Welcome Back to Term 3!

I hope you had a restful break and are ready for the exciting term ahead. You may have noticed some changes in our newsletter format. This year, we have increased the frequency from twice per term to fortnightly. Despite these efforts, we have received feedback indicating that many of our families are still not engaging with the newsletter. We are committed to making it as accessible and engaging as possible and welcome any suggestions on how we can improve.

I would like to extend a special thank you to our Early Learning Centre (ELC) staff, as well as our administrative, IT, maintenance, and security teams who worked tirelessly through the holidays. We also deeply appreciate our teachers who volunteered to accompany students on the Ski Camp and our Year 12 teachers who conducted study workshops during the holidays for our hardworking HSC students, in the lead up to their Trials. The dedication of our staff is truly inspiring and leads to outstanding educational outcomes for our students.

Last week, we were privileged to have Jewish Unpacked visit our school. They conducted presentations and workshops for our Junior and Senior Jewish Studies and Jewish Life staff, showcasing the incredible resources they offer for Jewish education. Their sessions, which included our students, were particularly thought-provoking, focusing on the effects of social media on world news and its impact on polarizing politics, especially among those under 35. The evidence they provided was eye-opening and prompted deep, engaging discussions.

This week, we witnessed the significance of these discussions following the tragic murder of 12 Druze children in Majdal Shams by a Hezbollah rocket attack. Unfortunately, headlines around the world insinuated that the attack came from Israel, and there was very little mention of this story in the news. When it was reported, Hezbollah was barely mentioned, if at all. This kind of news reporting is very difficult for our students to comprehend and requires in-depth unpacking and discussion on resilience in the face of biased and unfair reporting that feels so personal.

Another significant topic covered by the Unpacked team was the complexity of issues surrounding Israeli politics, especially beyond the antisemitism faced by Jews in the Diaspora. In Israel, the difficult decisions include prioritising the destruction of Hamas potentially at the expense of hostages or saving hostages at all costs possibly at the expense of destroying Hamas. These are profound questions to consider. One of the lessons explored Israeli culture and politics post-October 7th through music. They provided a curated playlist which you can access here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4JXiz8ZHL5MR4uRt7e1mI0?si=QYpU0OSCRM-AopDK2qpOAg&pi=a-f_VB8G53Q6mh

With many exciting events coming up, we are looking forward to a productive and inspiring term ahead. Thank you for your continued support and engagement with our school community.

Raquel Charet
College Principal

Welcome back to Term 3. I hope you all enjoyed some downtime with your families over the winter break and have prepared for a busy, yet exciting term ahead. One question that always comes to the Academic Care Team is around resources for families with young people. Every family has different challenges, however there are a range of organisations and groups that provide research based, high quality resources in supporting parents within their roles. Please see a few resources and events that are coming up that you may find useful.

The Matilda Centre: Positive Choices Program
The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use is a multidisciplinary research centre committed to improving the health and wellbeing of people affected by co-occurring substance use and mental disorders.
Their research streams include prevention, early intervention and treatment, research and development and technology. Here are some fact sheets from a recent session around making positive choices:

• Energy drinks:
  • https://positivechoices.org.au/teachers/caffeine-factsheet
  • https://yourroom.health.nsw.gov.au/a-z-of-drugs/Pages/energy-drinks-and-caffeine.aspx
• Dovetail webinar - touches on nicotine pouches:
  • https://insight.qld.edu.au/training/vape-chemistry-decoding-the-cloud/detail

Elevate Education
The College has been working with Elevate Education for a number of years, helping students develop study skills and their ability to manage their time. Elevate Education will be hosting a free webinar for our parents on motivation on Wednesday 7th August.

Elevate works with students, delivering high-impact workshops on study skills, motivation, wellbeing, and exam preparation. By tuning into their webinar series, you’ll learn how you can help support your child at home by reinforcing the skills they’re learning at school.

Their upcoming webinar on motivation will give you a simple, realistic action plan to help keep your child motivated right up until the day of their last exam. If you are interested please register here: https://go.elevateeducation.com/auschoolwebinars

Jewish Care: From Concern to Conversation
Join Jewish Care and the Sydney Jewish Day Schools for an inspiring evening with experts on recognising mental health signs, starting crucial conversations with your children and seeking professional help. This event is a call to action to all parents. By attending you will be equipped to have big conversations that can make a real difference in your child's life. If you are interested please register here: bit.ly/childsmhtalk

Click here for more information.

KYDS Youth Counselling: Communicating with Teenagers
Have you ever felt frustrated or confused in your attempts to communicate with teenagers? The good news is you're not alone, and the better news is there are some simple and effective ways to improve the lines of communication with young people in your life! On Tuesday 13th August (1pm) and Wednesday 14th August (6:30pm - repeated), KYDS Youth Counselling will be running a free "Improving communication with Teenagers" webinar, and would love all parents, carers, teachers and school staff to join us!

Click here to register.

As always, if there is anything the team can do, please reach out to myself, Barry Zworestine or your child's year patron. Have a great term ahead.

Mrs Natalie Street
Head of Academic Care Y7-12

This term is action-packed with enriching Jewish life experiences at Masada College. Some highlights include the ELC Shabbat experience, our Year K Shabbat experience, and the Year 1 Siddur celebration. In preparation for Tisha B'Av, this week the Junior School students enjoyed a special visit from Rotem Etrogi, the JNF educational madricha . There is also a special experiential program planned for the morning of Tisha B'Av. Reviving a beloved Masada tradition, our Year K and Year 1 students will visit the Montefiore Home in Hunters Hill to lead a Kabbalat Shabbat for the residents in mid-August.

In the Senior School, on Friday, June 26, Years 10-12 were fortunate to have a visit from Hona and Avi from Unpacked Educators (from Israel). They focused on dealing with online antisemitism and managing difficult conversations about Israel, preparing students for post-school life. Our Jewish Life staff also benefited from a session with the Unpacked Educators team and look forward to incorporating some of their programs and content into our curriculum planning.

Masada is excited to welcome our Israeli Madrichim: Maayan, Roni, Guy, and Dvir. Years 8-12 will be participating in the Pathways camps, a real highlight of the year! Special thanks to Ms Shoshana Gottlieb, the JLED team, Jared Horak and Danya Lewin, for all their tireless efforts, as well as our local madrichim and host families. This term we are looking forward to our Roots and JEX Presentation evenings, in which Years 9 and 10 get to present their Jewish Life respective Jewish Life projects. In early September, our Year 11 students are invited to hear from Eylon Levi, former spokesperson for the Israeli government, at a special event for the Year 11 cohort from all the Jewish day schools, hosted at Moriah College.

We look forward to an inspiring and enriching term filled with meaningful Jewish experiences and moments of connection for all our students.

Shterny Dadon
College Head of Jewish Life (ELC-Y12)

The children in the Yellow Room have been thoroughly enjoying our book-themed learning activities! We’ve been expanding our vocabulary with words like author, illustrator, title, and blurb. Each child will have the chance to bring in a book from home to share with their friends.

So far, Amalia, Zac, Aaron, and Tamar have had their turns. We've completed a variety of activities based on their books: for Amalia’s book, we decorated biscuits; for Zac’s book, we did a sequencing activity; for Aaron’s book, we had a fruit tasting session; and for Tamar’s book, we decorated a dress!

The highlight of our book-themed activities has been our Mystery Reader! A teacher or parent comes in to read a book while dressed in costume, and the children have absolutely loved it! The surprise reveal when the costume is removed, and a familiar face appears, always brings lots of laughter. We can’t wait for more Mystery Reader visits!

On Thursday 4th July, Year Four students attended an excursion to the Gibberagong Environmental Education Centre located at Bobbin Head in the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park with Mrs Henkin and Mrs Huxtable.

We were guided on a bush walk from Kalkari to Bobbin Head where the students explored three different forest types and used a range of geographical tools to investigate the animals, plants and the relationships between them.

This excursion was a fabulous way to make real-life connections between our classroom learning during our Term Two Geography unit, ‘The Earth’s Environment’ and our local national park. We are so lucky to have access to such incredible walking tracks surrounded by nature right on our doorstep!

Last term, a new lunchtime club called 'Pages and Popcorn, was introduced to Year 3 students. The club offered a unique blend of reading and fun, bringing together small groups of students to enjoy books and popcorn.

Every two weeks, the club gathered to discuss the books. These meetings provided a platform for students to share their thoughts on the stories, characters, and plot developments. Engaging in these discussions allowed them to hear different perspectives and deepen their understanding of the books.

'Pages and Popcorn' successfully fostered a love for reading and encouraged thoughtful discussion among the participants. The combination of literature and a tasty treat made each session enjoyable and memorable. We look forward to continuing this initiative and seeing even more students join us in the future.

On the 2nd July our Senior and Junior School SRC members hosted a bake sale to raise money for the ‘Saving Sasha’ fundraiser. We were very lucky to have Sasha and her family join us for the day and enjoy some of the delicious treats on sale. Thank you for supporting this worthwhile fundraiser, Masada has raised over $1000.

The Jewish life team were incredibly fortunate to welcome two special visitors: Ron Weiser AM and Orit Elkayam Cohen, the Jewish Agency representative in Australia and New Zealand.

Orit shared two engaging activities to bring into our classrooms, focusing on the themes of Jewish identity and Zionism, and the importance of fostering rich debates that appreciate diverse opinions.

Ron provided us with an insightful briefing on the current situation in Israel, highlighting positive and encouraging developments.

A huge thank you to Ron and Orit for their invaluable contributions!

At the end of last term, Year 6 visited the Sydney Jewish Museum as an introduction to our Living Historians unit of study. While there the students unpacked a suitcase full of artefacts, through studying these objects they learned about the life of Olga Horak, a survivor born in Czechoslovakia. After this, they had the privilege of listening to another survivor Eva Engel, who told them the story of her childhood escape from the dangers in Austria to the safety of Australia.

Year One Torah Stream students have been learning how to read and write in Hebrew cursive. They have created their own Hebrew cursive book by writing words and sentences in cursive. Well done for all your hard work!

Last term our Senior School students took part in their Athletics Carnival with exceptional enthusiasm. They competed in various track and field events, showcasing their skills and demonstrating a wonderful sense of House spirit. Our amazing House captains did a wonderful job encouraging students to participate and fostering that togetherness our Sports Carnivals are built on. Congratulations to all participants and age champions, who will be announced in our next assembly!

Additionally, a big thank you to our amazing staff whose hard work and enthusiasm made for a smooth-running carnival and a fantastic experience for all.

In the last week of Term 2 Year 11 Design & Technology students spent a day in the workshop. Our students made amazing progress with their own-choice projects. From designing to testing, building and creating, they are truly showcasing their skills and creativity. Stay tuned for more updates! It was an exciting day in Year 11 Technology and Design!

Year 9 English students made visual representations using clay models, canvas paintings and coasters to portray the underlying messages in Romeo and Juliet. We hope you enjoy these samples!

Zac Panic, Year 7 competed in the Asian Buggy Championships in Queensland over the school holidays where he received 8th place. This weekend he placed 2nd in a local derby which is a great result - Mazal tov Zac!

Radio control racing uses a high tech machine with remote control that you build yourself.