From the Principal

Andrew Watt – Principal

Overparenting

One of the most difficult things about parenting is watching your child struggle or experience pain, especially emotional pain. With physical pain, we can get a band-aid or see a doctor (the very act of doing something makes us feel better), but with emotional pain we are often quite powerless. As a parent, I have found it difficult to push past these feelings of helplessness, which are almost intolerable at times. However, I have come to realise that sometimes it is my pain that I am trying to stop, not my child’s, and I have also realised that in doing so, I am robbing them of valuable moments of learning and growth and of developing one of the most important life skills; resilience. Resilience is the ability to experience and manage discomfort, pain, sadness and disappointments. As a parent of older children, I can see now that all these difficult moments along the way prepared them for the bigger disappointments that are inevitably going to come their way in life.

Judith Locke, in her (highly recommended) book, The Bonsai Child, believes that modern parenting is in crisis – that parents are putting more time and effort into raising their children than ever before, but children’s self-esteem, resilience and wellbeing don’t appear to be improving. She argues that it is the most committed and involved parents that are the most anxious and demanding. A recent article; Too much love: helicopter parents could be raising anxious, narcissistic children, highlights that the process of “helicopter” or “lawn mower” parenting can make things go spectacularly wrong. Whilst it is a confronting read, I felt that it was worth sharing. At the very least, we can take a moment to reflect on our parenting style and what sort of parent we want to be. 

https://www.generationnext.com.au/2019/05/too-much-love-helicopter-parents-could-be-raising-anxious-narcissistic-children/

Exploring the delights of Israel – the Israel Expo

Our Year 8 students were tasked to explore an area of Israel that excited and interested them. They spent a term researching their area of expertise to better understand its history in Israel, its connection to Australia and how it makes the world a better place. Students were able to then creatively communicate their research in an expo stall that included activities, giveaways and quizzes, so that the expo guests could learn more about their area of Israel. Visitors enjoyed a wide range of colourful and interactive stands, including Tourism, Archaeology, Performing Arts, Food and Science. Well done to the students and teachers involved.

Lunch with the Primary School madrichim

Following on from my lunches with the High School madrichim last term, it was a delight to host the Primary School madrichim. I was impressed by their maturity, energy and sense of humour; we enjoyed a far-ranging conversation that covered their current projects, challenges of leadership and reflections on their leadership training. It was clear that they took their leadership roles and responsibilities very seriously, seeking to make a difference and to serve.

Happy 97^th Birthday 

Adam Blackman, President of the School Board, with Mr Kleinlehrer OAM

Mr Aron Kleinlehrer OAM, founder, friend and generous supporter of Emanuel School since its inception in 1983, celebrated an impressive 97^th birthday this week. Over 40 guests were entertained by the very professional Emanuel School Mendelssohn Chamber Strings, with four talented Emanuel students singing Happy Birthday and Yom Huledet Sameach to Mr Kleinlehrer. The Year 10 Food Technology and Year 11 Hospitality students made and served a delicious spread, while Jessica Turtledove, Year 10, made a very festive birthday cake.

Thank you to Michelle Favero and Belinda Levin for all their work in making this evening a success. 

We’re all looking forward to celebrating Mr Kleinlehrer’s 98th birthday in 2020! Yom Huledet Sameach!

Mazal tov to:

Genevienve Goldman and Samantha Bauer – Head of Drama

• Genevieve Goldman (Alumna 2018) received the June Frater Award for excellence in HSC Drama.
• The grandparents, parents staff and students who took part in the Mother’s Day Classic on Sunday.
• Emanuel Opens Girls Futsal team for winning NSW Schools Regional Futsal Championships
• Alan Drannikov who was selected in the AICES 16 years Rugby team
• Gabriella Goodridge who placed 3^rd in the 100m butterfly at NSW All Schools Swimming Championships
• The Mendelssohn Chamber Strings – Ashley Kim, Chloe Miller, Lara Fosbery, Shane Doust, Nathaniel Spielman and Rebekah Goldwsorthy. The students, led by Leo Novikov, played a selection of beautiful music for Mr Kleinlehrer’s 97th Birthday party. 
• The Vocal Quartet comprising students Amber Langman, Talia Blackman, Lachlan Corne and Ezra Hersch, who sang Yom Huledet Sameach and Happy Birthday to Mr Kleinlehrer, who was moved to tears by their voices. 

Events for your diary

Parent workshops:
3, 11 and 19 June (in The Millie Phillips Theatre), 7.00 pm – 8.15 pm
See Primary News page for more information on the topics being covered.

Breakfast with Emanuel:
12 June (in Bondi Junction) and 19 June (in the city), 7.00 am – 8.30 am
Join us for a light breakfast and hear from Kim Slender, our school counsellor, and myself, as we delve into the topics of deep learning and student well-being. For more information visit the Gesher page. 

Quote of the week

“Aim for success, not perfection. Never give up on your right to be wrong, because you will lose the ability to learn new things and move forward with your life. Remember that fear always lurks behind perfectionism.” David M. Burns

Primary School news

Farewell 

It is with mixed emotions that I inform you that Hugo Adrian will be leaving Emanuel School at the end of Term 2 this year. Hugo began working at Emanuel in September 2010 and over the years he has been a valued and well-respected member of our teaching team. He has taught Year 1, Year 3 and Year 6 and has been an outstanding educator, mentor and colleague. Hugo has also made many contributions to the Year 6 leadership program and extra-curricular programs. We have appreciated his many contributions.

We will begin advertising this position immediately and are keen to organise a smooth transition for the students. We will keep you informed as we appoint a new teacher.

We will say farewell to Hugo at the end of this term and wish him all the very best for his future career. We hope that he will remain in touch with his Emanuel family.

Natanya Milner, Head of Primary

Mental Fitness: a model for wellbeing

Earlier this week I asked a variety of students ranging from Kindergarten to Year 6 the following question: what does it mean to be fit? Their answers are shown below:

Meghan Carroll, Deputy Head of Primary

Interestingly, many of their answers focused on the physical aspects of fitness, but what about the mental aspects?

To be in good physical health, children need to work on their physical fitness. For good mental health, they need to work on their mental fitness. Dr Paula Robinson, a registered, consulting and coaching Psychologist, has done a lot of research around Mental Fitness and the importance of developing mentally fit children.

Last week I attended a conference where Paula spoke about the fitness index (for mental fitness). She explained that mental fitness training is made up of four parts, as shown below, and how we as adults play a vital role in training our children to be mentally fit.

I encourage you to give this workout a go; do a few reps of this training with your child every week, be a spotter and help guide when appropriate, try to bulk up their development in this area and celebrate gains whenever possible.

1. Strength
   Know and use your own personal strengths. Is your child aware of his/her strengths? Does he/she use them?
   How do we get your child to engage in his/her personal strengths outside of school?
   Do you spot strengths in others with your child? Do you use the language around this to create understanding for your child?
   What is your child’s understanding behind the meaning and purpose in life? Kids are keen to explore this with you.

2. Flexibility
   Mindfulness: increased learning, decreased stress. What mindfulness skills are you teaching your child?
   Accepting him/herself; what we can and can’t change. In what ways are you helping your child develop self-compassion? Does your child practise positive self-talk? How can you model this at home?
   Negative emotions. Consider ways to teach your child about negative emotions such as fear, shame and guilt and how to deal with these.

3. Endurance
   Practising resilience. Do you provide opportunities for your child to practice this important skill?
   Increase positive emotions. Coach your child on what to do when they are feeling bad.
   Self-belief (confidence). Work on teaching your child how to think in order to perform well. Identify what works well and what doesn’t and ways to communicate this.

4. Team
   Understanding and building positive relationships. Does your child surround him/herself with people who enhance their life?

Upcoming Parent Workshops

Don’t forget to RSVP here for the Parent Workshops as advertised in last week’s MaNishma.

• Monday 3 June: Helping Your Child to Manage Anxiety with Karen Young (Psychotherapist)

• Tuesday 11 June: Healthy Brain Development Through Good Enough Parenting with Lisa Myers (Psychiatrist)

• Wednesday 19 June: Firm But Kind: A Parent’s Guide To Boundaries and Discipline with Celia Conolly

All sessions run from 7.00 pm – 8.15 pm in The Millie Phillips Theatre. We hope you can make it!

Kindness Spreads competition winners

Thank you to all those who submitted videos over the past month as part of this exciting Madrichim initiative. Each video presented the theme of Kindness Spreads in different ways. Winners were selected based on three categories and were announced at a special video screening during last week’s assembly. Mazal tov to the winners below:

Most educational/best message
Tamar Granot

Most entertaining
Chloe Biller
Jasmine Melnikoff
Maxwell Pozniak
Georgie Rosen

Most creative
Hannah Hurwitz
Rose Greenberg
Sami Lyons
Ally Rockman

NAPLAN

This week the Years 3 and 5 students were involved in the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). NAPLAN assesses key skills that are important to school and life including reading, writing, spelling and numeracy. Whilst the NAPLAN results provide helpful data to inform student learning, we know that the result of a test cannot fully represent what is exceptional and unique about each child. We are proud of all Years 3 and 5 students who completed the NAPLAN assessments this week, but more importantly, we celebrate the growth and development they will make in all aspects of life throughout the year.

Mother’s Day breakfast and stall

Thank you to the P&F team lead by Ruby Berkovic and Jennifer Opit for all their organisation for the Mother’s Day Breakfast and stall. Thank you too to the Canteen. It was wonderful to see so many mothers, grandmothers and children celebrating together at the breakfast.

From the Head of Jewish Life

Rabbi Daniel Siegel

Your imperfect offering

While we see tikkun olam as a call for humanity to bring the divine dimension into our imperfect world, the Bible, as reflected in this week’s parashah, often seeks to maintain the perfect state of divinity that should not be trespassed upon by imperfect humanity.

This Shabbat, one might shudder to read parashat Emor in one’s synagogue, a place in which access is granted to those physically challenged and psychologically distressed. In this space of shared prayer and service, we all can come near to God, precisely because we are in need of healing and the love and support of community.

In Emor, however, the priests are reminded that no one who is defective can make an offering to God. “He shall not enter behind the curtain or come near the altar, for he has a defect”. Or, if physically whole, he is likewise compromised if in a state of “impurity”, and cannot approach God.

Today, we expect our religious leaders to serve with purity of heart, but neither they nor a congregant would be barred from the bimah or the synagogue for a physical or psychological “defect” or ritual “impurity”.

The ancient world saw “direct access” to God granted to the elect who served as the representatives of the people who themselves could not approach and make an offering within the proscribed holy precincts. Neither the one making the offering nor the offering itself (the animal) can be defective, when the perfect God is being propitiated.

The Rabbinic world and contemporary Judaism, seeing the God of the ethical and ritual realms, the prophetic and priestly traditions, being of a single whole, understand prayer and our personal and collective offering as the nexus between perfection/the holy and imperfection/the profane, neither existing separate from one another. 

A story

Rabbi Sheshet was blind. Once all the people went out to see the king, and Rabbi Sheshet went with them. While walking, a person came up to Rabbi Sheshet and said: “Whole pitchers go to the river, but to where do the broken ones go”? Rabbi Sheshet replied: “You do not see what I see”. The first troop of the king’s men passed by and a shout arose. “The king is coming”, said this person”. “He is not”, replied Rabbi Sheshet.

A second troop passed by and when a shout arose, this person said: “Now, the king is coming”. Rabbi Sheshet replied: “The king is not coming”. A third troop passed by and there was silence. Rabbi Sheshet said: “Now, indeed, the king is coming”. And, when the king appeared, the person asked Rabbi Sheshet: “How did you know this?” To which Rabbi Sheshet replied “For the earthly king is similar to the heavenly King…”

(Talmud, Berakhot)

It is the “imperfect” and the “broken”, our tradition teaches us, that most fully experience and receive God. The “whole pitcher” who would reject Rabbi Sheshet for his “defect” is himself lacking, unable to discern royal presence let alone divine presence within our world. Far from being discarded as a “broken vessel” each of us, in our imperfections, are drawn closer to God.

Ring the bells that can still ring

Forget your perfect offering

There is a crack, a crack in everything

That’s how the light gets in

Leonard Cohen

Freedom and Responsibility Day

Emanuel Year 9 students, studying Freedom and Responsibility within our Jewish Tradition, engaged in a day of special programming regarding refugees and the quest for freedom within our world. Please find below a description of and reflections upon the day’s activities and experiences.

Rabbi Daniel Siegel, Head of Jewish Life

Freedom and Responsibility Day reflections

On Tuesday 7 May, we were lucky to be able to learn about Syrian refugees in a day full of exciting activities and learning experiences. Our day comprised of hearing from a speaker from Kids Giving Back, making puppets, cooking a traditional Syrian dish and finally hearing the story of a former Syrian refugee.

Our eventful day started with hearing from Robin, representing the organisation Kids Giving Back. She told us about her experiences while volunteering at a refugee camp in Lebanon. She told us about some of the Syrian refugees she met, mainly children, and how they had to flee their homes in order to stay safe. We learnt that these people were just regular kids like us with homes, families and schools, but because of the war, they were forced to leave the safety of their homes and seek refuge elsewhere.

We learnt that many children came home one day to have their parents tell them to pack a backpack full of their things, which is all they could take with them when leaving home for an uncertain amount of time. Many forgot their identification or passports making it extremely hard to cross borders to seek refuge. While fleeing, families were separated and sometimes never reunited.

Robin shared how many of these refugees were now living in camps close to the border of Syria and Lebanon in a place called the Beqaa Valley, where bombs could often be heard going off in nearby Syria. The people in these refugee camps live in simple tents on land owned by farmers and due to the fertility of the soil there, the refugees are able to pay for their accommodation by working in the fields. The children in these camps have obviously missed out on much of their schooling however the United Nations Human Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) allowed for the kids to attend school in half day shifts so as they could still work as well as be educated. By providing these children with an education it allows them to have aspirations for their futures and keeps them engaged and hopeful.

Sock puppets

After learning about this Syrian refugee camp and the enormous difficulties that were endured, we were tasked with making sock puppets for the children. We learnt how the sock puppets that we made would enable the children to not only have fun with a new toy but, the puppets could also act as a means of communicating with others. As well as this, the puppets created a way of helping the children in the camps deal with some of the possible trauma that accompanied the hardships they had to face being refugees. We were given supplies to make the sock puppets and each of us then set about making them. We added eyes and hair to the socks and each puppet created a new character with which the children could interact. While we made the puppets, we not only were having fun, as it was a creative and engaging activity, but we were able to leave that day thinking that the simple act of making a puppet could possibly bring some children torn apart by war, some happiness.

For the second part of our day we were able to take part in cooking the Syrian dish, Makloubeh, with the help of Housen, a young man, now living in Australia who came here as a Syrian refugee. We were split into several groups and then talked through the different elements of the recipe. Making the dish consisted of frying vegetables such as cauliflower, eggplant, carrot and potato. We then had to layer these vegetables at the bottom of a large pot along with fresh tomato and then add a layer of rice over. We then poured over vegetable stock mixed with an assortment of fragrant spices before letting the whole pot cook for around half an hour. Making this dish was as fun as it was a new recipe for all of us and we got to meet House who was able to teach us how to make this dish, as it was a traditional recipe from home for him. It was educational and learning from Housen was an incredible experience.

After we had finished cooking, we sat down to listen to Housen’s story coming to Australia and to eat the delicious food we had just made. Housen told us about his incredible experience in becoming a refugee and his journey to Australia. He grew up in a country town in Syria, where he was part of a large family where he was the middle child of seven siblings. He said he had a mostly happy childhood living a normal life, although his parents worked very hard to ensure their family did not fall below the poverty line and that him and his siblings could attend school. As a young adult, he found a job that he enjoyed and was living a happy life. This was all before war struck Syria and Housen’s life changed forever.

At the beginning of the war Housen’s father realised the danger of the situation and decided to take his family across to Iraq. However, Housen decided to stay in Syria looking after the family house and earning income to help provide for his family. At this time Syria was a dangerous place with frequent bombings, shootings and missiles. Housen decided to flee Syria as he knew it was his only option to stay safe. He travelled through numerous countries, eventually making his way to Malaysia so as to then come to Australia by boat. He spoke of a long and difficult journey. He told us about the times when he made it through border checkpoints, massive rivers and the experience of being a complete foreigner in a place totally different to the one he had left. He told us about how he was then smuggled by a boat into Australia yet when they reached Australian waters their boat was in such a dire state that they were rescued by the Australian Navy. He was then sent to an Australian-run offshore detention centre in Christmas Island, where he described what we know to be horrendous living conditions as a five-star hotel for him.

This put into perspective the extent of the hardships Housen experienced in his life. He was then moved to a detention centre in mainland Australia before being allowed to live in Australia. Only recently has Housen been given the right to work here and we  hope that he will be happy and one day be able to join his family once more. His journey was moving and one we will never forget. Unfortunately, Housen’s story is not so unique and as of 2017, 65.6 million individuals have been forcibly displaced worldwide because of persecution, conflict, violence, or human rights violations.

Overall, we were able to learn new things from each of these activities and see our lives from the perspective of others not so fortunate. It reminded us of how lucky we are to live in a country free of war, where we have the privilege and the security of education, roofs over our heads and even luxury items. But the most important lesson we learnt is that these refugees are just like us and even in a bad situation they are still able to make the best out of a bad situation. We realised that many people become refugees overnight due to circumstances completely out of their own control. If so many of these refugees can live with the hope that they will one day return home we need to do everything we can to help them achieve this goal, even if it is just a small step like making puppets to help with their learning and bring a smile to their faces. If you want to learn more about this topic look at some of the links below, as with greater understanding of this global issue we can make a difference together.

We would like to thank Kids Giving Back for coming to teach us so much about the plight of refugees and giving us the opportunity to make a small difference to some of the children affected by war. Most importantly we would like to thank Housen for taking his time to come speak to us about his experience and we are most grateful for all the wonderful opportunities this day presented to us.

www.beyond-foundation.org/

www.unhcr.org/

www.doctorswithoutborders.org/

By Lily Berger and Lilly Goldberg

Primary Yom Ha’Atzma’ut

Below is a taste of the Yom Ha’Atzma’ut artworks created by the Primary students. 

Rekudei am – Folk dancing

Year 6 students learnt a unit about Folk dancing in their Hebrew lessons. We discussed different dances from many cultures around the world and showed the students clips of some of those dances.

Students were asked to choose a dance they liked, practise it and perform in front of their Year Group. They used Hebrew vocabulary and sentence structure they had learnt to introduce their dance and the country of its origin and then invite other students to learn the dance with them.

It was amazing to see their creativity and enthusiasm when they put their knowledge into practice. Enjoy some of the dances by clicking on the links below:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/12a__13eb2ZshGYjVeOrgKPi7ARXr9A_M/view?ts=5cde3791

https://drive.google.com/file/d/12OvAPOz2WEJ48DLmhd3m08PVJ6nFAfzc/view?ts=5cde37a0

https://drive.google.com/file/d/12S2VrLiX3JlKdjHDxuHICAkCKihwFkW9/view?ts=5cde37ad&pli=1

https://drive.google.com/file/d/12QV-kw0lHeGjm6CXG78HS8u-N-m0Mfqa/view?ts=5cde37b7

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1265Jn5TFzlS370QcgL5sFkNL5REA0lG5/view?ts=5cde37c3

https://drive.google.com/file/d/12JWE2taJzd5sg7w-tIevYTJ4WzyqFHBM/view?ts=5cde37ce

Helicopter parents

Generation next 

Too much love: helicopter parents could be raising anxious, narcissistic children

The Age newspaper recently highlighted the issue of so-called “helicopter parenting” at universities. The report talked of parents contacting lecturers to ask about their adult children’s grades, sitting in on meetings with course coordinators and repeatedly phoning academics to inquire about students’ progress.

Over-parenting involves parents using developmentally inappropriate tactics that far exceed the actual needs of their children. It involves excessive protection of children by their parents. Over-parenting is often called “helicopter parenting”, as these parents hover over their children to make sure nothing goes wrong.

While commentators have been talking about the rise of helicopter parenting among school-aged children for some years now, the idea parents would be using the same tactics on young adults is a bit more foreign.

But researchers have been exploring over-parenting among university students for some years now too, and they’ve found negative consequences for these children, including higher levels of anxiety and narcissism.

What is over-parenting?

Research shows today’s parents spend more time per day parenting than in the 1980s. But we don’t know how many are over-parenting. That’s because most population studies of this nature rely on self-reports and parents are unlikely to admit to being over-zealous or controlling of their children.

Sometimes over-parenting is called “lawnmower parenting”, illustrating how parents clear their children’s life path of obstacles. Others have called this type of parenting like growing up in a green house. Media also refers to children of such parenting as “cotton wool” kids or as being in “bubble wrap”.

Obviously, most parents want the best for their children. Research shows children of loving and attentive mothers grow up more resilient and less distressed. But at which point is this positive love and care going too far? And is over-parenting actually bad for children?

In 2012, we asked 128 Australian psychologists and counsellors what they considered to be examples of over-parenting. Some of the examples they gave were:

• cutting up a ten year old’s food. Bringing a separate plate of food for a 16 year old to a party as he is a picky eater
• a mother who won’t let her 17-year-old son catch the train to school
• constantly badgering the school to make sure their child is in a specific class the following year
• parents rushing to school to deliver items such as forgotten lunches, assignments or uniforms at the whim of their child
• parents believing that, regardless of effort, their child must be rewarded.

Research on school-aged children

There is very little research on the effects of over-parenting in school-aged children. A 2015 study, that included 56 parents of children from prep to Year 8, found over-parenting was associated with an authoritarian parenting style and parents being anxious themselves.

Excessive parenting has also been associated with reduced self-esteem in adolescents, and a lower ability to show leadership.

University-aged ‘children’

The most knowledge we have of over-parenting consequences comes from university students. Excessive parenting for young adults is noticeable, and usually considered inappropriate, as it exceeds what the children developmentally want or need.

Research shows parents of university children have stepped in to advocate if their child breaches the university code of conduct or to discuss their child’s academic difficulties with lecturers. Some parents impose curfews on when their university-aged child should be in bed, monitor their adult child’s diet and exercise, vet their friends and decide what subjects they will study.

There are a number of negative consequences for university students whose parents help them too much. It has been shown these students suffer from more anxiety and depression than their peers.

University students whose parents are controlling also have low levels of self-efficacy (confidence over one’s own ability) which leads to poorer university adjustment, resulting in lower grades and difficulties in relating to others. Other studies have found negative consequences of over-parenting on the child include less autonomy, decreased levels of self-regulation, increased narcissism, attention seeking and wanting approval and direction from others.

Why are parents so concerned?

Why this type of overbearing parenting seems to be increasing is explained in various ways. Some researchers say economic pressures are responsible for parents being more invested in their child’s education so they get a well paying job.

We know that more university students are living at home and so are more influenced by their parents. In general young people often have a more delayed growing up period. Some researchers have dubbed this period of development as “adultescence”.

Regardless, whether over-parenting comes from too much love or the need to see yourself in your children, it is not the best way of parenting.

A better way is allowing your child to make mistakes and learn from them. To help them when they ask for your help but not to always jump in. Each child is different and so is every parent, so one-size parenting does not fit all. But we know loving and attentive parents have resilient children, so let them be “free range” sometimes, and enjoy being a parent.

– Marilyn Campbell, Professor Faculty of Education, School of Cultural and Professional Learning, Queensland University of Technology

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Gesher Community Connections

Sonia Newell, Development Officer

Breakfast with Emanuel

We hope you will join us for one of our two Breakfast with Emanuel sessions next month, when you will hear about our plans to drive deep and authentic learning, whilst supporting and promoting the wellbeing of our students. These sessions are also a great opportunity to meet and chat with other parents over a light breakfast.

Please see details on the invitation below and RSVP by 7 June to: snewell@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au  

Friday Walk and Talk

One of our parents got in touch recently with a great idea for anyone who would like to join her on Friday mornings after school drop off…

Suzy Moss has suggested that Emanuel parents looking to walk around Centennial Park with company, join other parents on Friday mornings.

8.30 am: meet up at the Greenhouse Cafe (by the bike track), Centennial Park 

and/or

9.30 am: coffee for those interested (same cafe)             

Please note this is not officially organised by the School – call Suzy on 0409 932780 if you are interested or just come along.  All are welcome. 

JeneScreen

Research has shown that 1 in 40 people of Jewish ancestry carry a particular fault in the BRACA1 and BRACA2 genes, which means a higher risk of developing certain cancers.  JeneScreen is available to ALL members of the Jewish community free of charge.  You are invited to take advantage of this online screening via: https://www.genetics.wolper.com.au/brca  (see the poster below for more details.

Archibald Prize visit

Following on from the success of last year’s Gesher/Grandparents Committee special private tour of the Archibald Prize, we are planning an event to this year’s exhibition.  Watch this space for details.  Date to be advised.

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

Careers

Claire Pech, Careers Advisor

We are delighted to be hosting our annual Careers Space event on 21 May 2019. This year we have made Careers Space a bigger event to widen the topics of interest.  

We have 35 alumni coming to speak to our Years 11 and Year 12 students, covering six different topics: Business and startups; STEM; people professions; tertiary studies and a varied stream. All students were surveyed prior to this event on their choices. We have managed to get 100% of students with their first preference.

All students will be rotating over three periods to be part of the Q&A panel discussions, where they can ask the panellists about their career trajectory. I encourage all students to turn up, ready with questions to engage in the panel discussions. All of the sessions are now on students’ timetables in Edumate, so they can come ready prepared. 

Following the information sessions we will have a mingling session for students to interact with all presenters. Year 12 students will then attend a presentation by a LinkedIn professional, also an alumnus, who will speak to them about the power of LinkedIn.

We look forward to welcoming all of the speakers and are so grateful that they are going to share their time, energy and stories with our current students.

Notices, events and dates

UNSW Exploring STEM Careers Holiday Program – registrations now open
Join Science 50:50 and UNSW Women in Engineering for a one-day holiday program exploring careers in STEM. Students will visit various organisations, meet professional scientists and engineers, discover where they work and what they do. The program runs from Monday 8 – Tuesday 9 July for female Year 10 students with an interest in STEM. Apply at: https://events.unsw.edu.au/event/exploring-stem-careers 

UCAT registration closing soon
Aspiring medical students – the closing date for UCAT registration is 17 May 2019. For further information visit www.MedEntry.edu.au

Sydney Design School Open Day on Saturday 25 May 2019: Become an Interior Designer
Creating fabulous Interior Designers is what the Sydney Design School does. Find out more about their world-class accredited courses. Explore design studios, meet passionate educators and get started this July. Register online at https://bit.ly/2A3wROg 

Museum of Ancient Cultures excursion

Year 9 Jewish Studies Israel Through Archaeology Course: Museum of Ancient Cultures Excursion

On Tuesday 7 March, our Year 9 Jewish Studies Elective, Israel through Archaeology class, visited a program at the Museum of Ancient Cultures, Macquarie University. It was a truly informative and engaging experience. We had access to the Ancient Civilisations Department’s museum and collection. We arrived and were immediately amazed by the range of cultural ancient artefacts shelved around us. We were met by our guide, Dr Eve Guerry, an alumnus from Emanuel School, who is an Egyptologist. Our first task was finding and recording a collection of items of various ancient cultures (including; Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, Near East and Cyprus) by their practical use and symbolic meaning. We did this in groups, and it was a race to see who could fill in at least one artefact for all the given categories.

After looking around the museum we focused on the Ancient Israel exhibition where we examined ancient artefacts. We were not provided with any information and we had to make assumptions on specification like shape and size and find out what its purpose was. This completely changed the way that the excursion felt and rather than feeling like a lecture it was more like an actual scientific discovery that we had to get to the bottom of.

During the last part of the excursion we were broken up into four groups and had four different activities. The first one was a few items buried in sand and the goal was to sift out all the sand and categorise each item. This was a lot of fun because of the minute differences between each item, like the smallest change of colour in a seed and made it a big challenge. The second activity was sorting and rebuilding an ancient pot. It was interesting to find small patterns in the little shards of the ceramic that made it a challenge. The third activity was sorting coins from different eras. This was the best activity because to the naked eye they all look similar but under a microscope they had vast differences like a laurel wreath. The next activity was looking at replica artefacts and finding which script it was. Because they were exact replicas, the writing was by hand, so the little accents made it a challenge.

Throughout the whole experience, we learned much that connected to and enhanced our learning so far. At many points in the program, the guide was surprised by our class’ knowledge. The hands-on activities were definitely the main highlight. We could just see the curiosity and excitement that sparked in our peers as they held relics from mighty cultures of the past.

By Asher Vexler, Gabrielle Utian, Matthew Lowy and Mirabelle Mirvis

World religions excursion

With its majestic temples, immaculate statues and beautiful gardens, Nan Tien Buddhist Temple was truly a sight to behold. After a two-hour bus drive, Ms Rosin’s Year 9 Jewish Studies class was excited to see the biggest Buddhist temple in the Southern Hemisphere and we were not disappointed! Throughout the day we experienced Buddhist calligraphy, a breathtaking museum of Buddhist art, a lunch that managed to be both vegan and taste good and a lesson on Buddhism by a Venerable. Overall it was a fascinating, eye-opening and really fun excursion. 

By Eden Glass

Representative Sport news

Kristy Genc, Head of Sport

NSW All Schools Swimming Championships

Congratulations to Gabriella Goodridge who swam at the NSW All Schools Swimming Championships on Monday. Gabi performed exceptionally well at what is a very prestigious competition and placed 3^rd in the 100m butterfly.

NSW Schools Regional Futsal Championships

Last Thursday saw the commencement of the NSW Schools Regional Futsal Championships. The Emanuel Open Girls team competed in the Liverpool region with great success. Their training and preparation proved to be beneficial. The girls finished the day undefeated, winning all three pool stage matches, the semi-final and the grand-final. Congratulations to Nina Brown, Megan Finn, Hannah Kim, Sienna Meyer, Victoria Miller, Lara Rutstein, Sarah Sharwood, Jordan Weizman and Kaia Ziman. This team will now progress to the NSW Schools State Championships next term.

AICES Football Championships

Eden Levit, Hannah Kim and Sienna Poswell recently competed at the AICES Football Championships at Valentine Park. These students had previously been selected for the CDSSA Football team following their outstanding performances at the gala day at the beginning of term. They continued this great performance whilst playing with other representative players in the association. The CDSSA team proved to be very strong, winning the grand final of the AICES Championships. Congratulations Eden, Hannah and Sienna.

AICES Rugby Championships

Earlier in the term, eight Emanuel students attended the CDSSA Rugby trials. This is the first time that a trial has been held, which is a reflection of the growing rugby program at Emanuel and the CDSSA.

All Emanuel students who attended were selected for the CDSSA Rugby teams. These teams went on to compete at the AICES Rugby Championships last Thursday. Congratulations to Ariel Berger, Matthew Bozic, Alan Drannikov, Jonathan Eremeev, Elijah Grynberg and Ari Karjalainen. A special mention to Alan Drannikov who was selected in the AICES 16 years team and will now compete at the NSW Championships.

HICES Debating Report

Lauren Butler, Co-ordinator HICES Debating Primary

Suzanne Plume, Co-ordinator Debating and Public Speaking 7-12

After the first four rounds Emanuel students have a plethora of good reasons to be proud of our representative debating teams.

The Juniors have won three out of four debates and now face an elimination final to determine whether they go on to the knockout finals rounds.

The Middles have also won three out of four clashes and await a similar determination.

Our Senior A team bows out, despite some superlative individual performances, as they won two and lost two debates.

Our Senior B team remains undefeated after a dream run and many sterling individual and team performances. They will definitely proceed to the finals rounds.

Our Opens team, while they are in exactly the same situation as the Middles and Junior teams (i.e. they have lost just one of their four scheduled debates) are in a competition with only five teams. According to HICES rules, only one team of the five will progress to the finals from this group, so we await the official verdict as to whether they will proceed to the next round.

Thanks to our coaches: Lauren Butler (Juniors), Elinor Stephenson from Masters Academy (Middles and Seniors) and Yael Grunseit (Opens) as well as the parents and Emanuel teachers who support our HICES debaters.

Mother’s Day Classic

Mother’s Day was a classic

On sunny Sunday, 15 excited Emanuel School grandparents, parents and students met in the city to participate  inthe Mother’s Day Classic in aid of the National Breast Cancer Foundation. The energetic Emanuel School Striders team walked, ran and shuffled their way around the
4km and 8km courses which takes one past so many of the gorgeous Sydney landmarks – from the rather odd warthog statue outside the Eye Hospital, past St Mary’s Cathedral, the Art Museum of NSW and around the corner by Mrs Macquarie’s chair, with glimpses of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. In-between the sea of bright bubblegum pink, one could easily make out the maroon t-shirts of the Emanuel team.

In the past 22 years, over 1.27 million people have participated in the event, with $35.3 million raised. Each year we have added to that total and this year was no exception. But, we still need $228 to reach our target of $500. If you would like to donate to this very worthwhile cause, please visit our fundraising page at: https://tinyurl.com/ESStriders

Michelle Favero, Manager of Marketing and Communications

Primary Library news

Congratulations to the ten students who have already completed the NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge 2019. 

Nathan Shammay: Year 1
Zachary Churnin: Year 2
Gideon Cohen: Year 2
Reina Steiner-Carrion: Year 2
Jasper Schraibman: Year 3
Isaac Shammay: Year 4
Aaron Berkowitz: Year 6
Jed Gottlieb: Year 6
Jayden Segal: Year 6
Aidan Sheps: Year 8.

Hopefully some of the parents of Kindergarten students will enter their reading for them and they will complete the Challenge as well. The NSW PRC rules state: “K-2 students, you can read the books on your own, read them with someone, or someone can read them to you.” (https://online.det.nsw.edu.au/prc/rules.html).

There are so very many exciting books to read and whether they come from The Primary Library, Public Library or your own bookshelves they can be your entry into worlds of wonder. Happy reading.

Two of the many new books in the Primary Library are Estie the Mensch by Jane Kohuth and Out of Left Field by Ellen Klages.

Estie the Mensch 

Estie does not always like people. So, when her grandmother reminds her to be a mensch, she’d rather not. She’d rather be a dog. Or a turtle. Or a seagull. Being a monkey can even make another kid laugh! But it can also make another kid cry, and that’s when Estie and her grandmother find out what a mensch Estie can really be.

Out of Left Field 

Every boy in the neighbourhood knows Katy Gordon is their best pitcher, even though she’s a girl. But when she tries out for Little League, it’s a whole different story. Girls are not eligible, period. It is a boy’s game and always has been. It’s not fair, and Katy’s going to fight back. Inspired by what she’s learning about civil rights in school, she sets out to prove that she’s not the only girl who plays baseball. With the help of friendly librarians and some tenacious research skills, Katy discovers the forgotten history of female ball players. Why does no one know about them? Where are they now? And how can one ten-year-old change people’s minds about what girls can do? Set in 1957 this book is both a detailed picture of a fascinating historic period and a timelessly inspiring story about standing up for equality at any age. (Amazon)

Happy reading.

By Ginette Cameron-Gardner, Teacher Librarian

Pre-school news

Terry Aizen, Director of Kornmehl Pre-school

Buddy reading

We enjoyed our first Buddy Reading lessons of the year with Year 2 Yerushalayim and Mrs Esra on Thursday last week and Year 2 Tzfat and Mrs Strub on Wednesday this week. If was heart-warming to welcome back many ex-Kornmehl students into the Pre-school. They were equally excited to come back and show us how well they can now read.

It was lovely to witness the start of some beautiful relationships and friendships developing throughout the remainder of the year. This is a lovely program encouraging both a love of literature and a strong sense of belonging within the school community.

Mother’s Day

We celebrated Mother’s Day on Monday morning with a special breakfast for all our wonderful mums, grandmothers and special friends. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast prepared by some of our talented dads. A big thank you to Neil Shilbury, Ilan Miller, Danny Stein, Harley Mackenzie and Peter Vines. Thanks also to the mums who came in on Friday to bake – Ella Lizor, Edith Lawton and Odin Kaye. Your support is very much appreciated.

We also thank Huw Lambert for giving up his valuable time to come and take professional photos of all our special mums, who were lucky enough to visit the Kornmehl pamper parlour to have their nails done as well as a relaxing massage. In the Seashell room parents enjoyed sharing activities together. There was a choice of beading, decorating heart shaped doilies, or decorating branches with coloured wool. The children were so excited to serve breakfast to their mums. It was a morning of pleasure, fun, connections, special and shared moments.

Having a morning like this reinforces the importance and value of the connection between families and the Pre-school. The children gain so much pleasure from sharing this experience with their mums and having time together in this relaxed setting enhances their feelings of belonging and connections to the Pre-school.

A word of thanks from a parent:

Tanya Leibovitch: “Thank you so much for a beautiful Mother’s Day brekky yesterday! Please thank all the wonderful staff too for all their incredible work putting the morning together and the creative stations!”

Bush School

On Friday and Wednesday respectively, the Dolphins and Starfish enjoyed their first visit to Bush School. The children were very excited and coped very well with the walk down to Centennial Park and into our Bush School classroom. They spent time familiarising themselves with the space, its rules and wonderful opportunities to engage with nature and all that it has to offer. The children enjoyed the opportunity to play freely, without interruptions, in a natural setting. It was lovely to watch their appreciation and respect for the land and we witnessed so much learning and new social interactions occurring. Bush School offers a different type of learning, wonderment of the ways of the world, of nature and developing a love of it.

The Dolphins enjoyed celebrating an earthy Shabbat at Bush School with candles in the soil and a delicious challah too.

Why is it special to have Shabbat here?

Sierra: It’s at Bush School.

Kobe: Because it’s so special, we get to climb trees and then when it’s over we have Shabbat.

Sierra: Because we never had it like this before.

Levi: Because we are here in nature and we can sit here.

Susan Sweller, past Kornmehl Grandma: “It’s part of our life and maybe the Aboriginal People did their own special things and we can do our own special things in the same place.”

Care Packs

Our Care Packs have started to come in and we are extremely grateful for the support from the entire Emanuel School community for this worthwhile cause. Our goal is to collect 500 Packs. Please drop your Care Pack either at the Emanuel School Reception area or down at Kornmehl by the end of next week.

Biggest Morning Tea

Next week Wednesday, the Kornmehl Parent Club will be hosting their own Biggest Morning tea for all Kornmehl parents from 9.30 am to 11.00 am.

Dina Savitz will be the special guest at the morning tea.

Dina is a naturopath, fitness and wellness consultant with over 12 years’ experience helping people to improve their health and well-being. She aims to inspire her clients to take time out in the day to look after themselves and use more natural remedies. Her consultations and online programs integrate traditional natural medicine with current scientific research, and she loves to simplify things as she believes that being healthy should not be difficult – especially when it comes to ours and our children’s health. 

Israel Expo

A big thank you to Daphna Levin-Kahn, Head of High School Jewish Studies, and all the Year 8 students for inviting us to their wonderful, engaging and interactive Israel Expo.

The Starfish and Dolphins were excited to connect with the school children and to be able to see some of the places in Israel we had been discussing in our own explorations of Israel. The students engaged the Kornmehl kids beautifully, explaining their projects and allowing them to interact with the materials. This was a wonderful exhibition, that included different aspects of Israel: from science and technology, to food, sports, music, politics, history, economics, archaeology and more. Some of the children got to play games, practise their soccer skills and dance to Israeli music. 

This was a wonderful experience that linked beautifully to our research project on Israel. Kol hakavod to you all and thank you for allowing us to visit.

Yom Ha’atzma’ut and Israel projects

The Educators set up an airport scene in the Dream room as part of our Israel week celebrations. It invited the children to travel to Israel with their air tickets and boarding passes. Video clips of the teachers’ recent JNF Educators study tour was used of the plane taking off and landing as part of this wonderful experience.

Children could pretend to check in through the bag and body scanner machine. Refreshments were served on the plane too and the pilot needed to fly us safely to Israel. The area encouraged creativity, imagination, social interactions, role plays, literacy and numeracy.

Bianca: We were travelling to Israel.

Sierra: And after we travel to America and South America. 

What did you do in the aeroplane?

Sierra: We ate, we read books and we talked. We looked at stuff, pictures and gears in the cabin.

Bianca: And we had treats! 

Stevie: I was giving the food out on that trolley. There were only chocolate cookies, so I gave those out. And I gave them orange juice. 

We also set up the Shuk in Carmel and a coffee shop next door outside on our deck. The Shuk included real fruit and vegetables and encouraged the children to shop using little baskets and pay using Israeli money.

The coffee shop was popular with lots of role playing, fun and enjoyment too.

 Terry Aizen, Director of Kornmehl Centre, Emanuel Pre-School.

Parent Workshops

From the Parents & Friends

Ruby Berkovic and Jen Opit, P&F Co-Presidents