From the Principal

Andrew Watt – Principal

Changing the mood

As Week 6 of Term 3 draws to an end, we find ourselves in a relatively calm space, with no immediate threat of a return to remote learning and a clearer picture, in terms of COVID-19 restrictions. As a result of many of our highlights and special events being cancelled, we acknowledge the need for a ‘mood lifter.’ Our Strategic Advisory Team (SAT) have introduced Casual Fridays, for both staff and students, until the end of term. Students will be allowed to wear casual clothing (comfortable, modest and appropriate) to School each Friday. We will also explore introducing music (selected by students) for our period change bells, to change things up a little. Let’s aim to finish the term with energy and joy!

The benefits of debating at Emanuel

Unsurprisingly, our students have proved to be adept at putting forward a convincing argument, often with our trademark chutzpah! Participating in debating can bring about many benefits, including enhanced reasoning, research and public speaking skills. From planning your argument (even if you don’t agree with it) to choosing your words wisely, debating is an important life skill as our students transition to the workplace. “Debating is by no means the same as entering into a full-on argument. In fact, you will need to develop a succinct, effective argument, which will gain you support and kudos, rather than blindly attacking your opponent. From Cicero to Churchill, history’s great debaters have helped shape the world we live in and resolve many of society’s issues.” (Excerpt from St John’s-Ravenscourt School, World Debating Champions on 14 occasions).

Our current High School debating team, under the leadership of Yael Grunseit (Co-ordinator), is thriving in their local online debating competition, recently winning each debate against Moriah College, and Rose Bay Secondary College.

Mazal tov to:
Year 7/8: Liberty Waldner, Jayden Segal, Ariel Bloom and Benjamin Fram; Coach Sienna Amoils (Emanuel School alumna)
Year 9/10: Jesse Herdan, Eden Glass, Maayan Granot, Arielle Melamed; Coach Matthew Friedman (Emanuel School alumnus)
Year 11/12: Chloe Miller, Lara Fosbery, Liat Granot, Ruby Hurwitz; Coach Yael Grunseit (Emanuel School alumna)

Year 8 Hebrew Camp: Machaneh Krembo 

Fun at Machaneh Krembo

Our Year 8 Hebrew students engaged in a two-day Hebrew camp at school last week, where they engaged with, practised and learned Hebrew in an informal group setting. The theme was Trust, Belief and Faith, which was covered through various activities such as: The Amazing Krembo Race, Jeopardy, group games, Hebrew Scattergories and drama skits, as well as preparing and serving pizzas for dinner. An Israeli lunch was served on Friday by students and teachers to ‘customers’ who ordered their food in Hebrew. Our students also enjoyed a Kabbalat Shabbat experience in Centennial Park. The Machaneh was led by Ruth Harvey and her team of teachers (Oren Thaler, Miri Heitner and Bec Gaida. Our Year 11 students (Ezra Hersch, Lara Fosbery, Ariella Tracton, Michael Heymann, Noam Meretz, Yonatan Amsalem) and our incredible alumni (Zev Shteinman, Josh New, Rachel Turtledove, and Edan Amsalem) all worked tirelessly to plan and deliver this memorable ‘on-campus’ Camp.

Write A Book In A Day – deep discussions

Write a Book In a Day

Our enterprising Year 6 students faced the mammoth task of writing and illustrating a story across one day. They laboured in collaborative groups from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm (with the occasional break for games and pizza) to produce some outstanding work. The stories were creative and the synergy within each group was impressive. Thank you to our Year 6 teachers, Eamon Lukins, Kim Haddix and Renee Segal.

Reminder: Illness and COVID tests

We are very grateful that families have been vigilant in keeping their children at home if they are unwell. We ask that if any students have COVID-19 symptoms that they have a test and await a negative result prior to returning to school. Similarly, if a member of your household has gone for a COVID test, please await a negative result before sending your child/ren back to school. Your support is greatly appreciated as we take as many measures as possible to keep our community safe. 

Quote the week

“Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.”
C.S. Lewis

From the Head of Jewish Life

Rabbi Daniel Siegel – Head of Jewish Life

What’s in Your pocket?

During Machaneh Ayekah, our Year 10 Camp, students would play a good-natured game in which one would stealthily place an item in another’s pocket and the group would call out “What’s in your pocket?”

Our Jewish tradition teaches: “One is known by what’s in one’s pocket”.

This week’s parashah warns us: “You shall not have in your pocket/pouch alternate stones, larger and smaller”. A uniform weight was required to be utilised to maintain honest business dealings. The dishonest merchant, however, would use the smaller stone when weighing out the produce sold, and larger stone when weighing out what is to be received in payment. What ended up in his pocket belonged to another.

Recently, the University of Melbourne repaid millions of dollars to 1,500 academics in a “wage theft” case. The University was playing with differing stones. It allocated its staff a mere three minutes to mark student assessments and paid them a “piece rate” accordingly. Those staff who dedicated the proper time to marking this work ended up with less money in their pocket than owed  to them and those adhering to the three minute limit were joining the University in taking money not rightly theirs out of the pockets of its students and their families.

Similarly, staff was paid one third of the usual rate for tutorials by means of the University labelling them “practice classes”. Instead of receiving the three-hour payment for tutorials they received the one-hour payment of a practice class.

Our parashah says the stone/weight employed must be whole (sheleimah) and just (tsedek). The prophet Micah calls out to the people: “Can I be just/deserved of my gains when employing wicked balances and having a pocket/pouch of deceitful stones”.

The word shekel, the long-time Israeli currency, comes from the root word shakal to weigh. We just began blowing the shofar at the start of Elul in anticipation of Rosh HaShanah, also called Yom HaDin, the Day of Judgement. Jewish tradition views each person as being weighed in judgement in accordance with his actions and deeds. The Talmud teaches that the first question one is asked at the final judgment is: “Were you honest in your business dealings?”

“What’s in our pocket?” How it got there and whose it is speaks to who we are.

Ma Koreh

Rebecca Gaida – Jewish Studies Teacher

During Term 3, Year 5 students have been learning about prophets and how Jews lived in Ancient Israel. Students researched the ancient customs that were practised and wrote diary entries imagining as if they had been stuck in a magical portal and ended up visiting some Israelites. Students also wrote about famous prophets and how those prophets were upstanders and changemakers in their time.

Learning about prophets in those times was to enhance students’ understanding of ancient changemakers, the challenges that they faced, and their methods of leadership. This unit is part of the interdisciplinary Year 5 Term 3 project, Knowing You Changes Me, wherein students research changemakers that have influenced their lives. It is hoped that, through this unit, students will be able to form connections between upstanders and changemakers in different generations and find important causes to fight for so that they become changemakers themselves.

Elijah The Prophet: students’ perspective

Elijah the Prophet, known as Eliyahu HaNavi, was what we would today call a Jewish activist. Our first encounter with Eliyahu is when he translates in the name of God to King Ahab, telling the king that it will not rain whilst the people and Queen Jezebel worship the idol Baal. Eliyahu reminds King Ahab that Adonai is the only true God and that it will not rain in the land until the Jewish people regain their trust and connection with God. 

Eliyahu started campaigning when the king and queen told the people to worship Baal in order to stop the drought and when he saw how the king and queen were unjust and corrupt. Eliyahu is a changemaker because, if he had not done that, the Jewish religion might be extinct today. Eliyahu was trying to prove that Adonai was the one and only God. One of the quotes that Eliyahu might have said is: “Baal doesn’t have any power!”. Eliyahu HaNavi inspires us by showing us how hard work and courage can bring change into the world.

By Chloe Ginsberg and Leah Joshua, Year 5

Primary

Katie Brody – Director of Studies K – 6

What an eventful and exciting week! 

We have enjoyed wonderful learning experiences and opportunities to be tenacious, think creatively and achieve excellence. This week, we wrote A Book In A Day, we took part in the UNSW Global ICAS competitions and we enjoyed the incredible Innovation Festival.

Year 6 – Write A Book In A Day

On Tuesday 24 August 2020, Year 6 began a magical day of writing. Starting first thing in the morning with the introduction to the program and the purpose, the students sat in anticipation of the challenge ahead. They soaked in the steps in the process, the success criteria and the strategies. Soon planning began and with a creative buzz in the air, ideas began to flow. It was not long before the students were underway, developing the central character, their initial circumstances, their vulnerabilities and their plight. They also planned how to include the five required and random words into their stories. The day was big and busy but it was also extremely exciting. The classrooms were buzzing with activity. Writing, conferencing and proofreading took place throughout and beginning with the end in mind, the students developed the narrative and achieved that which they feared was not possible…a book was indeed created in one day. 

It was an outstanding creative challenge for students and teachers alike. All of this effort was for a great cause; the money raised goes to The Kids’ Cancer Project and the published books will be sent to hospitals around the country to be read and enjoyed by children with cancer. We could not be more proud of all involved and a special thanks goes to Kim Haddix for initiating and coordinating the process. Huge accolades and thanks go to Eamon Lukins, Renee Segal and Sascha Heywood as well, for their commitment and support.

The 2020 Virtual Innovation Festival

On Friday 28 August 2020 our Years K – 6 students engaged in our very first Virtual Innovation Festival. At the beginning of the day, students watched a magnificent video prepared by our incredibly creative Year 6 IT and Innovation Leaders. The presentation showcased the innovation that has pervaded our Primary School this year so far. Later in the morning, students were provided with fabulous insight into what they could expect from a career in Innovation through videos prepared by the amazing STEM professionals from UNSW; in association with FLEET. Later in the day, each Year Group had a live virtual workshop with the STEM professionals and got to take part in some intriguing experiments. What an exciting and innovative day it was. A huge thank you to Drishti Nanwani for many weeks of preparation, agility and resilience given the range of changes that were needed to ensure we all remain COVID safe. Watch the video showcase.

UNSW Global ICAS competitions – in progress

The ICAS Science (53 students), English (69 students) and Digital Technology (39 students) competitions took place last week and this week, with students due to participate in the Mathematics test next week (69 students). Students have been commended for choosing to participate in these challenging competitions. They have come prepared, maintained decorum and really pushed their minds to do the best they can. Implementing these tests is very much a team effort. During the tests, it is not only those teachers who supervise the online environment and support the students, but also those teachers in Years 3 – 6 who teach those students who did not opt in. Thank you to Colleen Elkins, Lara Kepitis, Emma Hill, Drishti Nanwani and to many others who have enabled the process, the set up and the implementation.

Parent Teacher Night – Via Zoom this semester

Early last week, parents received an invitation via email to enter the platform and select the teachers they wish to meet with on Parent Teacher Night (9 September 2020 or 14 September 2020). The final chance to indicate preferences will be Monday 31 August 2020, so please locate the email and log your preferences before then. On 2 September 2020, all parents will receive their schedule with assigned appointment times and zoom codes. Please keep this email handy, as the timings and Zoom links will be needed during those evenings.

eSafety’s Parent Guide to popular apps

You’re invited to participate in The eSafety Commissioner’s live parent and carer webinars in support of National Child Protection Week.

The live webinars are free and focus on popular apps used by young people. They will cover case studies, research and targeted advice so you can support the young people in your life to have safe, enjoyable online experiences.

Webinar dates and times are as follows:

• Tuesday 8 September 2020: 12.30 pm
• Wednesday 9 September 2020: 7.30 pm
• Thursday 10 September 2020: 12.30 pm

If you are interested please register using this link.

Kornmehl

Terry Aizen – Director of Kornmehl

Shabbat explorations and sharing

“Through our Jewish heritage children develop an awareness of the values of Mitzvot, Tzedakah and Tikun Olam” –  Kornmehl Philosophy

Over the past week the Pre-school has been immersed in discussions about Shabbat, what Shabbat means and drawing visual representations of Shabbat symbols. We asked each child to draw a reflection of their Shabbat experiences or Shabbat feeling. Some Shabbat symbols and Shabbat photos in a slideshow were placed on the table to use as an inspiration and/or provocation to think and reflect on. 

During the week, each group discussed how we cannot visit the old people in the Burger Centre and the Montefiore Home because of COVID-19. We also shared how sad we were that all our Kornmehl grandparents cannot come in to visit at the moment and especially for our annual Grandparent Days, which were meant to be this term.

Together, we discussed ways to share what we do at Kornmehl with these special elderly people in our community. We decided one of the ways was to each draw a special picture of Shabbat and write a special message to an older person. We also decided that we can still share our Shabbat with them, by videoing a Shabbat celebration on a Friday and sending the video link to our Grandparents, the Burger Centre and the Montefiore Home. So, on Friday, we all dressed in our special Shabbat clothes and sang, danced and did our Brachot.

We are very excited to share this video with special messages with our elderly community and hope that we can bring some joy and happiness into their day when they watch the video and receive the beautiful pictures.

A big thank you to Ben Marshall from the IT Department, who taped and edited the video.

Here are some of our discussions with the children:

Ethan: They need to light candles so they can have a Shabbat there on their own
Cleo: They need to stay home
Mili: You have to care about them
Isabella: They have to stay on their own
Abigail: They need to stay safe
Sam: The money box has the Star of David on it and it goes to Israel
Georgie: It’s a special time to have Shabbat
Finn: The best time of the year
Alice: It means it is a special time
Daniel: You put money for tzedakah.

How old is an old person?

Rafi: 138 years… no hang on five years old
Mika: 80 years old
Koben: 14
Talia: 81 years old
Max: 103
Zola: 100 years – that’s old
Kayla: 87 because my grandma is 87

Why can’t we go to visit the Burger Centre?

Kirra: Because of Corona
Rafi: It’s too bad to go
Phoebe: Someone will get sick
Kayla: If someone sneezed at the Burger Centre, someone can get sick if you don’t cover your mouth especially when they are older

What did you draw?

Ava: I did a Shabbat table. I love Shabbat with my family, and I love to go to Ariel’s house for Shabbat.
Jace: I did the Shabbat candles
Ethan: I made the candles and the tablecloth
Mili: I drew a tzedakah box
Jesse: Tzedakah goes to Israel to people that don’t have money
Abigail: I drew candles
Etta: I couldn’t draw challah, so I drew candles. But I like challah the best.
Levy: We have candles to light on Shabbat I drew them
Archie: I drew the wine because I like it and the juice too

Below is the message the children wanted to send to all the special elderly people with their drawings:

• We hope you feel really happy, because we feel really happy to share Shabbat with you
• We hope you have a lovely and wonderful Shabbat
• We hope you love our singing in the video. We loved singing songs for you.
• Shabbat is a special day – we hope Shabbat makes you feel happy
• On Shabbat you have a lovely time and you say prayers to Hashem
• We hope you are all okay and we miss seeing you
• Shabbat Shalom – have a special Shabbat

Music

Each week Music teacher, Elizabeth Birrell, comes down to Kornmehl to share her musical passion and talents with us. Miss Birrell’s music lessons are interactive, fun and engaging and the children look forward to these lessons each week.

This term during Music, the children have been focusing on the beat and rhythm, concepts of high and low, fast and slow, and lots of listening activities. We have learnt lots of new songs such as the Elevator song, Row row your boat, See you later Alligator, Bread and Butter, Marmalade and Jam to name but a few.

Miss Birrell’s lessons incorporate lots of movement, action dances and games and we use the parachute and a coloured rope. Musical percussion instruments such as mini chime bars are used, and the children are learning to play the notes ‘me’ and ‘so’.

The children are fully engaged in the lessons and we are very lucky to have Miss Birrell teach the Kornmehl children each week for Music.

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High School Hebrew

מחנה קרמבו

Machaneh Krembo

Did you know that the Hebrew words for ‘trust’ (eimun אמון), ‘faith’ (emunah אמונה) and ‘to believe’ (leha’amin להאמין) share the same root as the affirmation amen אמן? Our Year 8 Hebrew students got to explore this connection during Machaneh Krembo last week. The long-awaited camp was a fun-filled educational event, which was made particularly special by the competent guidance and leadership of our fantastic alumni and ex Hebrew students – Zev Shteinman, Josh New, Rachel Turtledove, Edan Amsalem – and a group of our capable Year 11 (Hebrew) students – Michael Heymann, Noam Meretz, Ezra Hersch, Lara Fosbery, Ariella Tracton and Yonatan Amsalem. Together with teachers Rebecca Gaida, Miri Heitner and Oren Thaler they helped make the camp a great success.

A personal highlight for me was Kabbalat Shabbat in the park. At one stage students, teachers and alumni formed one giant circle, sitting in silence in a shared space. We each took time to reflect and write our own slicha before we listened to Edan blow the shofar to mark the beginning of Elul.

By Ruth Harvey, Head of Hebrew

What did participants have to say about their Krembo experience?

Teachers

Morah Gaida: Machaneh Krembo was a meaningful quality camp. The madrichim showed excellent Hadracha (leadership) skills and it felt like the camp was a perfect nostalgia item; something to look back on with fond memories well into the future. Someone will reminisce: “Do you remember the time we made our own pizza at Machaneh Krembo?… and remember ordering falafel in Hebrew?” “Yes, that is how I learned the Hebrew for tahini-t’china, and spicy-charif “. “What about when we wrote the ‘Ani Maamin Sheli’ – our values statement?” “Yes, I took a photo of it and put it up on my wall of fame”. “And when we got to do ruach with the madrichim – wasn’t that amazing?” “Yes, we just kept wanting it to continue forever”…and so the list will go on. It was a real privilege to attend camp. Perhaps it was a gift from above that we were meant to enjoy ourselves one last time on a camp this year.

Alumni

Zev Shteinman: Machaneh Krembo was an unforgettable experience for me because, as a madrich, it allowed me to share my love of the Hebrew language with the Year 8 students, while also having fun and building connections with them. I don’t get many opportunities to speak Hebrew as none of my family or friends speak it, so it was really refreshing being able to speak Hebrew freely during Machaneh Krembo. Making connections and building friendships with the Year 8 students is something I didn’t think was possible in only two days, however after playing games with them, sitting together during recess and lunch, dancing with them and getting to know them, I can confidently say that I now have many good friends in Year 8.

Josh New: In our current times, it is often hard to find the positives coming out of the global pandemic. However, Machaneh Krembo was definitely one for me! Being able to run the camp, which is usually led by Israeli Madrichim, as an alumnus, was such an awesome experience! I felt so privileged to be a part of the camp, and to lead such an amazing group of Year 8 students. Informal education is a huge passion of mine, and seeing the kids loving the activities we ran for them made it all worthwhile.

Edan Amsalem: Machaneh Krembo was an incredible experience which definitely developed my skills in leadership, teamwork and communication. I truly valued my time with the amazing Year 8 group as a madrich, and I enjoyed observing the students evolve and develop in confidence. Perhaps one of the most rewarding experiences I took away from camp, was observing the Year 8 students create new friendships and develop a sense of משפחה (family) within their Year Group. At the core of Hebrew camp, we endeavoured to cement the foundational learning of Hebrew through enjoyable yet educational games. We also strove to facilitate lasting friendships and resilience amongst the students, which are valuable skills that will see them through future challenges. One of my favourite experiences was helping the students build confidence in learning and utilising Hebrew. At first, they lacked אמונה (faith) in themselves, however, through interactional fun games, I witnessed many students build their Hebrew vocabulary. Thank you to all the Year 8 Hebrew students for making this a special and unforgettable experience.

Year 11 Camp Madrichim

Michael Heymann: I was one of six Year 11 Madrichim at Machaneh Krembo Hebrew camp. I had a great experience spending time with former Emanuel students, Year 11 students, and of course, really getting to know many of the Year 8 students. Although we were not the tanned Israeli madrichim that usually come to Emanuel, I believe we managed to give students a memorable experience in a Hebrew speaking environment. As expected, there were challenges, and I realised the difficulty of trying to be a leader and a friend to the students at the same time. One activity, a trivia game, became quite heated after I had awarded one of the teams an unfair bonus question. However, this demonstrated the students’ willingness to participate, which ultimately led to the camp’s success. Overall, the camp was a very valuable experience for me, and I believe the students learned a lot about each other and Hebrew too.

Year 8 Hebrew students

Jack Goldberg:  מחנה קרמבו was a wonderful experience. I enjoyed every bit like המירוץ לקרמבו ורוח, but my highlight was definitely being a server of the falafel, where I had to greet my customers in Hebrew, take their orders in Hebrew, and make the falafels with generous portions! On this camp I learned patience, teamwork, רוח dances and, of course, I practised my Hebrew. On Thursday night, I found lying under the stars in the Waxman Drive to be really meaningful, as I felt a sense of community and spirituality discovering all of the constellations above. I was really looking forward to this camp and it definitely met my expectations. I would like to thank all the teachers and madrichim who helped prepare and run the camp over these two days. תודה רבה.

Kian Hamburger: מחנה קרמבו היה הפתעה טובה. היו לנו  הרבה פעולות שאהבתי, כמו  משחקים (בעברית) המירוץ לקרמבו ועוד. זה איפשר לי להפוך את העברית למעשית כי השתמשתי בה בצורה מאוד מילולית. זה גרם לי להעריך את העברית יותר. היה גם הרבה כיף! המורים והמדריכים היו נפלאים עם הרבה הבנה, וזה הפך את !!!!מחנה קרמבו לנעים! אני ממש אהבתי את מחנה קרמבו וזה אירוע שאני אזכור! תודה רבה

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Ki Tetsei

Elia Gil-Munzo – Year 11

Ki Tetsei 

This week’s Torah portion, Ki Tetsei, is greatly focused on fairness and equal treatment. It outlines the do’s and don’ts in wartime and everyday life, and how to live ‘ethically’. It states rules on marriage, appropriate clothing materials, measurements and divorce.

What I find particularly interesting are the regulations around not mixing species of plants when farming כלאיים/Kil’ayim, nor wearing different materials שעטנז/Sha’atnez, specifically wool and linen. It poses the question, “is mixing materials unethical?”. Is it wrong of me to wear wool, and to wear linen? Personally, I’m not sure. I would never consciously choose to eat egg and chicken in the same meal so is this instance any different? Much to my own embarrassment, I have done it before – wearing a woollen jumper and leather shoes would have never seemed problematic to me on the surface, however with more consideration I can’t help but feel a bit ‘off’ about it.

Wearing any animal product as clothing is considered to be unethical. Much like the meat industry in which animals are exploited and poorly treated in order to produce food for the masses. So are we wrong in choosing to wear these two animal-made fabrics together or at all? I think we could be. Habits such as passively making choices about food or clothing because it’s convenient or cheap are some of our worst traits – so do we change this in order to benefit animals?

In theory, changing our habits is simple. Eating less meat or none at all and refusing to buy clothing made from animal materials doesn’t sound hard. But is it hypocritical of us to not consider all the factors that may add up to our clothing being unethical? Perhaps the sweat shops involved or the underpaid employees who sold it to you should be considered or the small businesses struggling because of large corporations and their superficially low prices. But at what point does a low price justify our ignorance or the suffering that allowed for our products to be so cheap?

According to our religious obligations, we should deliberate all factors. However, modern day life doesn’t always accommodate this. Granted, our consciousness may be worsted but that’s often the case when choosing something cheap, over something ethical. Living in a climate that places such importance on time and money efficient options, we are somewhat wired to see a low price and jump at it… but I think we should reconsider.

There are movements and companies throughout the globe begging consumers to think about the journey an item of food or clothing took to wind up in front of them. 75,300,000 vegans consciously make the choice every day to stop their contribution to the meat industry and its injustices – if they can avoid animal products daily, I can avoid unethical purchases.

I will strive to carefully consider what I’m putting on my body, in my body and spending my hard-earned money on! Though I will be far from perfect in all my decisions, some steps toward change are better than none.

Judaism asks us to challenge ourselves to consider all the factors that lead to a product landing in your hands, before you eat it, wear it, or purchase it.

Primary School Extra-Curricular activities

Updated Extra-Curricular for Term 3 

We apologise for any disruptions caused by the recent COVID-19 regulation changes which have had an impact on Extra-Curricular and EActive activities. We have been able to revise many of our activities to ensure we are offering a range of activities to students across all stages.

Please see the revised Extra-Curricular (including EActive) timetable below which applies until the end of this term.

Mondays

 Tuesdays

 Wednesdays

Thursdays

Fridays

A Lion with a big heart

Sonia Newell – Development Officer – Alumni & Community Relations

A Lion with a big heart

Mazal tov to Bettina Mucsnik, member of our Gesher Committee

Bettina, whose three children are all Emanuel alumni, was recently awarded the 2020 Coogee Local Woman of the Year Award. She has been a member of Coogee Lions Club for seven years, most of that time as their secretary. She says “being a Lion is different from other clubs – it’s an international organisation recognised throughout the world with a seat on the UN, and aims to help local charities as well as charities intrastate, national and international. Apart from that I was a member of the Emanuel Parents & Friends Committee for over 10 years as secretary when my children were students at the School and I have been a member of the Gesher committee for a number of years now, as a representative of past parents. I was previously also involved with the Parents & Friends at Randwick Public School for several years”.

Online Speaker Series

Please join us on Wednesday 9 September 2020 at 7.30 pm for the second session in our Gesher Online Speaker Series, when we interview alumnus Mitch Burnie (Class of 2011), Manager of Adamama Farm, the first Sydney Jewish urban farm.

Please book here by Monday 7 September 2020. If you have any queries about the event please contact Sonia Newell. 

Surviving the Death Railway

Emanuel parent, Simon Fonteyn, and his brother David, recently donated a rare treasure to the Sydney Jewish Museum (SJM) – their late father Guus Fonteijn’s war diary, written in a water-damaged exercise book and on pieces of tissue paper. Simon and David shared the motivation to translate the diary, written in Dutch, and to give the original to the Sydney Jewish Museum for safe-keeping for future generations to see, to foster more awareness about what Jews went through in South East Asia during World War 2. It was published by SJM’s Community Stories Department in a book called Surviving the Death Railway.  

Remember that September starts next Tuesday

Remember September is about challenging yourself in honour or memory of a loved one. The campaign has raised over $270,000 since it began in 2015 and this year is breaking records and plans to be huge! Over 250 challengers have signed up so far and there is still time to register before September begins. You have four challenge options to choose from. Emanuel alumnus Ben Wilheim, (Class of 2008), founder of this most worthy annual event to raise funds in the fight to find a cure for pancreatic cancer says “we thank the Emanuel School community for past support and hope you will join us again this year – we encourage you to get involved by signing up as an individual, a team of friends or even a family using the Team functionality during registration”.

For more information and to register, visit Remember September here

B’nai B’rith & JNF Jewish Changemaker Awards 2020

Online nominations are now open for these prestigious awards. Emanuel School has so many students both past and present, who volunteer their time to an array of worthy causes/organisations, and who doesn’t love to recognise such wonderful volunteering efforts. Anyone can nominate – parents, staff and even the nominees themselves. It would be amazing to see some of our students and alumni nominated again this year.

Friendship Circle (FC) Walk 2020 – 13 September 2020

Our extended School community has strong connections to FC through a variety of ways including volunteering efforts and/or having children with special needs who attend the amazing events organised by FC for children and young adults of Sydney with disabilities. FC looks forward to our support for this year’s virtual walk on Sunday 13 September 2020.

Register by 5 September 2020 and have your FREE T-shirts delivered to your home. After this date, T-shirts can be picked up from Friendship Circle! 

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

Stay safe and Shabbat Shalom.

Music Matters

Diana Springford – Head of Music

Private Tuition and Infant Strings Program

Links to online forms for Term 4 enrolments and discontinuations

New enrolment requests for private tuition
To discontinue private tuition
To enrol into the Infant Strings Program (ISP)
To discontinue Infant Strings Program (ISP)

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 is today. 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. If your child intends to discontinue, please act swiftly to provide formal notification in advance to avoid being committed to the full term of lessons and liable for fees.

Please contact Matilda Grieve: music@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au if you have any questions about private music tuition.

The schedules for Term 4, 2020 will be created at the end of term and emailed in October. 

Burger Centre and Montefiore Home concert 

Last week a number of our ensembles and choirs took advantage of that brief window in which they could rehearse together to present small performances for the camera. Ben Marshall visited them in rehearsal and took some lovely ‘in rehearsal’ footage of them to present as a streamed concert for our community members who are residents of or visitors at the Burger Centre and the Montefiore Home. The audience was very appreciative, and the concert is now available for parents to watch via the ‘Music Performances’ button on our Parent Portal. Congratulations and thank you to Ben Marshall, to Kira Friedman who edited the footage into a coherent presentation, to Adam Carpenter who initiated and coordinated the event, to Michelle Favero for support and to the following ensemble members and their leaders who took part:

• Junior Chamber Choir – Alice Girle 
• Chamber Trio –  Shaun Warden
• Senior Choir – Daniel Burley
• Junior Jazz Combo – Marty Farrugia
• Advanced Jazz Ensemble –  George Nikolopoulos
• Mendelssohn Chamber Strings –  Leo Novikov

Elizabeth Birrell is leaving us at the end of Term 3

We are sad to announce that Ms Birrell is leaving us at the end of Term 3. She has been offered a very rare opportunity in Primary School boarding at Tutor House in Moss Vale. This is sad for us, but we know this is an opportunity she has been hoping for and will relish and we congratulate her and wish her well. We will miss her beautiful voice, her care for her students, and her fabulous sense of style.

Sarit Michael will be joining us for Term 4

We are very happy that Primary Hebrew will share Morah Sarit with us for Term 4. Thank you! We know her to be a wonderful musician and lovely person who already knows our students very well. She will be teaching Music for P – 6 in Term 4, in addition to her usual Hebrew role. 

MUSIC and COVID

No doubt you have heard that we are no longer allowed to sing together, or play wind instruments together, and we can no longer rehearse in groups that have musicians from different stage groups. This, shall we say, has been very inhibiting for our program and has put spanners in the work of private instrumental lessons, IP, and our ensembles and choirs. We might go into semi-hibernation!

Fortunately, we have a very supportive School and we have some imaginative tutors and conductors, so our hibernation need not be total!

• The School has purchased some fabulous Perspex screens which will allow our singing and wind instrument lessons to proceed. Masks on the people who are not playing or singing add an extra element of protection.
• Our IP tutors are developing some wonderful lesson plans to upskill our young musicians on their rhythm and notation reading, to develop their listening skills, and to get to know how their instrument is used in all sorts of genres of music. We can quite honestly interpret the prohibition on playing together as an opportunity to take time to learn more about notation and listening. With Perspex screens in IP, we can also do masterclass style lessons to keep our attention on instrumental learning.
• Some of our choirs and ensembles are impossible to run ‘as normal’ and have been cancelled, although others are still running and have been modified, with vocalists playing instruments or percussion or rehearsing in different combinations of musicians. Here is an explanation of what each ensemble is doing and members can also expect communication from myself and/or the ensemble conductor. 

Please remember:

• Playing and singing at home is so important. Keep your body, mind and fingers in the game of music – don’t let these skills atrophy!
• Listening is an important part of music learning – take time to get to know your instrument and voice type “from the outside”. For many of us, the music we play on our instrument is totally different to the music we listen to. For example, I listen to Joni Mitchell, but I play the bass clarinet to de-stress (and get better at the bass clarinet). Make a playlist that includes your instrument or voice type used in many different genres – classical, jazz, pop, film, folk music….

Science Week

Jenny Selinger – Head of Science

View from the Kleinlehrer Family Science Building

Aim: To have as much fun with Science as possible in the space of one week in August.

Equipment and reagents: Five sets of quirky puzzles, list of obscure items, citric acid, bicarb of soda, food colouring, water, cornflour, recycled items of which were mostly bottles and paper, metres of sticky tape, plenty of tricky questions, 5 rooms and a zoom and lots of willing and creative students.

Method:

1. Send far too many emails to students every day reminding them of the day’s activity
2. Set up the following:
   Monday: Scavenger Hunt
   Tuesday: Bath bombs
   Wednesday: Model making with recycled materials (thanks tutors!)
   Thursday: House Science Trivia Competition
   Friday: Dress as an Element Day
3. Observe the reactions carefully.  

Results:

Conclusion: The aim was successfully accomplished. A quote from one student: “Why can’t we have Science Week more often?!”

7 Szenes solar system and rocket

10 Meir solar system

10 Szenes microscope

bath bombs 1

bath bombs 2

mercury

potassium

Poems

Space by Myles Cohn

“Where is everyone?
They told me to meet out here
Now I’m stuck in space.

Lots of empty space
I can’t see them getting close
Maybe they forgot.

Should I wait for them
To order? I guess I’ll have
Astronaut ice cream.

They still haven’t come
I should check my phone to see
If I got it wrong.

They said ‘Meet at Space’
I was right and they were – wait
There’s another line.

‘Typo: Air and Space
Smithsonian Museum’
I missed that message.

On my way back home.
It’s a really long way back
Should get an Uber.”

Experiments by Ashley Cohn

I watch the colours swirl and churn
Waiting for it to be my turn
I reach for bottles high and low
Who knows what the results will show

Chemicals burning and bubbling ‘round
The beaker full of light and sound
My fingers tingle and shake in the air
This science feeling I can’t compare

I love the way my goggles feel
Do science forever, it’s a deal!

Science haiku by Ms Lee

A rainbow through glass
Reflect, refract, distortion
Sun rays in water 

Francais Friday

Hilary de Joux – Co-ordinator of French

Year 9 French cooking lesson

A highlight for Year 9 French students is learning to make traditional French crêpes. These light, thin crêpes are made in a shallow fry-pan and flipped once to cook both sides until golden brown and delicious. Crêpes originated in the French region of Brittany in the 12th Century and are a big part of French culture cuisine, and are very popular all over the world.  

Language learning is such a dynamic experience and cultural activities such as cooking make all that vocabulary learning and mastering grammar worthwhile! We all had a lot of fun and they were just delicious. Well done Year 9 – c’était délicieux! Bon appétit!

Here’s a sample of what the students had to say:

• “This was the best lesson ever! Can we do it again next week?”.
• “Crêpe making with my class was such a fun experience. It was great to get a good understanding of how French crêpes are made and furthermore French culture.”
• “I love practical lessons and putting what we have learned into a fun cooking activity was great, thanks Madame!”
• “ I loved making and eating these crêpes. I am definitely going to make them again at home for my family, yum! Can we do this again soon?”
  
  

  Ashley with his crepe

• “It was a good way to learn about proper food in a real life situation doing something relating to real French life”
• “Practical application to learning was really fun and it helped us understand more about French culture”

If you would like to try making our crêpes at home, this extremely simple and very traditional recipe comes highly recommended!

Ingredients

1 cup of plain flour
2 cups of milk
3 eggs

Method

Sift the flour into a bowl. Whisk together in a separate bowl the milk and eggs then add to the flour. Whisk very well until smooth and shiny. Best left in the fridge for an hour or even overnight. 

Add a small knob of butter to your crêpe pan on a medium heat then pour in enough batter for a thin crêpe. Cook for 2 – 3 minutes then turn over, cook a further 1 minute on the second side. 

Bon appétit!

Isabelle crepe making

crepe making Y9 2

crepe making 6

crepe making 5

crepe making 4

Quarantine before ‘Quarantine’ etymology

Sometimes in class we notice the history of French words and their connection to English. Approximately 30% of English words come from French and Latin. This week in a class discussion an interesting connection to the current COVID pandemic was uncovered. In human history, the spread of infectious diseases to mass numbers of people is not uncommon. Smallpox, influenza and the Plague had no medical treatment and no way to prevent or cure these diseases. Word experts at Merriam-Webster explain that the word “quarantine” has both French and Italian influences.

In the late 1400s, English speakers borrowed the French word quarantaine which means “a period of about 40 days”.  Quarante is the French word for the number 40. It is now an English word based on French spelling – with an Italian definition and Latin roots.  

Premier’s Reading Challenge

NSW PRC closes tonight

A pleasing number of students completed entering their reading on the NSW Premier’s Reading website last week. We currently have 60 students who have completed the NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge 2020.  

Hopefully, many more students will complete the Challenge tonight after which the Challenge will close for this year.

Mazal tov to: 

Kindergarten

• Emy Kalinko

Year 2

• Levi Brody
• Balmain Walker

Year 3

• Reina Steiner-Carrion
• Nava Weiss
• Tabitha Masnick

Year 4

• Mirabella Marshall
• Saskia Esra

Year 5

• Cyrus Waldner
• Hannah Fekete
• Aaron Pal
• Lily Foltyn
• Layla Aronstam
• Micah Esra
• Noa Grojnowski
• Jonathan Igra
• Max Pittorino
• Julia Manoy
• Misha Grynberg

Year 6

• Lia McLellan
• Gabriel Pozniak
• Boaz Simhi

Year 7

• Sarah Manoy

Enthusiastic Readers

For those who have completed the NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge and wanted to continue on in an in-house initiative the Enthusiastic Readers, you can take a sheet from the Primary Library and enter your reading and parents initial to confirm entry. The form is either brought to the library or scanned and attached to an email to the Primary Teacher Librarian. This ceases on Monday 31 August 2020, unlike the NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge which closes on Friday 28 August 2020, at midnight.

Mazal tov

Katya Rose Sandy from Kindergarten completed reading 20 books! Mazal tov on this wonderful achievement.

Rashi

Aden Hoenig and Aaron Lemberg

Introducing the Rashi House Captains 

I’m Aden, and I am super excited to be representing the famous Rashi House in the year to come, whether it is through academics or sporting events. As a former Rabinite, I have come to understand that the other Houses are simply inferior to that of Rashi’s might and that we will once again be claiming the Ezekiel Cup for a third time in a row, this year. I am very keen to be running the Rashi House along with Aaron, Ms Lee and of course the Year 12 Rashi Tutor Group who will be maintaining the glory of the House that was set extremely high from our previous House Captains – Dylan Christie and Alex Placek. I am very thankful for this opportunity to represent the House and ensure that, even in these difficult times, Rashi continues to be an awesome House to belong to.

I’m Aaron, and I’m just as excited to take on this role and represent all of Rashi from Year 7 all the way up to Year 12. House spirit and House community are two things that I think are super important and Aden and I strive to create a Rashi House where everyone can feel comfortable and accepted. Rashi House has so many amazing students that excel in aspects of the school ranging from swimming to cross country to discussing Science, trivia and so much more. I am so excited to see this Rashi student body support their peers in everything they do. Sport is a particular interest for me, but I love all of the drama, music and academic aspects too. It’s going to be an awesome year filled with achievements and growth and we can’t wait to embark on this journey with all of those in the mighty Rashi House. 

Term 3 update

Science Week

Weeks 5 and 6 have been the first opportunities for the Houses to claim the first Ezekiel Cup points since the election of the new leadership body. Rashi got off to a promising start with Rashi Year 11 winning the Year Group’s Science Week Trivia with their expertise in the field.

Rashi meet the Mads, Year 11 and the House Captains

On Wednesday, all Rashi Tutor Groups participated in a Year 11 Rashi-run program, where they took part in some fun games, learnt about how they can contribute to the House and what it means to truly be a member of Rashi House. Students watched a video introducing the House Captains and the Year 11 Tutor Group and took part in a Jeopardy-style guessing game of how people looked when they were a baby and what they look like now. They also heard from Charlotte and Aiden in a WIFLE (What I Feel Like Expressing) about what it means to have red hair and how unique it is. On Wednesday at lunchtime, the Houses competed in a Dodgeball Competition run by the Year 11 Sports Va’ad. There were teams from Years 7 – 11 competing and the support for the mighty Rashi House was unmatched as the Houses competed for the first Ezekiel Cup points in a sporting event. While the rivalry was fierce, all Houses portrayed sportsmanship and the dodgeball was a fun activity for all to part-take in. Additionally, Year 10 PASS ran a Futsal competition on Friday with mixed members from all Houses to play other teams in Emanuel. 

Thank you

Aaron and I would like to thank Alex Placek and Dylan Christie for their dedication to the House, particularly in these difficult times. They have been role models to us and will continue to be for the rest of Rashi House. We wish them along with the rest of the cohort the best of luck in the HSC.

Stay in touch

If anyone in Rashi has suggestions for the House, please email Aden Hoenig or Aaron Lemberg.

We look forward to the year to come and representing Rashi!

Follow our House Instagram for updates and banter: therashibunch.

Careers

Claire Pech – Careers Advisor

Job spotlight – Registered Nurse

I get asked a lot about Nursing, by students who are interested in people, the health industry, Science, caring for others, or simply being interested in the hospital setting. Here is a job spotlight looking at salaries, working conditions, hours worked, educational attainment and more.

If you have not set up an account with Study Work Grow, the password is EMS0219.

Popular courses for Nursing are currently at ACU, UTS, Notre Dame and Sydney University:

UNSW

A new Bachelor of Commerce degree has been relaunched in line with industry input. A new Bachelor of Quantum Engineering has also been launched, the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. 

Open Day season 

As always, it is now Open Day Season, so please go online to watch, ask and attend the vast array of Open Days that are currently being held here.

ANU

There is an extensive list of webinars to attend. Even if you are not interested in ANU it will still provide some excellent insights from this number 1 institution. Register for the program here.

Year 13 

For those Year 12 students who are wondering about next year – about the potential of a GAP year, deferring uni options or going early, this website has some excellent insights and articles. It is written by young people, for young people, who have been there only a few years before you. I like it and see a lot of value of connecting with them as an organisation. There is a section on travel here for those wondering about 2021.

Adamama

Wraps for sale

Lisa Starkey – HSIE, Design & Technology Teacher

Beeswax wraps handcrafted by the Sustainability Team 

Working with the the Year 12 Sustainability Committee, we have created some amazing beeswax wraps – a reusable, sustainable alternative to Glad Wrap, plastic and zip-lock bags. The wraps are made from pine resin, jojoba oil and 100% food-safe beeswax. There are some beautiful designs to choose from and you can be the proud owner of one (or more) by ordering here.

All money raised will be donated to the Wheen Bee Foundation, Australia’s only registered not-for-profit charity that promotes awareness of the importance of bees for food security, and raises funds for research that addresses the national and global threats to bees.

The wraps are extremely easy to take care of. All you have to do is gently rinse them with cool water and a touch dishwashing soap and hang them to dry. (Don’t scrub them). They can be used to wrap crackers, snacks, sandwiches, covering bowls, plates and open avocados as an environmentally friendly alternative to plastic wrap.

We hope everyone enjoys the beautiful designs we have lovingly made and feels wonderful about doing something to help our environment!

How to use your beeswax wraps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfRpiSxVdLA

How to collect them: Any students who has purchased a wrap can collect it on Friday 4 September 2020 at lunchtime. There will be a contact free stall outside the Food Lab (Innovation Centre).

Please note: A limited number of wraps are available at this time and will be sold on a first-come-first-serve basis. If you miss out, please email me as we may repeat the project, depending on demand.

Dates for your Diary

Primary School 

Friday 4 September 2020
Dress up as a book character 

Thursday 24 September 2020
Fundraiser supporting The Polished Man – a charity that works to stop violence against children. Wear nail polish and bring in a gold coin.

High School

Monday 31 August – Friday 4 September 2020
Year 11 exams

Monday 31 August 2020
Year 10 Elevate Study Skills presentation

Monday 31 August 2020
Year 9 Brent Sanders presentation

Friday 4 September 2020
Jewish Day Schools Netball Gala Day and AFL Gala Day

Tuesday 8 and Wednesday 9 September 2020
HSC Music Performance Exams

Thursday 10 September 2020
Sports and Extra Curricular Photo Day

Primary and High School

Friday 28 August 2020
Music – Private tuition and Infant Strings Program enrolments
Deadline for new enrolments, notification of changes or intention to discontinue for Term 4 

Tuesday 1 September 2020
P&F meeting via zoom
See From the P&F for details

For the family

Sunday 30 August 2020, 4.00 pm – 5.00 pm
Online Family Trivia 

Sunday 6 September 2020
Father’s Day video
Take a photo with your family on Father’s Day to be part of the Father’s Day @ Emanuel celebration video
See From the P&F for submission details

Wednesday 9 September 2020, 7.30 pm
Online Speaker Series with alumnus, Mitch Burnie of Adamama Urban Farm
RSVP by Monday 7 September 2020

Parents and Friends

Ruby Berkovic & Jen Opit

Hi Everyone,

Online Family Trivia 

Get ready for some Trivia Fun! This Sunday, 30 August 2020, at 4.00 pm, the Parents & Friends and Gesher are holding the School’s first ever Online Family Trivia event. We can’t wait to see you all there!

Parents & Friends meeting

Our next Parents & Friends meeting is this upcoming week on Tuesday 1 September 2020. The meetings are being held on Zoom until restrictions are lifted. Everyone is welcome – the more the merrier! If you are interested in attending let us know so we can advise of the Zoom link on the day and send you the agenda: rubykb@gmail.com

Rosh HaShanah Pen Pal initiative

Emanuel and King David School have combined for various events in the past. We wanted to reach out to the King David School in Melbourne and send their students a message of support as they have been in lockdown and home learning for months. What better way than in time for Rosh HaShanah! A box is being sent to the King David School with an envelope for every student from Years 2 – 6, including a card from one (or two) of our Years 2 – 6 Primary students as well as Rosh HaShanah themed activities. We are hoping the King David School students will write back to our students. Thanks to Justine Hofman for spearheading this incredible initiative and the Emanuel parents who volunteered to stuff envelopes.

Entertainment Books

In case you want to order an Entertainment Book, you can do so here. 

Father’s Day

Our Father’s Day celebrations are always a highlight of the year. Unfortunately, we can’t celebrate in the usual way (Coco Pops and Coffee Carts) but we are still hoping to celebrate together, while apart. On Father’s Day (Sunday 6 September 2020), take a photo with your family (breakfast in bed, a BBQ, going for a walk…anything you want) and email it to us at rubykb@gmail.com by Monday 7 September 2020 so that you can be part of our Father’s Day @ Emanuel celebration video!

Weekend brain teaser

This is one of our all time favourites!

Question: A farmer needs to take a fox, a chicken, and a sack of grain across a river. The only way across the river is by a small boat, which can only hold the farmer and one of the three items. Left unsupervised, the chicken will eat the grain, and the fox will eat the chicken. However, the fox won’t try to eat the grain, and neither the fox nor the chicken will wander off. How does the farmer get everything across the river?

Have a great weekend.

Jen & Ruby

Recipe of the Week

Each week we’ll bring you a tasty recipe passed down by Emanuel families, from the Emanuel School Community Cookbook, The Family Meal. 

From the kitchen of Renee Segal

Warm Potato Salad

Ingredients 

2kg new potatoes (chopped into 2cm pieces)
5 shallots, finely chopped
90ml olive oil
3 tsp wholegrain mustard
3 tsp dijion mustard
3 tsp honey
2 – 3 cloves garlic, crushed
180ml sunflower oil
3 splashes sherry vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
4 – 5 tbsp chopped parsley
4 boiled eggs (if desired)

Directions

Boil the potatoes until cooked.
Mix shallots, olive oil, wholegrain mustard, dijon mustard, honey, crushed garlic, sunflower oil, vinegar, salt, pepper and parsley.
While potatoes are still warm, add the dressing and mix.  This will cook the shallots a little and allow the potatoes to absorb the flavour.
Slice eggs and add to the potato salad.

You can order the Emanuel School Community Cookbook, The Family Meal by contacting rubykb@gmail.com 

Thank you

Thank you to our PSG volunteers over the last fortnight: