From the Principal

Andrew Watt – Principal

Negotiating difficult times: the value of student agency

It would have been hard to miss the recent extensive and disturbing media coverage of historical reports of sexual assaults upon female students, some in their early High School years, brought to light by an alumnus of an Independent Girls School. It was reported that about 1500 students from 50 different schools have signed a petition seeking “better – and earlier – sex and consent education in schools”. Coincidentally, the issue of peer-on-peer sexual abuse and consent was covered at an earlier High School Assembly in Week 3 this term. Our students were encouraged to be clear and firm in maintaining appropriate boundaries, and each student received a brochure, outlining what and how to report incidents and concerns. I shared this video which explains the concept of consent in an accessible way. I encourage you to watch it as it’s a perfect conversation starter.

These recent disclosures indicate that coverage of respectful relationships and consent in our School programs needs to begin at an earlier age. Currently, our Primary School students receive presentations in Kindergarten, Years 1, 3 and 5 that include the right to say ‘no’ to unwanted touch. Each grade also receives content related to positive relationship building. In the High School, the broader issue of respectful relationships/communication skills is a regular theme through a number of topics:

• Year 7 Term 4: Positive relationships
• Year 8 Term 2: Celebrating Diversity
• Year 9 Term 4: Men’s and women’s health issues

The issue of ‘consent’ in sexual relationships is something we cover specifically in the Year 10 Term 3 topic: Talking Sexual Health. Our House Tutor Program will also touch on these areas. We will move towards the direct coverage of these key topics at an earlier stage.

This is an uncomfortable topic, but we would encourage parents to work in partnership with the School, to reinforce a culture in which our students seek to protect and support each other at all times. We want to encourage our young men to call out poor behaviour amongst their peers and to respect boundaries, so that their female counterparts can feel confident and safe in their relationships, and able to report concerns without the fear of humiliation or victim blaming. Consent is equally important in same sex relationships.

Parents have a key role to play on evenings and weekends, to ensure that recreational drug and alcohol use is discouraged and that events are monitored closely. Paul Dillon (Drug and Alcohol Research and Training Australia), in his presentation to parents, always recommends that young adults are not permitted to sleep over, after a party. Parents and the School, when working together, can reinforce the key messages around wise decision making and respect. We would encourage parents to engage in these difficult conversations around expressing personal boundaries clearly and confidently and reinforcing the importance of speaking up, if boundaries are crossed. You may find this article useful when discussing the issue of consent with your child.

Remaining a COVID-Safe community

The infection control measures that we have had in place for over 12 months have served us well, providing a safe and secure learning environment for our students. As the number of community transmissions across NSW has slowed considerably, the biggest threat to our community will be complacency. Our current measures seek to reduce the likelihood of the spread of infection, should a case arise. One of the key preventive strategies that we need to preserve, is for staff and students experiencing any symptoms of a cold or flu’ to remain at home and get tested. I have recently received reports of students arriving to school with runny noses, coughs and sore throats. A decision to send an unwell student to School has the potential to spread infection across the entire community.

Despite the low numbers of infection, please follow the NSW Health requirements closely, so that the risk of COVID-19 infection within our community remains low.

Purim

The whole school, from pre-school to Year 12 celebrated Purim on Friday. The students’ impressively creative costumes are always a highlight and students enjoyed the many activities on offer. 

Rising Star

Emanuel School HSIE teacher, Lauren Korotkov, has been selected as a ‘Rising Star’ by The Educator magazine. The national publication recognises educators under 35 years of age who show exceptional leadership, initiative, passion and innovation in their practice. Being recognised as an emerging leader in education by an external organisation is a great honour. It is also evidence of the profound impact Lauren has had on our students’ learning and development. 

NSW Jewish Swimming Championships

Sport continues to be a growing focus at Emanuel and on Sunday, 18 Emanuel students took part in the Maccabi NSW Jewish Swimming Championships, taking home a combined total of 34 medals – 17 gold, 12 silver and five bronze. I congratulate all who participated in this prestigious meet. 

Mazal tov to the following medal winners:

Yoni Levy, Year 8, won four gold medals

Mazal tov

• Danielle Rutstein, Class of 2020, has been awarded a soccer scholarship to Clayton State University in Atalanta, Georgia. She leaves for America in July.  

Quote of the week

“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.” Michael Jordan

From the Head of Jewish Life

Rabbi Daniel Siegel – Head of Jewish Life              

Purim and possibility 

Our school community celebrates Purim together, with masquerading and costume that speaks to difference, diversity, individuality and uniqueness. Yet, one element often marks the day that is not at all unique-the same three word question: “Who are you”?

 “‘Who are YOU?’ said the Caterpillar…
‘I – I hardly know, Sir, just at present – at least I know who I WAS when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.’
‘What do you mean by that?’ said the Caterpillar sternly. ‘Explain yourself!’
‘I can’t explain MYSELF, I’m afraid Sir,’ said Alice, ‘because I’m not myself, you see.’”

Purim reminds us that the Me you see may not be the Me I be.

The caterpillar has yet to be the chrysalis and then the butterfly it may be and so it is missing the wonderland of us for the “Who are you”?

In our class on Freedom in the Jewish tradition, we discussed that when Moshe asks God “Who are You”?, the response is: Know that “becoming” (אהיה) is who I am.

Purim reminds us that we all live in the spectrum between the caterpillar and our divine selves. The wonder of being is becoming, otherwise we crawl along rather than take flight.

On Purim we are commanded to celebrate to the point of not knowing who we are (ad lo yada). It is a time to glimpse who we might be.

“You see, so many out-of-the-way things had happened lately, that Alice had begun to think that very few things indeed were really impossible.” ~Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland~

Chag Purim Sameach/חג פורים שמח

Ma Koreh

Adam Carpenter – Head of Jewish Life Primary

JCA Jumpstart Juniors 

Purim program

As part of the many Purim-related activities and learning events that happened throughout the week, today students participated in the Purim mitzvah of מִשְׁלֹוחַ מָנוֹת – mishloach manot sending food gifts to friends.

Children in Years 1-6 received a mishloach manot box to decorate, fill with treats and to give to someone in their class. The box was provided by the JCA’s Jumpstart Juniors program.  

During tefillah this week, students watched the following video explaining one of the important functions of the JCA. 

Later on in the year, JCA will be hosting a Jumpstart Juniors event and they hope to see you there.

To register your interest in the event, please scan the QR code on your child’s mishloach manot box: JCA Jumpstart Juniors box QR Code

What is Jumpstart Juniors?

JCA’s Jumpstart Juniors is a great way to introduce young Jewish children to the importance of being part of our local community and the values of giving charity and helping others.

Jumpstart Juniors:    

• Provides fun events for children that start the conversation about family giving so that they can continue to discuss this at home
• Educates children about the importance of giving back to our local community and being role models for each other
• Showcases stories and touch points that are relatable to children and illustrate the impact of Judaism and charity in our lives

 Thank you and Chag Sameach
on behalf of Isabelle and Justin from Jumpstart and the JCA

Thank you to JCA for all they do to support and nurture our community.

Primary Purim

Hagit Bar-On – Head of Hebrew K-6 & Jewish Studies Coordinator K-2

Shalom Parents and Friends,

Last night we celebrated פורים / Purim and continued the same today.

The story of פורים / Purim in a nutshell is:

In the biblical story of פורים / Purim, המן / Haman is an inept, egotistical, and deeply anti-Semitic advisor to the King of Persia. After he becomes angered by a Jewish man named מרדכי / Mordecai who refuses to bow down to him, Haman devises a plot to exterminate all the Jews.

I read a very interesting article written by Rabbi Rachel Zerin exploring The Hidden Meaning of Purim:

 פורים / Purim has many traditions, but only five commandments: being joyous, reading the מגילה (megillah – the story of פורים / Purim), enjoying a סעודה (festive meal), משלוח מנות (mishloach manot – giving gifts to one another) and מתנות לאביונים / matanot le-evyonim – giving money to the poor). And so, the question is: “Why did the Rabbis decide that these five commandments are a necessary part of celebrating?”.

We bring joy to ourselves and others by feasting, sharing food with our friends and the needy, and by retelling the story of פורים / Purim, knowing  the happy ending from the very beginning.

The מגילת אסתר / Book of Esther is unique in that it is the only book in the תורה / Bible that does not mention God’s name a single time.

אסתר / Esther (the Queen) was included in our תורה / Bible, and without God’s name. But that doesn’t mean that God isn’t there.  

The Rabbis saw a connection between the name Esther and the Hebrew word הסתר / hester, or hidden. They saw the meaning of Esther’s name, combined with the absence of any explicit mention of God, and took this as an indication that the Book of Esther is about that which is hidden.

Although we don’t find God’s name explicitly mentioned, Jews have always understood the story to be one in which God acts in hidden, subtle ways.

אסתר / Esther herself is also hidden – she hides her identity as a Jew from the King and most of his Court. It is only because of this that she is able to get המן / Haman and אחשורוש / Ahasuerus to attend the feasts she has prepared, and to ultimately overturn המן / Haman’s plan to exterminate all Jews.

The story of אסתר / Esther, then, is about the hidden and the revealed. מגילה / Megillah in Hebrew means to reveal / לגלות. But what does this have to do with the commandments of Purim?

The connection to reading the מגילה / megillah should be somewhat obvious. If the מגילה / megillah is about the hidden presence of God, then reading it through our interpretive lens is about reading and experiencing God’s hidden presence and the way God acts behind the scenes.

The three other מצוות / commandments are a little less obvious. At first glance, it may seem that giving gifts to the poor has little to do with the hidden and the revealed. However, there is actually a strong connection between the two. Although giving צדקה / tzedakah (donation) is always a mitzvah (commandment), in reality, the needy are often ignored and marginalised to the extent that we no longer see them.

On פורים / Purim, however, we are asked to give as directly as possible, and are even encouraged to go out of our way to encounter people to whom we can give. There is also sensitivity to the fact that those who are needy might be so well hidden that we do not know who they are. And so, in case there are people in our community whose needs have not been revealed to us, we give gifts of food to everyone.

Perhaps the main message of פורים / Purim, is that we must reveal that which is hidden in our midst. We must make sure that we do not overlook those in want in our communities. We must seek out and include everyone in our feasting and our gift giving, so that, for at least one day a year, no one will be hidden from our community.

This פורים / Purim the emphasis to our students is going to be connected to the hidden. At times, all of us can have bad things happen to us at school, at home, with friends or academically. Just like the Jews of שושן / Shushan in the story of  פורים / Purim, if we persevere and get to see the end of the story, we realise how incredible the journey was, how important every step of the process was.

May we all fulfil the specific commandments of  פורים / Purim – listening to the מגילה / megillah, having lots of joy, giving משלוח מנות / mishloach manot, and giving מתנות לאביונים / gifts to the needy, and may we do so in a way that also fulfils the spirit of revealing that which is hidden.

חג שמח / Chag Sameach

Primary School Parent Teacher Night

Katie Brody – Director of Students K-6

Parent Teacher Night

Parent Teacher Night will be held in just a few weeks time. Please note the following dates in your calendar and look out for an email (coming soon) that will outline the instructions for requesting an appointment with your child’s teacher/s. 

This year, in response to the recent PTN survey, we are structuring the Parent Teacher evenings with one evening conducted on Zoom and the other evening face-to-face on campus. Parents can choose one option.

• Monday 15 March 2021: 4.00 pm – 9.00 pm (All meetings ON ZOOM)
• Wednesday 17 March 2021: 4.00 pm – 6.30 pm (All meetings face-to-face ON CAMPUS)

Parent Teacher Night is a great opportunity to have important conversations about your child’s progress and their approaches to learning. Given that it is still very early in the year, any new anecdotal information you offer the teachers is as important as the feedback they provide for you. 

Once you receive the email with all the booking information, please follow the instructions very carefully to select the teachers with whom you would like to meet and note the information about either meeting on Zoom or the measures we will take to be COVID-safe on campus.

How long are the meetings and will there be a gap in between?

Meetings with class teachers and teachers from the SLC are 10 minutes long. Teachers will be asked to stick to the 10 minutes, even though the booking system will show a 14 minute space. 

Meetings with specialist teachers will be five minutes long. Teachers will be asked to stick to the five minutes, even though the booking system will show a seven minute space. The extra time has been added to allow for movement between meetings.

Can all parent appointments include Art, Drama, Music and PE teachers? 

This semester, specialist teachers will be available to meet with parents of children in Years 3-6 only. If your child/children are in Years K-2, you will have an opportunity to meet with the specialist teachers next semester. 

Booking information will be sent to you via email very soon.

Kornmehl

Terry Aizen – Director of Kornmehl

Purim

This week we have immersed ourselves in the joyous festival of Purim. The children are enjoying the story with all its colourful characters. The best way for young children to internalise the details of the story is through interactive role playing and bringing the story alive with props and puppets. The story has all the components of a spellbinding saga – there is a villain, a heroine, who is also a beautiful Queen, and a King whose actions ensure a happy ending for all. The mark of a good story is when you see the children re-enacting it later during the day. Purim lends itself to lots of creativity. The themes of the festival can be expressed through making masks, crowns, shakers, Mishloach Manot and through each of the characters, as well as baking delicious Hamentashen. There is a sense of glitz and glamour about Purim, that just begs for sparkle and bright colours. We have had fun dressing up with wigs, hats, masks, beads and glasses. We learnt a delightful song Leitzan katan nechmad (little clown). Wearing a wig, hat and tie we pretended to be the little clown, skipping and dancing around in a circle, then choosing a friend to dance with again, skipping and dancing with lots of laughter and joy.

Purim comments:

Arlo: I like the Hamentashen. They are tasty.
Adam: I like dressing up. I am going to be a skeleton.
Penny: I like eating Hamentashen with chocolate in. I am going to be Rapunzel.
Claudia: I like to eat Hamentashen. I am going to be Rapunzel too.
Bronte: Purim is so much fun. We get to scare away Haman because he is a meanie because he told lies. I like Queen Esther. She wears pink and I like pink.
Noah: I am going to be BINGO the dog.
Adrienne: I like to dance and I am going to be a unicorn.
Dean: I am going to be a dragon and blow smoke out my mouth.

Our festivities culminated in a delightful celebration today. The children all arrived at Pre-school very excited and proud to show off their costumes. What a great variety of characters we had, from princesses, to kings, queens, clowns, builders, pirates, astronauts, policemen, tigers, cats, scuba divers and so much more. The teachers all looked great as the “Pink Ladies”.

Phillip Einfeld, from Puppetoons, entertained the children with a delightful puppet show of exquisite Purim character puppets. The story of Purim, definitely came to life for the children, through this interactive show.

We paraded around the garden and all participated in the mitzvah of exchanging Mishloach Manot bags with a friend. We ate lots of yummy Hamentashen, sang, danced and had a beautiful morning.

Thank you to Mum –  Daniella Stein, from Daniella Photography –  who came in and took some beautiful Purim photos for us. We are very grateful for her time and expertise.

Thank you to Mrs Amy Friedlander, Mrs Nicola Zurnamer, Mrs Amy Spiro, Mrs Natalie Papert, Mrs Kim Borovik and Mrs Daniella Alhadeff who came in to bake Hamentashen with all the groups. This was a mammoth task over two days and we really appreciated your help. It was lovely to see some parents back in the Pre-school again.

Over this time of Purim, the Kornmehl children have also been involved in the Mitzvah of giving to others and the children, during the course of the week, decorated an extra Mishloach Manot bag, made a card and we filled the bags with yummy goodies, including Hamentashen. The bags were given to the elderly visitors at the Burger Centre on Thursday, to help them celebrate Purim and to wish them all Chag Sameach.

It’s so lovely that the youngest members of our Pre-school community can be involved in Tikkun Olam and know that they are making a difference in someone else’s life.

Play-based learning

The following article was featured in theconversation.com and provides interesting information about play-based research, that aligns itself closely with our philosophy at Kornmehl.

“Research shows that play based learning enhances children’s academic and developmental learning outcomes. Children are naturally motivated to play. A play-based program builds on this motivation, using play as a context for learning. In this context, children can explore, experiment, discover and solve problems in imaginative and playful ways. It involves both child-initiated and educator-supported learning. The educator encourages children’s learning and inquiry through interactions that aim to stretch their thinking to higher levels, for example, while children are playing with blocks, an educator can pose questions that encourage problem solving, prediction and hypothesising. They can also bring the child’s awareness towards mathematics, science and literacy concepts, allowing them to engage with such concepts through hands-on learning”.

Play-based early years programs are focused on teaching and learning. In such programs, play can be in the form of free play (activity that is spontaneous and directed by the child), and guided play (also child-directed, but the educator is involved in the activity as a co-player) with intentional teaching. Both have benefits for children’s learning. To capitalise on these benefits, an optimum play-based program will provide opportunities for both free play and guided play.

Educators take an active role in guiding children’s interactions in the play. Children are supported in developing social skills such as cooperation, sharing and responding to ideas, negotiating, and resolving conflicts.

Educators can also use children’s motivation and interests to explore concepts and ideas. In this way, children acquire and practice important academic skills and learning in a playful context. For example, research indicates the increased complexity of language and learning processes used by children in play-based programs is linked to important literacy skills. Research shows play-based programs for young children can provide a strong basis for later success at school. They support the development of socially competent learners, able to face challenges and create solutions.

Happy Birthday

We wish a very happy birthday to Ziggy and Aviv Cohen-Peace (4), Emmy Berger (4) and Jaime Kalinko (5). We hope you all had a lovely birthday.

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Pre-school Open Night

K-12 Sport News

Kristy Genc – Director of Sports K-12

Football news

This week the Emanuel First Football teams competed in the first round of the CIS Football Cup. The boys team, led by captain Aiden Poswell, drew a tough match against Inaburra School. After what was an intense battle, finishing at two-all after 80 minutes, Emanuel won in a thrilling penalty shoot out.

Congratulations to goal scorers, Aaron Lemberg and Toby Port, and penalty scorers, Aiden Poswell, Tomer Aron and Coby New. Well done to all the boys and best of luck for Round 2. 

The girls team played Broughton Anglican College in torrential rain on the synthetic pitch at Heffron Park on Wednesday. The team is to be congratulated for the grit that they showed in what was not only a tough match against a more experienced squad but also showing great skill and resilience in the wet. Congratulations to captain, Hannah Kim, who played out of position and kept the defence tight and Eden Levit, on an outstanding performance, scoring late in the second half. This match also went to a penalty shoot out, with the result going the way of the opposition. The girls team will now refocus for the CDSSA Football Championships. 

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Year 7 Sport reminder

As sport is compulsory for Year 7 students, if a student is unwell or injured, parents are reminded to email our Sports Administrator Erin Archer prior to the activity, with as much notice as possible. Any student carrying a minor injury who is part of a team sport are still required to attend to support their team. 

Years 3-6 Futsal Expressions of Interest

In Week 8 and 9 of this term, trials will be held for Years 3-6 students who would like to compete at the NSW Schools Futsal Championships. This day runs in a Gala Day format and will be held in Term 2.

If your child would like to attend trials for an Emanuel team, please complete the Expression of Interest form on the Parent Portal. Trials will be held on Wednesday lunchtimes at school. 

Family Feast

Swimming Carnival photos

Thank you to parent photographer, Ofer Levy, for taking wonderful photos at the 3-6 Swimming Carnival. Years 3-6 parents will shortly receive an email on how to access these photos from the Parent Portal. 

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Welcome

Sonia Newell – Development Officer – Alumni & Community Relations

Welcoming more past students back to School

Student records from the early days of the School before the computer-age, are far from complete. We are however, working on remedying this discrepancy and may need your help to fill in some of the gaps. It is a bit like trying to find missing pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Whilst searching through printed copies of past YearBooks I came across a 1990 Year 3 picture that included a student named ‘Anna Hirst’ who was not on the database, as well as current parent Anita Clark (nee Silver). It was a lovely surprise to discover that Anna, who was here from Years K-6 and then completed her schooling at Newtown Performing Arts High School, is a member of the Hirst family that has a very long history with Emanuel School. Her mother, Adrienne, was the ESL co-ordinator and Resource Teacher for Years K-9 here in the mid-1980s and her father Ralph was a member of the Founding School Board. Anna’s two brothers David and Jonathan both finished Year 12 here in 1990 and 1993 respectively and their own children are current Emanuel students, whilst Anna now has her daughter Jordana Friedman here, having just started this year at Kornmehl Pre-school. 

Amongst other past students we welcome back to the School this year as new parents include Avital Melman (nee Vitenberg), Fernando Espinos, Yaffa Shnirman (nee Tkachenko), Paul Hamor and Ranald Kogan. I hope I haven’t left out anyone. Please let me know if I have.

Sydney Friendship Circle (FC) says “Thank you Emanuel School”

As many of you know, FC is an organisation that provides support for children and young adults with disabilities, with much support from our alumni, parents and current students throughout the year. Their one big annual fundraising event, the FC Walk last year was different to previous years because of COVID-19. Their 2020 theme Friendship knows no distance still allowed us to help them to raise awareness and much needed funds for their camps and other activities. Gabriel Wolf (Head Madrich, Class of 2018) is pictured below at a recent FC camp.

FCWalk 2020 – thank you

Gabriel Wolf at FC camp

Subscribe to their newsletter and/or volunteer for future events here.   

If you have photos and/or news to share, please send to Sonia Newell                                      :

Stay safe and Shabbat Shalom.

Careers

Claire Pech – Careers Advisor

Australian Union of Jewish Students

This week we hosted AUJS (Australian Union of Jewish Students) representatives at our School.

Mikayla Sacks, Sean Torban and Nadia Coburn (all Class of 2017) came  to speak to our current Year 12 group about joining AUJS.

Some of the benefits include:

• Being connected to other Jewish students
• Being connected to Judaism when the constructs of a Jewish school are no longer around
• Having a safety net of students you may know
• Being part of something bigger that connects you to other students from different schools and states
• Having a great social network and ready made connections

Claire Pech, Nadia Coburn (Alum ’17) and Mikayla Sacks (Alum ’17)

Nadia Coburn, President of AUJS, spoke to students about the misconceptions of what AUJS is about, about her involvement in the organisation, the many events she has attended and the friends she has made. She also spoke about her Physiotherapy path and that she is about to start her Doctor of Physiotherapy at Macquarie University. Mikayla spoke about her Communications degree at UTS and interning in an advertising agency, while Sean spoke about studying his double degree of Psychology and Cognitive and Brain Sciences. All students are flourishing at University and it was good to showcase their varied paths chosen and the connections that they all still have.

Next week we will host ANU as the first University to come and speak (virtually) to our students.

Articles, notices and dates for the diary

iCanMed | Free UCAT Webinar: How to Finish Your UCAT Study During Term 1 & 2
Sunday 28 February 2021
3.00 pm – 5.30 pm 

UNSW | Year 12 Medicine Information Evening
Wednesday 17 March 2021
6.30 pm – 7.30 pm

UNSW | Capital W Girls in Business Workshop
Tuesday 6 April 2021
9.00 am – 2.00 pm 

UNSW | LAT Information Evening
Thursday 6 May 2021
6.30 pm – 8.30 pm

The HSC and Careers Expo 2021
Thursday 3 June 2021
9.00 am – 3.00 pm

Headspace Online Group Chats
Mental health professionals and hear from others about a topic that will be discussed. Group Chats run for approximately one hour and are hosted by mental health professionals and members of Headspace.

Stuck at Home? Take a Virtual Campus Tour
COVID-19 meant that universities had to find a different way to let people tour their campuses and facilities. Now, many universities offer virtual campus tours that you can take from the comfort of your own home. Take a look.

Peer Support on Camp

The Year 11 Peer Support Leaders played a formative role in guiding the Year 7 students’ growth throughout the camp experience. The Peer Support program places students at the centre of their learning to empower practical skills to positively navigate life and relationships. On camp, the Year 11 Leaders delivered a daily peer-developed program to foster connections within the group and address each day’s experiential learning aim. These included; creating belonging within the group, breaking down barriers and moving outside of one’s comfort zone, developing resilience and overcoming challenges, supporting each other to create unity, gratitude and reflection.

Both Emanuel and Camp Somerset staff were in awe of the leadership and care displayed by the 20 Peer Support Leaders. They should be immensely proud of the growth they both facilitated and experienced. It was a joy to see their different styles of leadership emerge and their deep appreciation for one another.

The students’ own words best evidence the power of this program:

To me, Peer Support means being a role model for the younger years and looking out for them in any way you can. It is all about helping them navigate their way through High School to gain an understanding of school life and the importance of building relationships. However, it also means learning from the Year 7 students and getting to know an amazing group of people, who while younger already have so many valuable life experiences to share and challenges that they have overcome. As society develops, younger people are having to deal with big issues earlier. Peer Support provides a platform to aid the understanding of what it means to be a young adult.

The most important lesson that I have learnt from this experience was that you are a leader in all aspects of life not only when you are running a program or peulah. At camp, you are a constant role model, so it is so important to practise what you preach and always be the best version of yourself. From this experience I have gained a greater appreciation for the relationships that I have created, not only with the Meir Tutor Group and with the other Year 7 students but also the relationships I have strengthened with my fellow Peer Support Leaders across the Houses. The ability to share our experiences and learn from each other is so important when navigating the challenge that is leadership, and discussing our shared experiences allowed us to grow as leaders and people.
By Isabella Filipczyk

Through this camp experience, I learnt so much about myself as a leader and how much I enjoy being a Peer Support Leader. I learnt the importance of finding a healthy balance between friend and leader and gained an understanding of how to employ empathy to help others, especially people who look up to you and who you are leading. Through this, I was able to support both myself and others on camp and try to incorporate things I learnt in hadracha (Year 10 Jewish Studies Leadership Elective) such as the idea that enthusiasm breeds enthusiasm. Going on Year 7 camp impacted my ideas of leadership as I saw first-hand the influence I have on the chanichim (students) and how my actions and behaviour deeply affect their actions and behaviour. I also discovered the importance of these Peer Support relationships and the role I have played in the transition into High School for the Year 7 students. 

For me, Peer Support is more than just helping them transition into High School and goes beyond this first semester of Year 7. I want to leave these students with an understanding of who they are, both as individuals and as a Tutor Group. 

Through camp, I was able to connect with each of the chanichim and learn how to best support them. Personally, when I was in Year 7, I had a very special connection with my Peer Support Leaders who made me feel safe and comfortable in my School, my friendships and in my own skin. This was a formative impact and shaped my desire to become a Peer Support Leader in Year 11. I hope that my chanichim gain a lot from this camp experience and our time together in Peer Support across the next two terms. I think that this is an extremely valuable aspect of Emanuel’s High School system and I am so thankful to have been given this opportunity to explore my leadership skills and make lasting impressions and connections with my chanichim.
By Eden Grynberg

The Year 7 Szenes Tutor Group with their Peer Support Leaders

The Peer Support Leaders during a daily debrief

From the Gross Motor Leaders

We recently started our Gross Motor Program for Years K-2. 

The year has begun with relay races between all of the Year Groups. We will soon start having a bigger variety of activities using more equipment. We are very excited to help Years K-2 grow and socialise with each other while learning to give everything a go. We are also excited for them to get to know each other and make friends.

Overall we are proud of being Gross Motor Leaders and our role to help the Years K-2 students, as they learn and continue to make friends and have fun. We have enjoyed demonstrating initiative by teaching and running activities for them.

By The Year 6 Gross Motor Leaders

Learning from each other

fun with the Gross Motor Leaders

From the Music Leaders

A message from the Primary Music Leaders 

Our names are Lila Friedman, Isabella Hirst and Hannah Fekete and we are the new Music Leaders for 2021.

Lila plays the clarinet and likes to cook in her spare time. Isabella plays the clarinet and likes to draw in her spare time. Hannah plays the violin and likes to dance in her spare time. Some other things they enjoy doing is being a part of ensembles and other musical activities. They are very excited for Music camp and to be a part of the Aladdin musical. 

This year there is a fantastic new Music Competition! There are three parts to it. Firstly, there is a Practice Competition. The Practice Competition is to see who can do the most practice between Weeks 2 and 6. Just make sure that you record how much practice you are doing on your yellow sheet and you can win a prize if you do the most practice! There is also a Composition Competition, where anyone can submit a video of an original piece or song. Also, there is a Performance Competition which will include a concert later in the term. For more information about this competition click here.

There are a lot of fun things happening in Music at Emanuel School. This week students have been settling in. Students in Years 2 and 3 got their new instruments last week and spent this week getting used to them. Students in Years 3-6 made group compositions, and the ensembles and choirs are in full swing.

This week, we spoke with Mr Owen, one of the Classroom Music Teachers and Band Conductors. We asked him about what the funniest or most interesting thing that happened in Music this week. This is what he said:

“In Year 5 Music we have been looking at ways that we can make the sounds of a train with our voices and writing it down on paper using symbols to represent the sounds. This week, Rose Greenberg made the sound of a fog horn just with her voice! It was loud and actually a little bit scary”.

Lila Friedman, Isabella Hirst and Hannah Fekete with Mr Owen

Drama

Samantha Bauer – Head of Drama

FANGIRLS!

So exciting to be back at the theatre after so long. Elective Drama students were treated to a riotous musical about love, family, friends and the power to be yourself!

Well worth a listen: Yve Blake, author of FANGIRLS talks about her show!

This is what elective Drama students had to say about FANGIRLS!

“Everything I could have asked for and more from my first drama performance post-COVID.”   Eden Levitt

“Hilarious yet thought-provoking…..Very relatable to teens today!” Dean Reuveny

“FANGIRLS told us through a pumping beat and catchy melodies that the women of the future are so much more than ‘silly little girls’, never underestimate them… It might just get you kidnapped.” Liat Granot

“FANGIRLS is an entertaining and engaging, Australian musical about young women coming together and finding their power.” Maria Lewy

“FANGIRLS was such an entertaining musical, I really felt like I was watching a concert and experiencing what the characters were going through.” Sophie Sawicki

Kol Szenes

From the desk of Szenes House ………

Welcome to Term 1, 2021

We hope that everyone had a good start to the term. May 2021 bring everyone good health and happiness.

Szenes House Tutors

We welcome back to Szenes House, Mr Bloom, who is our Year 7 Tutor and Ms Minton, our Year 11 Tutor, who has returned from a leave of absence. We also welcome our new Support Tutor, Ms McAndrew.

The Szenes Wellbeing Team for 2021:

Mr Bloom (Year 7 Tutor)

Ms Goldmann (Year 8 Tutor)

Mr Gilhooly (Year 9 Tutor)

Mrs Starkey (Year 10 Tutor)

Ms Minton (Year 11 Tutor)

Mr Bell (Year 12 Tutor)

Ms Greenhill (Head of Szenes House)

Peer Support at Camp Somerset

Although sleeping in tents with soaking shoes and sandy hair might not sound ideal, this Year 7 camp was an amazing, fun-filled experience for everyone. Certainly, one to remember! The Peer Support Leaders enjoyed watching our Year 7 students transition from just a group of kids to a close-knit group with special bonds with each other. From enjoying nights around a campfire and kayaking, to facing our fears on bush walks and high ropes, this trip was certainly one of a kind. Even throughout the hardly ideal weather everyone made the best of it and kept positive with the help of a song or two.

Thank you to Mr Bloom, Ms Korotkov and Samo for making this incredible experience possible. By Eden Glass

Year 7 Camp Somerset 2021

The Year 7 camp challenge arrived last week, with everyone feeling differently towards going to camp – some people were excited, some people were scared but everyone inside was nervous. Year 7 camp was made to make every single student step outside of their comfort zone in many different ways. Some people think it’s a crazy idea but it is not. Stepping outside of your comfort zone comes with many rewards. Some of which were learning to face your fears, understanding how to help each other or when to help each other. Being able to sit with discomfort and learning are very important skills that you will need throughout the rest of your life. Each and every student was facing one of their fears or doing something that they were not comfortable with. We we were lucky enough to have five Peer Support Leaders per House helping us through this time.

Thank you to: Eden Glass, Layla Goldberg, Sasha Goldmann, Matthew Lowy and Remy Waller. They helped us so much and made camp a whole lot easier for everybody in many different ways. The amount of effort, patience, support and kindness each and every leader showed was fabulous and we can not thank them enough. 

Every morning we would wake up really early have breakfast then go to an activity, then come back go to another activity. The activities were so fun but really nerve racking.  We got to learn how to work as a team with different people and to build resilience. The nights were frightening for some but there was always someone who would be there for you no matter what.

Going to camp and doing activities in Houses gave us a chance to meet new people and strengthen our relationships. Overall camp was like a rollercoaster, fun with lots of bumps, twists and turns. Camp was awesome. By Gemma Odes

Last week the Year 7 went on camp for four nights and five days. It was a challenging and fun experience for everyone. We had some very fun and nice Peer Support Leaders who helped us during the whole experience. We got to make food each night for our camp and we also had to cook, which was very fun. We did so many activities such as kayaking, low ropes, high ropes, obstacle course, crate stacking and many more fun activities. Each day had more fun things to bring. One thing that was funny, was when a snake appeared and everyone started screaming and running. Another fun time was when we were doing our hike and everyone was tired ten minutes into the hike.

My favourite activity has to be Base Seven. It was a very fun and challenging game where there is a hill and you need to try to get up there and there is a tower with people in it and if they see you, you have to start from the beginning.

Overall, Somerset camp was a really fun experience for all and we learned so much from the camp. It was an amazing camp. By Oscar Saul

Year 7 camp

Year 8 Camp Somerset 2021

Year 8 Somerset 2021 was an amazing experience!

It was tiring and filled with hard work at some points, but it was a great chance to step out of our comfort zones and try something new. There were several activities involving teamwork and collaboration, which only made the bonds with our friends and peers stronger and we intend to keep these friendships throughout our high school experiences.

We had a lot of fun during activities like canoeing and the river run where we would sing songs, make up words and tell funny jokes and this would only fuel teamwork in the activities. There were times where we faced challenges or things that we may have not done before like a six hour hike over a mountain with our heavy packs strapped to our backs. It was very tiring and we struggled but, as we persevered through it, we overcame these boundaries and we finished the hike with a rewarding swim and a sense of accomplishment and triumph. The biggest growth for us on camp was learning to be be organised and ready. At the start we really struggled with this and all of our clothes were strewn out across the tent and we were always the last to pack up because we could not get out of bed but by the end of camp we had really improved and we were on time for all the meals and we were not left behind on walks and activities. One of the favourite things on camp was the food. Although many times we spilled it or dropped it, it was amazing. The best meal we had on camp was the woodfired pizza. We went all out with the stuffed crust, and we topped the pizza up with double layers of cheese and added many toppings. We are looking forward to  Year 9 Ski camp and being able to ski with friends and peers. In general, skiing is very fun and we are looking forward to being able to do it next year.
By Jonah Ernster and Bodhi Friske

History Debating

This week in High School Assembly we had some skilled debaters get awards for the J.A History Debating competition held last year. Out of the four teams entered, two teams made the grand final:the Year 9 and the Year 11 teams. Two out of the five members of the Year 9 team were from Szenes House; Jake Newfield and Daniel Solomon.

We are especially proud of the Year 11 team, where ALL four members were proud Szenesians – Max Kidman, Romi Lapidge, Tara Linker and Jesse Koslowski.

Also a special mention to Ellie Morris, a Szenesian, who was one of the members of the Year 10 team, who made it to the quarter finals.

We are very proud of all the members of the Debating teams. Remember, if you would like to join the History Debating team for 2021, please contact Mr. Friend.

Reminders

• Lockers: Lock your locker! 
• Be in your Period 0 activity or class by 8.20 am
• Hats to be worn whilst outside in the sun
• If you are not wearing the correct uniform, please ask your parent to email: uniform@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au 
• Follow @szeneshouse on Instagram for some wellbeing and just general Szenesian spirit.
• Also follow your madrichim on @es.madstagram for some updates, challenges, wellbeing and overall fun times.

Birthdays

Happy Birthday to our Szenesians who have recently celebrated their birthdays.

Quote of the Week

‘You may encounter many defeats but you must not be defeated’

Dr Maya Angelou

Stay safe and well. Enjoy your weekend.

Chag Sameach

Community Notices

Parents and Friends

Ruby Berkovic and Jennifer Opit

Hi Everyone,

We can’t believe it is already Week 5!

Parents & Friends meetings

Our meetings are held on the first Wednesday of each month at 7.00 pm. They are usually held in the Board Room at the School but will be held on Zoom or at a private residence until further notice. Our next meeting is on this Wednesday 3 March 2021 at 7.00 pm at a private residence. Everyone is welcome so please join us as your support and input is valued. Email Ruby if you would like to attend the next meeting and we will send you the address and agenda.

Camping Trip

We have some exciting news! Bents Basin has agreed to open up extra camping space due to our high demand so there is now a new amount of limited space available for our March camping trip!

Follow the steps below and act quickly to avoid disappointment:

1. Please book in with Emanuel via Trybooking ($5 per person) 
2. IMPORTANT – please book your campsite DIRECTLY with Bents Basin 

Numbers are limited, book ASAP to avoid disappointment

Weekend Brain Teaser (from last week) and answer

Question: What word begins and ends with an E but only has one letter?
Answer: Envelope

Have a great weekend and Chag Purim Sameach,

Jen & Ruby

Recipe of the Week

Each week we’ll bring you a tasty recipe passed down by Emanuel families, from the Emanuel School Community Cookbook, The Family Meal. 

From the Kitchen of Tracy Bialek