From the Principal

Andrew Watt

The depth of talent in our creative and performing arts programs

Our HSC Visual Arts and Drama Showcase exhibited an impressive array of major works that highlighted creativity, originality and advanced technique. Our drama performances were engaging, entertaining and not without a strong element of humour! The thoughtful and creative preparation was evident across both Visual Arts and Drama, and we are very grateful to Eytan Messiah, Samantha Bauer and the staff team who supported our students through this ‘long and winding road’.

On Thursday evening, the audience was treated to a wonderful display of musical talent, at Night of Song, as students across Primary School and High School entertained with polished performances.

We are blessed with a very strong pool of talent across our creative and performing arts.

A glimpse into the findings from a study tour to North America

A recipient of the NSW Premier’s STEM Teacher Scholarship, our Primary School Innovation leader, Sophie Poisel, has captured her study tour experience where she investigated how innovative learning institutions in North America are reimagining learning through transdisciplinary opportunities, such as STEM. Her report sets out her learning across three key areas:

Catalysts for Innovation: Space, Culture, Community and Leadership
Design Thinking
Assessment Practices

These study findings were shared with Emanuel staff on several occasions. We have benefited from Sophie’s experience, through her professional learning sessions and student workshops, where she has supported staff to embed design thinking and piloted new STEM programs, building a local network of STEM professionals. Please follow this link https://tinyurl.com/reimagininglearning2018 for a detailed report on the study tour.

Success at CDSSA Athletics Championships

Junior Girls Relay Team

Our squad of 69 athletes represented Emanuel with distinction, placing third out of 11 schools, with 29 first places, and taking out two CDSSA records. Kristy Reed reports that 28 of our athletes have now qualified for the AICES Championships, a wonderful achievement. Performance highlights include:

Greg Allen: Under 17 boys age champion
Danielle Rutstein: broke the 15 years girls high jump record
Jett Sher: broke the 12 years boys javelin record
Shai Farhy, Eden Levit and Danielle Rutstein have each qualified for five events at AICES.

A full report with photos can be accessed in the Sport section.

CEO Perspectives: The Future of Schooling in Australia

Principals of Independent Schools joined together for a breakfast launch of CEO Perspectives: The Future of Schooling in Australia, a comprehensive report (commissioned by AISNSW and Knowledge Society) that shares insights into the views of many of Australia’s leading CEOs on how schools can better equip students for the future of work.

Globally, societies are debating how education systems need to adapt to the changes occurring in our communities and economies. The disruption taking place in organisations of all types, largely driven by changes in technology, have numerous implications for all levels of education. With the impending NSW Curriculum Review, school leaders must be active contributors to this debate. Emanuel School continues to engage in how we can best future-proof our students for the workplace.

Thank you

Jonathan Schach (Year 9) asked me to pass on his thanks for the amazing contribution from parents, students and staff, towards the farmers suffering from the drought. He raised an overwhelming amount of essentials for them which has now been distributed. We made a big difference!

Chess success

On Wednesday, our High School chess team comprising Daniel Melamed, Jesse Herdan, Zac Sidley, Dan Blecher, Jesse Gothelf and Myles Cohn, won their semi-final of the Sydney Academy of Chess Inter-Schools’ Chess Competition. This event is for Years 7-12 and our boys in Years 7 and 8 beat the older students in Years 11 and 12.

Daniel Melamed came first overall and Jesse Gothelf came third. The team will now move onto the finals of the competition to be held on 21 September. Many thanks to their coach, Michael Todd, for his continued guidance.

Dan Blecher, Myles Cohn, Jesse Herdan, Zac Sidley, Daniel Melamed, Colleen Elkins (not pictured, Jesse Gothelf).

Mazal tov

Anton Blair (Year 8) and his grandmother, Ilonka, are the current faces of Dementia Australia’s direct marketing campaign. His involvement with the organisation is as a direct result of his Mitzvah Project from last year.
Ariella Tracton (Year 9) has been selected to play the role of Belle in ‘Beauty and the Beast’ to be performed in December at the Actors Centre Australia Auditorium in Leichhardt
On Tuesday evening Amber Langman (Year 10) came second in the Sydney Eisteddfod Musical Theatre category 16 years, scoring 95/100.

Quote of the week

“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”

Benjamin Franklin

High School Uniform

Margaret Lowe – Deputy Principal

High School uniform

The wearing of school uniform is one way in which students can show pride in and respect for Emanuel School. Our uniform guidelines can be found in the student information booklet. All students are expected to be in correct school uniform every day. If there is a reason for a student to be out of uniform, parents are asked to email uniform@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au to let the School know about the situation. Students who are out of uniform without reason will be issued with consequences.

From the Primary School

Helen Maynard – Director of Studies K-6

Learning Eduspeak

I often wonder how parents interpret and handle the very specific language that we as educators use frequently. I fondly refer to this as Eduspeak. This article may help you interpret some of it. It has been some time since I have outlined the platforms that we utilise to ensure that we are a ‘thinking school’ that is constantly striving to create a culture where thinking is visible, valued and actively promoted.

There are a number of platforms from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, most significantly Teaching for Understanding, Creating a Culture of Thinking and Making Thinking Visible, that we draw from. These are based on significant research and therefore are tried and tested as pedagogically sound.

Below is some information on the key aspects of each of the platforms:

Making Thinking Visible

We strive to ensure that what is in students’ heads is visible as it provides us with valuable information about where to jump off in the learning journey, if there are any misconceptions and what needs to be addressed. This clip outlines the philosophy behind the thinking routines that teachers use on a regular basis in their classrooms: www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKV_S5NpDdc&index=2&list=PLw02tZ1F4zEDxJTB9U64rFJcnqDgBAHMc

Teaching for Understanding

“A mind stretched to a new idea never goes back to its original dimensions.” Oliver Wendell Holmes

Teaching for Understanding is the framework that teachers utilise for designing, conducting and reflecting on practices that promote student understanding. In the clip below David Perkins explains Teaching for Understanding: https://vimeo.com/37158826

Creating a Culture of Thinking

At Emanuel School we use the following quote as the basis for our decisions around learning for our students, staff and the wider community.

“Schools are places in which a group’s collective, as well as individual, thinking is valued, visible and actively promoted as part of the regular, day-to-day experience of all group members.” Ron Ritchhart and Mark Church

We are continuing our journey to prepare our students for the ever changing world and are focusing considerably on innovative and design thinking, fostering curiosity and skills for the future. Teachers are intentionally making time and space in their programs for students to demonstrate, discuss, reflect and practise dispositions that will hold them in good stead in the future. It may seem early to be thinking about this for Primary students from a parent’s perspective but the proverb “forewarned is forearmed” springs to mind. Below is the link to some interesting reading from research undertaken by the Foundation for Young Australians:

www.fya.org.au/2018/07/03/4-things-to-keep-in-mind-when-thinking-about-the-future-workforce/

Year 4 students

Avalon Gold and Phoebe Machlin learn to ride regularly at Moore Park Stables. They are passionate about riding and would spend every minute riding if they could. Recently they competed at the Shibumi in the Dressage and Showjumping events. They jumped 25cm and 45cm and competed in the Preliminary Dressage courses. Both girls did very well although they did not score a place.

Avalon Gold

Phoebe Machlin

Emanuel’s War On Waste

Australia is one of the highest producers of waste per head of population in the world. Our students are passionate about reversing this trend, starting with their own lunch boxes. Please join us on this important journey. You can begin by completing the following survey: https://goo.gl/forms/NIXySUyBVzC9nMYt1

Thank you
The Green Team

From the Head of Jewish Life

Rabbi Daniel Siegel

Chosen places

In a recent Australian Jewish News article, Thundering Bolt Strikes Bagel Belt, note is made of Andrew Bolt’s comment in his Daily Telegraph op-ed piece, The Foreign Invasion:

In Melbourne’s North Caufield, 41 percent of residents are Jews, including hundreds who have fled South Africa.

Bolt speaks to “immigration becoming colonisation” as the “clustering into tribes” leads to a sweeping away of the Australian “national identity”.

Ki Teitsei, this week’s parashah, warns us: “You shall not surrender to his master, a slave who seeks refuge with you”. While antithetical to the prevailing practices of their Ancient Near Eastern contemporaries, the Israelites, a nation of runaway slaves, are understandably expected to heed this call of their Liberator God.

The attendant subsequent statement is a significant amplification:

“He shall reside with you, in your midst, in the place he shall choose, among one of your settlements, wherever he pleases.”

As the former Israelite refugees now make a home for themselves, so they are to open their land to those who come after, seeking safe harbour.

It is not clear if “wherever he pleases” is to counter protestations of the “foreigner” residing “in your midst” and/or is to countenance one seeking comfort in whatever locale and circumstance one deems best. Whether a “melting pot” or “salad”, and, however, widely/narrowly construed, the verse concludes “you shall not ill-treat him”.

Perhaps most significant are the words “BaMakom asher yivchar” – “In the place he shall choose”. This phrase, which appears repeatedly throughout Sefer Devarim/the Book of Deuteronomy, except in this one exception of the run-away slave, is used only in reference to God. As well, God announces he will dwell “in the midst” of the people by virtue of the “place he shall choose”.

Our Torah thereby teaches us that God, the Great Liberator, resides among those who do not forget their own/their people’s liberation and who keep vigilant to partner with others seeking their choice place of freedom. Fighting against slave owners, Abraham Lincoln was reported to have said: “My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side”.

Student Devar Torah

Benjamin Cohen – Year 8

Ilan Meshel – Year 8

Ki Teitsei

Seventy-four of the Torah’s 613 commandments are in this week’s Parashah, Ki Teitsei. These include laws of the beautiful captive; inheritance rights of the firstborn; the wayward and rebellious child; burial and dignity of the dead; returning a lost object; sending away the mother bird before taking her young; the duty to erect a safety fence around the roof of one’s home, and the various forms of kil’ayim (forbidden plant and animal hybrids).

In the case where one encounters two individuals, one of them loading an animal and the other one unloading the animal, it is a greater mitsvah to help with the unloading first in order to relieve the animal of its burden. There is an exception: If an individual dislikes the person who is loading the animal, he is obligated to help that man first in order to eliminate his hatred in his heart and he may actually come to like his fellow man. In life, if one dislikes another, they should try to do something good for that person, in turn, getting to like the person.

The parashah concludes with the command to remember the evil which Amalek committed against the Israelites in attacking them when leaving their enslavement in Mitsrayim. Centuries after this incident, another Amalekite, Haman, tried to wipe out all the Jews, as we learn in the Purim story.

Seeing as it has been such a long time since the Torah told us to “remember the evil” that Amalek brought upon us, we can ask the question – “Is it still valid today? How long do we hold a grudge and/or act upon it?”

J-STEAM at Emanuel

Miriam Itzkowitz (Year 10)

J-STEAM at Emanuel School: Mystic Kabbalistic Art

Have you ever thought about the relation between letters, numbers, colours, shapes, music, outer space and the days of the week? Chances are, probably not.

Kabbalah is a form of meditative, mystic Judaism, with an emphasis on art and music. Last Tuesday, a group of students had the pleasure of participating in a Kabbalah workshop, run by Kabbalist, David Friedman.

David gave us an incredibly mind-boggling explanation of Kabbalah, first relating the three primary colours (red, blue and yellow), to the three “primary” Hebrew letters (מ & ש ,א), which were connected to the three primary shapes (circle, triangle and square). While this probably doesn’t make much sense here in writing, visually it’s completely fascinating!

As someone who is also very much interested in philosophy, Kabbalah also relates to those concepts in our perceptions of the world and honestly makes you question a lot of what you know.

We were able to create our own interpretive art work, based on what we’d learnt that day about colour, shapes, letters and their relationship to everything. One of the things that I found really cool is that my three Hebrew initials are the three primary Hebrew letters in the order of the numbers 3, 2, 1 in the Kabbalistic understanding. (מרים שמחה איצקוויץ)

While I don’t think I’ll necessarily practise Kabbalah as part of my religion, I definitely think that it’s something worthwhile to learn a bit about and of which to have a basic understanding.

We are very grateful to JNF and Neshama Life for generously offering for David Friedman to present at Emanuel School and workshop with several of our High School classes.

Hannah Lax – Year 9

As someone who isn’t very artistic and has difficulty putting artworks together I found myself paying a lot of attention to David’s artworks and the explanations as to why they are how they are. David Friedman is a man from Tzefat in Israel who makes artworks based around Kabbalah and its teachings. The way that he extracts themes from Kabbalistic stories and messages and puts them into artworks intertwined with fractals, cells and gematria astounds me, and the way that he explained it to us was captivating and held our attention for the duration of the class. He mixed Kabbalistic views and teachings with art in the most beautiful way, and I uncovered a new appreciation for religious art through this experience.

Science Week

Jennifer Selinger – Head of Science

View from the Kleinlehrer Family Science Building

It was a bright and spooky Tuesday. Frankenstein’s monster’s head lurked menacingly amongst the enormous measuring cylinders. Nearby, some brightly coloured roses drooped, as if aware of their imminent fate. A sign in chalk on the ground threatened gruesome death to any who crossed the line. Overhead, a bell clanged raucously and a hundred or so students scrambled for a safe place … to watch the annual Science Show!

Our Science Week theme began with a seriously eerie video engineered by Miranda Minton with a group of Year 9 students in which our new leader was born from Skelly the Skeleton and some real body parts (not human, you will be pleased to know).

The theme continued with lots of bubbles (bubbles are scary, right?) – we made big bubbles and small bubbles, put bubbles inside bubbles, bounced bubbles off bubble sheets, used square frames and pyramids – a myriad of bubbles were explored. The area outside K20 was very clean after lunch on Monday!

Tuesday was the aforementioned Science Show. Wednesday we investigated illusions of many kinds, making friends disappear (with varying success) and colouring spinning wheels to merge colours and cause dizziness. I am reliably informed that the ‘coolest’ activity was the parabolic mirror hologram that had everyone cringing as they put their hand on the non-existent thumbtack.

Thursday took the scariness up a notch as the participants constructed Frankenstein’s Monsters which, when set off by their owners, sat up by themselves, causing squeals of excitement. The teachers won, as usual, although the team of STEAM elective students from Year 9 tied with them, producing a limber and creepy monster. The monster that climbed up the wall and made a couple of small people gasp was definitely a close second.

The culmination of the week was the Annual House Science and Maths Trivia Quiz. The scariest part of this was the enormous number of participants this year – it was standing room only in K20 and if the trend continues we may need a change of venue for next year. There was yelling and hand waving as the House teams competed to complete the answers correctly and solve the riddles. Congratulations to Meir House who achieved 1^stand 2^ndplace! A good start to their existence as a House.

As the Science Staff wearily dropped into their chairs on Friday afternoon, we all agreed that the hard work was worth it to see the looks on the students’ faces and hear them tell us that it was really cool and they wished it could be Science Week every week!

Thank you so much to Rochelle Hunter (our Laboratory Technician) for all her hard work behind the scenes getting everything organised and to Miranda Minton and Sarah Bishop for the lion’s share of the planning. Looking forward to next year…

Gifted and Talented Parent Workshops

From the Music Department

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

Daniel Burley – Acting Head of Music – Academic 7-12

It has been another busy week in the Music Department. On Sunday, Gabrielle Utian (Year 8) and Nathaniel Spielman (Year 10) travelled to Stanwell Tops to participate in the HICES Music Festival, which culminated in a concert at the Sydney Town Hall on Wednesday evening. Participation in this prestigious event is by audition and places are highly contested. Well done to Gaby, who was accepted into the Vocal Ensemble, and to Nate who performed in the Orchestra.

On Tuesday evening, our Years 10-12 Elective Music studentsattended the Richard Gill Presents…Voices & Instruments concert at the City Recital Hall, Martin Place.

On Wednesday evening, members of the Advanced Jazz Ensemble provided a musical accompaniment while guests viewed the HSC Visual Arts and Drama Showcase. Many thanks to Guy Rein (Year 8), Rebekah Goldsworthy (Year 10) and especially to Adam Cranko (Year 12) who was also exhibiting artworks in the Showcase.

Night of Song

On Thursday 23 August, over 130 students from Years K-12 performed in our Night of Song. This is our main annual event featuring choirs and vocal soloists and it was a beautiful and inspiring concert. We commend all the performers, conductors and accompanists for their hard work and enthusiasm. Special thanks also to everyone who worked behind-the-scenes to produce this event.

Emanuel School and King David Schools Music Exchange 2018 visit to Melbourne

In 2018 High School musicians from Emanuel School will visit The King David School (KDS) in Melbourne from Sunday 21 October until Tuesday 23 October. This will be the eighth 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 Jewish school, and develop new and rekindle 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 and Emanuel String Orchestras. Up to 40 students will be able to participate in this year’s exchange.

On Sunday 21 October, students will meet their Music teachers at the Sydney Domestic Airport at 2.00 pm ready to receive their boarding pass for their flight to Melbourne. 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. Students will return to Sydney Domestic Airport at 9.00 pm after flying from Melbourne. Parents will pick up students from the Sydney Domestic Airport.

The total cost to participate in the Music Exchange is $400.

Bookings opened on Friday 17 August and must be completed by Sunday 2 September.

We are holding a group booking of 40 airline tickets, for which we have 14 days to pay. To secure a place, please use the link below to pay the full cost of the exchange:

https://www.trybooking.com/XPGB

The link 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 in full by credit card. By booking in this way, you will receive confirmation that your payment has been accepted and that your child is registered for the Music Exchange. Please note, all payments are non-refundable.

At the end of the TryBooking process there is a link to a more detailed permission note requesting dietary requirements and medical information. This too should be completed by 2 September: https://goo.gl/forms/oGg5yCF5eqOuhzwh1.

A more detailed itinerary and information note will be sent to participants in Week 7 of Term 3.

This deadline of 2 September 2018 will be strictly adhered to, as we must pay the airline and release the unsold tickets on the following day.

Participation in the exchange is on a first-come-first-served basis so early response to this invitation is recommended. Once the 40 tickets are sold out, the TryBooking website will allow unsuccessful applicants to add their contact details to a waiting list so that we are aware of your desire to attend the exchange.

CDSSA Athletics

Kristy Reed | Head of Sport | PDHPE Teacher

It was wonderful to see a large team of 69 students representing Emanuel at the CDSSA Athletics Championships on Monday. These athletes were selected to compete based on their achievements at the School athletics carnival last term.

The team had been training for the past six weeks, at Queens Park and Hensley Athletics Field, under the guidance of the School’s running coach Jordan Williams. Jordan is an experienced athlete and coach and is also the founder of Up and Running.

Emanuel were placed third at the carnival, out of 11 schools, which was a pleasing result. The Emanuel Athletics Captain, Greg Allen, was awarded the 17 years CDSSA Age Champion award and lead by example on the track.

Danielle Rutstein and Jett Sher set new CDSSA records, in high jump and javelin respectively. Shai Farhy, Eden Levit, Brody Elbourne and Zac Urbach, were all outstanding performers, and have now qualified for numerous events at AICES. Overall, 28 Emanuel students have been selected for the next level carnival to be held on Friday 14 September.

Congratulations to the following students who achieved first place in their events on the day:

Mariah Lewy – long jump
Eden Levit – high jump, 200m, 100m
Romi Lapidge – shot put
Shai Farhy – high jump, 200m, 100m
Brooke Rosen – shot put and javelin
Max Kidman – discus and javelin
Alex Burman – shot put and javelin
Jett Sher – discus and javelin
Danielle Rutstein – high jump and shot put
Brody Elbourne – 3000m, 800m, 1500m
Samara Trenaman – 3000m
Jessica Rubin – 200m
Zac Urbach – 200m and 100m
Greg Allen – 200m, 400m
Isabella Brockwell – 800m
Aiden Poswell – 800m
Hannah Kim – 400m
Eden Levit, Hannah Kim, Jessica Rubin and Romi Lapidge – junior girls 4 x 100m relay

Extra Curricular clubs, including EActive

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

Extra-Curricular clubs – Term 3, 2018

New EActive club: Badminton started this week for Primary School. This club is run by Ray Francis, Head of PDHPE. Please see the Parent Portal for more information.

Please note that Extra-Curricular clubs as well as EActive clubs are managed by myself. Please contact me on ehill@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au for EActive or Extra-Curricular club queries.

Due to the number of Jewish Holidays next term, a number of 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.

Term 3 Extra-Curricular (including EActive) schedule:

From the Primary Library

Ginette Cameron-Gardner – Primary Teacher Librarian

The NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge 2018 closed for students on Friday 31 August 2018

All reading by students is to be entered by midnight on Friday 31 August.

Many students need to enter only one to three books to complete the Challenge.

Last week Willow Gelin (Year 6) was the 53^rdstudent to complete the Challenge. On 18 August, Sofia Berkovic (Year 3) also completed.

Next in line were Year 5 students, Shai Berkovic, Lily Besser and Eliora Glass, swiftly followed by Leo Masnick (Year 4), Ashleigh Gold and Ariel Solomon (Year 5).

Congratulations to our many completers.

The Scholastic Book Fair was a great success last week in the Primary Library. Thank you to all parents and students who supported the Fair. It is a lot of work organising and running this fair but it is an opportunity for students to browse many books that they might not otherwise get to see. Scholastic supplies the books and stationery for us to sell on a commission basis. The Primary Library uses the commission on the sales to extend the collection and purchase more books, both fiction and non-fiction, for the Primary Library.

The students are active in making recommendations for books to be purchased and we are keen to have them as active participants in the selection process. We also purchase books to support the curriculum. The library collection is heavily used and has extremely healthy loan statistics. The Primary School has a strong reading culture.

Excitement has been building through the last weeks as the students eagerly anticipated the Scholastic Book Fair followed by the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Book Week. The theme for this Book Week is that there is more treasure in books than all the gold in a pirate’s treasure chest. The culminating activity was the Book Parade this morning with so many wonderful costumes.

Friendship Circle plain clothes day

Renee Levenson – Specialist Learning Centre Teacher

Emanuel School raises almost $900 for The Friendship Circle

Last Friday all Emanuel students were encouraged to come to school wearing something purple. This event aimed to raise awareness and money for The Friendship Circle. Our students raised almost $900, that will go towards supporting children with disabilities and their families. The Friendship Circle’s goal is to empower the next generation and to shape a world in which people with special needs and their families experience acceptance, inclusion and friendship as contributing members of society. They will be holding their annual Friendship Walk on this Sunday, 26 August, and would welcome all families to join them and walk together as a community.

Emanuel Spring Cycle Team

Emanuel School is proud to present the first ever Emanuel Spring Cycle Team! The Spring Cycle is an event that helps fundraise for a number of different charities. The charity the team has chosen is the Cancer Council and we have a Go Fund Me page for donations. What makes the Spring Cycle so awesome is because we get to ride across the Harbour Bridge and get a epic view of the city. It’s a chance of a lifetime, so join us. This year our team has chosen to do the 10km cycle. If you would like to register please go to www.springcycle.com.aurf=c686a041b8a240918b96ef7fc07853d5 and register now! In the registration it will ask you are if you are in a team.

Team Name: Emanuel Cyclers

Password: SHANA TOVA (all capitals)

You are welcome to invite friends and family to join you. There will be a competition to see who can raise the most money and the winner gets a prize. So get everyone to sponsor you and get friends and family to join our wonderful team!

Jordan Pal, Elias Davis and Samuel Owen (Year 5)

Careers

Claire Pech – Careers

Do your research!

“If I could go back, I would jump on Google and research a variety of degrees to figure out what they’re actually all about. I’d talk to people working in jobs I think sound interesting to find out what they’re actually like and how they got there. I’d speak to careers counsellors. And I’d ask for advice from family members and friends.”

(Ref: www.fya.org.au/2018/07/26/how-studying-the-wrong-thing-helped-me-figure-out-what-the-right-thing-was/) This quote is from an article I stumbled across this week. Apart from the irritating graphics on the blog post it encompasses the three things I encourage students to do to figure out their next steps:

Research the courses (from the tertiary institutions)
Talk to people who have careers that sound interesting
Seek advice from a careers person, anyone in the field or family and friends whom you trust and who know you well.

I encourage everyone, even students who are very certain on their current options to attend open days. This weekend is the biggest weekend in the calendar for open days. I have also been encouraging Year 11s to attend these too as this will set them up well for next year and will give them lots of ideas.

www.uac.edu.au/assets/documents/schools/uni-open-days-2018.pdf

Macquarie University has launched its Catchment Adjustment Factors. Based on our School’s postcode, all Emanuel students will now receive five ‘adjustment factors’ if they chose to attend Macquarie University. This means that students can get extra help to gain a higher selection rank to attend Macquarie.

www.mq.edu.au/study/admissions/how-to-apply/applying/adjustment-factors/catchment-adjustment-factors

Connecting our Community – Gesher

Sonia Newell – Development Officer

Life is busy both in and out of school-time

We wish the P&F all the best for the Games Night fundraiser tomorrow evening. I know the committee has done an amazing job getting this event organised – well done and have fun everyone!

A reminder about events coming up over the next few weeks:

Sunday 26 August

The Friendship Circle Walk, is an annual community event that raises crucial funds and awareness for The Friendship Circle, a non-profit organisation for individuals with special needs. This event is always well supported by members of our School Community and we hope to see many of you there, at Vaucluse Public School on Sunday morning, for an inspirational opening ceremony followed by a 2.5km family walk. Upon reaching the finish line, walkers will enjoy a post-walk celebration with entertainment, activities, food and much more.

Tuesday 28 August

Our Archibald Prize private tour at The NSW Art Gallery, organised by the Grandparents Committee, is open to all members of our extended School Community. Book your tickets online: www.tinyurl.com/archies2018

Tuesday 4 September

Please join us for Primary Grandparents and Friends Day. Please pass the invitation on to any grandparents who did not receive it directly from School and ask them to RSVP to: snewell@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au

Wednesday 26 September

Join us for Breakfast with Emanuel at The Little Space, Bondi Junction from 7.30 am to 9.00 am. At this session, parents will hear about the Jewish Life at the School, with guest presenters Kobi Bloom and Daniel Samowitz. Invitations will be out soon.

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

Grandparents Archibald Prize Private Tour

Kornmehl

Terry Aizen – Director Kornmehl

Grandparents Day

We celebrated Grandparents Day on Wednesday and Thursday morning this week. The Seashells delighted their appreciative audience with their cute songs and dances and enjoyed morning tea and a craft activity together with their special guests.

The Dolphins and Starfish sang on the stage in the Millie Philips Theatre to a full audience and sang with confidence and enthusiasm. Our special guests joined us for morning tea on the Kornmehl deck. The feedback received from grandparents was very positive and the smiles on their faces during this time was evident of a very special and beautiful time shared together.

Many thanks to all our parent helpers – Anita Weinberger, Lindi Kaplan, Naama Merritt, Gail Stein, Odin Kaye, Rebecca Jacobson, Gina Becker, Lynn Shakenovsky and Sarah Robuck for their delicious baking and help setting up on the day, as well as the canteen for their delicious catering. We appreciate and value the special relationship we have with the grandparents at Kornmehl and feel privileged that they can be involved in the daily lives of their grandchildren as well as attend our special Grandparents Day concerts.

This year we did a live stream of the concerts to all our overseas grandparents, enabling them to stay connected and be a part of their grandchildren’s lives from far away. Many thanks to Ben Marshall for setting this Live Stream up for us. Many thanks also to Sarah Robuck for taking beautiful professional photographs of the Seashells concert. Your time and commitment is very much appreciated.

Comments:

Isaac: I like to sleep over at my Nana’s house and eat pancakes. I love her so much.

Ariella: I love Goga because I like to play with her and she makes me happy. I love her so much. Grandpa came too, and I like to play games with him.

Jacob: Saba and Safta and Grandpa and Ouma are coming for Grandparent’s Day. I love them all because they give me lots and lots of kisses and hugs.

Leah: Grandpa Mike came to visit me for Grandparents Day. I was so excited. He is funny and makes me laugh.

Coby: Nonna and Bobba are special and I like to sleep at their house. They are kind to me.

Harry: Nonna and Pappa came to pre-school. Pappa shows me cool nature things and Nonna gives me special treats like chocolate milk. She thinks I am special. Nonna is crazy and funny sometimes. She makes me laugh.

Isabella: Grandpa and Safta came to see me. I like to eat ice-cream at their house. We play tip outside. I like to pat their dog.

Burger Centre

The Dolphins and Starfish will visit the Burger Centre on Tuesday 28 August and Thursday 30 August respectively. We are looking forward to singing and dancing for all the elderly visitors. This opportunity is a way for us to brighten the day of other elderly people in our local community and bring some joy into their day.

Rosh Hashana

We have begun learning about the festival of Rosh Hashana and all its beautiful rituals and traditions and learning lots of new songs related to this rich festival.

The children have been working on their shofar blowing skills and through perseverance and practice are beginning to master the art of shofar blowing. In a few weeks, we are walking to the post box to mail our special Rosh Hashana cards to our families to wish them a Shana Tovah. We will also visit the shofar factory on Tuesday 4 September, where each child will learn how to make their own special shofar to keep and take home.