From the Acting Principal

Margaret Lowe – Acting Principal

Student leadership

Outstanding student leadership is a key facet of any successful school. Emanuel School has a long history of strong student leadership with opportunities available to students in Primary and High School via the Student Representative Councils (SRC), Madrichim bodies and individual student initiatives. Student leadership can also be seen in teams or groups that have ‘captains’ or leaders across a number of other areas of the School such as sport, music etc

In the High School, Madrichim and SRC students are elected mid-year and take on their roles for 12 months. This timeframe allows our Year 12 students to complete their roles a term before HSC, thus providing them time to focus on final preparations in each subject. This week we elected our new Madrichim for 2023. The group of students (in alphabetical order) includes:

Ruby Brody

Tess Endrey

Maayan Granot

Ruby Grynberg

Daniel Langman

Eden Levit

Arielle Melamed

Ruby Miller

Coby New

Jake Newfield

Scott Reuveny

Brooke Rosen

Adam Rothschild

Jamie Schneider

Jake Sharp

Students will learn of their specific roles next week and will be Inducted as student leaders for 2022-2023 on Tuesday.

Our Year 11 students participated in an exciting two-day Nitzavim seminar with Adam Ezekiel, Kobi Bloom and Christian Bell. Students explored values and language that will be built on during the student leadership experiences over the coming year. All senior students are considered nitzavim (those who stand) and have a place in guiding younger students.

Principal’s Awards

Students whose effort ratings on their reports are excellent, or who achieve at a very high level or both, receive a Principal’s Award. These Awards were presented at Assemblies (whole school or House) this week. Mr Abelson spoke to the whole school assembly about how they can step up, take on challenges and do their best at school. He quoted Dr Judith Locke, author of the Bonsai Child, a registered clinical psychologist, former teacher, school counsellor and workplace trainer. She states that the Bonsai Child is created when care and support are given to excess to ensure a child is happy. Whilst being happy is a good thing, the underlying characteristics of this may be impeding a child’s success”.

Characteristics of this would be:

The parents continually step in for their children such that children do not learn to solve their own problems
Low demands on the children, with excessive praise to try to ensure a constant happy mood for the child
Parents trying to change the outcome of an event to avoid hardship or disappointment for the child
Children expecting others to create the perfect lives for them.

Mr Abelson warned that schools can be guilty of this ‘over care’ too and that we all need to encourage students to develop into strong, capable and independent young people. He asked students to consider the following:

Challenge is good. Don’t ask people to clear the road of challenges. Face the challenges so that you will have the skills and resilience to navigate the challenges ahead.
Working hard leads to a positive self-regard. You do not need to feel good in order to work/study. Take action! Completing tasks helps you to feel good about yourself.
Do not ask others to do things that you can do for yourself.

Mr Abelson congratulated our students and stated, “As we celebrate the hard work and achievement of our recipients today, it is worth noting the Iceberg Illusion. An iceberg is known for having 10% of its mass visible, with most of it hidden beneath the surface of the water. Similarly, with our high achieving students, you will see a brief glimpse of the work they do in class, as they diligently approach tasks. What you won’t see is the organisation, discipline, sacrifice, persistence and hard work, and yes, also failure, that goes on at other times, beneath the surface. And this is what we are here to celebrate today”.

The brainy bunch

On Wednesday night I sat down to watch Emanuel Year 11 students Alix Cane, Jake Fleischer, Ma’ayan Granot and Jake Newfield represent the School on Channel 10’s Shaun Micallef’s Brain Eisteddfod. The quiz questions ranged from the “I know that”, to the “Let’s Google that”, to the “What were they thinking?”. There was no ‘phone a friend’ option and the pace was fast, almost frenetic at times, so much so that I was glad that I was on the other end of the remote! After what seemed like at least 1000 questions, our quizz whizzes continued to do us (and their teachers) proud, winning the round against a very brainy Balwyn High School. Mazal tov team! Onwards and upwards to the next round.

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie

Mischa Spielman, Sienna Powell and Eden Levit placed 5th in the Under 18 Girls Soccer with Eden scoring the top three most goals.

We will soon welcome back our athletes who represented Australia at the Maccabiah Games. Hard work, perseverance and dedication are only three of the many qualities needed to reach this level of expertise and we are proud of every student, parent and alumnus who did their very best at every stage of the game.

My not-so-direct line to Maccabiah Central confirms there were many exceptional results. Some athletes did not place in medal position. This in no way diminishes their exceptional achievements. We are proud of each and every person who represented their country and their school.

Please feel free to contact me with any updates!

Adam Forman
Silver: Junior Cricket

Tess Endrey, Sienna Michaelson and Brooke Rosen
Silver: Under 18s Netball

Zac Urbach
Bronze: Junior 100m
Bronze: Junior 200m
Bronze: Junior 100m relay

The full Emanuel School team:

Tess Endrey: Netball
Siena Michaelson: Netball
Brooke Rosen: Netball
Adam Forman: Cricket
Zac Urbach: Athletics
Ethan Hirst: Football
Aiden Kanevsky: Gymnastics
Eden Levit: Football
Coby New: Futsal
Sienna Poswell: Football
Mischa Spielman: Football
Jake Sharwood (Sports Coach): Basketball
Ethan De Melo (Sports Coach): Futsal

We’re always proud to hear of our past students and alumni successes.
Mazal tov to:

Alumni (and past Emanuel Sport Coaches) Lara Joffe and Lara Rutstein, and past student Isabella Schulz, who brought home Gold in the Open Women’s Futsal and
Past student Brodie Elbourne brought home Bronze in the 800m and 4x 400m relay.

Mazal tov

On Thursday, Emanuel competed against Moriah in the annual and hotly contested David Horowitz Cup. Our boys played a valiant game and although didn’t win, showed impressive teamwork and style. Thank you to all the students, parents and staff who cheered the team on from the sidelines.
Our Primary 10 Years boys and 13 Years girls competed at the State Futsal Championships this week. The boys team reached the quarter finals and girls made the semi finals. This was the first time our Primary teams have qualified for the State Championships and the first time Emanuel has made the semi-finals at the State Championships, setting an Emanuel record.

Quote of the Week

“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.”
~ John F. Kennedy – 35th US President

From the Acting Head of Jewish Life

Daphna Levin-Kahn – Head of Jewish Studies High School

Parashat Masei, meaning ‘Journeys (of)’, lists every stage of the 40-year journey the Bnei Yisrael, the Jewish People, took as they plodded their way round and round the desert until they finally arrive at the doorstep of their promised land, just on the other side of the Jordan River. Here, they are poised to realise a dream of hundreds of years…

The Parasha then turns our attention to the future; describing very specific borders that are to make up their new land and proclaiming that the land will be divided up according to the tribes by specifically chosen tribal leaders, who would apportion land for each family within the tribe by casting lots.

However, the tribe of Levi or the “Levi’im” would not receive land for inheritance; or agriculture, as they would work only in the service of God, for the people, maintaining and running the Beit Hamikdash, the Holy Temple. Instead, the Levi’im were to receive precisely measured blocks of land on which to build cities and towns. There would be 42 towns but only six cities. These were not to be regular cities; these six were to be עָרֵי מִקְלָט, Arei Miklat, Cities of Refuge:

At this juncture, the Torah lays down a remarkable requirement of this soon-to-be new Jewish homeland:

וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יְהֹוָ֖ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃ דַּבֵּר֙ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְאָמַרְתָּ֖ אֲלֵהֶ֑ם כִּ֥י אַתֶּ֛ם עֹבְרִ֥ים אֶת־הַיַּרְדֵּ֖ן אַ֥רְצָה כְּנָֽעַן׃ וְהִקְרִיתֶ֤ם לָכֶם֙ עָרִ֔ים עָרֵ֥י מִקְלָ֖ט תִּהְיֶ֣ינָה לָכֶ֑ם וְנָ֥ס שָׁ֙מָּה֙ רֹצֵ֔חַ מַכֵּה־נֶ֖פֶשׁ בִּשְׁגָגָֽה׃ וְהָי֨וּ לָכֶ֧ם הֶעָרִ֛ים לְמִקְלָ֖ט מִגֹּאֵ֑ל וְלֹ֤א יָמוּת֙ הָרֹצֵ֔חַ עַד־עׇמְד֛וֹ לִפְנֵ֥י הָעֵדָ֖ה לַמִּשְׁפָּֽט׃ וְהֶעָרִ֖ים אֲשֶׁ֣ר תִּתֵּ֑נוּ שֵׁשׁ־עָרֵ֥י מִקְלָ֖ט תִּהְיֶ֥ינָה לָכֶֽם׃ אֵ֣ת שְׁלֹ֣שׁ הֶעָרִ֗ים תִּתְּנוּ֙ מֵעֵ֣בֶר לַיַּרְדֵּ֔ן וְאֵת֙ שְׁלֹ֣שׁ הֶֽעָרִ֔ים תִּתְּנ֖וּ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ כְּנָ֑עַן עָרֵ֥י מִקְלָ֖ט תִּהְיֶֽינָה׃ לִבְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל וְלַגֵּ֤ר וְלַתּוֹשָׁב֙ בְּתוֹכָ֔ם תִּהְיֶ֛ינָה שֵׁשׁ־הֶעָרִ֥ים הָאֵ֖לֶּה לְמִקְלָ֑ט לָנ֣וּס שָׁ֔מָּה כׇּל־מַכֵּה־נֶ֖פֶשׁ בִּשְׁגָגָֽה׃

God spoke further to Moses: Speak to the Israelite people and say to them: When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, you shall provide yourselves with places to serve you as cities of refuge to which a man who has slain a person unintentionally may flee. The cities shall serve you as a refuge from the blood avenger, so that the killer may not die unless he has stood trial in court. The towns that you thus assign shall be six cities of refuge in all. These six cities shall serve the Israelites and the resident aliens among them for refuge, so that any man who slays a person unintentionally may flee there.
(Bamidbar Chapter 35, verses 9-14)

Though these were similar to the “asyla” – singular “asylum” – places of sanctuary where slaves, debtors and criminals could run to for protection in Ancient Greece, Rome and even Ancient Hawaii, there are some important differences in the Jewish cities of asylum.

In the new Jewish homeland, the Ir Miklat would be a place of refuge only for accidental murderers – what we would call manslaughter today – no other criminal or slave would have the permission to find sanctuary here and be safe from reprisal or reprimand.

A deep understanding of the human condition is expressed here in this unusual mitzvah.

Firstly, we can only try to imagine the tremendous guilt felt by someone who had some accidental responsibility in another person’s death. Few would understand the inner turmoil and anguish this would cause better than others who had also caused accidental death; people who would gather together in what today we would call a “support group” – people who could deeply understand one another’s trauma, listen without judgement and thus be part of their healing.

Secondly, the Torah recognises the deep, blind, wild rage that could cause a person to be driven to avenge the blood of a loved one, even when the person responsible had no intent to cause death. Such blood vengeance, though illegal in most countries is still practiced in some cultures today. By creating these places of asylum and ensuring the manslaughterer does not leave until either they have faced trial or until the death of the presiding Kohen Gadol, High Priest, it helps maintain justice in society and enables the avenger to slowly come to terms with their grief and lose that intense anger and desire for retribution and revenge, which would have turned them into murderers as well; and the bloody cycle of revenge would continue.

Yet, the Arei Miklat were not just random places to hide – they were cities whose residents, the Levi’im and Kohanim were those living deeply spiritual lives, focused on right action and living in service of God and the people. This place of sanctuary could also be a place of coming to terms with their actions and a consideration of how they could improve their lives; refocusing their attentions to right action and a life of service.

Thus, the Arei Miklat would turn community disgrace into community embrace.

Shabbat Shalom

Primary News

Katie Brody – Director of Students K-6

Does learning happen TO me, or could learning happen BECAUSE of me?

In a world where so many children are passive recipients of information, images, games and youtube videos, it may be considered unsurprising that at around Year 4, 5 or 6 we start to see a shift in the learning engagement of some students. Developmentally at this time, students are entering a period of great emotional change. They are beginning to view their world as a more complex place and for many, their friendships are becoming more important and more fraught with difficulty and misunderstanding. This complicated period can have an impact on learning progress in some instances for a range of reasons. Some of these are obviously circumstances or capabilities unrelated to motivation, but for others, this surprising dip in a student’s passion for learning can impact academic progress, concerning parents and teachers alike.

We see these students arrive into the classroom with an unspoken (and likely subconscious) expectation that they are entering a zone where learning will happen to them. I call this the ‘guided tour’ approach to learning because these students arrive with the expectation that they will be ushered to the right place by someone else and then they will be told everything they need to know. These students can be less inclined to proactively check that they have the materials they need for their lessons, they sit and listen passively as class discussions ensue, they breeze over the teacher’s list of success criteria before submitting their work and they use much of their independent work time on menial parts of a task or they employ a range of creative procrastination techniques. The expectation of the student is that ‘the adults will pull me up if needed, so I don’t need to regulate this myself’. After spotting the ‘guided tour’ approach in a student, teachers ramp up the encouragement, differentiate the tasks to suit, assign students specific roles to guide group tasks and reinforce success criteria with individualised attention. These are just some of the professional practices that spring to mind. With all these strategies in place as they were in the younger years, some students still don’t take the reins at this later stage. What happens over time is that their more intrinsically motivated peers move past in terms of academic performance, leaving their less proactive classmates to stagnate.

At this point, teachers tend to recognise the need to have a ‘coaching conversation’ with an individual student about their progress and more specifically, their approach to learning and their role in the process of learning. By the middle of Year 4, most students are mature enough to understand what it means to make their learning happen because of their deliberate actions. This conversation tells the student that the teacher, their parents AND themselves are the triad responsible for their learning. It is invitational in tone and two or three goals relating to learning behaviours are set with the view to recognise when the student is showing what it means to take the reins in their learning process. This young person then ‘joins their team’ responsible for learning and understands that their actions are ‘on the teacher’s radar’.

Some students need help to shift their thinking from, ‘learning is happening TO me and replace that with the actions that make learning happen BECAUSE of me’.

What does it mean to make learning happen ‘because of me’? Below is a list of visible, deliberate actions that teachers may recommend for students to undertake. These can foster understanding of content, consolidation of skills and certainly manifest evidence of learning. Most importantly, these learning behaviours are known to positively impact levels of enjoyment, confidence with learning and improved academic performance.

When in class

Listen carefully to the contributions of others in class and aim to offer an idea or suggestion that no one else has raised.
Ask questions to clarify your understanding – “I think you mean ______________. Is that right?”
Value the planning and drafting process – clarity of each sentence, complexity in terms of ideas and sophistication through the use of evocative vocabulary or language techniques.
Take short portions of completed work to the teacher for initial feedback and then apply the feedback to the rest of the work.
Before handing in finalised work, consider whether or not you are truly proud of your work or if it requires amendment – evaluate against success criteria and instructions, then fix errors.
Always arrive for class with all equipment you will need.

When at home

Display a calendar that outlines weekly co-curricular events (within and outside school hours) and add to the calendar as events arise. This may be requirements assigned by the teacher, charity days where a coin or a type of clothing is required, sporting days or school events. (Consider whether it may be time to take this responsibility away from your parents and own it!).
Make time to build skills that support learning. Write a structured paragraph, work on touch typing, consolidate times tables, revise Hebrew vocabulary or practise your instrument. These can be done even without the teacher assigning the task.
Reading, reading reading! Gradually increase the complexity of the books read at home. Set fun challenges such as reading a range of genres across a term.
Complete all tasks that teachers set for homework (on time – without needing reminders).
Take time to research concepts you have not understood in class.
Watch videos online that explain the Maths concepts you have been studying or the features of the text form being addressed in class etc. Build on learning from class. You may find a new idea to take back to class and share with others.

Ma Koreh

Adam Carpenter – Head of Jewish Life Primary

After the last few years of conducting interviews via Zoom or in lockdown, it was wonderful to welcome our nine amazing ‘living historians’ to school this week to begin Project Heritage. Project Heritage is a unique program that connects our Year 6 students with their history and heritage via ‘living historians’, who share their lives, experiences, Jewish identity and values through a series of three interviews. Based on these interviews and inspired by their historian, students embark on a creative process to represent aspects of their historian’s life and values through art, poetry, creative writing and a written biography. This work will be exhibited and showcased through a website and a final presentation to the historians and the Year 6 families.

Our nine historians are all family relations of students in Year 6, including grandparents and a great grandparent. Below is a brief reflection following our first interview, written by a member of each historian’s group.

Cedric Amoils: This was my first time meeting and talking to Cedric. My first impression is that he is a very kind and thoughtful person. Whenever he told a part of his story or life, he always shared an insight or moral he learnt from that experience and used that to teach us important life lessons. By Joshua Greengarten

Ellis Cohen: I think that Project Heritage is a great opportunity to get to learn about your family heritage and Jewish history. I learnt a lot about my grandfather, Ellis Cohen. He taught us that with hard work and persistence you can succeed, even if you come from a poor family. He also told us to always ask questions. By Ethan Ickowicz

Nora Goodridge: I know everyone in my group learnt a lot from this experience and I learnt new things from my grandmother about our family history. It was extremely fun and I can’t wait for our next interview. By Mia Goodridge

Ellis Cohen and his grandson, Ethan

Peter Halas: Our historian Peter is married to my grandmother’s sister. Peter shared stories of devastation and destruction from his past. It was an amazing, difficult and unique experience to learn about his life during the Holocaust, World War II, the Russian occupation of Hungary after the war and then in Australia. By Matthew Simon

Bryan Lenny: My group was really excited to meet my grandfather who is also our historian. During the interview there were a few things we never expected to hear, as we learnt about his childhood and his different careers. My grandfather has done lots of community work to help and support Jewish people and organisations. By Jessica Dworkin

Erna Levy: The first interview was an amazing experience to hear more about my family history and heritage from my great grandmother. It was special to do this with my cousin Ricky, my grandma and my classmates. During Jewish Studies we looked at a photo of my great grandmother’s cousin’s Bar Mitzvah celebration 100 years ago, which included her parents, who are my great great great grandparents. By Jonah Bloom

Harry Oppermann: It was interesting listening to Zaide share his story with our group and to learn new parts of my family’s history. It is cool as I get to find out more about my family with the rest of my group. Our group was very impressed that Harry can speak many languages including Yiddish, Hebrew, German and English. By Eve Knopman

Miryam Wise: It was special to have my grandmother come to school to be our historian, just as she did for my brother Jack. I learnt more about my family heritage and new things I didn’t know about my grandma’s life and experiences. By Noah Kessell

Gabriel Zipser: My grandfather is a historian for Project Heritage and he shared his life story with my group. I learnt new aspects of his life that I had not known before and am looking forward to our group asking him questions to learn more about his life in the next interviews. By Leah Zipser

International-a-thon

K-6 ‘International-a-thon’ 2022

What is the capital of Sweden?………What colours are on the flag of Japan?………What is the currency of Fiji?……..The national animal of Brazil is the jaguar. True/False?

These questions and many more will be answered at our Primary 2022 International-a-thon on Friday 12 August 2022 (Week 4).

Why

All students from Kindergarten to Year 6 will be taking part in trivia-related activities that will have an international theme. The aim is to build our students’ general and geographical knowledge, by touching on all of the Key Learning Areas in a fun and collaborative way. As always, the JCA will generously match us dollar for dollar. Funds raised support exciting, new projects and initiatives for the Primary School. In the past, these have included the creation of the chill zone and the table tennis tables on campus.

On the day

Students will be gathering in groups (K-2 and 3-6) to compete in fun games of trivia. Prizes are up for grabs!
Students will be having lunch together in their trivia groups.
The canteen will be adding some ‘International Specials’ to their menu. They will be making Italian spaghetti (vegan) bolognaise and assorted Japanese sushi rolls.

If you would like your child to partake in these canteen specials, please place orders by 9.00 am Thursday 11 August 2022 through Flexischool accounts.

Dress

Sports uniform
Students are encouraged to wear either an accessory from their country (e.g beret from France) or a coloured accessory to match the colours on their country’s flag.

Please check the email that was sent this week with more details.

We look forward to an invigorating, fun and challenging day of trivia!

The International-a-thon Committee

From the Year 6 House Captains

This year the 3-6 Athletics Carnival was a blast! Students competed in all different types of activities like the 200m and 100m sprints, high jump, long jump, discus and shot put. Everyone had so much fun competing against each other and sitting in the stands cheering on their friends.

Towards the end of the carnival Ms Genc, Mr Taylor and the Year 6 staff had a surprise for all the Year 6 students. The teachers organised a relay between the three Year 6 classes. We ran back and forth with a baton and it wasn’t over until every student had ran! Everyone participated and got involved. There was so much House spirit, and everyone enthusiastically cheered each other on. It was a great day filled with friendly competition between the years, and everyone had a phenomenal time!

By Arlo Broughton-Oshlack, Cooper Adler, Tia Camiller, Noaa Smily, Joshua Greengarten, Lexi Butt, Noah Kessell, Yasmine Fisher, Cameron Barel, Grace Lyons, Jacob Yakubson and Maia Sharabi
Year 6 House Captains

Gift of Life

Sonia Newell – Development Officer – Alumni & Community Relations

A week for so many different things

Throughout the world, there seems to a ‘special week’ for a worthy cause week in, week out. Some readers of my page may recall I wrote about Blood Donor Week last month. The Australian Red Cross just announced this week that adults who lived in the UK in the 1980’s and 1990’s and were excluded from donating blood products here in Australia because of ‘mad cow’ bans, are now allowed to do so. This is very exciting news. www.lifeblood.com.au

Shula Endrey-Walder OAM ^z”l and Fred Swaab^z”l

This week is DonorLife Week 2022 which started last Sunday 24 July 2022 and ends this Sunday 31 July 2022. It is a week where the aim is to raise awareness about organ and tissue donation.

There are so many ways to get involved to save lives and for some the donation may be regular blood and plasma donations whilst for others it might mean becoming part of the bone marrow register through the Gift of Life Australia (GOLA), a program established in 1994 and run by the late Shula Endrey-Walder OAM, an Emanuel grandparent, in association with Wolper Jewish Hospital. This program aims to recruit potential donors to the Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry (ABMDR) run by the Red Cross. GOLA’s mission is to raise awareness about the life saving potential of Stem Cell, Bone Marrow and Cord Blood transplants and to increase the representation of Jewish people on the Australian Bone Marrow Donor registry. Another of our grandparents, the Late Fred Swaab, was a recipient of bone marrow found by a match through this program. Fred, who was diagnosed with leukemia in October 2010 and in March 2011 underwent a successful stem cell transplant and later travelled to the USA to meet his donor, Dovid. This bone marrow donation gave Fred precious extra years to spend with his beloved wife, Emanuel grandparent Judy and two daughters Nikki and Jessica, both Emanuel parents and their five children, all Emanuel students, until his passing in early 2016.

Serving Israel

We always love to hear about achievements of our past students, most of whom stay living here in Sydney whilst others move interstate or overseas. A number of our past students have made Aliyah after leaving School, become Israeli citizens and then gone on to join the IDF (Israel Defense Forces). This week we received this email from past parents Kirstyn and Eli Sadra: We thought it might be of interest to let the school community know that our daughter Eden Sadra (Class of 2019) has joined the IDF and has begun her full service in Israel though the Garin Tzabar program. Eden completed and graduated from her Michve Alon (basic training) last night and has proudly taken a place in the International Relations Unit, working with military units and armies from all over the world. We think it’s always important for the school community to know that one of their own has embarked on the noble mission of protecting Israel.

If you also have news about your older children that you’d like to share with us, please let me know.

Maccabiah Games 2022

As many of us watched the various races/games online over the past couple of weeks, we passionately barracked for individual Australian athletes and teams, many of which included members of our School community. The women’s open futsal team, whose team manager was Emanuel past parent Sharon Schulz, included past students Lara Rutstein, Lara Joffe and Isabella (Issy) Schulz, won gold when defeating the USA 4-3 in a penalty shootout thriller, after it was 3-3 at the end of extra time. Most of our Emanuel athletes have just arrived home and what an amazing experience for them all, to have competed in an international sporting event in Israel, alongside around 10,000 other Jews from 80 countries, in 29 different sports, encompassing a total of 42 disciplines. The Australian team came away with 99 medals and the third in total medals won at these games, behind Israel and the United States. Well done to all of them, to their team managers and to their support crew. A huge thank you to the parents who sent me these photos of some of our Emanuel Maccabiah 2022 athletes.

Before The King – Saturday 27 August 2022

$2.50 of every ticket sold at @thelansdowne on Saturday 27 August 2022 will go to the amazing charity, @sharethedignityaustralia, a woman’s charity in Australia, that works to make a real difference in the lives of homelessness, fleeing domestic violence or doing it tough. Band members, alumni Daniel Radomsky, Gabriel Jammy and Dean Smuskowitz, say we think what Share the Dignity Australia does is fantastic and we want to support them. You can support them by participating in their dignity drive in August or of course, by getting tickets to our show on Saturday 27 August 2022. Book here.

Sydney Jewish Museum (SJM) Bnei Mitzvah Program

Did you know the SJM offers a program for bar/bat mitzvah students and their families? The program is held a few Sundays a year in which students and their families (up to three adults or older siblings) are invited to visit the museum for a two-hour program that includes meeting a Holocaust survivor and hearing their testimony, and a tour of the museum (all age-appropriate) at the cost of $60 per family. This program will both educate and inspire as it unpacks the history of the bar mitzvah and explores the ways in which Jewish people maintained a connection to their faith even during great upheaval. There are still a few spaces available in their next scheduled session on Sunday 7 August 2022 (2.30 pm to 4.30 pm). There is also a session on Sunday 6 November 2022. Book here for either of these two sessions.

Sydney Nolan Exhibition SJM – Thursday 21 July 2022 to Sunday 23 October 2022
Shaken to His Core: The Untold Story of Nolan’s Auschwitz

This poignant exhibition officially opened last Thursday evening and has already had raves reviews. In case you are wondering why these drawings are only on show for three months, under carefully controlled lighting conditions, it is because of their fragile nature and susceptibility to fading and discolouration. Works on paper such as these Nolan drawings can only be on show for a maximum of three months and then must be returned to “storage” for at least three years (sometimes five years) after the exhibition before they can be shown again. To book tickets.

LimmudOz 2022

LimmudOZ attracts presenters from around the world and our own extended Emanuel community too. This year’s event is on Sunday 11 September 2022 – you can look forward to laughing and learning with some of the most dynamic educators and inspiring thought leaders from around the Jewish world, who are flying into Australia to join us in person for the first time since 2019. Discounted early bird tickets are available now, but only until Monday 1 August 2022.

Friendship Circle Walk – Sunday 28 August 2022

This will be the first in-person walk since the beginning of COVID. Many of our Emanuel families get involved with this event every year, where funds are raised to help create camps, getaways, social opportunities and vocational opportunities that bring people with and without disabilities together.

Friendship Circle (FC) camps

If you have older children aged between 18 and 25 who would like to volunteer for FC’s Junior or Teen Getaways in August and September, please let them know. FC is always seeking volunteers for their local weekend day programs too, so your teenage school children may also be interested in volunteering. Please contact www.sydneyfc.org.au for more information.

Friendship Bakery

If you have never visited Friendship Bakery in Vaucluse, I recommend you do and I promise you’re in for a very pleasant and tasty treat, where all purchases from the Bakery support this amazing social enterprise run under the banner of Friendship Circle. Check out their opening hours and goodies online.

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 weekend.

K-12 Sport

Kristy Genc – Director of Sports K-12

Primary Futsal

Following success in Term 1 at the NSW Schools Regional Futsal Championships, the 10 Years boys and 13 Years girls futsal teams competed at the State Championships at South Windsor on Tuesday. This event, run by Football NSW is always a prestigious one, with the best futsal teams from Public, Catholic and Independent schools attending.

The 10 Years boys had a successful campaign, with a great team effort, winning three of their four pool stage matches and progressing to the quarter-finals. Well done to Levi Brody, Jake Chesler, Ravi Keller, Joshua Marishel, Ryan Miller, Dylan Pal, Luca Schwartz, Aviv Smily and Toby Stein.

The 13 Years girls team, had a great campaign, progressing to the semi-finals. This team has set a new record for Emanuel School, being the first futsal team to reach the semi-finals at the NSW School State Championships. Well done to Lexi Butt, Netali Jadouin, Zara Keller, Heidi Martin, Elah Sharabi, Maia Sharabi, Noaa Smily and Kayla Strous.

Maccabiah Games

Over the last few weeks, many of us have been glued to our screens, cheering on students and staff from Emanuel competing at the Maccabiah Games in Israel. The games are the third-largest sporting event in the world, and it is a great honour to be selected to compete.

Congratulations to the following students and staff on representing Australia and Emanuel:

Tess Endrey: U18s Netball – SILVER MEDAL
Siena Michaelson: U18s Netball – SILVER MEDAL
Brooke Rosen: Netball – SILVER MEDAL
Adam Forman: U18s Cricket – SILVER MEDAL
Zac Urbach: U20s Athletics – 3 BRONZE MEDALS
Ethan Hirst: Football
Aiden Kanevsky: Gymnastics
Eden Levit: Football
Coby New: Mens Futsal
Sienna Poswell: Football
Mischa Spielman: Football
Jake Sharwood (Sports Coach): Mens Basketball
Ethan De Melo (Sports Coach): Mens Futsal

Zac Urbach

Adam Forman

Zac Urbach who competed in the U20s age category in athletics as a 17 year old, came home with three bronze medals, placing in the 100m, 200m and the 4 x 100m relay. Zac was up against some top runners, particularly from Israel and performed exceptionally, with a new personal best in the 100m of a speedy 10.87s in the final. What an amazing achievement, congratulations Zac!

Congratulations to Tess Endrey, Siena Micahelson and Brooke Rosen, who were part of a very successful netball squad, winning the silver medal. and also to Adam Forman on his silver medal win with the U18s cricket team.

HSC Drama Showcase

We commit to…

Lisa Starkey – HSIE and Design & Technology Teacher, Coordinator of High School Sustainability Programs and 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.

Staff and students were encouraged to share a pledge or aim that could reduce their single use plastic usage during the month of July and beyond.

As promised, here is a snapshot of some worthwhile and commendable changes people hoped to make.

Thanks to all who contributed. Small personal change for a big global impact!

From the Investment Club

Gabriel Tracton – Year 12

Jack Smagarinsky – Year 12

Last week, the Emanuel School Investment Club hosted a special guest speaker, John Winters. John is the CEO and Co-founder of Superhero, one of Australia’s leading share trading platforms. Students were fascinated by how Superhero is able to offer $5 brokerage for investors buying Australian shares while offering free brokerage on US shares and ETFs.

The students learnt that the best entrepreneurial ideas often emerge from thinking about problems in the workplace. John explained how he thought about problems with stock broking, such as the lack of transparency within superannuation funds. He stated: “We started as a super fund, to give people control and full transparency of their superannuation”. He partnered with “The best guy I knew in tech”, Wayne Baskin (Former CTO and Deputy CEO of Booktopia) and along came Superhero, offering self managed superannuation fund (SMSF) and share trading solutions.

BNPL founders Nick Molnar (Co-Founder of Afterpay) and Larry Diamond (Co-Founder of Zip), alongside John’s former clients, provided $8 million in seed round funding for Superhero in September 2020. Last year, Superhero raised an additional $40 million from a range of institutional investors and repeat backing from Nick and Larry, and support from Fred Schebesta (Co-Founder of Finder), bringing its total funding to $48 million in 14 months.

Recently, Superhero announced their merger with cryptocurrency exchange Swyftx (co-founded in 2018 by Alex Harper and Angus Goldman), forming a $1.5 billion company with a combined customer base of over 800,000. This business will be the “first in Australia to offer access to both decentralized and traditional finance, supporting trading and investing across cryptocurrencies, equities and superannuation”. This merger is expected to be completed early in the Financial Year of 2023.

John Winters from Superhero

By Gabriel Tracton and Jack Smagarinsky
Founders of the Investment Club

Careers

Claire Pech – Careers Advisor

This term begins the busiest term in the Year 12 calendar from a careers perspective. Students are applying to UAC and finalising the administration associated for applications. Students are also finalising their early entry applications with Macquarie University, UTS and any other Universities that are of interest to them.

I give a big push to students to get out to all of the Open Days that are on offer this term. This is a crucial piece of the careers jigsaw puzzle, needed to make some decisions. At the moment most students have a few ideas of the courses and institutions they are interested in. They have read about these courses from a website or a brochure. When a student enters a campus, attends a lecture, hears from other current students and hangs out in the cafés – this is where real decisions are made. August and September tend to be the most dominant open day months, so I encourage all students, (and parents or siblings) to attend to see what all these great institutions have to offer.

A special mention needs to go to the following students who put themselves forward for opportunities during the holidays:

Jesse Herdan made it to the highly coveted Tuckwell Scholarship finals with ANU. He made it through two rigorous rounds of scholarship applications, to beat a highly competitive field to make it to the Tuckwell interview stage held over three days in Canberra. Whilst he didn’t make the final cut of 25 applicants, he was part of the top 50 and has been awarded the High Achievers Scholarship for ANU. He should be very proud of how far he made it with such tough competition
Gabriel Tracton and Jack Smagarinsky were interviewed by the Cadetships Australia group seeking working cadetships at some highly-coveted financial institutions once they leave school. It is great to see students getting involved in these opportunities that will stand to them as them embark on their careers.

Dates, links and events

PwC

PricewaterhouseCoopers’s Information Session for Apprenticeships is being held on Thursday 18 August at 5.30 pm. Please register here. I am seeing a growing interest in mixing work and studying and these types of roles are highly sought after.

Sydney University events

Studying Languages and Cultures at Sydney: How, why and where it can take you
Wednesday 3 August 2022 4.00 pm – 4.30 pm

Dr Matthew Shores will take students through study options, from specialising in languages to incorporating languages into other degrees. He will introduce their two-week immersive in-country units, and share alumni stories to show how languages and cultures can open doors to exciting careers. More information and registration can be found here.

Pathways to Global Literacy: What is Area Studies and why should you study it?
Wednesday 24 August 2022 4.00 pm – 4.30 pm

This session introduces Area Studies, a university study option for students hoping to build on Society and Culture, History or language studies. Area Studies focuses on the past and present society and culture of one particular region, such as Asia, Europe, Latin America or the Middle East. Their experts will give an overview of Area Studies and its benefits, and introduce selected Area Studies offerings. More information and registration can be found here.

Camp Sababa

Last week our students heard about the fabulous Camp Sababa week long camp held each year. Our students have always played a key role in the camp and anyone from Year 12 who is interested can sign up here.

Kornmehl

Terry Aizen – Director of Kornmehl

Benefits of reading to young children

In this week’s newsletter, I wanted to include information about how important it is for families to read to their children from a very young age and to explain the many benefits that reading has for young children. Our hope is that families are engaging in this beautiful, shared experience with their children daily. We cannot emphasise enough how important this is for their development, but also to enhance their language fluency, pre-literacy, and school readiness skills. At Kornmehl, we read to the children every day at story time, but also during many spontaneous moments throughout the day, for example, on arrival, in the afternoon, while waiting to be picked up, during rest time and outdoors. The children also engage in a reading experience with their Year 2 buddies every Monday afternoon and also attend the Primary School Library weekly.

Mem Fox, an Australian writer of children’s books and an educationalist specialising in literacy, advocates reading with children for 10 minutes a day, which roughly equals three books a day. If you read three books a day to your child from birth, they would have heard around 5000 stories by the time they reach the age of five. Even if you only read half that many, or a third, that is still a wonderful amount of sharing, bonding, and learning that is taking place.

The benefits of reading to children are many. The human brain is most open to environmental influences in the first few years of life with 90% of brain development occurring between birth and the age of five. Research has shown that children whose parents read to them when they are young learn to speak, read and write more easily. What pre-schoolers know before they enter school is strongly related to how easily they learn to read when they start school.

Imagine learning to read is like building a house. You would not try and build the walls without first laying strong foundations. Emergent literacy skills, or pre-reading skills, are the strong foundations of reading. Children need to have these early skills before they can learn to read. Emergent literacy skills include:

The ability to recognise and name letters of the alphabet.
General knowledge about print, for example, which is the front of the book, and which is the back, how to turn the pages of a book and that (in English) we read from top to bottom and left to right.
The ability to identify and manipulate sounds, also called phonological awareness (the sounds in words).
Young children need lots of special one-on-one time with their parents and caregivers. Reading together is a simple and enjoyable way to take time out from hectic schedules and bond with your children.
Books can help children discover the world around them. There might not be that many dinosaurs roaming the streets but there are plenty in books!
Story time can be one of the most rewarding and memorable moments you can spend with a child, and one that both of you will treasure for years to come.

What do pre-schoolers like?

Sometimes it just takes one wonderful book to start a lifelong love of reading, but with so many picture books available, how do you find the books that will become your child’s favourites, the ones that they will remember as adults and then want to read to their children?

You know your child best. Be guided by their interests. If they are mad about trains, read books about trains. If they are spending their days hunting for fairies, read books about fairies.
All children love predictable books – books that have a pattern, a predictable plot or lots of repetition. These books are a great choice for pre-schoolers as they can guess what is going to happen next and start ‘reading’ them to you.
Hearing and using rhyme is a fun way of making sounds, words, and stories memorable. Pre-schoolers love to chant along and participate in the story.
Other characteristics of favourite books include humour, suspense, and imagination. If you are still stuck, then try well-loved, classic books that stand the test of time, such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Who Sank the Boat? or Possum Magic.

Ten tips for sharing books with a pre-schooler

Sharing a book with a pre-schooler is a perfect opportunity to enjoy a great story, while helping develop their pre-reading skills. Children at this age learn best through play and experience, rather than formal instruction.

Make sure the book is age-appropriate and about something that interests them. To develop children’s interest and enthusiasm for reading, books must capture their attention, captivate their imaginations, and make them want to return to them again and again.
Make reading fun! Use expression and different voices for different characters. Tell your child the words and let them ‘read’ the part of their favourite character.
Read as often and as much as you can. Be prepared to read their favourite books repeatedly. If they say, “Read it again!” you have found a winner. It may be boring for you but it’s essential for their brain development and early learning.
Read the title of the book and talk about the pictures. Encourage your child to predict what the book is going to be about.
Look at who the author and illustrator are. Do you know any other books by the same people? Make a list of favourite authors and illustrators to look for at the library or bookshop.
When you read to your child, run your finger under the words from time to time as you read them. This will teach them that you read from top to bottom and left to right.
Ask questions about the story, but make sure there is no right or wrong answer. Ask if there are any words they don’t know and explain the meaning of them.
Provide a wide variety of reading materials such as non-fiction, magazines, poetry books and joke books.
You don’t have to read just at bedtime – read any time of day, anywhere! Keep books near your child’s toys or play areas so they are always available. Take a book everywhere – in the car, while waiting for appointments, while travelling on public transport.
Visit your local library together and let them choose some books to borrow. If they have chosen the book, they will be more interested to listen to it.

Shared reading can happen anywhere, anytime. The pre-school years are an important time in developing a lifelong love of reading, so try and make the time to read a book (or three) every day!

Resource:

https://www.startingblocks.gov.au/at-home/reading-with-preschoolers

Below is a link to research conducted on the connections between parents reading to their young children and their child’s later reading and cognitive skills.

https://www.education.vic.gov.au/documents/about/research/readtoyoungchild.pdf

Emanuel’s Greatest Shave

Let’s sign

Rebecca Gaida – Hebrew Teacher Primary

Israeli sign language שפת הסימנים הישראלית

Shalom! שלום

This week the IT leaders have made a range of videos with phrases using ‘ma’ which means ‘what’ in Hebrew. They used the Israeli sign language dictionary with these ma words and phrases.

What? מה
ma

How are you? מה שלומך
ma shlomech (f)/shlomcha (m)

What do you care? מה אכפת לך
ma ichpat lecha (for a boy)/ma ichpat lach (for a girl)

What’s the time? מה השעה
ma hasha’ah

Have a look and see – did they get it right? Come to me for a prize if you can say one of these words!

Big thanks to the IT leaders and the people that they filmed: Alexander Yu, Mia Goodridge, Jay Davis, Julian Fisher, Jakob Pager, Dean Wolf, Jake Rosenfeld, and Mr Aghion for organising all the videos.

PSG

Thank you to our volunteers for last week
(Tuesday 19 July 2022 – Friday 22 July 2022)

Simon Revelman, Ben Berger, Bradley Drutman, Paul Biller, Peter Nothman, Daniel Butt, Alan Arnott, Daniel Novy, Shaun Gross, Steven Durbach, Tony Gellert, Brett Churnin, Josh Itzkowic, Sol Caganoff, Ron Efrat, Gary Gordon, Josh Nassi, Karen Drutman, Anthony Berman and Ilana McCorquodale.

Help keep our kids and community safe: sign up to PSG here

Hey Dads!

Justine Hofman – Head of P&F

Father’s Day breakfast
Old School Fun & Games

Dads, granddads and special friends, we invite you to share in a morning of simple, old-school fun. Let’s get back to basics with great coffee, delicious food, overdue chats, some play time and connection.

Be transported to a time before screens where you can immerse yourself in a nostalgic games room, share backyard style races and more.

When: Friday 26 August 2022
Time: 7.00 am – 8.15 am
Where: MPH at Emanuel School

Tickets available online
Advance: $15 adults, $10 kids (book by Monday 22 August 2022 for this pricing).
On the day: $20 adults, $15 kids

Father’s Day business promotional opportunity

This year we will be offering the opportunity for Emanuel families to support each other at the Father’s Day morning. We will have a promotional table set up where Emanuel families can share a business flyer or relevant promotional item. If you are interested in this opportunity, please email Keren Rockman or Sally Greenberg by Friday 5 August 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
Friday 4 November 2022 – Sunday 6 November 2022: Emanuel Family Spring Camping

Ma Nishma