From the Principal

Andrew Watt – Principal

The biggest challenge to respectful relationships

Both teachers and parents have a role to play in encouraging children and young people to develop relationships with each other based on mutual respect and equality. Recently, Australian psychologist, Collett Smart, identified pornography as the biggest challenge parents had to overcome when developing respectful attitudes to gender and sexuality.

Exposure to pornography may be more prevalent than you may imagine. In Australia (in 2017), just under half (44%) of children aged 9-16 surveyed had encountered sexual images in the last month. Younger children (those aged 9-12) are particularly likely to be distressed or upset by pornography. The extent and frequency of viewing pornography differs by gender, with males more likely to deliberately seek out pornography and to do so frequently. Attitudes and responses to exposure also vary by gender, with females having more negative views and responses such as shock or distress compared to males, particularly in older teens, who are more likely to experience pornography as amusing, arousing or exciting.

Whilst some children encounter pornography unintentionally, due to its availability online, for others, it has become their primary source of sexual education. Smart warns, “If pornography is not specifically addressed, it is likely to erode young people’s healthy development,” pointing out that many parents discover that their upper primary school or secondary school aged child has accessed porn, so the topic can’t be ignored. A leading parenting expert, Dr Justin Coulson, has provided practical support and resources to parents on this sensitive issue, on the e-safety website. He believes that the hardest part for parents is how to begin a conversation. He suggests some possible ways to start the chat: 

• “I don’t really know what to say, but we have to have a talk about sex and pornography.” 
• ‘” read an article today that said kids are seeing pornography at really young ages. Can I talk to you about it?”  
• “I want to talk with you about one of those awkward topics. Is that OK?” (They rarely say ‘no’, but if they do, respect that, and then set up a time where you can talk.) 

After your child(ren) have agreed to talk with you, the conversation can be tailored, based on parent’s knowledge of their child and their level of maturity and development. Conversation starters include: 

• “Have you heard the word pornography? What do you know about it?’”
• “Do any of the kids at school ever talk about it?” (Questions about your child’s behaviour may be too confronting, so asking about their peers feels safer.) “What do they say?”
• “Have you ever seen it?” If they have seen it, ask: “Did someone show it to you? Or did you find it yourself?” Try to find out what you can about how they found it and why they were searching for it. 
• If you know your child has been exposed to (or is viewing) pornography, it is better to say, “When I found you looking at pornography the other night…” rather than, “Have you seen pornography?”
• If they have seen it, reassure them they are not in trouble. Ask: “When you saw it, how did it make you feel?” Discuss those feelings.  
• Depending on your child’s questions and maturity, you may wish to discuss issues related to ‘consent’, ‘intimacy in close relationships’, and ‘respect’.
• Check if your child has other questions or if you have explained things enough for them. 
• Let your child know that any question is OK to ask — nothing is off limits. This is true even when you might have to send them to someone else to find the answers. 
• If you don’t know the answer to one of their questions, tell them you will find out. Then use it as an opportunity to have another talk. 

For those parents requiring more detailed advice, the following website will be useful.

Year 12 Music HSC Showcase 2020 

On Monday afternoon, a limited staff audience were permitted to watch the showcase live, whilst parents, relatives and other supporters of our performers enjoyed the show via livestream webinar. Fortunately, the live-streaming of the showcase went without a hitch and the audience enjoyed a wide range of high-quality composition, vocal and instrumental performances. The showcase also served as an excellent dress rehearsal for the HSC performance assessment, conducted over the following two days. Our congratulations to our Year 12 Music 1 and Music 2 performers:

• Miriam Itzkowitz
• Jemma Bennett
• Talia Blackman
• Rebekah Goldsworthy
• Amber Langman
• Nate Spielman

Thank you to our peripatetic staff, who serve our students so well, and our teachers (and accompanists), Daniel Burley and Diana Springford.

Year 11 Drama Showcase

 A live audience of Year 11 and 12 students and our live-streamed audience of parents and supporters were treated to an entertaining and often humourous series of group and individual performances. It was pleasing to note approximately 70% of our Year 11 cohort turned up to support their peers – impressive! The potential and talent of this drama group shone through and the evening was enjoyed by all. Mazal tov to Saskia Auerbach, Dean Reuveny, Sophie Sawicki, Tara Linker, Jessica Lowy, Charlotte Lyons, Ariella Tracton and Liat Granot. Many thanks also, to Samantha Bauer, for her wonderful work with our Drama students.

Netball Grand finals

Our Year 7/8 netball team defeated Moriah 26-9, in the finals of the Sydney Schools Cup. It was a strong team performance and we congratulate each player on their victory. With so little sport permitted due to COVID-19 restrictions, it was exciting to again engage in a district inter-school sport competition. Thank you to Kristy Genc and Cathy Evans Birrell.

Director of Finance and Operations

After flagging her intention to retire in June, Jillian McCormick generously agreed to stay on, to support our School through our COVID-19 journey. Her strong knowledge, skillset and work ethic has helped us immensely, as we negotiated the financial uncertainties, and we are very grateful.

I am pleased to announce that Mario Torresan has been appointed as our new Director of Finance and Operations, commencing on 16 November. Mr Torresan is a highly qualified and experienced leader within the Finance sector. He has held a range of CFO and COO roles, in the Not-For-Profit sector, including Australian Hearing, Aquarius Aged Care and UNICEF Australia. Mario has worked recently as Director of Finance and Technology at Montefiore Aged Care. We are looking forward to his contribution to our Business Office and, more broadly, as a member of our Strategic Advisory Team. We will have opportunity to formally thank Jillian prior to her departure. 

Mazal tov

Congratulations to Alexander Placek, Year 12, who was recently awarded the AICES Colours Award for his outstanding achievement in Tennis. This award is only given to those senior students who qualify for AICES teams and represent at CIS. Well done Alex. 

Quote of the week

“Everything negative – pressure, challenges – is all an opportunity for me to rise.”
Kobe Bryant

From the Head of Jewish Life

Rabbi Daniel Siegel – Head of jewish Life

May you live until…

There is a Jewish tradition to bless someone upon his/her birthday with the words:
עד מאה ועשרים /Ad me’ah ve-esrim – “Until 120 (years)”.

Antediluvian humans, as presented by the Bible, lived for hundreds of years. Metushelach, the grandad of all, reaching 969 years! However, approaching the onset of the Flood, God declares “My breath shall not abide in the human forever, since he too is flesh his days shall be 120 years”.

Thereafter, the only biblical personality who is recorded as living until 120 years is Moshe (though some lived longer). In our parashah, Moshe tells the people:

“Today, I am 120 years…and the Lord has said to me ‘You shall not cross the Jordan (into the Promised Land)’ “.

Perhaps, it is from our parashah that the joke originated: “What do you say to someone on their 120^th birthday”? – “Have a nice day!” Not long thereafter, we are told: “And Moshe was 120 years old when he died”.

120 years appears to represent having attained the fulness of years. When the Bible tells us that Moshe died at 120, it adds “his eyes were undimmed and his vigour unabated”. Why then could he not exceed 120 years?

A little-known midrash says that the word “too” (בשגם/be-shagam) in the phrase “he too is flesh” is the numerical equivalent of the word Moshe. The Rabbis, like the biblical author(s) were concerned lest Moshe be deified. The greatest of men cannot outlive his humanity.

But, as Moshe stood upon the summit of Mount Pisgah, surveying the entirety of the promised Land, he understood that his vision would live on in his legacy. 120 years and yet millenia.

Ma Koreh

Adam Carpenter – Head of Jewish Life Primary

Knowing You Changes Me

This term for part of their Hebrew lessons, Year 5 collaborated with the Knowing You Changes Me project. We joined the Year 5 teachers in their annual project and every student in Year 5 prepared a presentation in Hebrew which they delivered in front of their Year Group talking about themselves, their families and their hobbies.

Here are some samples of the work created.

 Nitsavim-VaYelekh

Aaron Lemberg – Year 11

Nitsavim-VaYelekh

Parashat Nitsavim-VaYelekh talks strongly about God’s promise to the Israelite tribes and the consequences for the tribes of Israel if they were to worship the idols like that the people of the land that they are about to enter do. The parashah goes further in speaking about this wandering astray from the path of God when it talks about the punishments such as the curses described in this book of Devarim, and the removing of one’s name from heaven.

It then talks about the great benefits of following the path of and establishing a people for God by following his covenant that he had sworn to the Fathers of the nation: Avraham, Yitzhak and Ya’akov.

This may not relate entirely to everyone, as not everyone follows the Torah down to the last letter, but it is certainly relatable when you apply it to the current day question that I took from the reading of this parashah: “Must we only do good in order to achieve our goals?”

Keeping on a straight path in order to achieve your goals has been a moral question of mine for as long as I can remember. Is it right to achieve high accolades if you have put others down and cheated to get there? Is it ok to be in a high position in business if your business is run unethically? Is it OK to gain social status if you are gaining it by doing something bad?

All of these questions are questions that I still struggle with and also have a strong link to this week’s parashah which talks about these questions in terms of God and the Jewish people. These questions are questions that I urge us to think more about whether in relation to ethical work practices, friendships that we value and also in relation to our Judaism and God.

Primary

Katie Brody – Director of Studies K – 6

Reporting on student progress

This week saw the first of our Semester 2 Parent Teacher Nights via Zoom and the second evening will take place next week. Teachers and parents all worked together to transition between the virtual meeting rooms and it was certainly a different experience via the Zoom platform. I am keen to acknowledge our truly indefatigable teachers who spent many hours preparing for the meetings. They sat in their homes or in their classrooms conducting up to 20 or more sessions throughout the evening. This exemplifies the dedication and commitment of our remarkable team.

At the end of next term, a written school report will be provided that communicates the academic progress of each student and their approach to learning in Semester 2. The report format will return to the original version rather than the format provided at the end of the first semester, so the comparison between the two reports will not be as clear cut. As parents will recall, the Semester 1 report reflected our period of home learning during the COVID-19 lockdown in NSW and it did not include as much specificity as will be found this time around. We look forward to presenting this formal report and in 2021, a new Primary School report format will further refine the way we communicate progress and students’ next steps.

Reading through a child’s report, many parents scan down the page, checking the list of outcomes to see where the ticks are each positioned in terms of being on grade level, below or above. Concern can arise, when one or more ticks is positioned in the same column as the previous semester, as parents may think that it indicates stagnation instead of progress. Similarly, some parents are alarmed when their child is achieving the equivalent of a ‘C’ grade as many of us grew up thinking that an ‘A’ grade is the truer attainment of success. Though these misperceptions are reasonable given our childhood experience of grades, they are not accurate in terms of national requirements in Australia today and given the disruption felt across the world this year, it is even less valid in 2020.

Achieving a ‘C’ (‘Grade Level Achievement’) in a school report, for most students should be celebrated, as the student has elucidated the attainment of the requirements of each syllabus outcome at their grade level. The suggestion that a student is underperforming if they achieve the ‘C’ grade, and maintains this grade from one semester to the next is a misperception, as it doesn’t recognise that from semester to semester the content builds in complexity and application. When a student is awarded the same grade as in their previous report, it reflects that they have indeed made progress in line with the syllabus expectations, and that with the greater complexity, they have maintained a level that is commensurate with their grade, which is impressive. Any higher grade than a ‘C’, implies that the attainment level is beyond the expected grade level and should be celebrated as equally as a ‘C’ if that reflects the level of effort and ability of the student. Working towards achieving a ‘B’ or an ‘A’ grade requires tenacity, intrinsic motivation and curiosity, and may also require above average or high intellectual aptitude. The learning environment both at school and at home also impacts progress, as well as a myriad of other social and emotional factors at different ages and stages of development. It is important to note that even at Stage One level, (Year 1 and 2), students can achieve a ‘B’ or an ‘A’ if their attainment of grade level knowledge, understanding and skills and their ability to competently apply this to new situations, is extensive. 

It is a national requirement that school reports must include a five point grade scale for each subject studied, clearly defined against specific learning standards. Schools can use any terms that reflect the A – E Common Grade Scale and at Emanuel, we currently use, ‘Advanced Achievement’, ‘High Level Achievement’, ‘Grade Level Achievement’, ‘Developing Achievement’ and ‘Experiencing Difficulty’ to reflect the standard (or quality) of achievement associated with each grade. Below is a table that explains this national standard and some links to the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) and the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). 

For more information, visit the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) and the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) website.

Ooshies – not at school please

As of Monday 14 September students will not be allowed to bring Ooshies to school. We would ask that you please remind your child of this over the weekend and ensure that these toys remain at home from now on. Thank you in advance for your support.

Kornmehl

Terry Aizen – Director of Kornmehl

Rosh Hashanah

We have immersed ourselves in the beautiful festival of Rosh Hashanah. Sadly, we are not able to blow the shofar during this time of COVID at Pre-school. Despite this the children do know about the sounds that the Shofar makes and that we blow the Shofar to wake up our minds and bodies and to think and reflect on our actions and behaviours during the month of Elul.

The children have been learning about the different types of apples and drawing them from close observation. The children did a mindfulness experience using apples and honey. They were given time to engage their senses of touch, smell, taste and feel, to enable them to slow down and be present in the moment. It was a challenge at times not to bite straight into the apple, but they all rose to it. There were also other learning opportunities along the way, for example maths concepts such as fractions were being explored as the whole apple was cut in half. How many halves make a whole? Cut again and you have quarters. It was a magic moment to discover the star shape inside the apple. How did this happen? Was it the way the apple was cut? Overall this was a very tasty, mindful and festive experience… Apples dipped in honey for Rosh Hashanah… A sweet new year, a good new year… Apples dipped in honey for Rosh Hashanah.

We have focused particularly on drawing and learning about bees and where honey comes from. We realise that young children learn best through interactive and hands-on experiences, where they can use all their senses and a variety of mediums. With this in mind, we expose the children to learning in many different ways. A number of experiences were provided enabling the children to use different languages to represent their knowledge and understanding about bees. A sorting, counting and fine-motor experience was set up in the shape of a beehive. The children used tweezers to place balls of nectar in the hive.

At another table, an assortment of materials was provided to make bee puppets using cellophane, sticks, paper and pipe cleaners. Later in the day the puppets were used to sing a little rhyme…

Here is the beehive, but where are the bees, hiding away where nobody sees
Watch them come creeping, out of the hive, one, two, three, four and five

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Gavin came in his beekeeper suit and explained to us the differences between European bees and native bees. Gavin taught us so much about how bees operate: the way that they gather the nectar, how they make wax and form it into cells into which they lay their eggs. We learnt about how he uses a smoker to distract the bees when he gathers the honey from the hive. He explained how you can tell the difference between a male and female bee; the male has huge eyes which he uses to search for the Queen bee.  

We learnt about the medicinal properties of propolis for healing the stings and some other ailments too. We also learnt that bees hate the smell of bananas and that the best way to remove a sting is to scratch it off with your nails. He spoke about putting ice, vinegar, garlic, onion, orange, lemons on the sting to neutralise the poison as well. 

The information was diverse and interesting, and each segment was interspersed with an activity for the children to engage in; smelling the wax, handling the smoker, dancing a bee dance and finally tasting some of the delicious honey and honeycomb. We were also lucky enough to watch Gavin split a stingless beehive into two and install a stingless beehive in our Pre-school garden. We will be able to watch the bees making small quantities of honey.

Installing a Stingless Native Beehive into our Pre-school will enable children to safely explore, engage, learn and experience close up the social behaviours of bees, and gain an awareness of the impact of human activity on the environment and the interdependence of living things. It will teach and plant an animal/insect interaction, help to increase biodiversity of our environment and bees will pollinate our vegetable garden. This is a great program to encourage children to have respect for our environment by understanding how important our bees are for pollinating Australia’s wildflowers and how their small size enables them to reach pollen in tiny flowers that bigger trees cannot reach. We will also be able to link our learning to the benefits of using honey for medicinal qualities and we will be aiding the conservation of the native bee.  The keeping of stingless bees is easy and does not require any special expertise, equipment or maintenance. The Australian native bees are stingless and therefore pose no threat to people and will not cause an allergic reaction.

This project resonates and connects deeply with our Kornmehl Philosophy: “Our engagement with the outdoors empowers children to connect with nature, facilitating their social, spiritual, physical, intellectual and emotional learning. We encourage an awareness of environmental responsibilities and implement practices that contribute to a sustainable future”. 

National Child Protection Week

National Child Protection Week has been coordinated by NAPCAN, (National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect), with the support of the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. This year we are celebrating 30 years with the theme ‘Putting Children First’.

The campaign aims to engage and educate all Australians to understand they have a part to play in keeping our children and young people safe from violence, abuse and neglect.

NAPCAN works to promote the safety and wellbeing of children and young people. “Protecting children is everyone’s business”.

National Child Protection Week is a wonderful opportunity for everyone in the community to think about how we can work together to keep all children safe. 

Importantly, we want to remind everyone that:
• We ALL have a part to play in protecting ALL children
• Even small actions can help to improve a child’s future
• By building stronger communities, we are creating safer environments for our children 

How can I start playing my part to protect children today (and every day!)?
• Be a good role model for children
• Be kind to children, parents (and yourself!)
• Take the time to really listen to children and believe them if they tell you something
• Learn about what help services are available so you can support others if they need help
• Don’t judge other parents and families; remember that we’re all trying our best
• Look out for all children, not just your own
• Be a friendly, helpful member of your local community
• Don’t be afraid to ask for help or to ask someone if they need help

Teachers play their part to protect and care for children and young people in their community by building relationships with their students and showing that they respect and value them.

Parents play their part to protect and care for children and young people in their community by showing how to have respectful relationships.

High School Sport

Kristy Genc – Head of Sport, PDHPE Teacher, Year 12 Tutor

High School Sport achievements

AICES Tennis Colours

Congratulations to Alexander Placek, Year 12, who was recently awarded the AICES Colours Award for his outstanding achievement in Tennis. This award is only given to those senior students who qualify for AICES teams and represent at CIS. Well done Alex!

Alexander Placek – Year 12

Netball news

The Sydney Schools Cup inter-school Netball competition came to a conclusion this week. The Emanuel Year 7/8 team played in the grand final against Moriah College on Tuesday afternoon at Emanuel. After being undefeated all term, the Emanuel team went in as strong favourites and won the game convincingly 26 – 9. Gabriella Freed’s consistent shooting was outstanding, leading the team to take control of the match early on.

Well done to Ruth Durbach, Gabriella Freed, Ashleigh Gold, Leah Grunseit, Franki Kulansky, Mia Levin, Alice Milner, Abby Sarraf, Alyssa Simmons and Ashley Urbach on a great season. 

Last Friday, three Emanuel Netball teams competed at the Jewish Day Schools inter-school competition. It was pleasing to see the high level of interest in Netball from the Year 7/8 students and all teams competed with great skill and enthusiasm on the day, despite the gloomy weather conditions. The Year 8 Emanuel Maroon team was undefeated on the day, but unfortunately the event was washed out with two rounds to play. Well done to all those involved.

AFL news

The Emanuel Year 7/8 AFL team competed at the Jewish Day Schools inter-school competition last week. This team had made great improvements in recent weeks under the guidance of Stuart Taylor and played very well on the day. Ethan Hirst was a stand out, leading the team to qualify for the grand final against Moriah. Unfortunately the boys lost the final despite amazing efforts by all.

Well done to Jack Goldberg, Joshua Gordan, David Hakim, Ethan Hirst, Aiden Kanevsky, Alexander Kirievsky, Jonah Lemberg, Ben Maserow, Zak Michalson, Koby Michel, Samuel Owen, Levi Pager, Gideon Pozniak, Jasper Selinger and Marcus Tsimbler. 

Year 7/8 AFL Team

Aiden Kanevsky – Year 8

Time for change

Changes to Ma Nishma

Last term we asked for your input into the design and content of Ma Nishma. We received a fantastic response of almost 300 people – thanks for all your pointers and suggestions. 

Look out for these changes:

1. The three tiles on the right-hand side of the landing page now provide information on what’s happening the following week, further on in the term and advice about “who, where and what?” 

2. A roster ensures that least one High School House article will be included each week.

3. Each month you’ll find an interview with a staff member. This week you’ll be transported into the life and times of Year 6 teacher, Eamon Lukins. His advice for students – tie your shoelaces!

4. You’ll find social media buttons added to the top of the landing page which will seamlessly connect you to The Principal’s Instagram page watt.s_up_at_Emanuel as well as our Facebook and LinkedIn pages. If you are not yet a member of these pages, you’re missing out on insights into what’s happening at school each day. Please remember to change your Instagram account to ‘private’ in order to join Andrew Watt’s page.

5. Where possible, articles will be shorter and punchier (we have so much to tell you that this one may take a while to implement).

6. You’ll find a collection of interesting community events and activities advertised at the end of Ma Nishma, next to the Recipe of the week. 

Each week we receive stats on who’s reading what. We’re going to continue to provide more of what you love and less of what you don’t. We’ll report back again soon. 

In the meantime, try out the recipe in this week’s edition and enjoy the taste test.

Shabbat shalom

Michelle Favero
Manager, Marketing and Communications

Business Boost

Boost your business

We’re always on the look-out for ways to further connect the Emanuel Community. We know that for many it’s harder than ever to find new and targeted channels to advertise your business.

We have developed a free online advertising platform called Business Boost for Emanuel parents, grandparents and alumni to promote their businesses within our community. Some of you may remember the concept from many years ago – this time it’s online, easy to navigate and even easier to advertise.

To add your business details to this free platform, simply click on the link and answer a few questions. You can even include your logo and a special offer for ‘Emanuel-ites’.  

We’d love to launch Business Boost in the new term – all it takes is a click and a few minutes of your time.

Questions? Email mfavero@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au.

Michelle Favero, Business Booster

Music Matters

Diana Springford – Head of Music P-12

HSC Music Showcase and Practical Examination

Six of our Year 12 students are breathing a sigh of relief with the performance component of their Music HSC now completed. On Monday evening we held our annual HSC Music Showcase, streamed via Zoom, followed by the HSC performance examinations over the following two days. Congratulations to Jemma Bennett, Amber Langman, Talia Blackman, Rebekah Goldsworthy, Miriam Itzkowitz and Nathaniel Spielman for their hard work and high-quality performances. I would like to thank our regular private music tutors whose expertise has over the years prepared the students for their HSC performances. Having completed the practical component of their Music HSC, including Viva Voce, and having submitted their compositions, these students now have only a written examination to complete during the normal HSC examination period. Good luck to you all!

Jemma Bennett

Amber Langman

Talia Blackman

Rebekah Goldsworthy

Miriam Itzkowitz

Nathaniel Spielman

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 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. 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. 

Bring your own mask to Music, please!

We are asking all our Music students in the following groups to please bring their own reusable masks. To make our practices as COVID safe as possible, we are ensuring that, if there is a person singing or playing a wind instrument in a room, that they are behind one of our fabulous Perspex screens and everyone else in the room is wearing a face mask. If you bring your own it’s more comfortable, stylish, and there is less environmental waste.

• IP wind groups
• Years 7 – 8 Music classes
• Years 9 – 12 Elective Music Classes

Bring your own ear-pods or headphones to Music, please!

We are asking all of the following Music students to please keep a set of their own ear-pods or headphones in your laptop cases. We would prefer them to be wired rather than wireless (Bluetooth) as the lag with the wireless option is difficult with music. We want to be extra COVID-safe by avoiding the sharing of headphones. 

• Years 7 – 8 Music Students
• Years 9 – 12 Elective Music Students

Tie your shoelaces!

Eamon Lukins – Year 6 Teacher

Each month, we find out more about a nominated staff member. 

SPOTLIGHT ON … EAMON LUKINS

What is your role at Emanuel School?

I teach Year 6 Yad Mordechai and am responsible for overseeing the Year 6 Student Leadership program for 2020. This involves supervising and managing students across the School to promote, develop and achieve independence and leadership skills that will be used throughout their life. 

How long have you been at Emanuel School?

I started at Emanuel school in Term 3, 2019 taking over for Hugo Adrian. As of this moment I have been here for one year and five weeks! (Interesting note: My partner attended the school and graduated as head Madricha in 2006, so I feel like I have a close connection to the School even though I have only been here for a short time.)

What do you enjoy about working here?

I love the staff, students and community at Emanuel. The core values of the School are clearly reflected in every facet of Emanuel life. Everyone is supportive and helpful and everyone laughs at my jokes (even the corny ones!).

What have you learnt about yourself at Emanuel?

Upon reflection, my time at Emanuel has shown me that I can trust myself to make the right decisions in the right moments. 

What is your favourite memory?  

My favourite memory of Emanuel has to be the 2020 Year 6 Canberra trip where I got to know and learn about the Year 6 students in a setting outside of the school environment. One such moment that still makes me smile with pride was during a soccer game when a student missed the ball which resulted in a goal. Students from both teams immediately rushed in to provide support and positive reinforcement to the student who missed the kick. This moment is a true representation of the Emanuel School spirit and the kindness that is nurtured here, it makes me proud to be a teacher. 

What do you do to unwind/ what do you enjoy doing outside school hours?

I love to play Oztag with my old school friends as well as spend time with my daughter (Neave) at the park. We like painting and listening to music.

What song do you know all the lyrics to?

I know all the lyrics to The Holy Grail by Hunters and Collectors. Though I could also probably do justice to Wakka Wakka by Shakira thanks to the Year 6 students. 

Do you have a hidden talent and if so, what is it?

I love painting and drawing. 

What do you wish you could tell your 12 year old self?

Keep doing what you’re doing and it will be great!

If you could pass on any wisdom to your students, what would you share?

Be proactive and tie your shoelaces! Nothing in life is quite as enjoyable and reassuring as having firm footing and confidence in your next steps.

Eamon Lukins and his family

Let’s innovate

Primary Virtual Innovation Festival

Friday 28 August 2020 was a big day for Emanuel primary students. We had our very first Virtual Innovation Festival! As an IT and Innovation Leader, I got to have hands-on experience doing some of the experiments. I also got to be a part of the Innovation showcase video, which was really exciting.

We started the day watching a video prepared for us by the founder of FLEET; a company that develops low energy technology. This gave us an insight into what a career in Innovation might look like. We also watched the Emanuel Primary Innovation Showcase video, which highlighted what each Year Group has achieved in IT and Innovation this year. It was amazing to see how much we have been able to learn despite this year’s challenges.

Afterwards, we zoomed with Vivasha Govinden, the Outreach Officer from CSIRO’s STEM Professionals in Schools. She is a PhD student at UNSW who works closely with FLEET. Vivasha and her team talked us through the science behind each of the experiments they led.

 The first experiment we did was called ‘The Walking Rainbow’. To make this at home, you need:

• 5 clear glass or plastic cups
• A drop each of red, yellow and blue food colouring
• 4 paper towels

The first cup is filled with water and a drop of red food colouring. The third cup is filled with water and yellow food colouring. The fifth cup is filled with water and blue food colouring. The second and fourth cups are empty. Using a paper towel, you make a ‘bridge’ – fold it so it arches from a cup with water to an empty cup. Repeat this with the other paper towels. When you’ve finished, you can move this experiment to the side, and come back to it in a few minutes. Over time the paper towel absorbs the coloured water from one cup and drips it into the next. The colours mix and we eventually see a walking rainbow. The longer this is left for, the more the cups will even out.

IT2

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The next experiment is a well-known one. Called ‘Marbled Milk’, this experiment uses food colouring, milk, dish soap (not the foamy kind) and a cotton tip or something of the sort. This experiment is best done in a shallow dish, but I’m sure you can use a bowl or another vessel. To do this experiment, you put a few drops of food colouring in the milk and some soap on the cotton tip. Using the soapy cotton tip, you tap the surface of the milk. The food colouring is there for you to see the chemical reaction. The soap repels the fat molecules in the milk and if you continue to touch the milk in more places, it will eventually get ‘marbled’ – hence the name. The STEM professionals explained to us that this is how soaps and detergents remove dirt from our dishes, hands and surfaces as well.

The next two experiments are very similar. They both use the same sort of science – the appearing coin and the switching arrow. First we put a coin into a bowl and then we all had to step back until we could no longer see the coin inside the bowl. Then we filled the bowl with water and once the water level was high enough, the coin became visible. This is because of the refraction of light through water. Next, we drew an arrow on a piece of paper and then we put a glass of water in front of our drawn arrow. When we move the arrow backwards and forwards, the arrow changes direction. This is also because of refraction.

My favourite experiment was the walking rainbow. If you add another empty cup, you can create purple (my favourite colour) and it’s really cool to watch, especially if you time-lapse it and watch the video after! I would have loved to make lava lamps too, but sometimes you just don’t have the time. It is so great that we got the chance to watch videos of the experiments we missed out on though, I look forward to trying some of these at home.

All in all, the Innovation Festival was a great chance to see some cool experiments, learn about the science behind them and understand what it would look like to study Innovation at university. The STEM professionals were so knowledgeable and passionate about these experiments and were able to relate them to our real lives so easily.

Despite COVID-19 and all the restrictions that came with it, we still managed to put together a really incredible event. Thanks to the STEM professionals, Ms Nanwani and all the other teachers involved. Emanuel Primary had a super colourful, scientific day and I know many of us felt very inspired by it all.

By Noa Rosenzveig, Ezra Glover-Saunders, Noah Vexler, Lia McLellan, Ben Vernik, Dylan Vitek and Jacob Solomon
Year 6 IT and Innovation Leaders

Primary extra-curricular

We apologise for any disruptions caused by the recent COVID-19 regulation changes which have had an impact 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 timetable below which applies until the end of the term.

Mondays

Tuesdays

Wednesdays

Thursdays

Fridays

Starry night

Sonia Newell – Development Officer – Alumni & Community Relations

Reaching for the stars

Who doesn’t like to look up to our skies at night-time and wonder about the star formations? Alumnus Max Guerry (Head Madrich, Class of 2008) who has an older sister Eve (Head Madricha, Class of 1998) who is a current parent, has been living in Canada for a number of years where he is not only an avid skier, he also has a passion for star gazing. He says: “I took up this hobby largely with this image in my mind. It was the number one astronomical target I wanted to capture. I don’t exactly know why. Among the thousands of stunning objects out there this one speaks to me more than anything else. Wells Gray Provincial Park in central British Columbia is renowned for its dark skies, which are becoming all too rare. I spent three nights camping there last week with the goal of capturing M31, The Andromeda Galaxy. It rained the first and last nights. The middle night however was a stunner and yielded the image I had desired. Here is our largest neighbour galaxy in all its stellar glory. Please check out my astro page for more shots like this one and plenty more to come.”

Historical trivia

Emanuel grandparent Peter Philippsohn OAM is President of The Australian Jewish Historical Society (AJHS NSW). In Times Gone By is a podcast series launched last week by the AJHS in conjunction with the Jewish News (AJN) and will profile amazing and groundbreaking personalities and developments in Australian Jewish life, dating back to the First Fleet. You can listen to the first podcast which features three colourful Jewish convicts of the 19^th century including Edward Davis, aka ‘Teddy, the Jewboy’, the only known Jewish bushranger on the Australian mainland. 

September started last 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 said: “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 www.RememberSeptember.org.au

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

Nominate online 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. Nominations must be received no later than Monday 16 November 2020.

Friendship Circle (FC) Walk 2020 – two days to go!

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 Sunday’s virtual walk.

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

Stay safe and Shabbat Shalom.

Drama

Samantha Bauer – Head of Drama and Year 12 Tutor

Year 9 Drama students are EPIC!

This term, Year 9 Drama students studied Epic Theatre – a style of performance that aims to expose the flaws within society and provoke audiences to make change. They wrote, directed and performed their work in front of their peers – who were very entertained, as was I. Their work explored issues such as religions, gender, homelessness, mental illness and societies expectations of growing up and being a teen in 2020. They are to be congratulated on their extremely insightful and dynamic performances. Well done Year 9!

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Careers

Claire Pech – Careers Advisor

Announcements for Year 12 

This week we have some positive announcements for Year 12 in light of admissions and COVID-based admission changes.

I have been posting each week about new changes that are coming to light:

UNSW – Bonus points

UNSW have made some great changes for Year 12s to ease their admission process.

They are now awarding FIVE bonus points for a Band 6 in certain subjects including Advanced Maths, Advanced English and their respective Extension subjects. This was always capped at three. To research specific courses and see the respective bonus points please click here and to find more about the scheme please click here.

Engineering has also dropped from 93 to 91 as a selection rank. The accumulation of added up adjustment factors (bonus points) has been increased from 10 to 12. All extra curricular achievements that need to have added in adjustment factors need to be applied for here.

UTS – Early Entry Scheme

UTS have now opened up their Early Entry Scheme (SRS) to include an access pathway for students affected by COVID-19 (nearly everyone!). This can be done via two ways. Firstly, students should apply for SRS (a simple two minute application via their UAC link). 

They have also announced that if family finances have been affected by COVID-19 (usually Jobkeeper and Jobseeker) students can apply for the Education Access Scheme seeking long term disadvantage.

Macquarie University – AEP (Academic Education Program)

This is a scheme that is underway at Macquarie University – for entry into courses when the ATAR will not reach the requirement. Rather than having to get an 80 ATAR for an 80 course, Macquarie University will look at individual HSC results to match them up to the course. For example a Bachelor of Commerce degree requires high English Advanced and Mathematics Advanced results as per diagram below:-

More information can be found here.

For anyone who loves Career Quizes, this is an easy quiz and slightly superficial look at personalities and careers. My results were fairly accurate and it said “You may be suited to a profession that allows you to communicate your ideas and help and guide others”. It is run through UNSW Arts and Social Sciences and is free. Click here for the quiz.

Basketball trials

Indiana Faithfull – Head of Basketball

Term 4 Basketball trials 

In Term 4 we will be entering Emanuel Basketball teams into the East Basketball League (EBL). Games will be played each Sunday throughout Term 4 and trainings will occur during the week at Emanuel School.

Trials for the Term 4 season will occur in Week 9 and at the following times:

• Year 11 Basketball trials – Monday 14 September 2020: 6.45 am – 8.00 am in the MPH
• Years 7 and 8 Basketball trials – Wednesday 16 September 2020: 3.45 pm – 5.00 pm in the MPH (during 3v3 Basketball)
• Years 9 and 10 Basketball trials – Thursday 17 September 2020: 3.45 pm – 5.00 pm in the MPH (during 3v3 Basketball)

Term 4 expectations

• Students must attend all trainings and games
• Students must be on time (at least 15 minutes before tip-off on game days)
• Students should attend trainings with an eagerness to listen, learn and want to improve
• Students must email any absences or clashes with commitments to Mr Faithfull prior to the event
• Students must wear the appropriate uniform
• Students must behave in a way that appropriately represent the Emanuel Sports Program, School and greater community.

Go green

How to replace household objects with more environmentally friendly and sustainable products

Hi everyone, this week’s article will be about how to replace household objects with more environmentally friendly and sustainable products. There are many different ways to replace items around your house with their eco-friendlier counterparts, and fortunately, many are super quick and easy. This week’s article will cover three steps you can take to create a more sustainable household!

Let’s begin by looking at how plastic grocery bags can be easily replaced by organic cotton, reusable bags. Reusable mesh produce bags replace the single-use plastic bags that you see when buying fresh fruit and veggies, bread, bulk food and more. If you wanted to continue using these bags, an environmentally friendly option is to keep them and reuse them when shopping in the future. These bags could also be used at a farmer’s market, fruit and veggie store, bakery, or any other food store. There are several places from which you could buy alternatives to single-use plastic bags – for example, a company called Biome sells reusable, mesh, organic cotton bags. Biome offers a wide variety of bags all at very low prices (and they also sell biodegradable trash bags)!

Cleaning products are some other household objects that can be replaced by more sustainable items. Cleaning products can lead to pollution and waste. Volatile organic compounds (VOC) in cleaning products can affect indoor air quality and contribute to outdoor smog. Another minor side effect of cleaning products is increasing carbon emissions due to transportation in trucks and other forms of transport. By replacing these cleaning products with natural, non-toxic products, we are able to efficiently clean bathrooms, kitchens and other areas of a house, whilst limiting pollution and waste. A company named Nourished Life sells cheap, environmentally friendly, cleaning products that can tackle nasty stains, calcium build-up, soap scum and limescale, but gentle enough to be used safely around young children. Alternatively, you can subscribe to a company like Zero Co. which makes the packaging for their cleaning products out of recycled plastic and will accept empty packaging to recycle, refill and send back to you.

Additionally, we wanted to bring your attention to reusable bread bags – another excellent way to replace household objects with eco-friendly substitutes. Reusable bread bags are designed to replace single use plastic or paper bread bags. Onya sells cheap bread bags that are made from up to 10 recycled plastic drink bottles. These bread bags eliminate the need for unnecessary single use plastic or paper when visiting a bakery or grocery store, when buying bread. This is a great way to utilise sustainable substitutes within a household!

Some other quick and easy ways to make your life more sustainable are:

• stop using plastic water bottles and start using reusable metal bottles
• buy LED lightbulbs to maximise energy efficiency (and minimise your electricity bills)
• buy a reusable coffee cup
• make your lunchbox more sustainable by buying a replacement for single-use plastic packaging (for example – beeswax wraps, which were covered in detail in last week’s Ma Nishma article)

Overall, the Sustainability Committee hopes this article provided some information and inspiration regarding replacing your household objects with more sustainable and eco-friendly substitutes.

Here are the links for more information about each initiative:

• Biome – reusable mesh grocery bags
• Nourished Life – natural cleaning products
• Zero Co. – recycled refillable cleaning products
• Onya – bread bags

For any extra information or help, feel free to contact us at:

• Maximilian@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au
• Lara@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au
• Ari@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au

By Max Kidman, Lara Fosbery, Ari Merten and Ruben

Please note, Emanuel School has no affiliation to the companies or products listed above – we just think they’re doing great things.

Meir

Maayan Granot

Alix Cane

Hi Everyone!

We hope everyone is having a good week and is staying safe in these crazy times. We can’t believe we are almost at the end of Term 3! 

As many of you know, this time is filled with PoUs and exams, so here are some helpful tips we have come up with to get through this stressful time: 

1. Plan out the work you want to get done each night. 
2. Study hard, but efficiently. Don’t bombard yourself with revision notes or past tests.
3. Remember to take a break when you need it.
4. Get as much exercise or fresh air as you can to calm down.
5. Organise your study space, make sure you can focus in your space. 

Dodgeball

Congratulations on the recent win from our Year 7 team in the inter-House competition and a huge thank you to everyone who participated in that team, as well as everyone in the Year 8 team, who also recently competed. We are looking forward to seeing our Years 9 and 10 teams play this week, along with our Years 11 and 12 teams next week. As we get back into the swing of things with some friendly inter-House competition, we encourage you all to get involved and help lead Meir to victory in the Ezekiel Cup. 

Science Week 

Along with our dodgeball victory, Meir also won the Science Week Quiz. Since Meir’s first year of existence we have won every Science quiz! Go Meir! It is so amazing to see that even in these highly unusual times, Meir is still able to come together, truly embracing our House spirit.  

Birthdays

September is full of Meir birthdays, so we would like to wish a very happy birthday to: Issy Saraf, Georgia Kahane, Jake Lewitton, Gideon Pozniak, Anton Blair, Oren Levin-Kahn and Elijah Grynberg! We hope you all have amazing days and wonderful years to come. 

Meet a Meirian 

Meet two of Meir’s amazing Year 9 students: Toby Akres and Saul Magner. 

We asked them these three questions: 

1. Who’s your favourite superhero?
   Toby: Goku
   Saul: Venom 

2. What is your dream job?
   Toby: Game designer/programmer
   Saul: Footballer/Football manager 

3. What mystery do you wish you knew the answer to?
   Toby: Is there intelligent life on other planets within the observable universe?
   Saul: Why does Nicolo Zaniolo keep tearing his ACL? 

Uniform update

Parents & Friends

Ruby Berkovic & Jen Opit

Hi Everyone,

We hope you have all had a great week.

Thanks to all those who participated in our Father’s Day Video. We hope you had a wonderful day. You can watch the video here. 

Entertainment Books

In case you are looking to venture out, here is the link to purchase an Entertainment Book and gain access to some great deals.

Online Disco

Save the date for our Zoom Family Disco: 4.00 pm – 5.00 pm, Sunday 18 October 2020. Get your dancing shoes ready and put the date in your diary for our first ever Emanuel Zoom Disco.

It will be fun for the whole family and another way to be together while we are apart. The special guest DJ will be announced in Term 4.

This is an Emanuel School friend-raising event (without charge to the families).

Weekend brain teaser

Question:

You’re at a fork in the road in which one direction leads to the City of Lies (where everyone always lies) and the other to the City of Truth (where everyone always tells the truth). There’s a person at the fork who lives in one of the cities, but you’re not sure which one.

What question could you ask the person to find out which road leads to the City of Truth?

Have a wonderful weekend,

Jen & Ruby

Community notices

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 the Nurick Family 

Brown Rice Slice

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
2 cups cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
3 eggs
250g asparagus, chopped coarsely
1 medium red capsicum (200g) sliced thinly
70g baby spinach leaves, chopped coarsely
100g feta cheese, crumbled

Directions

Grease a deep 19cm cake pan
Combine rice, half of cheddar and two eggs in bowl.
Press mixture over base of the pan
Layer asparagus, capsicum and spinach over the rice
Beat the remaining eggs in bowl, add cheddar, feta, and pour egg mixture over the vegetables
Bake uncovered in a hot oven for about 30 minutes or until slice is firm
Stand for 5 minutes before serving

Serves four 

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