From the Principal

Andrew Watt

The Pittsburgh Synagogue shooting

It has been a dark week for Jewish communities across the world, following the shootings within the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pennsylvania, on Saturday 27 October. As Emanuel families have links to the Pittsburgh diaspora, we took some time in our High School assembly to pause and reflect together on this tragic and senseless loss of life. I will share below some thoughts that I shared with our staff and students.

“So what actually happened? The synagogue is located in a quiet, leafy suburb called Squirrel Hill. This is an historic Jewish enclave, and the centre for Jewish life in Pittsburgh. At 9.55 am, with rain falling outside, the baby naming event at the morning Shabbat service was interrupted when a gunman burst into the room and began shooting indiscriminately. Unlike at Australian synagogues, there was no armed guards – the doors were always open, to welcome all to join with them in prayer. The people inside scattered and hid – but 11 died and a number were injured, including four Policemen. Of the victims, 97 year old Rose Malinger was a Holocaust survivor. The shooter, Robert Bowers, is aged 46 and had carried an AR-15 rifle and three handguns. Bowers was known to have posted anti-Semitic messages regularly over the past year, in a US State where these sorts of hate messages were growing in their virulence. This was the deadliest attacks against a Jewish community in US history.

So how do we make sense of this horrific crime, premeditated and committed in cold blood? We are not alone in this struggle to make sense – Senior Rabbi of the Temple Synagogue, Atlanta, Peter Berg, cried out: How could this keep happening in our world?; and Chuck Diamond, former Rabbi at Tree of Life, simply observed: There’s a lot of hate out there… an understatement. When asked how the shooting had impacted her, Rabbi Doris Dyen said: I usually say morning blessings, and I started saying the ones you usually say, and I realised I couldn’t say them. I just talked to God directly and I said, God I am really having trouble here. I cannot pray because I’m broken, and I can’t pray.  William Peduto, Mayor of Pittsburgh resolved to embrace the Jewish community within the broader community, when he declared: We as a society are better than this; we know that hatred will never win out; that those who try to divide us ….by the way we pray… or where our families are from around the world…. will lose. The response to the shootings from the local community has been overwhelming: piles of flowers and cards have been left near the synagogue; thousands gathered to hold vigil to mourn the victims –  both in Pittsburgh and across the world –  united in their resolve to remember and to make sure that this does not happen again; thousands of dollars have been raised for the shooting victims, in go-fund-me campaigns … and the Pittsburgh’s Muslim community were quick to stand alongside the Jews, united in their stance against religious hatred, speaking out for tolerance and peace, also raising over $150 000 for the victim’s families.

This issue is not about something wrong that the Pittsburgh Jewish diaspora did – it is about gun control laws; it is also about abuse of freedom of speech; it is about blind prejudice and ignorance, often deep seated, that generates hatred. There will be no easy answers or quick fixes. Rabbi Betsy Forester, from Beth Israel Centre stated: We are shocked and grieving; our hearts go out to the Tree of Life – this attack was appalling; it was wrong. Rather than respond to hate with hate, she went on to say….We feel strongly that the Jewish faith is about love, and compassion, and justice … and our resolve is just as strong as it ever was, about bringing those values into this world. We are about doing good, bringing good, bringing love and light into our world…. That is what we do …  that is all that we do. What a wonderful response to a terrible circumstance. We look forward to the day when all religions can live safely and worship freely, and live in harmony together”.

Business Creators in Action

Following on the tight-fought marketing battle between the baked potatoes and the veggie burgers earlier in the year, our Year 9 Business Creators moved on to the next challenge, the Generation Entrepreneur initiative. The whole-day program involved each group designing a pitch for a start-up business. Our budding entrepreneurs were guided through the process by first thinking of a problem that needed to be solved. They then described how individuals currently deal with this issue. Finally, they developed their own idea that would assist people to resolve this problem. Logos and target markets were then discussed. Students were taught to ideate, collaborate, communicate and create.

Aiden Poswell and Kai Biton with the Generation Entrepreneur team

Many of our students designed apps that could be used to solve a range of difficulties that people face, including applications that allowed students to sell or swap their study notes, drivers to rent out parking spaces, bike riders to find the most scenic or safe routes through a city and an app that would assist students to plan and monitor their study habits. At the end of the day students pitched their ideas and received expert feedback on the commercial prospects of their start-up. The winning pitch was from Dean Reuveny, Maya Armstrong, Saskia Auerbach and Aaron Lemberg. It involved an app that they named Bolt! which allowed members of a school community to effortlessly arrange lifts to and from campus by parents who live in the same or neighbouring suburbs.

The Constitutional Convention at State Parliament House

Natasha Gering (Year 12, photo opposite) represented Emanuel at the convention and I wanted to share her reflections on the day:

“The topic of discussion was over whether Section 44 of the Constitution – which has sparked lots of debate recently, as seven members of Parliament have been disqualified for it over dual citizenship. Students came from all over NSW, travelling hours and some even flying. It was an extremely informative and fascinating experience as we commenced with a speaker who has written seven books on the subject, worked as a judge in the High Court and is a professor of Law at The UNSW. We were then separated into groups to discuss the issue and had our own referendum. We ended with an announcement of the results (70% in favour) and a soap box as to why everyone voted what they did. What stood out for me was the wealth of knowledge, passion and excitement from the students who were all extremely amicable and friendly.”

Save the dates

Wednesday 12 December

9 am: Years K-2 Presentation Day in the MPH

6 pm:  Years 3-6 Presentation Night in the MPH

Thursday 13 December

7 pm: Years 7-12 Annual Speech Night and prize giving at the The Sir John Clancy Auditorium, The UNSW

These events are compulsory for students and parents are very welcome to attend.

Mazal tov

•  to the Primary gymnastics team who had success at the recent IPSHA competition and to Sharon Fairfax for her coaching and leadership. Full story on IPSHA Gymnastics page.

 Quote of the week

“There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humour and hurt.”

Erma Bombeck

From the Primary School

Meghan Carroll – Deputy Head of Primary

What does it mean to be human and what does it mean to be kind?

Earlier this year, I had the privilege of attending TEDx in Sydney. This year’s topic, Humankind, explored the rapidly changing world we live in, the things that unite us as humans, the need for us to connect and collaborate and the importance of kindness.

I’d like to share a few ideas from some of the speakers (below) and encourage you to explore them further with your children when you get a moment:

Eddie Woo – Teacher

Youtube: https://misterwootube.com/

• Learning is a creative process involving perseverance and improvement
• Maths is a sense just like sight, touch and smell
• Maths is everywhere (eg: in flowers – spirals, symmetry and angles)

Thomas Oxley – Endovascular Neurologist

Twitter: @TomOxl

• Brain functionality: sense, compute, control
• Power of innovation and engineering
• Research on neural recording devices to help the command center of the brain (motor cortex) function better for patients with tetraplegia due to spinal cord injury, stroke and ALS

Magda Szubanski – Entertainer

Twitter: @MagdaSzubanski

• Importance of teaching courage; courage is like a well-trained muscle, we need to nourish and cultivate it
• Do we have the desire to be courageous?
• Courage is not a state of being, but rather a state of doing

Jahan Kalantar –  Lawyer

Twitter: @JahanKalantar

• Saying sorry is difficult but there is a process: say sorry – provide the ‘why’ – explain
• Being vulnerable allows us to access our true thoughts
• Showing and teaching gratitude

Lucinda Beaman – Editor

Twitter: @Lucinda_Beaman

• Why do we listen to refute rather than listening to understand?
• Importance of being open minded and accepting change over time
• Don’t shy away from disagreement. Instead use this as an opportunity to see things using a different lense

You can also access many of the videos from the day here: http://bit.ly/2SraJUv

Innovation Festival and Art Spotlight (Week 3)

Well done to Sophie Poisel and her amazing team of students and staff who planned, organised and managed last week’s Innovation Festival on Friday morning. The event showcased our students’ growing talent and helped many of them further their interest in STEAM initiatives and projects. Well done also to Louise Heilpern and the Art Department for the beautiful display of primary artworks. Thank you to everyone who was able to attend.

Uniform update

After meetings with the SRC, a student vote and lots of discussion a decision was made about changing the uniform for Years 3 and 4. After considering all of the data presented, Ben and Bella Freed, our Heads of Primary for a day last week, decided that Years 3 and 4 will no longer be required to wear a tie as part of their uniform. This was announced to the students on Monday morning and will commenced in Term 1, 2019. Please check the parent portal uniform section for more details or any uniform related information.

Healthy Harold

This week Years K-3 participated in Healthy Harold presented by Life Education, an organisation that empowers children to live a safe and healthy life. As part of the Personal Development and Health curriculum students participated in the following programs:

• My Body Matters – Kindy
  • Focus on personal hygiene, choosing healthy foods, physical activity and sleep, ways to keep safe
• Ready, Steady, Go – Year 1
  • Focus on physical activity, keeping safe in different environments, body reactions to new situations, fueling our body with the right foods, water and sleep
• All Systems Go – Year 2
  • Focus on factors that influence functions of different body systems, managing peer pressure, effects of second hand smoke, making healthy food choices
• Mind You Medicine – Year 3
  • Focus on factors that influence someone’s sense of self-worth, effective communication, factors that impact health and wellbeing, managing stressful situations, medicines and drugs and the consequences of their misuse

Colour Day

On Monday at lunch the K-2 students participated in Colour Day. Thank you to Katie Narunsky and the staff who helped organise and manage this year’s event.

From the Head of Jewish Life

Rabbi Daniel Siegel

Boundless Love

In his Devar Torah, on last week’s parashah, Year 10 student Beau Glass, shared his bafflement in Abraham’s pleading with God for the lives of the inhabitants of Sedom, relative strangers, yet, without a word of protest, acquiescing to sacrifice his son to this same God.

One might argue, considering the historical backdrop of these two stories, that while the wholesale destruction of Sedom (the righteous with the wicked), might represent an indiscriminate/non-caring act of God, against which Avraham inveighs, the “binding of Yitschak” signifies the apotheosis of purposeful selection, calling for and reflective of boundless love. Indeed, for many Christian theologians, the death of Jesus, “For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only son”, is foreshadowed in Yitschak’s being bound upon the altar by Avraham.

Yet, the opening words of this week’s parashah, “Sarah died” is used by the Rabbis to give us great pause, had we not already shared the bewilderment of Beau and that of his fellow students. In hearing the news of Avraham’s intended sacrifice of their son, our tradition asserts: “Sarah’s soul took flight and she died”. The Bible itself intimates that we are to carefully consider our actions of boundless love. Avraham hears the Divine call to sacrifice “your son, your favoured one, the one whom you love”. Yet, in stopping him from bringing down the knife upon his son, Avraham hears the divine messenger say: “You have not withheld your son, your favoured one”.

The binding of boundless love has consequences. While they journey up the mountain “together’, we read that Avraham descends alone. We never again hear of any contact between father and son.

The Jewish mystical tradition speaks of God’s creation of the world emanating from “chesed”, boundless love. At the same time, it teaches that the Divine light is too great for the human world to bear and that only through an act of tsimtsum, Divine self-withdrawal and self-containment, can a human world, experiencing and reflective of God’s love, endure.

Significantly, the Kabbalah, in presenting the ten attributes through which God manifests Himself and sustains our world, identifies the manifestation of chesed, boundless love, with Avraham and that of Gevurah, the restraining powers of containment, with Yitschak. They both must work in partnership without one eclipsing or subsuming the other.

As Avraham broke from the path of his father, to pursue his own journey, so must he allow his son to do the same. Parent and child, student and teacher are united in an ever-giving yet self-restricting love. In loving and caring for another, we must always be conscious not to bind another upon the altar of our own beliefs and convictions.

Devar Torah

Amber Langman – Year 10

Lachlan Corne – Year 10

Chayei Sarah

In an ironic twist, this week’s parashah, called Chayei Sarah, The Life of Sarah, begins with Avraham looking for a place to bury his beloved wife Sarah, who has just died. He finds a cave in Machpelah, an area we know as Hevron, and while initially offered it for free he purchases it from a man named Ephron.

He then sends his servant, Eliezer, to find a wife for his son Yitschak. Eliezer returns with Rivkah and she and Yitschak marry and fall in love.  Avraham dies at age 175 and his two sons, Yitschak and Yishmael bury him beside Sarah.

One might think that Sarah had a full life – after all she was married to Avraham and died at 127 years old. However, Sarah had some challenges in those years. She had to travel far away, faced a famine, was kidnapped twice, had difficulty conceiving and when she finally bore Yitschak, she saw Yishmael, the son of the Avraham’s mistress Hagar, as a bad influence on her son. Yet, the Torah suggests Sarah had a good life. Why is this so? It’s not because her life was problem-free and that she was happy all of the time – no one has a life like this. We think it is because of the way she looked at her life.

We all face challenges; how we perceive these challenges determines what our lives are going to be like. We are being told the way Sarah saw her troubles, how she reacted to the hardships. She looked at the glass as being half-full instead of half-empty and it’s because of this that she experienced a good life.

But wait there’s more – here are some other wise nuggets from this week’s parashah?

Lesson 1 – it’s not what you say, it’s what you do that counts
When Avraham is searching for an appropriate burial place, he finds a seller, Ephron, who says he’ll give him the Cave of Machpelah free of charge! Ephron wants to be seen as generous and a man of kindness but then he charges Abraham 400 silver coins.

Ephron is portrayed as a man who likes to talk the talk but doesn’t like to walk the walk. In contrast, Avraham is portrayed as someone who says little but does much. He offers some men to join him for a ‘little drink and a morsel of bread” but instead cooks a meal fit for a king. Avraham shows us that we are to live our lives by talking a little and doing a lot. This is the Rabbinic maxim, “emor me-at ve-aseh harbeh”, “say little, do much,” or like Nike says, “Just do it”!

Lesson 2: Boundless loving-kindness

Avraham sends Eliezer, to find a suitable wife for his son Yitschak. How is Eliezer to know who would be a ‘suitable’ wife? He devises the ‘camel test’. At each stop, Eliezer asks a young girl for a sip of water, and if she offers to provide water for his camels too this would be the sign that she is the one!

Rivkah passes the ‘camel test’ with flying colours. She immediately gives Eliezer a drink, then draws water for all of his camels. She sees an opportunity to do something kind, and does it. She has one motivation – to give to someone else with kindness. That intense desire to reach out to others matches the profile of Avraham’s family.

Rivkah teaches us to take this goal of boundless loving-kindness and challenge ourselves with real, selfless commitment.

So next time your day is going badly, see if you can look at the glass as half-full rather than half-empty and, even better, go and do a random act of kindness just for the sake of it!

Ma Koreh

Adam Carpenter | Head of Jewish Studies Primary

Year 4 students have been creatively engaged in Jewish Studies. They have been building up their skills in navigating, reading and interpreting their Tanakh and expressing their understanding in artistic ways.

This collage has no words or people, just the Tablets and the mountain. The mountain is pink because pink is a happy colour. It is also yellow because the Israelites were going to a land flowing with milk and honey. The commandments are blue because water is free and flowing, and water is blue.

By Ezra Glover-Sanders

I picture the Ten Commandments being held up by Moses on top of Mount Sinai. All of the Jewish people at the bottom of the mountain are feeling excited and nervous, because they don’t know what they are about to receive from God and Moses. Moses is feeling nervous because he is about to hold up something that will be handed down from generations to generations. He also has no idea what the Ten Commandments look like or what they actually are. God must be feeling excited because he is about to give them to someone who led a huge group of people out of Egypt. God has just created something that will be handed down from generation to generation. Mount Sinai is purple, because, according to Exodus, there was a big force field around the mountain. Anyone who touched it or went through were killed. All the animals are still and watching, like the Israelites at the bottom of the mountain.

By Xander Keller

Challah Cover – Shabbat Project Activity

by Phoebe Machlin

Designing and creating a menorah in the Imaginarium, based on the description in the Torah.

Avalon Gold, Kira Levin-Kahn and Jemma Adler

Year 9 Geography excursion

Year 9 Geography students attended an excursion to visit the ecosytems of the Kurnell Peninsula on Tuesday. The main focus of the day was to allow students to visit and understand the importance of mangroves to the coastal environment. Students learnt that until recently mangroves attracted little attention due to their unattractiveness to tourists. In the last few decades their uniqueness, role in biodiversity and fragility have been recognised.

Our guide walked students through the mangroves and other estuarine ecosystems as they filled out worksheets. Students also used devices to measure the sunlight that reached the mangroves as well as the salinity of the water. The yearly examination will be based upon this field trip and the work on mangroves that is covered in class.

The highlight of the day was when one of the guides caught a stingray and students were able to touch the ray and receive a small electric shock. The guide also removed a 60cm shark from the stomach of the stingray and this gave students and teachers an even bigger shock. The stingray was then returned to the water to live its life in peace.

David Bartlett, Head of HSIE

Year 9 French

Hilary de Joux | French Teacher

La crêperie d’Emanuel School

Crêpes originated in Bretagne, or Brittany, in France and they are a delicious French dish that can be served in so many ways and like all the best French recipes are beautifully simple to make. On Monday the Year 9 French class had a crêpe- making class where they learned how to make authentic French crêpes. Miam!  Language learning is such a dynamic experience and cultural activities such as cooking make all that vocabulary learning worthwhile!  We all had a lot of fun and they were just delicious. Well done Year 9, c’était délicieux!  Bon appétit!   

From the Music Department

Years 3-6 Instrument Program

Diana Springford – Head of Music

Important notice regarding  Instrument Program (IP) Years 3-6 next week

Next week (Week 4) all IP will be on Tuesday 6 November due to daytime rehearsals for Night of Instrumental Music that evening. There will be no IP on Wednesday 7 November (Years 4-5). 

It is very important that all students from Years 3-6 remember to bring their instrument, music and any other materials they need for their rehearsals on Tuesday please to avoid disruption to the Night of Instrumental Music rehearsal schedule.

From the Year 4 reporters – Invictus Games

The Invictus Games is like a paralympics for injured veterans. People who have served in the army and have become injured or sick have the choice to enroll in the Invictus Games where they compete in many different sports from wheelchair basketball to indoor rowing. It is not only physical disabilities that lead to veterans competing. Many participants have been through traumatic experiences and have mental disabilities which lead them to compete.

The Invictus Games started as a small idea and now there are 18 countries that compete in it. These competitors are drawn from around the world. The Invictus Games has been around since 2014 and has been going strong since. The next Invictus Games will be in the Netherlands.

Prince Harry decided to start this event because he fought in the war in Afghanistan. He fought for over ten weeks but an Australian magazine found out and published the news. Since it was revealed where Prince Harry was, he was pulled out for security reasons.

In Latin, the word Invictus means undefeated, invincible and unconquerable. The Invictus Games brings hope to retired veterans and their families’ lives. Prince Harry founded the Invictus Games because he saw war veterans suffering and he decided to do something about it.

There are usual sports, like swimming and archery. However, there are more unusual sports like sitting volleyball, where you have to be seated at all times. Other sports are wheelchair rugby, wheelchair basketball and wheelchair tennis.

Person of the week

Sarah Petchell came first place in women’s IP3 powerlifting. She also came 3^rd in the IR6 1 minute sprint. She is an amazing woman. Powerlifting has made a big change in her life and allowed her to build her muscles and shoulder joints. Her injury is spinal pain, a shoulder tear, chronic pain in her feet and instability in her ankles. Despite these injuries, she still did very well in the Games.

Book of the week

The book of the week is I am Malala. This book is an informative autobiography about Malala Yousafzai’s life and events that happened to her at 15 years of age, when the Taliban was ruling.

By K-6 gifted and Talented students, Amelie Mueller, Jessica Smith, Noa Rosenzveig and Jamie Nabarro

Primary Musical – The Lion King

Douglas Shield Cricket

Adam Ezekiel | Head of Meir House | PDHPE Teacher

Douglas Shield Cricket

Last Friday Emanuel played their round 1 game of the Douglas Shield Cricket competition against St Paul’s Grammar School. We won the toss and bowled first and Max Kidman, Jake Greenberg and Ben Leslie got us off to an outstanding start, having St Paul’s Grammar 2/20 off the first 11 overs, with Ben Leslie picking up the first two wickets. Unfortunately this brought to the crease an outstanding young cricketer from St Paul’s Grammar, who went on to score 233 individual runs. It was a fine innings where he dispatched the Emanuel attack to all parts of the ground. After 50 overs, St Paul’s Grammar ended up with a mammoth total of 9/360. Max Kidman finished with excellent figures of 1/27 off his 10 overs and Leo Lipman picked up three wickets. 

It was always going to be difficult task and proved to be exactly that. Emanuel was finally dismissed for 75 runs, with Justin Sarif top scoring with 17 not out. Despite a tough loss, the highlight of the day was Blake Nixon taking a screamer of a catch, reaching low and to his right with one hand to pick up the first wicket of the match. 

Thank you to all the boys who were a part of the Emanuel Cricket team and for playing the game in such great spirits.

IPSHA Gymnastics success

Sharon Fairfax – Gymnastics Coordinator

Emanuel School first competed at the IPSHA (Independent Primary School Heads of Australia) Gymnastics Competition back in 2003 where we had immediate success. It is with great pride Emanuel School has enjoyed success at IPSHA every year since our inception.

Our School achieved amazing results in both the Women’s and Men’s Gymnastics at the IPSHA Gymnastics Competition held at Sydney Gymnastics and Aquatic Centre, Rooty Hill last Thursday and 2018 was no exception as to our continued success.

Official results are as follows:

Level 1 WG Team Competition – 1^st place overall 

Willow Gelin (top scorer)

Toni Sher

Ashleigh Gold

Ariella Cohen

Level 2 WG Team Competition – 1^st place overall

Leah Grunseit (top scorer)

Mirelle Lazerson

Gemma Wainstein

Gabriella Solomon

Level 1 MG Team Competition – 4^th place overall

Timmy Simon (top scorer)

Leo Masnick

Gabriel Stiassny

Ethan Licht

Jacob Salamon

Matthew Simon

Alexander Kirievsky

Level 1 team at training: Ethan Licht, Leo Masnick, Gabriel Stiasnny, Jacob Salamon and Matthew Simon. Missing from photo: Timmy Simon and Alex Kirievsky

Level 2 MG Team Competition – 1^st place overall 

Jordan Pal (top scorer)

Devan Bloch

Hayden Rose

Charlie Kerlander

Hugo Ehrlich

Noah Vexler

Aiden Kanevsky and Raphael Harpaz

Level 3 MG Individual Competition

Raphael Harpaz (top scorer)

1st place: High Bar

2^nd place: Pommel, Rings, Vault and Parallel Bars

3^rd place: Floor

Aiden Kanevsky

1^st place: Floor

2^nd place: High Bar

3^{rd p}lace: Rings

An incredible effort from all our gymnasts, with special mention and thank you to Ashley Cohn who assisted the judges all day and did a superb job!

Thank you also to all the parents who support the Emanuel Gymnastics Program.

Primary Colour Day

Gabriel Stiassny – Year 6 Play Leader

Years K- 2 Colour Day

The K-2 Play Leaders had the idea to make a fun activity for the Years K-2 children and call it Colour Day. Each student was given a colour and had to come to school dressed in that colour. Each Year 6 leader had a colour as well.

In the groups we had to make a team chant about our colours and create a poster in our colour. The theme of the poster was Dreams. Afterwards, each group shared their posters and chants with the other students.

Being a Play Leader taught us how to interact with younger children. We all had so much fun on Colour Day!

Thank you to Mrs Narunsky, Mrs Silver and Mrs Levenson for being our mentors.

Extra-Curricular Term 4, 2018

Emma Hill | Primary Teacher and Coordinator of Extra-Curricular Programs

The final date for booking into the activities below is next Friday

New Extra-Curricular Club – Code Camp! 
Code Camp has been running sessions with Years 2-6 at Emanuel as part of our curriculum this year. We are excited that Code Camp are now offering an after-school program on Mondays. This club is open for students with coding experience in Year 1 and 2, as well as Years 3-6 students.

New EActive activities:

• Beach Volleyball Years 3 – 6
• Futsal Years 3 – 6

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 4 Extra-Curricular (including EActive) Schedule

From the Primary Library

Ginnette Cameron-Gardner – Primary Teacher/Librarian

Reading for all

The Primary Library has a diverse collection of fiction and non-fiction suitable for students in Years K-6. We are happy to help find the ideal book to spark the interest of even the most reluctant reader.

The Collection includes many books published by Barrington Stokes who specialise in producing ‘super-readable’ books which assist in the provision of reading matter for those students who experience visual stress or dyslexia. A wide range of students are enjoying reading them as they have clear font, wider line spacing, and are exciting reads.

Disaster Strikes series. This series is suitable for older readers as well as there is a real-life survival element, and the stories are action-filled with realistic friend dynamics and strong storyline.

Earthquake Shock by Marlane Kennedy; illustrated by Erwin Madrid. Disaster Strikes series #1. Located at JF KEN.

Summary: When Joey Flores walked home from the skate park with his friends, the ground began to tremble and Joey knew they were headed for trouble. The earthquake that followed devasted the neighbourhood, collapsing a nearby overpass with Joey and Fiona on one side and Kevin and Dylan on the other. Now Joey and his friends must rescue one another and find a new way home as the earth cracks beneath their feet. (From publisher)

Tornado Alley by Marlane Kennedy ; illustrated by Erwin Madrid. Disaster Strikes series #2. Located at JF KEN.

Summary: When disaster strikes, the only thing you can count on is yourself! Wyatt Anderson isn’t thrilled that his prissy cousin is visiting his family’s Oklahoma ranch. But it turns out Wyatt has bigger problems to deal with when a pair of duelling tornadoes lock the prairie in their sights…. Wyatt, Alison, and neighbours Joshua and Jackson have nowhere to run. And when the old barn is battered by the tornados’ ferocious winds, the animals that live inside are in danger. Will Wyatt and his friends risk their own lives to protect them?

Blizzard night by Marlane Kennedy; illustrated by Erwin Madrid. Disaster Strikes series #3. Located at JF KEN.

Summary: A winter trip in the remote Michigan wilderness seemed like the perfect way for Jayden to get to know his new foster family. But when the snow really starts to come down, the family van crashes and the three kids must go out into the bleak, white storm to search for help. Soon the wind is howling and night is starting to fall. Jayden, Maggie, and Connor will have to think fast, find shelter, watch out for bears, and somehow stay warm if they don’t want to end up frozen in their tracks… (From publisher)

Volcano Blast by Marlane Kennedy; illustrated by Erwin Madrid. Disaster Strikes series #4. Located at JF KEN.

Summary: Noah and Emma Burton have traded the sand and surf of their Hawaiian home for a chilly stay in Alaska, and Noah isn’t happy about it. His father may be a volcano expert, but why did they have to travel to the coldest, grayest place on earth when there are millions of volcanoes near Honolulu? Noah thinks he’s in for the most boring vacation of his life. He couldn’t have been more wrong! A day trip to a remote island turns deadly when a once-dormant volcano suddenly sputters to life in an eruption of epic proportions. Now Noah, Emma, and their new neighbour Alex must fight to survive. (From publisher)

Interesting facts about the author.

Marlane Kennedy is the author of the Disaster Strikes series, Me and the Dog Days of Charlotte Hayes and others. She has lived through one tiny earthquake, the blizzard of 1978, and a tornado that swept through Wooster, Ohio, where she lives with her husband and daughter. Though she is having a blast writing about disasters, she is hoping not to add any more to this list! You can find her online at www.marlanekennedy.com.

Careers

Claire Pech – Careers Advisor

Career Avenues follow up

Last week I attended a Career Avenues review day for schools using Career Avenues profiling systems. We learnt a lot about the current job market, how other schools are using the system and the benefits attached. In 2019, Year 10 students will have access to the career profiling process and then a one-on-one debriefing afterwards with a Careers Avenues’ representative to discuss the relevant career options. I am looking forward to the many benefits this will bring for our Year 10s.

What do employers want?

The Business Council of Australia report on future proofing students at school found that:

• Too many students were choosing courses that do not lead to work in the field
• Workers found that they were paid a lot less than they expected
• Workers didn’t have the correct access to this information.

What courses are employers looking for?

STEM and STEAM: Science, Technology, Engineering Arts (Humanities/Creative Areas – but only with STEM), Maths

Courses to recommend

What skills do employers want 

Message for students:

• Do the highest Maths level you can
• Add Science, Maths or Business to an Arts, Media or Design course
• Research university and tertiary courses
• Get the best grades you can
• Take a part-time job to apply your transferrable skills
• Get summer work – if you can
• Use the university careers service.

Career notices, dates, events

Medicine: UMAT changing to UCAT

The UMAT test is now changing to the UCAT test in line with international and UK standards. Students interested in Medicine, Clinical Science and Dentistry need to apply and research through the official UCAT site at www.ucatofficial.com/ . Applications open up in March next year for testing that runs through July 2019 with results delivered in September to universities.

For all of those students who are daunted by the prospect of undergraduate medicine and how competitive it is, alternative pathways can be found at pathways to medicine here.

New South Wales Police – Recruitment information session

Sessions providing information for students on how to enter the police force and a future career with the Police are generally run at Police Headquarters (3 November and 1 December in Parramatta).

www.police.nsw.gov.au/recruitment/news/information_sessions

Calling all astronauts

An Australian company is planning on launching their own commercial rockets in the next few years, meaning more space jobs for students!

www.createdigital.org.au/space-startup-australias-first-commercial-rocket-launches/

(Source: MHSCareers October 2018)

Gifted and Talented parent workshop

Parent workshop

Are you a perfectionist? Perhaps you’d like to take a minute to think about it.

Our 3^rd Gifted and Talented Parent Workshop began with parents completing a short (private) survey about themselves on ‘perfectionism’. The outcome of this led to many discussions about qualities displayed by their children, followed up by sharing of research-based literature on methods of coping with perfectionism.

See survey at the link: dl.motamem.org/Hewitt-Flett-Perfectionism-Scale-MPS.doc

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

Suzanne Plume – Gifted & Talented Co-ordinator 7-12 and Debating and Public Speaking 7-12

It is always amazing and inspiring when parents living in these frenetic times, after a long day, undergo a whirlwind of organisation to ensure that all evening routines are covered, so that they can venture out into the evening to seek to broaden their knowledge and understanding of their children. What a wonderful atmosphere of learning, sharing and camaraderie we experienced, with parents sharing their experiences and successful strategies for dealing with Highly Capable young ones. Further course material included sharing tips for parenting. Some advice from a well-respected professional in the field, Dr Sylvia Rimm, was used. See some links listed below.

Sylvia Rimm’s 12 Laws of Parenting – www.sylviarimm.com/article_rimmslaws.html

There are a plethora of very helpful articles by her –  www.sylviarimm.com/parentingarticles.html#Parenting

The evening was most enjoyable and rewarding and was effective in building co-operative home-school relationships. The children are lucky to have parents dedicated to doing the best for them!

Thank you to all who contributed to making the evening a success: Maintenance Staff for set-up, Michelle Favero and Belinda Levin for marketing and catering and to the parents – it was a joy to work with you.

Disability Provisions for HSC

Dr Lynn Joffe

Eliah Dean

Disability Provisions (DPs) for the Higher School Certificate Examinations (HSC) – application process for 2018/2019

As detailed at the Year 12 information evening, some students might be eligible to apply for Disability Provisions (DPs) for their HSC examinations, on the basis of a medical, social, emotional, academic or physical issue that places a student at a disadvantage relative to the cohort of all HSC students in NSW. This information is submitted to an external panel of experts, nominated by the New South Wales Education Standards Authority (NESA), who determine whether there are grounds for such provisions to be applied.

The application process is detailed and often lengthy and requires commitment and adherence to the information requirements, evidence and time parameters outlined by the School and by NESA.

As part of the process, literacy, other testing and essay writing are likely to be required, as results of these are part of NESA’s application requirements. Sessions will be timetabled for these and all students are expected to attend at the allocated times. Early leave or other meetings are not considered grounds for missing such sessions.

As is appropriate, teachers also play an important role in providing information about applicants. It is in students’ interests to ensure that all their teachers are aware of any issues that are likely to impact school performance; in the classroom, in the school as a whole and in examination and assessment settings.

The application process and related matters are managed by the Specialist Learning Centre (SLC) staff. Any student who believes that she/he has grounds to submit an application must make an appointment to speak with Mr Dean or Dr Joffe, by Wednesday 7 November. Delays in making appointments and providing essential information will lead to delays in processing applications.

If you think you/your child/your ward is eligible to apply for Disability Provisions and you have not already done so, please contact Mr Eliah Dean or Dr Lynn Joffe by Wednesday 7 November to discuss the grounds on which you feel an application is warranted.

Kornmehl

Terry Aizen – Director Kornmehl

National Bandanna Day

On Friday last week, we raised $280 for Canteen to support children and teenagers suffering from cancer. We all purchased colourful bandannas and wore them to Shabbat. We are proud to be able to support others in our community and to instil compassion and caring in the children from this very young age.

Excursions

In the past week, two groups and have been on excursions into the wider community. The Starfish visited Calmsley Farm and the Dolphins went to Symbio Wildlife Park.

The build-up to the excursions consisted of discussions, sharing of ideas and thoughts about what we might see and do as well as involvement in making beautiful creative art works. On our return, there has also been much reflection and follow through.

The children and teachers travelled on the Emanuel School bus, Otto, which was a huge highlight of the trip.

Our excursion to the farm began with a tour of the farm nursery, where the children got to pet and look at lots of different baby farm animals. We then all had a go at milking a cow. We learnt about different kinds of cows, such as Brahman, Jersey and Highland. We visited the sleepy pigs and went on a very bumpy tractor ride around the farm.  Other animals we saw were a camel, donkey, lamas, koalas, a wallaby, wombat, turkeys, ducks and chickens. After lunch, we had a stockwhip demonstration, followed by a working dog show, that herded all the sheep into an area and a sheep shearing show. Wow – so much in one day! It was a beautiful day and the Starfish children were engaged, enthusiastic and involved.

Symbio Wildlife Park was a new venture for us at Kornmehl. The Park allows visitors to get up close and personal with Australian and exotic favourite animals which include cheetahs, ring-tailed lemurs, red pandas, meerkats, small monkeys and many more.

On arrival we ate morning tea and began to look at the animals. We saw kangaroos, dingoes, cheetahs, monkeys, emus, cassowarys, wombats, red pandas, crocodiles, goannas, koalas, meerkats, echidnas, Tasmanian devils, lots of birds, mini beasts, reptiles and farm animals.

The Dolphins especially loved the meerkat and cheetah presentation, as well as being able to feed the kangaroos.

The Symbio farmyard precinct was popular and the children were able to feed and pat goats and sheep, meet the cutest guinea pigs and see chickens and ducks.

Many thanks to all our wonderful parent and grandparent helpers. We really appreciated you joining us on all these excursions.

Next week Wednesday, our Seashells will be visiting Calmsley Farm too.

Kindy orientation

The children have been excited to participate in orientation visits up to Year K at Emanuel School. They have entered the classroom confidently and are eager to explore their new surroundings and get to know their teachers.

We thank Tany Milner, Meghan Carroll, Talia Hynek and Carrie-Anne Greeves for welcoming the children and parents and making them feel comfortable and safe.

Outdoor Classroom Day

On Thursday we participated in Outdoor Classroom Day. This is a global campaign to celebrate and inspire outdoor learning and play. On the day, thousands of schools around the world take lessons outdoors and prioritise playtime. Outdoor learning improves children’s health, engages them with learning and leads to a greater connection with nature. Play not only teaches critical life skills such as resilience, teamwork and creativity, but is central to children’s enjoyment of childhood. It’s easy to get involved and there is something everyone can do!

At Kornmehl, we value and appreciate the outdoors as an integral and important part of our program and our ethos. We see the outdoors as critical to each child’s well-being. We aim to give the children large chunks of time during the day to play and engage freely in the outdoor space. We also have our Bush School program, which complements our belief in the benefits of outdoor play experiences for young children. With this in mind we decided to participate in Outdoor Classroom Day. We spent time as a staff team reflecting, discussing and planning for this day.

We moved our entire day outdoors, from morning meeting, music lesson, activity time, sleep/rest time, mindfulness and meditation experiences and more.

The children were able to engage in a number of beautiful planned experiences such as paper bark boat making, making potions using berries and beetroot, playing with mud and clay, building a bug hotel, leaf printing, Aboriginal dot painting, reading books quietly and sandpit play with water and pipes.

The children were excited and keen to get involved and loved being outdoors the whole day. Many of them said: “This is the best day ever!”

WIZO tzedakah collection

On Friday, the pre-school collected Tzedakah for WIZO – World International Zionist Organisation. This money is sent to Israel to help brighten the future for those in need. WIZO supports women, children, families and the elderly in communities across the country.

Many thanks to all our Kornmehl families for their generous support.

Happy Birthday

We wish a very happy birthday to Joshua Kaplan (4) and Bowie Berger (4). We hope you both had a great birthday.

Connecting our Community – Gesher

Sonia Newell – Development Officer

Life has its challenges

The Tree of Life Synagogue, Pittsburgh mass shooting last Shabbat morning horrifies us all and reminds us that life is precious and as Jews and human beings, we must never ever forget that.  We remember all those who were murdered or injured that morning, in a crime of hate, just because they are Jewish. May their memories be a blessing to all. How blessed are we here at the School to have our own PSG, with members who are not only current parents and grandparents but also past parents, who help keep us all safe.

Without sounding too philosophical, I want to share with you some very different life-challenges in our wider community here in Sydney. Life takes many different paths and for some people it is the most amazing journey, filled with health and happiness all the way. For others, adversity is part of that journey and it can be embraced and challenged in so many different ways.

Many members of our School community have done just that – they have embraced challenges and turned them into the most amazing achievements, and some of them are happy to share their journeys with the wider community – one such person is alumnus Ben Wilheim (Class of 2008). Ben started Remember September four years ago to honour his father Danny who died aged 63 from pancreatic cancer, less than a year after diagnosis, and also his cousin who died from the same cancer 12 months earlier at the age of 32.  This year they raised $44,000 and over the past four years Ben and his friends and supporters, many of whom are also Emanuel alumni, have raised over $170,000 towards awareness and funding of research to find a cure for this dreadful cancer.  http://rememberseptember.gofundraise.com.au/ 

Families who have children with disabilities now have access to many and varied programs that support some of their children’s needs.  Friendship Circle is one such program and many of our School community volunteer for their holiday camps and other ongoing projects.  Coming up soon is their TOY Drive to benefit children with disabilities in local schools and the children’s hospital: www.sydneyfriendshipcircle.org.au/toydrive and on 25 November is their Wrapping Party for children in Years 3-6, with parents. They also need High School students to volunteer at this event. Please see posters here for more details.

Josie Lacey OAM, one of our Emanuel grandmothers, has written a book An Inevitable Path: A Memoir, which will be launched on Sunday 25 November through the Community Stories project of the Sydney Jewish Museum.  In her book, Josie gives a first-hand insight into her experiences of antisemitism both in occupied Europe and in Australia as a ‘reffo’.  Bookings for this event are essential: Ph 9360 7999.

If you have news to share, please be in touch: snewell@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au

From the Parents and Friends

Ruby Berkovic and Jennifer Opit

Hi Everyone,

Kepos Street Kitchen Cooking Event

Our Kepos Street Kitchen Event was this week and it was a wonderful evening with delicious food. The new Food Lab in the Innovation Centre is a fantastic space and Michael Rantissi (from Kepos Street Kitchen) proved why he is an award-winning chef. A huge thank you goes out to Rahel Wise for all her help organising this event.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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