018 and have not yet submitted a registration for him/her, please contact the Enrolments Office by email on enrolments@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au or call via the switchboard on 8383 7333 as a matter of urgency.

We will shortly start contacting those on the waiting lists for 2018 and would like to ensure we have included all siblings of current students.

The 40forFORTY Challenge

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

The 40forFORTY Challenge – raising the bar, raising funds and raising awareness

By Daphna Levin-Kahn

So, I’ll let you into a little secret…. I’m hitting 40 next week!

To celebrate this milestone and get myself in shape, I had an epiphany last year and the 40forFORTY Challenge was born!

For this Challenge, my awesome team of 17 women (almost all Emanuel mums) and I will cycle 40km, swim 40 laps (x25m) and walk 40km – yes, in ONE DAY – to raise $40,000 for five wonderful charities*.

Four of us have taken on the WHOLE challenge and other team members have set their personal challenges for that day.

The past few months of preparation have been a special example of the warmth and inclusivity of the Emanuel School community as all but three of the team are Emanuel mums covering a wide range of year groups; two are mums who have just joined this year in Year 3 and 5; and four of us are Emanuel teaching staff. See if you recognise anyone below!

You may have already heard of 40forFORTY – and a HUGE Thank You to those who have already donated so generously to help us reach our goal!

We are almost in shape, with ONE WEEK TO GO and would love our fundraising goal to match the physical one! This is the final countdown…!

Leave the blisters and sore joints to us and show your support by donating to your favourite causes from the following link: www.mycause.com.au/page/138650/40-for-forty

Shabbat shalom and thanks to you all

Daphna and the 40forFORTY Team

*The selected 40forFORTY charities are each connected to or founded by special women whom I care about and admire:

Gennarosity Abroad: Founded by our inspirational school nurse (also an Emanuel School alumnus), Genna Radnan, Gennarosity raises funds for projects in rural communities in Kenya such as Karunga’s Emanuel Kindergarten, Grandma Jenny’s (women’s) Training Centre and soon to be Medical Centre. 

Stand Up Australia:  Inspired by the Jewish commitment to pursue social justice, Stand Up works tirelessly to repair the world, focusing on Refugee Programs, Indigenous Partnerships and Education. Janet Granek, also on the 40forFORTY team, has run many Tikkun Olam (social action) workshops at Emanuel School.

Hands on India: The brain child of my chirporactor, Sue Ferguson, Hands On India was born out of the dream to help children reach a potential beyond their birth station through education, health care and empowering the communities in Silliguri, India.

Tuberous Sclerosis Australia: Empowers people affected by TSC through access to the best treatment options, up to date information and support. My adorable, funny little friend, Ariella, who has just turned 4, has sadly been diagnosed with the rare TSC.

WIZO (NSW) – Women’s International Zionist Organisation: Provides Day Care Centres and schools for underprivileged communities; a network of youth clubs and one-on-one assistance for teenage girls in distress and victims of domestic violence; and psychological counselling, rehabilitative care and legal assistance for those in need. This choice reflects my desire to see my beautiful Israel become a place of greater equality, freedom and opportunity for those most in need.

From parents and Friends

Ruby Berkovic and Jennifer Opit

Looking forward to seeing you all at the Purim Disco at the School this weekend, rain or shine.

Jen and Ruby