Below is a collection of reflections and insights from our students who share their diverse interests, experiences and outlooks on life. We encourage you to also watch the video which features a selection of our students who share their hopes and dreams.

We wish our new graduates a well-deserved break and a bright future.

Children in 14 countries around the world were asked to create a drawing of the coral reef of their dreams. Their works were judged according to the artwork’s creativity, how the artist used shape, colour and together as well as the biodiversity of the corals, plants and animals that were included.��

Lexi told us about her artwork: “I thought about what to draw and I drew lots of fish, a turtle, sea grass and a kind of clown fish and seaweed. The clown fish is hiding away because a shark is about to come and he is scared so he has to hide. The turtle is swimming in the coral reef.

“People need to swim and keep their legs up and not on the coral because otherwise your feet can get sore and break the coral. The coral is real and we need to look after it. The person is checking if the coral is healthy. I am feeling happy to win.”

Lexi ‘s artwork will be featured in��Kids Eco News & Green + Simple!��and she has won an Arts and Crafts classroom pack and Eco School Box for the Pre-school.

We are so proud of Lexi and thank the Kornmehl educators for encouraging her creativity and self-expression.

Interview with Adina Roth, Head of ���ϲ�Ͷע��.

This article appeared in the AJN on 12 May 2023.

On what would have been Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s 90th birthday, 200 people gathered in the Millie Phillips Theatre , whose life as a trailblazer in the American judiciary and a fierce advocate for gender equality and reproductive rights, has influenced so many. RBG has been described by The New York Times as “an obsessive” opera lover, “the kind of aficionado who goes to dress rehearsals, and then opening nights, and then closing nights, too, for good measure”. It was therefore fitting that the evening began with a magnificent performance by Sydney-based opera singer, Elizabeth Cooper, who shared four incredible pieces from some of RBG’s favourite works.

With one spectacular treat following another, Suzie Miller, award-winning Australian playwright of��RBG: Of Many, One, and actor, Heather Mitchell, took the audience on a journey, sharing RBG’s life from teenage years to her death in 2020. It was a night to remember with probing questions from interviewer, Michaela Kalowski, and the odd slip into character from Mitchell, who played RBG – one of the most iconic women of our times – in the play.��

We are so delighted that Shalom’s Sydney Jewish Writers Festival hosted this incredible evening at our School.��

The first of our events to celebrate ���ϲ�Ͷע��’s 40^th��Anniversary took place on Tuesday, at our��Years 3-12 Celebration Assembly. Rabbi Kamins delivered a��, in which he drew parallels with the 40 years in the wilderness experienced by the Jewish people, poised to begin a new phase, with greater wisdom and understanding. We were encouraged to stay true to the values of our School founders, to remain a warm, inclusive and egalitarian community. Our Head of ���ϲ�Ͷע��, Adina Roth, gave a blessing of the School, under a tallit, followed by a special cake cutting ceremony.

Our staff and students learned about our School’s journey, which began in 1983 with 53 students in Years K-6, housed at its temporary home of Temple ���ϲ�Ͷע�� Woollahra. We did not move into our campus until 1985. The School had already grown, with almost 230 students from Years K-8. The grounds, which had been owned by The Little Sisters of the Poor, needed quite some work to transform the landscape into a suitable place to learn and play. Today, almost 920 students walk through the Waxman Gates every day!��

As the years have passed, ���ϲ�Ͷע�� has grown, become more established, better known and well respected.��If Rabbi Brian Fox and the other founders and visionaries of ���ϲ�Ͷע�� could take a tour of our School today, and look into our classrooms, halls, theatres and playgrounds, they would be very proud. Their vision of a warm and inclusive community of learners, strongly connected to both its Judaism and to Israel has come to life.��Ted Waxman, the first President of our School Board and one of our dedicated Founders wrote the following at the opening of the Lehrer Family Building (MPH) in 1996:

Our Head Madrichim, representing the school body, on their way to be blessed, by Adina Roth, Head of ���ϲ�Ͷע��.

��“What we have accomplished will be appreciated by each and every student for years to come. It will make a tremendous contribution to their happiness, their future academic and physical development, to the enhancement of their love and practice of Judaism, as well as their desire to be good citizens of Australia and our community.”

If only Mr Waxman knew that, almost 30 years later, we would be sitting in that very building and that his words would ring so true.��Our students were encouraged to imagine, in 10, 20 or 30 years’ time, the then Board President saying very similar words about our new B’Yachad Building that we will open this year.

We have much to be thankful for – and today’s assembly was all about looking back to our humble beginnings with gratitude and looking forward to our bright future in anticipation of great times ahead!

We are very thankful for the generosity of our donors, at each stage of our ���ϲ�Ͷע�� journey. Through their support, we now enjoy a beautiful campus, with purpose-built learning and play spaces. Perhaps most importantly, we have a wonderful team of professional, diligent and caring staff.

Mr Kleinlehrer’s generosity helped spearhead the School’s growth through the construction of a number of buildings and state-of-the-art facilities. Thousands of ���ϲ�Ͷע�� students and graduates have benefitted from the Aron Kleinlehrer Performing Arts Centre, Kleinlehrer Family Science Building, Kleinlehrer Family LINC Building and the Innovation Centre which houses the Aron Kleinlehrer Jewish History Centre.��

Mr Kleinlehrer’s dedication to Jewish education is rooted in his family history. Both his parents and four siblings perished in the Holocaust – a tragic catalyst which guided him towards an unwavering belief in the power of Jewish education as a means to help ensure Jewish continuity.��

In life, he considered ���ϲ�Ͷע�� as a dream come true; in death his legacy will live on in the mind, spirit and being of our students. May his memory be for a blessing now and forever.

We are a community of learners, with our teaching staff serving as instructors, guides and supporters. We acknowledge with gratitude the key role that they play in preparing our students for further independent study and for the future workplace. Their deep commitment to both the wellbeing and academic development of our students will have an enduring impact on our graduates as they commence the next steps in their life journey. Please click here for an in-depth report on our Class of 2022’s success and a video which showcases six of our amazing graduates.