From the Principal

Andrew Watt – Principal

What have ethics and human rights to do with Artificial Intelligence?

We encourage our students to be future-focused, informed and ethical change makers, open-minded thinkers and adaptable innovators. Understanding the ethical implications of introducing new technologies into our sometimes volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world is important. This week, we took time to reflect on the potential impact of Artificial Intelligence on human rights.

It seems that the Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology race continues to gather speed! ChatGPT was just a taster, followed closely by Microsoft 365 Copilot in Word and Google’s Bard, a conversational AI language program. 

It is hoped that the advent of AI systems will benefit individuals, our society and our environment. However, there are a range of issues that stakeholders, from engineers to government officials, need to consider, to ensure that AI technology is developed and used responsibly. These issues include AI bias, concerns that AI could replace human jobs, privacy concerns, human rights, diversity, autonomy issues, and using AI to deceive or manipulate. Ideally, AI systems should be used to benefit all human beings, including future generations. At school, we are exploring positive and productive ways to harness rather than simply ban generative AI technologies.

At assembly this week, our High School students were privileged to have Ed Santow, a past Human Rights Commissioner, provide his insights and experiences in responding to human rights issues, particularly in relation to war crimes. Ed also presented to our Legal Studies classes on the ethics of AI. He is the Director of Policy and Governance at the Human Technology Institute, and Industry Professor for Responsible Technology at UTS, and co-founded the Human Technology Institute (HTI). The HTI aims to promote human-centred AI, upholding human rights by ensuring that new technology delivers outcomes that are fair, accurate and accountable.

The B’Yachad Building takes shape 

My tour of the B’Yachad Building this week was exciting, as the complex architectural design has started to come to life on each level. The roof installation is now complete with work on the façade and a watertight building envelope well advanced. Installation of finishes including significant and detailed joinery will then follow. The learning spaces are now clearly defined and the work on installing electricals, audio-visual, air conditioning and plumbing is well underway.

The view on the top level is stunning, and our hopes for a capacious, light-filled and technology-rich building have been realised. The landscape has been set out with large sandstone blocks and some of the playground features have been installed.

Work in the Imaginarium will continue after the main building is completed. There is still much to do!

Outdoor view

Stairs to the Future

Year 5 classroom

Atrium

View from the third floor, looking down to where the Imaginarium will be

Year K Classrooms

Anne Angles

We were saddened to hear of the passing of Anne Angles, just shy of her 100th Birthday. Anne and her late husband, Emery Angles, have been long-time friends and supporters of our School, from it’s establishment in 1983. Anne will be sorely missed. We wish the Angles family long life. May Anne’s memory be for a blessing now and always. 

Ma Nishma – where to from here?

Thank you to the 318 Ma Nishma readers who responded to our questionnaire. We asked for your opinion on our newsletter, your likes and dislikes, your reading habits and suggestions. Once we collate this important data we’ll be working on a new Ma Nishma reading experience, based on your responses. Thank you for taking the time to share your opinions.

Everybody needs good neighbours

I suspect that each of our families would hope to be surrounded by good neighbours – people who are friendly and treat us with respect – people who appreciate the importance of maintaining clean, orderly and safe streets. Our school community has neighbours on all sides, who are impacted (for good or otherwise) by the behaviour of our drivers and our parents and students as they walk to school. Sadly, the reputation of our School as a good neighbour suffers each and every time a driver (parent, grandparent or student) does not follow our prescribed traffic safety protocols. Our neighbours would hope that we would:

• Use our Go with the Flow process in a calm and orderly manner.
• Turn your car off whilst waiting in a car park space.
• Travel at moderate speeds and obey road rules (no U turns etc).
• Avoid encroaching on their driveways when parking.
• Respond politely to our traffic wardens or neighbours.
• Avoid dropping litter around outside of the School campus.

It would be appreciated if parents could communicate this request to grandparents if they drop off or collect your children from school.

Which gate?

On Wednesday, Margaret Lowe emailed new and important information to you about changes to the use of the Kornmehl Pre-school gates.

From Monday 27 March 2023, the Kornmehl Pre-school gate will not open until 8.00 am, and then ONLY for the use of Kornmehl families and staff. No other staff or students will be able to enter or exit from the Kornmehl Pre-school gate at any time. The Kornmehl Pre-school gate may not be used after 5.00 pm.

To assist staff, students and parents with making this change, the following will also occur from Monday 27 March:

1. Avoca Street Gate will open from 7.00 am.
2. A staff member will be available at Waxman and Avoca Gates from 7.00 am to assist students with large musical instruments.

We ask Kornmehl parents arriving prior to the gate opening at 8.00 am to park nearby and walk into the Pre-school, rather than queuing down the road which is likely to cause traffic jams.

We are obliged to comply with the requirements of Randwick Council and want to be good neighbours to the residents around the School. We will be assessing the impact of the change to the use of the Kornmehl Pre-school gate and whether or not our mitigation measures are helpful. Parents will receive a survey about this mid Term 2…

… we understand why some parents, students and staff will find this difficult and potentially inexplicable. However, the Council requirements that are in place are currently inflexible and hence our need to comply.

Erev Pesach

Please note that the School will be closed on 5 April, which is Erev Pesach.

Mazal tov

• The Emanuel Swim Team competed at the CDSSA Championships, placing 3^rd to Pittwater and Moriah – a fantastic result for us as we have a small team compared to the other CDSSA Schools. A second mazal tov to our two CDSSA Age Champions Aviv Farhy (U14) and Jake Rosenfield (U12).
• Every Wednesday in Term 1 our Firsts Basketball team has competed in the CDSSA Firsts Basketball Competition. This week the team won the semi-final with an impressive score of 55-46 in a strongly contested match against SEDA College. This is a significant win for the team and we wish them all the best for the finals.

Quote of the week 

“The coming era of Artificial Intelligence will not be the era of war, but be the era of deep compassion, non-violence, and love.” ~ Amit Ray, Pioneer of Compassionate AI Movement

From the Deputy Principal

Margaret Lowe- Deputy Principal

Uniform pick up – good news

Once per week on a negotiated day, Uniform Shop orders will be collected and brought to school for distribution. Parents will be able to opt into this system or to collect from the Uniform Shop. The Uniform Shop will inform parents when their order is ready to be collected at school. Orders will either be handed to students to take home OR will be available for parents to collect at Reception. Parents will be notified if the order is at Reception.

We hope that this additional service is helpful for parents.

Traffic – your input is needed

As part of our current building program, we are required by Council to have a traffic audit. Part of that audit includes a survey. We would be very grateful if parents would complete the survey below as relevant to the age/stage of their child/children.

Students Year 7-12      

Students Pre-school -Year 6   

Primary News

Joshua Aghion – Co-ordinator of Innovation (K-6)

Promoting divergent thinking in Primary-aged students

One major role of education is to prepare our students for future work and projects, future employment and to be productive members of society. As the ​​UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently reported, climate change and severe weather events are four times more likely for children of the future when they reach adult age. This means that we need to find new and novel solutions to the challenges we are facing today and tomorrow.

We each have a part to play. One possible way to support children is to ask questions that don’t have an answer to. Allow time for kids to think about a problem and be challenged by coming up with a solution. When appropriate, feel free to disagree with your children to ensure that they have the language and ability to articulate their thoughts and stay firm in what they believe in. 

Over the past few years, the Innovation team in Primary has been working to embed design thinking into the Emanuel School curriculum. Most Year levels embark on a project within the year which allows students an opportunity to engage with each five stages of the design thinking process. These are: empathise, define, ideate, prototype and test. Students are given a problem or they are asked to identify a problem. They are then asked to empathise with the people that the problem connects to, and are asked to understand the perspective of a different group of people. Through this process, they gain an understanding of the issue and start to think about solutions that will support the people in need. They define the problem with some possible ways to create a solution. Students then come up with a series of ideas and solutions which are evaluated. Once they have a viable option, students create and build their design and test and evaluate it to see how effectively it supported the problem. 

As we continue to look to develop our teaching practices and the opportunities we provide students, we have started to look at the Problem Finders Process Map. This map clearly articulates a more involved design thinking process where student’s thinking is mapped as it diverges and converges to connect what they are learning in class, coming up with ideas to solve problems and finding ways to make something happen. 

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Feel free to use this at home if you wish to give your children a project in the holidays. They might like to change how rubbish is collected at your house or even find a new way to store toys away. We will continue to develop divergent thinking in the Primary School in a respectful way that contributes to our students’ learning and development.

Hagit Bar-On, Head of Primary Jewish Studies

Pesach
Friday 31 March 2023 – Save the date

We look forward to welcoming our Years K-4 parents to share in our Pesach experience:

Years K–2 Pesach

8.00 am – 8.30 am: Nosh and Shmooze (Outside Primary Library)
8.40 am – 9.15 am: K-2 in the MPH
9.20 am – 10.00 am: Year K Pathways in Aron Kleinlehrer Performing Arts Centre (PAC)
9.20 am – 10.00 am: Years 1-2 Seder in the Lehrer Family Building (MPH)

Years 3–4 Pesach

10.00 am – 10.30 am: Nosh and Shmooze (Pizem Courtyard)
10.30 am – 12.00 pm: Year 3 and Year 4 Workshops (in the Years 3 and 4 classrooms)

Parents of Years 5 and 6 will be invited to a community event at a later date. Students in these Years will still be holding Seder activities in their normal classroom environment.

From the Head of Jewish Life

Adina Roth – Head of Jewish Life

Vayikra, calling in the name of love

God called (Vayikra) to Moshe from the Tent of Meeting saying:

With this somewhat bland statement, we begin the third book of the Torah, Leviticus. I know…I have you gripped! The truth be told that the third book of the Torah is the one no one wants their Bar/Batmitzvah portion to be in. God calls to Moshe to elaborate on those most remote of rituals for moderns; animal sacrifices. At best, the subject matter is hard to connect to and at worst, it’s offensive! It’s no wonder that since the times of the Talmud, 2000 years ago, this book was identified as the hardest book to study. And yet, here we are! 

As a teacher, I have the challenge of trying to find beauty, meaning and relevance in every portion of the Torah. And so, what would you say if I suggested that this opening Parshah of the most abstruse book of the Torah has one of the greatest love lessons to teach us?

The opening word of the opening parshah of the book of Leviticus is Vayikra, translated as ‘And God called.’ There are many words in the Torah to signify ‘And God said’ or ‘And God spoke.’ However, the word  ‘Vayikra,’ And God called, evokes a particular tone. This tone is identified by Rashi, the 11^th century commentator as Lashon Chibah, the language of endearment, or love. What Rashi hears in the word ‘Vayikra’ is God cooing, God calling to Moshe, in love! The Midrash, an ancient collection of commentaries elaborates on God calling to Moshe as an act of love: God didn’t just call to Moshe, but rather, God called out to Moshe by his name, ‘Moshe’, in a tone of affection and love. The Midrash explains that Moshe had many names, some with far more lofty meanings than the name Moshe and yet, on addressing him, God chooses to call him, ‘Moshe’.

Why does God choose to call Moshe by the name Moshe? It all comes down to who gave Moshe his name. In order to unpack this, we need to rewind a little in the Torah to Moshe’s birth. In the book of Exodus, we are told that while Pharaoh is targeting Israelite baby boys and throwing them into the Nile, a little boy is born and hidden by his mother. Famously, the daughter of Pharaoh discovers him and has an immediate affection for him. After giving him to an Israelite woman for nursing, the boy is returned to Pharaoh’s daughter. The text reads: “The boy was weaned and was brought to the daughter of Pharaoh. She adopted him as a son and she called him (Vatikra) Moshe, saying, ‘Because I drew him out from the water.’ ” 

Pharaoh’s daughter’s love for Moshe is an unconditional type of love. She found him in the Nile, she saw him, she felt for him and she loved him. It is the kind of love that has no questions or expectations attached. It just is. It is the kind of love that parents might remember feeling when their child is born and they name the child. We call our child a name with the full force of all our love behind that appellation, we want only good for the child and our heart swells with love as we call out their name. When God chooses to call out to Moshe using this particular name, we are taken back to the moment when Pharaoh’s daughter called him Moshe, to that moment of love and connection. There is some kind of connection between God’s love call to Moshe and Pharaoh’s daughter naming him, with love.

You might have noticed that when Pharoah’s daughter ‘called’ Moshe his name, the Hebrew word is Vatikra – the same word in the feminine that is used when God calls to Moses.

The Midrash is sensitive to sound and rhythm and it juxtaposes the two sentences to convey the similarity, “Vayikra el Moshe,” “God called to Moses” and “Vatikra et shemo Moshe” “she called him Moses”. The Midrash explains this similarity as follows: God said to Moses: By your life, of all the names that you have been called, I shall not call out to you except by the name that Batyah daughter of Pharaoh called you. Now the connection becomes clearer. The God of our ancient Rabbis is learning from Batya, Pharaoh’s daughter and modelling His/Her love for Moshe on her original, maternal expression of love. The God of Vayikra learns about love from an Egyptian, non-Israelite princess at her most maternal! 

To call out in tenderness is something so subtle that we might not often pause to think about it. I was listening to my young daughter playing many years ago and I heard her say to her doll, “What do you want, my darling?”. I recalled this to a friend who said, “she’s copying the way you talk to her”.  Before I misrepresent myself as the perfect model of mothering equanimity, let me be clear that I don’t always call out in words of tenderness to my children! I have lapses – many of them! Yet this little moment reminded me that the way we call to our loved ones, in words and tone, are crucial in how we show someone that they are loved.  Through this, we also teach them how to love.

The poet e. e. cummings captures the importance of these endearments when he writes, anywhere:

I go, you go my dear;
and whatever is done by only me is your doing, my darling.

Some of you might have read the beautiful love-story Call me by your name by Andre Aciman. In it one of the protagonists says to his love Elio “Call me by your name and I’ll call you by mine”. The story of these two lovers who experience a beautiful, intense and also fleeting love encounter captures the ways in which we find ourselves through loving another. On a very literal level, Oliver asks Elio to call him ‘Elio’ as an expression of how intertwined they are. However, expressed in the context of their love for each other, I would suggest that Oliver was talking about this very concept, “call to me as if you love me,” is what he was saying.

We may like to think we are above and beyond the obligations of sacrificial rites found in Leviticus. But our relationships and our lives with each other can very easily become filled with obligation and routine, that is detailed and tiring; routine that becomes a sort of rite. Did you take out the garbage? Have you cooked dinner? Did you finish your homework? Have we made plans for such and such? Like the book of Leviticus our lives are comprised of a series of obligations that help us to function, from wake up to sleep time. What this portion teaches us is that we can do all of this – with love. When the mundane and the routine and the obligation is predicated on love for each other, on calling to each other, in love, not much has changed and yet everything will feel different.

Shabbat Shalom

Ma Koreh

Adam Carpenter – Head of Jewish Life Primary

Noah Klein – Primary Informal Jewish Life Educator

Introducing Noah Klein

We are excited to welcome Noah Klein and Olyvea Akres, two Emanuel Alumni who have joined the Primary team as Informal Jewish Life Educators. Noah and Olyvea are part of our exciting new team of alumni working in Jewish Life, in both  Primary and the High School.

This week, Noah introduces himself – Olyvea will have the opportunity in a future Ma Nishma edition:

Hi! 

My name is Noah Klein, I am currently studying Psychology and I am an Emanuel alumnus from the Class of 2019.

Over the past few weeks, I have had the pleasure of serving as an informal Jewish Life educator for Years 3-6 – it has been an incredible experience so far! We have accomplished so much in such a short amount of time, including running several Shabbatot, hosting a Year 6 Leadership Camp and celebrating Purim together as a community. 

I have had the opportunity to meet all of the students and staff, and I feel incredibly welcomed by everyone. It’s particularly special to be back at Emanuel School, which I attended from Years K-12, and I am especially grateful for the warm reception I’ve received from my former teachers. 

Moving forward, the team is continuing to plan exciting activities, including our upcoming Pesach celebrations, where we’ll be running Seders and creating a fun Pesach video. I am excited for what the future holds in this role and I am grateful to be a part of such an amazing team.

Primary Swimming

ASISSA Swimming Carnival

What a big term it has been for our Primary swimmers!

Following on from the Swimming Carnival, a group of 31 students represented Emanuel at the ASISSA Swimming Carnival at Warringah Aquatic Centre on Thursday 16 March 2023.

The majority of our swimmers achieved personal best times in their events, while Sierra and Ryan Miller were awarded Age Champions.

Eight students were selected to represent ASISSA at the CIS carnival:

Girls Junior Relay 
Zella Benko, Alessia Frankham, Courtney Kadish and Sierra Miller

Boys Senior Relay 
Dylan Pal, Liam Frankham, Dan Garfinkel and Ryan Miller

Junior 50m Breaststroke 
Sierra Miller and Alessia Frankham

Junior 50m Backstroke 
Sierra Miller

Junior 50m Butterfly 
Sierra Miller

9 Years 50m Freestyle 
Sierra Miller and Alessia Frankham

10 Years 50m Freestyle 
Zella Benko

11 Years 50m Freestyle 
Ryan Miller

11 Years 50m Butterfly 
Ryan Miller

11 Years 50m Backstroke 
Ryan Miller

Open 100m Freestyle 
Ryan Miller

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Year 6 Innovation Leaders

The Innovation Leaders have been very busy this term becoming acquainted with the clubs, activities and opportunities available to Emanuel School students.

Here is an overview of some of the clubs that we have been involved in: 

We have been super excited to run a Girl Gamers Club on Monday at lunchtime for Years 5 and 6 girls. The Girl Gamers Club offers a fun and engaging environment to connect with other like-minded students and share your love for gaming. Students have been exploring Just Dance, Mario Kart and talking about other games that they play. The Girl Gamer’s Club is more than just a fun pastime – it’s an opportunity for students to develop valuable social and leadership skills, as well as critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. 

On Tuesdays at lunchtime a highly dedicated group of students in Years 5 and 6 join the Warhammer Club. Warrhammer is a tabletop game that involves an extensive storyline, where students construct, paint, read and then play a role-play type game. This term, we have had a lot of fun building the characters and using the fine painting materials to create our characters.

We have loved being a part of the Vex Robotics Club, an exciting after-school activity that allows students to explore the world of robotics and engineering. Led by our experienced and knowledgeable teacher, Mr Aghion, the club provides an opportunity for students to design, build, and program their own robots using the Vex Robotics system. Through hands-on experimentation and problem-solving challenges, students are developing critical thinking, creativity, and technical skills. The Vex Robotics Club is an excellent way for students to discover their passion for science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) and prepare for future careers in these fields. If you’re looking for an exciting and engaging after-school activity that combines creativity, innovation, and technology, we invite you to join us at the Vex Robotics Club next term and explore the limitless possibilities of robotics.

K-2 Makerspace Club is an engaging and fun lunchtime activity exclusively for Years 1-2 students, which takes place every Thursday. The club offers a variety of activities that allow students to explore their creativity and imagination, as well as develop their problem-solving skills. Students have the opportunity to tinker, design and build using a range of materials and tools, including cardboard, foam, paper, and more. From creating art projects to building simple machines, the K-2 Makerspace Club provides a safe and supportive environment for young students to express themselves and discover their interests with technology and innovation. The club promotes hands-on learning, collaboration, and experimentation, while also fostering curiosity and excitement about the environment around them.

We look forward to supporting the Makerspace and Imaginarium clubs throughout the year.

By Tomer Simhi, Yonathan Efrat, Idan Shalem, Kira Maisel, Judd Karro and Nathan Joshua
Year 6 Innovation Leaders

Primary Extra-Curricular for Term 2 2023

Emma Hill – Primary Teacher and Coordinator of Extra-Curricular Programs

Extra-Curricular for Term 2 2023
Including Music, Sport and Recreational activities

We are pleased to announce that Extra-Curricular activities for Term 2 are open for booking via the Parent Portal. Many activities have set enrolment numbers so please ensure you book your child in early to avoid disappointment. There are also a range of teacher-led lunchtime clubs that are free for students. Students may join these clubs by approaching the listed teacher.

The Extra-Curricular schedule on the Parent Portal is regularly updated throughout the term, so please refer to this if you have any questions about the scheduling of activities. There are email links on each activity to help direct you to the relevant person, if you do have any additional questions.

New Debating Skills Club

We are excited to announce that we have developed a new Debating Skills Club. This will be run by Lauren Butler in Term 2.

Please note, this is separate to the IPSHA Debating Club. An enrolment link will be live in Week 9 and accessible via our Extra-Curricular schedule page on the Parent Portal.  

The Extra-Curricular Schedule is available via the Parent Portal.

Kornmehl

Terry Aizen – Director of Kornmehl

Deborah Blackman talks

Mrs Deborah Blackman’s workshop with Kornmehl parents on Tuesday night was informative and gave parents tangible and hands on skills and strategies for keeping children safe and opening communication with your child about protective behaviours. Deborah also spoke to the children on Wednesday and Thursday morning, re-inforcing these same messages.

Some of the key messages were:

• Good and bad feelings and recognising these. 
• Good secrets and bad secrets.
• Private parts are private.
• Safe and not safe touches.
• Always tell an adult.
• Safety network – tell your child who their safe adults are (4-5 people).
• Encourage open communication about any topics.
• Have conversations with your child about which adults are safe to care for them and to go in their car, without your permission (e.g. grandma). 
• Have regular conversations about the “safety rules.”
• Validate your child’s feelings.
• Always give your child the message that you believe in them.

Pesach explorations

Re-enacting the Passover story

This week we have begun learning about the festival of Passover and the wonderful traditions, stories, characters, songs, food, and creative experiences involved with this festival. We tell the story of Pesach using animation, song, music, props and costumes and invite the children to take on roles in the story. Re-enacting the story helps to bring it to life and allows the children time to process the details and make sense of it. We tell the story of baby Moses and how he grew up in Egypt, being cared for by King Pharaoh’s daughter. The children love dramatising the story, particularly the parts when Moses goes to ask King Pharaoh to let the Jewish people go. 

Each group invited the children to represent baby Moses in the basket using the medium of clay and collage to express their thinking and ideas. This technique consisted of first rolling a small ball out of clay and moulding it into the shape of a basket, by pinching and smoothing it with the tips of the fingers. The children had to be careful to use small bits of clay to shape into a head, body and arms. They learnt how to connect the pieces using slurry and their fingers to squeeze the two parts together. Some of the skills involved in this process included eye-hand coordination, visual perceptual skills, fine motor skills, recalling the story of Pesach and understanding and following instructions. Their representations are just unique and delightful.

We created Egypt, the desert, and the pyramids in the classrooms by using sand, triangle shaped blocks and camels. The children love this type of imaginative play. 

They have participated in cooking experiences, from making matzah pizzas, to charoset, to dipping parsley in saltwater and learning about the tears of the Jewish slaves in Egypt. The children have loved these interactive experiences and enjoyed all the tasting too. 

Through all these sensory and visual experiences, the festival of Passover comes alive for the children and has meaning for them.

The Starfish asked the group: What is a question?

Raphael: A question is something to answer. Asking something to somebody.
Noah: Do you want to go to the shop with me? – It’s a question.

Comments about Pesach:

Jordan: We eat matzah, and we have grape juice. Wine is like grape juice.
Dylan: When somebody breaks up a piece of matzah, sometimes they eat it and other times we hide it and get a prize.
Edison: You put matzah in a kind of bag, and you have to find it.
Aimee: I didn’t find it because I was too busy talking. It was too hard. My cousin found it behind the pillow.
Drew: You eat something sour. (bitter)
Aliza: We drink grape juice and dip that green thing (parsley)in salt water. 
Allec: The story is about Grandma Moses.
Aimee: Actually, it’s about baby Moses.
Noa: A naughty mummy put the baby in the water and the pharaoh’s daughter picked her up with a teddy bear.
Asher: It’s about where they eat and where there is a long table.

Connecting with elderly members of our community

This week we welcomed Mel, Hudson’s grandma, who came in to share his semi-precious stone and crystal collection – a passion and interest that they share together.

We also welcomed volunteer, Kay Kotzin, a past Kornmehl and Emanuel School grandma. Kay will be visiting weekly, to interact with the Starfish group. The intention is to form a relationship with the children and educator’s, to share her wisdom and knowledge and to form meaningful connections. 

Elderly members of our community are a great resource when it comes to caring for and educating young children. These activities can increase self-esteem and promote friendship. These interactions also help children learn how to interact with older people, to slow down and play in a more calm and gentle way. While they foster more social and emotional skills, they enjoy all the extra attention they are receiving. 

Having the elderly and children play and care for each other is a union of future and past generations and brings value to human interactions. It’s a win, win for us all.

Happy Birthday

We wish a very happy birthday to Lexi Kalinko (5) and Ella Johns (5). We also wish a very happy birthday to our special educator Joanne Woods. We hope you all had a beautiful birthday celebration.

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Flashback Friday

Sonia Newell – Development Officer – Alumni & Community Relations

Flashback Friday

As we celebrate 40 years of Emanuel School, we reflect on the amazing changes and growth of the School and the family feeling of our wonderful community as it continues to flourish, going from strength to strength. Having started with just 53 students in February 1983, by the time this whole School photograph was taken later that year, the School had already grown to 75 students. Some of these students are parents here now – perhaps you will recognise some faces or maybe some names – Bianca Gehl, Daniel Vasin, Jacob Kaplan, Jonathan Hirst, David Hirst and Nadine Weinberger, whilst Ronnie Aron is a past parent. One of the teachers in this photo, Linda Zurnamer, is a grandparent here, with granddaughter Stevie in Year 3 and grandson Finn in Year 1. Over the years we have managed to find names of most of the students in this photograph, but we are still missing six names. If you know any of the missing names, please get in touch as we would love to complete the list. As we are getting close to the end of Term 1, I thought you might like to see a page from the official Roll Call record for 4^th Class, Term 1 1984.  Methods for recording student attendance have certainly changed since then!

Emanuel School 1983 with names

Roll Call 4th Class, Term 1 1984

Gardening Australia goes to Adamama Farm

Gardening Australia and Costa Georgiadis visited Adamama Farm to interview Farm Manager, alumnus, Mitch Burnie (Class of 2011). You will be able to watch this episode on iview and on the Adamama Facebook page, after it goes to air. The farm, located at 27 Munda Street Randwick, is a wonderful place to visit for you and your children to partake in the many activities they organise. You can also order fresh horseradish and parsley for Pesach. 

Mitch Burnie with Costa Georgiadis

95 years young

Emanuel great grandparent, Yvonne Engelman OAM, featured in a post on the Sydney Jewish Museum (SJM) FB page last week.

“My husband and I were the first (Holocaust survivor) orphans to get married in Australia. It was a big occasion to see survivors getting married. Members of the Jewish Welfare Organisation came out to help us celebrate. We had nothing. People pooled together their resources to buy us presents. I didn’t know how to cook or bake. It was trial and error, my poor husband! We were married 66 years.”

Holocaust survivor, Yvonne Engelman OAM, reminisces about her wedding day back in 1949. She arrived in Australia as a refugee on 5 November 1948 and met her husband, John Engelman soon after. Their wedding was one of the first between Holocaust survivors who met on Australian soil.

“I was penniless but happy to walk the street as a free person where no one abuses you. Together we worked hard, bringing up our family without relatives, cousins or grandparents.”

“I have four generations; I am the winner, not Hitler.”

Today, Yvonne is 95, and still comes to the Museum to share her story of survival with visitors. Her husband John passed away in 2015.

Wedding photo of Yvonne and John Engelman

📷 SJM Collection.

The importance of geneology tools for tracing family roots 
This Sunday 26 March 2023

There is still time to register for the lecture on Navigating Polish Ancestry by Michal Maiewski at the Sydney Jewish Museum (SJM) this Sunday. It may be of particular interest to some of our readers, both as parents and/or grandparents, especially those of Year 7 students, as you prepare to help them with this year’s Shorashim, where the students delve into their family roots. Perhaps some of our older students might also be interested in attending this free lecture. Michal, a historian and professional genealogist, will share his knowledge of the best websites, records and most recently digitised archives relating to the shifting borders of Greater Poland.

Navigating Polish Ancestry

There are many lectures and exhibitions that may be of interest to you and your family at SJM. If you have never been to the Museum, I highly recommend you book a guided tour – your guide might even be one of our Emanuel grandparents. The amazing interactive high-tech exhibition “Reverberations: A Future for Memory” is a must. This exhibition shines a light on the humanity and life experiences of 43 Holocaust survivors who have shared their stories with visitors to the Museum in recent years – many of them are Emanuel great grandparents and grandparents.

Mazal tov

Mazal tov to alumnus Dr Guy Klamer (Class of 2000), Director at Sydney Cord Blood Bank. He is the recipient of the 2023 Early Stage Professional Spirit of ISCT (International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy) Award and will travel to Paris at the end of May to receive this prestigious award.

Guy Klamer (Class of 2000)

Well done to alumna Miriam Itzkowitz (Class of 2020), a Linguistics and Philosophy student at University of Sydney. She is a keen, passionate writer, with an interest in creative writing, and hopes to work as a full-time writer one day, specialising in novels, poetry and scripts. She has just had her first book published. It is available on Amazon.com. Her book is also available at Barnes & Noble and as an e-book.    

Miriam Itzkowitz

Miriam Itzkowitz (Class of 2020)

Friendship Circle (FC) Camp – still seeking volunteers

FC creates inclusive friendships between people with and without disabilities through fun opportunities, for a community where everyone is included and celebrated for their unique abilities. FC produces a monthly newsletter, to which you might like to subscribe to. Teenagers as well as adults can volunteer with FC, so check out their website for details. FC Day Camp (Monday 17 April 2023 – Friday 21 April 2023) is being held here at Emanuel School, so how extra special would it be to have some of our own High School students (ages 12-18) as part of the volunteer group for this camp. Volunteer registrations are now open. 

FC April 2023 Day Camp

Maccabi LIFE and Maccabi All Abilities

Maccabi is a fantastic way for connecting our Jewish community through sport and wellbeing, no matter anyone’s ability.

The next major community event is the Maccabi Life FUN RUN this coming Sunday 26 March 2023 from 8.00 am – 10.30 am. Open to all ages.  

There is still plenty of time for grandparents and friends who like to be active and meet new people to sign up for the next Maccabi Life Senior Walkie Talkies event for over 60s on Tuesday 18 April 2023. This is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy meeting new people over a walk and a talk.

Maccabi Life Fun Run:Walk 2023

Maccabi Life Seniors Walkie Talkie

Gift of Life 
Still looking for a blood match for a member of our Community

Please help to spread the word to help a member of our community, Murray Foltyn, the 41 year old brother and uncle of an Emanuel family, who has a rare blood cancer and requires an urgent blood stem cell transplant to help save his life.

Here’s how everyone can help:

🙏🏻 If you fit the heritage criteria, please check your country’s age limit and the testing process below. Most countries are an easy mouth swab kit at home!

Australia: https://www.lifeblood.com.au/ If you’re having trouble booking in please call them on 13 14 95.

🇺🇸 US: https://my.bethematch.org/s/join (18-40yo) – cheek swab
https://www.giftoflife.org/swab
https://www.dkms.org/register-now
🇬🇧 UK: https://www.dkms.org.uk/get-involved/become-a-donor (18-55) – cheek swab
🇮🇱 Israel: https://www.ami.org.il/ (18-45) – cheek swab
🇿🇦 South Africa: https://sabmr.co.za/ (16-45) – cheek swab
🇸🇰 Slovakia: https://swabtheworld.com/en/country/slovak-republic (18-45)
🇷🇺 Russia: https://swabtheworld.com/en/country/russia (18-45)
🇨🇦 Canada: https://www.blood.ca/en/stemcells/donating-stemcells/stemcell-eligibility-and-registration (17-35)
🇳🇿 NZ: https://www.bonemarrow.org.nz/#join-now (18-35)
🇨🇿 Czechia: https://www.darujzivot.cz/how-to-register (18-40)
🇲🇽 Mexico: https://bethematch.org.mx/
🌎 Other:  https://swabtheworld.com/en/become-a-donor

A match overseas is as good as a match in Australia, as a donor’s stem cells can easily be sent to Australia once they’re on the worldwide register.

Careers Space 2023

We are still looking for a few more past students to join us for this event – planned for Friday 19 May 2023. Please help us and pass this message on:

“Dear Emanuel graduates who finished school between 2007 and 2021, would you like to be involved in sharing your career story with our current students? Do you work in the field of Engineering, Science, Law, Design/Visual Arts, Health/Allied Health/Nursing, Start Ups? Would you like to help shape the workforce of tomorrow? We are looking for Alumni who would like to come in to School and share their stories in an informal Q&A style setting. If you have had a messy or zig-zag path to your current role, even better. We would love to hear from you.

Details are:

Date: Friday 19 May 2023
Time: 8.30 am – 11.00 am
Where: Meet at Emanuel School Reception
Register:  Please register your interest via this link
What: No preparation or presentations needed. Conversational style event.
Contact: Sonia Newell or Claire Pech    

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 and have a great weekend.

Music Matters

Diana Springford – Director of Music P-12

Welcome to our Music Matters page! 🎶

Now that we have had a few rehearsals for the year our performances are beginning again. It has been a fun week of sharing the music making.

Congratulations to the Emanuel Big Band for their performance of Locked out of Heaven by Bruno Mars at the High School assembly. This was an energetic performance of great style, conducted by Mr Julian McKAy. Enjoy the video of their performance.

Congratulations to our Primary School Open Day performers. Talia Cromerwong, Leo Marishel, Koben Benko, Nathan Shammay, Benjamin Pellow, Mia Selby and Jacob Marmot welcomed our visitors into the Millie Phillips Theatre with their lovely, polished piano playing. Sophia Rule provided a sparkling performance of Hora Hatikvah form the Israeli Concerto by George Perlman, accompanied by Mr Danny Burley. The Junior Choir performed a beautiful rendition of Al shlosha D’Varim, conducted by Miss Jessica Yendell and accompanied by Mr Danny Burley. The Jazz Combo, mentored by Mr George Nikolopoulos, played some stylish background jazz for the visitors’ morning tea. Maya Foreman, Benjamin Fram, Maya Hersch, Oren Levin-Kah, Jonathan Levy, Sam Salamon and Max Salamon did a beautiful job for their first public performance as a group.

On Friday afternoon, violinists and violists of the Infants String Program performed for the Infants Assembly with the expert guidance of Ms Monique Turner. For most members, this will have been their first public performance ever! At the time of writing, having observed some preliminary rehearsing, we anticipate that their performance will have been sparkling and inspiring. 

Kol hakavod to all our musicians for the work, the bravery, the enthusiasm, the fine musicianship, and thank you for sharing your music with us!

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 enrolments for next term via the online forms on our Music Portal Page.  All students currently receiving private music tuition and students in Years K-2 who are currently participating in the Infant Strings Program will be automatically re-enrolled into tutor schedules for Term 2, along with students commencing lessons for the first time. Please contact music@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au  if you have any questions. The deadline for new enrolments, notification of changes or intention to discontinue for Term 2, was last week but a limited number of places are still available for enrolments in private tuition and the Infants String Program – please access the forms on our  Music Portal Page immediately if you have intentions to enrol for Term 2.

The schedules for Term 2 will be created at the end of term and emailed during term break.

Term 2 dates 

Weekly ensemble rehearsals and Private Music Tuition and IP resume as normal on the first day of Term 2, Wednesday 26 April 2023.

The Instrumental Program (IP) for Years 3-6 will resume on these dates:

•   Wednesday: Year 4 and Year 6. They have IP on the first day of Term 2, Wednesday 26 April 2023.
•   Tuesday: Year 3 and Year 5. They have IP on Tuesday 2 May 2023 (Week 2).

Music Camp 2023

Director of Music P-12

Coming soon 
Emanuel School Music Camp with Mount Sinai College 2023!

Music Camp is a wonderful celebration of our vibrant music culture and the talents and hard work of our young musicians. Each camp is a special experience for students as they unite in a shared love of music and work together in the pursuit of excellence. Emanuel School music staff join with a team of highly skilled professional musicians to develop and hone students’ musical skills in preparation for an exciting showcase concert.

Music Camp is a four-day camp from Monday 19 June 2023 – Thursday 22 June 2023. The first three days are held at Lake Mac Outdoor Recreation Centre in Balcolyn and the final day is held at School. Students return to Emanuel on the evening of Wednesday 21 June 2023, to be collected by parents in the early evening. Camp continues on Thursday 22 June 2023 with an all-day rehearsal, a BBQ dinner for students and our Music Camp Showcase Concert in the MPH on the Thursday evening.

Students at last year’s Music Camp

All members of participating ensembles and choirs in Years 4 – 11 are expected to attend Music Camp at a cost of approximately $580.00. Payment can be made in full or in two instalments, the first of which would be payable on or by Friday 28 April 2023. Attendance for Year 12 students is encouraged but optional. Year 12 students who are interested in attending should speak to Ms Springford. More details will continue to be rolled out via Ma Nishma and an information note will be sent to parents of eligible students in the coming week, including the procedure for registering to attend.

To be eligible for Music Camp, a student must have been a committed member of a core ensemble for Term 1 and Term 2, 2023 and undertake to continue their commitment for the whole year. Core ensembles include Junior or Senior Choir; Gershwin, Bernstein or Copland Concert Band; Rubinstein, Korngold or Mendelssohn Strings and Junior or Senior Guitar Ensemble. We plan to timetable rehearsal sessions for the extension ensembles of chamber choirs and stage bands. For smaller ensembles such as Rock Bands and Jazz Bands, if the whole small ensemble is at Music Camp, we will do our best to allocate rehearsal time for them to work on repertoire for their small ensemble as well as the large, core, camp ensembles, but this can’t be guaranteed in advance.

I’m delighted to announce the exciting news that once again we will be joined for the full duration of this year’s Music Camp by a group of Primary School musicians and supervising staff from Mount Sinai College.

Come to the Cabaret next week!

Earth Hour

Arielle Melamed – Sustainability Va’ad

Earth Hour 
Saturday 25 March 2023 at 8.30 pm

Earth Hour beg­­­­­­­an in Sydney in 2007, when over 2.2 million Australians turned off their lights for an hour to express concern to a climate-sceptic government. Sixteen years later it has since become a worldwide movement. In 2022, hundreds of millions of people across over 190 countries took part in Earth Hour, making it one of the largest environmental campaigns in the world – a call to action and a symbolic show of solidarity to saving our planet.  

This Earth Hour, Friday 24 March 2023 in schools and Saturday 25 March 2023 at 8.30 pm across Australia, we ask Emanuel School families to be among the millions ‘switching off’ to demonstrate our commitment to climate action. 

We need to take time out for our planet. Our environment continues to degrade at an alarming pace. Eastern Australia is among the 24 global deforestation fronts, and we are the only developed nation on this list.

An estimated 200,000 trees are bulldozed in Australia every day. That’s 8,000 trees every hour.

Trees are the lungs of our planet, and we need them to help reverse the impacts of climate change. Now is the time to press pause and work together to protect nature and restore what we have lost.

The hour we dedicate as Earth Hour (and further time we take to switch off our devices) provides an opportunity to reflect on the incredible benefits nature provides us, and work towards creating a great future for people and the planet. 

So, whether it’s 60 seconds, 60 minutes or beyond the hour, this Friday 24 March 2023 and Saturday 25 March 2023, let’s take the #TimeOutForNature.

Holiday Trading Hours

Holiday Trading Hours

Emanuel School Uniform Shop will close for the school holidays on Tuesday 4 April 2023 at 4.00 pm. The uniform shop will return to normal hours on Monday 2 May 2023.

Please use this link to make your appointment:

Extra Trading Hours 

Monday 3 April 2023: 8.00 am to 4.00 pm                                                  
Tuesday 4 April 2023: 9.00am to 4.00 pm                                                      
Wednesday 27 April 2023: 9.00 am to 4.00 pm                                    
Thursday 28 April 2023: 1.00pm to 5.00pm                                               

Throughout the school term our opening hours are:

Monday: 8.00 am to 11.00 am
Tuesday: 1.00 pm to 5.00 pm
Thursday: 1.00 pm to 5.00 pm

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

Contact details

Phone:  9326 5445
Email:  emanuel@midford.com.au

Second Hand Uniform Shuk

Justine Hofman – Head of P&F

Reminder
Get Ready to Donate Second-Hand Uniforms

We are getting excited to kick off collections for an initiative that we know so many of you have been asking for – a Second Hand Uniform Shuk at school.

Uniform collections next week

Every morning next week (Monday 27 March 2023 – Friday 31 March 2023) you can literally drive-by and drop off your pre-loved uniform donations.

Our trusty team of volunteers will be stationed at the school gates between 7.30 am – 8.30 am to help your kids place donations in the collection bins. It will be super easy and efficient.

All we ask that your uniform donations are in good condition and are cleaned before you donate them. We don’t have the people-power to wash uniforms so please do your bit and don’t send anything that you wouldn’t feel appropriate to put your own child in.

This initiative will only be as good as the donations we collect so we hope you can put some time aside this weekend to prepare your uniforms to pass on. All proceeds from the upcoming sale will be put towards P&F initiatives that benefit our children and school.

If you have any question, we’ve prepared a Frequently Asked Questions document FAQ Uniform Sale which should cover it.

How it will work

1. Donate pre-loved uniforms in clean, good condition on the collection days.
   Monday 27 March 2023 – Friday 31 March 2023: at the school gates, 7.30 am – 8.30 am 
   Friday 31 March 2023: Friday Chills at the Basketball courts, 3.00 pm – 4.30 pm 
2. The sale will be held on Monday 24 April 2023, on campus, 1.00 pm – 5.30 pm
3. All proceeds go to the P&F to fund projects that benefit our students and Emanuel community.

We still need a few more volunteers to help with this initiative. If you can assist, please register here.

Mother’s Day Morning 
All will be revealed soon

Mark your diaries. Our Mother’s Day morning will be held from 7.00 am – 8.20 am on Friday 12 May 2023 (Week 2). We can’t wait to share the cracking, fun theme for this year’s celebration – not to be missed.

Tickets will go on sale during the final week of the school holidays.

Dates for the diary

Monday 27 March 2023 – Friday 31 March 2023: Second Hand Uniform collection
Monday 24 April 2023: Second Hand Uniform Sale on campus
Friday 12 May 2023: Mother’s Day morning
Friday 25 August 2023: Father’s Day morning
Early September: Second Hand Uniform Sale on campus 
Friday 3 November 2023 – Friday 5 November 2023: Spring Family Camping Weekend

PSG

Thank you to our volunteers for last week 
(Monday 13 March 2023 – Friday 17 March 2023)

Tony Gellert, Shai Simhi, Jerry Solomon, David Eliovson, Robert Carrion, Candy Mervis, Gary Aaron, Avi Sharbi, Gary Simmons, Karla Orozco Loza, Kawai Yeung, Daniel Butt, Adam Tsipiris, Vlad Yakubson, Raffy Shammay, Ros Shammay, Keren Rockman, Vitali Kanevsky, Lisa Goodman, Melissa Kery, Graham Hurwitz, Gary Gordon, Dorran Wajsman, Anatoly Kirievsky, Astrid Van Raamsdonk, Tarama Kerlander and Joel Nothman.

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

Important Dates

What’s happening next week

High School

Monday 27 March 2023 

• Non Uniform Day – SRC BBQ (Canteen closed)
• Year 10 Careers Avenue Debriefs
• Cabaret Night 
• P&F Second Hand Uniform Collection Drive*

Tuesday 28 March 2023

• P&F Second Hand Uniform Collection Drive*

Wednesday 29 March 2023 

• Year 11 Geography to Bantry Bay 
• Year 11 3WLC 
• P&F Second Hand Uniform Collection Drive*

Thursday 30 March 2023 

• Years 11-12 Visual Arts to ArtExpress
• P&F Second Hand Uniform Collection Drive*

Friday 31 March 2023

• P&F Second Hand Uniform Collection Drive*

* Refer to the Second Hand Uniform Shuk page of this week’s Ma Nishma for further information.

Primary School

Monday 27 March 2023

• Non Uniform Day – SRC BBQ (Canteen closed)
• Parent Teacher Night (online)
• P&F Second Hand Uniform Collection Drive* 

Tuesday 28 March 2023

• P&F Second Hand Uniform Collection Drive*

Wednesday 29 March 2023

• P&F Second Hand Uniform Collection Drive*

Thursday 30 March 2023

• P&F Second Hand Uniform Collection Drive*

Friday 31 March 2023

• Years K-4 Pesach activities (see Primary News for further details)
• P&F Second Hand Uniform Collection Drive* 

* Refer to the Second Hand Uniform Shuk page of this week’s Ma Nishma for further information.

Kornmehl

Thursday 30 March 2023 

• Kornmehl Pesach Seder

Save the date

High School

Monday 3 April 2023

• K-12 Music Performance and Composition Competition Finals Concert

Tuesday 4 April 2023

• Year 10 Business Creators Generation Entrepreneur
• Year 11 Geography to Cronulla
• Years 3-12 Cross Country (new date)
• Last day of Term 1 for students and staff 

Wednesday 5 April 2023

School closed – erev Pesach

Monday 24 April 2023

• P&F Second Hand Uniform Sale on campus*

* Refer to the Second Hand Uniform Shuk page of this week’s Ma Nishma for further information.

Primary School 

Monday April 3 2023

• K-12 Music Performance and Composition Competition Finals Concert

Tuesday April 4 2023

• Years 1-2 Swimming Carnival
• Years 3-12 Cross Country (new date)
• Last day of Term 1 for students and staff

Wednesday 5 April 2023

School closed – erev Pesach

Monday 24 April 2023

• P&F Second Hand Uniform Sale on campus*

* Refer to the Second Hand Uniform Shuk page of this week’s Ma Nishma for further information.

Kornmehl

Tuesday 4 April 2023

• Last day of Term 1 for students and staff 

Wednesday 5 April 2023

School closed – erev Pesach

Community Notices