Dear Community,

I recently saw a rather confronting image on social media which acted as a commentary on the authenticity and purposefulness of school education. It was a comical pie chart which had labels for useful skills that the designer considered relevant in their life and the “useless” topics covered in their schooling. Needless to say that the chart’s point was that 100% of what was taught was not applicable in their adult life.

A quick Google search identifies this as a common message in criticism of education systems. Perhaps, unsurprisingly, I disagree with the sentiment that what we learn in school is of no use. On the contrary, it is my belief that the skillsets acquired in our schooldays and particularly the development of our capacity for, and structures of, learning are paramount in establishing successful adult lives.

That said, there is a nugget of truth in the comical chart. We must appreciate that our students crave access to the tools that they will

Two records were broken at today’s KDSPA Annual Breakfast! A record number of people attended this much loved event, this year held at the International of Brighton. The second record was the amount of money raised at this event. A total of $20 000. An incredible result and the KDSPA Committee members who worked tirelessly to put on a magnificent event, were responsible for achieving this record. Our generous sponsors, including our major sponsors Dumbo Feather, TOM Organic, Bayside European Peugeot and Nest Family Wellness Clinic, our raffle and silent auction sponsors and all our guests also contributed to this.

Our guests were eager to hear from our speaker Professor Jayashri Kulkarni, an internationally renowned expert in Women’s Mental Health who directs a large psychiatric research group, the Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre (MAPrc). This Centre has a team of over 100 staff and post-graduate students from medicine, nursing, psychology, allied health, science,

Yesterday, Year 3 students embarked on a memorable adventure to learn about some of Melbourne's most iconic landmarks.

The Eureka Tower which boasts stunning views of our wonderful city and it's landmarks was our first stop. In groups, the Year 3 students used their investigative skills to answer questions involving the location of various landmarks. An interesting fact is did you know that the lift in the Eureka Tower travels at approximately 9 metres per second"?

Students marvelled at the distinctive architecture of Federation Square and Flinders Street Station.

Finally, the students explored The Melbourne Museum and learnt about our fascinating Indigenous Australian history and examined the incredible change in Melbourne over time.

This Tuesday the King David Boy’s Basketball team were ready. Ready to play in a competition which included some of the top Victorian schools. The atmosphere was intense as the boys prepared for their first game. The whistle blew and they began, Nico started off quickly keeping the scorers busy. While Jake was great at drawing fouls then scoring the shots which really kept the momentum going. Ethan Cohen was grabbing steals from all over the court. And Max Konopov was going coast to coast getting those quick points. Overall a super effort by everyone, winning 33 to 6.

After coming off a great win, the team were pumped for the challenge ahead, Jordan Engel was in great form and getting rebounds then throwing some outstanding outlet passes. While Justin was excellent at bringing the ball up the court and getting around defenders. Then Marcel hyped all the boys up when he scored a 3 pointer coming of a fantastic defence play. Once again an outstanding achievement, a real team effor

As part of the students preparation for the upcoming Year 8 camp, a selected group of student tackled the Kokoda Trail at Ferntree Gully on Thursday. The walk entails the grueling '1000 steps' up to One Tree Hill which was done in light drizzle for most of the walk. The students were given an understanding of the need for teamwork and support to get the most out of the group. On reaching the top we had a light snack before the quick descent back to the bus. Although the guidebooks indicate that the walk should take about 2 hours, our students completed it comfortably in just over an hour.

The students are going to be challenged on the camp with snow walking, mountain bike riding and white water rafting. The challenge for them will not the physical side as much, but how to support each other when needed. When do they reach out for a supporting hand and when do they reach out to help others were all questions that we had for each other.

As part of our unit of inquiry "We live in a material world", the Prep students visited CERES Community Environment Park to learn about materials and recycling. They made their own paper from recycled pulp and then enjoyed a bush walk along the Merri Creek learning about pollution and how it harms our environment and waterways. In their last activity the children sorted a variety of household items into landfill, recycling, green waste and compost. The students enjoyed a beautiful day of learning in the sunshine.

Last Friday Year 4 students visited Polly Woodside. We have been learning about the voyage of the First Fleet. We went aboard the ship with two members of the crew and we were given a tour of the top and the bottom of the ship. We rang the bell, steered the wheel, scrubbed the deck, explored the cabins and we even moved the ship from side to side. We also watched a film that showed the experiences of the crew aboard the Polly Woodside. We had a great day and highly recommend a visit.

This term in Year 9 Science, students have been studying the properties and behaviour of light. In culmination of this unit of work, last week a group of students participated in a cow eye dissection.

The structure of the eye works with the properties of light to allow us to see the world around us. In undertaking the dissection, students got to experience first hand the components of the eye as well as how these are organised within the eye.

By cutting into the cornea at the front of the eye, students were able to hear the audible "crunch" indicating the robustness of this component and bringing understanding to its role in protecting the more sensitive parts within the eye. Students were able to locate and remove the lens - a biconvex crystalline structure through which light passes. By looking through the lens ourselves, students could see that the lens inverts the world around us. It is our brain's responsibility to flip the image back so that we can perceive the world the

Our 2016 Reading Challenge has kicked off at the Orrong Road Campus. Students and staff are challenged to read four books that fit the categories making a straight line (horizontal, vertical or diagonal) on the grid (attached for reference) and can enter the competition once for each completed line. Read 16 books and get 10 entries. The challenge runs from now until Book Week August 22-26 so there’s plenty of time to enjoy reading and get the entries in. There will be minor prize draws in weeks one, three and five of term three.

Books read are logged online where students may also write a review (Years 4 and 5 students can log a book by filling in the slip available at the library if they prefer).

The Maths Department invites all students from Prep to Year 12 to participate in the 2016 Maths Challenge. Have fun resolving weekly Mathematical problems and win a prize at the end of the school year. Please e-mail your full solutions to yulia.dozortsev@kds.vic.edu.au . Congratulations to Alexandra Kiroi (Year 9), Julian Adey (Year 7) and Tobi Taranto (Year 5) who submitted the correct solution for Maths Challenge 10.

Come to Etz Chayim's new holiday program offering short workshops in drama, art, robotics, & science. See attached for detail.

Years 9-12 Performing Arts students and the Michael J Cohen Music School are thrilled to present Hairspray - the Broadway Musical. An international sensation, the musical is based in the 60’s where Tracy Turnblad, a big girl with big hair and an even bigger heart, is on a mission to follow her dreams. Please email jackie.ellis@kds.vic.edu.au on the day of the performance to see if any tickets are available as at present ALL three performances are sold out.