From the Principal

Andrew Watt – Principal

Many within our School community are following the situation in Israel with great concern. Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected and we hope for a swift and peaceful resolution to the conflict.

The importance of a good night’s sleep

With students arriving late to school after sleeping in, or sleeping through study periods, or visiting the clinic with ‘run down’ symptoms, it is clear that accumulated sleep deprivation is a growing issue that will need to be addressed.

The findings from the Growing Up in Australia Longitudinal Study (2019) show that large numbers of Australian adolescents slept less than the recommended minimum for healthy growth, learning and development. The research revealed that around a quarter of 12 to15 year-olds and half of 16 to17 year-olds are not getting enough sleep on school nights to meet national sleep guidelines. According to the Better Health Channel, sleep research suggests that adolescents need between 8 and 10 hours of sleep every night. This is more than the amount a child or an adult needs. Yet, most adolescents only get about 6.5 to 7.5 hours sleep per night, and some get less. 

The Sleep Foundation advises that the teenage years are a formative period. The brain and body experience significant development, and the transition to adulthood brings important changes that affect emotions, personality, social and family life, and academics. Sleep is essential during this time, working behind the scenes to allow adolescents to be at their best. Regularly not getting enough sleep leads to chronic sleep deprivation. This can have dramatic effects, impacting mental wellbeing, increasing the risk of depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. It can also affect academic performance at school. Mental health disorders like anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder have routinely been linked to poor sleep and sleep deprivation in teens can increase the risk of suicide. Improving sleep in adolescents may play a role in preventing mental health disorders or reducing their symptoms.

The most common reason for sleep deprivation relates to the use of screen-based devices, such as smart phones and iPads. Light emanating from these devices cues the brain to stay awake and can prevent adequate production of melatonin, the neurotransmitter responsible for sleep. The lure of stimulating entertainment, such as computer gaming or communicating on social media, can keep a teenager awake until early hours of the morning, if not monitored. This can commence a vicious circle, where insufficient sleep causes a teenager’s brain to become more active. An over-aroused brain is less able to fall asleep.

What can parents do?

Setting guidelines and consistently applying them will not prove to be popular! Being a parent is not, however, a popularity contest. Some suggestions include:

• Perhaps most importantly, setting boundaries for online/mobile communications and keeping devices charged overnight, outside the bedroom.
• Encouraging your child to sleep in on the weekends, where practicable
• Establishing a routine of an early night every Sunday. A late night on Sunday followed by an early Monday morning will make your child drowsy for the start of the school week.
• Deciding together on appropriate time limits for any ‘stimulating’ activity such as homework or screen time. Encouraging restful activities during the evening, such as reading.
• Avoiding early morning appointments, classes, or training sessions for your child if possible.
• Help your teenager to better schedule their after-school commitments to free up time for rest and sleep.
• Assessing your teenager’s weekly schedule together and see if they are overcommitted. Help them to trim activities if they are.
• Encouraging your teenager to take an afternoon nap after school to help recharge their battery, if they have time.
• Working together to adjust your teenager’s body clock. You may like to consult with your doctor first.

Shavuot

Thank you to the Jewish Life Department for the wonderful Shavuot celebrations last week. Enjoy these highlights that were captured across the School.

Mazal tov

Our students who took part in the da Vinci Decathlon achieved outstanding results. 

Primary School 

Year 5
4^th in Art and Poetry
6^th in Cartography

Year 6
5^th in Mathematics

High School 

Year 8
3^rd in Art & Poetry
3^rd in English
Although this was a team effort, particular congratulations go to Jessica Linker and Liberty Waldner who were mostly working on the tasks in those disciplines.

Year 11
2^nd in Code Breaking

Quote of the week

“Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.”
– Stephen Hawking, English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author 

Primary News

Natanya Milner – Head of Primary School

I hope you all had a lovely Shavuot and some special extra time with family and friends. 

Northern Territory trip

Last week, I was privileged to travel to the Northern Territory with a wonderful group of Year 6 students and parents. We had an incredible time visiting Jilkminggan School, swimming in amazing waterholes and being involved in various cultural activities. The group was involved in so many unforgettable experiences and I am grateful for the range of learning opportunities that we were able to seize over the week.

Some of the group’s favourite activities included spending time with the children and community in Jilkminggan School. Talia Pollak loved, “Going to the Jilkminggan School because we got to experience how they learnt in a different culture and place”. Many also enjoyed swimming in Bitter Springs. Lila Friedman thought it was so memorable, “to go to the hot springs at nighttime. Floating in the warm and quiet water is something I have never done before”.

Many different lessons were learnt over the week including:

• The different cultures of Darwin, Kathrin, Mataranka, and more (Julia Manoy)
• How to adapt in the bush and communicate with people who don’t speak English as their first language (Summer Schlessinger)
• What it was like to go to school in a different culture and how to do Aboriginal painting (Talia Pollak)

I would like to thank Kim Haddix and Kim Slender for joining the trip and being such wonderful leaders throughout the week. I would also like to thank the children and parents for being such a joy to travel with, so open minded and such fabulous representatives of Emanuel School.

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Cross country 

This week’s ASISSA cross country was a fabulous day with many Years 3-6 students representing the School proudly across the age groups. We achieved strong results from our runners and I would like to congratulate all the children who participated. I look forward to Stuart Taylor’s report and I would like to thank him for organising the Emanuel team for this event.

Year K Haifa Pathways

Today K Haifa celebrated their Pathways ceremony. Unfortunately I was off campus and unable to attend but I have no doubt that it was a very special morning for the Kindy children and their families. Thank you to Morah Bar-On, Adam Carpenter, Sarit Spira, Morah Martine and Morah Shirley for their hard work in organising the beautiful and meaningful Pathways ceremonies, as well as to Ofer Levy for taking photographs.

Reconciliation Week

Reconciliation Week takes place from 27 May 2021 – 3 June 2021. This year’s themes include More Than a Word: Reconciliation Takes Action and Under One Sky: Yesterday, Today and Forever. The Primary School children will participate in a range of classroom activities and we look forward to celebrating at school on Friday 28 May 2021. Students are encouraged to come to school in yellow as a part of our celebrations.

We will be participating in ‘Wear It Yellow’ day – an initiative from ‘Children’s Ground’ – an organisation that supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. Please send your children in with a gold coin to support Children’s Ground. Please diarise this date.

Head of Jewish Life

Rabbi Daniel Siegel – Head of Jewish Life

את פניך יהוה אבקש אל תסתר פניך ממני

I Seek Your Face, Do Not Hide Your Face from Me

This week’s parashah is the longest Torah Portion, with 176 verses. Were it not to include 72 identical verses, describing the exact same offering brought by the chieftain of each tribe, in dedicating the Mishkan (Tabernacle), it would not be of noteworthy length. Perhaps the purpose in presenting this litany of verses can be found in the name of the parashah, נשא/naso.

The root letters נשא (nun, sin, aleph) can lead to a variation of words and meanings.

נשא/naso, in the very beginning of this parashah, means to take a census-literally “Raise/lift the heads of…”. This may explain why the chieftains of each tribe are called נשיאים/Nesi’im, for they were elevated above their brethren.

Relatedly נשא/nasa, means to carry (a burden, משא/masa), used in this parashah to discuss the duties of the clans regarding porterage of the Mishkan. It is also used in this same Torah reading to declare that an adulteress woman will bear תשא/tisa her sin.

A well-known use of these root letters can be found in the celebrated priestly blessing that lies at the centre of this parashah:

ה’ פניו אליך וישם לך שלום  ישא 

May the Lord bestow his favour (yisa –literally “lift His face”) upon you and grant you peace

Soon after this blessing of God granting favor/lifting his face (ישא ה’ פניו) we find the litany of verses describing the identical offerings brought by the נשיאים/Nesi’im, the chieftains of the Israelite tribes. This blessing coupled with the offerings bring to mind an earlier critical episode  in the history of humankind, as presented by the Bible.

Both Kayin and Hevel bring offerings to God. God looks favourably/pays heed to the offering of Hevel but not to that of Kayin. God addresses the greatly distressed Kayin:

Why has your face fallen, if you do well, there is שאת/uplift

Suffering rejection, Kayin does not experience restoration in the eyes of God and instead he kills his favoured brother and is cursed by God to no longer be a productive farmer but to ceaselessly wander the earth. We then here the anguished cry of Kayin:

ויאמר קין אל יהוה גדול עוני מנשוא

The root letters נשא here can either mean to bear or to forgive. Kayin can be saying to God: “My punishment/ sin is greater than I can bear” or he can be asking God: “Is my sin too great to forgive?”.

Perhaps, Kayin is asking of God if his sin is too great to forgive in the sense that God himself should bear his sin which was a result of the unexplained rejection of his offering and not being granted divine favour.

It might be in this light that we can understand that the dedication of the Mishkan, in which God’s presence resides and countenance shines upon His people, culminates with a litany of verses in which all the נשיאים/Nesi’im, as representatives of their respective tribes, bring the identical offering. None is to be given greater weight than the other. Upon all will God’s favour be bestowed, for all are equal before God.

Ma Koreh

Adam Carpenter – Head of Jewish Life Primary

It was with relief we were able to host the parents of K Eilat for our Pathways event two weeks ago, having made last minute adjustments to our ceremony to conform to the recent COVID restrictions.

This week we celebrated our second K Pathways ceremony with the students and parents of K Haifa, without restrictions! This event included an upbeat and musical K-2 Shabbat celebration, led by Morah Bar-On and Morah Sarit that was filled with ruach.

The theme for this Pathways ceremony is the meaning and significance of the names we are given and the name we earn for ourselves. In thinking about what it means to have a שם טוב – shem tov (a good name), students thought they could earn a good name by being kind and sharing with others. Before receiving a beautifully designed and inscribed hamsa frame, parents blessed their child using the beautiful words of the birkat banim.  

Thank you to all the Year K parents for their involvement in the ceremonies and the Year K teachers, Mrs Strub and Ms Hynek for their care of our Year K students. Todah Rabbah to Morah Shirley and Morah Martine for their work in preparing Hebrew musical items for the ceremonies and for preparing the hamsa frames. 

Aleph-bet cookies

Teshuvah – restorative justice

Adam Ezekiel – Director of Students 7-12

Restorative justice practice is the fundamental value of behaviour management at Emanuel. In all instances of behaviour management, the Teshuvah process (restorative justice) is utilised by teachers to enable students to:

• Recognise what they have done wrong.
• Express regret for their mistakes.
• Reconcile with the person they have wronged.
• Refrain from making the same mistake again.

The Teshuvah discussion is a way of thinking, interacting, teaching and learning – with relationships at the centre of what we do. At Emanuel, we view discipline as an educational process, in which we aim to support students to recognise mistakes, be accountable for their actions and learn for next time.

Whilst consequences for poor behaviour are important, if students are able to recognise and reflect on this behaviour they are less likely to repeat it in the future.

The Teshuvah process also teaches and models communication skills so that students are exposed to the sharing and listening to diverse opinions. If you are interested in implementing the Teshuvah process (restorative justice) at home with your child, these are the standard questions from ‘Love Parenting’ when responding to challenging behavior, in order to help them and others process their thoughts and feelings:

1. What happened?
2. What were you thinking about at the time?
3. What have your thoughts been since?
4. Who has been affected by what you did?
5. In what way have they been affected?
6. What do you think needs to happen next?

Resources

• Using restorative justice in your classroom and school
• Love Parenting – Restorative Parenting

Primary IT Leaders

This year the IT Leaders have been running assemblies and starting up clubs for the Emanuel Primary School community. This has been a great opportunity for the IT Leaders. This term, we have set up a Minecraft club for Years 5 and 6. There will be a Kindergarten to Year 2 Coding club coming soon. We are excited to start working with the younger Year Groups. The IT Leaders work closely with Ms Thomas in the Imaginarium and on Fridays in 6 Yad Mordechai for the 20 students who come to Minecraft club. 

Every second Friday the IT Leaders walk down to the theatre, open the door to the control room and, depending on what’s happening, will change the lights to suit the mood or event. Our choices of suitable lighting reflect whether the assembly is going to be a formal or informal event. Our other responsibility is to check that the microphones and projector volume are at a suitable level to ensure that everything can be heard by the audience. 

As IT Leaders, we take our job seriously and love being around technology and helping those who may be having technological problems. We also love doing the lights and controls in the assembly.

We wanted to thank Ms Thomas for helping us with our roles as IT Leaders.

By Cyrus Waldner, Daniel Judin and Jacob Zyl
Year 6 IT Leaders

IT Leaders

IT 3

Elephant salad (Pilim)

Year 2 Hebrew students ate their way into a story about the letter Pey פ. In the story, Pilim (capsicum) and פלפלים (elephants) eat a salad, made from colourful “Pilpelim ( פילים — “Melafefonim — מלפפונים (cucumbers). The students helped to make the salad and then eat it – Beteavon בתאבון (enjoy your meal).

Just as in the story, students chomped on their salad before they could enjoy a sweet treat that also begins with the letter Pey פ …. chocolate פודינג pudding.

During the activity students also read aloud the story of Salat Pilim. It was a yummy and enjoyable activity.

Year 2 Hebrew teachers

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Rabbi, I was wondering…?

Last week, we welcomed three esteemed Rabbis; Rabbi Ninio (Progressive Judaism), Rabbi Elton (Orthodox Judaism) and Rabbi Cohen (Conservative Judaism) to participate in a Q&A Panel for the Shavuot session of our Year 11 Speaker Series.

We selected 10 or so of the most pressing issues from over 40 deep and challenging questions sent by our students asking, “Rabbi, I was wondering…?” that were then posed to the Rabbis via our moderator, Rabbi Danny Siegel. Following the set questions – for which the Rabbis kept their responses admirably close to the two-minute time limit – students were able to voice additional questions, which continued to show their contemplation and care about Judaism and living Jewishly in today’s world.

In their online Reshet Discussion Forum following the event, students were asked to share their thoughts on the panel as a whole, before delving more deeply into one of the topics discussed.

Here are some of the students’ overviews:

The panel was interesting as the many opinions about important topics were discussed in a way that each Rabbi could put forward their own unique perspective. The responses given opened my eyes to the different sects of Judaism and how to accept people’s differing views and opinions. Luca Calderon-Havas

As a whole, I enjoyed the panel as each perspective gave me something different to think about, a different idea to consider. It made me question my own beliefs on the different questions asked and encouraged me to think in different ways. For example, hearing Rabbi Elton’s perspective and thinking I agreed with some parts and then thought something different after hearing Rabbi Ninio’s perspective. Furthermore, it also made me realise how different people can interpret and believe different things yet still be a part of Judaism. Talia Kleviansky

I thought that the panel session was extremely engaging as it was so interesting to hear both the conflicting and the shared opinions from the Rabbis of different denominations and beliefs. Further comparing and contrasting the three Rabbis’ opinions with my own was insightful in helping me gain a deeper and clearer understanding of my own beliefs. Justin Faul

Overall, I really enjoyed the panel session. It was fascinating to hear from different perspectives and denominations and the different ways that the Rabbis perceive certain pressing issues at the forefront of our modern society. I particularly liked when the Rabbis drew points from each other and bounced ideas between one another. Isabella Filipczyk

It was extremely interesting to hear each of the different perspectives from Rabbis of completely different denominations of Judaism on a range of questions. It was particularly interesting when I thought the Rabbis would disagree with each other in response to a question, but didn’t, and when they gave answers that I did not expect. Jayda Sacks

High School Netball

This term, Emanuel teams have been participating in the St Catherine’s Netball Competition each Wednesday afternoon. The teams competing have so far had great success, with the Year 8/9 Maroon team undefeated after three weeks of competition. The games are played in a short game format, leaving minimal time for error and played at speed. The girls have shown an outstanding level of commitment and dedication to their current training schedule and preparation for this competition has been intense but highly rewarding which is evident on game day. The Emanuel coaching staff are excited to see the progress of the players in the weeks ahead. 

In Term 3, Emanuel convenes the Sydney Schools Cup weekly netball competition each Tuesday afternoon. Games are held at school and the competition is run across junior (Year 7/8) and intermediate (Years 9/10) divisions and will be played at a 4.00 pm or 4.50 pm time slot each week.

Training will be held on Monday mornings in Term 3 for all teams competing in the Sydney Schools Cup weekly competition.

If your child is interested in playing in the competition, please forward expressions of interest to Netball Coach, Erin Archer at earcher@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au.

Music Matters

Diana Springford – Head of Music

Twilight Concerts 

Our Twilight Concerts provide an intimate and formal performance opportunity for students receiving private music tuition here at school. Over the past few weeks, many of our dedicated student instrumentalists and vocalists have been preparing for a live performance in the Millie Phillips Theatre in front of family, friends and peers. Last Thursday evening, these two highly enjoyable concerts featured 29 solo or duet performances from students ranging in age from Years 2-11. 

 Thank you to Daniel Burley for organising this showcase event and for rehearsing, accompanying and supporting our students. Thank you to our team of peripatetic tutors who have prepared these students so beautifully. Congratulations and thanks to the students who have worked hard preparing their performances and to those who attended to support them. 

 We encourage students of all levels to perform regularly and to express their interest via their music tutor to participate in future concerts. The next Twilight Concerts will be held in Term 4 and preference will be given to those who missed the opportunity this time. 

Our photographs of the concert are courtesy of  Ofer Levy, a member of our parent community, who has been so generous in regularly volunteering to attend school concerts to capture such superb images of our performers.  

Music Camp (Week 8)

Our participants list for Music Camp is being finalised, with over 150 students attending. For parents who opted to pay by instalments, you are reminded that the second (final) instalment was due last week. A detailed information letter with a packing list will be sent to attendees next week.  

Parents and carers, please remember to put the Music Camp Showcase Concert in your diary for Thursday 10 June 2021, from 6.15 pm – 8.00 pm.

Music Camp Talent Quest

Show off your secret, or not so secret, talent at the Music Camp Talent Quest on Tuesday evening. Students who wish to participate should have a well-prepared act that is appropriate for Music Camp students from ages 9-18. It could be serious or funny. Students who would like to participate must register their interest with Mr Burley by the first Monday of camp. They should bring whatever gear they need and, if using a backing track, should have it fully downloaded and given to Mr Burley by the last Friday before camp.

On the Music Portal Page, you will announcements and information about:

• Private Music Tuition (beginning and discontinuing)
• Ensemble and Choir membership for K-12 students
• Infant Strings Program (ISP) for K-2
• Performance opportunities
• Borrowing an orchestral instrument

You can also find fun news and updates from us on Instagram.

Private Music Tuition and Infant Strings Program

Thank you to those who have already advised us of changes to private tuition and ISP enrolments for next term. The deadline for new enrolments, notification of changes or intention to discontinue for Term 3, is the end of next week (Friday 24 May 2021). Otherwise, students currently receiving private tuition and members of the K-2 Infant Strings Program will be automatically re-enrolled into tutor schedules for Term 3 along with students commencing lessons for the first time. To enrol or discontinue please visit our Music Portal Page and complete the relevant online forms. Formal discontinuation notice must be received to avoid being committed to the full term of lessons and liable for fees. 

Please contact Matilda Grieve if you have any questions.  

The schedules for Term 3, 2021 will be created at the end of term and emailed by early July.

Cheesecake anyone?

Sonia Newell – Development Officer – Alumni & Community Relations

We celebrated the festival of Shavuot at the start of this week and, as most of you know, that traditionally includes eating certain foods such as cheesecake and cheese blintzes. We all have our favourite recipes and recipe books, some of which have a special connection with our School and extended community. The Family Meal, Emanuel School Community Cookbook has a recipe for Yummy Baked Cheesecake from the kitchen of the Carpenter Family.

Just Add Love, Holocaust Survivors Share their Stories and Recipes, by Irrit Makler and beautifully photographed by Emanuel past parent David Mane, is a work of history and photography, a cookbook and a testament to the last generation of Survivors in Australia, as they transmit history, culture, sustenance and love through the powerful ritual of food, and it too has a wonderful Baked Cheesecake recipe.

We certainly don’t need to wait for a Chag to make these and the many other yummy recipes when we have such wonderful cookbooks available. 

Mazal Tov!

When your dad goes to the Rabbi for a chat and ends up getting Bar Mitzvah’d

It is never too late to do anything, and although most Jewish boys are Bar Mitzvah’d when they turn 13 sometimes circumstances do not allow that. This is a lovely story posted on Rabbi Levi Wolff’s FaceBook page about one of our grandparents, Tommy Silver. Tommy, whose three daughters Monika, Anita and Cherie are all Emanuel alumni, is now an Emanuel grandparent. Two of his daughters, Monika Silver (Class of 1998) and Anita Clark (Class of 1999), have their own children here as students at the school, whilst their younger sister Cherie lives in London.

On his post Humans of My Day, Rabbi Levi Wolff writes:

Tommy Silver with Rabbi Wolff

Today I met Tommy, he is 83 years young. Today, Tommy put on tefillin for the very first time in his life! You see, Tommy was born in Hungary in 1938 and was only told he was Jewish when he turned 13. His parents were understandably traumatised from the Holocaust and feared repercussions if they revealed his religion of birth. Flash forward almost three decades, Tommy valiantly attempted to escape Hungary via (what was then) Yugoslavia. He suffered setbacks as he was caught en-route, yet finally landed safely here in this Great Southern Land.

Eighty-three is special. After all, it is 70 years post-Bar Mitzvah – yet the effects of the Shoah proved a great disruptor to Tommy’s world. Tommy has roamed far and wide, but today Tommy finally had an opportunity to celebrate his Bar Mitzvah!

To paraphrase the famous Qantas advertisement “But no matter how far or how wide I roam … I still call my Yiddishkeit home.”

Mazel Tov Tommy – Until 120!

National Volunteer Week

17 May 2021 – 23 May 2021

The theme this year is Recognise. Reconnect. Reimagine.

We have so much to be thankful for – to the many volunteers who help our School and our extended community every single day.  We have parents and grandparents who are members of various committees here at School, we have others who regularly participate in our PSG (Parent Security Group), helping to keep our students and staff safe. Many of our alumni volunteer for CSG (Community Security Group) to help keep our synagogues and other communal organisations, personnel and buildings safe. Students and alumni volunteer at Friendship Circle and other groups that help children and young adults with disabilities. Many of our parents and grandparents volunteer as guides at The Sydney Jewish Museum. The list goes on and on, and we say a huge “Thank You” to all of you and acknowledge the work you do in all your volunteering efforts.

Limmud Oz 2021 – a community-wide festival of Jewish ideas and culture

13 June 2021 – 14 June 2021

Parents past and present, including Estelle Rozinski, Geoff Sirmai, Jayme Akstein, Sharon Berger, Shirli Kirschner and Kerri Sackville, alumni Mitch Burnie, Sean Torban, Matt Friedman, Julia Sussman, Zac Levi and Eve Altman, and staff member Oren Thaler, are amongst the presenters at this year’s Limmud Oz, an annual event to be held this year at The Roundhouse UNSW and Moriah College. 

Private Art Gallery tour with a difference

We hope you will join us on the morning of 16 June 2021 for our Gesher private tour of Salon des Refusés 2021 (the alternative Archibald and Wynne Prize selection) at the S.H. Ervin Gallery, Observatory Hill (The Rocks), with parking available onsite. This event is open to past and current parents, grandparents and alumni as well as friends.

Bookings open soon. Please email your interest to attend. 

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

Shabbat Shalom and have a great weekend.    

Da Vinci Decathlon

Craig Moss – Coordinator of Gifted & Talented 7-12 Moss-Craig-2020

Excellent results for our teams in a very competitive da Vinci Decathlon event 

Five teams entered this year’s da Vinci Decathlon from High School. All the teams performed very well, placing in the top 15 in a number of disciplines. Most importantly, it was a great opportunity for the students to celebrate their academic gifts and engage in stimulating challenges.

The da Vinci Decathlon is an academic competition where students compete in teams of eight across 10 disciplines: engineering, mathematics and chess, code breaking, art and poetry, science, english, ideation, creative producers, cartography and legacy. The theme for this year was chance.

The Year 8 and Year 11 teams were standout performers. The Year 8 team placed 3rd in Art & Poetry, 3rd in English, 8th in Creative Producers and finished 10th overall. The Year 11 team placed 2nd in Code Breaking, 5th in Cartography, 5th in Science, 14th in Creative Producers and finished 9th overall. The full list of results are below. These results are impressive considering around 70 teams entered the competition for each Year Group. 

Years 9,10 and 11 teams

Results summary:

Student reflections

“The multiple challenges pushed our thinking far outside of the box. It was a day of excitement, intensity, team work, creativity, and learning.” Liberty Waldner and Jessica Linker (Year 8 – helped their team to top three placements in English and Art and Poetry)

“Although the da Vinci Decathlon wasn’t exactly the great atmosphere it always is at Knox Grammar, I still thoroughly enjoyed the experience and had a lot of fun despite having to adapt to our school environment. Da Vinci is always a highlight of the year, and I would highly recommend anybody to sign up whether you want to delve past your natural zone of thinking or strengthen bonds through solving the challenging puzzles the decathlon has to offer.” Jake Sharp (Year 10)

Let the sun shine in

Ari Merten

Solar panels are one of the greatest renewable energy sources and Australia is a perfect climate for it, with sunny days, meaning our solar panels can be incredibly effective.

Our sun releases small packets of energy called photons and they travel 149.6km to the Earth in 8.5 minutes! When these photons hit a solar panel, they knock the electrons loose from their atoms (by something called the photoelectric effect). If these cells are attached to a complete circuit the electrons begin to flow through it and create electricity. These cells can be linked together to create large panels and those panels together to create solar arrays.

Solar energy is amazing for the environment for multiple reasons:

1. Uses less water! Normal electricity generation requires lots of water for cooling and refining fuel, however solar panels require none.
2. Reduces air pollution: traditional fossil fuel energy generation releases microplastics and microparticles into the air which cause air pollution, lowering air quality.
3. Slows climate change: the releases of the same chemicals that cause air pollution also contribute to climate change. These chemicals drift to the ozone layer and speed up our planets warming.
4. Reduces your own carbon footprint: by employing solar panels in your own home, you can reduce the effect that your own home has on global warming. You can offset anywhere between half to a whole tonne of carbon dioxide every year!
5. Reduces our reliance on fossil fuels: solar energy is free and so easy to harness, if we used all the energy from the sun for just one hour, we could power the world for an entire year!

There are so many easy ways to switch to a more renewable energy source. For homeowners looking to add solar panels follow this guide.

Another easy switch is with your super fund, check out this article to learn about the positives of switching to a climate friendly super fund.

*Please note that Emanuel is not affiliated with either of these companies, we just think they’re great sustainable alternatives!

Tikkun Leil

Jessica Lowy, Year 12

Last Saturday night Year 12 arrived at Emanuel School ready to learn together, bond as a year group and not sleep very much. Around the world, Jewish people observe Shavu’ot by participating in Tikkun Leil Shavu’ot – a night of Jewish learning.

At our Tikkun Leil Shavu’ot, we learnt about a wide range of topics including Midrash, Hebrew sign language, the Biblical Ruth, what Judaism has to say about “sampling” in music, and the significance of the Magen David. Our students also worked on a Year 12 Canvas, featuring Jewish values, as a legacy for the School.

Every student attended three different sessions. It was especially meaningful to be able to discuss these topics with our peers, and hear what different people have to say about these Jewish ideas. For example, in Yael’s session about Jewish philosophy of friendship we were able to share our own personal conceptions of what friendship is. We debated whether Arendt and Heidegger’s friendship was true, or whether one has to see their morals reflected back to them in a real friendship. We concluded that friendship must be reciprocal, and true friendship, like how Buber describes “I-Thou” relations, should be one where a friend is valued in and of themself.

We ate cheesecake late into the night, did ruach, sung happy birthday to Morah Gaida, played soccer and formed deeper relationships with our friends. 

The Year 12 Tikkun Leil Shavu’ot is an experience I’ll add to the collection of great times I’ve had here in my last year at Emanuel School. 

Thank you to the Jewish life team for organising this amazing night.!

Year 12 tikkun leil

Year 12 Tikkun Leil

Community notices

P&F

Ruby Berkovic and Jennifer Opit

Hello Everyone,

We hope you enjoyed the long weekend!

Mother’s Day Meditation (rescheduled)

The P&F presents a Mother’s Day Meditation – led by Jodie Gien @ Mindful Future Project

Emanuel Mums, drop your kids off and join us for a morning meditation session in the MPH. Drop off, grab a coffee down the street and the P&F will provide a morning snack.

When: Tuesday 25 May 2021
Meditation: 9.00 am – 9.30 am – with time to hang out after
Where: MPH
Bring: a yoga mat to sit on and a gold coin donation for Women’s Community Shelters.

Emanuel P&F Family Event: Scavenger Hunt

The Scavenger Hunt is fast approaching! 

It has been too long since we have been able to come together, so the P&F is organising an afternoon of excitement with a Scavenger Hunt. Save the afternoon of Sunday 30 May 2021, at a time that suits you between 12.00 pm – 5.00 pm (it will take approximately two hours to complete), for some family fun!

The cost is $50 per family/team (between 2-6 team members) and all you need is enthusiastic participants and a mobile phone on which to download and access the free App that will allow us to play and interact with one another. You will race around Randwick answering questions and completing tasks (by car, bike or on foot – whatever you choose). You will be able to watch the progress of other teams as you race to checkpoints and complete challenges! It is sure to be heaps of fun!

When: Sunday 30 May 2021  – anytime between 12.00 pm and 5.00 pm (it will take approximately two hours but you can complete as little/much as you like)
Where: Locations around Randwick (you can start and finish anywhere)
How: By following instructions on a free App
Cost: $50 per team/family (2-6 members)

Book now 

Entertainment Books

If you are looking for great offers while out and about, there are plenty to be found in the Entertainment Book.

Order here.  

P&F meeting

Our next P&F meeting will be on the 2 June 2021. Our meetings are held on the first Wednesday of each month at 7.00 pm. They are usually held in the Boardroom at school (but were held on Zoom while restrictions were in place). The location of the upcoming meeting will be confirmed as soon as possible.

Everyone is welcome so please join us as your support and input is valued. Email rubykb@gmail.com if you would like to attend the next meeting and we will confirm the location and send you the agenda.

Camping Trip date change

Please note that the date of the second camping trip for the year has been moved to 26 November 2021 – 28 November 2021

Weekend Brain Teaser

Question: A man pushes his car to a hotel and tells the owner he’s bankrupt. Why?

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 the Esra Family

Sweet Potato and Red Lentil Soup

Ingredients 

2 tbsp olive oil 

1 onion, chopped 

1 clove of garlic, crushed (optional)

500g sweet potato, cubed

1/2 cup red lentils, washed

1 potato, cubed

3 1/2 cups vegetable stock

Directions 

Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil until soft.

Add sweet potato, potato, red lentils and vegetable stock and cook until soft (approximately 20 minutes).

Puree mixture

Serves 4 

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