From the Development Office

December 2021 Tevet 5782 Vol 13 Issue 1

I hope this latest newsletter finds you and your family well and safe. 2021 has certainly been a year of doing things differently and week by week, sometimes even day by day, we had to make further changes as we were guided by NSW Health regulations. COVID-19 has impacted everyone no matter where in the world we live. We hope you enjoy reading about our wonderful School and some of the events we organised during the year, albeit most of them online. We look forward to the day when you can return to our beautiful campus and share in face-to-face activities with your grandchildren. For the second year in a row, we were not been able to hold our annual Primary Grandparents and Friends Day but we are hopeful that 2022 will see this and the many other wonderful School events take place again. So, whilst onsite events have not been possible during the months of lockdown and the rest of the year, we have been quite innovative to ensure the whole Emanuel Community could stay connected. Thank goodness for technology like Zoom, FaceTime, WhatsApp and the other digital communications, which have allowed us to stay connected to loved ones who do not live with us, as well as others in our extended community. Our regular Friday afternoon online Kabbalat Shabbat allowed grandparents and others in our community to share in this very special weekly event, led by alumni along with our students. Our weekly publication, Ma Nishma, remains one of the best ways to stay connected with our School and our community no matter where in the world you live. It should arrive in your inbox on Friday mornings. Living interstate and/or overseas, means some grandparents don’t have an opportunity to come to school, so connecting electronically can be really meaningful and a great way to see what their grandchildren are doing in spite of the distance apart. For now, Ma Nishma and our Community Facebook (FB) page are the best ways to stay connected with us. If not already a member of our FB page, join here. You can also see past issues of this newsletter online here.

S.H. Ervin Gallery Tour S.H. Ervin Gallery Tour

Pickle making with Adamama

Inside this Issue...

From the Development Office .......... 1 From the Principal’s Desk ................ 3 Social Media @ Emanuel ................. 4 Creating our Bright Future ............... 5 Jewish Studies Department............. 6 Parent & Friends Association ........... 9 Parent Safety Group (PSG) .............. 9 Kornmehl Pre-school..................... 10

Stronger together. Now more than ever.

From the Development Office (continued)

Toda Raba – thank you to our 2021 Gesher Committee

Gesher is the Hebrew word for “bridge” and some years ago, it was chosen as the name for the committee that brings the whole School community together in a friend-building capacity. The committee members represent the many parts of our extended community and although this year was spent mostly in lockdown, we were still able to find ways to stay connected. Our private art gallery tour was the only “real-life” event we managed to squeeze in between lockdown periods. This year’s committee comprised parent Daniela Freed, chairperson (and Board member) with members Andrew Watt, School Principal; Bettina Muscnik, past parent; grandparents Kathy Passman and Tammy Keller; current parents Carli Rothman and Samantha Butt (also an alumna) plus alumni Joshua Moses and Asha Friedman; Michelle Favero, our Marketing and Communications Manager, and me. All our meetings this year were held on Zoom so we eagerly look forward to meeting again in person and organising some exciting events for 2022, watch this space!

S.H. Ervin Gallery Tour

S.H. Ervin Gallery Tour so

The alternative Archibald and Wynne Prize selection – Salon des Refusés

Whether you call it good luck or good fortune is not important, but at the end of May, we were fortunate to be able to hold an in-person event. The excitement was palpable as 32 members of our School community attended the first face-to-face Gesher event in more than 18 months. A huge thank you to grandparent and Gesher committee member Kathy Passman for organising this event. Parents, grandparents and friends joined our private tour to the S.H. Ervin Gallery at The Rocks, where our very knowledgeable tour-guide Angela Alcock, herself a passionate artist, shared numerous interesting facts about the paintings on display. The Salon des Refusés was initiated by the Gallery in 1992 in response to the large number of works entered into the Archibald Prize which were not selected for display in the official exhibition. The S.H. Ervin Gallery’s ‘alternative’ selection has become a much-anticipated feature of the Sydney art scene. Each year their panel is invited to go behind the scenes of the judging process for the annual Archibald Prize for Portraiture, and Wynne Prize for Landscape Painting and Figure Sculpture at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. There they select an exhibition from the many hundreds of works entered but not chosen for the official award exhibition. The Salon des Refusés exhibition has established an excellent reputation that rivals the selections in the ‘official’ exhibition, with works selected for quality, diversity, humour and experimentation, and which examine contemporary art practices, different approaches to portraiture and responses to the landscape.

S.H. Ervin Gallery Tour

Gotta love a pickle or two

Seventy-six families from across our School community – parents, grandparents, alumni and staff – joined us for our online Gesher pickling/preserving workshop with Mitch Burnie, Manager of Adamama Urban Farm. Mitch, who is an alumnus of the School, taught us the secrets about pickling and preserving. We were inundated with photos from our workshop participants’ creations, plus lots of really positive feedback about how much everyone enjoyed themselves. Mitch said: “I’m always happy to work with the community and teach about fermentation. It’s so easy and can really connect us to the past and traditions. It was wonderful to see so many members of my old school online for this session and I hope you are all eager to continue the pickling and preserving skills I taught you. Now that lockdown is over, I’d love you to come visit us at the farm” Daniela Freed, parent, Board member and Gesher Committee Chair: “Having never been a pickling household before there was much excitement and curiosity about the workshop. My eldest daughter and I had so much fun learning something new and creative in the kitchen. It was so wonderful that we were able to bring so many people together from our Emanuel family, participating and enjoying themselves. It certainly was a welcome activity during lockdown. A huge thank you to Mitch Burnie from Adamama for running the workshop and we can’t wait to try our pickled vegetables.” Ann Newman, grandparent: “It is so special to be part of the amazing Emanuel community. Thank you Emanuel and Mitch from Adamama for providing this session. Who would have thought we’d be learning how to pickle and preserve online during lockdown, but we are so grateful for this opportunity.” Alan Crown, grandparent: “It was lots of fun, very informative and so easy. Now all I need is to find more glass jars so I can continue with these newly acquired skills.”

Pickle making with Adamama Kornmehl Pre-school children enjoying a day of exploration at Adamama