Our recent Kindy Experience Day was a wonderful opportunity for prospective kindergarten students and their families to get a taste of the vibrant and nurturing environment at Masada College. The children engaged in a variety of fun and educational activities, met our dedicated teachers, and made new friends. It was heartwarming to see their smiles and enthusiasm as they explored what their future at Masada might look like. We are excited to welcome these bright young minds to our school community in 2025.

Similarly, our Year 7 Experience Day provided prospective students with a glimpse into the dynamic and supportive learning environment that awaits them at Masada College. The students participated in engaging classes, toured our facilities, and interacted with our passionate educators. It was a day filled with excitement and discovery, and we look forward to seeing these students thrive as they transition to Senior School with us next year.

We are incredibly proud to announce our recent success in the prestigious da Vinci Decathlon, where we competed against over 70 schools, many of which are selective and have large student populations. Despite being a small school, Masada College consistently achieves outstanding results, demonstrating the exceptional quality of education we provide. This year, our Year 8 team placed third in Cartography and our Year 7 team also achieved an impressive third place in Science. These achievements are a testament to the hard work and dedication of our students and the exceptional guidance of our teachers.

We also placed first in the Language Perfect Global Languages Championship in Hebrew, against 17 other schools globally. Our team achieved 16,212 points. For context, the team that came second, did so with 2,219 points. This is an outstanding achievement.

In addition, our very popular Chess club competed on Friday taking out third place, with individual members placing sixth and seventh out of 80 players!

Reflecting on these accomplishments, it is truly remarkable that our small school can compete and excel against much larger institutions. It speaks volumes about the education available at Masada College, where every student is supported to reach their full potential.

These are just some small examples of the incredible work of our students, who excel in competitions almost every week. Thank you to all the students, teachers, and families who contribute to making Masada College a place of excellence and community.

Mrs Raquel Charet
College Principal

Week 4 of Term 2 is already upon us. Already this term we have been fortunate to enjoy so many events with the care and attention of our teachers placed at the heart of all of them. The list goes on but experiences such as our Duke of Edinburgh Gold Expedition in the Northern Territories, Anzac Day, Yom Hashoah, Yom Hazikaron, Yom Ha’atzmaut, Kindy Experience Day, Challah Bakes, Living Historians, Work Experience, Incursions and Excursions, Mothers’ Day Stalls, STEM days, Review and Reflect, Science Evening, Da Vinci Decathlon, TEDm Public Speaking, Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Hike, Debating, Guest Speakers, a Jewish Care Parent Wellbeing event, Lag Ba'Omer, Yom Yerushalyim and Shavuot Dinner are to name just a few in Term 2 alone! Our calendar is full of experiences for our students that our dedicated staff across ELC-12 go above and beyond for.

Senior School Subject Expo
A reminder for all parents and families to please join us for our Senior School Subject Expo on Thursday 30 May 4-6pm in the Hall. Whilst this is a priority event for our Year 8-10 students and families, we strongly encourage all students and parents to attend to learn more about the subject offerings at Masada and interact with our teaching staff and extend this invitation to Year 5-11 Parents, including prospective families. This is a chance to meet with the Heads of Learning Areas and subject teachers, and discover the range of subjects that are on offer to our students. In addition, our talented Performing Arts students will be showcasing their skills. It is not to be missed. Click here to RSVP before this Friday, 24 May.

A reminder that the Senior School closes early on this day (2.40pm) to allow preparations for the Expo to be finalised.

We are now in the process of confirming enrollment places for Year 7, 2025 with limited places available in some grades in the Senior School. Enrolment numbers are strong, although we welcome your connections in the community if you have families that you would like to introduce to the College. Please have them reach out to our Head of Enrolments, Julia Suslik (enrolments@staff.masada.nsw.edu.au) to begin the conversation.

If I can be of assistance at any time, please reach out to me by email: rgill@staff.masada.nsw.edu.au or by phone: 02 9449 3744

Mr Ryan Gill
Deputy Principal/Head of Senior School

Yom HaShoah Commemoration: Remembering the Six Million
Our Senior College students recently participated in a particularly moving Yom HaShoah ceremony, dedicated to the memory of the six million Jewish people who perished in the Holocaust.

This year's Yom HaShoah marked the 80th anniversary of the Nazi invasion of Hungary in 1944. As part of our commemoration, we were privileged to welcome several special guests who served as candlelighters, honouring their loved ones. Mrs Seftel delivered a poignant presentation about the Holocaust in Hungary, adding depth and personal connection to the remembrance.

Yom Hazikaron Honouring Our Fallen Heroes: A Day of Reflection and Remembrance
The Yom Hazikaron assembly marked an important day of reflection as our senior students came together to honour our fallen heroes. Principal Raquel Charet shared moving stories from her recent trip to Ofakim, providing her personal reflections on the importance of the day. Our students participated in a solemn candle-lighting ceremony to honour our brave fallen soldiers and victims of terror, followed by a heartfelt prayer led by Rabbi Lewin.

We were privileged to welcome two special guests. Alumna Jessica Zatz inspired us with her remarkable journey as a lone soldier in the IDF, while parent Lindsay Zeloof delivered a beautiful musical performance alongside our Vocal and String Ensembles. We extend our heartfelt thanks to Jess and Lindsay for their meaningful contributions to this important day.

Celebrating Yom Ha'atzmaut: Israel's 76th Birthday at Masada College
On Tuesday the 14th of May, the entire Masada College celebrated Yom Ha'atzmaut, Israel's 76th birthday, dressed in blue and white and spirits high. The day consisted of a vibrant Hallel service in prayers, a fantastic dance group performance which got everyone up on their feet, finishing up with a joyful carnival with face painters, hair braiders, camel riding, youth movements, falafel and pita and so much more. It was a special day uniting us all as we celebrated the remarkable journey, resilience and strength of the state of Israel.

A big thank you to our dedicated Informal Jewish Life team—Dani Levy, Danya Lewin, and Jared Horak—for their tireless effort and hard work in creating such a memorable day.

Mrs Shterny Dadon
Head of Jewish Life, ELC-Y12

In the Yellow Room, we've been on a transportation adventure! Our journey began with everyone's favourite – cars! We brainstormed how they move, and Amalia had a great idea – wheels! But then came the big question: how do those wheels move? To find out, we became car detectives and peeked under the hood of a real car. There we discovered the secret: a powerful engine! This engine relies on the teamwork between a battery and petrol to start up and make the wheels roll. We even put different cars to the test on a ramp, racing to see which one was the fastest and travelled the farthest!

Next stop: boats! We learned there are two main types: zippy ones with engines and graceful sailboats that rely on the wind. To understand how sailboats work, we became scientists and experimented with different materials, figuring out which ones float and which ones sink. Then, we got creative and built our own little sailboat out of paper. With a big puff of wind into its sail, we watched it glide across the water – just like a real one!

Finally, we soared into the world of aeroplanes! These amazing machines have both wheels and wings, which sparked our curiosity. Through our research, we discovered aeroplanes are like super-powered vehicles that can both drive and fly! We're excited to continue our exploration of aeroplanes throughout next week!

On Tuesday, 14th May we celebrated Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israel’s Independence Day). It was a day of ruach and celebration. The day was enjoyed by the whole school from a beautiful and meaningful Hallel in the Shul, interactive and high energy dance performance by a hip hop group, market roaming (with hair braiding, face painting, famous Israeli chocolate drink in a bag, illusionist, live DJ, camel rides and Israeli dancing). Students were immersed in the culture of community and celebrating the State of Israel, its cultural and religious importance to the Jewish people and our identity.

Congratulations to the exceptional individuals who have been recognised as recipients of the Week 2 Merit Awards!

Our debating team had their first debate of the season last Friday! They did a fantastic job and received one win. Well done to our presenters Nastia, Evan and Kian, and to the rest of the team for their support.

It was a pleasure spending time with and getting to know the prospective cohort for 2025 at our Kindergarten Experience Morning. The children participated in a kindergarten class and enjoyed singing, dancing, making their own worry dolls, playing some games and sampling a variety of activities. The Year Five buddies joined us for recess and read books together. Parents were able to meet the College Principal, Head of Junior School and Head of Jewish Life. They also had an opportunity to tour the school, led by our school captains.

It was wonderful having many parents share this experience with their children. We can’t wait to welcome everyone back for more Kindergarten experiences.

Thinking like an engineer!

This term Year Two has the wonderful opportunity of taking part in the Young Engineers program. The students will build and code an amusement park ride, becoming familiar with the STEM principles applied throughout the park and understand how digital technologies can be used to program (code). So far, the students have collaborated and built a pirate ship and a conveyor belt.

Renewable energy sources have always been a hot topic in Science and Engineering. During the Year 8 STEM day, our students had the opportunity to build a solar racing car. Throughout this one-day project, students learned the basics of aerodynamics and simple electric circuits (Science component). They also learned about gear ratios and their impact on the torque and speed of the car (Math component). By following the Design Process, students applied this knowledge to design and race their unique solar-powered cars (Technology and Engineering components). Despite the less-than-ideal weather, the students pulled together as a team and demonstrated excellent creative thinking skills.

Congratulations to Lukas Siganos and Corey Bernstein-Beck for winning the Fastest Solar Car Award! Well done to all the Year 8 students.

Thank you Ms Steel, Mr Dolan, Ms Zeiz and Ms Mills for organising the event.

Dr Kevin Yau
HOLA - Science & Technologies

A belated congratulations to Jaimie Silverstone, Year 10, who was awarded second place, in the under 16 division, at this year's Sydney Royal Easter Show Art Competition! It is the biggest art show in the southern hemisphere and we are incredibly proud of her achievement. Jaimie said she was inspired by the details present in the human form and in the pair of elderly hands placed in front of a coat.

Well done Jaimie!