From the Principal

Andrew Watt

Our New Leadership Team Pledge to Serve the School

Our Leadership Induction Assembly was held on Tuesday, with our SRC, House Madrichim and Madrichim standing before proud family members, and the staff and students who elected them, pledging to honour and serve, as ambassadors of the Emanuel School community. This is a wonderful, close-knit team of leaders who will engage readily with the challenges of maintaining a caring and inclusive student culture and encouraging a strong student voice. Our 2017-2018 student leadership team can depart confident in the knowledge that their humour, creativity, commitment to our Jewish Life and to developing an inclusive culture have been recognised as their key legacy. We are very grateful for their consistent work ethic, right up to their final day.

The Madrichim of 2018-2019 launched their motto or theme, in the opening speech by the Head Madrich, Joshua New and Head Madricha, Rachel Turtledove, stating that: “The theme This Is Us encompasses the entire Emanuel Community, made up of the students, teachers, parents, family and friends of Emanuel, who together, make up our Emanuel family. We aim to bring everyone together to continue the growth of the caring and inclusive Emanuel culture, which is what makes Emanuel such a unique place.” We wish our Madrichim every success and much growth and enjoyment as they commence their new roles.

Year 9 on the Ski Slopes

It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it! Year 9 have been afforded the wonderful opportunity to enjoy a week on the ski slopes of Thredbo. By all reports, they have enjoyed a fantastic week of great snow conditions, gaining new skills both on and off the slopes as well as taking time out to reflect on how fortunate we are at Emanuel School to enjoy such privileges. Ray Francis reports that the Year 9 students have worked together well as a team and it has been inspiring to watch their resilience and maturity grow this week. 

Years 3-6 Athletics Carnival

A tired but happy group of aspiring athletes returned to school this afternoon, having given their best effort at our annual athletics carnival and cheered on their fellow athletes. Our focus is on personal best, participation, representing their House and having fun, not necessarily in that order! Held at Hensley Athletics Field, the day always delivers with some stellar performances in the field and on the track. House spirit is high as the students go head to head in an attempt to win the day and to be selected to represent Emanuel at the upcoming ASISSA carnival later this month.

Jack Kessell in Year 4, wining the 800m race

Helen Maynard, Director of Studies, K-6

Helen has recently informed the School that she will be departing at the end of this year, to take some time to “sharpen the saw”. She will be taking time to reconnect with her family and follow her passion for education in less fortunate countries – mainly Africa and Cambodia. She will spend extended time in the school that she has been raising funds for in Cambodia. An energetic and committed leader with a great sense of humour, Helen’s contribution to our teaching and learning will be sadly missed. Over the past seven years, Helen has strengthened our culture of thinking and overseen significant curriculum change, working closely with our teachers on programming and targeted professional development. A creative and innovative teacher, Helen has set a high standard and we thank her sincerely for her excellent work at Emanuel.

Mazal tov

• Lauren Faul, Year 12 Rabin and Oliver Evans, Year 12 Meir House were acknowledged last Thursday evening at the inaugural Montefiore Student Volunteer Awards presentation.
• Emanuel Middles and Senior Year 10 HICES Debating teams both won their preliminary finals against Moriah on Monday
• Last week Burn Bright ran a one-day training session with our 2018-2019 Madrichim and House Madrichim. Feedback included: Truly, we had such a wonderful time and that day will go down as one of the most memorable leadership programs we have run to date. Your students were so welcoming, and we really appreciated their commitment to the role, and passion to continue positive change.” 

Quote of the Week

What we learn with pleasure we never forget

Alfred Mercier

From the Primary School

Helen Maynard – Director of Studies K-6

What can make a teacher’s day?

Often it is the simple things. I received this email from one of the students in my Year 5 Mathematics group. It also made his class teacher’s day as she had one in her inbox too.

“Dear Ms Maynard

Over the holidays I have been able to read over my report. Overall I thought my report was amazing, but their was still room for improvement. If you would not mind telIing me how I can improve in Maths this term and the next.”

We had a wonderful follow-up meeting and I walked away thinking that this student will be successful no matter what they choose to do in life, as they are demonstrating many of the characteristics that are needed to flourish.

Homework Parent Focus Groups

A big thank you to the parents who came to give their thoughts around homework. It was a valuable insight into your thinking and ideas. The data collected will be taken to the Homework Committee as part of the data we have been gathering to inform our policy reform. We are also running focus groups and surveys with students so that all of our community voices have input.

International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS)

Some students in Years 3-6 have elected to undertake some or all of the 2018 ICAS Competitions. These international competitions are administered to provide students an opportunity to compete at a high level in their chosen field.

Results are rewarded according to the following scale:

High Distinction certificate – the top 1% of participants

Distinction certificate – the next 10% of participants

Credit certificate – the next 25% of participants

Merit certificate – the next 10% of participants

Participation certificate – all remaining participants

We have received the results for Digital Technologies and the Science Competitions.

Congratulations to all those students who participated for their wonderful efforts. Certificates will be distributed when they arrive.

We especially commend the following students for their outstanding efforts:

Digital Technologies

Distinction: Gil Banna (Year 3), Isaac Shammay (Year 3), Brandon Shevelev (Year 3), Amelie Mueller (Year 4), Noa Rosenzveig (Year 4), Ariel Bloom (Year 5), Ashley Cohn (Year 5), Elias Davis (Year 5), Niek Nathan (Year 5), Oren Levin-Kahn (Year 6), Miriam Stubbs-Goulston (Year 6)

Credit: Samuel Carpenter (Year 3), Lily Foltyn (Year 3), Avalon Gold (Year 4), Jonathan Goldberg (Year 4), Jake Isenberg (Year 4), David Miller (Year 4), Jessica Smith (Year 4), Aaron Berkowitz (Year 5), Liam Danon (Year 5), Jesse Barel (Year 6), Aiden Kanevsky (Year 6), Gideon Pozniak (Year 6), Jasper Selinger (Year 6), Ella Sherman (Year 6)

Merit: Daniel Newfield (Year 5), Jayden Segal (Year 5), Jack Goldberg (Year 6), Jacinta Shevelev (Year 6)

Science

High Distinction: Raphael Harpaz (Year 5)

Distinction: Gil Banna (Year 3), Samuel Carpenter (Year 3), Leah Joshua (Year 3), Isaac Shammay (Year 3), Avalon Gold (Year 4), Amelie Mueller (Year 4), Ari Smaller (Year 4), Jessica Smith (Year 4), Aaron Berkowitz (Year 5), Ariel Bloom (Year 5), Ashley Cohn (Year 5), Elias Davis (Year 5), Niek Nathan (Year 5), Daniel Newfield (Year 5), Joshua Ottaviano (Year 5), Ethan Hirst (Year 6), Oren Levin-Kahn (Year 6)

Credit: Declan Christie (Year 4), Jake Isenberg (Year 4 ), Kira Levin-Kahn (Year 4), Gideon Owen (Year 4), Gabriel Pozniak (Year 4), Noa Rosenzveig (Year 4), Daliah Smagarinsky (Year 5), Aiden Kanevsky (Year 6), Alexander Kirievsky (Year 6), Yael Rembach (Year 6), Jasper Selinger (Year 6), Miriam Stubbs-Goulston (Year 6)

Merit: Elise Goldman (Year 3), Arielle Sharp (Year 5), Gideon Pozniak (Year 6)

From the Head of Jewish Life

Hearing hearts 

Rabbi Daniel Siegel

Prior to affixing the mezuzah to our new Innovation Centre, in last week’s dedication ceremony, our students, in unison, sang שמע ישראל/Shema Yisra’el. Coincidentally, this first paragraph of the Shema prayer appeared in last week’s Torah reading. This week’s parashah, includes the second paragraph of the Shema, והיה עם שמוע/VeHayah im Shamo’a, also contained in the mezuzah.

The Shema prayer is said up to four times a day and is traditionally the first prayer parents teach their children and the last a Jew is to say before his final breath.

Shema means to “hear” as in Shema Yisra’el -“Hear O Israel”, but it also means to heed as in VeHayah im Shamo’a – “And, if you heed”.

In Judaism, true heeding can only be born of hearing. Hearing, in turn, is only possible through the heart. This week’s parashah is replete with the words שמע/shema-hear and לב/Lev-heart. The coupling of these words reflect their interdependence and the more profound meaning of shema-understanding.

To truly hear, and thus fully heed, requires understanding and, therefore, the wisest of individuals, King Solomon, when given the opportunity to make one wish, and have it granted, asks for a לב שומע/An understanding heart.

Heeding the voice of another, human or divine, requires a hearing heart that goes beyond blind obedience or capitulation. Hearing requires personal and meaningful engagement calling for what our parashah, and prophetic tradition, calls a circumsised heart
ומלתם את ערלת לבבכם

The callousness of heart closes us off to understanding the needs of others and realising the possibilities of self.

The day following the dedication of our new building, our new High School madrichim took part in a full day program of preparing themselves to become dedicated student leaders. In discussing how they might engage their peers in meaningful tefillah experiences, one student frankly asked: “If it’s not meaningful to me, how can I make it meaningful to others?”.

It is not by accident that our Jewish tradition calls tefillah/prayer /עבודה שבלב Avodah SheBaLev-Service of the Heart. If we are to open our hearts to the needs of others we must discern and meet our own needs, as well. This, Shema tells us, is the essence of authentic prayer and Jewish living.

Devar Torah

Tomer Belkin – Year 12

Moshe, the leader of the Israelites, knows he is not allowed into the land of Israel. Despite this, we see in this parashah, Eikev, he continues to lead the Jewish people until the very end. He tells the Israelites, who were not always faithful, that it was the faith of their ancestors that leads to their entering the Promised Land.

To me that’s huge.

We go to an incredible private school, with other fantastic people and we have access to practically a new building every other year, and it’s all thanks to our parents. They don’t get to go into the “Land of Israel”, and yet they try so hard to ensure that our lives are full of “milk and honey”.

I have trials in a week; and over the weekend I was so stressed I think my hair almost turned grey. And throughout it all, my dad was there, and he comforted me, and forced me to work, and bought a tub of Ben and Jerrys’ Double Choc Fudge, all whilst looking after my two infant half-siblings.

To me, this parashah really made me think about how lucky I am, to be so tight with my parents, but I think it’s more than that. This isn’t just about remembering to be thankful for our parents, but also to think about those around us who need us. What are we able to do to those around us, bearing in mind that we may very well not get the milk or the honey, to make their lives better?

Ma Koreh

Maya Zyl

Year 6 excursion to the Sydney Jewish Museum

Last week Year 6 spent a fascinating day at the Sydney Jewish Museum. This visit connected with our learning in Jewish Studies this term and with Project Heritage. We were warmly welcomed at the Museum by our wonderful guides, who spoke to us about the origins of the museum and how it was created by Holocaust survivors in order to educate the community about the Jewish people and the Holocaust.

We learnt about how Hitler came to power using stereotypes, generalisation and propaganda to persuade the German community that they were the superior race. We agreed that stereotyping was not a good way to categorise people and that this was unfair. We learnt about different types of Jewish resistance during the Shoah such as fighting back, revolts, hiding, writing diaries and keeping Jewish customs. By creating moments of joy this gave people hope and made them stronger inside.

We learnt of another example of resistance in a ghetto, where a painter and her husband had found a way to educate children about how to stay safe in the ghettos using art and games. After touring the Museum with our guide and seeing its photographs and artefacts, we were very fortunate to have Dr Kitty Lowinger, a Holocaust survivor, tell us her story. It was inspiring to hear her emotional story about survival and we had the opportunity to ask her lots of questions. I am looking forward to hearing more personal stories during Project Heritage.

Our visit also included hearing from a curator and sharing stories about interesting and unusual artefacts at the museum. We learnt about how museums check for background information for artefacts and so much more. Everyone had such an interesting, enriching day and if I had a chance to go back there, I certainly would.

Preparing for Examinations

Adam Majsay – Director of Studies 7-12

In the lead up to exam blocks for our Years 11 and 12 students, here are a few tips from Dr Prue Salter, from Enhanced Learning Educational Services, https://enhanced-learning.net/ on maximising the time remaining between now and exam week:

• It is realistic to expect that in the weeks before your examination period you will need to increase the amount of time you spend on schoolwork both during the week and on the weekend.
• Start adding an extra hour of work to your weeknights and quite a few extra hours of work on the weekend. The weekend is when you can get a solid amount of work done while you are fresher and able to concentrate better. 
• Once you have brainstormed everything you will do to study for each exam, the next step is to decide when you will actually do the preparation steps you have come up with. 
• It is a good idea to do some sort of a time plan or timetable or before you know it time will slip away from you. 
• We assume it is impossible to stick EXACTLY to a study plan as things come up, and everything always takes longer than you think it will, so you have to be realistic in the plan you put together.

Prue suggests that there are a few guidelines to consider when preparing for your exams: 

• EQUAL TIME PER SUBJECT?: Take into account whether you want equal time available to each subject or whether you want more time for a certain subject.
• DON’T OVER-SCHEDULE: It is a good idea to leave some ‘spare’ time each week in case things during the week take longer than expected or in case you feel you need to do extra that week on a particular subject.
• SPREAD OUT YOUR STUDY: Try and study each subject at least once a week but preferably twice a week.
• SMALLER BLOCKS: It is better for your brain and memory to do three smaller blocks of 1.5 hours each on a subject during the week than one big block of 4.5 hours on one subject.
• SHORT BREAKS: You really should take a few minutes break every half hour when studying. Get up from your desk and move around the house. Don’t move from studying to checking Instagram and WhatsApp!
• STUDY CONTRASTING SUBJECTS: If you are studying two subjects on a night, it is better to study contrasting subjects like Maths and English or Science and French rather than similar subjects like Ancient History and Modern History.
• STUDY HARDEST SUBJECTS WHEN ALERT: In the periods where you are most alert you should do the hardest subjects (or even the ones you find the most challenging).
• THINK ABOUT SCHEDULING: If you have extra time before a particular exam for preparation, take this into account in your planning. You should try to work evenly on all subjects but if you have 3 exams one week and 3 the next week, then the weekend before the first 3 just focus on those as you have another weekend to focus on the other 3.
• ALSO DO HOMEWORK: Don’t forget you still have to fit in homework all the way up to the exams as well.
• DON’T STRESS: Don’t stress if there is not as much time as you would like or feel you need to prepare. You can’t change this, all you can do is choose to make the most of the time that actually is available.

We wish our Year 11 and 12 students well in their preparation for the Year 11 Yearly Examinations in Week 6, and the HSC Trial Examinations in Weeks 3 and 4.

HICES Debating

Lauren Butler

Jemma Lopis

Suzanne Plume

Yesterday afternoon we walked down to Moriah, with some trepidation, to debate them on their own ground.

Our Senior Year 10 team, yesterday represented ably by Elijah Grynberg, Rebekah Goldsworthy, Beau Glass and Isaac Grove argued the affirmative case: “That online manners are just as important as table manners”.

They proved too strong for the home team and triumphed convincingly over their opponents.

Our Middles team, represented brilliantly by Alix Cane, Eden Glass, Anna Davis and Jake Newfield also argued the affirmative case: “That school canteens should only sell vegetarian products”.

They were also triumphant.

This means that Emanuel has five teams remaining in the HICES Debating competition as we enter the Quarter Finals.

Many thanks to our coaches, alumnus Joshua Moses (Middles), Danielle Santos (Juniors)  and Ellie and Matt from Masters Academy (Seniors Years 9 and Yearr 10 and Opens).

Lauren Butler: (Facilitator HICES Junior Debating)

Jemma Lopis: (Facilitator HICES Middles Debating)

Suzanne Plume: (Facilitator HICES Senior and Opens Debating)

From the Music Department

Acting Head of Music Performances & Academic K-6

Acting Head of Music – Academic Y-12

Recent student performances

The Advanced Jazz Ensemble and the Emanuel String Quartet have performed at two events already this term. These hard working musicians have entertained guests at the opening of the new Innovation Centre on Thursday evening and also performed at the Madrichim Induction Assembly.  A special mention to Rebekah Goldsworthy (Year 10) for performing in both ensembles!

Instrumental Ensemble auditions

Instrumental Ensemble auditions will be held at lunchtimes on Monday 6 August and Wednesday 8 August. Students who are interested should have signed on to an audition time on the appropriate sheet posted outside the Music Office since last week. Ensembles open to audition are:

• Bernstein Concert Band
• Copland Concert Band
• Junior Jazz Combo
• Intermediate Jazz Ensemble
• Advanced Jazz Ensemble
• Junior Stage Band
• Senior Stage Band.

Entry to the Jazz Ensembles and rock bands is by arrangement and invitation only, and according to the instrumentation requirements of each particular ensemble, but if you would like to join one of these special ensembles, please email Ms Springford on dspringford@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au to register your interest.

Instrumental Ensemble audition requirements

• Play one piece, or a large section of a piece, that shows you at your best (a solo piece is best).
• Choose your own major and minor scale and a chromatic scale (choose your best and most interesting scales, and the widest pitch range you can manage smoothly).
• You will be given sight reading, which means you will be asked to play an unknown piece that is of the level of the ensemble for which you are auditioning.
• Success depends upon a) availability of positions in the ensemble, b) audition performance c) ensemble citizenship of current ensemble (punctuality, behaviour, preparedness, practice of parts).

The weekly Ensemble rehearsal schedule can be viewed as a webpage at the following link:  http://tinyurl.com/EnsembleRehearsalSchedule

Night of Song

Auditions for solos are in Week 3 (Tuesday 7 – Thursday 9 August) and the sign-up sheets are on the Music Department notice board.  Students must bring a backing track or piano must for the audition.

Meir House

The Meir Advocate

Rashi Times

Nadja Avshalom and Aron Jaffe – Rashi House Madroichim 2017-2018

As we pass our roles of House Captains to Eden Sadra and Jared Elbourne, we will never let go of our Rashi pride and we are all so thankful to have been able to have this experience!

Mazal tov to Rashi member, Alexander Placek. While in Europe, Alex played in a a few tennis tournaments playing against the best players from all over the word. In one tournament he made us very proud by reaching the top 16 in singles and reaching the semi-finals in doubles!

Thank you again for everyones enthusiasm and commitment to Rashi House, we are so proud of everyones achievements.

Rashi House Captains 

Rashi House Madrichim 2018-2019, Eden Sadra and Jared Elbourne with their Head of House, Natalie Lijovic

Rabin House

Welcome back Rabinites!

Term 3 has arrived, and we hope you have all had a relaxing and fun holiday so you are ready to launch into the new Term with lots of ambition and energy! For our studious Year 12s, the last two weeks have been less of a break as they have been preparing for the upcoming Trial Examinations and we wish them the best of luck in the Trials over the next two weeks.

Tia Mallinick and Adam Riseel, House Madrichim 2018-2019

Tai Oshlack – Rabin House Madrich 2017-2018

Alanah Borman, Rabin House Madricha 2017-1018

Rabin House Madrichim – changing of the guard!

This week, Rabin House thanked Alanah  Borman and Tai Oshlack for their outstanding service as House Madrichim. It has been a year where Rabin House especially focused on engagement and team building, and we have had lots of fun and exciting activities. Tai and Alanah took on the roles and have served as caring, generous and kind role models – always willing to go above and beyond to be there for their fellow Rabinities. Rabin House commend them on their efforts and we want you both to know how much students across Year Groups have appreciated and learned during your leadership.

The 2018/2019 Rabin House Madrichim – Tia Mallinick, Adam Riesel and the Year 11 Rabin Tutor Group are excited to have the opportunity to take on mantle and leadership roles, and lead Rabin House in the year ahead. We are all excited and look forward to their initiatives.

Rabin Creative committee

We have many gifted students in our House and Rabin House has led many creative initiatives. The Rabin caps, wall and House flag are just some initiatives and we are now in the process of looking at new initiative and designs for 2018/2019. Rachel Jammy, Year 11 Rabin, will lead the Rabin House creative committee, so if you are interested in Design, Art or just would like to be involved then just email Rachel and come along to the first meeting in the week in Week 3 when Year 9 return from ski camp. Rachel’s email is: jammy.rachel@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au

Oliver Evans and Lauren Faul

Montefiore Award – outstanding service to the community

The inaugural Montefiore Student Volunteer Awards presentation for Selfless Service and Commitment was held on Thursday 26 July. The ceremony was an opportunity for our community to acknowledge the service of students from High Schools across the Eastern Suburbs and the audience included The Honourable Tanya Plibersek, Member of Parliament. Emanuel School Year 12 students Lauren Faul and Oliver Evans were presented with awards in recognition of their dedicated service. Lauren and Oliver have generously set aside time to volunteer weekly over the last couple of years. They have brought smiles to the Montefiore residents and made real impact in their and their relatives’ day-to-day lives. We are very proud of Lauren’s and Oliver’s efforts and it has no doubt also been a very rewarding experience for them too.

That’s the Bugle for this week. We look forward to hearing of Year 9 students’ adventures on the slopes next week and Rabin House and Emanuel School thank all Tutors and staff members for generously giving up time away from their families to make camps like these possible.

Reminder: We would love to acknowledge your achievements or celebrations. Please remember to email Mr Rembson or the House Madrichim, Adam and Tia, if you would like a mention or make an announcement.

Primary Imaginarium opens

Primary students have been excited to have their first experiences in our new Primary Imaginarium. Last term, Year 5 and 6 sudents developed plans for the space including furniture designs. These ideas have been shared with a team of industrial designers who are investigating how we can turn these designs into reality. Students have also started ideating what lunch time experiences could be had in the Imaginarium. I’d like to encourage students to come into the space at 8 am each day to further develop and pitch these ideas to our Year 6 IT and Innovation Leaders and myself.

We have had a number of sessions running in the space already.

Year 1 students started their Digi Tech sessions with Ms Grieve, investigating what a computer is. The students wrote wonderings about the old technology in the space. They carefully observed Jackson  from IT take apart an old computer and have a chance to touch the various components. They asked lots of great questions. One student made the connection that a computer is like a city.

During Term 2, Year 1 and 2 students have been designing and creating Robots for Good during Friday lunch times. Students played with some of our newest robots at Emanuel and learnt about ways that robots are helping in our daily lives. This term, students will continue to prototype their designs for robots that could help in the classroom.

Year 3 students studied the first contact between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in Sydney in Term 2. They investigated the concept of exploration through the lens of the Endeavour and the voyage of Captain Cook. As a continuation of this study, several Year 3 students learnt about other famous explorers and their voyages. They were given the challenge to design, build and code a voyage of exploration using our playground map and a Sphero. This term we will continue to build our prototypes, test their stability on the sphero chariot and code the sphero to take the path of the explorer. We also hope to film our voyages with a drone (thanks Mrs Tritsch for such a wonderful idea).

Year 4 students have been using the space to prototype their projects for the Emanuel Good Design Awards on August 10. In Term 2 the students looked for problems in their daily lives. They continued to dig deeper and empathise with who they were designing for by conducting surveys with parents, staff and students and by making observations. Students are developing prototypes through a storyboard, a persona or a model. Some of the projects include dream machines to aid sleep in younger and older people, creating solutions to remembering routines and belongings and redesigning the school hat.

Year 5 students experienced a Design Thinking workshop through the lens of The Party Project. Students had to conduct semi-structured interviews to find out about one of their peers. We focused on how framing a question or phrase differently can give you a different responses through the flower task. Students developed a prototype that experienced like (storyboard), looked like (map) or reflected one component of the party. They then pitched their party design to the peer for whom they were designing.

Year 6 students have been busy looking at the space and collecting data to design nesting tables as part of The Goldilocks Project. They have been interviewing students in Kindergarten to Year 6 about their table design preferences including height, how they like working and aesthetic features. We look forward to seeing these designs and specifications.

Year 6 students have also been using the space to reflect upon and film their process for the Tech Girls are Superheroes competition. The STEAMA 6 team developed an app that focuses on inspiring younger students into STEM fields, wrote a business plan and filmed a pitch.

The Green Team will be using the space to use Design Thinking to develop solutions to minimise waste in our School. Last term we shared their plans and images from how much rubbish we generated in one day at Emanuel. The Green Team will be in contact soon to collect some information about how you minimise waste in your home and how we might improve this at school. Check out how this one town in Japan did this here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eym10GGidQU

Sophie Poisel, Innovation Leader

We also have our upcoming Primary Innovation-Athon this term, and the Primary Innovation Festival in Term 4. I look forward to sharing more about the happenings in the Imaginarium over the term.

Primary Gifted and Talented

Colleen Elkins | Gifted and Talented Co-Ordinator K-6

Australian Mathematics Challenge results

Congratulations to all students in the Years 3-6 Extension Mathematics classes who participated in the collaborative four-week Australian Mathematics Challenge last term.

In the Middle Primary Division, the results are as follows:

Distinction

Gideon Owen, Ari Smaller, Xander Keller, Noah Revelman and Jessica Smith.

Credit

Sam Carpenter, Micah Esra, Gil Banna, Amelie Mueller, Noa Rosenzveig, Ezra Glover-Sanders and Jake Isenberg.

Upper Primary Division

Distinction

Ethan Hirst, Ella Sherman, Zack Berkowitz, Aiden Kanevsky, Sophie Masnick, Yael Rembach, Daliah Smagarinsky and Liberty Waldner.

Credit

Joel Allen, Jesse Barel, Jack Goldberg, Jayden Segal, Alice Milner, Jasper Selinger, Zac Gerber, Giulia Goldman, Raphael Harpaz, Dean Klugman, Niek Nathan, Violet Nathanson, Jacinta Shevelev, Talia Tsipris, Gemma Wainstein, Jed Gottlieb, Aaron Berkowitz and Alexander Kirievsky.

Well done to all students for these outstanding results and for their perseverance and collaboration skills!

From the Primary Library

Ginnette Cameron-Gardner – Primary Teacher/Librarian

Congratulations to 14 more students who have completed the NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge this week, all in Year 1.

In alphabetical order:

Veronica Aronov, Jack Botsman, Zachary Churnin, Amy Goldstein, Nathan Joshua, Ciel Kat Sharabani, Zoe Laurence, Ethan Likht, Zoe Lyons, Neve Rubinstein, Reina Steiner-Carrion, Orlando Van der Starre, Tal Wajsman and Nava Weiss.

This week’s article is about series written by a Sydney author Jacqueline Harvey. She was a teacher and then Deputy Head and still enjoys visiting schools.

The Primary Library holds 16 of the Alice-Miranda series and has on order #17 Alice-Miranda in Scotland. Alice-Miranda is seven and one-quarter years old in the first of the Alice-Miranda series and is slowly aging. She is just over 10 years old in the latest book, #17, Alice-Miranda in Scotland.  She is a resilient girl who loves a challenge, she has a prodigious memory, sees the good in people, loves her school and has adventures set in many different places and countries including Paris, Japan, Scotland and Hollywood, all places that the author has visited and evidences her knowledge of them in the story. This series has won Industry and Children’s Choice awards and is published in many countries including the United States, United Kingdom, Indonesia, Turkey, Brazil (for Portuguese translation), Hungary and Germany. The series has also been optioned for television.

The Clementine Rose series was the next series started. Clementine Rose is a kind, helpful honest girl who is five years old in the first book and the series is suited to a younger reader. This series has been sold to the United Kingdom and Brazil and is available in the United States. In 2015 Clementine Rose and the Seaside Escape was shortlisted for an Australian Book Industry Award (ABIA) in the Younger Readers Category. This series is not as popular with our readers who are keen readers of the Alice-Miranda series

We have on order the first two books in Jacqueline Harvey’s new series, Kensy and Max. This is a spy series in which eleven-year-old girl and boy twins have adventures. The plotting is fast-paced and there are clues and codes throughout the story which will appeal to boys and girls.

Happy reading.

Primary Extra-Curricular clubs and EActive

Emma Hill | Primary Teacher and Co-ordinator of Extra-Curricular Programs

New club in Term 3:

Bricks 4 Kidz: this is a returning club however it is now being offered during a lunchtime as well as after school.

Typing 4 Kids and TechFun have been cancelled this term due to low enrolment numbers.

Please note that Extra-Curricular clubs as well as EActive clubs are managed by Emma Hill. Please contact Emma on ehill@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au queries.

Due to the number of Jewish Holidays next term a lot of clubs will be finishing earlier. Please see the dates below. As usual, there will be no EActive clubs in Week 10.

Club information, including enrolment and booking details, are now online on the
Parent Portal:
https://myportal.emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au/parent/extra-curricular/

Please note clubs have minimum enrolment numbers.

Careers

Claire Pech – Careers Advisor

UAC is open for business!

UAC officially opens up this week. This means that everyone in Year 12 can now apply for their university preferences. The closing date for on-time applications is 29 September. Students can still apply after this date, but prices jump from $70 to $200. I encourage everyone in Year 12 to apply by the on-time application date, even if they are unclear of their choices. They then have until mid-December to finalise their top five list.

I have done a walk-through of the process with Year 12. I also include a step-by-step video of what to do – it is a very straightforward process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nlshz2T8qY&index=2&list=PLvsY3_V9O-ThwqY7R4lLyZWgTgm3wbywF. For all Year 12s, UAC have now sent out a PIN via email. This needs to be stored, and a few students have found this in their own ‘junk’ or ‘clutter’ folders.

Open day season

August also begins the open day season. I want to encourage ALL students to take advantage of these days and attend. I see concrete decisions being made each year, as a result of attending open days, talking to students, lecturers, and wandering around getting a feel and sense of the potential university they are going to attend. Here is the full list, which I have provided to students. Year 10, Year 11 and Year 12 can attend these, and usually multiple visits over a few years, can really help. I encourage parents to take students along as there are always multiple clashes, especially the last weekend of August.

Kornmehl

Terry Aizen – Director of Kornmehl

Aboriginal culture and explorations

This term the children have been exploring Aboriginal symbols in art and stories.

Inspired by a set of story blocks we received as a gift from Aboriginal artist, Graham Tooney, who designed a kit for educators to observe, explore, learn and understand Australian Aboriginal culture and its people, the children began to use the story blocks to tell their own stories.

The story blocks show traditional Australian Aboriginal art symbols that have been used for thousands of years as a means of communicating within the tribe and to other tribes across Australia.

The symbols are used in art to describe landscapes, to tell and share stories along with many other reasons. The children learnt that many of the symbols were developed through the drawing on dirt and sand. The symbols were also used to describe the hunting and tracking of animals.  Animals left tracks behind on the ground where they walked and so the Aboriginal people followed these tracks to hunt for food.

After giving the children an example of how to use the story blocks to tell a story, they were then given the opportunity to tell and share their own stories:

Hannah: One day there was a girl who was going to ride on a goanna and then she rided (sic) on a train track and she felt scared. She didn’t realise that there was rain coming and it fell on her head. She looked in the sky and realised there was a rainbow and she really wanted to see an emu and she wanted to see if there was a boy coming to see a girl. Then she actually wanted to go in the waterhole and she got stuck in it and pulled herself out of it. Then she saw a kangaroo. The end.

Leo: Once there was a girl. Her name was Alicia. She rode on some emus. Then she found a waterhole. Then the water made a rainbow.

Tom: One day there was a boy who walked along the track and then he saw a rainbow.  Then he saw a kangaroo. Then he saw a water hole and then a river. Then he saw some tracks of an emu and then he saw a girl.

Alicia: There were lots of kangaroos and then the kangaroos saw a river. After that they saw a river and a hole. They then saw an emu. Then they saw a rainbow. Then they saw lots of rain.

Griffin: Once upon a time there was a girl and her name was Alice. Once she saw a trail and there were kangaroo prints on the trail. She found a boy. His name was Seeker. Seeker found emu prints. Both of them walked together and when they finally stopped on the trail they found a river. Right in front of the river was a waterhole. They went through the waterhole and then they ended up on the other side of the river and they saw a goanna. It started to rain. After that they saw another lake. They saw a beautiful rainbow.

Yarning circles

Yarning circles have been used by Aboriginal people for thousands of years to discuss issues in an inclusive and collaborative matter. We can follow the model of the Yarning circle to discuss deep issues. It is important to be present, to have respectful interactions, to be open and honest, to listen deeply, acknowledge others and offer your own thoughts and feelings in turn. A yarning circle is a place where all opinions are valued.

(Queensland Government, Department of Education, C2C_EATSIPS_Yarning circles, Training and Employment)

The Starfish used the notion of a Yarning circle to make a new child in the group feel welcome and get to know her new friends. The children held onto a large ball of wool and rolled it to a friend, getting to know each other by saying their names as they held the wool. They looked at the shapes the wool made and how one continuous piece of wool connected us to each other – a beautiful and mindful experience.

Matthew Doyle

On Wednesday the children had the opportunity to participate in an interactive show with Aboriginal performer, Matthew Doyle. Matthew used music, dance and storytelling to convey messages about his culture, animals and history.

We learnt how a digeridoo is made and that it has about 40 different names depending on which Aboriginal language you use. Matthew made different sounds on the digeridoo and the children had to guess what they were. He made a cockatoo, kookaburra, magpie, dingo, owl and a kangaroo hopping.

Matthew showed us a small and large pair of tapping sticks and played them for us. The children clapped along to keep the beat as Matthew combined the digeridoo and tapping sticks to make a song. We also looked at large and small boomerangs and learnt that they are used to hunt animals with and only the small ones come back to you.

We all pretended to be sea eagles and danced and sang along to the instruments.

Renee Schneider assisted Matthew to do the actions to a lovely Aboriginal story of rowing in a canoe and catching a fish in the water with a spear. The workshop ended with Matthew using ochre to paint each child’s face or hand with either a snake, flower, stars or a sun. Matthew explained that each family uses different markings of ochre on their bodies to depict their family name.

Happy Birthday

We wish a very happy birthday to Leo Marishel (4), and to our special educator Heather Marshall. We hope you both had a beautiful day.

Mazal tov

Please join me in wishing Renee Schneider and her family a hearty mazal tov on her son Jamie’s bar mitzvah on the weekend.