From the Principal

Safer Internet Day:  Tuesday 5 February

The theme this year is Together for a better internet. In assembly, our students were encouraged to create a better internet by developing four critical skills:

• Respect – I treat myself and others the way I like to be treated;
• Responsibility – I am accountable for my actions and I take a stand whenever I feel something is wrong;
• Resilience – I get back up from tough situations; and
• Reasoning – I question what is real.

Our focus however, was on the fourth ‘R’ – Reasoning – as we need to be able to identify what fake news can look like and understand why it is so important not to believe and share everything we see or read. Being able to critically analyse news articles, and discern the truth is an important life skill. We talked about “thinking before you share” a news article, whether it be via Instagram, WhatsApp, Twitter or Facebook, asking yourself if the post is accurate or helpful?

In practical terms, our students were encouraged not to post unless they have checked:

• The source: look at the author, the URL, or whether other sources have published the same story;
• The image: is it real? A reverse image search on google may tell us if it is an old image;
• Your biases: does the message try to reinforce your views on an issue?
• Your gut: what is your instinct on what you have seen or read?

 Communicating with the School

From time to time parents will need to contact the School, to seek information or to discuss academic, wellbeing or administrative matters. We are committed to maintaining clear and open lines of communication and thus have developed a Guide to direct parents to the appropriate person. The Parent Guide can be accessed through this link

Kindergarten meet the Principal 

I had the joy of hosting our Kindergarten students in my office this week, as they enjoyed an ‘excursion’ of touring key landmarks around the School. After asking who the chocolates in the bowl on my desk were for, did I drive a red Ferrari, and whether I enjoyed watching TV (after seeing the monitor on the wall), the tone become more serious, as they speculated on what a principal actually did during the day. The responses were close to the mark and included:

• “Look after everybody”
• “Make sure that we are all happy and safe”
• “Speak to people who are naughty” and
• “Be the boss”.

I felt confident that I was addressing the future leaders of our community!

Mazal tov

During the summer holidays Alex Placek in Year 11, played a number of tennis tournaments with great results:

In the Under 16 Wollongong Summer Junior Tour (JT) – he was a finalist, in the Victorian JT Grasscourt Championship – he came 8^th, in the Geelong JT – he came 5^th, and in the Margaret Court Cup JT – he was the consolation winner. This event was open to all players regardless of age, where he beat some players aged 28 and 31 years.

Alex has been selected to represent Australia in tennis in the upcoming Maccabi Pan AMS Tournament in Mexico in July 2019.

He is currently ranked in the top 25 in NSW in the Under 16s.

Quote of the week

“Every act of conscious learning requires the willingness to suffer an injury to one’s self-esteem. That is why young children, before they are aware of their own self-importance, learn so easily.”
Thomas Szasz

From the Primary School

Sophie Poisel

Meet the Teacher

We look forward to seeing you at our Meet the Teacher Evening on 18 February.

6.00-6.45 pm: Years K-2 in classrooms

6.45-7.30 pm: Years K-6 in Lehrer Family Multi-Purpose Hall (MPH)

7.30-8.15 pm: Years 3-6 in classrooms

8.15pm: Jilkminggan meeting in Year 6 classroom (optional for Year 6 parents)

Year 6 Leadership Camp Experience

We look forward to hearing about the upcoming Year 6 Leadership Camp where Year 6 students and staff will stay overnight and work on a variety of leadership experiences from 11 – 12 February. Students will be back on campus on 13 February to begin compiling their leadership portfolios for 2019. We wish the team all the best on this exciting adventure!

Year K – First Day

Thank you to Ofer Levy for these wonderful photos of our Kindergarten students on their first day at school.

The Imaginarium

Sophie Poisel – Innovation Leader K – 6

The Imaginarium in 2019

The Primary Imaginarium is developing into a wonderful space that seeks to empower our students to envision our world differently and take action towards designing & creating a better future. For new parents, the Imaginarium is our MakerSpace which houses tools for all types of making within and beyond the curriculum. The space also hosts a range of opportunities that foster the development of Design, Systems and Computational Thinking in our students.

The Imaginarium is starting to take shape after two years of research, visits to over 30 MakerSpaces in North America and Australia and searching for common features of innovative schools (See report: https://tinyurl.com/InnovationInEdu). Over the holidays the space has been transformed and now includes ideas designed and created by our students. In Week 3 will be ready for students to continue investigating, imagining and iterating.

Opportunities for Innovation

In Term 1, we are starting to collect problems students identify on our Opportunities for Innovation window at the entrance to the space. We hope that these ideas spark conversation and connect with problems other students have identified.

Finding opportunity for re-designing objects, processes and solutions is an important skill the will benefit our students now and in the future. We encourage students to look closely and listen, explore complexity and find opportunities for re-design. Some of the thinking routines that our students have started using over the past two years that foster this can be found here http://www.agencybydesign.org/thinking-routines-tools-practices.

There are a number of long term challenges that focus on students identifying problems and developing innovative solutions. Your child may be interested in working towards the following opportunities in 2019 including littleBIGidea, Young Scientist Awards, Young ICT Explorers, Grok Coding ChallengeTech Girls are Superheroes Competitions, National History Challenge and the Wonder League Robotics Competition.These opportunities rely on students developing their sensitivity to design and developing transferrable skills. In 2018 we were excited to have a team win the National STEM Award in the Tech Girls are Superheroes Competition. In 2017 one student was awarded the NSW Award for the National History Challenge and another student achieved a perfect score in the Intermediate Division of the Grok Coding Challenge. Please encourage your child/ren to learn more about these challenges. Colleen Elkins and I will offer more information about these during Term 1.

Leadership

We are excited to announce the inaugural Year 6 Imaginarium Leaders for 2019: Jonah Ernster, Kaila Nabarro, Toby Seeman and Liam Winter. Our leaders will be instrumental in developing the direction and implementation of new opportunities in the space, including fostering a maker culture within the Primary School. Our leaders will also be launching Emanuel Primary School News Network (EPSNN) in Term 1, working with several reporting teams across the School.

Liam Winter, Jonah Ernster, Toby Seeman and Kaila Nabarro

Community

We are excited to welcome Emma Clemens, who has returned this year as an Innovation Teacher. She will be team teaching with teachers to further embed new technologies, computational thinking and coding into class programs.

Parents and community members who would like to volunteer to share their skills are invited to attend a meeting on Friday 22 February at 8.30 am in the Primary Imaginarium (Level 1 of the new Innovation Building). Ideally we would like you to be able to commit to a regular time throughout the year. We would particularly love to hear from you if you possess skills in the following areas: hand tools, media, entrepreneurship, art and design, electronics, science, engineering or technology. Please RSVP to spoisel@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au.

Looking forward to a wonderful 2019.

Pre-school and Primary Open Days

Ma Koreh

Adam Carpenter – Head of Jewish Life Primary

To begin our Jewish learning journey for the 2019, students in Years 3-6 have been delving into and reflecting upon a teaching from Pirke Avot. Pirke Avot (which is often translated as the Chapters/Ethics of our Fathers/Ancestors) is a collection of wisdom literature and teachings found in the Mishnah and dates back to the First Century CE. 

For the next few weeks, we will share aspects of the students’ thinking and how we have made connections between the teachings and ideas of Pirke Avot and our Jewish learning today. This week we visit Year 4.

To help unpack this teaching, students worked in groups and focused on one aspect of the quote. This is a sample of their thinking on the first instruction, which was to find a mentor or teacher.

Who are the mentors/teachers in our classroom?

• all of our different class and specialist teachers
• the student teacher assistants
• other students.

Who helps our learning?

• our teachers
• parents
• madrichim
• classmates
• us! I am in charge of my own learning.

How can we help the learning in our class?

• by trying our best
• by listening
• by being focused
• not distracting others
• by being respectful and responsible
• by helping our classmates and being kind.

If you are interested in exploring Pirke Avot further, try the following links:

• Background and context: www.myjewishlearning.com/article/pirkei-avot-ethics-of-our-fathers/
• Full text can be found here: www.sefaria.org/Pirkei_Avot?lang=bi
• How can you help the learning of others in the classroom?

From the Head of Music

Diana Springford – Head of Music

Music Ensemble auditions

Audition sign-on sheets are pinned to the glass wall outside M18 in the Music corridor.  Please add your name to the list if you would like to audition for the following ensembles:

• Junior Chamber Choir
• Senior Chamber Choir
• Copland Concert Band
• Bernstein Concert Band
• Junior Stage Band
• Senior Stage Band
• Junior Jazz Ensemble
• Senior Woodwind Ensemble (former Clarinet and Flute Ensembles)
• Intermediate String Ensemble
• Emanuel String Orchestra
• Mendelssohn Chamber Strings.

Please note: Rock Bands may change due to the other commitments of the members.

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

Instrumental Ensemble audition requirements

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

Music ensemble rehearsals resume in Week 3 (except for Junior and Senior Chamber Choirs because the auditions for new members of JCC and SCC will be held during their normal rehearsal time in Week 3, therefore those two ensembles will resume in Week 4).

Instrument Program (IP) lessons resume in Week 3

Years 3 and Year 6: The first day of IP in 2019 is Tuesday 12 February

Years 4 and Year 5: The first day of IP in 2019 is Wednesday 13 February

Public Speaking and Debating Years 7-10

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

New after-school social club: Public Speaking and Debating Years 7-10

 Mark Twain famously said: “There are two types of speaker: Those who get nervous and those who are liars.”

The fear of public speaking is, arguably, the number one fear in most of our lives.

There is no career or possible future for our students which will not be enhanced by being taught the core skills of public speaking.

Learning how to construct logical arguments, and how to listen critically to the arguments of others in order to rebut them within a persuasive, civil and mannered exchange is also crucial to our students.

Not only will learning and practising these skills increase their confidence but will also improve their critical thinking and essay writing skills.

Our successful and highly competitive HICES debating teams are taught these skills weekly by coaches from Masters Academy.

We are excited to announce that, for the first time, this year, Emanuel is offering all students a chance to learn from these same experts in a social, non-competitive environment, at Emanuel, after school. 

This 34 week program will provide hands-on, exciting and enjoyable learning experiences for your child. Workshops will begin at 3.45 pm, run for 90 minutes and will be held on Wednesdays after school, with the program commencing in Week 3 of Term 1 and concluding in Week 7 of Term 4.

The cost of each workshop is $20 per session. The 34 week program can be purchased as a full year or half year package, with the full year signups discounted to $18 per session.

To book go to trybooking: www.mastersacademy.com.au/emanuel.html

Meir House

Hey everyone, we are back and are really happy to be your Meir Editors again in 2019! We hope you have all had an absolutely amazing, relaxing break and have come back to school ready and rejuvenated for an exciting year ahead. Some important things coming up are:

New Meirians

We give a very warm welcome to all the Year 7 Meirians who are in our House this year. We also have new teachers joining us:

• Ms Birrel (Year 7 Tutor)
• Mr Bloom (Year 10 Tutor)
• Mr Camp (Year 11 Tutor)
• Ms Shanahan (Support Tutor)

Thank you so much for joining Meir House and we look forward to some great, fun-filled years ahead.

Orientation Day

Thank you to our Meir Peer Support Leaders – Rebekah Goldsworthy, Samara Trenaman, Mia Gold and Cade Collins. The guidance, support and activities that you ran for the Year 7 Meir students made their transition into High School so much easier. They are lucky to have such amazing Peer Support Leaders.

Meirian goes to New York

Congratulations to Dean Reuveny (Year 10 Meirian) who has been lucky enough to be selected to attend an international Jewish Youth forum, through JEMS in New York. We wish Dean safe travels and hopes that he has an amazing experience in New York.

Charlotte Lyons – Year 10

Meet a Meiriain

This week we thought you could get to know one of us – the editors. So here are three random questions that will hopefully help you get to know Charlotte Lyons a little better.

What’s one purchase you bought on a whim?

Five baby hermit crabs (it seemed like a good idea at the time).

Where is the most interesting place you’ve been?

East Timor, for sure.

What websites do you visit most often?

Netflix and Edumate!

Meir Quote – “Respond, don’t react”

In our Meir House meeting this week we talked about the skill of responding and thinking about what we are saying and doing, instead of just blindly reacting. In the spirit of this, a Meir quote was made, something which all Meirians should put time and effort into thinking about and following. The quote is “Respond, don’t react”.

We are both looking forward to a great year ahead with you.

Love, your Meir Editors, Charlotte Lyons and Tara Israel

Connecting our Community – Gesher

Sonia Newell – Development Officer

On 1 January, eight of us from Emanuel School joined 59 other educators from around Australia and New Zealand for an opportunity of a lifetime on the 10-day 2019 JNF-KKL Educators Study Tour to Israel. the aim was to strengthen our connection to the country and to build a relationship between the educational systems of Israel and Australia.

We visited Jewish and Zionist heritage sites and the latest innovations in ecological education as well as numerous KKL-JNF projects, in particular those supported by JNF Australia. Each day a member of one of the schools wrote a blog. Heather Marshall, one of our Kornmehl teachers, wrote the Day 2 blog.  Here is the official KKL-JNF short video of some highlights of the trip: www.facebook.com/jnfaustralia/videos/818539431871330/

Most of us know JNF as the organisation that plants trees/forests in Israel but they do so much more. We visited and learnt about so many exciting projects done by JNF Australia funded by so many Australians including a number of Emanuel families and many of our benefactors. A highlight for me was our visit to the Jordan River Village which serves as a respite camp, free for children with serious illnesses and life-threatening conditions. Children who are able to, come here from all over Israel and the Palestinian territories, for a week at a time, to receive expert medical care and partake in various activities including archery, rock climbing, animal petting, basketball, gymnasium, arts and crafts, all of which are wheelchair accessible, and there is also a fabulous sensory playground. As a volunteer with Friendship Circle and Camp Sabbaba here is Sydney, I found this centre particularly inspiring and thought about how much our children and young adults with disabilities would gain from such a facility here!

Another highlight was our visit to the Arava, where we learnt about utilising the desert to grow vegetables some of which we then picked and prepared for a scrumptious lunch and we also planted new seedlings/vegetables. At the Vidor Research and Development Centre, we learnt more about advanced agriculture and living plants and animals of the desert as well as the region’s water, climate and soil challenges. The Arava International Centre for Agriculture Training (AICAT) in Sapir was established in 1994 and we were privileged to meet some of their current international students from 16 developing countries including Kenya, Vietnam and Myanmar who were there to “learn by doing”, to receive practical training on a modern farm as well as theoretical studies, with a program that involves them overseeing a complete cycle of crop growing. There I also met a graduate from last year’s program who returned now to mentor the current Kenyan students, and I have now connected him to Genna Radnan our School Nurse and founder of her charity Gennarosity Abroad (www.gennarosityabroad.org), hoping that they can do some collaborative work in Kenya!

A startling and eye-opening highlight was our visit to the Negev Desert and Sha’ar Hanegev Schools, where I spent some time at the high school which has around 1400 students. The buildings are all-purpose built bomb shelters with each classroom offering complete protection to their students. I could not imagine our students having to deal with constant air-raid sirens, but that is what they do as part of their daily lives, whilst they learn in state-of-the-art classrooms. It was a real eye opener!

Most of us know Israel claims the title of the Start-up Nation, but did you know the cherry tomato is an Israeli “invention”, as is drip irrigation, the USB flash drive, Waze (the GPS geographical navigation app) and the Iron Dome (mobile defence system) just to name a few?

Dress up fun in Tsfat

Peace Rd observation point

Emanuel tree planting

Kenyan group and us @ AICAT (Arava International Centre for Agriculture Training)

Emanuel group at Western Wall

Alexander Muss School

Please help us stay connected 

As we start the new school year, we would love to include ALL the grandparents on our database, no matter where in the world they live, so they can receive our bi-annual Grandparents and Friends newsletters and other school-related information from time to time. Please add/update their details via the parent portal, or email their contact details to: snewell@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au   These newsletters can be seen online and together with the alumni newsletters, they showcase so much about the life of our amazing School and beyond. I hope you enjoy reading them too, and feel free to pass them on: www.emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au/Gesher

Don’t forget JNF Green Sunday this Sunday 10 February

www.jnf.org.au

Family Lawn Bowls

Please join us for our family lawns bowls afternoon on Sunday 10 March

From 3-5pm at Double Bay Lawn Bowls Club

More details will be out soon

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

Barefoot Bowls for the whole family

Careers

Welcome back to all the students after a nice long break, I am looking forward to having some interesting career conversations with everyone this year.

Claire Pech

Careers Advisor

As we launch our career classes for 2019, I have shared some important documents that you will need to get you going. Here are links that can help at any stage:

1. Year 12 guest speaker schedule: docs.google.com/document/d/1ijcmfZt_mbEOOiD8vlsQHDgnlnk5pmzht2CkOJnlqNM/edit?usp=sharing
2. Terminology PowerPoint: docs.google.com/presentation/d/1PV5TU1DfnOIpffTLaguLjY6H3G4ir3Zexho995cTjB0/edit?usp=sharing
3. www.jobjump.com.au (any Year Group) please make sure you have registered with this site to get all of your interest-specific career and University information sent directly to you

This year we see a range of interests and diversity within our Year 12 cohort, and it is interesting to note where the Year 12 group are up to, in terms of their career-readiness.

I encourage anyone in Year 12 who feels they are unsure about what to do next to book in a time to see me. Now is also a great time to remind students in particular for Year 12, that not many people at the age of 18 have all of the answers. The statistic for students changing courses after 1^st year at university is now 25%, as the course was not what they expected. It is great to have a few ideas, and be open to the idea of being flexible with some of your plans.

Parents are more than welcome also. Feel free to contact me at cpech@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au.

Career notices, events, dates, articles

UCAT Training Session with the NIE is on 22 March at 6.30 pm, Hornsby. If you are in Years 10 to 12 and interested in Medicine or Dentistry this session could interest you about the compulsory exam UCAT. This is run by the NIE, which is a private training house for access into medicine.

www.nie.edu.au  and www.nie.edu.au/ucat-courses/simulated-ucat-day-workshop

Your Path to Medical School – Sydney Eastern Suburbs

Take the next step to a career as a Doctor and attend a MedView session in Bondi Junction on Sunday 3 March 2019.
Book here

A Day in the Life of a Surgeon

9 March, UTS Sydney

MedView’s “A Day in the Life of a Surgeon” will cut through the fat and give you a gross-anatomical view of what it’s like to be a surgeon, and how to excise the relevant information to become one. Understand the complex pathway on training to be a doctor, and ultimately a surgeon (including UCAT, Medical School and specialty training)

www.eventbrite.com/e/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-surgeon-sydney-tickets-54791981291 

Wellbeing

Five tips to help year 12 students set better goals in the final year of school

© MHS Careers, February, 2019

Kornmehl

Terry Aizen – Director Kornmehl

This week we welcomed more families to the Seashells, Starfish and Dolphin groups. It has been lovely seeing the delight on the faces of parents and children as they walk into our new Pre-school space for the first time. I have received beautiful feedback and comments:

“It looks so warm and homely.”

“The floors are amazing.”

“I love this furniture – I could have it in my home.”

“This is the best Pre-school I have ever seen.”

We are thrilled with our new spaces and we feel very privileged to be working in such a beautiful Pre-school – not only from a physical perspective, but from a warm, caring and nurturing side too.

Settling In

The first few weeks when a child is settling into an early years setting is a time of crucial importance to their later happiness in the setting. All children are individuals and while some children will adjust fairly easily to the new environment and new routines, others will take longer to feel comfortable and secure.

The children are all settling into their new space and becoming more familiar with each group’s routines and rules and they are getting to know their teachers and friends. This takes time and we need to allow the children space to explore, discover and feel a sense of belonging and trust. We work hard in these first few weeks to establish connections and relationships with families and children in our care. We talk and explain things clearly to the children and there is repetition and familiarity from day to day. This allows children time to process and to feel safe and secure. Children who have a positive start to their new environment are more likely to feel comfortable, relaxed and valued and feel good about themselves as learners.

Separation anxiety is a healthy and protective emotion. It is the child’s way of saying “You are my safe base and I need to develop trust and confidence in alternate carers.”

Talking through the daily routine with your child each day helps to reduce anxiety. Educators also use this as a tool to familiarise children with what to expect each day, so that it is predictable, and they have time to process what is happening in their day. Although you may be feeling as anxious and emotional as your child, try to stay cheery and confident as children will pick up on your feelings of apprehension.

It is important to always let your child know when you are leaving. Tell your child you are going and will be back after sleep or rest time.

Open communication between parents and educators is crucial. It is important to share information. Parents can give educators information about the child at drop off and in turn the educators can talk to the parents about the child’s experiences during the day when they pick up in the afternoon.

Our educators have a vast amount of experience in helping children settle into the Pre-school and are aware of the difficulties that can emerge during this transition period. If your child is taking longer to settle in than you had expected and you still have concerns, discuss these with a member of staff. Together you can agree on and put into place strategies to support your child during this time.

Parents are the safe base from which each child can branch out and explore the world, grow and learn and become socially and emotionally confident. Getting off to a good start will help support your child through this very important period in their lives. Remember that going to school is an important life experience filled with opportunities for growth, skill development and fun. Like any new experience there are challenges for both the child and the parents.  We look forward to working collaboratively to make each child’s journey at the Kornmehl Emanuel Pre-school a warm, caring, nurturing and positive learning experience. www.early-years.org/parents/docs/settle-in.pdf

Kornmehl Educator (Part-Time)

From the Parents and Friends

Ruby Berkovic and Jennifer Opit

Hello Everyone,

We hope all your children are settling into the new school year well.

First P&F meeting

This week we had our first P&F Meeting for 2019. P&F meetings are held on the first Tuesday of each month at 7 pm. Please join us as your support and input is valued.

Purim Disco

We have some great events planned for the year. The first is our annual Purim Disco held at the School. This is always a highlight of the year for the kids and it’s a great way for the kids (and parents) to socialise and have fun. 

There will be a sausage sizzle and other yummy treats, music, games, activities and prizes for the best costume.

The date is Sunday 24 March from 4-6 pm.

Challah orders

We are taking challah orders starting in a couple weeks!

You can eliminate the hassle of having to pick up your weekly challah and support the P&F at the same time.

From Week 3, the P&F will be selling freshly baked challah every Friday at the cost of $4.50 and you can pick it up on a Friday afternoon at the same time that you collect your kids.

The challot must be pre-ordered.

Please register your interest by emailing: kendrey@bigpond.com

P&F Camping Trip

Save the date for the first camping trip of the year on the weekend of 15 March. This is always a wonderful chance for Emanuel families to bond.

Events to diarise

Camping Trip #1: Friday 15 to Sunday 17 March 

Purim Disco: Sunday 24 March

Mothers Day breakfast and stalls: Friday 10 May  

Fathers Day Breakfast and Stalls: Friday 30 August 

Camping Trip #2: Friday 1 to Sunday 3 November

Challah for sale

Parent Safety Group

Thank you to our volunteers last week: