It is with great pleasure and pride that I share the remarkable achievements of our students. Last week, our Year 9 Jewish Studies students showcased their exceptional Roots project, and this week, our Year 10 Jewish Studies students presented their Jewish Exploration (JEX) projects.

The Roots project provided our Year 9 students with an opportunity to explore their family heritage, discover a meaningful artifact, and create artwork that connected their findings to their personal history. Presenting to a parent audience, the students displayed their creative talents and their commitment to understanding their family stories. Congratulations to our winners—Ben Reinhardt, Jade Kaye, and Shakked Gazi—for your outstanding work. Your projects were a testament to your dedication and creativity.

Following this, our Year 10 students recently showcased their JEX projects, delving into profound Jewish questions, researching extensively, and crafting thoughtful responses. The depth and maturity displayed were exceptional. They grappled with some of the most challenging questions of our time, such as “Does God exist?”, “What happens after death?”, and “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Notably, our winner, Lia Gazi, explored the persistence of antisemitism throughout history. Congratulations to Lia, as well as our second-place winner, Isabelle Henkin, and third-place winner, Jessica Shelton. Your insightful exploration and articulate presentations were truly inspiring. As Helen Keller poignantly remarked, “Worse than having no sight is having sight but no vision.” Our students have demonstrated true vision, engaging with these complex questions as they grow and develop wisdom. Kol Hakavod to all of you—your hard work and dedication have truly paid off.

The exceptional work of our Masada students is a clear reflection of their deep thinking and also perseverance, known in Yiddish as "zitsfleish" (referring to hard work, determination and persistence). I could not be prouder of their achievements and the guidance provided by their teachers. Their accomplishments are a testament to their hard work and the support of our incredible educational team.

Kol Hakavod to all our students and teachers for their unwavering commitment to excellence. Your efforts and achievements are a true source of pride for our school community.

Warm regards,

Raquel Charet
College Principal

Our Junior School wellbeing program Grow Your Mind is built upon four pillars to promote mental health & wellbeing:

1. Positive Psychology - the study of the strengths that contribute to individual and community thriving and wellbeing.

2. Social and Emotional Learning - the study of how individuals acquire the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours needed to develop the skills for self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.

3. Public Health - the study of the prevention of illness and promotion of health

4. Neuroscience - the study of the function and structure of the brain and nervous system.

Grow Your Mind's pedagogy is to use a blended learning approach to allow for a broad range of learners and teachers to access the content, ideas and strategies. They have created resources that incorporate explicit, collaborative, play-based and digital learning.

This term in our Junior School we will be having themed wellbeing weeks focusing on a particular character strength of the week embedded throughout themed days. These days include:

• Mindful Monday where we practice the different breathing styles we have learned this year. Ask your child to teach you a breathing technique at home. We use breathing techniques to regulate our emotions and PAUSE before we ACT!
• Tell-Yourself Tuesday where we say affirmations to ourselves to get in tune with the way we are feeling and make a choice to shift that feeling or keep it.
• Wellbeing and What Are We Reading Wednesday where we read literature that highlights the character strength for the week.
• Thoughtful Thursday where we reflect on ways we have used the character strength of the week and notice if others have too.
• F(Th)ankful Friday where we express gratitude for something or someone who has made a positive difference to our week.

In line with Grow Your Mind's pedagogy, we will use all our senses and explore our learning through a variety of multimedia including literature, song, movement and film. We will be spotlighting the following character strengths throughout the term:

• Week 1&2 - Compassion Week
• 3&4 - Gratitude Week
• 5&6 - Bravery Week
• 7&8 - Joyfulness Week
• 9&10 - Curiosity

Each week, please ask your children to highlight something that has stood out to them and something that they would like to share. Catch them displaying one of the character strengths above and name it, join them in being glimmer hunters and look for the things that brought joy to your day. Focus on practicing gratitude and share something you are grateful for at the dinner table, let your child teach you a new breathing technique or tell them a story of a time when you needed to be brave. Enjoy the journey towards positive mental health together!

For those parents who missed the parent workshop, the Grow Your Mind team has generously provided Masada families with a fostering family wellbeing e-book here.

Mrs Des Maltz
Head of Academic Care YK-6

At the Early Learning Centre, excitement filled the air as the children eagerly prepared for their very own Mini Olympics. The weeks leading up to the event were filled with creativity and teamwork as each room designed their own Olympic flags, proudly displaying them for all to see. We opened the games with our very own Masada Olympic torch ceremony and video that we shared with the children. On the day of the event, the children participated in a variety of fun-filled activities, including the long jump, hurdles, egg and spoon race, rope ladder, relay racing, sack racing, ribbon dancing, obstacle course, bean bag throwing, and even a mini soccer match. The little athletes cheered each other on with joy and determination, showing true Olympic spirit. The event culminated in a medal ceremony, where every child received a medal, celebrating their participation and achievements in the most memorable way. It was a day of laughter, pride, and unforgettable memories.

It was a beautiful sunny day. Year 5 was off to the Opera House to see a play about the 2015 Vanuatu cyclone called; The Water That Ran Uphill. Everyone was excited about going to the Opera House, but the play was not what we expected. Unfortunately the props and costumes were not engaging. One actor portrayed a character by wearing a bucket with a man’s face stuck on the front. This made it difficult to follow the plot.

Despite this, it was a lovely experience for Year 5 to go on an excursion, and after a debrief following the play, we were able to identify where it possibly went wrong and came up with solutions. This taught us an important lesson: that sometimes things don’t go as planned, but we can always learn from the experience and find ways to improve.

Adam Lewis and Idan Kaufman-Rollett

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

We're embracing the Olympic spirit here at Masada College with our Year 3 students, exploring its rich history. A daily medal tally gets the class discussing the overnight events.

Good luck, Australia and Israel. Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi!

On Tuesday the Year 5s got to spend time with the ELC students who are going to kindergarten next year. We each got paired up with one or two ELCs and played in the playground or read books with them. My two buddies loved the playground. They enjoyed climbing up to the slide and sliding down. They also loved the instruments in the playground. It was so nice to hear the music they were making, I could tell they were enjoying it. The ELCS were very happy and excited for Kindergarten. We can’t wait to see them in Kindy next year!

Isla Capal

Mazel tov to our newly elected Junior School Student Representative Council (SRC) for Semester Two.

Year 2 - Alfred and Ross

Year 3 - Ava and Ariela

Year 4 - Harlow and Maestro

Year 5 - Moshe and Ives

Year 6 - Anastasiia and Joshua

Our SRC plays a crucial role as the link between the school and their peers. They bring forward great ideas from their classmates, assist with projects and charity initiatives, and ensure every student's voice is heard. We’re thrilled to see these incredible role models leading the way for our Junior School!

To mark Tisha B’Av the Junior school held a special morning session of extended tefilah (prayers) in front of a live camera of The Kotel in Jerusalem. Students were then immersed in a Grow Your Mind style activity focusing on gratitude and what each is thankful for. Students drew and wrote on individual bricks to help build and create our own Kotel full of positivity and gratitude.

On July 1st, 2024, our Year 10 Geography students embarked on an exciting field trip to Collaroy, NSW, to study coastal processes and fieldwork as part of their topic on Environmental Change and Management. This hands-on experience provided valuable insights into the dynamic nature of our coastlines.

The students undertook arrange of fieldwork activities including:
1. Beach profiling: Measured and recorded the beach profile, observing changes in slope and sediment distribution.
2. Dune ecosystem survey: Exploring dune vegetation and its role in stabilizing the coastal environment.
3. Human impact assessment: Students evaluated the effects of coastal development and management strategies in the area.
4. Wind Speed: Students had also used measured the wind speed in the area and how it affects the formation of dunes and plant types.

The field trip allowed students to apply classroom concepts to real-world scenarios, enhancing their understanding of coastal geomorphology and management issues. A special thank you to Mrs Easterbrook for organising the excursion and to Ms Peisley, Mr Steel, Mr Engdahl and Ms Davies for accompanying us on the fieldtrip.

Rohan Baldua
Year 10 Student

During our Week 1 assembly, Year 9 students - Zach, Shakked, Owen, Roi and Xan shared their insights on how to study mathematics for Year 7, 8 and 9. Well done and thanks for the tips!