Volume 30 Issue 32 - 29 Oct 2021

From the Principal

Andrew Watt – Principal

The sounds of silence are no more (apologies to Simon and Garfunkel)

I was delighted to see the smiling faces of the students returning to campus on Monday. The sounds of delight from the playgrounds during recess and lunch are a reminder of how much we all missed being together. Welcome back everyone!

Return to school COVID-19 information webinar

Our Medical Advisory Panel and SAT recently presented a Q&A webinar for our staff, answering questions around vaccinations, mask wearing, ventilation, cohorting and other infection control measures. The information provided by our medical experts was research-based and well explained, with practical applications. Many of the concerns raised by our staff would also be commonly asked questions across our community, and well worth watching. The webinar can be viewed here.

High School vaccination rates

Our survey of High School families has revealed a pleasingly high rate of student vaccinations. The survey results are shared below. Please be aware that, as the survey was anonymous, and proof of vaccination was not required, there is a chance that these results are not entirely accurate. Additionally, some families chose not to complete the survey. If these results are accurate, our vaccination rates are high, affording a large measure of protection to adult members of our school community, where the impact of COVID-19 infection can be more serious.

To date, 87% of our students are double vaccinated, with 3% single vaccinated: a total of 91% vaccinated. Parents have indicated that 3% of our students are not vaccinated and the remaining 7% have not responded to the survey.

A special moment 

Today we received a very special pledge of $10 from Nathan Prosser in Year 3. He (or his parents) photocopied the pledge card from their B’yachad Box so his pledge was independent of the family’s. We are truly grateful to Nathan for his generosity. If you have not yet donated to the Capital Appeal, there is still time to do so. Visit ourbrightfuture.com.au to donate online or email capitalappeal@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au

Looking towards their bright future 

Primary students dressed up in colourful clothes today to celebrate their bright future. Anticipating the sunny day, the students were each given a pair of Capital Appeal sunnies to round off the theme. 

High School annual presentation of prizes on Thursday 9 December

With the uncertainty surrounding what the Public Health Orders and NSW Health Guideline will permit in December, a decision has been made to move our Speech Night from the Sir Tom Clancy Auditorium at the UNSW, to the Lehrer Family Building (MPH). The event will commence at 2.00 pm, with a combination of a live-and-live-streamed audience.

Michael Milton in action at the Paralympic Games

Our guest speaker for the evening is Michael Milton – a skier, cyclist, trekker, triathlete, runner, world and Australian record holder, Paralympian and Olympian. Michael has experienced moments of great triumph and devastating loss. I am sure he will inspire us all with his story of resilience and strength.

More information about the event will follow closer to the date when we find out whether parents are allowed on campus and the physical distancing requirements. Regardless of the level of restrictions, we will enjoy a special end of year event. Please place the date and time in your diary!

In memory of Lexi Bader z”l

Next Tuesday marks the anniversary of Lexi’s tragic passing. This week I stopped for a few moments at the olive tree near the Avoca Street gate that we planted in Lexi’s memory. It is a constant physical reminder of a young man whose life was cut short too soon. We wish Teoh and his family long life. May Lexi’s memory be for a blessing.

Mazal tov

Our team of 19  students who entered the Future Problem Solving Program (FPS) came home with a number of honours.

  • A special mazal tov to Ruby Brody and Eden Levit, Year 10, for their combined 1st place in the National Finals of the FPS Program’s Community Problem Solving Competition (Senior Division).
  • Eden also excelled at the FPS Scenario Performance (Individual) – Senior Division, once again placing 1st.

Both students have been invited to travel to America to attend the prestigious FPS Program International Conference in 2022.

Quote of the week

“We can not solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them” ~ Albert Einstein

From the Head of Jewish Life

Rabbi Daniel Siegel – Head of Jewish Life

A good death

A reporter for The Times, a British newspaper, asked a prominent member of the Jewish community and of the House of Lords, “Most people, when they reach their 92nd birthday, start thinking about slowing down. You seem to be speeding up. Why is that?” The Lord replied: “When you get to 92, you start seeing the door close, and I have so much to do before the door closes that the older I get, the harder I have to work”.

Our parashahChayei Sarah (the Life of Sarah), which opens with the death of Sarah, tells us, immediately after he buries his wife, that: “Avraham was old (zakein), advancing in years”. In burying his life partner, Avraham is confronted by his own mortality.

In the very next verse, we are told that Avraham calls upon the “zakein of his house”, his senior servant, to help him put his house in order, which includes the critical responsibility of finding a suitable wife for his son, to carry on his line now that he will soon join Sarah. The door is closing for Avraham, and he heightens his engagement in preparing for the future of his household and loved ones.

 

A well-known Talmudic story relates:

One day, Honi the ‘Circle Maker’ was walking on the road and saw an old man planting a carob tree. Honi asked the man: “How long will it take for this tree to bear fruit?”

The man replied, “Seventy years.”

Honi asked: “And do you think you will live another seventy years and eat the fruit of this tree?”

The man answered: “Perhaps not. However, when I was born into this world, I found many carob trees planted by my father and grandfather. Just as they planted trees for me, I am planting trees for my children and grandchildren so they will be able to eat the fruit of these trees”.

Avraham was able to prepare for his progeny because he was able to harvest the fruits of his own lifetime. Avraham lived challenging God and challenging himself. He was not afraid of dying because he was not afraid of living. When Avraham does die we hear that it is at a “good ripe age, old (zakein) and contented”.

The word zakein, meaning “old” (and elder), connotes, within the Jewish tradition, one who is wise (“zeh kanah chachmah”- this one has acquired wisdom). Wisdom is acquired through experiencing and learning from life.

A Yiddish saying teaches us:

Old Age to the Unlearned is Winter, to the Learned it is Harvest Time

Perhaps it is significant that our parashah, which describes the death of our first matriarch and patriarch, goes by the word ‘Life’. For the wise, it is life well-lived that makes for a good death. 

 

 

Primary News

Katie Brody – Director of Students K-6

Teaching and learning without a screen – remember that?

Returning to the classroom after such a long period creating and conducting lesson sequences online, is like finally being able to breathe again. We have now revolutionised our purposeful use of technology and will certainly continue to use some of the best practices we have developed as they have been so impactful for student learning, but there is nothing that compares to the in-person educational context to restore our joy. Now that we are back in the classroom, the opportunities to reconnect socially are paramount.

Aside from the range of social opportunities prepared by the teachers for these final weeks of the school year, here are five of the offline practices our teachers will be returning to now that we are back at school:

 

 

 

  1. Think, Pair Share – Teacher poses an essential question and students jot down ideas, suggestions and responses on their own. They then pair with another student to discuss responses (both students refine or build on their ideas) and then the whole class takes turns offering their ideas.
  2. Turn and talk – Teacher poses a question or a topic and asks students to turn and talk to a partner or a small group to discuss the content, drawing out their knowledge. Partners then share what others mentioned in the discussion.
  3. Chat stations – Around the classroom (pinned on the wall) are prompts for discussion in the form of images or questions or statements. Students are in small groups and have a pad of post-it notes and a pencil in hand. They remain at their station, discussing, reading, planning and writing based on the specific prompt. They leave the post-it notes on the wall for the next group. Groups then rotate to the next prompt to do the next part of the exploration. Responses are shared.
  4. Silent discussion – six large pieces of paper spread out on desks in the classroom. A discussion point or topic is written in the centre of each page. Students meander around the room silently, with a coloured pen in hand, writing responses onto each page (in mind map form) and adding further comments or elaborations to the responses of others.
  5. Socratic Circles – Students sit on chairs in two concentric circles. The inner circle are to be the ‘talkers’ and the outer circle provide ideas to those in the inner circle. A topic is raised for debate. The students in the inner circle prepare responses and begin the debate. The students in the outer circle listen without speaking and they write ideas on post-it notes and hand it to those in the inner circle to use in the discussion. Students then swap places and a new debate begins.

ICAS competitions schedule

For those in Year 3- 6 who opted in for these academic competitions, please find the ICAS schedule below:

Discipline

Date

Period

Duration

Digital Tech

Friday 12 November 2021 

Period 2 – 3

Years 3 and 4 have 30 minutes

Years 5 and 6 have 35 minutes

English

Monday 15 November 2021 

Period 1 – 2

Years 3 and 4: 45 minutes

Years 5 and 6: 50 minutes

Science

Tuesday 16 November 2021

Period 1 – 2

Years 3 and 4: 45 minutes

Years 5 and 6: 55 minutes

Maths 

Years 3 and 4

Wednesday 17 November 2021

Periods 5 – 6

Years 3 and 4: 45 minutes

Maths 

Years 5 and 6

Thursday 18 November 2021

Periods 1 – 2

Year 5: 45 minutes

Year 6: 60 minutes

 

Reminders

Natanya Milner – Head of Primary School

It has been wonderful to have a full campus this week and to hear the chatting, laughing and buzzing around the place. The teachers are thrilled to be back and it is fantastic to see the children so happily engaged in the classroom and the playground. Even GWTF seems to have worked relatively smoothly this week. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this first week on campus!

Just a few of the key reminders that will assist at this time:

  • Casual Fridays are back until the end of the year.
  • The canteen ordering system requires everything to be pre-ordered via Flexischools. The time has been adjusted to 6.00 pm the day prior (instead of 2.00 pm).
  • Please do not drop your children to school prior to 8.00 am as there is no supervision on campus until then.
  • Please use GWTF and not your own arrangements in the surrounding streets. I noticed some people drive into Market St and then U-turn to turn right onto Avoca St for GWTF. Please do not do this. I am in the unfortunate position of being asked to patrol this area and would greatly appreciate not having to follow up with anyone for using Market St (unless of course you are walking to school).
  • Until the end of the year, Years K-2 finish at 3.00 pm and Years 3-6 finish at 3.15 pm.

Masks

Years 3-6 are wearing masks indoors on campus and Years K-2 can wear masks if they choose to do so. The children are doing a great job with this. Please make sure that your children have spares available so that we are able to limit the number of disposable masks that we are handing out. Our Emanuel masks have arrived and one has been issued to each child in the Primary School. We have some spares available for sale via Trybooking. Please note that there are two sizes available. We have issued Years K-4 with the small size and Years 5-6 with the larger size. Feel free to follow the link and order some more!

Staffing news

This week we have found out that we have two special Emanuel teachers leaving at the end of this year:

Roslynn Pardy has been at Emanuel on and off for over a decade. She has taught across many age groups and most recently is on 5 Yavneh, she is also our 3-6 coordinator. Roslynn has a wonderful knowledge and passion for transdisciplinary learning and has contributed much to our planning in this area. She has made the difficult decision to resign from Emanuel in order to be closer to home with her young family. We wish Roslynn all the very best and thank her for her many contributions as a classroom teacher and 3-6 coordinator.

Kim Haddix has been at Emanuel for four years and has become a much-loved Year 6 teacher. We will be sad to farewell Kim as she heads off to explore the world beyond teaching. We wish her all the very best as she travels and enjoys a different pace. Kim’s passion for literacy has had a wonderful impact on our Year 6 programs and we have been grateful for her expertise and care.

We are lucky to be welcoming back some teachers who have been on leave and also appoint some fabulous new staff to the permanent team from 2022. We look forward to Emma Hill and Annabelle Turrall returning from maternity leave.

We are also glad that we have been able to appoint Claudia Sceats and Hayley Chester, both Emanuel School graduates, to permanent positions on staff. Dale Kessler is a Stage 3 expert and will be joining Emanuel from the beginning of 2022.

We look forward to sharing details of the full team shortly but are very excited about what lies ahead.

 

Ma Koreh

Adam Carpenter – Head of Jewish Life Primary

Our campus, largely empty over recent months, came alive this week with the sights and sounds of Hebrew, Jewish learning and children learning and laughing together. The Emanuel ruach and vibe return and אהבה – love was in the air.

Our familiar classrooms replaced virtual breakout rooms and we left the Chat Function for face-to-face discussions and sharing of ideas replaced the Chat function.

Whilst we will not be coming together to sing and prayer, we will be making time during the week to connect  and reflect on prayers, hear the weekly Torah portion and mark Shabbat.  

Year 5Y were inspired by Rabbi Emily Meyer, the creator of Doodly Jew to explore Hebrew calligraphy and graphic design. Below are some examples, exploring the word תפילה – prayer

Year 2 learning about the seasons in Hebrew

Kornmehl

Terry Aizen – Director of Kornmehl

On our Staff Development Day at the end of Term 3, the Pre-school Educators engaged in a Zoom workshop presented by Terry and Alex on “Teachers as Researchers.”

This was an opportunity to collaborate, to deepen our knowledge and understandings and to bring us together by pursuing an action research project, that we could collaborate on as a whole staff team. A chance for us to work together, to support each other through the learning, the wanderings, and questions both we and the children might have and to help each other to explore meaning together. We recognise that sharing respectful dialogue and working through things together builds a culture of deep reflection and connects people to a concept or idea. Taking time to go deeply into a shared project enables educators to collaborate, discuss, reflect, and see where the research takes us. 

During the day, we spent time as a team unpacking a few key ideas about the image of the child and about research.

Our image of the child is where teaching begins. We need to walk alongside children and learn from them daily. Research is a partnership and a relationship that opens many possibilities. Being together and collaborating with fellow colleagues is fundamental for professionalism. When children and adults share ideas, this influences their thinking, in a positive and meaningful way. They learn from each other and by being together.

Research is something that occurs in a relationship. We need to see ourselves as co-workers and co researchers. Just as the children are learning, so are we. We must not separate theory, practice, and research. Curiosity is the springboard of all learning. It’s our responsibility to keep the warmth of that desire alive and to feed children’s curiosity. We need to give the children’s ideas and theories a narrative by listening carefully and observing closely. Children must be encouraged to listen to each other’s point of view.

Therefore, teachers need time to focus on what happens in the classroom and to reflect on what they do and why they do it. One of the major strengths of teacher research is that it allows teachers to reflect on issues and problems and to formulate questions that may need to be refined and reframed throughout the research process. Researchable questions must be phrased in ways that direct the questioner toward inquiry and away from specific courses of action (Freeman 1998).

As Clifford and Marinucci (2008) emphasise, an important characteristic of inquiry is that it evokes stimulating questions that lead to further questions.

Teacher inquiry is the continuous engagement with questions worth asking, wonderings worth pursuing that lead to a greater understanding of how to teach and how children learn.

Inquiry may stem from teachers’ assumptions, identities, and images of teaching and learning. When teachers pose questions worth asking, they do so from an attitude of inquiry, and they see their classrooms as laboratories for wonder and discovery.

Questions worth asking have the power to change us and to cause us to see ourselves and the children we teach in new ways. They engage the mind and the passion of the teacher; encourage wonder about the space between what is known and what is knowable; and allow for possibilities that are neither imagined nor anticipated (Hubbard & Power 2003).

In general, researchable questions must be open ended, suggesting multiple directions and possibilities (Freeman 1998; Hubbard & Power 2003). This means avoiding yes or no questions and questions that have clear boundaries or solutions. In contrast, questions that begin with how or what allow a researcher to describe the process and changes as they emerge.

Researchable questions

  • Are always open ended
  • Are investigative
  • Seek possibilities and multiple responses
  • Enable surprises and epiphanies
  • Assume that knowledge and understanding are constructed
  • Draw out experiences, perspectives, and beliefs             
  • Involve emotion as well as thought.

Teacher research is not an “add on” but a way to build theory through reflection, inquiry, and action and a way to make informed decisions based on data collected from meaningful inquiry. It takes practice, self-monitoring, and awareness to become proficient in asking researchable questions. The support and encouragement of an inquiry group and the willingness to give thoughtful consideration to one’s questions are essential. Throughout teacher research projects, the initial research question may need to be modified continually to create a closer fit with the classroom environment. 

It’s important to think about the following:

  • Am I asking the right question?
  • What other questions may be emerging from my data?
  • Is my question still meaningful, intriguing, worthy of investigation?
  • Is my question more complicated than I had previously thought?
  • Can my question evolve with time and with continued observation and reflection?

We recognise how good we all are at asking deep and meaningful open-ended reflective questions. Every Day Book reflects deep and critical thinking and thought-provoking ideas that give a voice and agency to the children’s ideas and thoughts. We are adept at recognising the comments children make and getting them to reflect deeply about their thinking. 

During the Staff Development Day, educators reflected deeply as a whole group, as well as in breakout groups, on possible questions or wanderings that we could explore as a whole team. After much discussion and reflection, we came up with the following research question:

To understand how children develop a Jewish identity and to start with the research question
“What does it mean to be Jewish?”

We were very excited to begin this project at the start of Term 4. We have been using staff meetings each week to bring the wonderings, thoughts, and ideas of each group to the team, to discuss, share and support each other.

We are very excited at the possibilities this Action Research Project is bringing and the opportunity to collaborate as a whole staff team is extremely powerful and creates many rich possibilities to learn from and with each other. It’s also interesting to see how each group is responding to the research question and how the different age groups of the children, impacts their thinking and understanding. We are also learning so much about the children themselves, and what is important in their own individual families. It is helping us to understand the children on a much deeper level.

Next week, I will share some of the children’s thinking and ideas and some of the work we are doing.

National Bandanna Day

On Friday we collected money for Canteen by all wearing bandannas to support cancer research for young people. Thank you to all the Kornmehl families for all purchasing a bandanna.

Happy Birthday

We wish a very happy birthday to Ava Greenberg (5) and to our special Educator, Lindi Bloch. We hope you all had a wonderful day.

 

You have mail

Sharon Philippsohn – Capital Appeal Director (Operations & Donor Relations)

Do you remember when you were young how exciting it was to receive mail in the letterbox? I do. It felt like such an achievement when I was tall enough to be able to get the mail out of the letterbox by myself. And if there was actually a letter addressed to me, that was the best thing ever.

Growing up the mail got a little less exciting. There was still the odd birthday card and invitation to special events, but more and more the mail was bills, letters from politicians and real estate agents and pizza discount vouchers.

These days checking the letterbox seems to be more of a chore than anything enjoyable. Until last week. At our weekly department Zoom meeting Maria (one of the lovely ladies you speak to when you call the School) held a bunch of envelopes up to her camera and all of a sudden I was that little kid again, filled with excitement to receive mail. The envelopes were our Emanuel community’s pledge cards from last week’s B’yachad Capital Appeal event. I don’t think the Admin department have ever seen anyone filled with so much gratitude at receiving mail. Nor had they had the opportunity before now to witness our community’s commitment to the Appeal.

My joy was for many reasons. I was glad that Australia Post was delivering mail promptly (can’t take this for granted these days). I was happy that people were returning their pledge cards. Mostly I was overjoyed that people who participated in Emanuel B’yachad were supporting the bright future of our students, our School and our community.

If you haven’t yet returned your pledge card from Emanuel B’yachad, or you missed the event and have only received your pledge card in the mail this week, please take a moment now to fill it in and post it this weekend. Or you can donate online.

If you manage to find rainbow themed postboxes like these ones I bet you’ll feel as excited posting your letter as when you were a child.

 

 

Sierra rocks

Sonia Newell – Development Officer – Alumni & Community Relations

Life returning to “normal”

We look forward to a busy November as more and more of our day-to-day activities return to “normal”. We truly appreciate everything the School has done to ensure the safety and well-being of our staff and of our students, all of whom returned to School this week. 

For the latest COVID rulings updates.

Sierra rocks!

Lockdown was a very difficult time in so many different ways, and during these four months apart, members of our amazing school community found innovative ways to keep ourselves busy and to stay connected. When we went into lockdown, Year 1 student Sierra Miller wanted everyone in her Year to know that she was thinking of them and hoping they were keeping safe. She came up with the idea of painting a rock for each child with their name on it. Each rock has its own design that she made especially for that child. She worked on them every day for weeks and finally gave them out last week to her class and teachers. This was a wonderful initiative and appreciated by everyone who received their very special hand painted rock. Here is a photo of Sierra with her work. Her mum Sharon Miller said: “She was so proud and she missed everyone so much!”.

Kira Friedman

Sydney Jewish Museum (SJM) gains a gem

Sydney Jewish Museum’s gain is sadly our loss. Over the past two years, we have all enjoyed seeing the many wonderful video clips and other amazing social media work produced by Kira Friedman, our very talented Digital Marketing & Community Engagement Assistant.

Kira leaves us this week to work full-time as Marketing and Membership Officer at SJM where she will join an inspiring team that includes a number of members of our School community including parent Ilana McCorquodale, Professional and Community Education Coordinator; alumna Rebecca Kummerfeld, Head of Education; grandparents Rony Bognar, Volunteer Coordinator and Rita Prager, Fundraising Manager as well as many past and current parents, grandparents and great-grandparents who are volunteer guides at the Museum. You may choose to visit when the Museum reopens on Monday 22 November 2021.

Emanuel grandparents Charles Aronson and Paul Drexler are on the Museum Board of Management, whilst Professor Gus Lehrer AM FAA, one of the School’s original Founders, is President of The Museum Board and our MPH – The Lehrer Family Building (MPH) is named in honour of his late parents.

If you have not been to the Museum, I encourage you to do so, and even if you have been before, you will want to see the major refurbishment that has been going on during lockdown – it is an amazing museum that documents the Holocaust, the history of the Jewish people in Australia and explores human rights issues in Australia. Twenty eight years since its inception in 1992, the Museum continues to give a voice to the victims of the Holocaust so their stories can start conversations and inspire change. The wonderful Museum Shop sells an amazing range of Judaica, books and gifts. 

Alumnus Dr Simon Holloway, who spent several years as an Education Officer at the SJM where he ran seminars on Nazi racial science, Jewish resistance and the history of the Holocaust, recently moved to Melbourne to take on the role of Head of Education at the Jewish Holocaust Centre in Elsternwick.      

Maccabi supporting Dementia Australia

Last Sunday Maccabi Life-Walkie Talkies hosted its first face-to-face event in four months.  Twenty of us, including members from our School community, walked around Centennial Park in support of Dementia Australia.

Did you know that dementia is the second leading cause of death in Australia and there is no cure? Maccabi and the Jewish Community have a long- standing relationship of supporting Dementia Australia and the work they do supporting people suffering from dementia and their families. President of the Maccabi NSW Board is Lauren Ehrlich, a past staff member at School. She headed our Visual Arts Department in the late 1980s and was responsible for stripping out the old Nun’s laundry and turning it into the then Art Block. That building has undergone numerous transformations over the years and is now the Lynette Sandra Phillips Kindergarten. Current parent Michelle Stockley holds the Marketing role on the Maccabi NSW Board whilst past parent Debbie Rutstein has the Compliance portfolio. Current Emanuel parents who also work tirelessly for Maccabi and joined the walk were Nicky Klugman and Lara Levin.

Kristallnacht Commemoration 2021
Tuesday 9 November 2021 at 7.30 pm

On the nights of 9 November 1938 – 10 November 1938, Nazis in Germany torched synagogues, vandalised Jewish homes, schools and businesses, and killed close to 100 Jews. Violent anti-Jewish demonstrations broke out across Germany as well as Austria and the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia. This time became known as Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, and every year we commemorate this tragic event that heralded the start of WW2, remembering those who perished and those who survived these horrific times. This year’s Kristallnacht Commemoration in Sydney will also be a tribute to the late Eddie Jaku OAM, Holocaust survivor and witness to Kristallnacht, who passed away recently aged 101. Bookings for this free online event are essential. 

Grandparents – we will always want you!

Ma Nishma is a great way to stay connected with our School and with our community no matter where in the world you live. Unfortunately, we are still missing up-to-date email contact details for many of our grandparents, so please send through grandparent contact details so they too can read Ma Nishma to find out what is happening at School, albeit it only online for now.  They will also receive our Grandparents and Friends newsletter. You can see past issues of this newsletter along with our alumni newsletters online. Living interstate and/or overseas, means some of “our” grandparents never have an opportunity to come to School, so connecting electronically can be really meaningful and a great way for them to see what their grandchildren are doing at School in spite of the distance apart. Having just come out of lockdown, no visitors can come onto campus so even for our local grandparents Ma Nishma and our Community Facebook (FB) page are the best ways to stay connected with us. If not already a member of our FB page, join here.

Australian Jewish Fertility Network (AJFN) 
Wednesday 8 November 2021 at 8.00 pm

There is still time to join AJFN online for their major event on Monday 8 November 2021 at 8.00 pm – an inspirational evening where you’ll see what an incredible impact AJFN, fuelled by community support, has and continues to have, creating miracles together and building the next generation, The documentary, One in Six, which will be shown on the night, tells the story of AJFN couple Janine and Shimon Davidowitz.

Book your free tickets now and you’ll also have the opportunity to purchase raffle tickets for some fabulous prizes at checkout. All funds raised from this appeal will go towards helping 29 couples in our community experiencing infertility who need support of AJFN.

Head On Photo Festival 2021

Watch this space for more details about this festival and announcement of the winners – artists from around the world including Israel and South Africa are exhibiting this year. Enjoy an interview with Emanuel parent Moshe Rosenzveig OAM, the founder and director of Head On Photo Festival, and his wife Anita Schwartz who is Festival Advisory Board.

This year’s event starts on 19 November 2021 and goes for nine days, through to 28 November 2021. Head On Foundation was established in 2008, dedicated to promoting the work of photographers at all stages of their career. This year’s festival includes a jam-packed online program and spectacular outdoor locations across Sydney, including Paddington Reservoir Gardens and Bondi Beach, all of which will be in line with COVID-safety. There will be exhibitions from over 700 contributing artists, workshops, panel discussions and artist live talks.      

Challah and sweet treats

Don’t forget you can order challah and sweet treats online from Friendship Bakery at Mark Moran Vaucluse (2 Laguna Street Vaucluse), a social enterprise initiative of the Friendship Circle engaging young adults with disabilities closing on Thursdays for “click and collect” pickup on Fridays between 9.00 am and 1.00 pm. If you miss this cut-off, you can just head up on a Friday morning, where no doubt you will see other parents, grandparents and friends in the queue waiting to buy their yummy challah and freshly baked treats for Shabbat and the weekend.

We look forward to sharing our news and yours, so if you have photos or news you would like to share with us, please send to Sonia Newell.    

Shabbat shalom, stay safe and have a great weekend.

Success!

Craig Moss – Co-ordinator of Gifted & Talented 7-12

Problem solvers, deep thinkers and award winners

Emanuel School students, Ruby Brody and Eden Levit, have been awarded first place in the National Finals of the Future Problem Solving (FPS) Program’s Community Problem Solving Competition (Senior Division). FPS is an interdisciplinary program that encourages young adults to develop problem solving strategies through collaboration, and critical and creative thinking.

As a result of their win, the Year 10 pair have been invited to attend the prestigious 2022 FPS Program International Conference in America.

The FPS’s Community Problem Solving Program sees students identify and develop a workable solution to a contemporary issue. Ruby and Eden, who have been developing their project since May, teamed up to select a real-world problem, identify a solution, and then actively implement an action plan to address the matter.

Changing the culture

Their subject of interest saw them critically evaluate the normalisation of sexual assault,  posing the question: “How might we change the culture of peer-on-peer sexual assault in Sydney’s Eastern suburbs, so that teenagers not only recognise the dangers of ‘rape culture,’ but lead the conversation about sexual assault and consent, so that the mentality towards sexual activity changes and enthusiastic consent is made the priority…”.

In response to the identified problem, Ruby and Eden developed a social media plan targeting Sydney’s eastern suburbs adolescents “with the intent to rewrite the culture of peer-on-peer sexual assault so that the mentality towards sexual activity changes to become respectful of another’s body, and where consent is always asked”. 

The Instagram account that the students developed showed immediate results and traction beyond their initial expectations. Ruby reported: “I really enjoyed how we were able to have input from other teenagers and seeing their interactions with the account… the issue that Eden and I were addressing resonated with so many teenagers, so much so that people contacted us, offering any support with the account and reposted our content to their own accounts to spread the word.”

Whilst their win has tangible benefits for both students, it was the results of their actions that were particularly impactful, with Eden commenting that being able to empower others and receive positive feedback was extremely rewarding.

Triple success

In addition to her success in the Community Problem Solving Program division, Eden placed first in the FPS Scenario Performance (Individual) – Senior Division, along with Maayan Granot, who placed third. The students were required to submit a five-minute futuristic storytelling performance on the topic of Personalised Medicine. Eden’s creativity and ability to extend herself beyond her comfort zone were validated with her final result. “The competition required the use of multiple characters and I had to create several personalities and accents. This was by far the most creative and enjoyable aspect of the story-writing process”.

Willow Gelin, Year 9, came in the top three in the Community Problem Solving Competition (Individual) – Middle Division with her critical evaluation and solutions to the issue of teenage gambling. 

The problem solving and critical and creative thinking aspects of the FPS competitions help engage, challenge and extend high potential and gifted students.

Nineteen students represented Emanuel School in the FPS competition series and we commend their determination, dedication and enthusiasm, despite the barriers created by COVID, along with Craig Moss, Co-ordinator of Gifted & Talented 7-12, who coached the students to success.

Written by Michelle Favero, Manager, Marketing and Communications

 

 

Scenario Performance 

Qualifying Round

Students had to produce a five minute futuristic storytelling performance based on one of the following topics – youth in competitive sports, wearable technology or human impact on the environment. The best performances made the National Final.

  • Eden Levit (Year 10) produced an engaging storytelling performance. The futuristic story she created was based on youth in competitive sports. The evaluator commented, ‘what a story and what an ending’ – BetzBreedz 
  • Maayan Granot (Year 10) produced a powerful storytelling performance. The futuristic story she created was based on the human impact on the environment. The evaluator commented that it was a ‘relevant story, beautifully presented and a joy to watch’.  They particularly loved the idea that individuals can bring about change – The time is now  
National Final

For the National Final they had to produce a 5 minute futuristic storytelling performance based on Personalised Medicine. 

Results

Eden came 1st and Maayan came 3rd in the Senior division.

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Scenario Writing

Qualifying round

The students had to write a short, futuristic story that was creative, entertaining and related to one of this year’s FPSP topics (youth in competitive sports, wearable technology or human impact on the environment). The best stories qualified for the National Final. 

  • Ashley Cohn (Year 8) produced a gripping and engaging story about wearable technology. The evaluator commented that it was an, ‘exceptional piece of writing’  – The Outlaws
National Final

For the National Final, Ashley wrote a story based on a given futuristic scene about personalised medicine. 

Results
  • Ashley did not finish in the top 3 but did extremely well to make the National Final in a very competitive division.  

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Community Problem Solving 

Qualifying round

Starting in Term 2, the students had to select a real world problem, identify a solution, and then actively implement their action plan to address the problem.  The best proposal qualified for the National Final. 

  • Eden Levit and Ruby Brody (Year 10) teamed up together to tackle the normalisation of sexual assault – Re-write the Culture
  • Willow Gelin (Year 9) looked to address the problem of teenage gambling – Kaleidoscope Teens
National Final

For the National Final they submitted a final report, portfolio and promotional video, as well as attend an interview. 

  •  Eden Levit and Ruby Brody
  •  Willow Gelin
Results
  • Eden and Ruby came 1st in the team senior division.
  • Willow came 3rd in the individual middle division.

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Global Issues Problem Solving Competition

Qualifying round

We also entered three teams into the very competitive and challenging Global Issues Problem Solving competition. For this competition students were required to identify the problems/challenges of a futuristic scenario, come up with solutions and create an action plan for their best solution. Although they did not qualify for the National Finals this year, the students involved have learned and practiced powerful problem-solving that engaged their critical and creative thinking. It can take a couple of years to get up to speed with the demands of this competition. 

  • Years 7/8 FPS Team – Boaz Simhi, Dylan Vitek, Jake Isenberg, Niek Nathan
  • Year 8 FPS Team – Liberty Waldner, Daniel Newfield, Ariel Bloom, Elias Davis, Jack Fridman
  • Year 10 FPS Team – Jake Newfield, Jake Sharp, Arielle Melamed, Jamie Schneider and Aiden Sheps. 

 

Careers

Claire Pech – Careers Advisor

Australian Jobs Report 2021

The Australian Jobs Report 2021 has just been released by the National Skills Commission. The inner careers-nerd in me loves a new careers release, especially when it contains the most up-to-date data that is well researched.

Here are some career highlights on the job landscape based on the following subjects: 

I like their graphical illustrations such as this one for Jobs by Occupation to see what is in and what is out:

 

One of the more depressing figures from the report is seeing how badly affected, or hard hit the youth (15-24 year olds) have been affected by COVID-19 and unemployment. Therefore, it is critical that all young people leave school with a plan. It doesn’t have to be the perfect plan (these don’t exist) but a tangible plan that builds on skills. The most at-risk group are the students who leave school without any future skill-building plans, be it at TAFE, College, University or an Apprenticeship.

How do we ensure we COVID-safe our students for the future? Lots of things will help, but a great insurance policy against unemployment is to secure work, while studying, and even better if this work relates to studies or industry of interest.

Universities are very aware of this and as a result create as many work opportunities as possible, so their graduates leave university or TAFE with the relevant work skills required.

Employers are willing to take on students without experience as long as they can see they have the potential.

So how to secure work in a changing world, with changing requirements and ever increasing competition?

Here are some suggestions:

 

You can find more information on this report, with more statistics and data here.

Notices and events 

Job Jump 

University of Sydney – Current School Leavers – University Bridging Courses Online
Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics Ext 1, Physics
Registrations will open in January 2022.
Sign up to these Bridging Courses 2021-2022 mailing list to receive new course updates. You don’t need to be commencing study at the University to register for a bridging course.
Contact Science Alliance or find more details here on bridging courses.

Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Sydney information session
Wednesday 3 November 2021 at 5.00 pm
Learn about hands-on internships, and tailor a Commerce degree from over 100 study areas, including marketing, banking, finance, innovation, entrepreneurship, business analytics and many more. 
Register here.

UTS Parents and Carers info session for Business
Thursday 4 November 2021 5.00 pm – 6.00 pm
In this one hour session, parents can hear from a host of UTS staff about studying at UTS.
Register via Zoom

Interested in becoming an entrepreneur?

  • Find out more from the Good Universities Guide to unleash your entrepreneurial spirit.
  • Find out how these insights from a global leader will impact more broadly across industry sectors. To register please click here.

TAFE 
Find your passion

Hundreds of course choices delivered straight to your inbox
Whatever you’re interested in, TAFE NSW has a pathway to help you get the job you want.
Find out more here.

Summer Skills is a fee-free short course
Summer Skills is a fee-free short course program to support skill development over the summer months for school leavers aged between 16 – 24 years.

Whether you plan to attend TAFE NSW, university, have a gap year or are still undecided, TAFE has a course that can give you the skills for a brighter future.

 

 

 

 

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 Debbie and Emma Kaplan

Pancakes – guaranteed to be perfect

Ingredients

2 eggs 
2 cups plain flour
2 1/2 cups milk (*see note)
1/4 vegetable oil
2 tbsp melted butter
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Directions

Beat eggs with hand beater until fluffy; beat in remaining ingredients just until smooth.
Melt a small amount of butter in frying pan, ensure it’s hot prior to cooking (you are not frying the pancake, just ensuring it doesn’t stick to the pan).
Cook pancakes until puffed, dry around edges and little bubbles begin to pop on the surface.
Turn and cook on the other side until golden brown. Only flip once. The first pancake is usually not the best one.

I often leave out the butter, and have found it to make no difference. I add bananas, riccotta, blueberries or anything else to the mixture that you or your kids desire, as long as it’s not a weird ingredient.

* Note: this may cause the batter to be too thick; adjust by adding 1/4 cup milk at a time until desired consistency.

 

You can order the Emanuel School Community Cookbook, The Family Meal, by contacting Ruby Berkovic 

 

 

P&F

Ruby Berkovic and Jennifer Opit

Hello Community,

We hope everyone has had a wonderful week back on Campus!

P&F Meeting

P&F Meetings are held on the first Wednesday of each month at 7.00 pm on Zoom. Everyone is welcome so please join us as your support and input is valued.

Email Ruby Berkovic if you would like to attend the next meeting which will be next week on Wednesday 3 November 2021.

Term 4

As we mentioned last week, unfortunately, although restrictions are lifting, there is still too much uncertainty to proceed with things like our challah distribution and the camping trip, but we look forward to next year when we can resume all of these and connect in person once again.

Weekend brain teaser (from last week) and answer

Question: A man stands on one side of a river, his dog on the other. The man calls his dog, who immediately crosses the river without getting wet and without using a bridge or a boat. How did the dog do it?
Answer: The river was frozen

Have a lovely weekend.

Jen and Ruby