Volume 27 Issue 23 - 10 Aug 2018

From the Principal

Andrew Watt

Visit from UNSW Scientia Professor of Artificial Intelligence, Toby Walsh

As part of our CSIRO STEM in Schools Day, Hon Matt Thistlethwaite MP and Professor Toby Walsh joined our Year 6 students in the Imaginarium today. Students explored the UN Global Goals for Sustainable Development and used this to create and pitch a job of the future. Members of the Innovation Team and Executive joined our special guests for lunch in the Principal’s office, where we discussed opportunities for future engagement with CSIRO volunteers and how STEM-related knowledge and skills would be of benefit in the workplace of the future. We look forward to developing a range of industry partnerships, such as this one.

The Hon. Matt Thistlethwaite MP, Professor Toby Walsh, Andrew Watt with Year 6 students, Marina Akstein and Joshua Gordon

High Achiever Principal Academic and Effort Awards

Our assembly this week recognised those students in Years 7 to 11 who achieved a perfect set of grades, for academic achievement and/or effort; no mean feat! The honour list of students includes:

Year 7 

Effort: Alix Cane, Alexis Demos, Maayan Granot, Claire Madziar, Ruby Miller, Coby New and Jake Sharp                 

Year 8

Jordan Rubinstein, Achievement; Anna Davis, Effort;  Isabella Filipczyk, Effort; Lilly Goldberg, Effort; Yayda Sacks, Effort and Remy Waller, Effort

Year 9

Jessica Lowy, Achievement; Jade Berson, Effort; Ezra Hersch, Effort, Charlotte Lyons, Effort and Chloe Miller, Effort                       

Year 10

Rebekah Goldsworthy, Achievement; Jonathan Sebban, Achievement; Talia Blackman, Effort; Lachlan Corne, Effort; Madeleine Liger, Effort; Alexander Placek, Effort; Chenyao Qu, Effort and Samara Trenaman, Effort

Year 11

Dylan Herdan, Achievement and Effort; Matthew Joffe, Achievement and Effort; Joshua New, Achievement and Effort; Adena  Sheps, Achievement and Effort; Noah Klein, Effort and Rachel Turtledove, Effort.

Those students who achieved outstanding results and/or maintained an outstanding effort will be recognised through our House Assemblies. I had the privilege of reviewing and then commenting on all Year 7 and Year 12 reports. It was my first close look at how Emanuel students work and perform academically, as well as how they behave in class. I am pleased to report that, overall, our student reports were very impressive, indicating a high level of involvement and engagement in class activities. It was also pleasing to note the high number of students who were well-organised and committed to working hard at home, as well as in class. Our teachers are to be congratulated on writing a detailed, thoughtful, encouraging and constructive set of academic reports. For some students, however, the reports will have been a wake-up call. For these students (and they know who they are!), there is still plenty of room for improvement, and I will look forward to reading a better report in Semester 2.

The generosity of our Parents and Friends Association (P&F)

Our Years K-2 library resources will receive a significant boost, due to the generous donation of $10,000 from the P&F. These key resources will support our recently introduced synthetic phonics program, introduced at the beginning of 2017. These resources will benefit our young ones for many years to come.

Design Thinking in action

If you had wandered past the Basketball courts on Tuesday afternoon, you would have been forgiven for thinking there was a ballet of students and streamers going on, as Year 8 completed their STEAM Day – Festival of Flight. Creativity, learning and play were the order of the day, with students taking part in hands-on experiences, to experiment and discover aspects of flight. What happens when you blow up a balloon in a bottle? Can you balance a ping pong ball on a straw? What materials will fly in a wind tunnel? What do kites have in common mathematically? With some learning under their belts, students drew designs of kites before using a range of materials to make their imagination a reality. Frustrations ad disappointments were overcome with resilience and a positive attitude towards solving a range of technical problems as the construction process continued. The day culminated in a chaos of colour and motion on the basketball court, as students demonstrated success (or otherwise) of their design. The Year 8 Festival of Flight was a great success, with perfect wind conditions.

Rabbis’ mezuzah dedication

We were delighted to have Rabbis Jeffrey Kamins OAM, Jacki Ninio, Rafi Keiserbleuth, Dr Orna Triguboff and Reverend Sam Zwarenstein join us today to tour the Innovation Centre and dedicate a mezuzah in each of the remaining learning spaces within the building. 

Rabbi Daniel Siegel, Margaret Lowe, Rabbi Rafi Kaiserbleuth, Rabbi Jacki Nina, Rabbi Orna Triguboff, Andrew Watt, Rabbi Jeffrey Kamins, Reverend Sam Zwarenstein and Adam Carpenter

A student engages with the realities of the drought for our farmers

Jonathan Schach

Jonathan Schach (Year 9) is organising a collection of supplies to support farmers across NSW who are ‘doing it tough’ in the drought. He has independently planned for a collection day on 14 August, when family donations of the following items can be delivered to the school: cleaning products, nappies, baby wipes, baby formula, coffee, tea, rice and pastas, sunscreen, toothbrush and toothpaste, first aid products, perfumes, anti-perspirant, moisturisers, sanitary items, make-up kits, water-free hair products, a chocolates, deodorant, razors, shaving cream and nail clippers. All goods collected will be distributed through the CWA branches west of Cobar on 17 August. We thank Jonathan for committing to acting on his concern for our farmers; a wonderful example of how Tikkun Olam can be applied practically today.

Quote of the day

“We learn more by looking for the answer to a question and not finding it than we do from learning the answer itself.” 

Lloyd Alexander

Student Citizenship Documentation

Dear Parents

The School receives government funding for students under the Australian Education Act 2013, which requires us to assess eligibility for that funding, available to enrolled students who are:

  • Australian citizens,

  • Students with visas of certain classes, but not all classes of visa.

    Students who hold visa classes that are not eligible for funding are referred to as “overseas students”.

    The School is required to retain copies of documents supporting the student’s citizenship or visa status.

    Since 20 August 1986, children born in Australia only acquire automatic Australian citizenship if at least one parent is an Australian citizen or permanent resident at the time of the child’s birth. If the student’s birth certificate identifies that both parents were born overseas, the Commonwealth Department of Education & Training (DET) would expect evidence of the citizenship status of the student.

    Within the Emanuel School community we have a high proportion of one or both parents of enrolled students, who were born overseas. It has not been the School’s practice to date to collect copies of documents proving citizenship and we have relied on the declarations made by parents on the enrolment form. We have recently been advised this may not meet the requirements of the DET, so we have embarked on a process to collect the required information.

    We have engaged Ms Linda Nguyen to manage this process. You will be contacted to provide the required information in the coming weeks to enable the school to comply with the legislation. In most cases, a student’s Australian passport is all that will be required.

Where the child does not have an Australian passport, other evidence of their citizenship will be required.

If you have any queries please email: enrolments@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au. Your swift response to this request would be sincerely appreciated, given the volume of work required for us to meet funding requirements.

From the Head of Jewish Life

Rabbi Daniel Siegel

Seeing God in a Selfie Age

Last week’s parashah, as we have seen, is replete with the word Shema -“Hear”. As discussed, Shema, beyond the auditory sense of hearing, means engaged mindfulness and understanding. This week’s parashah begins and ends with a call to “See”- Re’eih.

This holiday past, I had occasion to appreciate the centrality of seeing in the many Eastern Orthodox Churches of the Balkans. The iconography within these churches is a feast for the eyes. Synagogues, as a rule, (including those in the Balkans which I had visited) do not employ iconography.

Indeed the first Hebrew, Avraham, is celebrated as an iconoclast, repudiating visual representations of God. We are said to be a hearing-centered people (Shema Yisra’el), particularly in our relationship with God, rather than visual-oriented. In fact, the second of the Ten Utterances (Commandments) warns: “Do not make for yourself any visual likeness (of God)”.

Yet, in our Yigdal prayer, we proclaim “there has never arose… another prophet like Moshe, who looked upon the Divine likeness”. Further, this prayer echoes the Biblical statement of God: “Mouth to mouth, I spoke to him (Moshe)..through vision and he beheld the Divine likeness”.

Seeing God, or a likeness thereof, is not alien to our Jewish tradition and, at times, is seemingly reserved for the select few, and representative of the most profound encounter with God one can experience. Like hearing, however, the significance of seeing, within Judaism, lies beyond the sensory.

In his first encounter with God, “Moshe hid his face, for he feared to look upon God”. Revelatory moments of God are peak experiences that comes to us, any of us, at different stages and degrees.

The handmaiden at the splitting of the Reed Sea, the Rabbis state, saw more than the prophet Ezekiel, renowned for his reported vision of God.

In our world of “seeing is believing” wherein “selfies” serve to mark our presence, God, our students contend, is non-existent. By extension, the Bible, throughout which God seems to be seen, is of no import, as well, for in our time God can nowhere be seen.

Yet, it is the very ‘selfie’, though not the physical/sensory one, in which our biblical ancestors saw, and we can, see God. We are all living “images of God”, who are in need of discovering/recovering the divine within ourselves. We see God in our being seen. Significantly, our parashah of Re’ieh-See, ends with being seen by the presence of God, which, at the same time, is our being present in our unique divine image.

Our parashah reminds us: “One cannot appear before the divine face/presence empty”. Only in truly seeing our ‘selfie’ do we come to see God. As Re’eih concludes, each sees God through “one’s own gift, in accordance with the blessing that your God has bestowed upon you”.

Refugee Camp and Workshop

Student reflections

Last week, a contingent of our Year 11 students attended Refugee Camp to personally meet refugees who recently arrived in Australia, and to gain a better understanding of their experiences, from asylum seeking to becoming refugees hoping to make a new life here in Australia. Together with their peers, some of these students also engaged in a refugee workshop, run by Stand Up, here at Emanuel. Our students shared their thoughts in their reflections below.

Rabbi Daniel Siegel

Rachel Turtledove

Stand Up’s Refugee workshop was highly informative and interesting. We participated in a variety of different activities, stimulating our thinking on the everyday situations that refugees face, after they are accepted into Australia and try to integrate into society.

We were able to understand common myths and stigmas around refugees, including the reasons they are seeking asylum in Australia. Furthermore, we engaged in dialogue and debate on significant topics about refugees and their position in Australian society – an important experience and opportunity to gain different perspectives on refugees.

Overall, this was an incredible workshop to learn more about the refugee crisis in the world and the immense struggles people have to go through after being accepted into Australia.

Natasha Gering

Refugee Camp was an unforgettable experience that made me realise the extent of difficulty refugees go through and the injustices they feel. The tour was a stellar experience where we each simulated being refugees ourselves, with real-life refugees guiding us and sharing their personal experiences. I learnt so much and am now inspired to speak up about this issue and to actively engage in raising awareness.

Noah Klein

On Friday, two representatives from Stand Up, Nell and George, came to speak with us about the refugee situation in Australia. We learnt all about how refugees experience detention centres, as they are often not let into the community.

We participated in an ‘Oxford Debate’, involving two students, one affirmative and one negative, debating a point. At any point, we could ‘tap out’ one of the students and argue the point ourselves. We were asked many thought-provoking questions regarding how refugees are often treated. It forced us to think about this pressing issue in Australia, which we normally don’t think about.  

Statistics and information regarding the questions that we were arguing about were then shared. Some of the statistics were staggering and saddening, making us reflect on the lucky lives that we have, living so easily.  

Then followed a game in which we were given situations that refugees really face, every day, with different ways we could choose to handle them. If we chose correctly we would step forward and if wrong, we moved back, reflecting the challenge of refugees trying to move forward in entering a new country. Sometimes the most ‘harmless’ decisions ended up having very negative repercussions. Significantly, not one team of refugees made it to the end of the room and completed the game.  

This was a very enlightening experience where we truly got a glimpse into what it feels like to be a refugee.  

Nina Brown

The Refugee Camp excursion was eye-opening, to say the least. We were taken through a series of stations which replicated life in refugee camps – health and medical care, showering, accommodation, food and water supply and schooling. Refugees shared with us their experiences in making their way to Australia, as well as critical elements of their journey from their home to a new country. It really was a highlight of my year so far and it has let me see how much one must fight to make a change.

 

Ma Koreh

Adam Carpenter | Head of Jewish Studies Primary

Primary Israeli Dancing Troupe

ריקודי עם/ Rikkudai Am (Israeli folk dance) teacher and parent Jayme Akstein has been working with students in Year 5 and 6 on an Israeli dance routine that will be performed on the Grandparents and Friends Day celebrations on Tuesday 4 September. Here they are engaging in a warm up activity.

Year 6 visit to Montefiore Home

The focus for Year 6 MAD (Making a Difference) Project is engaging with the elderly in our community. Earlier this year on Purim, Year 6 Hertzliyah visited Montefiore dressed in their costumes to share in Purim celebrations and festivities with the residents. This week Year 6 Rehovot visited Montefiore to participate in an intergenerational workshop creating Sukkah decorations. The visit provided an opportunity for our students and Montefiore residents to engage in conversation and discussions, whilst working together on a creative project. Every visit to Montefiore provides interesting insights and interactions for our students. Our walk back to school is always filled with animated sharing on who the students met and what they learned about the lives and experiences of the residents they come into contact with.

 

From the Primary School

Meghan Carroll – Acting Deputy Head of Primary

Parent Teacher night: Years K-6

Monday 27 August (4.00-9.00 pm) and Wednesday 29 August (4.00-6.30 pm). Only K-2 Specialist teachers will be available for interviews through the booking system.

You will have received an email from Shelley Ezekiel with instructions for booking interviews and what to do once you have been emailed that the schedule is available.

Please complete your booking(s) by Wednesday 15 August 3.00 pm. Keep your 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.

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

Deborah Blackman visits

On Wednesday 22 August we have Deborah Blackman presenting on the topic ‘Talking To Children About Difficult Topics’. We highly recommend this session to parents who have not attended this talk in previous years. Deborah Blackman also runs sessions in class with our students in Years K, 1, 3 and 5.

In the presentation Deborah will explore how to talk to your children about feelings, secrets, good touch and bad touch, and teach them some useful skills for child protection. We think that it is very important that home and school provide the same message about this very important topic. The presentation is from 7.30-8.30 am in the Imaginarium room (new Innovation Centre, second floor).

Please contact Meghan Carroll (mcarroll@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au) should you have any questions about this event.

Early morning sport drop off (Queen’s Park)

Parents are reminded to please drop their children off on the same side of the street as the park or walk their children across the road. It is important that these instructions are followed in order to keep all children safe. Thank you in advance for your co-operation.

 Project Heritage 2018

Last week the Year 6 students began this year’s Project Heritage program. The children have been busily preparing for and conducting their first interviews with various important members of our community. The high level of enthusiasm and curiosity demonstrated so far has been astonishing. Keep it up Year 6!

Pre-camp meeting for parents (Years 3-5 Sport and Rec camp)

This year our pre-camp meeting for parents will take place on 15 August from 3.35-4.00 pm in the Year 3 classrooms. This meeting is for any Year 3 parents and also for the parents of new students in Years 4 and 5 who have not attended this camp before. There will supervision in the Triguboff Family Forecourt during this time.

Primary School BBQ day

On Tuesday 21 August there will be a fundraiser for the Breast Cancer Foundation. We are having a sausage sizzle and the cost is $3.50 per sausage (normal, gluten free and vegetarian). The canteen will be closed and we ask that students do not bring dairy to school. Students are also asked to bring their money in an envelope with their name and class clearly written on it. Statistics show that one in eight women get breast cancer, and money that we raise will go towards research and care.

By the 2018 fundraising leaders – Boaz Hadad, Mia Vexler, Miri Hurwitz, Talia King, Willow Gelin and Yael Rembach

Athletics Carnival

Last Friday, Years 3-6 children and staff attended the Primary Athletics Carnival. It was a gorgeous sunny day filled with sporting excitement and House spirit. The students participated in a variety of running races and field events. The House Captains did a fantastic job leading their Houses in team chants and cheers. It was wonderful to see so many students participating, working towards a personal best and enjoying the day. Thank you to Stuart Taylor and Sharon Fairfax for all the organisation and planning leading up to the day and for running the carnival in such a smooth and professional manner.

Paws b Mindfulness program (Year 2)

The 6-week Paws b Mindfulness program began running in Year 2 this week. At its most simple, Paws b is an awareness-raising exercise to give all students a taste of mindfulness so that they know about it and can use it throughout their lives if they choose to do so.

Paws b covers the following concepts:

  • Specific areas of the brain and how these affect our ability to focus, make good choices, recognise when we need to steady ourselves when our body or mind is busy or out of balance.
  • Ways that mindfulness can support us in many day-to-day activities, including concentration and memory, behavioural self-management, and in relationships with family and friends.
  • Ways to respond rather than react – and therefore make better choices and take best care of ourselves.

Thank you to Kim Slender for running this program with our students in Year 2 this term.

Term 3 K-2 Assembly items

  • 10 August (Week 3): 2T Ms Strub’s class
  • 24 August (Week 5): 1T Mrs Silver’s class

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Primary Imaginarium opens

Sophie Poisel – Innovation Leader K-6

Primary Imaginarium

Primary students have been excited to have their first experiences in our new Primary Imaginarium. Last term, Year 5 and 6 students 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 myself and our Year 6 IT and Innovation Leaders.

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

Year 1 students started their Digi Tech sessions with Carrie-Ann Grieve, investigating “What is a computer?”. The students wrote wonderings about the old technology in the space. They carefully observed Jackson Lee (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 of 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 Julia Tritsch for such a wonderful idea!).

Year 4 students have been using the space to prototype their projects for the Emanuel Good Design Awards which were held today. 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, teachers 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

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.

Years 3-6 Athletics Carnival

Stuart Taylor | PDHPE Teacher

Primary Athletics Carnival

Held at Hensley Athletics Field on Friday 3 August, this year’s carnival was a fantastic day for all concerned. Glorious weather greeted the students as they arrived at the venue and a mixture of excitement and nervous energy was evident as the competition began. Loud cheering greeted every performance on the track and produced some wonderful performances. We may be small in number but are obviously big in heart as the students encouraged their friends from all Houses as they competed across the three disciplines: running, throwing and jumping. 

The final results reflect the level of competition on the day. It was fabulous to see all the athletes participating enthusiastically and the efforts of the staff and other officials on the day was unbelievable. A huge thank you is extended to everyone.

Thanks also to the many parents and friends who supported the children at the carnival and Ofer Levy and Adam Carpenter who took wonderful photos.

AGE CHAMPIONS

8 YEARSRebecca Salamon/Noah Hatzvi

9 YEARS – Emily Seeman/Eli Jocum

10 YEARS – Kira Levin-Kahn/Daniel Newfield

11 YEARS – Ashleigh Gold/Hayden Rosen

12 YEARS – Mia Gottlieb/Leo Latter

OVERALL RESULTS

1st –  Monash 1161 points

2ndWynn 1157 points

3rdCowen 1004 points

House photos: Adam Carpenter

Carnival photos: Ofer Levy

 

From the Primary Library

Ginnette Cameron-Gardner – Primary Teacher/Librarian

The NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge 2018 CLOSES FOR STUDENTS on Friday 31 August 2018 and all reading must be entered by midnight.

Many students need to enter only one to three books to complete the Challenge. Six more students have completed the Challenge. We now have 52 students who have completed the NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge in 2018. Congratulations.

Phoenix Gien in Year 2 completed the Challenge on Tuesday 31 July. On Tuesday 7 August when the latest reading was being entered, five more students completed.

Year 1: Shayna Abitz, Sophie Kirievskaya and Tabitha Masnick. Year 2: Kayla Strous. Year 3:  Emily Seemann

Did you enjoy the Harry Potter series?

Here is another you may well enjoy.

Jenny Nimmo has written a series called Children of the Red King. (Sometimes called the Charlie Bone series). The series is located in the Primary Library at JF NIM.

This is a series of eight fantasy and adventure novels about Charlie Bone who discovers that he has inherited from the Red King the ability to hear people in photographs and paintings. Charlie attends Bloor’s Academy and meets other children who also have extra sensory perception in various forms and have many adventures in which they fight evil.

These books are ideally suited to those who enjoy the Harry Potter series and take the reader into a very similar world filled with magic, mystery, and wonder. They are fast paced and easy to read and may especially appeal to those who found the Harry Potter books too long.

The Scholastic Book Fair will be in the Primary Library from Tuesday to Friday this coming week from 14-17 August. There will be many bargains and new books. This is eagerly awaited by the students who enjoy buying a new book for their home Library. We hope to see you there.

 

 

Primary Book Fair

Extra-Curricular Clubs (including EActive) – Term 3

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

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 for EActive or extra-curricular club 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 Portalhttps://myportal.emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au/parent/extra-curricular/

Term 3 extra-curricular (including EActive) schedule

 

Australian Books for Children of Africa

HSC Drama and Visual Arts Showcase

 

 

From the Music Department

Diana Springford – Acting Head of Music Performance and Academic K-6

Daniel Burley – Acting Head of Music Academic 7-12

Save the date

Night of Song: Thursday 23 August (6.00 pm to 7.30 pm).

Night of Instrumental Music: Tuesday 6 November (6.00 pm)

Emanuel School and King David School: Music Exchange 2018

In 2018, musicians from Emanuel School will visit The King David School (KDS) in Melbourne from Sunday 21 October until Tuesday 23 October 2018. This will be the 8th music exchange and we are excited by the musical and cultural opportunities this event provides for our young musicians. During the exchange, students will experience interesting new music, be immersed in the culture of another progressive Jewish school, and develop new and old friendships.

The exchange is open to High School students who are committed members of Copland Concert Band, Bernstein Concert Band, Senior Stage Band, Junior Stage Band, Senior Choir, Emanuel String Orchestras. Up to 40 High School students will fly to Melbourne early in the afternoon of Sunday 21 October and return to Emanuel School in the late evening of Tuesday 23 October. Students will be billeted with KDS families during their stay in Melbourne. The Music Exchange will conclude with a Showcase concert at King David School on the afternoon of Tuesday 23 October. Emanuel parents are most welcome to attend and further information will be provided closer to the date.

Full details of the cost and arrangements will be emailed to all parents of the above ensembles next week and published in Ma Nishma.  

 

 

Night of Song

Parent Workshops

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

Thank you to all parents who attended Session 1 of our pilot parent workshop on Gifted and Talented children on Thursday 2 August. Your contributions were greatly valued.

All participants enjoyed the informal discussion session based on the theory presented.

Our next session is on Tuesday 28 August.

Topic: The Social and Emotional Development of Gifted Children

Time: 6.30 pm

Venue: Innovation Centre – classroom I33

Bookings: https://tinyurl.com/Gift-Tal2018

Some comments from parents who attended our first session:

  • Many thanks for the Gifted and Talented Parent Course you’ve made available to us parents. What a thoughtful and generous initiative to open up to us. Your time and generosity is valued.
  • I found tonight’s informal and round-table discussion comforting and informative.
  • I will definitely come to further sessions that are offered.
  • We found last night very beneficial to begin to understand about G&T kids but more so to hear the experiences of other parents and understand that what our son and we are experiencing is very similar to others. It was good to know that the ‘side effects’ are common.

 

NSW Schools Futsal State Championships

Kristy Reed | Head of Sport | PDHPE Teacher

On Thursday 2 August the Emanuel 16 years boys Futsal team competed at the NSW Schools Futsal State Championships at Penrith Sports Stadium. The boys progressed to this competition after winning the Regional Championships earlier in the year.

This competition is known to be a strong tournament with some of the best Futsal players in NSW attending. The Emanuel team started the day well, winning their first game 6-0. They then went on to have convincing wins over Amity College, Galstaun College, and Killarney Heights in the pool stage. The Emanuel futsal coach, ex-Socceroo Aytek Genc, had prepared the boys well in the lead up to the competition and the team had excellent tactics and formation. Captain, Ethan De Melo, played exceptionally well, displaying an admirable level of skill and paired up with Jared Kleviansky to score numerous goals throughout the day.

The boys progressed to the quarter-finals undefeated, drawing a tough game against Homebush Boys. Despite a great effort, fatigue set in, after what was a long day and the Emanuel boys were defeated 4-2.

Congratulations to Ariel Berger, Ethan De Melo, Ari Karjalainen, Jared Kleviansky, Aiden Poswell, Ryan Rubinstein, Jonathan Sebban, Nathaniel Spielman and Adam Winter on a very successful campaign. Each player represented Emanuel with pride and displayed great skill, determination and sportsmanship throughout the season. The boys are to be commended for their commitment to training this year and progressing to the quarter-finals at State level was an excellent achievement. With this success and experience, I look forward to the Emanuel Futsal Program in 2019.

 

 

 

 

 

Year 9 Ski Camp

Ray Francis – Head of PDHPE

Year 9 rise to the Ski Camp challenge

Tears, meltdowns, thoughts of giving up……and that was just the teachers deciding who to share a room with!

Luckily Year 9 had no such problems and deserve a big pat on the back for rising admirably to the Ski Camp challenge, which is now an established rite of passage at Emanuel School.

Learning to ski or snow board is one of life’s great experiences, if you are fortunate enough to get the chance.

However, this challenge is also about being mature and responsible for your own safety and that of your friends in an alpine environment, team work and resilience when faced with the frustrations and fears that come with skiing down a mountain.

It was a pleasure to share a great week with this Year 9 group, who showed that they have great potential.

Many thanks also to all the staff who made this camp a success!

Kol Szenes

Szenes House Assembly

Last week was the first House Assembly led by our new House Madrichim – Erin Nabarro and Mia Port. The Madrichim highlighted the importance of students ensuring that their uniform looks the best, as it is an important part of our identity as a school. Szenesians – please put in a little more effort with your uniform to make Szenes stand out and be the most stylish House!

Szenesians on Year 9 Ski Camp

Year 9 took part in the annual Ski Camp last week, spending four days on the slopes. For many students this was their first time skiing or snowboarding. They accomplished some wonderful achievements whilst away, having learnt or further developed their abilities in these snow sports. They also gained a greater sense of independence and responsibility for themselves and their peers. Here are some comments from several Szenesians about their experience:

Chloe Miller:

“I had the most incredible time on Ski Camp. It was amazing being able to do something as enjoyable as skiing as well as spending time and connecting with friends and teachers. I really enjoyed ski lessons as I had a huge amount of fun with my group and my instructor. One of the main highlights was the free time we had to ski during the day where I could ski and have lunch with friends. I also really loved chilling at night around the fire, roasting marshmallows. Thank you so much to all the teachers who came with us and made it possible to experience such an unbelievable camp.”

Tara Linker:

“Ski Camp was without a doubt one of the best school experiences I have ever had and I’m sure anyone that has been can agree. We were so lucky to be able to ski or snowboard with our entire year for four days and no matter what skill level we were at, we all learnt a lot. I made so many great connections with different people across my year and have made countless memories that I definitely won’t forget. Despite the very early mornings (5.45 am!), we always had smiles on our faces and were ready to get on the bus to head to the slopes at Thredbo. From the moment we left school on Sunday morning to when we returned the following Friday, we were all excited to see what each day had in store and hoped that the snow conditions would be good (and they were!) Also, don’t forgot to try a donut at Thredbo if you’re there!”

Alexis Joffe:

“Year 9 Ski Camp was the highlight of the year so far and is definitely the best camp I have ever been on. There were so many funny moments, along with some hot, delicious doughnuts and a lot of bonding time with our friends. Two highlights from this trip, apart from skiing every day, would have been the last ski down the ‘easy does it’ slope with the entire year. It was very memorable as we could all enjoy our last ski of the trip together. The other highlight was when the whole year group stood around the bonfire singing songs and eating melted marshmallows. This was one of the highlights of the trip because it was a bonding experience that was delicious but also a lot of fun. Ski Camp 2018 was extremely enjoyable and a camp I will never forget.”

 

Best wishes to the Year 12 students who are now mid-way through their Trial HSC Examination period.

Quote of the week

“A goal is a dream with a deadline.”

Napoleon Hill

Have a great weekend and Shabbat Shalom!

 

Careers

Claire Pech – Careers Advisor

TAFE NSW

I have been trying to break down some of the stereotypes about TAFE as a Plan B option. For some students at Emanuel, TAFE should be their plan A, as they educate students in practical, hands-on ways, that are perfect for vocational careers in a wide range of industries. The view that it is for less-intelligent students, or students who ‘fail’ university is a fallacy. They train students in a completely different skill set, offering completely different qualifications for completely different career arenas. In saying that they also offer mainstream degrees in areas such as business, marketing, media and so on, but with again a more hands-on approach and learning style.

This article was in the papers last week about the need in Australia for vocational and skill-based workers, comparing the starting salaries and career prospects for TAFE and university graduates. Some of the data is compelling and surprising and may challenge the stereotypes.

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/jon-black-skills-will-pay-the-bills/news-story/afaeb1ab67c13ff4a96da067649137de

 

Jon Black – TAFE Managing Director

Find out more about their upcoming open days at multiple venues and multiple dates at the link below: https://events.tafensw.edu.au/open-day

Careers notices and events

Defence Force Australia – Women in Defence Information Session

Find out more – https://www.facebook.com/pg/DefenceJobsAustralia/events/

MedView Medical School – Admissions Seminar

Are you considering studying Medicine in Australia? Medview is inviting students to come along to their free information sessions. Medview provides you with the insights, tips and hints into everything there is to know about applying for and attending Medical School in Australia. Find out more – https://www.facebook.com/pg/MedView/events/

Macquarie University – Speech and Audiology Information Evening

4 September, Australian Hearing Hub.

Discover how to become a qualified audiology or speech pathology professional with a Master’s degree from Macquarie University at our free information session.

Find out more – https://www.mq.edu.au/about/events/view/speech-and-audiology-information-evening/

UTS – Young Women in STEM Day

11 September, 9 October (school holidays and school closure days)

This free one-day event gives female High School students in years 8-12 an inside look at life as a student/professional in the engineering and IT industry. Get immersed in hands-on activities and engage with our students and industry guests at our state-of-the-art Faculty of Engineering and IT building.

Find out more – https://www.uts.edu.au/future-students/undergraduate/our-courses/find-right-course/events-and-info-sessions

University of New South Wales – Engineering Girls Day Out – 5 October (school holidays)

This is a one-day mini conference for female students in Years 9-12 to explore different engineering disciplines, meet like-minded friends and be inspired by female role models in the industry. Find out more –  https://www.futurestudents.unsw.edu.au/engineering-girls-day-out

(Source: MHSCareers August 2018)

 

 

Gesher – Connecting our Community

Sonia Newell – Development Officer

What did you do during the recent school holidays?

During the July school holidays, Emanuel parent Tracy Newfield and her parents, Lee and Frank Dreyer, ran beginner bridge lessons for interested Emanuel children. They ran three two-hour sessions at Grand Slam Bridge Centre in Double Bay. The owner, Paul Marston, generously offered them use of his beautiful club at no charge. “

Twenty seven children participated in their lessons – 24 of whom are in Years 5 and 7 at Emanuel. There were also two Moriah boys and a Rose Bay Public student whose brother attends Emanuel.

Tracy said: “The children learnt the basics of card play and bidding, and played several hands during each session. They thoroughly enjoyed themselves, and every one of them expressed interest in continuing their bridge learning. My parents and I, together with Grand Slam Bridge Centre, have now arranged for two more lessons during Term 3 (to maintain their knowledge) and we hope to continue offering lessons to interested children during the school holidays and into the future.

“It wasn’t only the children who were enthusiastic about their experience. Several of their parents have expressed interest in beginning to learn, or have dusted off their long-forgotten bridge knowledge and begun to play again. We are happy for any other interested children to contact me if they’d like to join our sessions, available to students in Year 5 and up. Partner or prior knowledge not required.”

Contact Tracy on 0405103613. 

 

Our wonderful Emanuel Community is a great supporter of the Friendship Circle and we hope you can be part of their annual walk, to be held on Sunday 26 August.  To register or donate: www.sydneyfriendshipcircle.org.au/walk

 

Please join us for the Archibald Prize Private Tour on Tuesday 28 August. See poster for details and book your tickets online: www.tinyurl.com/archies2018

We look forward to our Primary Grandparents and Friends Day here at School on Tuesday 4 September. The invitation has been emailed to the grandparents and parents, so please pass it on as some of our grandparents are not yet on our database. RSVP to: snewell@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au

A message from Shira Sebban

“For the past 2 years, we’ve been assisting this Vietnamese failed asylum seeker family to survive hand to mouth.

Now won’t you join us in this exciting venture to turn their life around by helping them stand on their own 2 feet?

We’ve been trying to help this family ever since the father lost his ability to walk in a Vietnamese jail where he was serving a 2-year sentence for helping to organise an “illegal” departure by boat to Australia.

To this day, he is too traumatised to speak of what happened to him.

As a result, Quyen, his oldest son, 16, has become the family’s main breadwinner: he works in a cafe for $4 a day.

Now Quyen is just old enough to be accepted into a free 2-year English and hospitality-training program for disadvantaged youth in Hanoi. The course has a 100% success rate in placing graduates in their first job.

But to do so, he needs our help. We need to cover his wages for 2 years and would also like to pay for a part-time carer to look after his father and grandfather while he is away. We also hope to put his younger brother, 14, back in school to study carpentry. He left school in Grade 3 to sell lottery tickets on the street.

Click here for more: https://chuffed.org/project/standing-on-their-own-2-feet

Thank you so much for your interest and support.”

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

 

 

Kornmehl

Terry Aizen – Director Kornmehl

PJ Library

On Tuesday we had a visit from Wendy Dolowitz from PJ Library who came to read beautiful stories to the children to celebrate Jewish Book Month. The stories that Wendy read all had a Jewish theme and the children loved the interactive way Wendy told the stories.

We recently learnt about the opportunity to connect to a PJ Library Radio mobile app, which contains free access for young children to be able to sing, dance and explore Jewish culture, values and Chagim with more than 2000 songs from hundreds of musicians from across the globe. Parents can download the app on their mobiles.

Special features include:

  • Shabbat: Celebrate Shabbat with a diverse range of songs from Friday sundown until Havdalah.
  • Lullabies: As the sun goes down, PJ Library shifts to slow songs, lullabies and bedtime melodies (And there is a timer on the app)
  • Holidays: PJ Library Radio offers an array of music to celebrate, reflect and learn.

Breakfast and Pyjama Day

What a fabulous and much-anticipated morning we all had. The weather was just right for snuggling up and keeping warm in our pyjamas. The children and teachers were so excited and looked fabulous in their pyjamas. We started the day on our beds hugging a special soft toy, playing with our torches and making patterns on the ceiling, while listening to relaxing music. We watched two Aboriginal Dreamtime stories on the big screen: Tiddalick the frog and How the moon was made. This proved to be a big hit! This was followed by sharing two very special shadow books on the overhead projector: The game of light and The game of shadows. Finally, we were woken up with fairy dust by our fairy teachers, who invited us to a very special and delicious Kornmehl breakfast. The breakfast consisted of cereals, dinner rolls and spreads, fruit, banana muffins and a glass of Milo. We all had a lot of fun and a most enjoyable morning.

Thank you to Mel Shilbury, Sam Schwartz and Candy Mervis for your help in getting ready for the day, and to Danny Stein for shopping for all the delicious food.

Little Scientists workshop

On Thursday afternoon, Kornmehl hosted an interactive Science workshop for 20 Educators. The workshop covered a variety of scientific topics and encouraged the teachers to experiment hands-on in this workshop. Everything we learnt exposed us to exciting possibilities to share with the children in our care in a fun and interesting way.

Joanne Dooner – Is your child ready to be a reader?

The Kornmehl Centre Emanuel Pre-school will be hosting an informative evening with Joanne Dooner, co-founder of Get Reading Right. Joanne will share the foundation skills for pre-literacy and explore how you can encourage your child to get ready to be a reader. The talk will be held on Thursday 30 August at 7 pm in the Millie Philips Theatre at Emanuel School.

The cost is $10 per person and will include coffee and cake. Please feel free to share this with friends from outside of the Kornmehl community. Bookings are now open at https://tinyurl.com/pre-literacy

All welcome.

Bush School

This week our Seashell younger group were finally able to enjoy their first Bush School visit to Centennial Park. The children were very excited and eager to get going on their walk down to the park. Carrying their own back packs, they were accompanied by their teachers and volunteer parent helpers.

The Seashells delighted in being able to play freely in the outdoors and discover what their Bush School classroom had to offer. We were amazed at how settled and happy they all were from the minute we arrived. They explored the space and straight away became involved in creative and imaginative nature play experiences.

The article below highlights why taking children into a natural setting is so important:

Vitamin N (for Nature)– The essential guide to a nature-rich life by Richard Louv

Vitamin N is a complete prescription for connecting with the power and joy of the natural world. It is a dose of pure inspiration, reminding us that looking up at the stars or taking a walk in the bush is as exhilarating as it is essential, at any age.

Louv (The Nature Principle) proclaims the many advantages of reconnecting with nature, for children and adults. Some benefits of spending time outdoors, include reduced symptoms of ADHD, alleviation of anxiety and depression, decreased obesity, and improved immune system functioning.

Louv reinforces the concept of building resilience and the importance of taking small, manageable risks.

Suggestions for families include:

Grow outside. Make time for free, independent play for children, allowing them to explore and find answers on their own. Explore hundreds of traditional and new ways to connect your family to nature, including games that will not be digitised.
Create a restorative home or workplace. Use native plants, indoor living walls, and a variety of other biophilic design techniques to make your home and garden a place that improves the health of your family.
Reduce stress. Use nature time as healing time to escape the pressures of daily life. Designate an outdoor sit spot as a place to read, think, meditate and be mindful.
Enhance fitness. Exercising outside offers more psychological and physical benefits than an indoor workout.

Raise resilient children. Taking children outdoors builds their resilience and ability to manage risks safely.
Boost creativity. Playing and learning outdoors, building forts and tree houses, helps children develop their problem-solving skills and creative thinking.
Balance the virtual with the real. Children who spend more time outside use more of their senses and develop “hybrid minds” – maximising the skills that come from both the virtual and the natural world.

Jeans for Genes Day

On Friday we raised money for Jeans for Genes Day. The children and staff all came to Pre-school in their jeans and we collected $115 for this very worthwhile cause. Thank you to all our families for supporting this important community event to raise money for children who are born with genetic diseases.