Dear Community,

Next week we will farewell our longest standing employee, Cathy Kaiserman. Cathy began at The King David School in 1989 and has devoted the last 35 years of her life to giving her all for the achievements of our school, her colleagues and our students.

Over her time at our school there is barely an area of our operations that Cathy has not positively impacted. She has been a tremendous support to every principal in King David’s history and has served alongside Norman Rothman, Zvi Civins, David Zyngier, Margaret Taft, Ashley Latchford, Michele Bernshaw and me. 

I believe that one of the secrets around Cathy’s extraordinary longevity in her career at our school has been through her constant capacity to reinvent herself. Over her time, she has selflessly stepped into the breach to take on whatever challenge best met the needs of the School. This has allowed her to develop mastery of different operational areas of our school and has fed her capacity to be such a wonderful support to so many of her colleagues as she has been able to offer specific advice based on her skills and experience.

She has been our Registrar, Personal Assistant to the Principal, Acting Business Manager, our inaugural HR Manager and Risk and Compliance Officer.

Cathy helped facilitate the growth of our school from a fledgling primary school to our current ELC to Year 12 offering. In order to manage this growth our school needed a significant professionalisation of our systems and processes. This had to be balanced by someone who also deeply understood our school and the way that our decision making and culture needed to be community minded and always focused on maintaining supportive and warm relationships.

What a stunning celebration of all that our Junior Kinder children have learned this year.  They came together to showcase their Jewish learning with a Kabbalat Shabbat surrounded by loved ones. Shabbat Shalom!  Please click here to see photos from the Gan Zayit Shabbat and here from the Gan Gefen Shabbat celebration.

Last night, our Year 6 students amazed us with their Changemakers Living Museum expo. This was a highlight of their Human Rights and Activism unit. The evening felt alive with energy and creativity, where students embodied changemakers, the individuals who advocated for human rights in a variety of different areas. Please click here to see photos from the Expo.

Each student stepped into the role of their chosen changemaker, sharing their discoveries through dynamic slideshows, passionate speeches, and thoughtful presentations. Their creativity shone not just in their words but in their costumes too. From the inspiring Malala Yousafzai to the courageous Oskar Schindler and the trailblazing Gandhi, students brought these icons to life with heartfelt enthusiasm.

The evening was a celebration of learning, storytelling, and inspiration. It offered our students a powerful platform to explore the profound impact of activists on society while reflecting on the change they can inspire in their own lives. A truly enriching experience for everyone involved, leaving us inspired and energised!

Nikki Laski's younger child, Dione has just graduated Year 12 at King David. Nikki has been an advocate and supporter of the School for the over 18 years her and her husband  Robert have been KDS parents.

The following is a heartfelt message to our community we'd love to share from Nikki and her family. 

Dear KDS Families, Past, Present & Future,

As my youngest graduates this week, our time at The King David School is coming to an end. I wanted to send a message to the families who are part of this magnificent community. I first walked into Southwick (old junior school) in 2004. It was a small, cute campus with a warm and caring feel to it. I didn't know much about the school, but it was around the corner from our house, so it was an obvious choice. I had been to 3 different schools over my journey and I was hoping to find one school that would be a place for my baby girl to grow in a nurturing and loving environment. I felt that Southwick had those qualities. Thus began our KDS journey. It was the most incredible time of my life. My daughter was thriving, the teachers were amazing and the friends I made were for life. We holidayed together, celebrated birthdays and loved every minute of those very special formative years. The chaggim were always a highlight. Purim, Pesach, Yom Ha'Atzmaut, Sukkot, Rosh HaShanah, Chanukah...every chag was unique and heartfelt. These days were always memorable as was sports day, swimming carnival and the fete. KDS always felt like one big family.

Year 10 students have been on the Gippsland Lakes this week on a camp, learning to tack and gybe.  They learned that a rope can also be called a halyard, sheet, line or even just a rope.  They return fully fledged sailors!  Enjoy some photos from the camp here.

 

KDS finished the year in sport in fine style as the our Year 7 boys' team took home the championship in soccer.

The final win to secure the championship was against Kingswood where KDS won 8-2. While the final game was convincing, the season had many close and intense battles especially against Bialik & Oakleigh where the games were of high standard and our boys rose to the occasion time and time again.

A wonderful season for the team and coaches.

The Alexander Theatre came alive with the vibrant energy of our talented Prep-Year 2 students, who performed their much-anticipated musical, The Long and Winding Road to Solla Sollew, adapted from Dr Seuss’ I Had Troubles Getting to Solla Sollew earlier this week. The show was a delightful blend of timeless Beatles music, dance, and storytelling, narrated by our wonderful Ike Curtis, Jewish Experiential Educator and alumnus (Class of 2013). It beautifully showcased the creativity and enthusiasm of our young performers and choreographed by talented alumnae Charli Cantoni-Bud (Class of 2023). Please enjoy a selection of photos from this stunning production here All professional photos have now been received and uploaded to Photo Gallery on myKDS.

From the opening scene of All is Well in the Valley of Vung and Here Comes the Sun to the heart-warming finale culminating with All You Need is Love, the children captivated the audience with their charm and dedication. Each student had a role to play, and their confidence on stage was nothing short of inspiring. The colourful and imaginative costumes designed by parent Zoe Arnott, and the awesome Seussical sets, added to the magical atmosphere.

Last Monday, our Prep students enjoyed a fantastic excursion to the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI), where they participated in an engaging Fairy Tales Workshop. The children had the opportunity to explore the world of storytelling through film and animation. Please click here for some photos from the excursion.

During the workshop, students delved into classic fairy tales, learning about the characters, themes, and how these stories are adapted for the screen. They explored interactive exhibits that showcased various filmmaking techniques and participated in activities where they created their own short animations. The highlight of the day was seeing their animations come to life on screen, bringing the fairy tales to life in a whole new way.

The children were captivated by the hands-on experiences and were able to connect the concepts they learned with their classroom discussions. It was a wonderful opportunity to engage with the world of film and animation while exploring familiar stories in an innovative way.

In the past few weeks, students have been learning about volunteering in Year 8 Hebrew class. Each students was required to create a poster about an Australian volunteer organization of our choice. On my poster, I wrote about a volunteer organization called “Nourish". Other volunteer organizations my classmates chose included: C-Care, Hatzolah, Koala Kids, OzHarvest, Helping Hoops, and the Australian Red Cross. We really enjoyed making the posters. We learned how important it is to volunteer, donate, and help our community and how much we ourselves can benefit from volunteering.

Sean Larnach (Year 8)

Please see attached for the posters created by Year 8 Hebrew students.

Earlier this Term, our Year 3 Hebrew students finished the first Hebrew unit on Birthday Celebrations. To end the unit engagingly, we threw a birthday party! Please click here to see photos from the party.

We played games, sang songs, prepared gift bags and exchanged presents - all in Hebrew! Of course, we also had birthday cake!

JCAS (Jewish Children’s Aid Society) extends heartfelt thanks to our donors, sponsors, and supporters for your invaluable contributions.

With your support, in 2024, JCAS and its famous Posh Opp Shoppe were able to distribute $870,000 to Melbourne's Jewish day schools to provide crucial support for 241 children with special needs/

To donate: jcas.org.au/donate-now

Join us for a pre-Chanukah celebration for kids and families - come along next week for Chanukah Funukah! Bring your family and enjoy delicious Chanukah treats, activities and crafts.
4-6pm Tuesday 10 December at Temple Beth Israel
Free, no registration required! See you there.

For a Shabbat of meditation, renewal and peace.
Saturday 21 December 2024 at 10 am
Register with Rosi to attend at a home or for the zoom link: rosi.kedem@outlook.com

A1 Soccer Academy, founded by KDS alumnus Sammy Want (Class of 2023) runs a summer soccer holiday program throughout the summer holidays. 9am to 1pm @ Caulfield Park for children aged 6 to 12 years.  See attached flyer for more detail or contact a1socceracademy@gmail.com

Netzer Melbourne's Machane Betoch Hayam (Under the Sea) cam is being held from 15 to 20 January 2025.  See attached for detail or contact campvic@netzer.ord

Throughout its long history, the JNF Green Sunday campaign has consistently raised funds for life-changing environmental projects for the Jewish people and our beloved Israel. 
JNF’s Green Sunday Campaign is held each year in February to coincide with Tu Bish'vat – A New Year for the Trees!
The campaign is supported by an annual telethon – a day of fun, community and solidarity.
Date: Sunday, 16 February 2025
For more information, please see the attached flyer. 
If you wish to volunteer raising money on Green Sunday, please register here: https://jnf.org.au/vic-gs-2025/