Shoftim

Candle lighting 5.25pm

Havdalah 6.25pm

by Rabbi Daniel Lichman

I prepare to travel from London to Melbourne to visit you at The King David School. I come to learn with you about how Judaism is brought to life at school, in our families and within each of us.

This coming week we read in Torah about the cities of refuge (Devarim/Deuteronomy 19:1-13): these are the cities to which someone who accidentally caused the death of someone, a manslaughterer, is exiled in order to be protected from the vengeance of a relative of the deceased. The exile should flee to that city ‘and live’. (Devarim/Deuteronomy 4:42). The rabbis of the Talmud (Makkot 10a) discuss what ‘and live’ means: what does a city need in order that someone would be able to live a full life? The city will of course need a good water supply and provisions for commerce. Yet water, food and other trade are not enough; to ensure that a exile can truly live our tradition teaches that their rabbi needs to go into exile with them.

When I first read this I feel puffed up and proud. Yes, I say to myself, we teachers of Torah are vitally important, the Talmud is quite right, we are essential to a good life. Then I grow frightened; it is as though the Talmud calls out to me: Rabbi Daniel Lichman, are your teachings actually life giving?; are your methods of teaching truly open to the lives of those you speak with?

Today, our Senior Kinder children hosted a heartwarming Kabbalat Shabbat with Grandparents and Special Friends.

It was a wonderful showcase of our children’s deep love for Jewish ritual and meaningful engagement with Jewish identity.  The children proudly sang joyful songs, danced and made brachot with confidence.

Thank you to all the families who joined us today to make these memories so special! And of course a massive thank you to the educators who bring Jewish Life and Learning to the children.

Please enjoy some photos from the sessions here.  All photos taken across the three celebrations can be found on the Photo Gallery in myKDS.

Dear Community,

The current models of school assessments that are widely adopted and used to validate student progress actually had their genesis in a world that no longer exists.

At a recent Australian Heads of Independent Schools meeting (AHISA), I was privileged to hear from Professor Sandra Milligan who is leading Melbourne Metrics - The University of Melbourne’s quest to review and renew assessment models so that they are fit for purpose in what she referred to as the ‘AI Century’.

Professor Milligan explained that the first school tests, as we know them, were designed by Edward Thorndike at Columbia Teachers College in the 1910s. The idea of being able to assess students based on forms of standardised tests grew momentum and then, when the US military found application in their capacity to utilise testing to classify and place soldiers, significant investment followed. 

This led to the field of psychometrics. Schools used these assessments to rank and norm students. They were based on the notion that good assessment was content driven, standardised and objective and was anchored in the principle that one should “teach what one tests and test what one teaches.” 

Professor Milligan stated that by the 1980s these models of assessment were beginning to be seen as deficient. She said that there was a broadening of knowledge and it was becoming harder to determine what knowledge should be in the curriculum. It was also a time where things that were previously thought to be accurate, were proven untrue. This, of course, proliferated exponentially with the popularisation of the internet.

It was felt that tests of content did not move fast enough to adjust to the developments in society. Simultaneously, across the 1980s and 1990s there was the beginning of the view that there was more to education than recall-driven cognitive development. This was a time where character development was gaining prominence as an important endeavour.

It was wonderful to take visiting educational leaders from the mid-Arava region on a tour of the School on Thursday.  After the tour, they were invited to our senior leadership team meeting, during which we discussed educational insights and challenges, learned Jewish texts about education and leadership together, and gained so much through the exchange. This mifgash (encounter) took place in the context of the Partnership2Gether program. 

As a Zionist school, people-to-people connections like this are vital to strengthening the bonds between Israelis and Diaspora Jews.

We are thankful to the Zionist Federation of Australia for supporting the visit.

In Year 5 Hebrew, the students have been learning about a class excursion (Tiyul). 

We have been talking about what is needed and what is not needed for an excursion, what we need on a hot vs a cold day, when is best to leave and return, how we get to the excursion and what we do (and what we don't!) on the day.

The students practiced vocabulary and verbs on the topic, created a note for parents and pretended to pack a bag for the excursion, all in Hebrew!

Yesterday, two members of our class became tour guides tour guides for the day, took their classmates on an excursion around KDS grounds and explained what kids do in various locations around the Junior School.

Senior Kinder children went on an amazing excursion to Magen David Adom (MDA) to give their teddies some very urgent medical treatment!

Rachel and Carla from MDA explained that MDA is an ambulance service in Israel.  The children learned that in Australia, you call 000 for an emergency. The session was very practical and hands on as the children learnt about what happens when you go to hospital and the process of triage. The children then had the opportunity to become paramedics by putting on MDA bright yellow medic vests and make their soft toys feel better. Their soft toys were weighed and their height was recorded in a health book. The next step was to get an x ray and then the final step, to get bandaged up and then given some medicine through a syringe. 

This excursion was important for the children to be made aware of the process and become familiar in case they ever need to go to hospital.

Every Friday, tzedakah is collected in the MDA ambulance collection box, which is a replica of the real ambulance used in Israel. The children generously received their own MDA tzedakah box which they get to take home and collect tzedakah independently. 

As part of their VCE Physical Education Unit 1/2 studies, students participated in a Mindful Movement and Tackling Inclusion excursion with St Kilda AFL to learn the importance of providing people living with a disability the right to participate in sport in an engaging, empathetic and fun way. With inspiration from St Kilda FC Blind and Wheelchair teams, students had the opportunity to wear vision-impaired googles and play in a wheelchair to experience the challenges disabled athletes face while playing sport.

Students also participated in a session that educates them on the importance of the mind and body, and how that connection can positively impact performance. Students experienced meditation and breathwork practices, mobility, core, and Pilates-type movement to prepare, maintain and enhance mental and physical output for elite athletes.

As there will be no school next Monday (Staff Conference), we celebrated Rosh Chodesh Elul a little early this week at the Junior School with a special Prep–Year 5 Rosh Chodesh T’fillah.

The highlight was a lively Sanhedrin panel, led by the formidable Judge David! Judge David was joined by Year 2 students who have been learning all about the phases of the moon in Jewish Studies. The students explained what a new moon should look like before everyone was challenged to “spot” it.

Two witnesses came forward and were carefully questioned by the Sanhedrin. Once Judge David was sufficiently satisfied that the moon was indeed a new moon, the students all shouted “Mekudash!” (“Sanctified!”) together, followed by the sounding of the shofar to welcome the new month of Elul.

It was a fun and memorable way to bring our learning to life and mark the beginning of this special month.

The King David School is conducting a short survey to better understand what families with pre-school aged children value most when choosing an Early Learning Centre (ELC).

Whether your child currently attends an ELC, you are considering options, or planning ahead for the future, your feedback will help us understand the needs of our community and identify ways to enhance The King David School ELC experience.

The survey will take less than 5 minutes to complete. All responses are confidential and will be reported anonymously.

As a thank you for your time, you'll have the opportunity to enter the draw to win 1 of 5 $100 VISA cards.

At The King David School, fostering a deep sense of belonging to the global Progressive Jewish movement is important. One of the most meaningful ways we achieve this is through mifgashim (encounters) with international partner institutions, most notably the Leo Baeck Education Center’s Ambassadors Program, a treasured annual highlight of our Jewish Life and Learning curriculum.

Located in Haifa, Leo Baeck serves as the heart of its local Progressive community. It encompasses a synagogue, a vibrant Kindergarten to Year 12 school, and facilities shared with the broader local neighbourhood.

For the next month, we are thrilled to host two student ambassadors from Leo Baeck: Noga and Roy!

During their time with us, Noga and Roy will fully immerse themselves in the KDS community. Key highlights of their visit include:

• Classroom Engagement: Participating in regular academic classes alongside KDS students.


• Excursions: Joining year levels on upcoming educational excursions.


• Cultural Exchange: Leading interactive activities about life in Haifa for our Year 6 to 8 Hebrew classes, along with important involvement in Year 9-11 Hebrew classes.


• Israeli Spirit: Bringing an authentic, lively taste of Israel directly to our campus.

Last Thursday after school, 26 students had the incredible opportunity to listen to an inspiring STEM webinar as part of the Graeme Clark Oration event.

Before the webinar, we had a short overview of how medical technology has changed over time. We explored early solutions such as a wooden toe and compared these with modern advances, including organ transplants, artificial hearts and 3D-bioprinted body parts.

The webinar featured Professor Milica Radisic, a globally recognised scientist from the University of Toronto who uses stem cells to grow beating human heart tissue in a laboratory. This tissue can help researchers understand heart disease, treat damaged hearts and test whether new medicines are safe.

Professor Radisic also explained how “organs-on-a-chip” can be used to study diseases and develop new treatments, possibly without the need for animal testing. She shared her journey from being a student interested in science to becoming a world-leading biomedical engineer.

It was an eye-opening look at how biomedical engineering and STEM careers are revolutionising the future of healthcare. It also showed us how students like us could one day use STEM to make a real difference in the world!

In Hebrew, we have studied the topic "From Head to Toe" as part of the B'shevil Ha'Ivrit program. We learned about the famous Israeli artist, Reuven Rubin, and two of his portraits—one from Tel Aviv and one from New York. The painting from New York gives a sad feeling, and Reuven's figure in it appears poor, lonely, and extinguished. The painting from Tel Aviv, on the other hand, looks joyful. We cannot see what Reuven is painting, but he is holding a paintbrush and colors in his hand, and through the window of his house, you can see the sea and camels walking on the beach. From this, we learned how colors create an atmosphere. It was really interesting to learn about an Israeli artist who moved from the famous and important city of New York, to the new and small city of Tel Aviv, at the time, and specifically there, in the Land of Israel, he was happy. However, we didn't just look at portraits by artists; we also made our own cardboard portraits in the style of Picasso. We cut out the face and various features, such as eyes, eyebrows, teeth, and cheeks, and glued them onto the face shape we had cut out. After that, we painted the face in different colors. You can see the artworks in the photos.

The ABL Jewish Interschool skiing competition was held at Mt Buller recently.

Following from the article published recently by student and competitor Sam L, there has been a pleasing update on the overall scores from the competitions! After a recalculation on the scores, the results now stand as:

• 3rd place overall in the Primary Competition


• 1st place in the Secondary Competition


• 2nd place overall 

This week Senior School students were privileged to hear from Hona Dodge from Unpacked for Educators speak about Israeli society and culture through media (Year 10), the upcoming Israeli elections (Year 11), and Israeli-Palestinian relations in the aftermath of October 7 and the ensuing war (Year 12). 

We are thankful to Unpacked for the resources which they provide the School for use in our Israel education. Having Hona here, visiting from Israel, allowed for important additional enrichment experiences.

The Australian Jewish News is once again running its annual Rosh Hashanah Card Competition.

The competition is open to ELC to Year 12 students (and beyond!) and there are two ways to enter:

• A card design for a Rosh Hashanah greeting card, either traditionally drawn or created digitally in A4 format

• A poem about Rosh Hashanah, of no more than 12 lines

The winning card design becomes The AJN's official Rosh Hashanah greeting card. The winning poem is included in our Yom Tov greeting, which is sent to VIPs in Australia and overseas, including the Prime Minister of Australia and the President of Israel. 

Kedem is having a fund-raising theatre night for Fiddler on the Roof on Wednesday 11 November at 7 pm at Her Majesty's Theatre. Tevye will speak with guests after the show!
Costs: A Reserve - $139,  A Reserve - Concession, Senior’s card or full time student card: $109
https://www.trybooking.com/DOFIA

Renowned for his phenomenal storytelling, Rabbi Daniel Lichman takes the stage in Witness to the Ends - a powerful one-person play you won't want to miss. Join us for a rare, intimate night of theatre, followed by an interactive post-performance discussion.
Please book your seats here.
Capacity is limited as it is being held in the Lawrence Family Theatrette at Rebecca Magid Centre.

Meet our speakers Ilan Bloch, Director of Jewish Life and Learning at King David School and Dr. Andre Oboler, CEO of the Online Hate Prevention Institute.  They will bring expertise, honesty and hard-won insight to two of the most pressing issues facing Jewish life today.
We look forward to seeing you there.
Book here: https://www.upj.org.au/community/biennial-2026/

Free, confidential counselling and wellbeing support for people affected by the Bondi Beach attack, the Middle East crisis and broader community trauma.  You do not need a Mental Health Care Plan or GP referral to access this free service.
See attached for details.

We have just launched our Melbourne Alumni Reunion and tickets have just been released! 
Join us as we bring together former chanichim, madrichim, shnat kvutzot and mishpachot of Netzer. That same night will also be the launch of the Netzer photo archive with over 7500 photos! Sign up here!  https://events.humanitix.com/netzer-alumni-reunion-melbourne 

Join the PJV Community for a Family Rosh HaShanah Service. This is aimed at Primary School children and the whole family is encouraged to come.
DATE: Saturday 12 September
TIME: 9am to 10.15am
VENUE: Dandenong Road Campus, 373 Dandenong Rd, Armadale
This is a free event, but please register your attendance here for security purposes.

With the first events of the High Holy Days around the corner, TBI welcomes you and your family to celebrate this special period with us!
Our Family services and events are free and we welcome all to join us. Our other services are open to members/ticket-holders only - it's now a great time to consider membership to join us at these events! And it costs no extra for KDS families!
When you're both a member of TBI and a KDS family, you can enjoy discounts across both that add up to make TBI membership essentially free! TBI membership includes admission to our full High Holy Day schedule, discounts on other programs, children's activities for all chagim and opportunities for connection with other Progressive Jewish families. Call TBI on (03) 9510 1488 or email info@tbi.org.au.
For further information on the High Holy Days, visit:  tbi.org.au/highholydays/admissions/