Dear Community,

“Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.” This line from C.S. Lewis should inspire us all to face the future with confidence.

We’re living through a PANDEMIC! That is something that belongs in all caps – it is no small thing and something that we should more readily acknowledge. Our human psyche acts rapidly to normalise the unfamiliar as a coping mechanism. This phenomenon can play out in minimising the seriousness of a situation. However, every now and then I encourage you to slip back out of this mode and, while avoiding panic, take a moment to acknowledge the genuine gravity of what we are all negotiating.

While there is little merit in being melodramatic, I do think that it is fair to suggest that for most of us this is the largest disruption we have faced in our lives.

On Wednesday 20 May students in Years 1 and 2 enjoyed a virtual excursion to the NGV. Our guides Amy and Lily lead us through 'Marking Time', an exhibition of indigenous art from ancient times through to the present day. We learned about the different materials, symbols and colours used in the artworks and considered the difference between indigenous and non-indigenous attitudes to our land and its resources. This very engaging experience was a great way to start our art unit on indigenous art, and has given us so much to talk about and think about as we continue our learning.

Junior School students were invited to participate in The King David School’s Second Annual Lego Builders Tournament over the last few weeks. . There were three builds in total, once a week over a three week period with a brief for each build released to students at the start of that week.

It was a fiercely fought competition overall with two equal first place winners: Noah Milgrom (Yr.1) and Levi Sholl (Yr.2) . Ezra Sholl (Yr.4) was awarded Runner Up. Students showed great creativity and skill as aspiring builders and architects.

While some people have been spending their time in isolation glued to the TV or lying on the couch, five of our Year 12 students have been using the time to get fit and support a wonderful cause. Tomer Bareket, Daniel Eikelis, Daniel Lindros, Ashley Morris and James Silver have been participating in The Push-Up Challenge. The initiative invites people to form a team and complete 3046 push-ups in 21 days to represent the number of lives lost in Australia to suicide in 2018. The aim is to raise awareness of mental health issues in the community and raise funds for Headspace.

The students feel that while they are in isolation and in Year 12 it is especially important to stay active and exercise both physically and mentally. They want people to know that during this time (and anytime) it is okay to reach out for help. They want to remind the KDS community that mental health can affect anyone, so it's important that none of us try to be invincible. They have until the 31st of May to comp

We are very excited to be returning to school next week. The Coronavirus pandemic has created great uncertainty for many families, businesses and our everyday life.

Social distancing rules have implored us to act for the collective interest rather than the individual. In the early stages of this pandemic, supermarkets placed restrictions on the quantity of toilet paper, rice and pasta which can usually be purchased at any given time. These restrictions on food and normal household items forced us to think of the greater community – that is, to only purchase what we really need.

Traditionally, the Philosophy (P4C) program is based around a Community of Inquiry where students sit in a circle to listen and share ideas and beliefs. There have been many studies that have proven Philosophy for Children can improve verbal reasoning, build empathy and socialisation in this particular structure. Additionally, students can be activated as moral agents in this ever changing world we live

Last Friday, 15 May, students in Religion and Society units 1 and 2 heard from Rabbi Gersh Lazarow of TBI, as they continue their study of religions in Australia. Rabbi Gersh took them through the history of Jews in Australia and how each wave of Jewish immigration and brought new cultural practices with them that have enriched our Jewish community. We also discussed the changing trends of connection to religion and spirituality within the Australian context.

Our Senior School students have exhibited strong creativity during their distance learning Drama lessons. Year 7s created their own puppet shows. A sample of their work can be viewed:

https://vimeo.com/421353072/66e2c321f7
https://vimeo.com/421352113/57bad5e4e8
https://vimeo.com/421351490/b68c2ff266

The Feldman family created a little film for the Classic Cinema "iso film festival". A wonderfully creative family project which also serves as a special time capsule memento for this global pandemic.

In Gan Gefen last week, the children explored the concept of shadows. They observed Ziggy outside spinning her dress around and watching her shadow follow her.

After explaining to the children what a shadow was, we decided to play and have some fun with shadows. We used our imagination to made shadows with our hands and feet. We played shadow tag where the children had to chase each other outside and jump on each other’s shadow. We also drew around the animal’s shadow which was great for their fine motor skills and hand eye coordination.

Year 12 student and Australia's leading Rhythmic Gymnast, Alexandra Kiroi-Bogatyreva was one step away from completing her extensive Olympic qualification to represent Australia at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. She spent 2 months training in Europe in early 2020, competed in the Berlin Masters in Germany, bringing home a range of medals and was in peak form by March 2020. But the postponement of the Olympic Games to 2021 and cancellation of the last round of Olympic qualification due to the coronavirus pandemic created plenty of uncertainty for Alexandra , affecting every single aspect of her life. Her completion of her Year 12 studies over a 2 year period is now even more complicated since the exam time shift is heavily clashing with her further Olympic preparation.

Friday 29 May 2020 . Includes Hallel and Yizkor 9.30 am to meet and greet. 10am start . 11 .45am – 12.15 pm to shmooze

Join us online for a live webinar to learn more about the Junior School at King David. Presenters: Marc Light, Principal David Opat, Vice Principal - Wellbeing & Head of Junior School Janice Shearer, Assistant Head of Junior School - Teaching & Learning

This year, TBI has a range of online Shavuot activities to help family members celebrate the gift of Torah. On Thursday 27 May, prior to services, we encourage families to join in a Shavuot celebration with cooking, singing and dancing. After services, there'll be a cheesecake bake-off for your kids to show off their skills! On Friday morning at 10.30am, we have a Tots service scheduled for our younger members.