Emanuel School celebrates its 30th anniversary
Sydney’s Emanuel School has turned 30 – an exciting milestone is anyone’s life and even more so for the School which has grown a great deal in the past 30 years. From humble beginnings with 53 students enrolled in 1983, the School now boasts over 760 students on its heritage-listed campus.
Then
The year-long celebrations were initiated with an all-school student-led assembly. Celebrating the 30-year milestone gives the Emanuel Community the opportunity to remember its humble beginnings, and appreciate the support that the School has been given during its journey.
Emanuel School Principal, Anne Hastings, gave a rousing speech. “What we miss in longevity, we make up for in spirit. Now over 760 students P – 12, with stable enrolments and a strong reputation for providing an engaging, nurturing, inspiring learning environment, Emanuel School is a force to be reckoned with. It has come of age – everyone knows that if you are lucky enough to come to Emanuel School you will be cared for, you will have a wonderful, broad education and will be well-prepared for a full and purposeful life beyond the School when you graduate. ‘We are Emanuel’ paints the picture – we educate the mind, spirit and being of each person and each of us, students and staff, combine to make up the whole picture of our School.”
The School’s Head Madrichim (leaders), Sam Wrublewski and Alexandra Wolf, eloquently captured the School’s development: “At 30 years old, Emanuel School is not sticking to the routine of ageing. Emanuel has the imagination and belief of a 5 year old, the courage of a 10 year old, the commitment and Jewish soul of our 12 and 13 year old bar and bat mitzvah students, the spirit and ambition of teenagers, the knowledge of all of our 21 year old teachers and staff, the love and care of every single parent and the experience and warmth of loving grandparents..”
Documenting our history is as important for the present as it is for the future. The celebrations will be followed in March with ‘A Week in the Life of Emanuel’ where students will be asked to document school life through photos and drawings. Other activities include burying a Time Capsule comprising students’ work depicting life in 2013; the 30 Mitzvot in 30 Days project which enciourages students to make an explicit effort to participate in major Jewish pratices which may include formal prayer or donating food to the hungry; a School fete and a Gala Event, which will be held in October.
