From the Principal

Andrew Watt – Principal

Save the Date: JCA’s Evening of Dangerous Ideas

Impact Strategist and Futurist, Phill Nosworthy, will be the facilitator at the JCA’s upcoming Evening of Dangerous Ideas which promises to be an insightful and inspiring event. The evening will take the form of Ted-style talks delivered by 4 visionaries in their field. This short video featuring Phill Nosworthy, will encourage you to book your seats soon! 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ea7CJFltd9A

For bookings and more information on what promises to be an inspiring evening, visit www.jca.org.au/ideas

“Our Jewish Community faces a critical moment in history; social media and online communities are replacing real connection; our unique identity is being challenged from many directions; Holocaust memory is under threat; and being fully inclusive remains elusive.” JCA

Thank You for the Music

In addition to being an ABBA song in the late 1970s, it is also an apt acknowledgement of the significant contribution that David Gwilliam has made to our Music Program over the past 5 years. Mr Gwilliam will commence an exciting new role as Head of Music Performance at St Aloysius College on 21 May. Mr Gwilliam’s legacy includes an outstanding musical performance program and a very successful, comprehensive academic program. Mr Gwilliam will be sadly missed and we will advertise for his replacement later in the year. As an interim measure, I am pleased to announce that Ms Diana Springford has been appointed as Acting Head of Music Performance and K-6 Curriculum, with Mr Daniel Burley as Acting Head of 7-12 Music Curriculum. Another long serving member of our Music staff, Ms Susan Longney, has let us know that she has accepted a teaching position in a school in Canberra, where her family have relocated. Mr Alex Hone, her current temporary replacement, has accepted a permanent position at Emanuel. Mr Hone will be a valuable addition to our teaching team.

Temporary Replacement for Joseph Peacock

Unfortunately, over the term break, Mr Joseph Peacock was injured in a motorbike accident, requiring him to wear a neck brace, with restricted movements. He will need time to recover before returning to us later this term. If everything goes well, we will welcome Mr Peacock back to School in Week 7 of this term. We have employed Ms Cara Norman to take over from Mr Peacock in his absence. Ms Norman comes to us with 9 years’ experience as a Mathematics and Science teacher and has been described by her referees as both adaptable and competent. She has strong experience teaching Senior Chemistry, Stage 4 & 5 Science and has delivered both the British National Curriculum and International Baccalaureate Curriculum. Under observation by peers and governing bodies, her lessons have been rated ‘Outstanding’, indicative of her ability to individualise her lessons to each of her students’ learning needs. Ms Norman’s class results have been consistently impressive. She has extensive experience designing and developing schemes of work, has mentored other teachers, and has been a Form Tutor.

Strategic Review of ICT

The School Board and Executive team have embarked on a journey to complete an ICT Review with a focus on communication effectiveness, school applications, risk and data integrity. This is an excellent opportunity to build on our position of strength to ensure that our investment in technology supports the needs of our students, staff and community. The ICT Strategic Review and Plan forms the foundation for any technology initiatives and identifies the ICT vision, priorities for the School, supporting strategies and guiding principles to meet current and future pedagogy and business needs. We have engaged with the AIS (Association of Independent Schools) and CMC to progress on the ICT Strategic Review. The aim of the review is to provide unbiased perspective-based outcomes and a way forward for improving the effectiveness of the ICT environment. As part of this process, the consultants interview diverse groups of staff, students and parents throughout the School. The views of our parents are one really important part of this process and interviews will be held on Tuesday 15 May. All parents will be invited to provide feedback via email.

Reducing our carbon footprint

In 2017, as part of the Solar my School program, we received a report that included a proposal for the installation for a 92kW solar system to the campus’ LINC and MPH buildings. Investing in solar power was estimated to save approximately $18,000 a year, which would cover the cost of installing solar in around 6 years. Over the break, we installed the 92kW system that was added to our already existing 8kW of solar, remaining under the threshold for the Small Scale Renewable Energy Scheme. The solar system is set to use 83% of the energy produced on site, with only around 17% exported to the grid, placing Emanuel School as one the 1^st Eastern Suburb school to install this size system.

 Kornmehl Car Park

We have noticed several parents from Emanuel School (who are not Kornmehl parents) using the Kornmehl car park to drop off and pick up their children in the mornings and afternoons. Some Emanuel School parents are also parking their car in the Kornmehl car park while they walk their children up to Emanuel School. As you would appreciate, this has generated some issues, in terms of our Kornmehl drop off queue.

We ask that all Emanuel School parents use our Go with the flow system, or park in the surrounding streets, if you need to walk into Emanuel School with their children. Your ongoing support in managing our traffic flow at drop off and collection times is sincerely appreciated.

Mazal Tov

• Aaron Eisenberg in Year 1 who was part of a team of 22 Kids Giving Back volunteers who prepared and served scones and spent time interacting with a group of elderly people during the term break.
• Karen Davids, Year 12 2017, for her recent nomination for the Young Writers Showcase, a book published each year that includes the best English Extension 2 Major Works. 

Quote of the Week

Education would be much more effective if its purpose was to ensure that by the time they leave school, every boy and girl should know how much they do not know, and be imbued with a lifelong desire to know it.

William Haley

Primary News

Natanya (Tany) Milner – Head of Primary

Welcome to Term 2. We look forward to another busy term ahead. Here are just some of the highlights:

Northern Territory

This week there is a group of 21 Emanuel Year 6 families in the Northern Territory. They are visiting some beautiful sites and Jilkminggan School. I look forward to hearing all about the people they have met and the lessons they have learnt. I am thrilled that our community continues to support this very special relationship and program.

Lice checks

It is unusual for me to report on ‘lice checks’ as a highlight but the reason I have included it is to show the impact of these termly checks. Before we began this program, we were finding never-ending cases of lice throughout the grades and throughout the year. Once we began the termly checks, we were sending home up to 30 children at a time but finding a reduced number of cases throughout the Term. This Term’s lice check provided a totally clear starting point with no cases of lice in the Primary School. What a fantastic result and thank you all for your support. A special thanks to Genna, our nurse, for conducting these checks so thoroughly.

Sport training

Years 4-6 begin early morning sport training this term at Queens Park. Please ensure that all the children arrive at 7.10 am each week in order to train with their teams.

Coding

We are committed to building 21^st century skills in our students. One of the many ways we are doing this is to build a new range of skills and dispositions. This term sees the introduction of our Coding program for Primary students. On Monday’s staff professional development day, the Code Camp team came to train the teachers about the coding program that they will be co-delivering to students in Years 2-6 over the next 2 terms. We are looking forward to introducing the coding program to our students and monitoring their progress.

This term Years 4, 5, 6 take part in the Coding program. Next term Years 2 and 3 will take part. Kindergarten and Year 1 will be taught later in the year by one of our wonderful Kindergarten teachers, Carrie Grieve.

Assessments

This term sees a number of our assessment programs taking place. Years 3 and 5 will be involved in NAPLAN assessments from 15-18 May. Year 4 students will sit the Allwell assessment on 25 May and the optional Year 3-6 ICAS Digital Technologies will take place on 8 May and ICAS Science will take place on 29 May.

Music Camp

Many of the Year 4-6 students are looking forward to Music Camp which takes place in the last week of Term 2 (from 2 July). This is such a special opportunity to be immersed in music and to have cross-age connections. The final concert is always a highlight of the year.

Of course, these are just a few examples of what lies ahead. There are many excursions and incursions for individual grades and wonderful learning programs that have been developed for our students. I wish everyone all the very best for a fantastic term and I look forward to sharing it with you all.

Exciting developments…

Chill Zone in the playground

I am excited to announce that we are beginning to work on a new area in the playground. In 2017, the Primary School Student Representative Council (SRC) requested a ‘chill zone’ in the playground for reading and quiet games such as chess and board games. This week, we began painting a mural in this area. It has been designed and painted by a past student, Ronan Collins. We will purchase board games, books, picnic rugs and bean bags. The SRC will again be involved in surveying students to select some of these items. I am pleased to be able to complete this project thanks to the funds raised in last year’s ‘a-thon’. I am so grateful for the generosity of our Emanuel community as well as the JCA. I look forward to keeping you informed of the progress in this area.

Hebrew and Specialist Learning Centre arrangement

We are thrilled to announce a new arrangement that we are able to put in place from this week. At times, the Specialist Learning Centre (SLC) has requested to withdraw some students from class time to provide additional input in areas of particular need. In some cases, withdrawing students from Hebrew lessons has been a challenge because the children were then required to re-enter the Hebrew program and were constantly feeling behind due to missing some lessons for SLC instruction. We have been endeavouring to create a solution to maximise English learning and also prioritise making the Hebrew time worthwhile and successful. We are excited to welcome Adi Gabrecht to our Hebrew teaching team as we trial a new program in Years 3 and 4 that allows for 3 of the 10 Hebrew lessons in a fortnight to be allocated to SLC instruction. The remaining 7 periods of Hebrew per fortnight will be taught by Adi who will teach a modified, self-contained Hebrew program to meet the children’s needs. We look forward to introducing this shared program as a trial and will continue to review the arrangement throughout 2018.

Change of date – Semester 2 Parent Teacher Nights

Due to some date changes and subsequent clashes, we have needed to change the dates for the Semester 2 Parent Teacher Nights. These will now take place on Monday 27 and Wednesday 29 August. The Year 6 Northern Territory Information Night will also change date. We will be in touch once a new date has been confirmed.

Mazal tov Allegra and Caitlin

I received a lovely email from Kids Giving Back to let me know about some fabulous work that has been done by Caitlin Ben-Mayor and Allegra Knoll. They were part of a team of volunteers who cooked, packaged and delivered over 400 warm, nutritious meals to local shelters and individuals in need. Caitlin and Allegra took part in the Community Cook4Good Holiday Program with their families and should be commended for giving up their time to help others. Thank you, Allegra and Caitlin, for your contribution and commitment to helping others.

…and a quick note on Gonski 2.0

Having a first read of the report shows 3 priorities:

• “Deliver at least one year’s growth in learning for every student every year
• Equip every student to be a creative, connected and engaged learner in a rapidly changing world
• Cultivate an adaptive, innovative and continuously improving education system”.

Underneath these 3 priorities lie 23 recommendations across 5 areas. There is a clear alignment between these findings and our goals at Emanuel. It is affirming to see how many of the recommendations we are already well down the path of actioning here. We have worked hard to create strong links with our community and seamless transitions through the School. We continue to prioritise foundation skills as well as creative and critical thinking and personal and social capabilities. We value teacher professional development and have a strong culture of staff learning. We are a school that regularly reviews its practices and have a culture of continuous improvement. We will read and watch with interest as we continue on this joyous path of educating young minds for an exciting future.

K-2 Assembly dates and details

If you are available and would like to attend your child’s class assembly item please meet us in the Millie Phillips Theatre at the end of lunch. We ask that you please sit towards the back of the Theatre to allow room for the K-2 students.

• Friday 18 May – 2 Yerushalayim
• Friday 1 June – 1 Beersheva

Wishing you all Shabbat Shalom and have a wonderful weekend.

From the Head of Jewish Life

We remember them

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Rabbi Daniel Siegel – Head of Jewish Life

This first week of Term 2, we concluded our School’s Anzac Memorial Day service with the words: “We will remember them”. In the last week of Term 1 we, likewise, joined as a school community in uttering the single word זכור/Zakhor.

Together, we commemorated יום הזכרון/Yom HaZikaron, a memorial day for fallen Israeli soldiers, which derives its name from the word זכור/Zakhor. In our Sydney Yom HaShoah commemoration service, in which our students participated, and in our School’s Holocaust program which followed, we reminded ourselves, and each other, זכור/Zakhor. Throughout that week many Jews in Sydney and throughout the world could be seen to be wearing a זכור/Zakhor pin.

The Jewish Board of Deputies launched the זכור/Zakhor Project in which they distributed זכור/Zakhor kits to all Jewish and public High Schools throughout NSW. Each of our High School students received a kit to bring home so the flame of זכור/Zakhor could burn for all Jewish families.

Explaining the זכור/Zakhor Project, Donny Hochberg, the committee chairman said: “The Shoah, one of the most significant and tragic events of Jewish history, needs to be remembered”. זכור/Zakhor means re-member. In Judaism זכור/Zakhor, re-member, means to make the past present.

If you look at our memorial garden here at Emanuel you will see plaques with the words:

יהי זכרו לברכה 

יהי זכרה לברכה 

Similarly זכרו ברוך or זכרה ברוך

We are saying: May his/her re-membrance (Zikhro/Zikhrah) be for a blessing.

Their re-membrance, however, can only be a blessing by making their lives present through us.

When we hear זכור/Zakhor, יזכור/Yizkor, יום הזכרון/Yom HaZikaron, זכרו לברכה/Zikhro livrakhah, זכרה ברוך/Zikhrah barukh, each of us is challenged to think how our life may make a loved one who has past a presence in our world.

זכור/Zakhor is a time for us to reflect, as well, on how we will be re-membered.

For, no one can live in the past.

!זכור/Zakhor!

We Remember Them 

At the rising sun and at its going down; We remember them. 
At the blowing of the wind and in the chill of winter; We remember them. 
At the opening of the buds and in the rebirth of spring; We remember them. 
At the blueness of the skies and in the warmth of summer; We remember them. 
At the rustling of the leaves and in the beauty of the autumn; We remember them. 
At the beginning of the year and when it ends; We remember them. 
As long as we live, they too will live, for they are now a part of us as We remember them.

When we are weary and in need of strength; We remember them. 
When we are lost and sick at heart; We remember them. 
When we have decisions that are difficult to make; We remember them. 
When we have joy we crave to share; We remember them. 
When we have achievements that are based on theirs; We remember them. 
For as long as we live, they too will live, for they are now a part of us as, We remember them.

By Sylvan Kamens and Rabbi Jack Reimer

The light in our lives

Kobi Bloom – Jewish Life Teacher

The following was shared by Kobi Bloom with our High School students during Kabbalat Shabbat, on the day of our school celebration of Yom HaAtsma’ut.

Rabbi Daniel Siegel

Here we are, at the end of Term 1 2018. Year 12 is about to start the 1^st  exam block of their HSC. Year 11 is about 11 weeks away from becoming madrichim and the leaders of our School. Year 7 students are one term in and beginning to settle into High School

This term, we have celebrated Tu Bishvat by planting trees in our special House programs, highlighting our commitment to the environment and welcoming our new Principal, Andrew Watt, to Emanuel. We partied on Purim and considered the moral imperative of fighting injustice where we find it by “entering the arena”.  We engaged in our Year Group sedarim where we celebrated our freedom and discussed the responsibility that comes with it. Over the last 2 days we have commemorated the lives lost in war and terror in the defence of the State of Israel and the unfathomable injustice and murder of 6 million Jews and other victims of the Holocaust. Over the last 2 days we have lit candles in memory of those lost, we have created light to illuminate the shadows and once again today, we light candles, this time for Kabbalat Shabbat.

But candles are only candles, they flicker and melt and eventually are put out. At most birthday parties, we light and blow out candles. Why do we do this? The light comes into the room, we sing and then the candles are blown out by the person whose birthday it is. I have never thought about this strange tradition until today. If candles are supposed to represent light, hope and memory why do we have a birthday boy or girl blow them out? Maybe, it is because we celebrate somebody because they themselves bring light into our lives. When I celebrate a loved one’s birthday, I don’t need to have artificial and temporary light burning on a cake because the loved one is the light in the room. But more than that when someone blows out the candles on their birthday, it doesn’t matter that the candle is blown out because the feeling of celebration, love, friendship still exists all around them. In the same way that the person we celebrate gives light to the people around them, we give our light in abundance back to them.

So today, we celebrate. We celebrate 70 years of the State of Israel. A place that can be a light to all of us. Like all sources of light, its strength is determined not only by its own power but also by its surroundings, the surfaces it reflects off and the other light sources that add to it. The Prophets of our Jewish Tradition said that Israel’s destiny was to be a light unto the nations (Or LaGoyim) and like any light, Israel can at times seem brighter and at times darker. So today, on the day that we dress in blue and white, eat falafel, dance and sing we need to remember that it is our responsibility to add to the light of the nation that our people call home. It is our responsibility to not forget the light in so many that was cut short in the Shoah and wars protecting Israel. It is our responsibility to remember how we can provide light to those who are oppressed and enslaved in our modern world as we were in Mitzrayim. It is our responsibility to consider our actions’ impact on the world’s environment. It is our responsibility to help Israel’s light burn brighter and as Zionists help make it a place that we can continue to be proud of.

Every week on Shabbat, people in synagogues around the world recite the prayer for the State of Israel.

My prayer, my hope, my tikvah for the nation of Israel, Am Yisrael, is this: I pray that Am Yisrael’s light continues to burn bright so that our collective power can help illuminate the world.

Ma Koreh

Adm Carpenter -Head of Jewish Studies Primary

Preparing for שבועות/Shavu’ot

Since Pesach, the Jewish calendar has been marking the Omer period, the 49-day period that links פסח/ Pesach with שבועות/ Shavuot (which means ‘weeks’).  The omer was a sheaf or measure of barley that was bought to the Temple during this period of the barley harvest.

In the Torah, Shavu’ot/ שבועות is one of the 3 pilgrimage and harvest festivals. During Temple times, it marked when the Israelites would bring ביכורים/ Bikkurim – offerings of the first fruits of the harvest – to the Temple. With Rabbinic Judaism, Shavu’ot developed an additional element of significance as זמן מתן תורתנו/ Z’man Matan Torateinu – the time of the giving of our Torah.

Interesting links and reads:

www.tabletmag.com/holidays/shavuot:

Articles include:

• Relating the Book of רות/ Ruth (traditionally read on שבועות/Shavu’ot) and contemporary issues of refugees and migration
• Custom of תיקון ליל שבועות / Tikkun Leil Shavuot – spending first night of שבועות/Shavu’ot engaged in Jewish learning
• Various cheese-themed recipes – from cheese cake to blintzes

www.myjewishlearning.com/category/celebrate/shavuot/:

Articles include:

• To explore the origins of שבועות/Shavu’ot customs
• Read about different traditions on Moshe’s role in writing the תורה/Torah
• Explore the connection between the Book of רות/Ruth and שבועות/Shavu’ot

What to do if you or your loved ones are lactose intolerant or vegan? Explore these recipes for dairy-free, vegan cheese cakes:

https://minimalistbaker.com/7-ingredient-vegan-cheesecakes/

Using animated resources from the producers of BimBam to develop your שבועות/Shavu’ot knowledge:

Animated and musical rendition of the Book of Ruth

www.youtube.com/watch?v=txmyWXKc9zY

From the Head of Music

David Gwilliam – Head of Music

Final call for Music Campers

We have a wonderful group of talented students from Years 4 to 12 registered to attend our annual Emanuel School Music Camp in July.  Our participants list is being finalised and a detailed information letter with a packing list will be sent out to attendees mid-term.  If you are unsure whether you have registered or not, please check that your name is on the lists on the noticeboard in the Music Department.   

Information about Music Camp, eligible ensembles and how to sign up has been published in Ma Nishma over several weeks and mailed directly to the parents of students in all eligible ensembles.  Hard copies of the information are displayed in the music department.  Some parents have asked whether they are too late to sign up.  We are still accepting bookings but please register as soon as possible via the links below.  

The cost of Music Camp 2018 will be $496. You can pay in full, OR in two instalments of $248.

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 2018 year-group, and to pay either the first instalment OR the full amount by credit card. You will be notified by email when the second instalment can be paid.

To register and pay for Music Camp 2018, please paste the following link into your internet browser:  www.trybooking.com/UUDR 

To complete the online permission note, please paste the below address into your browser: https://tinyurl.com/ybm3jzzs 

If you have any questions regarding Emanuel Music Camp 2018 please contact Joanne De Araujo, at jdearaujo@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au  

Year 12 Extension 2 English

David Camp – Head of English

Year 12 English Extension 2 2017

Congratulations to Karen Davids, Year 12 2017, for her recent nomination for the Young Writers Showcase, a book published each year that includes the best English Extension 2 Major Works. Karen’s poetry, Goorialla’s Journey, is an exploration of the impact of European colonisation on the Aboriginal people and spans the years from colonisation to today. Originally inspired by her trip to Jilkminggan with Emanuel School, Karen conducted research and wrote numerous drafts in the development of her final suite of poetry.

Below is the opening poem of her Major Work:

Goorialla’s Birth, through the Heart of Australia

50,000 – 65,000 years ago (Part 1)

“We are all variations of those same modern humans who first walked out of Africa…We are not separate species. What divides us is our history – what we have done to each other in the name of race.” – Stan Grant, Talking to My Country

I stretch out my rattling tail

And peer through

Australia’s warm and red

Pumping heart

To see Yhi’s rays

Project light onto

The barren desert

And the calm seas

Before me.

As she rubs the heart within

Her warm and protective

Chest

I push through,

Making my first slither

Onto the dry, cracked soil

Of Australia.

I slither from right

To left,

The slime that once stuck

To my green scaly skin,

Shedding onto the soil

Below me,

Until I become covered

In dirt and dust.

My underbelly tingles

With each new twig

I slide over

And beetle that crawls

Beneath my scales.

I was born into the

Land of Australia,

Through the heart

Of Australia

For my people.

High School EActive

Kristy Reed – Head of Sport 7-12 and PDHPE Teacher

Term 2 High School EActive

The Term 2 EActive program will commence next week, Monday 7 May and will conclude on Friday 29 June.

Bookings for Term 2 are still open. Places are filling quickly so it is important that registrations are completedby Monday 7 May at www.trybooking.com/FNNJ

Activities offered in Term 2 include:

• Boys Basketball training and competition (Easts Basketball League)
• Girls Netball training and competition (St Catherine’s Schools Competition)
• Girls fitness
• Boys fitness
• Rugby Union Development Squad
• Swim squad training NEW Program at UNSW!
• Gymnastics
• Tennis NEW Program at Centennial Parklands Tennis!
• Years 7/8 Boys and Girls Basketball development squad
• Pilates
• Skyzone
• Boxing fitness
• Running Club

 If you have any questions please email Kristy Reed (Head of Sport) on: kreed@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au

Optional Drama Theatresports

Kenya Trip 2019

David Whitcombe – Outreach Coordinator

Kenya Trip 2019

We are very excited to be working with Camps International again and offering our current Year 8 and 9 students the opportunity to travel to Kenya in 2019 during the June/July school holidays (3-week trip). Our 1^st ever Emanuel group leaves for Kenya on 2 July this year.

Students will be staying in secure purpose-built camps living beside rural communities and working on a range of sustainable and meaningful housing, education and conservation projects before visiting the Emanuel School Kindergarten in Karunga, built by ex-Emanuel student Genna Radnan through her charity, Gennarosity Abroad.

Parents and interested students are invited to attend our Kenya 2019 Parents Presentation which will take place on Thursday 10 May at 7:00pm in the Millie Phillips Theatre. Will Slater from Camps International will present at the meeting.

NB: Our 3^rd East Timor trip leaves next Sunday and we will start promotion for that 2019 trip in a few months. That 10-day trip is for Years 9 to 11 and has a maximum of 13 students.

Please email me with any questions.

David Whitcombe – dwhitcombe@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au

Year 1 Day at the Museum

Day at the Museum

The great day finally dawned! Our Day at the Museum was about to begin. Over the term, we studied the topic Technology through the ages. We made Me Boxes, went on an archaeological dig, conducted research and interviewed our grandparents. We went on an excursion to Vaucluse House and learnt about the Wentworth Family who lived there in the 1800s. Museum Day was a culmination of our learning over the Term. Best of all, we had an exhibition of artefacts from the past. Our favourites were a juicer from 1910, a typewriter from the 1970s and a gramophone from 1940.

Thank you children and parents who contributed to such an amazing event. We had such fun learning about the past and guessing what the future might hold!

Watch this space!

Rolene Silver and Emma Buzo

Year 1 Teachers

Thanks to parent, Shelley Millingen, for the photos.

Primary EActive Schedule

Primary extra-curricular clubs

Emma Hill -Primary Teacher and Extra-Curricular Leader

Extra-curricular clubs, Term 2, 2018

We are excited to announce new after-school clubs which will commence in Term 2.

• Art with Limor run by an experienced Art teacher (Limor Dekel)
• CodeMonkey is replacing Python coding. This is a more interactive platform for students.
• French Club run by the AllianceFrançaise organisation – more enrolments are needed
• Russian Club run by Harmony Russian School of Sydney – more enrolments are needed

  Club information, including enrolment and booking details, can be found on the Parent Portal. Posters advertising each club are also hyperlinked below. Simply click on the club to view.

Parent Portal:
https://myportal.emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au/parent/extra-curricular/

Please note clubs have minimum enrolment numbers.

Mondays

Tuesdays

Wednesdays

Thursdays

From the Primary Library

Ginnette Cameron-Gardner- Primary Teacher/Librarain

I hope that you had a wonderful vacation and found lots of adventures within the pages of books.

So far 89 students have been entering their reading and 5 students have completed the NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge.

In Year order those who have completed are:

Noa Rosenzveig: Year 4M

Aaron Berkowitz: Year 5D

Toby Seemann: Year 5D

Miriam Stubbs-Goulston: Year 6H

Aidan Sheps: Year 7 Rabin 

It is pleasing to see the number of students who are so committed to reading and recording that involvement in the NSW PRC that they are continuing on into High School. 

Tua and the Elephant by R.P. Harris, illustrated by Taeeun Yoo.

Ten-year-old Tua (whose name means ‘peanut’ in Thai) is at the night market in her home city of Chiang Mai as usual one evening while her mother, a waitress, is at work. Wandering the streets, she finds herself in an unfamiliar part of town, where she comes upon an elephant being abused by her owners. Without a second thought Tua takes the elephant and runs away with it to find a place where Pohn-Pohn (as the elephant is soon named) will be safe.  hey are pursued by the bad guys. She enlists the aid of friends, relatives, and even perfect strangers in the cause, to thrilling and comic effect.

The story immerses the reader in the culture of another country, offering insights into how people live in Thailand. Although the abuse of elephants is mentioned most of it has happened in the past and Tua witnesses very little of it directly. 

When I was little like you by Mary Malbunka and Waterlilies by Diane Lucas and Colwyn Campbell

We have many books that give an insight for children in how other people live and their cultures. These 2 books are in the non-fiction section of the Primary Library and are well worth examining. Both tell about being an Aboriginal child and learning from older people how to find indigenous food and how to prepare it, the games they played, and many other aspects of traditional life. 

Gesher – Connecting our Community

Sonia Newell – Development Officer

Breakfast with Emanuel

We held our CBD Breakfast with Emanuel session on Wednesday morning. Thank you Anthony Milner for arranging Adobe to host this event.

Andrew Watt gave the 1^st presentation of the morning at this informal breakfast session. He spoke passionately about his own personal introduction to the School as our new Principal, about how quickly the 1^st Term of 2018 came and went. He spoke about how welcomed he felt from the very 1^st day of Term 1, which included High School Assembly – when he entered the MPH to rather loud Rock Music, he was not really sure what to expect as he walked up towards the stage with large, bright balloons on display – not like anything he had experienced before in his many years in education. Andrew spoke about how proud he feels as he sees our students embrace the culture of the School, caring for each other and for the world beyond the walls of the School and reiterated that none of us should ever stop learning.

Anthony Milner, Andrew Watt, Sophie Poisel and Eytan Messiah

Elan Miller, David New, Daniel Stein and Ronen Vexler

The 2^nd presentation for the breakfast session was from Eytan Messiah, Head of Visual Arts and Co-ordinator of High School Innovation Team, and Sophie Poisel, Innovation Leader K-6, who both spoke about aspects of Innovation for our students and the direction the School is heading in this arena.  Sophie recently returned from a 5-week trip to the USA on a prestigious 2017 NSW Premier’s Commonwealth Bank STEM Teaching Scholarship. She described some of her observations and experiences at a couple of the 15 schools, universities and museums she visited in America as well as some of the things happening here with our students.  Eytan also showed the audience how Innovation impacts on our students and how this prepares them for other aspects of their learning and life experiences.

If you missed this breakfast session, you might like to attend next Wednesday’s session in Bondi Junction. 

Please RSVP for catering purposes to: snewell@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au

7.30am to 9am, Wednesday 9 May:

The Little Space

3/384 Oxford Street

Bondi Junction (cnr Newland Street)

(Please note: this venue is on Level 3 and there is NO lift)

Class of 2017 members of Shnat Habonim Dror 2018

Here now is a message I received from Alumna Shoshana (Shoshi) Blackman…

Hi Sonia, I and 11 other Emanuel 2017 graduates are currently in Israel on Shnat with Habobim Dror and are participating in Live Below the Line in two weeks’ time. We were wondering if you would be able to share the following link and message so that we can get as much support from our community at home as possible? Thank you so much! Shoshi  

Habonim Dror Shnat Participants Live Below the Line

After having countless discussions throughout our time in the socially active Jewish Youth Movement of Habonim Dror regarding the type of action we can take to help make the world a better place; the Shnat participants of 2018 have decided to do our part in attempting to decrease global poverty by participating in Live Below the Line. Live Below the Line (an extremely successful campaign facilitated by the  Australian Youth organisation ‘Oaktree’) requires each participant to live on $2 (5.45 shekels) a day – the equivalent to the extreme poverty line in Australia – for five days. Through this act, we aim to firstly raise public awareness and spark discussion regarding the issue of poverty in our communities. Secondly, we hope to accrue donations (our current goal being $2000) to aid Oaktree’s education schemes that exist in nations including Australia, Timor-Leste and Cambodia. Overall, we hope to contribute to ending the poverty cycle through education, a goal both Habonim Dror and Oaktree believe to be immensely important. The notability of our participation in Live Below the Line is greatly furthered considering our Shnat experience thus far, and the experience to come. Whilst living on Kibbutz Revivim in the Negev, we have been exposed to the poverty many Bedouin communities, Arab Villages and refugees in South Tel-Aviv are subject to, and find this shocking and unjust. In alignment with Habonim Dror’s values of Tikkun Olam (repairing the world) and Dugma Ishit (leading by example), we know that we must attempt to combat this inequality. Furthermore, in the second half of our Shnat program many of us will be volunteering in less-fortunate communities in South Tel-Aviv, and therefore feel even more connected to the issue. Overall, whether it is Israel, New Zealand, France or our community in Sydney, Habonim Dror believes in the capacity of young people to be able to make a difference in the world.

If you would like to support us, please donate to our page: www.livebelowtheline.com.au/fundraisers/HDshnat18/5-day-challenge

If you have news you would like to share with our Emanuel School Community, please send it to: snewell@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au

An Evening of Dangerous Ideas

Mother’s Day Classic Emanuel Striders