Volume 30 Issue 37 - 03 Dec 2021

From the Principal

Andrew Watt – Principal

As the final week of the 2021 school year approaches, we can reflect on those events that were both unexpected and challenging. We can also look back on a year that drew us closer as a school community and developed resilience and a deep gratitude for what we had once taken for granted. We look ahead to the new year, with hopes for a settled and productive period of on-campus learning, sport, musicals and so much more! Best wishes to our Emanuel School families, for a safe, enjoyable summer break.

Parent self care

As this had been a challenging year for both parents and students, I wanted to finish with some sage advice from Michael Gross, parenting expert:

Parents are known for putting their children’s needs ahead of their own. With the mantra of ‘be involved’ in your child’s life a dominant parenting message, it’s now common for parents to neglect their own social and wellbeing needs to give their children the best possible start in life. This selfless approach is commendable, but questionable if it means you are constantly stretched, stressed, and tired. Parenting is draining. Kids by their very nature take more than they give. Even the most loving, affectionate child will exhaust you at times so it’s important to replenish, refresh and reinvigorate yourself. Parenting author Maggie Dent says, “If we don’t care for ourselves, not only do we run the risk of parenting less effectively and compassionately, but we are not modelling self-care for our children”. Taking time for yourself seems obvious. However, the reality for many parents is that they are hard-wired to prioritise the wellbeing of others.

Start by giving yourself permission. Setting strict boundaries around key self-care activities help to make sure self-care happens. Turning occasional self-care into an ongoing habit is a great way to make sure you look after yourself. First, you need to give yourself permission to prioritise mental health and wellbeing, at least some of the time. So, what self-care activities should you be prioritising?

  • Regular exercise: Walking is affordable and accessible for the time poor!
  • Social activities: Staying connected to other adults should be a priority.
  • Being mindful: Staying in the present moment, even for a minute or two each day.
  • Seek out play: Maintain hobbies and interests, making and tinkering.
  • Decide to savour: Enjoy a special moment and make it a daily habit.

Taking care of your physical, psychological, and social needs helps you be the best parent you can be. Set aside time for self-care even when you feel like you don’t have a single second to devote to yourself. Experiment with different self-care activities to figure it out. 

Students have started to say their farewells to the Adler Building which will soon be transformed thanks to your generosity

Our community’s support  – your support

Can you believe that there is only seven days left until the end of our Capital Appeal 2021? It seems like only yesterday when we first started the conversation about this important fundraising opportunity which only comes around once every seven or so years. I know that David New, our School Board President, is planning on announcing the final amount raised at High School Speech Night on Thursday 9 December, so there are only a few days left for you to make your pledge and help create our bright future. The new building that we are raising money for will be an invaluable resource for all our students for decades to come. Our community’s support – your support – is what counts. Please give what you can, please give now. It’s easy to donate, just click here.

Farewell to Rabbi Danny Siegel

Next week marks the departure of Rabbi Siegel, our Head of Jewish Life, following six years of faithful and loyal service to our School. Rabbi Siegel is well regarded within the Emanuel School and the broader Jewish community. Throughout his time at the School, he has provided strong support for our mission, values, and ethos. Rabbi Siegel has served the School well and will depart at the end of the year with our sincere best wishes for the future.

The international recruitment process for our new Head of Jewish Life will shortly conclude, and we hope to be in a position to announcement the appointment early in Term 1, 2022.

Working together

Mosaic fun

This week all students from Pre-school to Year 6, as well as the Year 10 students on Machane Ayekah, took part in a wonderful hands-on project creating a series of over 15 oversized mosaic artworks of various Jewish Symbols. The pieces, that took many hours of  concentration, detailed instruction and litres of very strong glue to bring into being, will be proudly and permanently exhibited around the School. This project, developed in collaboration with the Capital Appeal and Primary Jewish Life Teams, will leave an indelible and very bright reminder to us that it takes many people working together on a common project to create something we are proud to call our own. 

These Pre-schoolers had much to say about the experience – I think they enjoyed the experience!

“I did the whole entire green section. It took 50 green mosaics to do it. The combination of how you stick the tiles on, is the art you can create with your hands.” ~ Oliver Frank

“I liked spreading the glue. It was pretty satisfying.” ~ Alice Berkovic

“I liked all the different colours, especially the blue and pink. We had to put them in places and glue them on. It was fun!” ~ Daisy Salamon

Reminder – High School 

Please remember that High School students will finish school at 1.10pm on Monday 6 December.

High School Speech Day

We look forward to welcoming parents to High School Speech Day online on Thursday 9 December 2021. Please click on the link below to join us at 1.45 pm. 

Link: https://vimeo.com/event/1543589
Password: ESSD2021

An impressive mazal tov section

This week I am very proud to list a number of exceptional achievements across the School:

International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS): Medal winner

ICAS provides online assessments, designed to recognise, and reward academic excellence. Students are asked to demonstrate a deeper, integrated, and thorough level of knowledge. Our Years 3-6 students are offered the opportunity to participate in a range of ICAS competitions, conducted annually in Australia and in over 20 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, Pacific countries, and America. Top scoring students in each year level in each subject are awarded an ICAS medal. 

I am delighted to announce that Year 5 student, Alicia Randall, has been awarded the top result in ICAS Writing and will receive an ICAS medal! We look forward to honouring this success once the medal is received. Alicia deserves high praise and mazal tov for this rare and impressive achievement.

Giving back to others during COVID times

Gabrielle Morrissey Hansen, CEO of Kids Giving Back, has expressed her appreciation for those Emanuel students who participated in online programs, such as connecting with the elderly in aged facilities, and making and donating animal toys. Despite the isolation of lockdown, these students stepped forward and gave back to others. Mazal tov to Benjamin Pellow, Hannah Pellow, Mahli Olian, Jude Olian, Kirra Olian, Gemma Jacobson and Samara Strugar.

It is wonderful to hear of our students engaging in service-learning programs that build empathy, experience altruism, achieve a sense of belonging and empowerment for changing the world one positive impact at a time. This is how mensches are formed!

An exciting and new initiative that Kids Giving Back offers, is the Youth Changemaker (for students aged 14-18 years). This unique program provides a pathway for teens to take initiative and autonomy to add value to their communities while also participating in service-learning program with other like-minded peers with a heart for service across our Sydney region.

Partnering with The Smith Family – student2student reading program

Seven of our students offered their time freely and shared their love of reading, with another child, giving a combined total of 126 hours of patient support of vulnerable children, living in poverty. These student volunteers, under the leadership of Jennifer Selinger, have honoured the value of service with vulnerable communities. Mazal tov to Daniel Langman, Ezra Glover-Sanders, Kenya Martin, Noa Wajsman, Summer Fine, Alix Cane and Aron Harpaz.

Emanuel School Writers’ Awards

Jessica Lowy – Writer of the Year

Mazal tov to the following students for their participation and success in the annual Emanuel School Writers’ Awards. Thank you to David Camp, Head of English and the English Department for once again managing this very successful highlight of the year. The English Department has created a website to showcase the Awards and the students’ work. Please click on the article, Our Writers, for more information.

Emanuel School Writer of the Year: Jessica Lowy

Year 12 Writers of the Year: Jessica Lowy and Jordan Stein
Year 12 Most Dedicated Writer: Ariella Tracton

Year 11 Writer of the Year: Eden Glass
Year 11 Most Dedicated Writer: Lilly Goldberg

Year 10 Writer of the Year: Arielle Melamed
Year 10 Most Dedicated Writer: Maayan Granot

Year 9 Writer of the Year: Alice Milner
Year 9 Most Dedicated Writer: Jasper Selinger

Year 8 Writer of the Year: Jessica Linker
Year 8 Most Dedicated Writer: Liberty Waldner

Year 7 Writer of the Year: Daniel Zipser
Year 7 Most Dedicated Writer: Oscar Salek

Quote of the week

“Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement.” Golda Meir ~ Golda Meir, Israeli politician, teacher, and kibbutznikit who served as the fourth prime minister of Israel

 

From the Head of Jewish Life

Rabbi Daniel Siegel – Head of Jewish Life

שלום וברכה

Shalom U – Verakhah

In my final Ma Nishma entry, I would like to share with you the words I proposed for Emanuel’s new building:

And here
This house we are building
is rising
not just with stones
nor just with bricks
but with the dreams
of children
present and yet to be born;
it will rise
out of their laughter,
their stories
and shouts,
their need for learning
and for friendship,
and their hope—
and it will bear
their face,
the fragile yet timeless face
of all beginnings.

Excerpt from Elie Wiesel, Beginnings

As our Jewish tradition teaches – אל תקרא בנייך אלא בונייך -“Do not call them your children (banayikh), alone, but your builders (bonayikh), as well.

When I first started at Emanuel, I asked our students to be partners in leading their own tefillot/prayer services. Whereupon, they asked me to write a “Prayer for Good Luck” which they could use in their student-led minyanim. I suggested we all compose prayers and share them with each other.

Now, seven years later, I say goodbye with the prayerful words I wrote when sitting with our children:

May we seek fullness in life in seeing the humanity of others
and the divinity of all living beings.
May we find gain in giving, generate joy beyond sadness
and create hope to bestill fear.
May we be blessed in being a blessing
and in being challenged always to make life worth living.

Shalom U-Verakhah,

Rabbi Daniel Siegel

 

 

 

 

 

Primary School

Natanya Milner – Head of Primary School

I can’t believe that I am writing my final Ma Nishma article for the year. After a year of you all receiving so many communications from me, you’re probably breathing a sigh of relief!

End of year events

I am looking forward to ending the year with special ceremonies to celebrate all the children. By the time this is sent, we would have completed the first of these events, our Year 6 Graduation and Presentation Day event. I am writing this in advance of the event but have no doubt it will have been a wonderful way to celebrate the end of the children’s Primary School education.

Next week we will enjoy the K-5 events. The basis of these is to celebrate the children and acknowledge their incredible efforts and achievements through the oddest year in my time in education. We hope the K-5 families will Zoom in and share the events with us! We can’t wait!

 

Use the link below to join all presentations (all use the same link) and please feel free to share this link with family and friends.

Emanuel Primary School End of Year Presentations 2021

Kindy : Monday 6 December at 11.20 am
Year 1: Tuesday 7 December at 11.20 am
Year 2: Wednesday 8 December at 9.00 am
Year 3: Wednesday 8 December at 11.20 am
Year 4: Tuesday 7 December at 9.00 am
Year 5: Tuesday 7 December at 2.15 pm

We are also looking forward to our End of Term Picnic Day (weather permitting). We hope this will be a relaxing and fun way to finish the year together. An invitation with further details will follow but please take note of the date and times.

Friday 9 December 2021
Fearnley Grounds, Centennial Park

Years 3-6 | 9:15 – 11:15 am
Years K-2 | 12:15 – 2:15pm

Parents who would like to join us will be required to sign-in and produce their record of vaccination.

Aladdin Jnr

Hot off the press – our Year 6 main cast of Aladdin Jnr were disappointed that the show was cancelled this year and created this ‘teaser’ to keep us excited for Aladdin Jnr 2022. Thank you so much to all the children involved as well as the wonderful staff involved including Brooke Oldfield, Remi Owen, Sairt Spira, Di Springford, Alice Girle, Antonio Fernandez, Ruari Campbell and Peter Mussared.

Exciting news

I am so excited to let you know that Meghan Carroll had her baby last week. The gorgeous ‘Ambrose Lior’ was born on Tuesday 23 November weighing 3.6kg. Ambrose means ‘immortal’ and as you probably know, Lior is a Hebrew name meaning ‘my light’. We wish Meg and Marcus a huge MAZAL TOV and look forward to regular photos and updates!

Farewells

Unfortunately, the end of the year always comes with some sad farewells. This year we will be saying goodbye to three special teachers.

Roslynn Pardy has been at Emanuel on and off since 2015 (having had a move to Canada in the middle). She has taught grades across the Primary School and has been instrumental in the development of the school’s transdisciplinary approach. Roslynn has been our 3-6 coordinator and in this role, she has both led and supported staff with new initiatives. Roslynn’s thoughtful and calm approach has been appreciated by us all. We wish her all the very best as she heads off to her new school and enjoys being at the same school as her gorgeous daughter.

Lara Kepitis joined Emanuel as an OC teacher in 2018. She has taught the Year 5 and Year 6 OC program and has been instrumental in reviewing and rewriting our reports as well as sharing her knowledge of gifted education with the staff. I am so grateful to her for the energy and care that she has put into her teaching. We wish Lara all the best as she embarks on a career outside of teaching.

Kim Haddix has been a member of the Emanuel team since 2019. She has been a dedicated Year 6 teacher and has taught both 6H (OC) and 6R. Kim is a warm and energetic teacher with a passion for literacy and language development. Kim introduced the Write a Book in a Day program into Year 6 which has quickly become a much-loved tradition. We will miss Kim and hope that she enjoys travelling and wonderful new adventures in the coming years.

I would like to thank all 3 of these amazing teachers for their dedication and care. We will miss them all!

Thank you

There are so many people to acknowledge and thank for their incredible efforts throughout 2021. Whilst this won’t do justice to how grateful I feel, I would like to acknowledge some of the special people in our team.

This year saw Andrew Watt, Margaret Lowe, Adam Majsay, Mario Torresan and I spend far more time together than we ever thought we would. The rapid rate of decision-making led to hours and hours of meetings, debates and discussions. I would like to thank this team for supporting the Primary School through 2021. I thoroughly enjoyed the collaboration.

As always, the Primary Executive Team has been an amazing support as we have steered the ship this year. There have been many decisions to make and a huge additional workload. I am so grateful to them for their dedication. Thank you to Hagit Bar-On, Katie Brody, Adam Carpenter, Meghan Carroll, Lynn Joffe, Samantha Rogut and Carrie Thomas.

The support team has been even more essential than ever before this year (if that’s even possible) and has provided much needed expertise and support. Everyone from marketing, to reception to IT have been so appreciated by us all. I would like to acknowledge the Primary office team. My amazing EA, Lisa Connors, began at Emanuel this year and has somehow found her feet and done a phenomenal job keeping me organised and sane. Nicolle Rubin has had a huge load with attendance and compliance rules changing almost weekly. I am so grateful to them both for making sure all the behind the scenes pieces were solidly in place.

I imagine that you all join me in thanking the incredible teaching team who managed this year so magnificently. I am in absolute awe of how they made the most of every opportunity and kept pivoting dizzily without stopping. This team includes the class teachers, specialist teachers and teachers’ aides whose collaboration, positivity and adaptability seemed limitless. I know how exhausted they all are and I am excited that they have this well-deserved summer break. Each and every person in this team did their bit to ensure the ship kept sailing this year!

Whilst we haven’t seen our Emanuel parents and community as much as we would have liked, in many ways you all feel closer than ever. Thank you so much for partnering with us during home learning and supporting us through the uncertainty of 2021. I know how stressful it was for many of you to manage jobs and home schooling and we are incredibly grateful that you enabled e-Manuel to be a success. I feel blessed to work in a school with such a special community. I would like to thank the Board and P&F who are comprised of an amazing group of parent volunteers who offer hours and hours to the school to ensure that the rest of us have a happy experience. It is greatly appreciated!

Last but DEFNITELY not least, I would like to thank our beautiful Emanuel children for doing what they do best…offering their energy and positivity each day to learn, work together and be supportive classmates and friends. It is the children who are at the core of all we do and I couldn’t be prouder of their determination, resilience and achievements this year. Like the teachers, they deserve a wonderful summer break.

I wish the Year 6 students and families all the very best for High School and we hope you will stay in touch. To our K-5 community, I look forward to seeing you all in 2022 and can’t wait to see what exciting opportunities lie ahead.

 

Online friendship

Carrie Thomas – Acting Deputy Head of Primary

I recently read an article written by Dana Kerford on the URSTRONG blog titled ‘How to Support Kids with Friendship Issues Online’. The article begins by highlighting the significant changes in friendships over the past few years. The pandemic and lockdowns have shifted communication online for most of us, including children. When considering children, they have not only been using technology to learn but have increasingly used digital forms to connect and interact with their friends. 

The URSTRONG article acknowledges that guiding children to foster healthy friendships through video games, social media platforms and their Zoom classes is a whole new territory in the field of friendship. Helping children navigate friendships online is complicated, and it can be daunting to stay informed of the current trends and technologies. 

To support your child’s development of successful online friendships, you may like to consider the following advice provided by Dana Kerford: 

  • Be the student. Kids are the gatekeepers to this new world. They’re the ones who are teaching us what’s going on, how other kids are engaging online, what new features and platforms exist, and what’s happening. Ask questions so that you can learn and better understand their online world. To keep the lines of communication open, follow Walt Whitman’s advice: “Be curious, not judgmental.” (You can also learn a lot from Common Sense Media)

In addition to the advice provided above, the eSafetyComissioner website offers a wealth of guidance around the use of popular apps and websites for parents/ carers. The eSafety guide available at this site is a great way to learn about the latest games, apps and social media platforms that your child may be using. 

  • Understand the science of consequences. Kids often do not report friendship issues online because they’re worried parents or teachers will take their devices away or make them delete the app/game/platform. We need to remember that a child who has sought help and support has done the right thing. When you take their device away or ban them from TikTok or SnapChat or Among Us, you have given them a negative consequence – which feels like a punishment. This means they are less likely to open up to you again because you’ve taken something they love away.

  • Involve them in the plan. Our job, as grown-ups, is to protect children. There are no doubt times when the issue that’s been presented requires adult intervention. Ensure that your child is aware of the action that you’re taking. They will, inevitably, feel very nervous and worry that this will make matters worse. Talk it through with them. 

  • Be their safe place to land. It’s scary for a child to see or hear things that are not meant for a young person’s eyes and ears. And, it’s heartbreaking when their friends are rude or unkind. Whether it’s issues with friends online or inappropriate videos or language, be that safe place they can go to when they feel scared or unsettled. 

  • Be aware of your own negativity bias. Our brains are wired to look for what’s wrong. As described by Dr Martin Seligman, this is a protective instinct that goes back to the caveman days – we seek to protect our family. As parents, that protective instinct is strong and can lead to extreme reactions. Try to stay calm and consider the many ways the message could be misinterpreted. When it comes to the online world, non-verbal communication (representing 93% of how we understand each other) is non-existent – and misinterpretations happen all the time.

  • Remember, these are children. Sometimes parents forget that the person on the end of the device is a child – someone who is still learning and makes mistakes. A child texting, “Stop calling me!” is a child who hasn’t yet learned how to kindly decline. Give them the benefit of the doubt and show the same kindness and compassion you’d hope other parents show your child when they forget their manners.

Whether online or face-to-face it is important that we empower children to navigate friendships and equip them with the skills necessary to manage any conflicts that may arise. As we move towards the summer break, I encourage everyone to take a break from their screens, step outside and breathe in the delights of all that surrounds us.

However, supporting and educating children to develop positive online relationships is fundamental in the modern world and should remain an ongoing focus for us all and should remain an ongoing topic of discussion at school and at home.

 

Ma Koreh

Adam Carpenter – Head of Jewish Life Primary

During Hebrew and Jewish Studies, students have been busy learning, doing and thinking about Hanukkah. 

Each morning Years K-2 joined Morah Bar-On to light the Hanukkiah and Years 3-6 joined Mr Carpenter either on Zoom or in person for the lighting, brachot and COVID safe singing outdoors when possible.

During class time (and a few days at home), students engaged in a range of activities, including:

  • Designing Hanukkiot from Lego or items around the home
  • Learning the Hanukkah story 
  • Playing sevivon (dreidel)
  • Applying the Hanukkah themes of light, miracles and thanksgiving to our lives and world today

Morah Martine and Morah Jemma’s Year 5 Hebrew class created own acrostic poems using the Hebrew letters of the word חנוכה and discussed some of the following ideas:

 ח ‘Chet’, the eighth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, corresponding to the eight days of Chanukah. 

נ ‘Nun’ reminds us of the word ‘Nes’, alluding to the miracle that occurred when the oil lasted eight days rather than one day.

ו ‘Vav’ is the sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, alluding to the last day of the week before Shabbat arrives! When Shabbat and Hanukkah coincide, we light the Hanukkah candles first, before the start of Shabbat. It also means ‘and’ – we eat latkes (levivot) ‘and’ jam doughnuts (sufganiot)!

כ ‘Caf’ is like the palm of our hand, our ‘Caf Yad’. We give a high five to the person in our family who wins the game of dreidel!

ה ‘Hey’ is for HaShem, one of God’s names, whom we acknowledge on Hanukkah as the creator of life and of miracles!

Primary leaders reporting

We have had so many exciting opportunities throughout the year to help our school grow and bring smiles to the faces of others. Through this leadership role, our confidence has been boosted in public speaking and social skills. It has been such a joy to engage and interact with the younger years and teach them about our school values and beliefs. 

When asked to reflect on our time as Madrichim, Sofia Berkovic said, “I loved being able to meet people from out of school (parents, children) while also working with amazing people inside our community’’. Over the whole year, we have gathered so many memories and have so many take away moments. If someone asked us what have been your highlights from this year we would say, everything. It has truly been an honour being the 2021 Primary School Madrichim. We have grown and learnt so much in many different ways over this time and will never forget this experience.

By the Year 6 Madrichim: Sofia Berkovic, Micah Esra, Amali Allul Orozco, Leah Joshua, Misha Grynberg, Talia Pollak, Elise Goldberg, Bella Swill, Benjamin Freed, Isaac Shammay, Rebecca Salamon, Jonathan Igra

Jewish Life 

Over the year we have been very busy as Jewish Life leaders. Our leadership role included daily responsibilities, such as leading Birkat HaMazaon and visiting classrooms in Years 3-6 to help lead and teach morning tefillah. We assisted in setting up for events and collecting or distributing items for Primary School. We would meet regularly with Mr Carpenter to plan additional activities, ceremonies and celebrations and additional highlights from the year include:

  • Helping to plan and lead Shabbat celebrations every Friday
  • Running Havdalah celebrations
  • Creating a skit and song where we were the symbolic foods on the seder plate
  • Helping collect food donations for Purim
  • Making short videos with Josh for festivals or a Torah portion
  • Lead whole school Jewish Life celebrations 

Thank you for Mr Carpenter, Morah Gaida, Mia and Josh for working with us and helping us in our role.

Being a leader is a special commitment and responsibility. By being involved and stepping up, you are able to create something for yourself and for others. Jewish Life is something we do and not something that is done for us. Like most things in life, the more you put in, the more you get out. 

By Layla Aronstan, Gil Bana, Lily Foltyn, Asher Morris, Louisa Rodney, Diana Stiassny.

Art 

2021 has been a strange year. Regardless of the circumstances, we did what we could to make art an available and enjoyable activity for Primary School students during school breaks. Many times throughout the year, we have met with Ms Heilpern and planned fun and engaging activities for anyone wishing to be a part of them. During these activities, we would work on the children’s techniques and encourage them to keep trying, no matter how hard it was. 

A strong memorable moment for us was when we walked around the classroom, stopping next to the Years 1,2 and 3 students, congratulating and helping them with their wonderful work. We are so grateful for Ms Heilpern, and the time and effort she put into making everything work. Overall it was a wonderful year full of art and joy.

By Garielle Seemann and Ethan Gross

Environment

We leave behind a lot of waste in our day to day lives without even realising it. It is the type of waste that you can actually see, like canteen wrapping, or the type you can’t, like gasses from cars and buses. With so much waste on the ground and in the sky, there is less and less green about. One of our goals is to have ten minutes after lunch for everybody to clean up the playground. There are so many cleaners around the school trying to keep our school tidy and clean and we don’t notice how much trash we actually leave on the playground. 

We are hoping that we, or future green team members, can plant some native trees and fruit trees such as figs or pomegranate trees around the school. Not only will that help make the school more green, but it will also help make a home for animals like butterflies and other small insects. Year 3 have made “insect hotels” and we were hoping that we could put them up around the school and what better place to put them than under a nice shady tree? 

We have had a great time being Environmental Leaders this year. We would like to thank our mentors and the members of the green team for helping us achieve our goals. 

By Sanne Nathan, Matea Mermelshtayn and Xavier Wilson

SRC

As our year slowly comes to a close, every Leadership Role looks back on the legacy and footprint it will leave in Year 6. Many flourishing, fun events have filled SRC this year, even though we were in lockdown for many weeks. This year we were given the opportunity to put forward ideas that would benefit this school. Many people have been very happy with the ideas and contributions SRC has implemented and we look forward to seeing more creative ideas in the future. 

This year, SRC creatively and imaginatively tackled ideas and opinions put forward by students for the school. This was done by interviewing the students about their perspective of what is best for the future of our school. 

Friendships Monitors, Chill Zone Upgrades and Class of the Month are a few of the initiatives SRC collaborated on with the school and students. Friendship Monitors were successful in helping and aiding the wellbeing of the children in the playground, being there for them when someone was hurt or just feeling down. This was a great mitzvah. Through these commitments the SRC was successful. We will end the year with “Emanuel’s Got Talent”, which highlights the involvement of the students and encourages the creativity we have at our school. 

SRC looks forward to more creative ideas and initiatives next year. This year has been filled with laughter and joy and SRC hopes next year’s group, like us, will have a prosperous and productive year to come. 

By Luis Waldner, Sammi Epstein, Gemma Jacobson, Leon Besser, Seth Nachman and Jordan Arnott

 

Kornmehl

Terry Aizen – Director of Kornmehl

What advice would you give to the children who will be in the Dolphin group next year?

As we come closer to the end of the year, lots of feelings and emotions emerge. Exciting experiences are in the horizon. One of them is the children’s transition into Year K. As you are aware, we are having lots of discussions with the children about the way they feel about staring big school and what it means to finish their journey at Kornmehl. 

We asked the children to wonder and imagine how the new Dolphins may feel at the beginning of the year and what advice or messages they would like to give them:

Arlo: Your friends and your teachers will help you with feeling safe.
Abby: If you’re feeling lonely, ask nicely to a friend to play.
Daniel: So, when you trip over and hurt yourself, the teachers will give you a band aid to make you feel better.
Zach: You tell the new kids it’s going to be fun at Pre-school.
Zach: The teachers look after you, you can sit with your teachers.
Neveau: The teachers give you a special activity or maybe they can go to the tent. (the tent is the teepee in our Quiet Zone, a safe quiet space to help us deal with our big feelings and regulate).
Ollie: The teachers can give you a cuddle to help you feel better to have a good and fun day.
Leah: The teachers are super good.

Concert

We held three beautiful Covid safe concerts this week in the Kornmehl garden. Parents were so thrilled to be able to come into the Pre-school and share in this event to mark the end of the year and for many of the children their graduation into Year K next year. There were a few tears in the audience, and it was an emotional time for us all. A time to reflect on the year gone by, a time to remember how the children have grown up, matured, and developed in so many ways and a time to have fun and share in the Kornmehl spirit!

We are so happy we got to have closure for the end of the year. Thank you to the parents for their co-operation in making sure we could hold the concerts safely and for coming along and sharing this time together.

The children were delightful, and all performed with confidence and pride.

Thank you to Ben Marshall for his help with the sound equipment. Thank you to the maintenance team for cleaning up the Kornmehl garden for the concerts. 

Comments from parents:

Nicola Berkovic: Thank you so, so much again for such a special concert. I feel emotional all over again just thinking about it! It was so special to be at Kornmehl after so long, to be there for their final graduation and to see what confident little people they’ve become. Thank you to all of you 💕 

Mandy Heyman: Thank you so much for welcoming parents back into the Pre-school for the beautiful Dolphins concert. It really was such a special morning, especially after the turbulent year we have all experienced.

It was so amazing to see how the kids have grown in confidence, and how much they all seemed to enjoy singing and participating. We feel so thankful to you all for the wonderful, happy, and stimulating preschool experience that Leah has had at Kornmehl.

Daniella and Jonathan Gavshon: A quick note to say a heartfelt thank you for the concert/graduation ceremony yesterday.

– The warm environment and beautiful outdoor setting.
– Thoughtful donuts, drinks, and seating arrangements so that COVID could be managed.
– Mix of songs.
– Deep love you are developing for the kids of the earth, Australian heritage, Judaism and more!
– Way in which you included every kid and sensitively managed those who didn’t want to participate as much.

We really value all the effort and energy that went into organising it. More so, we value the dedication and focus you have shown to Adam as he has integrated and developed this year.

End of year thoughts and thanks

The past two terms have been difficult and unsettling for us all. Despite this, Kornmehl has remained open throughout, offering quality care to the children and making sure they were taken care of physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.

The part we have missed the most is our connections with the families and our daily interactions with parents and grandparents. 

What has astounded us has been the resilience of the children and how settled and happy they have been from the time they returned to Pre-school after COVID lockdown. They have shown us how resilient and capable they are, and that they can be independent, especially with arrival time in the morning. We have learnt that for the children, consistency, routine, love and care is what matters most in their world. If this is all in place, they feel safe, happy and a deep sense of belonging to the spaces, and their educators.

We have been able to go deep with our learning and the slower pace and fewer interruptions have benefitted us all. These are lessons for us all to learn. COVID has taught us to value the simple pleasures in life.

We have watched the children grow and mature and develop some wonderful relationships with both their peers and teachers. We know that the children are ready to take on new challenges next year, whether it’s going to Year K or moving up to be a Starfish or Dolphin. We look forward to 2022 and sharing another year together.

At this time of the year, it is important to thank so many people who have contributed to the Pre-school in many different and positive ways:

Firstly, to Andrew Watt – for his unwavering support, knowledge, and expertise during this difficult year.  

Thank you to Morah Jemma our Hebrew teacher – for your enthusiastic, interactive, and fun Hebrew classes this year.

Thank you to our dynamic Music teacher Morah Sarit – we have loved every single lesson including all your online ones. We feel lucky and grateful to have been taught by you this year. We look forward to 2022 and many more exciting music lessons together.

A huge thank you to Gail Mackenzie, our Registrar for her efficient and supportive enrolment process for the preschool. Gail, it’s always a pleasure to work with you. I appreciate your expertise and value that we can work closely together to support the Pre-school. 

I thank the many administration staff who we work closely with for your efficient and knowledgeable support. A big thank you to Mario Torresan, our Business Manager. I appreciate all your help and support this past year.

Many thanks to Samantha Robuck from the Primary School Library, for welcoming the Kornmehl children into the library, as well as bringing the library to Kornmehl in Term 4.

Thank you to Tammy, Coach Al and Coach Merav from Playball for another great year. Sadly, Playball had to be stopped in Term 3 and 4 due to Covid. We look forward to resuming this beneficial program in 2022. 

Many thanks to the maintenance team of Andrew Delany, Peter Cummins, Simon Hamilton and Colin Newport, for their ability to get every job done so quickly and always with a smile. We really appreciate everything you do for us at Kornmehl.

I would also like to thank the Marketing Department and Capital Appeal team – Michelle Favero, Belinda Levin, Kira Friedman and Isabelle Anne who have worked tirelessly the entire year with the Pre-school, supporting us through many projects. It has been a pleasure to work with such an efficient and capable team.

Our thanks must also go to the IT department, with a special mention to Cameron Whiston, Nathanael Clarke, Mikhael El Khoury, Edward Smith, Ben Marshall and Ivan Salavyov for constantly running up and down the hill to make sure all our IT glitches are sorted out in good time. You all do an amazing job behind the scenes, and we are very grateful for your expertise and support.

We must also thank Tom Hagl and his team from Security, in particular – Max Kozmine and Archie Wilson who make sure we are kept safe and sound every single day. Many thanks for all your hard work during the year, it is very much appreciated.

A big thank you to all our amazing Kornmehl staff, who have worked with complete commitment and dedication throughout this very difficult year, to make 2021 such an amazing year. You have all shown huge resilience and the ability to embrace challenge head on and to never stop learning. Your expertise, knowledge and experience are valued by us all and a testament to the confident, happy and engaged children in the Pre-school.

I must also mention Susan Sweller – our resident and much-loved ex Kornmehl grandparent, botanist, nature lover and insect specialist who has taught us so much again this year at Bush School. Susan has volunteered her time to joining us at every Bush School this year. We are truly very lucky to have her as part of our Bush School team.

We wish all our Dolphins and Starfish moving on to Year K next year much success and happiness as they embark on the next leg of their educational journey. We know you are all so ready and excited to go to “big school.” We will miss you all.

We wish all our Kornmehl families a Chag Channukah Sameach and a peaceful, safe and restful holiday.

Thank you to our security team from the children:

Leah: Thank you for keeping the Pre-school safe.
Bronte: Thank you for protecting us.
Arlo: We all love you. You make us feel so special and safe.
Alice: Thank you for opening the door when we go to Bush School.
Mili: Thank you for letting us walk into Pre-school safely.
Jaimee: Thank you for opening the door when we drive inside.
Zach: Thank you for coming to school to save us.
Uriel: Thank you for looking after the cars to not crash.
Daisy: Thank you for guarding our Pre-school.
Lev: Thank you for looking after the school and I hope you have a nice holiday.
Cleo: Thank you for protecting us from strangers.
James: Thank you for looking after the school from the thieves.
Maya: Thank you for caring for us.

Happy Birthday

We wish a very happy birthday to James Haifer (5), Archie Foster-Smaller (5), Jack McKenzie (4). We hope you all have a special birthday.

The Angel Network

Sonia Newell – Development Officer – Alumni & Community Relations

Toda Raba – thank you

As this is the final issue of Ma Nishma for 2021, I want to thank you for allowing me to share some of your amazing achievements and news with our School Community each week – what a rollercoaster year this has been. We are grateful for everything the School has done to continue to educate and care for our children and support them and their families as well as the staff during this crazy year, and always. To the many readers of my page, I hope you have enjoyed reading the tidbits of news and events in our School and extended community this year and I hope you will continue to do so again next year. We are fortunate to be part of this wonderful Emanuel family where support and encouragement are paramount. I hope you enjoy the summer break with family and friends – stay safe wherever you are.

Happy Hanukkah

We hope you are all enjoying Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, celebrating with family and friends, and have not overdosed on the huge variety of delicious donuts and latkes available in stores and home-made. It seems sufganiyot (donuts) are no longer just the “simple” jam-filled ones we traditionally ate for Hanukkah until recent times. This year especially, we have seen and eaten some very creative and exotic donuts.

Although COVID rulings have been significantly relaxed, we still need to remain vigilant as there are cases of COVID reported in the suburbs in which we live and this new omicron variant is likely to not be the last we will encounter. Please stay safe everyone. Here are the latest COVID rulings updates.

“Voiceless”

Author and alumna Ondine Sherman (Class of 1990), Co-Founder and Managing Director of VOICELESS, the animal protection institute, has lived in Israel for many years now and she just sent this message: “From January 2022, Voiceless is embarking on a new journey, and we are excited to share it with you! Voiceless is becoming the leading grant program for animal protection in Australia with $120,000 in annual funding. In 2022, we will announce our inaugural grantees and the details about the open application process and criteria for 2023 and beyond. Our website will remain a rich library of resources for advocates, lawyers, students, teachers and the public. Although we won’t be running our education programs from 2022, we will continue to inspire a new generation of changemakers by investing in humane education, animal law, and policy reform through the Voiceless Grants Program. We look forward to supporting visionary, strategic, impactful work and, together with our wonderful community, seeing real, meaningful, systemic change for animals.

Click on the link to learn more about the Voiceless Grants Program and our plans for the future.”

If you are wondering about the name “Sherman”, yes Ondine is related to Emile – they are siblings. You may have read about Emile and the new film he produced on my page a few weeks ago. Here now is a recent interview with Emile about “The Power of the Dog”.

The Angel Network
Helping where help is needed

Started in South Africa, The Angel Network is now in Australia with tax deductible status. Brought to Australia by ex-South Africans, Emanuel parent Simone Joffe (mother of Aron Harpaz in Year 10 and Raph Harpaz in Year 8) and friends Jo Bloch and Sherisse Cohen (Moriah Mums), the network focuses on giving a hand UP, rather than a handout where possible. The voluntary, non-profit organisation with its incredible team of angels is not affiliated to any one charity, but rather offers assistance to established welfare organisations and provides relief and support to Australian and South African causes and individuals in need.

Current Australian projects and collaborations:

  • “Run For Good Project” – establishing safe home environments for domestic violence victims
  • The Afghan Children’s Appeal
  • Refugee collections eg toys, baby clothes, carpets, heaters etc

South African collections for:

  • Feed a South African family of five for a month ($35.00)
  • School Shoes for a South African student ($25.00)
  • Winter Comfort Packs ($50.00) – sleeping bag, pillow, blanket and a warm meal
  • Feed and Warm Deal ($100.00) – 30 hot meals for a family of 6 + blankets

Please consider a donation of any amount you wish or gift certificates in lieu of gifts for birthdays, special occasions and end of year celebrations. 100% of the donation goes directly to the selected beneficiaries. Visit The Angel Network or contact Simone on info@theangelnetwork.org.au or Jo on 0416 175 587

Summer holiday activities

There are lots of choices for activities for your children, some of which involve helping others in a volunteering capacity, whist some provide creative and/or sporting experiences. Here now is information about some of these events along with a link to a FB page you might find useful, plus information about Maccabi Junior Carnival 2022.

Great initiative by two Year 10 students

As part of raising funds for their Maccabiah 2022 trip to Israel, Eden Levit and Coby New have decided to fundraise doing what they love most – soccer and athletics. They are so excited to mentor your children and thank you greatly for your support. They hope to see your children in December.

Book now! Only limited spots available for this unmissable camp. 

Ages 6-9            
Ages 10-12             

Friendship Circle January Day Camp volunteer registrations are open.  

B’nai B’rith Kids Club photo workshop
on Tuesday 18 January 2022. For more information or to book, please call Vivienne Radomsky on 9321 6300.

Facebook group Sydney Jewish Mums    

Maccabi Junior Carnival 2022 (in Sydney)

Many of our students play sport in one (or more) of the hundreds of Maccabi Club teams, making life-long friends through such times. Parent Lara Levin has been on the Maccabi NSW Board since 2018, with her portfolio initially “Maccabi Life” but it is now “National Sport” and she is involved with organising Junior Carnival 2022. See poster for details.

Changemaker Awards National
Online Event, Monday 6 December 2021

Join in for this event to celebrate the nominees and the winners. Good luck to these alumni who have been nominated for a variety of awards this year: Hannah Beder, Jordana Blackman, Mitch Burnie, Nadia Coburn, Chloe Corne, Miriam Itzkowitz, Rikki Stern and Sean Torban.

Talking Holocaust

Alumnus Sean Torban (Class of 2018) founder of “Talking Holocaust” invites our school community to an event “Growing up Jewish with the Holocaust”, on Wednesday 8 December 2021 at Emanuel Synagogue from 7.00 pm to 9.00 pm.

BBYO (B’nai B’rith Youth organisation)
invites families to a shabbat dinner on Friday 10 December 2021

A message from past parent Vivienne Radomsky, Project Manager BBNSW – “BBYO is a group for teenagers to socialise, learn leadership skills and develop their Jewish identity. Our next event is a Shabbat Dinner for families on Friday 10 December at the B’nai B’rith Centre in Kensington, UNSW. We would love you to join us”. Bookings must be made by Monday 6 December.

TattleTales by alumnus Davey Seagle (Aka David Friedman, Class of 2011) –
season extended

With the season extended to Sunday 19 December 2021, you still have the chance to book for Davey’s latest production TattleTales, an immersive storytelling experience, through his company Ponydog Productions.

Whether a closeted actor, avid role-player, or secret dreamer, TattleTales opens the stage to your unique imagination for a fun and wholesome welcome back to the theatre. You, the audience, are invited to share in creating an original adventure with The Storyteller as your guide. Designed to be experienced by no more than 10 per show, the decisions you make will determine the characters you meet and the challenges you’ll face on your journey. Your tale, once told, will never be told again.

Members of our School community are invited to book their tickets and use the code ‘STORYTIME’ for 10% off adult tickets.

Flight Path Theatre, Marrickville

Season extended to Sunday 19 December 2021

Book now

Grandparents – we will always want you!

Ma Nishma each week remains one of the best ways to stay connected with our School and with our community no matter where in the world you live. Please help us to get our grandparents database updated by sending 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.  We will have our end-of-year edition of our Grandparents and Friends newsletter out very soon and 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.  As we still cannot have visitors on campus Ma Nishma and our Community Facebook (FB) page are great ways to stay connected with us.  If not already a member of our FB page, join here.

We look forward to sharing our news and yours in 2022, so if you have photos or news you would like to share with us, please send to Sonia Newell.                 

Shabbat shalom, chag Chanukah sameach and stay safe. Have a great weekend and a wonderful summer break. Look forward to seeing you next year!

 

Our writers

David Camp – Head of English and Library, Year 11 Tutor

We’ve come to that time of the year again – The Emanuel School Writers’ Awards!

Each year, in the High School, we recognise the wonderful written work that our students do throughout the year, either for school or for external writing competitions, or just for fun. This year, for the second year running (thanks Covid!) the glitzy Presentation Evening has had to be cancelled in favour of an even more glitzy website!

Our Emanuel School Writers’ Awards 2021 website contains a virtual treasure trove of amazing writing from our nominees for Emanuel School’s Writer of the Year. Each nominee has work on display and the work from our talented English Extension 2 students is also on display.

And if you are only interested in who won the awards, then the website is also for you – the winners of our Most Dedicated Awards and Writer of the Year Awards are announced on the site!

Click here to enjoy the students’ work.

The website does work on mobile devices but is best experienced on a computer.

Happy reading!

K-12 Sport

Kristy Genc – Director of Sports K-12

Emanuel Firsts Team announcements

Congratulations to the following students who have been selected in the Emanuel Firsts teams following recent trials. The announcement of team captains will be made following the January training camps. 

Emanuel Girls Firsts Football Team    

  • Ella Engler
  • Isabella Filipczyk
  • Layla Goldberg
  • Hannah Kim
  • Eden Levit
  • Romy McCorquodale
  • Victoria Miller
  • Alice Milner
  • Gemma Odes
  • Sienna Poswell
  • Tori Shapiro
  • Mischa Speilman
  • Gabrille Utian 

Emanuel Boys Firsts Football Team 

  • Daniel Allul Orozco
  • Tomer Aron
  • Julian Baruch
  • Ethan Berman
  • Luca Calderon Havas
  • Reece Carr
  • Joshua Cross
  • Benjamin Dyce
  • Shai Farhy
  • Ethan Hirst
  • Samuel Milner
  • Coby New
  • Idan Peer
  • Mahley Rosen-Tal
  • Ben Rozen
  • Jamie Schneider
  • Jack Smagrinsky
  • Gabriel Sperber

Emanuel Boys Firsts Basketball Squad

  • Aaron Glass
  • Aden Goodridge
  • Joshua Hirst
  • Alexander Kirievsky
  • Matthew Lowy
  • Gideon Pozniak
  • Hayden Rosen
  • Sacha Rosen
  • Ben Rozen
  • Ben Shapiro
  • Jake Sharp
  • Amadeus Tjanaria
  • Marcus Tsimbler
  • Remy Waller

2022 K-12 Sport Program release

The Term 1 2022 K-12 Sport Program will be released on the Parent Portal on Tuesday 14 December 2021.

Registrations for all Term 1 sports will open on Thursday 13 January 2021. All students are encouraged to participate in the Emanuel Sport Program as it is a positive way to build a connection with peers, and to develop skills, fitness and teamwork.

In 2022, taking part in at least one weekly sport option each term is part of the compulsory Year 7 and Year 8 curriculum. Registrations for Term 1 sport are to be completed by the 25 January 2021. 

 

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Scholarships

Studies of Religion

Studies of Religion panel discussion

On Thursday 25 November 2021 my fellow studies of religion enthusiasts and I embarked on an exhilarating adventure to get a glimpse of the world outside the Jewish bubble. We were fortunate to have a panel session with our teacher, Ms Costa’s, two friends, Sam Warner, an atheist, and Caitlin West, a devout Catholic. By listening to their answers to a series of questions, such as “where do you get your ethical guidelines from?” and “what are your views on the creation of the world?”, we were able to gain a clear insight into the views, ethics and opinions of both atheists and Catholics. As a result of the panel, I learned that although atheism and Catholicism are different, they both share the same principles of being a kind and good person.

By Isabella Knoll, Year 12 2022

Social Action Va’adot

Unsettled

Our untold history revealed

The Uluru Statement from the Heart has been asking Australians since 2017 to engage in Truth Telling of our past.

At the moment the Australian Museum is holding an exhibition called ‘Unsettled’. The exhibition had more than 100 contributions by First Nations peoples across the country to tell their story of resistance and dispossession of the land. This is an important step towards healing a nation and construct a shared past and future.

This is a free exhibition until Thursday 27 January 2021! Perfect to visit during the school holidays!

They also offer tours with First Nations Guides on Wednesday, Saturday and Sundays 10.30 am, 12.00 pm and 1.30 pm. Total duration is 45 minutes.

At a time where we are revising the history around the settlement of Australia on the 26 January 1789, ‘Unsettled’ is history told from the Indigenous perspective by Indigenous people!

By the Social Action Va’adot

 

Careers

Claire Pech – Careers Advisor

This will be my last Careers article for 2021. After a very eventful 2021, for all our students, I would like to leave some dates and details for the group. Please save these for access to UAC, rounds, and applications.

What I would like to leave the Class of 2021 with is… the (exciting) prospect of them now getting used to managing their own future, plans and career.

Up until now someone else (usually a parent) has been taking the lead in paying for tuition, keeping them engaged in their studies (teachers), providing an environment conducive to study (parents), and potentially having a big influence on study choices. This may be in the form of advising on subject selections, advising on whether to take up or drop extra subjects and units, and even being involved in part-time job applications.

Now autonomy is here, and here to stay. This should be embraced! It can be exciting and daunting. The benefits will be independence, learning from mistakes and realising opinions and research still matter and count.

 

 

 

My other parting thought would be to ‘stay fluid in your thinking’, it generally can take more years to find out:

  • what you are good at
  • what your real interests are
  • what type of work environment you prefer and work best in
  • what makes you excited about your chosen job/profession
  • what your connection is with salary, and whether that is a big driver for you
  • what your value system with work is and
  • what types of opportunities you want to take (eg overseas work).

We also have outside influences factors like:

  • the job outlook
  • the (over or under) availability of other qualified professionals in your field
  • salaries
  • qualifications
  • work conditions
  • industry disruptions
  • overseas opportunities
  • entrepreneurial ventures
  • COVID-19 influencers and the future economic outlook

I think taking all of this into account, keeping an open mind, trying lots of different subjects, and courses at university, being open to new work opportunities, start-ups and internships, and meeting a wide variety of new people as you head out into your next opportunity can only help this exciting new phase take off. Best wishes!

Relevant articles, dates and 2ebinars

  • UAC key dates
  • UAC Fact Sheet – key dates: please note that as ATARs will be out on the 20 January 2022, I will be available for appointments on the day on to chat to students about their preferences. The usual booking process is via my calendly link and it will be ready for bookings on the day. Meetings will be held on Zoom.
  • UAC Offers and Preferences – YouTube Video explaining making changes, preferences.
  • UAC ATAR Release Webinar – How to accept offers  – 6.00 pm on 10 December 2021.  It will be well worth attending this.
  • The EAS deadline is on the 17 December 2021 – if students have not already submitted their application. All details about EAS can be found here.

 

University of Sydney – Prospective students
Save the date for Information Day

Students who are considering studying at the University of Sydney in 2022 are invited to their Information Day. There will be an online Info Day event run on Thursday 20 January 2022 from 10.00 am – 3.00 pm, and an in-person event at the Camperdown Campus on Friday 21 January 2022 from 10.00 am – 3.00 pm.

Please visit our University of Sydney Events which will have more details in the near future. I encourage everyone who has applied to Sydney University to take this opportunity to get on campus (at last!) and wander around to see how it all feels.

Hopefully other Universities will be doing similar events and activities so keep your ears and eyes peeled for updates.

For career-changers in the parent community, this is a great article by Bruno Doring about changing careers and a new normal in the workforce post-COVID shake up.

From the Canteen

To our wonderful Emanuel School community,
 
We would like to take this opportunity to thank the families and staff who have supported us this year. Also a huge thank you to the following students who have helped with the handing out of lunch orders this last term due to COVID-19 protocol:
 
Amanda Bozic, Isabel Sarraf, Maya Sher, Anna Gil-Munoz, Remy Waller, Tali Kleviansky, Eden Grynberg, Sasha Goldman, Bella Filipczyk, Isabella Knoll, Tammy Kurlansky, Olivia Beinart, Jonah Trope, Gaija Avshalom, Matthew Lowy and Layla Goldberg.
 
Wishing you a fabulous holiday and we look forward to seeing you all in 2022.
 

\

 

From the Uniform Shop

P&F

Ruby Berkovic and Jennifer Opit

Hello Everyone,

We can’t believe it’s almost the end of 2021!

Weekend Brain Teasers

Question: What two things can you never eat for breakfast?
Question: How far can you walk into the woods?
(Answers at the end of this article)

P&F 2022

Our final P&F Meeting of the year was held on Wednesday, and we would like to thank everyone who attended. The P&F is a great, and easy, way to get involved in the School and the community and everyone is welcome.

We will be transitioning out of our roles as Co-Presidents next year, after five years in the role, and the P&F will be rebuilding in an exciting new way. We hope you will all get involved in some capacity.

Some important dates for 2022

  • Camping Trips: 11-13 March 2022 and 4-6 November 2022
  • Purim Disco: Sunday 20 March 2022
  • Mother’s Day (Breakfast and Stalls): Friday 6 May 2022
  • Father’s Day (Breakfast and Stalls): Friday 26 August 2022

Thank you

We would like to take a moment to thank our P&F Executive for all their tireless work and support: Michelle Stockley, Karen Endrey, Sam Butt and Justine Hofman. Both Michelle and Karen will be stepping down, as Secretary and Treasurer respectively, after many years in their roles and we are so grateful to them for all they have done to support the P&F and the School. Thank you to Shelley Millingen for organising the amazing pre-lockdown camping trip and to Jodie Gien for offering her wonderful meditation sessions. We are very appreciative of all the involved Emanuel School families and staff members who have helped out in another year where “normal” was flipped on its head. Thank you to the beautiful group of parents who logged on to Zoom our monthly meetings – we appreciate everything you do so very much!

To those of you who enthusiastically joined in, whether it was the Scavenger Hunt or Sukkot Initiative, thank you! A special word of appreciation to Andrew Watt and Tany Milner for their constant and continued support. We would also like to express our gratitude to the wonderful staff for being so amazing in another complicated year!

Weekend Brain Teasers (from above) and answers

Question: What two things can you never eat for breakfast?
Answer: Lunch and dinner

Question: How far can you walk into the woods?
Answer: Halfway – after that you’re walking out.

Have a wonderful holiday and see you in 2022.

Jen and 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 Lara Levin 

Strawberry Fluff 

Ingredients

2 punnets of strawberries
1 cup castor sugar
1 egg white

Directions

Cut strawberries into small pieces.
Bamix or put in a food processor to crush Strawberries.
Put all ingredients in a mix master and beat on high until the mixture is soft fluff that comes to the top of the mixing bowl.
Put mixture (pink fluff) into a round and moulded baking tin and put in freezer.
Once frozen and ready to use, run hot water over outside of tin and then run a knife around the inside of the tin and the middle section (if there is one) and turn upside down and release onto a serving plate.

Best to make the day before you serve.

Serves 20

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