From the Principal

Andrew Watt – Principal

Adler Building Redevelopment Project

I am delighted to announce that our Development Application for the redevelopment of our Adler Building has been approved by the Eastern Sydney City Planning Panel. The Board of Governors of the JCA have awarded Emanuel School the Capital Appeal for 2021. This is a wonderful outcome – and will be the next step towards creating a brighter future for our School. I’ll be sharing further information with you in Term 1, 2021

2020 highlights from our Gifted and Talented program

Despite the challenges associated with COVID-19 restrictions this year, our K-12 Gifted and Talented staff team can look back on a range of achievements with a high measure of satisfaction. There has been a strong focus on curriculum differentiation and the process for identifying gifted students has been enhanced. Our students have also enjoyed a number of online competitions and mentoring programs. In the Primary School, our students have benefitted from participating in extracurricular clubs and advanced, tailored curriculum, including extension lessons. In the High School, students have continued to benefit from our subject acceleration program in Mathematics. Our Gifted Education Committee, with representatives from each department, have developed approaches for extension in all High School subject areas. A Gifted and Talented section for both the Staff and Parent Portal is currently under development. More information on our programs can be accessed here.

Ariel Berger – A Family Lunch

Annual ArtExpress exhibition 2021

I am delighted to announce that Ariel Berger’s HSC Major Artwork, A Family Lunch, will be included in this year’s Virtual ArtExpress Exhibition. The is an outstanding achievement. We also celebrate Asha Friedman whose Work was nominated for the exhibition. Mazal tov to Ariel, Asha and their teacher, Eytan Messiah. 

Welcome to Mario Torresan

Our new Director of Finance and Operations, Mario Torresan, commenced this week. He will work closely with Jillian McCormick, who is retiring this year, throughout the handover period. Mario 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 are very thankful for the outstanding service we received from Jillian throughout her time at Emanuel. We will have opportunity to formally thank Jillian prior to her departure.

Farewell Shira Shebban

After 19 years as a parent at Emanuel School, Shira’s youngest son, Jonathan (Jono), has completed his final year. Shira was formally thanked for her work on the Board earlier in the year and from the Jewish life committee last week. A Board member for 16 years and Chair of Jewish life and Marketing committees, each for 10 years, Shira has remained an active member of the Jewish life committee. Her contribution has been significant in shaping the school’s values and direction, as a pluralistic, egalitarian Jewish Community Day School. We wish Shira all the best for the future. She will be sorely missed.

Romy McCorquodale making an impressive save

Mazal tov

Romy McCorquodale, Year 8, has been voted 2020 Most Valuable Player at Sydney Olympic FC and invited to train with the Sydney FC senior women’s team under Head Coach, Ante Juric. Romy is a goalkeeper and is also being coached by the former Leicester FC goal-keeper, Paul Henderson, who has taken considerable interest in her development to senior levels. 

Quote of the week

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.” 
John F. Kennedy

From the Head of Jewish Life

Rabbi Daniel Siegel – Head of Jewish Life

“We came into the world like brother and brother;
And now let’s go hand in hand, not one before another.”
– William Shakespeare

Before Rivkah (Rebecca) gives birth to her twin sons, Ya’akov (Jacob) and Eisav (Esau), she is told: “VeRav Ya’avod Tsa’ir”, which is usually translated as “the older one”/rav, being Eisav “will serve the younger one”/tsa’ir, being Ya’akov.

This prophecy is often presented as justification for Ya’akov’s bilking the birthright from his famished brother, for a bowl of stew, and then in guile securing the blessing of the first born from his father. When Yitschak then blesses Ya’akov by saying “You shall be master over your brothers” he is understood to be acting in accordance with the divine plan communicated to his wife, Rivkah (Rebecca). Eisav is then told, when asking for a blessing of his own, “you shall serve your brother”.

Within the context of this parashah, in which the younger supplants the older, the words of the divine oracle are beginning to be fulfilled.

Yet, these words “VeRav Ya’avod Tsa’ir”, can also be read as “the older will the younger serve”. Despite the blessing given to Ya’akov, and the wishful thinking of his mother, who partnered with her son Ya’akov in duping Yitschak, her husband, Ya’akov had to live in fear of his powerful brother, a “hunter”, from whom he runs away, fearing retaliation for stealing the blessing of the firstborn.

“Rav” may also connote the more powerful or greater in number and tsa’ir the more diminutive in size and military might. This blessing, therefore, may be understood as a national promise, relating to the descendants of the two brothers and not the brothers themselves.

We are left then with the possibility that either brother or people may serve or dominate the other.

In this perhaps purposely ambiguous or multi-valent promise, the parashah might be suggesting that, like twins, our lives are always interconnected with others and what we wish for ourselves should be no more or less than what we wish for our fellow.

When, many years later he does finally see his brother, Eisav, again, Yitschak says to him: “Please take my blessing which has been brought to you”.

True blessings are of brotherhood, the Torah is teaching us, rather than of servitude.

Ma Koreh

Adam Carpenter – Head of Jewish Life Primary

To celebrate learning the letter ל – lamed, and reading a story in TalAm that involved גלידה – ice cream, students enjoyed eating גלידה of various flavours and giving an account of the experience in Hebrew. 

Year 1 student glida

Jesse loves icecream

Eli Icecream

Aviv loves icecream

Primary

Colleen Elkins – Gifted and Talented Co-ordinator K-6

From the Gifted and Talented department

Our Years 3-5 Gifted and Talented students took part in the Australian Mathematics Competition, an above-level, national competition set by the AMT, demanding application of knowledge on challenging questions and timed test taking skills.

Congratulations to the following students who performed admirably, achieving a credit:

Year 3
Oscar Glikin
Yoni Efrat
Aaron Eisenberg
Asher Levin
Ethan Likht
Tal Wajsman

Year 4
Theodore Salek
Kayla Strous

Year 5
Hannah Fekete
Leah Joshua
Remi Moses
Isaac Nurick
Emily Seeman
Isaac Shammay
Cyrus Waldner

Mathematics Olympiad

Our Year 6 Mathematics students took part in the monthly Australasian Problem Solving Mathematical Olympiads (APSMO), during Term 2 and 3, comprising five in total, each with five challenging, timed questions.

Congratulations to all students who took on the challenge!

Well done to the top five scorers: Gideon Owen, Ari Smaller, Avalon Gold, Noah Revelman and Gil Banna.

Maths Games

In 2020, we trialled Maths Games, also run by APSMO, a precursor competition for Year 4 to the Maths Olympiads. Our students performed exceedingly well.

Congratulations to Zachary Salamon, Cooper Adler, Kayla Strous, Theodore Salek, Rafael Kuper and Jake Rosenfeld who took part and displayed their readiness for the Upper Primary Competition in 2021.

Well done to Theodore Salek for being the top scorer, with 23 out of 25 correct answers.

Left to right: Zachary Salamon, Cooper Adler, Kayla Strous, Theodore Salek. Seated: Rafael Kuper, Jake Rosenfeld

Our statistically minded Years 3 and 4 Maths students posed questions and conducted research, recording all working along the way, to produce a poster for the National Schools Poster competition. Students posed some very interesting questions. Some vital skills about hypothesising, surveying, collecting data, reflecting it and posing conclusions were employed, with much collaboration within teams.

Developing Life Skills in Primary

A Year in Reflection

2020 has been an interesting year to be a Gross Motor Leader. We started off the year with a bang! New equipment meant we were able to be creative with our activities and how we ran them with the younger students. Towards the end of Term 1, we started remote learning and had to put our duties on hold. 

Upon our return, we were eager to get back into the swing of things. We started with caution, limiting the number of leaders that were able to run activities. Soon enough, however, we were back to our normal Gross Motor activities. Doing what we enjoy, creating challenging games and helping younger students develop life skills. 

“I loved spending time with the younger children and creating fun activities for us all to do.” Declan

“I liked helping the K – 2 years learn different sports.” Shay

“I am going to miss getting to know more of the young students and helping make activities for them to do.” Madison

Gross motor activities

Gross motor activities

By the Year 6 Gross Motor Leaders

Kornmehl

Terry Aizen – Director of Kornmehl

Chanukah

We have begun learning about Chanukah – the story, symbols and traditions of this beautiful festival in preparation for when Chanukah starts in the holidays on the 10 December 2020.

Our explorations of this festival are done through music, songs, art, construction materials and of course food! The children have been drawing beautiful representations of a Chanukiah, using water colours and black texta. Their attention to detail is incredible for children so young. The children have also all worked with clay to each make their own Chanukiah, which has been fired in the kiln up at Emanuel school and then glazed and refired to get the beautiful end products. Each child will be able to take home their own specially designed Chanukiah to light their Chanukah candles in.

Many thanks to Eytan Messiah and Christal Rimmer for their help and support with this project. How lucky we are to be able to connect to and use our Emanuel School resources across all areas of the school.

Alona – I’m going to use it for Chanukah. I’m going to light the candles
Liam – I want mine to be a rainbow
Max – I’m going to use it for Chanukah in the Gold Coast
Miles – I’m going to light nine candles on Chanukah. On the first night, one; on the second night, two; on the third night three…

As the Dolphins continued to learn about Chanukah, they lit the Chanukiah in the darkened Dream room and the light filled their hearts with warmth and a beautiful energy filled the room. They learnt a new song called “This Little Light of Mine”. We wondered what the words meant, “I’m gonna take my light around the world” and what message would we give to the world.

Levi –  I’m gonna let it shine
Phoebe – Make everyone feel happy
Miles – To make people feel calm
Abi – Sharing when I take my light around the world and hope people will be kind

The Starfish have been exploring the concept of light. One group looked at light on the overhead projector and the other looked at a string of lights.

Here are some of their comments:

What are lights used for?

Evan – different lights can be different colours on houses. Lights can be different shapes
Allegra – At Christmas when you are walking, you can see lights on houses
Arlo – When it is dark, they make a room lighter or anything lighter
Neveau – The lights on the roof at Pre-school shine out white light
Daniel – You can put them on your house and scare someone away at the door
Alice – Lights are used for if you are having a pool party and flashing lights and rainbow lights out of the pool and in the pool
Finn – For seeing
Micaela – For a midnight feast
Sam – In an emergency you use light
Abby – We made a campfire and the campfire made the light. It was dark
Micaela – Light comes from electricity, when you switch it on, it doesn’t go off
Allegra – For a birthday when the birthday person comes in and you have turned the lights off to surprise them with the cake, fire, candles make light
Sam – Candles are not made with electricity; they are made with a match
Georgia – When it is dark, and someone is scared, and they plug it in and there is a new light
Joshua – Light is part of a storm because light is lightning
Leah – Lights are used to see so we can see where we are going. You see lights in our house. The sun makes light
Ariel – To make bright in the dark

Where do we see lights?

Finn – When it is dark in the room, you turn the light off
Zach – Why aren’t the lights hot
Neveau – Candle lights are very hot and campfires
Arlo – Some ceiling lights get hot too
Oliver – Lights can hang on trees and garden benches. I see them on apartments
Neveau – Lights shine in the dark
Arlo –  In the old days they did not have lights, they used candles
Zach – Why is the candle going down?
Ariel – I think it’s going out
Arlo – The fire will melt the candle to do down
Oliver – It is formulating lava from the candle. Candles are made from wax
Penny – The wax come from bees
Finn – And there is wax in your ears
Joshua – Basically, wax makes your ears clean
Abby – I’ve seen where they connect light together to get electricity
Sam – I’ve seen lights up in the sky, the sky has a big light in it…..a big sun, when the morning turns up. Sun is the biggest planet, the biggest fireball
Zac – Sometimes I see streetlights high up on a pole with a light on it. When it is dark you need to see where you are going
Penny – The red light says STOP, the green light says Go and the middle light says SLOW
Allegra – That’s called a traffic light
Allegra – You can make light with shadows, if light goes onto something, you make a shadow
Sam – When you stand in front of it, you get a shadow, or behind it, wherever the light is there will be a shadow
Penny – You have a sun shadow and if you are in the shade, you have a shade shadow, a dark one
Finn – Your shadow reflects the light

These comments and insights from the children are quite profound and show a deep understanding of complex concepts.

The children also looked at a Havdalah candle and spoke about how and why we use this special plaited candle. We lit the candle and experienced the Havdalah which marks the end of Shabbat. Awakening all our senses as we see the flame, smell the spices and feel the warmth of the candle.

The Seashells have been spending time making beautiful collaged dreidels and shields to use for their concert. They listened to the beautiful story of Chanukah and afterwards looked at the picture of the temple – its structure, shape and how it was built. They engaged in making the Temple out of recycled materials – linking in with National Recycling Week. They used boxes and yoghurt pouches that the children have been collecting every day from their snacks and lunches. This project will allow the children not only to understand the victory of the Maccabees, but also the miracle that happened during that time, where just one day’s supply of oil allowed the menorah in the Temple in Jerusalem to remain lit for eight days.

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New Parent Information Night

On Thursday, we joined with all our new families for 2021 on Zoom. We spent the evening discussing all housekeeping aspects of the Pre-school, with particular attention on preparing and settling the children in, as well as waste free meals, sustainability and recycling in the Pre-school. Other topics we covered were hours of operation, rest time, safety and security, birthdays, Bush School, online portal – Educa, communication and illness. We had a good turnout of families and we hope they found the evening informative and useful.

Concerts

The children from all three groups have begun preparing for our end of year virtual concerts. The Seashells will record their concert next week on Monday 23 November 2020 at 11.30 am. The Dolphins and Starfish concert will be recorded on Thursday 26 November 2020 at 9.30 am and 10.15 am respectively.

The videos will be shared with families via a youtube link before the end of the year.

Love food

Sonia Newell – Development Officer – Alumni & Community Relations

Who doesn’t love food!

JCA, in conjunction with Friday Night, a Facebook page started by Emanuel parent, Susie Rosen, that now has over 13,000 members world-wide, and the well known Monday Morning Cooking Club (MMCC) held an online competition seeking favourite recipes for a live demonstration of the “best” savoury and sweet recipes. Hundreds of recipes were sent through to JCA and then forwarded anonymously onto the MMCC who selected what they thought were the four best savoury and four sweet recipes. They had no idea whose recipes they were selecting/testing. Last Sunday afternoon, to a live audience, the two winning recipes were announced and then prepared by Lisa Goldberg and Natanya Gross, two members of the fabulous MMCC in front of over 200 viewers and then more than 1200 views in the following 24 hours. 

The two winning dishes were Roasted Zatar chicken by past Emanuel parent Nava Levy and Banana and Caramel Tart by Susie Rosen – how wonderful to see Emanuel community connections to such special groups of people, which also includes another School connection – past Emanuel parent Merelyn Chalmers is one of the four special women who since 2006, are the Monday Morning Cooking Club.  Read more about them here.  

Susie Rosen’s Banana & Toffee Tart

Nava Levy’s Roasted Zatar chicken

November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness month

We were treated to an amazing interview on Tuesday evening with alumnus Ben Wilheim (Class of 2008) for the final session of our 2020 Gesher Online Speaker Series. This powerful interview, facilitated by one of Ben’s best friends and supporters, Jonathan (Jonno) Baker also from the Class of 2008, highlighted not only Ben’s journey after HSC but also the work he does through Remember September, a charity he started in 2014 following the diagnosis and subsequent death of his father that year and of his 33 year old cousin two years earlier, from pancreatic cancer. If you missed the interview, I encourage you to watch it here.

Both Ben and Jonno are wonderful role models for our students and we thank them for sharing their journey with us.

Friendship Circle (FC) needs your children

It’s that time of year again with Friendship Circle Day Camp just around the corner, and they are seeking teen volunteers who are Year 7 to Year 12 students. This is an amazing opportunity for your children to volunteer their time helping children and teenagers with disabilities who will attend this day camp from 18 January 2021 –  22 January 2021, based at the North Shore Synagogue, Lindfield. There will be free transport available from Bondi by Telfords Bus to Lindfield and then back to Bondi at the end of each day. FC will have a COVID-19 Safety Plan in place. 

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

Stay safe and Shabbat Shalom.

Let there be light

In our High School Kristallnacht program, students explored the maxim: “The standard you walk by is the standard you accept”. Our Year 11 students, Zac, Ruby and Lily, who helped facilitate student discussion and our commemoration, share their reflections below:

If we aren’t happy with the actions of others around us yet we merely walk by, are we not just repeating history? 

Kristallnacht or The Night of Broken Glass is a traumatic event in Nazi Germany and the beginning of many violent acts against the Jews. On this night, 9 November 1938, there was a pogrom against the Jews carried out by the SA paramilitary forces. 

The people of Austria and Germany watched on, as bystanders, as the glass of synagogues was shattered, shops were vandalised, Jews were killed. Soon, as we know, everything Jewish was to be burnt to ashes. 

How does this relate to us?

In our contemporary society we, as the future generation, are taught to be proactive, to be upstanders and speak out when we see something wrong. “The standard you walk past is the standard you accept”, is a quote that was proposed to each tutor group on Monday morning as part of our Kristallnacht pe’ulah. Each tutor group discussed this quote and most of the conversation revolved around the importance of being an upstander, not a bystander. A core teaching of Judaism is לא תעמוד על דם רעך/Lo ta’amod al dam rei’akha – Do not stand upon the blood of a fellow human being

Why is this important?

It’s vital for us, as Jews, to remember the past and mourn the loss of lives in the Holocaust, the great tragedy which began that night. We lit a Yizkor candle to remember the lives taken. The light represents our unwavering commitment to fight antisemitism and all forms of prejudice. As our light will always banish darkness, so will our spread of love banish intolerance and hatred.

By Zac Levenson and Ruby Hurwitz, Year 11

Let there be Light 

Individual student statements and reflections also appeared on March of the Living’s Let there be Light website, in commemoration of Kristallnacht.

I pledge to stand up to ensure that the truth about Jewish people is told. I will never be embarrassed about being a Jew. I will not be ashamed of my heritage and remember the struggles that Jews went through. I have been blessed with the ability to use my voice, and as a Jew I pledge to do that. Maayan Granot

I pledge to educate myself and other about past and present injustices and acts of discrimination in our world, to try create a deeper awareness, empathy and understanding of humanity, leading to a positive change for all. Lily Berger 

Kabbalat Shabbat

Last week, Year 10 Kabbalat Shabbat Va’ad students planned and ran a Shabbat pe’ulah for their peers in our Year. The parashah for that week was VaYera, which includes many interesting messages, ideas and lessons that can be understood from the story of Avraham going to sacrifice to God his son, Yitschak. From the ideas in the parashah we chose to make the focus of our Pe’ulah a discussion on authority and perspective. We aimed to encourage everyone to consider when it is best to listen to authority or protest/question authority.

We had a lot of fun running the program, hearing our peers’ different ideas, and seeing them all get involved in the activities and discussions. Overall, it was a really great and enriching learning and leadership-in-partnership experience, and it was a lot of fun, we hope to have many more opportunities like this in the future!

By Lily Berger, Eden Grynberg and Remy Waller

Toldot

Alexis Joffe – Year 11

In this week’s Parashah, Toldot, Rivkah and Yitschak wish for a child. After praying to God, Rebecca soon begins to feel violent movement within her womb. She asks God why she feels fighting within her, and God answers: “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples will emerge from you”. They will be divided from one another, starting from within you. “One shall become mightier than the other and the mighty one shall serve the lesser.”

Rivkah later gives birth to two boys. The first baby boy, Eisav is ruddy and hairy, and the second baby boy, Ya’akov has smooth skin. As the boys grew older, Eisav excelled in hunting whereas Jacob became a dweller of tents. Jacob was favoured by Rivkah and Eisav was favoured by Yitschak.

After many years, Yitschak, now old and blind said: “My son. Go hunt some venison for me and prepare the tasty dish that I love. Bring it to me and I will eat it so that I may bless you before I die”.

Rivkah, however, overhears this conversation and tells Ya’akov, her favourite son, to go and get two goats for her to make Yitschak his favourite dish so that he will bless Ya’akov and not Eisav. Considering Eisav has hairy skin unlike Ya’akov, his mother puts hairy goat skin on his hands and neck and dresses him in Eisav’s clothing. 

Ya’akov brings his father the venison and is blessed by him. When Eisav later arrives with his hunted meat, both father and eldest son realised what happened. This was now the second time Ya’akov had taken advantage of his brother, as earlier Ya’akov took Eisav’s birthright.

After begging his father to bless him, we read the words: “You (Eisav) will live upon your sword and you will serve your brother. Only when you humble yourself will you loosen his yoke from your neck.”

After all of this, Eisav ends up hating his brother Ya’akov and says in his heart “Let the days of mourning for my father draw near and then I will kill my brother Ya’akov.”

So, what can we learn from this week’s parashah? After understanding this week’s parashah, I asked myself two questions. Is it ever ok to lie? And is it ever ok to hate someone no matter how badly they have hurt and betrayed you?

Personally, I don’t think that either of these are ever ok no matter what situation you are in. Lying or betraying someone to get what you want in life should never be the answer. I believe that in order to get what you want in life; you have to work for it. Even if you know that you may never get something, lying or betraying should never be the solution.

Similarly, the feeling of hatred is far too extreme for me to ever believe it can be used. I feel as though each person has a decision in life and choosing whether you hate someone or not is a decision that is in each of our control. No matter how many times someone may betray you, I don’t believe it is ever ok to say you hate them. They may be less significant in your life, but I don’t think hatred should be something felt towards a person.

Overall, this week’s parashah is very important and holds very interesting and valuable life lessons allowing each individual to question what they believe in and what the right thing to do is in life. I encourage each person to take some time this week to think about the concept of lying and hatred and whether they are acceptable in your life and why.

Careers

Claire Pech – Careers Advisor

This week I attended a lecture by Ivan Neville, from the Labour Market Research and Analysis Branch on Preparing Students for the Future World of Work. This data is very pertinent for the class of 2020, but also will have knock-on effects for the classes that follow behind them. This presentation and data is probably as current and relevant as it gets.

Key data I shared with our current Year 12s this week:

• COVID-19 has obviously had a devastating effect on employment, falling by 6.5%, but there are positive signs of recovery in the last few months
• The fall-out will be for young people (15 – 24 year olds) as entry level and casual jobs will have more competition
• Employers will now want: 1. Education, 2. Experience and 3. Employability skills

Look at the difference between post school qualifications being essential: 43.7% in 1999 to 62.4% in 2019.

This is a great opportunity for me to fly the vocational education flag highly. For some time vocational students (students that learn skill based learning) have been out-performing or mirroring uni-based students on salaries, employment, future projections and full time options. TAFE/the vocational sector is to be fully embraced for learning practical skills and being job-ready once entering the work force. I implore students who like to learn by doing, to look into the myriad of options available here.

Finally what can students do to get as many opportunities as possible?

Work begets more work, so any exposure to the world of work is a positive, whether it is work shadowing, work experience, a part-time job or volunteering in that industry – the more exposure the better. Finally the skills most in demand pre-COVID are the same skills that are sought after post-COVID:

As I say over and over again, as often as I can possibly fit it in, communication skills, people skills and what we refer to as soft skills, are the skills you can learn and work on at school. These will benefit you for years into your career.

Music Matters

Diana Springford – Head of Music

Recent student performances

Mazal tov to the Year 10 Rock Band for their amazing, upbeat and energetic rendition of Hold the Line by Toto at High School Assembly on Tuesday. Our thanks to the performers (Benjamin Cohen, Myles Cohn, Aaron Glass, Matthew Lowy and Gavin Robinson) as well as to George Nikolopoulos for his expert direction in preparing them for their performance.

End of year performances for all (current COVID-safe) ensembles and choirs

It’s been a very strange year, when all our music making has been very distorted and, it turns out, quite a dangerous and risky past-time (especially if you are a flautist!). Nevertheless, in a year when we can count the number of Emanuel School live music performances on the fingers of one hand, we would like all our ensembles and choirs to have something to share of their achievements with their family and friends. If you are in one of our ensembles or choirs, please keep an eye (and ear) out for information about when your recording is scheduled and plan to either wear or bring full formal school uniform on the day.

These recordings will be done over the next couple of weeks and shared via the Parent Portal at the end of the school year.

Instrument maintenance check day

If you are borrowing any school instrument (for IP, for ISP, or for your ensemble playing) please bring it into the Music Department on Tuesday 1 December 2020 (Week 8) to have it checked and serviced by our team. Please pick it up on Thursday unless you get an email from us or are returning it permanently. Instruments should be clean and have a student name tag attached with the instrument barcode on the reverse. If this name tag is missing, please ask Mrs De Araujo in the music staffroom to label it for you.

End of Year 6 IP (Instrumental Program) and continuing Music Tuition in High School

For parents of Year 6 students who are coming to the end of their compulsory Instrumental Program, you will have received an email about the return of your School loaned instrument in Week 8 and your intentions regarding private music tuition in High School. Thank you to all those parents who have responded. If you haven’t yet done so, please reply to Mrs De Araujo.       

Private Music Tuition and Infant Strings Program for 2021

Please note that from 2021, the cost of individual private music lessons will be charged at a rate of $46 per half hour lesson (plus GST, if the tutor is registered to pay GST). This is the rate advised by the NSW Music Teachers Association. Lessons shared in pairs are only available in special circumstances and would cost $24 per student per half hour lesson (plus GST where applicable). The Infant Strings Program (ISP) for students in Years K – 2 will be charged at $262 per term on school fees, in addition to an instrument bond of $200 which is fully refundable on safe return of the instrument with all parts and accessories.

Thank you to those who have already advised us of changes to private tuition and Infant Strings Program enrolments for next year. The deadline for new enrolments, notification of changes or intention to discontinue for Term 1 2021 is today. All students currently receiving private music tuition and students in Years K – 1 who are currently participating in the Infant Strings Program will be automatically re-enrolled into tutor schedules for 2021 along with students commencing lessons for the first time. Parents should enrol or discontinue using one of the online forms accessed from the links below. If your child intends to discontinue, formal notification in advance must be received by the end of term to avoid being committed to the full term of lessons and liable for fees. Please contact Matilda Grieve if you have any questions about private music tuition.

The schedules for Term 1 2021 will be created at the end of term and emailed in late January.

Links to online forms  

New enrolment requests for private tuition
To discontinue private tuition
To enrol into the K-2 Infant Strings Program (ISP)
To discontinue Infant Strings Program (ISP)

Year 10 Drama Showcase

Samantha Bauer – Head of Drama & Year 12 Tutor

Year 10 Drama students shine brightly on stage!

Congratulations to the Year 10 Drama students who performed with style at the Showcase last week.

The audience – some live and others via Zoom – were thoroughly entertained.

The students work was extremely mature and provocative, exploring sensitive and poignant ideas.

I am extremely proud of this wonderful bunch of creative students.

Thank you Ofer Levy for the wonderful photos.

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High School Sport

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

Cricket

Congratulations to the Emanuel Junior Cricket Team who competed in the Wiburd Shield this week. A special mention goes to Meika Laishevksy who was the first female player to represent Emanuel School at this event. Meika has plenty of cricket experience, playing with Randwick and Easts Junior Cricket Associations. 

Meika Laishevsky Year 8

Emanuel Junior Cricket Team 2020

Athletics

It has now been confirmed that the NSW All Schools Athletics Championships will go ahead as per the details below:

Event: NSW All Schools Athletics Championships
Dates: 3 December 2020 – 6 December 2020
Venue: Sydney Olympic Park Athletic Centre 
Eligibility: NSW athletes must attend a NSW Secondary School and be between the ages of 12 and 19 years inclusive. 
Entry Fees: $25.00 per event 
Entries close: 10.00 am on Wednesday 25 November 2020

Please note, those who are not a member of Athletics NSW will need to take out a $15 Community Membership with Athletics NSW. 

Further information and registrations can be found here.          

As per previous years, students can register directly through Athletics NSW for the events that they select to participate in. There are no time/distance requirements, however due to COVID-19 regulations, there is a cap on the number of participants. Therefore, it is recommended to register as soon as possible. Students are required to inform the school of their intended participation upon registration, and are to wear an Emanuel multi-purpose singlet when competing at the event. All uniform requirements can be purchased from the school uniform shop.

Writers’ Awards Nominees

David Camp – Head of English/Library & Year 11 Tutor

The nominees are…

Each year, we hold an Emanuel School Writers’ Awards Presentation evening to recognise the high quality of writers and writing we have at Emanuel School. This year, in the face of coronavirus, we have decided to host the event as a website with student work displayed. More information and a link to the website will come in next week’s Ma Nishma.

For our Writers’ Awards, we award a Writer of the Year and a Most Dedicated Writer in each Year group of the High School. We also award an Emanuel School Writer of the Year to the student who has shown themselves to be the most accomplished writer throughout the year. In years past, this has often been a Year 12 English Extension 2 student, recognising the high level of dedication and excellence the course requires.

Who will our winners be this year?

To find out, you’ll have to read next week’s Ma Nishma and follow the link to our website.

The students who are shortlisted for these awards and whose work will be displayed on the site are listed below.

Congratulations to them all!

Year 7
Shai Berkovic
Ashley Cohn
Jaime Keyser
Jessica Linker
Zachary Sherman
Liberty Waldner

Year 8
Tamarah Aaron
Inez Calderon-Havas
Ruth Durbach
Alice Milner
Jasper Sellinger

Year 9
Ruby Brody
Ashley Goldman
Maayan Granot
Eden Levit
Arielle Melamed
Ruby Miller
Leah Wolf

Year 10
Anna Davis
Eden Glass
Jesse Keyser
Victoria Miller
Jayda Sacks

Year 11
Ezra Hersch
Liat Granot
Jessica Lowy
Charlotte Lyons
Chloe Miller
India Sacks
Jordan Stein

Year 12
Cade Collins
Ethan de Melo
Asha Friedman
Beau Glass
Mia Gold
Isaac Grove
Elijah Grynberg
Miriam Itzkowitz
Jonathan Sebban
Talia Sinani
Samara Trenaman

miSipur leSipur – מסיפור לסיפור

Year 7 – 8 parent/student recreational reading partnership

It’s miSipur leSipur time again. If you’re unfamiliar with this program, the aim is for you and your child to choose, and read, the same book at the same time during the upcoming holiday. The Library will supply you with a list of available titles, two copies of your chosen text, and a list of possible questions to help get your discussion started.

Is your child a reluctant reader?

Reading is hard for everyone. Reluctant readers often need adult encouragement and self belief to get started. Think of it as a recreational reading partnership.

What’s the point of recreational reading?

Reading can offer an escape from study or a busy social life. It can transport to real and imaginary places, clarify thoughts and feelings, build empathy and understanding for others, identify and tackle world issues, and be a gateway to conversations with family and friends. A recommended title, followed by a discussion over dinner, can often help a reluctant reader see social value in reading.

How can you share a love of stories with your reluctant reader?

Choose and read a book together, then chat about the characters and themes along the way. You would be modelling reading while also demonstrating the value you place on adolescent fiction. Or, just read to each other. It’s a fun bonding exercise and is often forgotten when children start secondary school.

When can we get started?

Now. The aim of miSipur leSipur is for you and your child to choose, and read, the same book at the same time during the December/January school holidays. The High School Library will supply you with a list of available titles, two copies of your chosen text, and a list of possible questions to help get your discussion started.

If you and your child would like to participate in this recreational reading partnership please email your chosen title to the Library staff by Thursday 26 November 2020. With your support we aim to build a culture of readers and reading at Emanuel School.

• Steampunk: Westerfeld, Leviathan
• Dystopian: Marsden, Tomorrow, when the world began
• Family: Foxlee, Lenny’s book of everything
• Identity: Jonsberg, A song only I can hear

By Karen McAndrew – Teacher Librarian 

Meir

Alix Cane – Year 9

Maayan Granot – Year 9

Hi everyone!!

We hope that you are having a great term so far and everyone is getting ready for all their PoUs. 

House assemblies 

Meir has had a very busy term so far and we are very happy to have had two House Assemblies thus far. Our amazing House Captains, Charlotte and Georgia, ran their first assemblies where we came back together as a House after a very long time apart. In the first assembly we continued our House tradition of Holiday Bingo! Every stage had its respective winner and they all received ‘meanies’ (lucky!). 

Meir

Meir 2

Inter-House competitions 

Meir has also had great success in all the Inter-House competitions that are currently running. The Year 7 and 8 Inter-House Debating Team (Daliah Smagarinsky, Jesse Barel, Alice Milner and Liberty Waldner) won their debate against Rabin and will be moving onto the grand finals! The Years 9 and 10 debate is next Monday, so make sure if you are in those years you come and support the team as it will earn us House points. We are also playing very well in the Lexi Bader Futsal Cup across all years and want to keep this up. 

Birthdays

November is also a very big month for Meir birthdays, so Happy Birthday to Shane Doust, Ruby Hurwitz, Raquel Lee, Hannah Corke, Gabriel Lee, Ben Maserow, Eden Levit, Leah Doust, Talia Kleviansky, Aaron Berkowitz and Isabella Filipczyk.

On behalf of Meir, we hope you all have great years to follow, filled with fun times and smiles. 

Rabin

Ari Merten – Year 12

Ezra Hersch – Year 12

Last week, the mighty Rabin House gathered for our first House assembly in many months! It was very exciting to see everyone back in the theatre together having some fun.

We began by bringing a few random Rabinites down onto the stage to ask them some engaging questions, such as: “What was your favourite part of lockdown?”, “McDonalds or KFC?” and “If peanut butter wasn’t called peanut butter, what would you call it and why?”. We then separated into two groups with Years 7 and 8 together and Years 9 and 10 together to play some fun games. We are looking forward to our next meeting together (our last one for the year) where we will continue the fun and House spirit! 

A massive congratulations to Year 12 on the completion of their HSC! It was a tough year, but you’ve made it, and Rabin couldn’t be more proud. The dedication and hard work you all demonstrated is an inspiration to us as students and we can’t wait to see the great things you will achieve. Once again….you will always have a home at Emanuel school. 

On Wednesday of this week, all Tutor Groups in the School had a discussion about White Ribbon Day and what the global movement is about. Students watched a video and discussed what assault is and the forms it can take. It was an important discussion and we hope everyone gained something from the morning.

Congratulations

• Congratulations to all the Rabin teams who have played in the Lexi Bader Futsal tournament over the past few weeks. You have all been fantastic and put in a lot of effort – thank you for your dedication to Rabin!
• Congratulations to the Year 7 debating team who did a great job on Monday, and a big thank you to all the Rabinites who came to support!
• Congratulations to Year 9 for completing their first yearly exam block. We hope that it all went well and you get all the top marks and make Rabin proud!

We are incredibly proud of every single Rabin student this term, from the year 7s who are completing their first year of High School, to the Year 8s – destroying the other houses at Futsal, the Year 9s on their first exam block, the Year 10s for making the most of their situation, despite not being able to go to Israel, the Year 11s for starting their final year of school and the outgoing Year 12s for completing their school year.

As your House Captains we couldn’t ask for a better House and we’re so excited to launch into the new year and get back to the amazing House spirit and activities you all know and love.

RabinYear12LexiBaderCup

HOuse AssemblyPic

Water recycling

Lara Fosbery – Year 12

National Recycling Week

Last week was National Recycling Week, and the Sustainability Committee celebrated by filming a video about the importance of recycling. Check it out if you haven’t seen it! Our other article this week is about water recycling, and by following the Sustainability Instagram account (@sustainabilityemanuel), you can see a post about recycling, as well as other sustainability information and tips. Enjoy!

Water recycling

Water is uniquely important in Australia due to our status as the Earth’s driest inhabited continent, and our country’s reliance on ever decreasing rainfall for most of its drinking water. As the population steadily increases, so too does water demand, consumption and waste, particularly in the cities. However, since 2014 Australia has seen less and less rainfall, with 2019 being a record low nation-wide, particularly in densely populated states like NSW, Victoria, Queensland and the ACT, where 80% of the population lives. The constantly growing need for water places pressure on Australia’s highly valued waterways, and there are several ways to mitigate this.

Types of water and how they’re recycled

Rainwater tanks are an efficient and effective way to make use of water that is otherwise largely wasted. Correctly installed rainwater tanks can provide up to 40% of residential yearly drinking water. Rainwater can also be harvested and used for watering gardens and public green spaces. 

The rainwater that is not caught by tanks or results from particularly heavy rainfall is stormwater, and requires more treatment to recycle and reuse. Less than 5% of stormwater across Australia is effectively utilised and most water supplied to Australian houses is potable, even though less than a third is actually used in the kitchen or bathroom, where it might be ingested. Stormwater recycling plants like The Fitzroy Gardens Stormwater Harvesting System in Melbourne already function incredibly effectively. The Fitzroy Gardens plant catches stormwater, strips it of sand and oils, and then disinfects it, recycling roughly 40 million litres of stormwater every year. The construction of similar stormwater recycling plants in major cities has the potential to save hundreds of billions of litres every year, using water that would otherwise either be wasted or carry harmful pollutants into Australian rivers, lakes and estuaries.

Finally, wastewater, the water contaminated by human use, is generally not used and often released into large bodies of water, polluting oceans and rivers, and potentially compromising the ecosystems it comes into contact with. The treatment and recycling of wastewater has multiple benefits, most notably the availability of the treated water for firefighting, watering gardens and flushing toilets, irrigating public green spaces, and the extraction of nutrients like phosphorous for fertiliser. A growing population increases the demand for food and thus fertiliser to grow it. Treated wastewater can be a valuable source for phosphorous fertiliser, especially as this type of fertiliser is sourced from phosphate rock, a resource that will be depleted within this century. 

So what can you do?

Some people reading this article will be students, without much control over the ways in which their households acquire water. So for individuals without much say, you can help conserve and recycle water by:

• Save up to 12 litres of water every time you brush your teeth by turning off the tap while you brush.
• Take short showers – set a timer to make sure you don’t spend too long in the shower – even decreasing your shower time by a minute will save almost 10 litres!
• If you normally throw away the water you don’t drink from your water bottle at the end of the day, consider instead watering the plants in your garden or around your street.
• Don’t use water to defrost food. Instead just cover it and let it defrost naturally.
• Only water your garden in the early morning or after the sun has set. This way, you’re both minimising the amount of water that evaporates (and is consequently wasted), and making sure your plants aren’t burned by the water on their leaves heating up under the sun.

If you have some more financial independence, you might consider:

• Installing a rainwater tank in your backyard. The tank will catch water that you can use for watering the garden, filling your swimming pool or washing your car. This also helps save on electricity bills! Rainwater tanks can last up to 20 years, and a well maintained rainwater tank can even provide water for drinking and cooking.
• Purchasing a water efficient toilet or shower head. Water efficient toilets work by removing waste with water velocity, rather than water volume. Water efficient shower heads can save more than 63 litres of water during the average 7 minute shower. 
• Always use full loads in your washing machine and dishwasher and if your washing machine has the option, use the lowest amount of water possible for your load.
• Fix the leaky taps in your house. This is relatively cheap, but makes a huge difference. A dripping tap can waste as much as 5,500L per year.

We hope this article was informative, and that you feel equipped to do your part in conserving water! It’s incredibly important in Australia that we watch our water use (and waste), both due to the unique climate and the impact that wasted and contaminated water can have on our beautiful marine eco-systems. 

Speech Night

Scholarships 2022

Community notices

Tap On Tap Off – School Opal Cards

Parents and Friends

Ruby Berkovic & Jen Opit

Hi Everyone,

We can’t believe it’s already the end of Week 6. We hope you are all doing well.

Last week we provided an outline of what the Parents & Friends committee does, and thought we would repeat it again this week for those who may have missed it.

The Emanuel Parents & Friends (P&F) offers support for new parents, organising events like the Annual Teachers Luncheon, Purim Disco, Mother’s and Father’s Day Breakfasts and Gift Stalls and the Annual Fundraiser as well as supports school functions such as Pesach. We manage weekly challah orders and Mitzvah Meals as well as various other ventures. At our meetings, we receive monthly updates from the Head of Primary and the School Principal and we are invited to give feedback from a parent’s perspective. Most importantly, we focus on friendraising – a way to keep our community involved and connected.

We would love for everyone to be involved in some capacity so, if you have an interest in being involved, please join us at our next Committee Meeting. 

P&F Meetings

Our last Parents & Friends meeting of the year is coming up on Tuesday 1 December 2020. It’s a great, and easy, way to get involved in the School and everyone is welcome. This meeting will be the first one in person, rather than on Zoom, since the beginning of the school year. It will be held at a private residence so if you would like more information on attending please contact us: rubykb@gmail.com

Entertainment Books

There are plenty of great deals to be had. If you want to order an Entertainment Book, you can do so here   

Weekend Brain Teaser and Answer From Last Week

Question: What has a mouth, but cannot eat; moves, but has no legs; and has a bank, but cannot put money in it?

Answer: A 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 Beloved Brenda Shear

Grandma B’s Homemade Pickled Cucumbers

Ingredients

1 kg cucumbers
1 – 2 tbsp sugar
1 cup white vinegar
3/4 cup water
1 tbsp salt
5 bay leaves
10 pepper corns
2 cloves garlic

Directions

In a pot, bring water, sugar, vinegar, salt, bay leaves and peppercorns to the boil.
Place 2 cloves of garlic at the bottom of a cucumber jar.
Add the cucumbers.
Pour boiled liquid over cucumbers into the jar.
Leave to cool and then put lid of jar and place into the refrigerator.

Serves 6

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