From the Principal

Andrew Watt

Bidding farewell to our Year 12 (2019) cohort

Our Year 12 Graduation Ceremony took place on Wednesday, attended by our High School students, staff and Year 12 parents. This event is always a bitter-sweet occasion, as it celebrates the end of their academic journey, but also acknowledges the end of an era and the departure of a much-loved Year Group. Highlights of this special event included a range of items involving our Year 12 students; music items, Year 12 song, the video tributes and the presentations made the event special. Our High School teachers passed on several observations of Year 12 (2019), which I shared in my presentation:

“You are seen by our staff as unique, exuberant, creative, fun, caring, passionate, energetic and smart. You are seen to have been very inclusive of all students in your Year Group, setting a culture that exemplifies what it means to look after each other and to be tolerant. People in younger years have found you to be kind and approachable. From a leadership perspective, it has been great to see students with and without official leadership positions stepping up and ‘leading’ the School. The visual arts, music, dance and drama showcases this year were genuinely impressive and diverse, highlighting your creativity, resilience and talent.”

The Graduation Dinner was a lively and enjoyable event, held that evening in an overflowing Lehrer Family Building (MPH). The program included touching and humourous toasts to our parents (by Maximillian Mora-Chow) and our teachers (by Angel Mitrani), with responses from Heath Morley (staff) and Hannah Schwartz (parent). Perhaps the highlight of the evening was a video, created by the parents, featuring Year 12 teachers and a parent band (with a cameo appearance from the Principal!). Many thanks to Margaret Lowe, Caroline Laumberg and the Parent Organising Committee for a memorable evening.

Year 7 showcase of Shorashim projects

On Monday evening, our Year 7 students proudly exhibited the family albums that they had produced. These beautifully presented projects stemmed from two terms of research into their family history and heritage. The journey towards the end result was also important, as family bonds were strengthened through the stories and information provided. A huge thank you to Rebecca Gaida and Daphna Levin-Kahn for organising this special event.

Tikkun Olam statue

I am delighted to share that we recently unveiled our latest in a series of sculptures – the Tikkun Olam statue. Created by international artists, Gillie and Marc, the statue features a young girl and boy planting and tending to a small tree. The children in their poses symbolise our students’ commitment to repairing the world.

The sculpture was generously donated by an anonymous Emanuel School family whose wish, as engraved on the dedication plaque is: “that those who learn and teach here are inspired to care for the world we have been gifted, use their collective energy to inspire positive change and be courageous to stand up for those who need our support”. This inscription is followed by the words of the Hebrew song: “Ani v’atah n’shaneh et ha’olam – you and I can change the world” – a fitting message to our students who embrace their responsibility to help change the world, together.

When walking along Waxman Drive, I urge you to take a few moments to stop and discuss the installation with your children.

As Term 3 draws to an end….

It has been a very productive term for our deeply engaged teachers and students. I am sure that we are all looking forward to a break from the frenetic pace of term time. I hope that you have the opportunity to slow down, take a break from social media and enjoy sleep-ins, long walks and time spent relaxing with family and friends. Shana tova u’metukah.

Mazal tov

Eden Sadra was nominated for NSW Callback, a selection of outstanding performances and projects from HSC dance students
Joel Ehrlich was nominated for inclusion in ENCORE, a selection of performances and compositions from HSC music students
Our Year 7 students created magnificent family albums, as part of the Shorashim project
The Primary School Chess team won the NSW Jewish Schools Chess Tournament and Max Tsipris got an award for the highest scorer with 10 out of 10 points!
Shai Farhy, Year 8, won a bronze medal in triple jump and did a personal best in long jump at the CIS Athletics Championships
Eden Levit, Year 8, ran personal best times in the 100m and 200m at the CIS Athletics Championships
Jemma Adler played in the netball grand final for the Maccabi 11.1 team. Her team was undefeated all season and won the grand final.
Emma Butt, Year 5, played in the Maccabi 10.1 team grand final, finishing as runners up and narrowly missing out on the win.

Quote of the week

“Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten.”

B F Skinner

Primary News

Natanya (Tany) Milner – Head of Primary

Thank you all for a wonderful term. I hope everyone enjoys a safe holiday break and a beautiful time over the high holidays. Wishing you all shana tova and g’mar chatimah tova.

Just a reminder that students return to school in summer uniform on Thursday 17 October 2019. There will be the usual lice check on this date. Also, please note that we are closed on 21 and 22 October 2019 for Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah.

Northern Territory Adventure

Last week, forty-four lucky people from our Emanuel community were blessed to be able to spend time in the Northern Territory. We visited beautiful waterholes and national parks as well as spending time with the Jilkminggan community. During our trip, we were fortunate to swim with the Jilkies, cooked challah in the ovens, barramundi and vegetables in the ground. We played lots of sport and created books together. Thank you to the children and parents for a fabulous week and a HUGE thank you to our staff, Gabi Wynhausen, Belinda Gold and Renee Segal for their assistance and for ensuring the smooth running of this trip.

The highlight for me was definitely Jilk. I loved meeting the kids. They were all so kind, considerate and thoughtful. I really enjoyed making the fire and cooking the barramundi and vegetables. Elias Davis

I loved laughing with my friends and hugging the wallabies. I also loved Edith Falls and choosing a didgeridoo in Mindil Markets. Jonah Ernster

My highlight was playing AFL with the kids at Jilk. I also loved the Aboriginal experience with Manuel. We learnt how to paint and start a fire. We also tried to spear a cardboard kangaroo. Toby Seemann

I enjoyed playing with the little kids at Jilkminggan School. We made jewellery out of clay and I loved running around in the playground. Talia Franks

I loved the cultural experience in Katherine. It was very different to our normal lives because we got to experience a different culture. I also loved all the waterfalls. Violet Nathanson

Edith Falls was a mesmerising experience. First, we hiked to the waterfall. When we got there, we put our stuff down and swam and relaxed in the refreshing water. Jayden Segal

My favourite part of the trip was learning to play the didgeridoo because it was really hard and challenged me a lot. Aaron Berkowitz

HJEI Chess day

Our chess team played in the HJEI chess competition against Mount Sinai, Moriah and Kesser Torah this week. We were thrilled to walk away with the trophies for both the junior and senior divisions. Thank you to Colleen Elkins and Michael Todd for their tireless efforts and dedication to the chess teams. Please see Colleen’s report for further details.

K-2 Gala Sports day

Thank you to Stuart Taylor for organising this year’s K-2 Gala Sports Day. It was a lovely way to end the term with rotational activities ranging from running through to gumboot throwing. A fun day was had by all.

From the Head of Jewish Life

Rabbi Daniel Siegel

Who wants life?

We conclude our High Holidays with the words חתמינו בספר החיים – “May we be sealed in the Book of Life”.

Almost two centuries ago, Rabbi Alexandri called out in the marketplace: “Who desires life”?

A throng gathered around him, eager to hear the secret to a long life. With the hushed crowd waiting to learn more, the Rabbi shared only a verse from Psalms: “Who is the person who desires life?…Guard your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit”.

A central prayer of the Yom Kippur service, Al Chet (For the Transgression), which we say ten times on this day, speaks of one transgression far more than any other-that which we commit by means of our tongue, mouth and lips. “We have transgressed through word of mouth”; We have transgressed through evil speech; We have transgressed through tale bearing, are but three examples.

We close this part of the service (adapted from our daily liturgy) with the words: “Guard my tongue from evil and my lips from speaking deceitfully” echoing the verse cited by Rabbi Alexandri.

When we speak maliciously about another, or engage in misleading reports or deceitfully manipulate by word of mouth, we bring death upon ourselves and others. “Evil speech”, says our Jewish tradition, “kills three: The one who speaks it, the one who hears it and the one about whom it is being spoken”.

Like an arrow, once the words are released they cannot be retrieved.

A man went about the community spreading reports about the Rabbi. Later, he realised the wrong he had done, and began to feel remorse. He went to the Rabbi and begged his forgiveness, saying he would do anything he could to make amends. The Rabbi told the man, “Take a feather pillow, cut it open, and scatter the feathers to the winds.” The man thought this was a strange request, but it was a simple enough task, and he did it gladly. When he returned to tell the Rabbi that he had done it, the Rabbi said, “Now, go and gather the feathers”. (Hasidic Tale)

We can no more make amends for the damage our words have done than we can recollect the feathers.

These High Holy days, as we contemplate our New Year, and wish ourselves and others the blessing of life, let us remember the words of Proverbs: “The tongue has the power of life and death”.

Student Devar Torah

Anna Davis – Year 9

Mirabelle Mirvis – Year 9

Parashat Nitsavim

In Parashat Nitsavim, Moshe informs the Israelites that man or woman, rich or poor, God’s laws apply to them and all their generations to come. If they break these laws they will be punished, and if they keep them their wheat will grow super tall. The obvious moral from this parashah is that we must all have faith in God and obey God’s mitzvot or risk punishment. A modern interpretation of this parashah would be that we should be good people and do good things like volunteering, giving to charity and having empathy.

The message that “we must be good out of fear”, is a terrible message. The reason we need to be good people is not out of fear that a divine authority will strike us down, but because treating each other and the rest of this Earth decently is the only way to make sure that we’re all treated decently.

Having good intentions (paired with understanding of the world and morality) is one of the most reliable ways of ensuring good things happen, fear of authority is only the best way to ensure obedience, regardless of what is right. Do you really believe that following commandments out of fear of pain, for the lure of a prosperous future, is the face of morality?

Authority figures across history have posed all kinds of covenants and commandments that have led to thousands of calamities, injustices and deaths. Blindly obeying the law doesn’t equal being good, therefore we should rather think critically of our laws (religious or otherwise) to seek and ensure good things happen.

I believe this message can be especially misleading as we are about to celebrate Rosh HaShanah, a time where a lot of emphasis is placed on considering the effects of our actions, and how we will attempt to be better people in the future. As people are seeking self-improvement, those who do so out of fear of punishment, are forgetting the reason we seek to be good in the first place.

So please do good stuff, be an upstanding, moral, compassionate human being, consider the effects of your actions; and, if those good things happen to also be what the Torah wants us to do, like reflection on Rosh HaShanah, then that’s great. But perhaps consider, instead of saying ‘you need to do the thing because God said you should’ say instead ‘we must do this because it is right.’

Ma Koreh

Hagit Bar-On – Head of Hebrew K-6

Hebrew Week

Every week is שבוע עברית Hebrew Week at Emanuel School!

However, during Week 9 the Hebrew Department dedicated the whole week to Hebrew activities around the School. We are proud to share some of the exciting activities we did with the students:

Baking Hebrew Cookies: Morah Erika and K-2 students baked טעים – tasty cookies using the א-בletters in their Hebrew names. The students were very excited as they rolled the dough, created their Hebrew names, sprinkled colourful lollies on it and then ate them on their way to class.
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Israeli Madrichim: visited each year level and taught the students some Israeli songs and dances. At the end of their sing-along, all of us danced some רוח ruach dances.
Yigal JNF Shaliach: came on Wednesday and Friday to work with our students on recognising the map of Israel, learn about important places in Israel and some significant events that happened in Israel.
JNF 3
JNF
JNF 2

סרט עברית – Hebrew Movie: Students in Years 2, 3 and 5 watched a movie in Hebrew without subtitles. They had to recall as many Hebrew words as they could from the movie. Students did an amazing job and recorded a vast amount of Hebrew words. The teachers assessed their lists and gave prizes to the students who came up with the most accurate words. Click here to watch a Hebrew music lesson
SRC (Students Representative Council) Activity: The SRC initiated a lunchtime activity for students in Year K-6 to design and create his/her own שנה טובה Shanah Tova Card to give to family and friends. The activity was very successful, and many students attended it.
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SRC

We wish everyone a Shanah Tova U’Metukah שנה טובה ומתוקה

Have a sweet and happy new year and a safe holiday.

High Holy Days and Our Planet

Rabbi Daniel Siegel

Many of our students attended the Global Climate Strike last Friday. This weekend, Jewish communities around the world will begin celebrating Rosh HaShanah, as we enter our High Holiday season. Tradition teaches that the High Holiday season extends through the seventh day of Sukkot, Hoshanah Rabbah:

“The seventh day of the festival (Sukkot) is the close of the judgement of the world”- Zohar

This is the climax of our praying for the nourishing waters of heaven and our continuing to be blessed by a world which is bounteous and life-sustaining. Our ancestors lived close to the earth, which they honoured in ritual and practice.

As we enter our season of judgment, and contemplate our actions for the New Year, the attached pamphlet, “Saving the Planet: a High Holiday Supplement” provides seeds for reflection as to how we might partner with our children in securing an enduring future for ourselves and the world of which we are a part.

High Holy Days 2019 Supplement – Saving the Planet

Shorashim

Inez Calderon-Havas – Year 7

Shorashim evening 2019

“Shorashim means the roots of where and who we came from. The pure soil that our ancestors grew in signifies the culture of our families. The blossoming tree above is the present members. Each branch leading into the trunk where we are all connected to live with a part of those who are gone. There is great importance in knowing who the people who came before us were and how we came to be here. The culture that is embedded inside the family will always be there. Each generation has made some sort of change that has made my family special. When the flowers fall from the tree it signifies a member of the family dying and joining the roots making up the next generations. The benefit of this knowledge is that you know where you come from, the uniqueness of your family – how it is similar yet different from other families. It helps us find who we are.” This is a portion of my speech presented on the night; a reflection of what I learnt over the time spent on Shorashim. Only when I wrote this did I really understand why we did this and how important it is to learn about our roots.

We began to look at ourselves and our lives in the middle of Term 2. We got to know ourselves and our immediate family. It really put into perspective how connected we are, although we may not recognise it in daily life. Something that really helped me with finding myself was the prayer we wrote for ourselves. It expressed my true self, revealing it and putting it into view how unique I am to everyone else, as they are unique too. I truly learnt that we are each our own person who decides who we are friends with, what we like and what we do.

The time spent doing all the tasks was a lengthy process. All of the different components contributing to the final product. It was a rush at the end to complete the album, the speech and the presentation making it look good as well as completing everything. I faced the challenge of completing everything in time while juggling the work needed to be done for my Bat Mitzvah in the middle of the project time. It was a challenge, but I persevered. What I loved about it though was that we could be really creative with having free choice about how we wanted it to look. It was an outlet from all of the work, showing our personalities. In the end, it worked out and everything was completed on time.

The Shorashim Evening was amazing; the presentations gave me an insight into everyone’s background getting to know them further and learning things I did not know before. Something that really stood out was that in my group, which was half my Tutor Group, there were only two people in the room who were not from South Africa – one of them being me! The night was fantastic and fun. Everyone was proud of their work with gleaming smiles on their faces.

Year 8 – Zionist Dreams and Dreamers

Daphna Levin-Kahn – Head of Jewish Studies High School

For the Zionist Dreams and Dreamers unit this term, we focused on the Deep Learning Capability of “Collaboration” as well as the Design Process. Following research tasks on Zionist Ideologies and Zionist Founding Leaders and Thinkers, students collaborated to plan, design, prototype, test, evaluate and improve their game designs that would teach and test the other Year 8 students on their Zionist knowledge. The games were fun and offered a diverse range such as Game of Zionist Life, Zionism Cluedo, Minecraft games, matching games and even Zionism Escape Rooms!

Thanks to Sophie Poisel, our Primary Innovation Expert, for helping guide many of our students through the collaborative design process!

Well done to all the students for engaging with the project and developing such enjoyable games!

Jewish Schools Chess Competition

Colleen Elkins – Gifted and Talented Coordinator K-6

We fielded four teams in this years’ Jewish Schools Chess Competition against Moriah, Mt Sinai and Kesser Torah.

All players did themselves exceptionally proud by playing all ten rounds with true sportsmanship and focus.

The Emanuel A Senior team won the Senior Division and our Emanuel A Junior Team won the Junior Division, bringing home the trophies for each section as well as the overall trophy.

Congratulations to Max Tsipris who achieved ‘highest score’ by winning all ten of his games.

Well done to Zachary Salamon, who tied for best player in the Junior Division.

It was a pleasure to see our players represent their school with such pride and determination.

Music Matters

Diana Springford – Head of Music

Mazal tov to Joel Ehrlich for his Encore Nomination

Each year, the NSW Educational Standards Authority (NESA) present ‘Encore’. This prestigious concert showcases a selection of outstanding performances and compositions from the Higher School Certificate Music students. We are delighted to announce that Joel Ehrlich (Year 12) has been nominated for possible inclusion as a result of the exceptional quality of his performance in his HSC Music Performance exam. Congratulations to Joel for this wonderful achievement! Thank you to Danny Burley for his caring and expert guidance of the whole Year 12 Music 1 class this year. They all did a beautiful job with their HSC performances.

Mazal tov to all performers at the Year 12 Graduation Assembly

Advanced Jazz Ensemble

Congratulations and thanks to the Advanced Jazz Ensemble who performed Chromazone by Mike Stern and to Joel Ehrlich who played Root Beer Rag by Billy Joel. The contribution of their music teachers and tutors is greatly appreciated: Danny Burley, Alex Hone, Adam Majsay, Jy-Perry Banks, George Nikolopoulos and Stefano Caroleo. Our Advanced Jazz Ensemble performed again in the evening with their ensemble director, George Nikolopoulos at the Graduation Dinner.

Thank you Music team!

It has been an extraordinarily busy term in Music, and I would like to thank our fabulous Music team of teachers, administrators, tutors and conductors for their hard work, especially Danny Burley, Alex Hone, Elizabeth Birrell, Adam Majsay and Joanne De Araujo. Also, we thank our “boy wonder” practicum teacher, Remington Owen, who has done some wonderful work with our students this term. Thank you, Remi, and please stay in touch!

Term 4 dates

All music ensemble rehearsals and private music tuition resume from Thursday 17 October 2019, the first day back in Week 1 (except Senior Chamber Choir which resumes on 31 October 2019).

Instrument Program (IP) lessons resume as follows:

Year 3 and Year 6: The first day of IP in Term 4 is Tuesday 29 October 2019

Year 4 and Year 5: The first day of IP in 2019 is Wednesday 29 October 2019

Please remember to bring your instrument and music book to your first IP lesson and ensemble rehearsal.

Music Photos – Wednesday 23 October 2019 (Week 2) in the MPH

Photos of all Music Ensembles from Kindy to Year 11 will be taken on 23 October 2019. The times for each ensemble will be in Edumate and published in Ma Nishma early next term – please attend promptly in the MPH in the correct uniform so that we can keep to schedule.

Uniform Standard:

Years 5 -11 students involved in the various photos will be expected to wear a blazer and tie on the day (formal uniform including kippot)
All other Primary students who may be involved in a photo will wear summer uniform.

Private Music Tuition and Infant Strings Program

Thank you to those who have already advised us of changes to private tuition and Infant Strings Program enrolments for next term. The deadline for new enrolments, notification of changes or intention to discontinue for Term 4 has now passed. All students currently receiving private music tuition and ISP will be automatically re-enrolled into tutor schedules for next term along with students commencing lessons for the first time and liable for fees. If you have any questions please contact Matilda Grieve by email music@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au

The schedules for Term 4, 2019 will be created during term break and emailed prior to lessons resuming.

Links to online forms

New enrolment requests for private tuition: http://tinyurl.com/NewPrivateTuitionEnrolment

To discontinue private tuition for next term: http://tinyurl.com/PrivateTuitionDiscontinuation

To enrol into the Infant Strings Program: http://tinyurl.com/InfantStringsEnrolment

To discontinue ISP for next term: http://tinyurl.com/InfantStringsDiscontinuations

Meir Advocate

Year 12 Meirians graduate

Sadly, last week we said goodbye to our Year 12s. The Year 12 Meirians have played an integral part in planning, creating and building our Meir House and they are the very first Meir graduates. At our House farewell, we presented them with a picture book and a matching song that outlined their time at Emanuel in Meir House. Thank you all for bringing joy, passion, commitment, enthusiasm, positivity and happiness to our new house. You have set the standards incredibly high for the future Year 12s of Meir. We are going to miss you so much!

From Mr Ezekiel

Firstly, I would like to express my utmost appreciation for Ms Selinger’s work with her Tutor Group. Tutors do not normally need to manage having a new collection of students in their Tutor Group – particularly in the senior years of school. The way you brought this group together and created a group that seems to have been together since Year 7 is remarkable.

Setting up Meir House was the most rewarding and enjoyable thing that I have done in my teaching career. The rewards and enjoyment were not from the House itself… it was from watching the Year 12s invest so much time and effort into creating an environment that people wanted to be a part of. In PDHPE, we talk about extrinsic and intrinsic motivation to achieve something. Extrinsic motivation is being driven by a reward or accolade and intrinsic motivation is a desire to achieve something from within. This House has been built on the intrinsic motivation of each member of this Tutor Group. A trait, that if you keep when you leave school, will help you achieve anything.

Thank you to the Year 12 Meirians for your energy, enthusiasm, weird ideas, laughter and ability to make things happen throughout the last two years to create Meir House.

Peer Support

Congratulations to our new Peer Support leaders for 2020: Dean Reuveny, Becky Nebenzahl, Georgia Kahane, Charlotte Lyons, Elia Gil-Munoz and Ruby Hurwitz.

Kol Szenes

Farewell Year 12 Szenes, 2019

Last Friday Szenes House farewelled our Year 12s with a traditional breakfast, cake and gifts, including a yellow gerbera. We also thanked our Year 12 Tutor, Ms Goldmann, for her dedicated support of her students, especially in their HSC year.

We wish 12 Szenes every success and happiness in their HSC Examinations and beyond.

Announcements for Week 1, Term 4

House Drama
- If you are a talented actor and would like to earn some House points, sign up for House Drama! You can perform a monologue, a duologue or a group performance! If you have any questions, contact our House Madricha Tali Blackman!
Summer uniform
- Please remember to come to school in your summer uniform (not sport) on the first day of next term!
- No hat, no play! – Szenes hats are to be worn if you are in the sun
New Kol Szenes writer
- While I (Miriam) absolutely love writing articles for Kol Szenes, it is becoming increasingly more difficult with my workload, and now that I am about to start Year 12, I will need help writing, and eventually have someone take over my role. If you are interested, please let me know at itzkowitz.miriam@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au

Goals

So, now that we have officially made it through three quarters of the year, it is time to start thinking about what we would like to improve on for examinations and for next year. Some advice to have both a productive and enjoyable holiday is:

Read over your feedback
- Reading over your feedback is a great way to work out what you need to improve on for next term.
Take breaks
- Enjoy the fresh air, spend time with friends and family and make sure you are not too focused on only school, because once school holidays are over, there won’t be the same amount of free time you need to recuperate.
Write down your goals
- While this is probably said all the time, writing goals can give you an idea of what you want to achieve, and is actually better than just keeping it in your head, as you have definitive proof of what you want to do, what your aiming for and how you can achieve it. Remember to add your goals to Edumate.

Mazal Tov to:

Mr Bell who is getting married this weekend
Ms Norman who is getting married these school holidays
New Peer Support Leaders

Birthday Wishes

Happy Birthday to these Szenesians who celebrated their birthdays in the past week:

Toby Port (Year 10)
Phoebe Narunsky (Year 8)
Issy Reichel (Year 11)

And to those who will be celebrating their birthdays these holidays:

Tara Linker (Year 10)
Claudia Burman (Year 11)
Lexi Joffe (Year 10)
Dean Klugman (Year 7)
Boaz Hadad (Year 7)

Quote of the week

“I often quote myself. It adds spice to my conversation.”

~ George Bernard Shaw

Shabbat Shalom, Shana tova, have a fantastic weekend and an incredible break!

Rashi Times

Jonathan Schach – Year 10

This week we congratulated the Class of 2019 on their graduation. As they made their departure out of Emanuel School many tears were shed, but the excitement for what the future held for them was made apparent. Without the Year 12s with us, there will definitely be a hole in our school. Although we know that it will be filled soon, their passion, friendliness and ability to have a mature discussion with us is something that I believe each and every student in high school will miss. Despite this, we are excited that they will be starting a new phase in their lives and I wish them all the best for what is in store for them.

Here is what a student from Rashi had to say about the Year 12s:

“The High School was led with absolute engagement and passion. Their undeniably cheerful personalities is something we all admired and will certainly miss.”

On another note, with the holidays now commencing, I encourage all students to maximise it as an opportunity to have fun, spend time with friends, but most importantly stay safe. If students are ever looking for something to do, I would recommend getting involved in some sort of charitable program such as the Friendship Circle. They have programs every Monday, Tuesday and Sunday. During these programs, you are able to spend time and assist individuals with special needs and form ‘lasting friendships’. Each program is engaging, lots of fun and is incredibly rewarding for everyone involved. Below I have attached the link for any more information one is seeking on the activities and the goals of Friendship Circle. www.friendshipcircle.org/programs/

Thanks so much for a great term Rashi, Shana tova and wishing you all a wonderful holiday.

Connecting our Community – Gesher

Sonia Newell – Development Officer

Remember September 2019

As September comes to an end, there is still time for our community to help alumnus Ben Wilheim (Class of 2008) who, together with family and friends, is raising awareness and funds for the fight to cure pancreatic cancer: https://rememberseptember.gofundraise.com.au/

Back to Emanuel School

Within the Jewish faith, the word “chai” possesses both numerical and symbolic meaning and is linked to the number 18. All the letters of the Hebrew alphabet have a numerical value attached to them. Aleph is 1, Bet is 2, Yud is 10 etc. The Hebrew word for “life” is “chai”. That’s chet (8) and yud (10) and so 18 stands for the “chai”, “life”. Our amazing School is 36 years old this year (double chai) and last Wednesday evening, 18 September, again with the symbolic “18”, close to 100 alumni, past parents and staff joined us for our Back to Emanuel School event – an opportunity to reconnect. Stories were exchanged and memories retold. Jes Moreto ((Taylor) from the Class of 2006 said “I totally forgot I designed the logo for the school house I was in – Rabin. I was a logo designer even back then! Not bad for a Year 8 kid.” Her business today is a well-known Logo designer company: www.longstoryshortdesign.com.au

Past HSIE teacher John Nairn emailed me after the event: “I am a latecomer to teaching, having previously been in banking for many years. I have the fondest memories of Emanuel out of any school I have taught at. I was there for 2002 and 2003 only, though I kept in touch with the HSIE staff afterwards. After leaving Emanuel I taught full time at Masada, closer to home, for several years before ‘retiring’. I have taught at many schools since then for part of each year. I taught Term 1 at Queenwood in 2019, where I met up with Jo Keeling again. It is always good to revisit Emanuel, to catch up with staff and former students, and to wonder at the amazing changes that have taken place on the campus. The latter are a tribute to all the staff, students, and its supporters. Long may the school continue to prosper! It was a pleasure to visit again last week. Thank you for your continuing invitations to events like these.”

From Leonie Powrie, another past teacher “Thank you for your lovely welcome last night. It was such a happy event. My husband was Head Prefect at Melbourne Grammar but said “This is the school I would have loved”, how funny! Coincidentally, his nephew, Alex Vickery Hoskison, is one of our alumni (Class of 2013). It made my night to run into Jamie Hilton (Class of 1997). He took photos of some of the pages in my book and kept saying how amazing it was to see his younger self. Some of my Year 10 girls put it together as a going away present so it is special to me. Congratulations to all for the wonderful development that has taken place over the past 36 years. Rabbi Fox and Susie Brieger, especially, would be so proud.”

Family connections amongst past and current students was evident on the night. Shaun Janks (Jankelowitz), Head Madrich, Class of 2004 is pictured here with his first cousin Daniella Goodridge who was part of Year 11 Hospitality Class that prepared and served the most scrumptious supper for the event. (photo of big group in kitchen) Several alumni here on the night very excitedly told us that they will be back next year as new parents, with their own children following in their footsteps as Emanuel students. Past parent Rita Prager whose two daughters are alumni, said “it was beautiful to go down memory lane after almost 20 years since Jeanine left Year 12. I can’t wait to see my granddaughter Lila here next year!” Zoe Feigen (Class of 2007), now a practising Veterinary Surgeon in Melbourne flew up especially for the event and came along with sisters Sivan (Class of 2009), Daniela (Class of 2011) and parents Cheryl and Lindsay.

Lauren Faul with her parents

Call-out for our help

Alumna Lauren Faul (Class of 2018) whose brother Justin is in Year 9 and their mother Danni, who is also one of our past students (Class of 1991) got in touch this week, to seek our help.

She says: “I was lucky enough to be awarded the Rabbi Brian Fox Scholarship Award last year. There was only one direction for me to go – to raise awareness and money for blood diseases and blood related cancers, such as Multiple Myeloma.

“I joined the Sydney Blood Cancer Research Group as a committee member. This research group comprises of a small group of people including specialist doctors and nurses from Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (RPA), patients and family members of patients, such as myself. The research group has one goal, to organise events and fundraisers to raise awareness and money to aid in the research to cure blood cancers.

“I am reaching out to you, the Emanuel School Community for support with my initiative. I am arranging for a blood drive and I would like you to join me in donating your blood. Did you know that by donating just once, you can help save up to three lives. Did you know that only 3% of Australians donate each year. Please help me make a difference.

When you decide to join me, please email me to join: lauren0f@tpg.com.au“

This is a link to the Sydney Blood Cancer Research website www.sydneybloodcancerresearch.org.au/

Thank you, Lauren Faul.

We wish all our readers and their family Shana Tova and well over the Fast, and look forward to sharing more news with you in Term 4.

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

High School Dramatic Action

Primary Dramatic Action

Careers

Claire Pech – Careers Advisor

Next steps – Year 12

The Year 12s are officially finished and so I would like to share final dates, times and information with them about what happens next.

University applications – UAC

All students need to take responsibility for their own application, and verify all dates with the website www.uac.edu.au/key-dates – don’t just rely on me or your parents! The dates list is complex, so I am giving you my own top pick but there are more.

Date	Time	What?
30/09/19	Midnight	SRS (or early offers) applications closes – you will need to apply through the SRS UAC link. You can still move around preferences after this date.
30/09/19	Midnight	Early bird admissions closes – so if you apply now after this date it will cost $200.
10/11/19	Midnight	SRS – If you have applied for SRS -applicants need to have their final list ready
14/11/19		SRS offers released
29/11/19	Midnight	EAS – closing date for all EAS applications
17/12/19	9am 1pm	NESA – HSC results released UAC – ATARs released
18/12/19		EAS eligibility letters released
19/12/19	All day	I will be available for meetings at school – please book in via my Calendar link and only if you are desperate (!) as I will have restricted time to see students. I will be also be available on email.
19/12/19	Midnight	Change of preferences closes – you cannot change your list around after this for a December offer
23/12/19	730am	December Round 2 – Offers released to students via UAC website

Source: www.uac.edu.au/key-dates

TAFE applications

Generally, TAFE opens up for February enrolment mid-October but continually check, to make sure you are applying. It is not like University where you can defer a place, so if you are ‘GAP yearing’ you won’t need to apply until the following year.

www.tafensw.edu.au/courses

Private colleges

All private colleges have direct entry applications, so each one needs to be checked regarding their own process. Early offers for most are now over (eg Notre Dame) but see the individual process for each.

Most importantly, I would like to wish all of the Year 12s best wishes for this next stage. It is crucial to remember their whole future does not rely on these dates, or this phase. Many students (30%) will change courses after their first year. Many students will change their mind on their GAP year. And many students will realise after their degree, that they are now interested in something else. As I say often, “take your time…”!

Emanuel Midford Uniform Shop

Parent Safety Group

Thank you to our volunteers from last week:

Barry Sherman, Yury Glikin, John Sweller, Gary Gordon, Mike Evans, Simon Revelman, Ben Berger, Daniel Butt, Matthew Owen, Daniel Stern, Wayne Rubin, Paul Filipczyk, Bob Kummerfeld, Harold Gottlieb, Lindy Kaplan, Salina Jamani, George Kahane, Ron Spielman, Fred Linker and Peter Nothman.

Parenting Gifted & Talented Children Workshops