Volume 31 Issue 20 - 30 Jun 2022

From the Principal

Andrew Watt – Principal

A brief farewell

I suspect that my term away from the School will fly by, and before too long, I will return all the wiser from my course in strategic leadership. My wife and I are grateful for the opportunity to take a break from the frenetic pace of school life and to take time to pause, rest, and reflect on my leadership journey thus far. I hope to return refreshed, invigorated and full of new ideas that will be of benefit to our School. I depart very confident in our Acting Principal, Margaret Lowe and our high performing Strategic Advisory Team (SAT) and Executive. Lehitraot!

Our emerging leaders

Our Year 11 students who aspire to be our Madrichim will be presenting their case at assembly in early Term 3. In my final assembly address in Term 2 our students were encouraged to select their leaders wisely:

It is good to remember that before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. But when you become a leader, success is all about growing others. The motives for wanting to be a Madrich or Madricha should focus on serving, on giving, on wanting our School to thrive, on wanting to be a great ambassador for Emanuel. It should not be about the prefect badge, the power, the extra ATAR points for leadership, or having it on your CV. Every student in their senior years carries the responsibility of being a leader at Emanuel, whether it be a formal or informal position, or whether they want it or not! In practice, this means that they should:

  • Never walk past poor behaviour or bullying in school, but rather, they should intervene and report
  • Step in, if the behaviour of our students in the playground, on buses or at the shops is disruptive or rude
  • Take the lead and help-out, if a student is upset, or if the canteen needs help, or if an event needs setting up; and finally,
  • Be a role model, in the way that our uniform is worn, or the way they contribute to Shabbat celebrations and chaggim, or participate in House activities.

I remain confident in the wisdom of our students to select their leaders based on far more than popularity alone.

Not just bricks and mortar

The construction of our new building is well underway. We interviewed Years 4 and 5 students about their hopes, dreams and blessings for what will be their future ‘home’. I know that you will find their responses as inspiring as I did.

 

Primary School Athletics Carnival 

Students from Years 3-6 enjoyed a day of athletics competition and cheering on athletes from their House, at Hensley Athletics Field. Despite the windy conditions, there were many outstanding performances, with school records broken. A more detailed report can be located in the Primary Sports Carnival article of this edition. Many thanks to Stuart Taylor, Kristy Genc and their team of teachers and sport coaches, on a fantastic carnival, as well as parent and photographer, Ofer Levy, for taking photos of our athletes in action.

Making art

Throughout Monday and Tuesday of this week, our Years 9, 10 and 11 elective Visual Arts students immersed themselves in specialist art learning experiences at the acclaimed National Art School in Darlinghurst. Our students took full advantage of our privileged opportunity to engage with world class facilities and expert technical and conceptual instruction in etching based printmaking, wheel thrown ceramics and portraiture in oil paint.

Pathways Ceremony

This morning our Year 4 and new Year 5 students participated in their Pathways Ceremony. This is always a much-anticipated event, bringing together many generations to witness their children and grandchildren receiving their first Tanakh. Kol ha’kavod to Adam Carpenter, Bec Gaida, Stacey Rosenfeld and the Jewish life team for leading and organising this special morning.

What a mitzvah!

On Monday and Tuesday nights, Primary School parents chopped, mixed and diced a vast array of fresh ingredients for our Mitzvah Meals program. Run by our wonderful P&F and led by parent, Carli Rothman, this program provides nutritious meals for parents and staff who are facing hardship, serious illness or a bereavement. I am eternally grateful to all those parents who show such care and support to our community. 

Community Career Connections

As our young adults journey to their next stage of adulthood, blessed with so many wonderful career choices and paths, they seek practical experiences and conversations to help them make sense of a complex and every changing world of study and work. Many of our parents and grandparents have successful careers in areas in which our senior students have shown interest. If you would like to share your experience and wisdom, I urge you to join our Community Career Connections database. For more information on how you can help become part of our students’ futures, click on Careers Space in this week’s Ma Nishma, or contact Claire Pech, Careers Advisor at cpech@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au

Grandparents, save the date

The time is coming to welcome our Grandparents on campus to once again experience the joy of an Emanuel School Rosh Hashanah celebration with their grandchildren. We have not been able to host our annual Grandparents and Friends Day in the past two years and so are excited to announce this special event will take place on 16 September 2022. Grandparents, while September may seem far away, please diarise the day, which promises to be the biggest yet! We’ll be sharing further information at the start of Term 3.

Quote of the week 

“What a bargain grandchildren are! I give them my loose change, and they give me a million dollars’ worth of pleasure.” ~ Gene Perret, writer and producer of the Carol Burnett Show

 

From the Acting Head of Jewish Life

Daphna Levin-Kahn – Head of Jewish Studies High School

Following the Leader

This week in assembly, Mr Watt spoke of leadership; of choosing wise leaders by choosing wisely. Our parasha this week, Korah, is all about just that. Leaders, wannabe leaders and why people are chosen to be, strive to be, fight to be or shy away from becoming leaders.

On the face of it, Korah does in fact have a valid argument when he faces-off with Moshe and Aharon, exclaiming that ALL of the Jewish People have been identified by God as a Kingdom of Priests, a Holy Nation, and that all have the ability to be prophets, as we learned from the Torah a few weeks ago. Indeed, he would have had more than a leg to stand on, had that actually been what he, and his cohort, were fighting for – for the right of every member of Bnei Yisrael to have a place in leadership, should they choose to, based on skills, merit and virtue rather than by “nepotism” as claimed by Korah and Co.

So, what about this claim made it such a big deal that Korah and his main henchmen were literally swallowed up by the earth, never to be seen or heard from again?

It turns out, when we look a bit more closely, that each of the different factions of the cohort had different reasons for staking a claim to the leadership:

וַיִּקַּח קֹרַח בֶּן־יִצְהָר בֶּן־קְהָת בֶּן־לֵוִי וְדָתָן וַאֲבִירָם בְּנֵי אֱלִיאָב וְאוֹן בֶּן־פֶּלֶת בְּנֵי רְאוּבֵן׃ וַיָּקֻמוּ לִפְנֵי מֹשֶׁה וַאֲנָשִׁים מִבְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל חֲמִשִּׁים וּמָאתָיִם נְשִׂיאֵי עֵדָה קְרִאֵי מוֹעֵד אַנְשֵׁי־שֵׁם׃ וַיִּֽקָּהֲלוּ עַל־מֹשֶׁה וְעַֽל־אַהֲרֹן וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֲלֵהֶם רַב־לָכֶם כִּי כׇל־הָֽעֵדָה כֻּלָּם קְדֹשִׁים וּבְתוֹכָם יְהֹוָה וּמַדּוּעַ תִּתְנַשְּׂאוּ עַל־קְהַל יְהֹוָה׃

Now Korah, son of Izhar son of Kohath son of Levi, took himself along with Datan and Aviram, sons of Eliab, and Ohn son of Pelet – descendants of Reuben, to rise up against Moses, together with two hundred and fifty Israelites, chieftains of the community, chosen in the assembly, men of repute. They gathered against Moses and Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! For all the community are holy, all of them, and God is in their midst. Why then do you raise yourselves above God’s congregation?” (Bamidbar 16:1-3)

First, you have Korah, a man already part of the elite tribe of Levi; the only tribe permitted to carry out the holy Temple duties. Yet he wanted more power. Not only did he want to be one of the Kohanim, but he also wanted a shot at the top positions, the High Priesthood even. Yet he desired this not so that he could be more closely in service to God, work harder to serve the people, but so that he would have the title, the prestige and the seeming power that would come with the Kehunah, the Priesthood.

Then, you have Datan and Aviram, who believed that they should have power too – or instead of the Levites and Kohanim – as they were descended from the tribe of Reuben, who was the eldest son of Jacob and so, in their minds, should have birthright and authority over leadership.

And, finally, we hear about the 250 followers who joined the flock around the leaders. These weren’t just rabble or riff raff, looking to pick a fight. These were chieftains in the community, who had strong reputations as leaders in their own right. And yet, this wasn’t enough. They wanted more power; not to lead for the betterment of B’nei Yisrael, but for their own aggrandisement.

Next term, the students will vote for their own leaders for the coming year. We encourage them to pause to think about WHY they are choosing them, and why they want to be leaders. Those setting their sights on Hadrachah positions should look inwards to find the true “leader in you”. Will they be leaders for Service, or leaders for Self? Leaders for Justice, or just leaders in name? We are very lucky here, at Emanuel, to have a vey high calibre of true leaders; humble, proactive, dedicated and responsible – much like Moshe, Aharon and Miriam, and I look forward to finding out who our next Hadrachah team will be.
Ironically, the main person against whom they are fighting in this parasha is none other than Moshe Rabbeinu himself, one of the greatest leaders of the Jewish People of all time. Yet he was the one to argue with God against being a leader as he felt unworthy and unskilled to fill such a huge role, he didn’t believe he had it in him. Perhaps God chose him for what Moshe couldn’t yet see in himself – true and natural leadership potential.

Here, rather than considering who might be the most worthy of the leadership roles due to either God’s choice or due to their desire to work for the betterment of the community, Korach, Datan, Aviram and the community leaders clamoured for power, prestige and recognition. They were only working together to gain power, otherwise they had no common cause and their collaboration would likely not have lasted long.

It would have been utterly disastrous for B’nei Yisrael to have these self-focused leaders as they stepped away from the nomadic desert life, protected and cared for by God, over the threshold into the land promised to their forefathers where they would need to establish a just and constrictive society, mostly led by people rather than Divinity – and so they are simply wiped off the face of the earth, to quash any other selfish lusting for power.

Shabbat Shalom, Chodesh Tov and have a wonderful winter break.

 

 

Primary News

Natanya Milner – Head of Primary School

Well, they say that time flies when you’re having fun and this must be true, given it feels like Term 2 started just a couple of weeks ago. It has been a busy term with Music Camp, the Athletics Carnival, Shavuot celebrations and so much more.

I would like to thank the teachers and support staff for making this term such a success.

I would also like to thank the children for their engagement and energy and our community for your on-going care and support.

Year 6 staffing

Dale Kessler has been teaching 6 Rehovot since the beginning of the year and she leaves us at the end of this term. I would like to thank Dale for all her hard work this semester with her class and with Year 6 leadership. We wish her all the very best for her next adventures and hope she will remain connected with us. I would like to welcome Leanne Cresswell to the Emanuel team. We look forward to her teaching 6R for the remainder of the year. Welcome, Leanne!

Reports

It’s Semester 1 report time! I encourage you to take time to look through these reports as they include a wealth of information about the programs being taught, the expected outcomes and your child’s achievement and effort across the subject areas. I encourage you to look at this report and decide on the best way to share this information with your child. For some children, this may include sitting down and looking through the report together. For others, it may be that you provide a summary of key achievements and areas for improvement. Either way, I encourage you to ensure that you share these insights in order to set goals together for Semester 2.

Athletics Carnival

This week’s Years 3-6 Athletics Carnival was a wonderful success, despite the wind and icy temperatures. There was wonderful participation from the students and outstanding results across the age groups. Well done to all the students who ran, jumped, threw and cheered! I would like to thank the parents and grandparents who braved the elements and joined us for the day and thanks goes to all the staff who helped the day run so smoothly.

A huge thanks to the Sport and PE Departments who organised the event and particularly to Stuart Taylor, who led the coordination of the carnival. Thank you to Ofer Levy for taking photographs.

100 Days of School

This week, Kindy celebrated 100 days of school. It was so special to see the children dressed up and enjoying sharing this special milestone with our community and the Years 1 and 2 students. Thank you to the wonderful Annabelle Turrall and Leisha Strub for organising the celebrations and to the parents and grandparents who joined us.

Tanakh Pathways Ceremony

This morning I attended a very beautiful and moving Pathways ceremony, where we celebrated giving our Year 4 and new Year 5 students their first Tanakhim. Sharing special moments like this, and witnessing the joy and pride of the families involved, has helped end the term on a high. Thank you to Adam Carpenter, Bec Gaida, Stacey Rosenfeld and the Jewish life team for organising this special event. 

Staff Development Day

On Friday, the staff will be working hard on various projects we are focusing on this year. We will be having a session to continue our work reviewing our current behavioural expectations and plans for the Primary School. The entire staff will also be involved in Cultural Competence Training and I look forward to learning more about ways we can embed respect and understanding in all that we do.

Happy holidays

I wish you all a happy and safe holiday break and look forward to seeing the children back at school for Term 3 on Tuesday 19 July 2022.

Ma Koreh

Adam Carpenter – Head of Jewish Life Primary

In Jewish Studies, Year 3 has been delving into stories from the book of Genesis, using an interactive workbook called ‘Explorer’s Bible’. This workbook contains child friendly translations of the stories, questions to encourage deeper thinking, traditional interpretations and fun activities that connect values and themes to our lives today. Taking the idea that תורה Torah means ‘teachings’, we then see how the lives and stories of the people in the Torah can teach and guide us in our world today to make good choices and be our best selves.

Students learn traditional midrashim and are then invited to create their own midrashim to add their insights and understandings to the stories. For example, in the Cain and Abel story, students learnt Cain and Abel had a conversation in a field before Abel was killed, but the Torah does not specify the details of that conversation. Students read Midrash Bereshit Rabbah 22.7, which imagines an argument between the brothers over property, which leads to Cain attacking Abel. Students were then asked to imagine a different conversation between the brothers that would have produced a better result.

 

 

 

 

Here are some examples of the Year 3 students’ creative and kind problem solving:

Cain could have said: “Abel, could you help me find a good gift for God, to help me be a better person and to care more of others.” By Hannah Green

Cain could have said: “Brother, can you teach me what to give to God so my offering will be accepted.” By Brody Reid

Cain should have said: “Abel, can we go and talk to God and then talk it out.” By Leia Pager

After reading the Noah’s Ark story, students reflected on the idea of what it means to be a צדיק – a good, righteous person and shared their ideas:

 

Thinking creatively about the Shoah

This semester, in the Jewish Studies elective, Creative Responses to the Holocaust, we explored the themes and key ideas of the Holocaust and how they have been represented through art and poetry. As a creative person, this correlation between Jewish history and art was very engaging for me; it was interesting to see artistic techniques like colour symbolism, composition and shape used to convey such a gruesome and sensitive topic as the Holocaust. We studied art made after the Holocaust, though it was most confronting to see those that were made during the Holocaust. These still life artworks gave us a good visual idea about what it was really like in the ghettos and death camps. We then looked at poetry responding to the Holocaust. The poetry we analysed shared themes of sadness and remorse but also anger and lack of faith. This called for some interesting and controversial debates which forced us to really consider the emotional fallout of the Holocaust. We then had to create our own creative response to the Holocaust and being inspired by both the artistic and poetic approach, I decided to find a Holocaust poem and draw a visual interpretation of it. I was very interested in the idea of memorialisation through literature and found a poem, September Song by Geoffrey Hill, which specifically focused on commemorating a child’s life recorded in one of the death camps. In response to this, I illustrated a picture that represented Hill bringing the memory of the Holocaust victims back to life as he writes. I believe in the importance of remembering our history as Jews and those that were a part of it. Through Jewish Studies this semester I was able to learn of the Holocaust’s modern representation through art and poetry and then take my personal interest in memorialisation and create my own.

By Tamarah Aaron,Year 10

Click on the two images below to explore the Year 10 Final Creative Pieces

 

 

Curating the Holocaust 
Year 10 Visit to the Sydney Jewish Museum

The semester of Holocaust learning in Year 10 culminated in a tailor-made visit to the Sydney Jewish Museum. Our students found the experience meaningful and that it greatly enhanced their learning over the semester. Our thanks go to the wonderful Survivor, Yvonne Engelman, who shared her incredible journey and memories with us, as well as to Ilana McCorquodale and Rebecca Kummerfeld for organising the event, and the Museum Guides and Educators for their invaluable time with our students.

 

Creating change together

Friendship Bakery

A couple of weeks ago, as part of our Jewish Studies unit on “Disability and Inclusion”, the Year 9 Be The Change class visited The Friendship Bakery @ Mark Moran in Vaucluse. The Friendship Bakery focuses on helping people with disabilities gain confidence to join the workforce and give back to the community, and it is an amazing initiative. Not only are they providing a job for people with disabilities at the bakery, but also readying them to be able to get a job elsewhere. It’s an effective way to get the community involved by making a space where workers with disabilities can build their skill set and work in their passion areas. We bought delicious hot drinks made for us by the lovely barista Laura, one of the bakers in training. We enjoyed hearing stories and seeing the people involved in the Friendship Bakery. We learned how the initiative was started and the values behind it. By Raphael Harpaz, Ashley Urbach and Gabriella Dyce

“I would have loved to get to know some of the employees and bake something with them. I would definitely look into working there after school as a part-time job.” Raphael Harpaz

One & All Hub

On Thursday 23 June 2022, the Be The Change students travelled to the One & All Hub nearby in Rosebery to hang out with adults with disabilities and learn about the space. During the experience, we had fun creating clay bowls with the participants of One & All and started talking to them about their hobbies and interests. Some of the participants enjoyed hobbies such as photography and table tennis. Through this we were able to learn about our new friends and how they go about their day to life.

We really enjoyed One & All and think that the creator, Romy, has a great initiative that is really empowering for adults living with disabilities – we hope that more people contribute to future One & All endeavours. We thank One & All for kindly having us over and hope to work with them again in the near future. By Levi Pager and Ethan Epstein

 

Delicious

Emanuel TV

Adam Ezekiel – Director of Students

Special report – Building resilience post pandemic

Unfortunately, the mental health of young people has been significantly impacted by the pandemic. As many families settle back into pre-COVID routines, there seems to be a pervasive sense of optimism about what lies ahead.

Unfortunately children and teens are not immune to what is now being termed the “psychological pandemic”. Young people are at risk of not achieving the primary demands of developmental tasks such as procuring independence and identity formation, as well as obtaining and maintaining peer relationships. What kids need most in the current environment is support, understanding, empathy and encouragement from caring adults. They live up or down to the expectations we set for them.

If there is a panacea to the adversity caused by the pandemic, then it is the building of resilience. Resilience is the capacity to face, overcome, be strengthened and transformed by adversity. Never before have parents needed the skills, the knowledge and the strategies to build resilience in their children as much as they do now. There are seven integral, and interrelated, components that make up being resilient that can help young people thrive and develop healthy coping strategies.

This Special Report explores the “7 C’s of Resilience” and includes suggested strategies on how adult carers can best facilitate them. We hope you take a moment to reflect on the information offered, and as always, we welcome your feedback. If this raises any concerns for you, a loved one or the wellbeing of your child, please seek medical or professional help.

 

Exciting new events!

Hagit Bar-On – Head of Hebrew K-6, Jewish Studies Co-ordinator K-2

Exciting new events!

Shalom Parents,

We have come to the end of Term 2. Unbelievable how time flies. I have been on Long Service Leave in Israel visiting my children and family, whom I haven’t seen for 2.5 years due to COVID (I know, it’s insane).

My colleague, Martine Nabarro, was also on leave due to health issues and some Hebrew teachers were sick with COVID and flu. It was a hectic time for the Hebrew department. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues and especially the Hebrew teachers, who stepped up and were ready to help in any way and at anytime.

Teachers and colleagues were so kind and accommodating, making sure the students were not affected by the changes and received their engaging and fun Hebrew lessons.

It has been a long time since we have been able to include the community and invite parents, grandparents and friends to the School to be part of the amazing things we do here. As of next term, we are going to include the community in many events that will take place at school.

Some of those events include Kabbalat Shabbat and Grandparents Day. I have been approached by parents several times in the past, asking to be included in Friday’s Kabbalat Shabbat. Students come home raving about our special Kabbalat Shabbat, where we sing, dance, and have fun together with class teachers, Mrs. Spiro and Mr. Owen.

Next term, parents of Years K-2 students will be able to join us on the following dates:

Week 3, Friday 5 August 2022: Year 1
Week 5, Friday 19 August 2022: Year K
Week 6, Friday 26 August 2022: Year 2

We will celebrate our traditional Grandparents Day with a Rosh Hashanah theme on Friday 16 September 2022.

These are only a few of our big events that we are planning to have during Term 3 so please have a good rest during our term holiday, ready to come back and join us on campus!

Wishing you all an amazing holiday and keep safe.

Shabbat Shalom

 

 

K-12 Sport

Kristy Genc – Director of Sports K-12

Netball news

There has been plenty of netball this term, across both the Primary and High School. Last week saw the conclusion of the Term 2 St Catherine’s netball competition. Four of the seven Emanuel teams progressed to the semi-finals, with two teams making the grand final and the 10A’s winning their division in what was a thrilling match. The 10A’s had been strong throughout the tournament and faced St Catherine’s in the final. The match was very tight, with Emanuel victorious, holding on to their lead, winning by just one goal.

Well done to Ruth Durbach, Gabriella Freed, Meika Laishevsky, Kenya Martin, Charlotte New, Abby Sarraf, Alyssa Simmons, Mariah Lewy, and Ashley Urbach. 

10A’s Netball Winners

 

In Term 3, we look forward to hosting the Year 7-10 Sydney Schools Cup Netball Competition once again at Emanuel each Tuesday afternoon. 

In the Primary School, Years 1-2 students have started to develop basic netball skills and have engaged in the sport with great enthusiasm, improving their passing, catching and court movement. 

Years 3-6 students have engaged in weekly netball games this term with Mt Sinai. The games have provided a great opportunity for students to learn netball positions and to develop game sense. The term was capped off with a clinic run by Netball NSW this week. 

In Term 3, Years 1-2 and Years 3-4 after school netball continues. Years 4-6 students will be continuing to develop their netball through Thursday Inter-school sport. 

 

Primary Athletics Carnival

Kristy Genc – Director of Sports K-12

On Monday, after two years of cancellations due to COVID, Year 3-6 students finally had the opportunity to show their athletic prowess at the Primary Athletics Carnival. Students had been preparing in PDHPE this term and competed in a range of track and field events, and the day saw some amazing competition. House Spirit was strong, led by the House Captains, and the day was capped off with the junior and senior House relays. This year, 100m finals were added to the program. Congratulations to the following 100m winners: 

8 Years: Alessandra Healy and Ravi Keller
9 Years: Ellie Becker and Aviv Smily
10 Years: Akira Aronstan and Ryan Miller
11 Years: Shayna Abitz and Arlo Broughton-Oshlack
12 Years: Hana Hurwitz and Noah Kessell

I look forward to recognising the Age Champions and the winning House at the next Primary assembly. Thank you to Mr Taylor for putting on such a fabulous event and to Ofer Levy for his fabulous action shots. 

 

Write A Book In A Day

Kayla Strous

Tamar Granot

On Wednesday 15 June 2022, Year 6 participated in the Write A Book In A Day competition. We were assigned to groups of 5-10 students, to spend 12 hours writing and illustrating a book with 1500-2500 words. It was certainly a difficult challenge, but significantly improved our writing and teamwork skills.

Each group was given parameters on what their story needed to include; two human characters and one non-human character, a setting, problem, all of which were different for every team, and five random words that we needed to use throughout our stories.  

 

 

 

Despite Write A Book In A Day being a competition, its main purpose is to raise money for charity and write entertaining stories for children with cancer. The day itself was filled with surprises and fun experiences, including a special appearance from Alice Milner, our very own Year 10 student! 

  • “Writing a book in a day was very enjoyable and we worked as a team to make fabulous books!” – Ricky Kerlander
  • “It was really fun because you got to learn a lot and work with your friends!” – Tia Camiller
  • “It was great being able to get lots of work done while having fun with my peers” – Rafi Kuper

Overall, Write A Book In A Day was an incredible experience that we will never forget! Thank you teachers for making this outstanding day possible!

 

Year 6 – the first semester

Camilla Levine

The first semester

This first semester of 2022 was a very eventful one for many good reasons. Year 6 had an amazing camp in Canberra, which involved going to both old and new Parliament Houses, the National Gallery of Australia, the National War Memorial and more! As well as that, students from Years 4-12 went to Music Camp! Mount Sinai joined us and so did the talented conductor, AJ America, which made Music Camp an incredible learning experience. 

As well as those fun events, Year 6 also got the privilege to do a project called Write A Book In A Day. This is a fun and collaborative project which involves writing a book with illustrations in just 12 hours! Year 6 loved this project because we got together with students across the grade and made a book with the funny prompts given. The books made by the groups of students were given to hospitals all across Australia to kids with cancer to read. Not only were we proud to support this initiative, but we were also proud of the great books we wrote! 

Unfortunately, I am leaving Emanuel school at the end of Term 2 and will miss the school very much. I will miss the amazing teachers and community here at Emanuel, and I am eternally grateful for the amazing education I have been getting at this amazing school.

This has been a very exciting journey for Year 6 and there is more to come! Thank you for having me Emanuel!

Before the King

Sonia Newell – Development Officer – Alumni & Community Relations

With the end of Term 2 upon us, I want to say a huge “thank you” to those readers of my page who have been in touch to share their news and photos over the past weeks and months. I hope you all have a great term break and I look forward to sharing more of your news and ours again next term.

Alumni and their music
Adam Harpaz (Class of 2013)

Adam is an independent singer-songwriter and, when he’s not surfing the waves at Byron Bay where he lives, he’s off touring with his music. He has been featured on Triple J, performed at major festivals such as Splendour in the Grass/Falls Festival and has had sold out shows across the country. On his debut European tour prior to COVID, he played 30 shows in 10 countries and is now back in Europe for what looks like another amazing music tour. This is such a fabulous opportunity for Adam and we wish him all the best as he embarks on travelling through Europe again.  He says “from Icelandic fjords to the Italian Alps, from the Mediterranean to the gateway of the East, I promise to perform with all my heart at every show”. Click here for more information about Adam and his music.   

 

Before The King

Members of the band Before the King are four shaggy-haired garage-rock revivalists from Sydney’s Inner West, three of whom are school mates – Daniel Radomsky, Gabriel (Gabe) Jammy and Dean Smuskowitz (all from the Class of 2016). They formed the band whilst here in High School, winning the B’nai B’rith Battle of the Bands in 2016, with their prize being a guest appearance at the Jewish Music Festival Shir Madness at The Bondi Pavilion that year, as they were all preparing to sit the HSC. They continue to have success with a big year from recording with Chloe Dadd at Sydney’s Golden Retriever Studios, to hosting a sold-out fundraiser gig for the NSW floods, to releasing their debut EP Different Combinations of the Same and squeezing in a quick tour to support it – the band hasn’t slowed down.

Now, they’re set to release their next single, Cold Shoulder, out tomorrow, 1 July 2022. This will be the first single off their sophomore EP, All That You Know, out on the 5 August 2022. To support all this, the band is embarking on a nine-date regional tour, culminating in a massive hometown bash at the newly-reopened Lansdowne Hotel. We wish the band continued success and hope they might come back to school one day soon to perform for the students. 

March of the Living (MOTL) 2023

MOTL is an annual educational program that brings individuals from around the world to Poland and Israel to study the history of the Holocaust and to examine the roots of prejudice, intolerance and hatred. Participants spend a week in Poland culminating in marching down the same 3km path leading from Auschwitz to Birkenau on Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), as a tribute to all victims of the Holocaust, followed by a week in Israel during Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israel’s Independence Day).

The Year 11 MOTL Australia program started in 2001, with over 1500 students participating over the years, including many of our Emanuel students. However, our numbers dwindled quite dramatically after the start of our amazing Chavayah – our end of Year 10 six-week Israel program. Sadly, this High School MOTL program will no longer be offered to any Australian students.  Next year’s MOTL Australia 2023, after a three-year break because of COVID-19, will coincide with Israel’s 75th birthday and MOTL’s 35th anniversary, and will focus on the Young Adult (18-35) and the Adult (36 plus) programs. For readers here, please note expressions of interest to join up for one of these two programs next year are now open.   

Adamama community events

Did you know Adamama, Australia’s first ever Educational Urban Farm, was inspired by Jewish values of healing the world and nurturing the community?  It is based at the Randwick Sustainability Hub, where you can discover your eco-passion and get involved in an array of their programs, including Permabee for adults every Friday morning – a work session to help plant, weed and compost; working bees on the first Sunday of each month from 10.00 am – 12.00 pm; various workshops for adults and for children, including school holiday camps. Adamama Manager, Emanuel alumnus Mitch Burnie, would love to see more Emanuel families partake in some of these wonderful opportunities. From time to time they also offer Fermentation and Pickling Workshops, so check their website for new dates. There are still limited spaces available at some of their upcoming school holiday camps.    

Citizen science coming to a school near you!

Past parent, Dr Judy Friedlander, heads an organisation that is going to literally blitz schools around Australia. The ‘B&B BioBlitz’ as the organisation’s initiative is called, is Australia’s first national school citizen science project and is being supported by the Department of Education, the CSIRO’s Atlas of Living Australia and LandCare. The BioBlitz is taking place in schools during National Biodiversity Month (September) in the week of 7 September 2022 (National Threatened Species Day). Judy says “Various scientific bodies and papers including Australia’s Strategy for Nature 2019 – 2030 and Chief Scientists’ reports are calling out for every day Australians to take observations and upload them to free apps such as iNaturalist and the Atlas of Living Australia. 

“These citizen science observations help scientists to fill information gaps, identify species, understand species’ declines and help regeneration strategies.” 

Friedlander’s organisation, PlantingSeeds, also runs the multi-State B&B Highway, an educational and practical initiative that creates regenerative corridors through plantings and habitats at schools. She continues “with 100 B&Bs (Bed & Breakfasts for Bees, Birds and Biodiversity) implemented by year-end and thousands of school children from Pre-school to Year 12, having experienced the four-part practical and educational sessions. The B&B Highway works to empower students and biodiversity and connect schools. It responds to the alarming research showing we are losing plants and pollinators and that collaborative action instils hope and counters biodiversity loss. Many participating schools are Independent or part of the Catholic system, and interestingly, one of our first hives was at Emanuel Synagogue, although we did not implement a program for the pre-schoolers at the time. We would love to see Emanuel School join us too.”

Judy says “The PlantingSeeds’ team works with scientists, academics and Departmental educators to ensure programs are evidence-based. The citizen science component is now attracting much attention with the Australian Museum showcasing the B&B BioBlitz at Science Week and Dr Karl Kruszelnicki helping to promote it.

“BioBlitzes and citizen science help develop STEM skills, with links to the curriculum in many areas such as in science, mathematics, humanities and social sciences and technologies. Citizen science has valuable learning and teaching outcomes for school students in Years K-12. Parents interested in volunteering at PlantingSeeds to provide support with school implementations, educational sessions, plantings, habitat construction or citizen science, please email info@ps.org.au

Judy and her husband Anthony’s children, Jordan and Joshua Kahn, are both ‘blitzing’ the science fields with Jordan (Class of 2010) now a physician working in Melbourne and specialising in infectious diseases and general physician work and Joshua (Class of 2014) an aerospace engineer working for space company Fleet Space in Adelaide. Another Emanuel connection for the Kahn family is Anthony’s sister Jennifer Udovich, who is a Hebrew teacher here in Primary School.

Community Theatre Group

Past parent, Vivienne Radomsky, Marketing and Development Manager B’nai B’rith NSW, says there is still time for members of our School community to email her with expressions of interest to join the B’nai B’rith Players, a community theatre group with Director and Producer Moira Blumenthal: vivienne.radomsky@bbnsw.org.au or call 9321 6307.

Save the date 

2022 Friendship Circle Walk – Sunday 28 August 2022
Grandparents and Friends Day – Friday 16 September 2022

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

Shabbat shalom, stay safe, stay warm and have a great term break.

Kornmehl

Alex Levy – Acting Director of Kornmehl

Playball

The Seashells had an Open Session of Playball on Monday for parents to come and watch. Our visitors were all amazed at the great skills the Seashells have developed since the start of the year and how good they are at listening to instructions from their coaches.

Buddy Reading

Our Year Two buddies join us every Monday afternoon to read stories together. It is always so heartwarming to welcome back many ex-Kornmehl students into the Pre-school. They are equally excited to come back and show us how well they can now read.

It is lovely to witness the start of some beautiful relationships and friendships that will continue to develop throughout the remainder of the year. This is a lovely program encouraging both a love of literature and a strong sense of belonging within the school community.

We asked the children what they enjoy about this activity:

Year 2 comments

Alessandra: I’m excited to see the Kornmehl children as I haven’t seen any in a long time.
Leeshie: I’m excited because I love to read to people and to do stuff with people.
Jack: I’m excited because my sister is in Kornmehl, and she says that all the Kornmehl kids are nice.
Isaac: I’m looking forward to seeing my cousin, to seeing Kornmehl and what else has happened down there.
Jake: I love reading and finding out what’s happening next and watching how the story goes.

Kornmehl comments

Cleo: Sometimes my sister and I feel happy when she comes to read. And I don’t mind if my sister doesn’t come because I know some of the other kids. 
James: I like it because they read to us. It makes me feel good and happy.
Freddie: I like listening to the Year 2s reading books, it makes me happy.
Tahlia: I like it that the Year 2s come down to read to us because it’s fun and makes me happy.
Harriet: I like that my sister Abigail comes, it makes me feel good and my sister lets me choose the book.
Matteo: When my brother Kobe goes away from Buddy Reading, he hugs me and kisses me. 
Noah S: My cousin, Amelie’s sister, is coming to read to me. She is in Year 2. I like them reading to me.
Grace: I like it when some of the big kids try to read to me.
Charlie: We get to go with our big brothers and sisters and get to read together.
Lexi: If someone reads to me, then that makes me feel happy.

A note about play

“It is a happy talent to know how to play.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Play is self-chosen. Children were born to play. They love to play. They will play all day if they’re allowed. If you have to coax them into doing something, then it’s not play. Play never feels like work or an obligation. Play is enjoyable, fun and has no agenda. Play is not the purpose of meeting adult goals. Play is inherently valuable. All play is learning. No matter what it is. Whether you can clearly see the skills being mastered or not. There is no hierarchy of play. Play is unstructured. In play, children make the rules. They decide how long they play for and what direction their play takes. Children should feel free to play and use what is available however they like, with no expectations. There’s a lot of work involved in play — problem solving, skill building, overcoming physical and mental challenges — going on behind the scenes.

There are many different types of play: solitary play, risky play, sensory play, parallel play, dramatic play, rough and tumble play, constructive play, active play, and co-operative play. Play builds the imagination, promotes social skills, advances physical development and helps children work through emotions.

There are 7 basic characteristics of play:

  • voluntary: something children choose to do, but other children can be invited to join in.
  • pleasurable: a deep sense of enjoyment, which will vary from child to child.
  • symbolic: usually includes some type of make believe or pretend and objects assume new meanings and purpose for the player/s.
  • meaningful: to the player/s, but the meaning may not always be clear to an observer.
  • active: it requires active mental, verbal or physical engagement with people, objects or ideas.
  • process oriented: it’s enjoyed for the activity itself, not concerned with an end product.
  • intrinsically motivated: it is its own reward.

 

 

In our Kornmehl Philosophy we have the following statement about play: 

We believe that children learn best through play. We see play as being the “heartbeat” of our Pre-school program. Play provides opportunities for children to learn as they experiment, explore, discover, create, improvise and imagine. When children play with other children, they create social groups, test out ideas, challenge each other’s thinking, explore language and build new understandings. Play provides a supportive environment where children can ask questions, solve problems and engage in critical thinking. In these ways play can promote positive dispositions towards learning.

We embrace and acknowledge that children come to the Kornmehl Centre with a richness of experiences. We believe that childhood is a time to be, to seek and make meaning of the world.  

We wish everyone a safe, happy, and restful holiday. We look forward to seeing you all back at Pre-school next term on Tuesday 19 July 2022.

 

Music Matters

Diana Springford – Head of Music

Welcome to our Music Matters page! 🎶

Mazal tov to all students, staff and parents for their combined efforts in achieving another memorable Music Camp. We will make a link available to the video of the concert to the parents and carers of performers in due course. There will be photographs and articles written by students in our Ma Nishma page at the start of Term 3. 

Save the Date – Night of Instrumental Music
Wednesday 24 August 2022 at 6.00 pm

Our instrumental ensembles are working hard to prepare for the annual Night of Instrumental Music (NOIM) in Week 6 next term. This wonderful concert showcases the skills of hundreds of young instrumentalists performing in a range of ensembles, from concert bands to string orchestras and small ensembles. Parents will be receiving a permission note early next term.

It is important that all members of participating ensembles perform in this event. K-2 students in the Infant Strings Program will be performing. NOIM is also a compulsory component of the Primary School Instrumental Program. All students from Year 3 to Year 6 will perform at the concert in their Year Group ensembles. Please encourage students to practise their parts at home to ensure the event is satisfying and enjoyable for them.  

Term 3 dates 

Weekly ensemble rehearsals and Private Music Tuition resume on the first day of Term 3, Tuesday 19 July 2022. Years 3 and 5 Instrumental Program (IP) will commence on the first day of term, while Years 4 and 6 will have IP as normal on Wednesday 20 July 2022. Please remember to bring your instrument and music.

Extra-Curricular Music Program

You may be thinking about extra-curricular activities for Term 3. Memberships from Term 2 will rollover automatically. Please email Ms Springford  if you are not currently a member of an ensemble and are interested in signing up. You will find the rehearsal schedule here describing ensembles in more detail on a second tab. Those interested in playing their instrument or singing as part of a group should get involved, especially if you want to be eligible for Music Camp in June. 

Private Music Tuition and Infant Strings Program

Thank you to those who have already advised us of changes to private tuition and Infant Strings Program (ISP) enrolments for next term via the online forms on our  Music Portal Page. The deadline for new enrolments or intention to discontinue for Term 3, has now passed. All students currently receiving private music tuition and students in the K-2 Infant Strings Program will be automatically re-enrolled along with students commencing lessons for the first time.
Please contact music@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au if you have any questions.  

The schedules for Term 3 will be created at the end of term and emailed during July term break.

Please visit our Music Portal Page for information about:

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

 

Careers

Claire Pech – Careers Advisor

Community Career Connections 

As a community we have a wealth of knowledge, expertise and experience in a huge variety of industry and career settings.

We would love to be able to harness some of this expertise and experience to aid our current, future and past students.

We are looking to create a Community Career Connections Work Database of our community members who would like to be part of this initiative. You can decide on which level of participation and can withdraw at any stage.

In the short term we would love connections who could:

  • Host a Year 10 work experience student for a week in the school holidays.

AND/OR

  • Host an alumnus/a as an intern in your industry (paid or unpaid).

AND/OR

  • Be on file as someone we could talk to with a student to gather any information about your job and/or industry.

All connections would be of great benefit regardless of length of time in a role.

Please fill in this survey to help our students and alumuni with their own career research.

The more contact points we have, the better. Please free to send this on to anyone who could be interested. We will also do a few shout outs for this early next term.

Best wishes for a restful break.

 

Kol Ha-lvrit

Willow Gelin, Romy McCorquodale and Alexander Kirevsky – Year 10

We are the Year 10 Hebrew students, and we have been working on making podcasts in Hebrew for our radio program Kol Ha-Ivrit.

We have a new podcast! In this podcast, we discuss common phrases that talk about animals. We had lots of fun making it and we hope you enjoy listening to it! You can listen to this podcast and all our other podcasts here.

We also have a competition! You will be shown a list of animal expressions commonly used in Israel and you’ll have to try and guess what they mean. You can compete with your friends and see who is able to get more of the animal expression correct. Maybe you’ll be able to use these phrases in your everyday language! You can access the competition here

You have the chance to try and make your own expression! You and your friends can try and make up your own expression and then email it to Romy McCorquodale, Willow Gelin or Alexander Kirievsky. You will have until the end of the holidays to try and come up with your own expression.

The winner will be announced in the first week of next term and will receive a $15 gift voucher to use at the school canteen! We can’t wait to see all of your amazing expressions! Good luck!

 

Plastic Free July

Lisa Starkey – HSIE & Technology Teacher, Coordinator of High School Sustainability Program & Tutor

Plastic Free July is a global movement that helps millions of people be part of the solution to plastic pollution – so we can have cleaner streets, oceans, and beautiful communities. 

Stuck for ideas? Get some inspiration here.   

We have asked students to share a simple change they plan to make this July and hopefully beyond. I look forward to sharing some of their fabulous personal aims in a school assembly and in Ma Nishma in Term 3.

We would love parents to jump onboard as well!

Small personal change for a big global impact!

 

 

 

 

 

The AI steamroller

Josh Amoils, Class of 2018

No maths. No programming. Understand AI.

There’s a very exciting workshop coming to Emanuel School next term.

You’ve heard the words; ‘artificial intelligence’, ‘machine-learning’, ‘neural networks’…

You’ve seen the danger; The machine always wins: what drives our addiction to social media ~ The Guardian

You’ve seen the opportunity; Ai and the human future: Net Positive ~ The Economist

But what exactly is the fundamental technology that is rapidly changing academia, industry and the way we live? Find out at Emanuel next term!

Hi, I’m Josh Amoils, an alumnus of Emanuel School (Class of ’18) and volunteer for UNSW Data Science Society.

I believe that it’s important that the students in our community become ‘AI-literate’; that they understand the technology of artificial intelligence while it’s still emerging. Imagine understanding the internet in the early 2000s. Becoming AI-literate is important so that students can assess the dangers and capitalise on the opportunities of the AI revolution. As Stewart Brand puts it, “Once a new technology rolls over you, if you’re not part of the steamroller, you’re part of the road.”

In Week 2 of Term 3, I’ll be coming back to Emanuel with a team of UNSW DataSoc educators to run an Introduction to AI and Machine-Learning Workshop for Years 10-12 students. In the 90-minute lesson we’ll take students through the power of data and what machine-learning is, before we guide students on how to build a machine-learning model themselves!

This fun, interactive workshop is designed for all students; you don’t need to be good at maths or know how to code. 

 

To sign up, look out for the permission note coming early next term. All Years 10-11 students are eligible to participate.

I look forward to seeing you there!

 

 

From the Investment Club

In the last couple weeks the Investment Club has been utterly privileged to hear from inspiring guest speakers who are highly respected in the investment field: Grant McCorquodale and Russel Pillemer.

In Week 8, students were thrilled to have been provided the opportunity to hear about Grant’s many years of experience working as the Head of Macquarie’s Private Bank and recently co-founding Parc Capital. Grant ‘s presentation – “A few themes to consider as you embark on investing” –  highlighted relevant economic news and the importance of investing to support yourself after retirement. He also discussed the recent trends in interest rates which will increase housing affordability into the future as well as the fundamentals behind venture capital investing. 

Grant McCorquodale

This Monday, the Investment Club was fortunate enough to host the long-awaited guest speaker, Russel Pillemer, who talked about his experiences as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs and his co-founding of Pengana Capital Group in 2003. Russel impressed the students with his involvement in raising capital for Elon Musk’s company PayPal ($350 million at the time) while working in New York. When Russel questioned Elon on how the company was going to make money, Elon stated, “I don’t know”. Russel drew connections to the current state of the economy where investors “didn’t care about profits they only cared about growth”. PayPal miraculously survived the dotcom bubble and is now worth just shy of $90 billion. Russel provided students with the invaluable tips that helped him get to the top of investment banking and funds management. The meeting ended with the opportunity for students to ask questions.

Russel Pillemer

By Gabriel Tracton and Jack Smagarinsky
Founders of the Investment Club 

Uniform shop trading hours

Uniform shop trading hours

Emanuel School Uniform Shop will close for the school holidays on Thursday 30 June 2022 at 5.00 pm and will re-open on Monday 18 July 2022 at 8.00 am

Throughout the school term opening hours are:

  • Monday: 8.00 am – 11.00 am
  • Tuesday: 1.00 pm – 5.00 pm
  • Thursday: 1.00 pm – 5.00pm

You are welcome to purchase from the online uniform shop, password ES1983. All orders will be completed when the store reopens.

Contact details for the uniform shop

 

 

Order your Challah now

Justine Hofman – Head of P&F

We have reached the end of Term 2 and it really feels like things are getting back to normal. It is hard to believe this time last year we were in lockdown!

Reflecting on the first half of this year, I’ll admit I was a little daunted (read: overwhelmed!) at the idea of taking over as Head of P&F with such big shoes to fill, and not really knowing whether we would  be able to get the committees going as we’d hoped.

I am thrilled (and relieved) to say it’s been beyond my expectations. We have such an incredible and talented bunch of parents in our community. Being able to experience this first-hand through the committees and the events has been the most rewarding part of this role thus far. Thank you again to each and every one of you who has contributed your ideas and time. 

The second half of the year is action packed with Father’s Day on Friday 26 August 2022, a parent’s night out on Saturday 17 September 2022, a family shabbat event on Friday 21 October 2022 and of course the spring family camping on the weekend of Friday 4 November  2022 – Sunday 6 November 2022. Bring. It. On!

Wishing everyone a great holiday break and we are looking forward to Term 3.

Don’t forget to order your Term 3 Challah via this form  before Monday 18 July 2022.

Events to diarise

Friday 26 August 2022: Father’s Day Breakfast and Stalls
Saturday 17 September 2022: Parents Night Out
Friday 21 October 2022: Emanuel community event (details to come)
Friday 4 November 2022 – Sunday 6 November 2022: Emanuel Family Spring Camping 

 

 

FRESS with Ms Lowe

Ms Lowe in action

Flourless chocolate cake

Ingredients 

1 teaspoon instant coffee powder
1/4 cup boiling water
200g butter, chopped
180g dark chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons cocoa powder, sifted
4 eggs, separated
1 cup caster sugar
2 cups almond meal (ground almonds)
Cocoa powder, for dusting
Double cream, to serve
Strawberries, to serve

 

Directions 

Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced. Grease a 6 cm-deep, 22 cm round (base) spring-form cake pan. Line base and side with baking paper.

Place coffee powder and boiling water in a heatproof jug. Stir to dissolve. Place butter, chocolate, cocoa powder and coffee mixture in a medium saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes or until melted and combined. Remove from heat. Transfer to a bowl to cool slightly.

Using an electric mixer, beat egg yolks and sugar for 5 minutes or until thick. Set aside. Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites until soft peaks form.

Add chocolate mixture and almond meal to egg yolk mixture. Stir to combine. Using a large metal spoon, gently fold half the egg whites into chocolate mixture. Repeat with remaining egg whites. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted in centre comes out with moist crumbs clinging. Cool cake completely in pan. Dust with cocoa. Serve with cream and strawberries.