Dear Community,

It is incumbent on educators to stay abreast of developments in teaching that promote better learning outcomes for all of our students. At The King David School we understand that in order to achieve the best outcomes we need to focus on our teacher training and the contemporary body of research which seeks to understand the most effective methods of teaching.

Recent developments in neuroscience have provided educators with a far greater understanding of how the human brain works and the links between effective pedagogy and deeper learning. We have moved from a view of the human brain as one that grows and then stops growing, to one that constantly renews and regenerates as new neural pathways are formed and re-formed throughout our whole lives.

The intersection between science and learning opportunities is being effectively explored in our School in a number of ways. This year, our teachers have focused on the work of Carol Dweck who promotes the concept of mi

As part of their preparations for the Kabbalat Torah ceremony on 22 October, Year 7s are spending a great deal of time completing group projects. Some of these projects are related to the students' passion for music, dance, technology, research and Service leading. One group is focusing their attention on tzedakah. For the second year, the Year 7s are raising funds and awareness for Camp Sababa, as a way of fulfilling their aim of creating a more inclusive Jewish community.

Students at Magid Campus were asked to come in their Pyjamas and participated in a BBQ during lunch time.

The Year 7 students wrote the letter to parents, made the advertisements that went up around the School, reminded students of the event, collected funds and ran the BBQ with the support of staff. They were thrilled to take so much ownership of the day.

For the past three weeks my class (9DG) has had the privilege to work with some students from Aldercourt Primary School in Frankston North. Each week we would have an hour long session with a group of students at the Aldercourt campus and help them with their I.T skills. Working with these students who are mostly aged between 10 and 12, had a profound influence on all of our perspectives of every day life. At first we were all slightly nervous about trying to control a group of hyper-active and excited 10 years olds, but after a short while with these students, it was clear that our time at Aldercourt Primary would be much more special then we had ever imagined. From being nick-named 'Channing Tatum' to making our very own 'secret' handshake it was clear that not only I, but all of 9DG, were going to have an everlasting affect on these children's lives. None of my classmates shared the same two Aldercourt students and we all left with a new appreciation on life. The tips and tricks we

On Wednesday this week, the Year 2 students went on an excursion to the Port Phillip Bay Eco Centre in St Kilda. They learned all about compost, examined worms in a worm farm and deciphered which waste goes into which bin.

In class the students have been learning about water pollution and the water cycle. On the excursion, the students were given the opportunity to dress up and re-enact the water cycle and conduct an experiment with a container of clean water to make it dirty, in order to see the effects first hand of water pollution.

Prep students have been treated to a parade of wonderful animals as part of their current Unit of Inquiry. This week was especially amazing. Zach King's Dad, Jeremy brought along their pet snake, Spot. He is a diamond python who lives in a terrarium in Zach's brother Aiden's bedroom. Zach was able to share many interesting facts about diamond pythons with the Prep students.

The students were particularly interested to learn that Spot only gets fed every 10 days and when he has dinner it is a defrosted rat. He is approximately 2 meters long and is expected to grow significantly as he gets older. At one point things became a little unusual as Spot needed a bathroom break. After completing his ablutions the students all had a chance to meet Spot up close and feel his scaly skin which they discovered is not slimy at all. Having the King's snake visit was really a very royal experience.

This week, the Senior Girls Basketball team won the EISM championship for the second straight time. This win is Morry Hayman's 5th EISM trophy in his 4 years coaching teams at King David. Last week the team needed to win to make it into the Grand Final and were underdogs going into the match which was played against Huntingtower School at their home court.

The game was very exciting and every point was fiercely fought. The game was locked at 10-10 at half time which also included an injury to one of our strong players Ella Mushin. Lucy Zilberman and Tia Blum were doing most of the damage for KDS with Mikaela Webb and Nancye Kochen chipping in with timely baskets. KDS went ahead by 7 points late in the game and with Huntingtower coming home strong, a great defensive play by Rachel Kravietz settle the team. The girls got nervous as the clocked ticked down but another basket from eventual MVP Lucy Zilberman secured the win for the girls.

The King David School was privileged to have recently received an invitation to have members of the School’s award winning FRC robotics teams, AI Robotics and the Melbourne RoboCats attend a special STEM “Innovation in Action” Workshop, held at Ford’s Training Centre in Broadmeadows. The workshop sessions were delivered by Professors Jonathan Weaver and Darrell Kleinke from the University of Detroit, Michigan USA. Professors Weaver and Kleinke teach engineering students, practicing engineers and managers on how to apply innovation techniques when generating concepts.

This workshop was part of Ford’s commitment to infusing an innovation culture into its Product Development team, which made the invitation all the more special for our students, as they had the opportunity to meet Ford’s amazing team of young and experienced engineers, as well as to participate alongside these engineers in a series of challenges. Students gained an awareness of roadblocks to conventional t

This Tuesday evening saw the past inhabit the present, as our Year 6 students presented their ‘Stories from my Suitcase’ speeches in an innovative way.

Over the past Term, students explored the Australian migration experience. They examined documents, websites and personal histories to create characters that had migrated to Australia from many countries and at different times. They recorded these stories, adding music and sound effects to enhance the experience.

This year our students showcased their learning by using QR codes. With the aid of headphones, parents were able to summon up the migrant stories and listen to detailed accounts of the migration experience. Ten countries were represented and all students did a fantastic job.

This week, our Year 4, 5 & 6 students competed in the Hooptime Basketball Competition. After weeks of tryouts and training out students competed at MSAC against over 15 other schools.

After the Round Robin phase of the tournament, our Year 4 girls made it through to the semi finals after winning 2 games, losing 2 and also had a draw. They were seeded 4th in the semi finals and came up against 1st seed Caulfield Grammar. In what was the best game of the tournament for the girls, we shocked the opposition cruising to an 8 point win advancing to the Grand Final. The Grand Final was a much tougher affair with KDS going down to a much more experienced St Mary's team.

As part of our procedural text writing, the Year 3 students joyfully cooked delicious chocolate truffles in the staffroom. They followed a recipe and mastered the art of following instructions. Watch out Masterchef!

At Southwick we have been having a real hoot recently. The reason for this is that we have just enrolled two new students into the School. The fact that they are both Tawny Frogmouths does not seem to be an issue. Technically they are not owls but look very similar. The students have been very pleased with their new friends and have been diligently checking on them each day. They are clearly very good readers as they have decided to live just outside the library.

The only problem has been that they had no names, so the students of the Junior School set about fixing this problem. They created a list of 43 possible names and then each student was able to vote on what they should be called. Many excellent names were suggested including; Shmerel, Fluffy, Tom, St Kilda, Owlie and Moon. In the end the students decided upon; Hedwig and Fred.

In the last few weeks during Hebrew lessons, the students have been learning about basketball practice and games. We wanted to put our vocabulary knowledge to test by going for the real thing! Drew Ha'meamen (coach in Hebrew) took us for a very challenging basketball clinic spoken in Hebrew. Now we can say that we know how to play basketball and some relevant vocabulary in Hebrew.

A suburb, university, hospital, and a freeway. General Sir John Monash is an enigmatic figure, whose name peppers maps of metropolitan Melbourne.

But rarely do we consider John Monash the man. Last Friday eight students from Year 11 History attended a Service at Parliament House which sought to honour the man often called our greatest Australian. Among dignitaries from a range of military and civilian historical societies, the attendees from King David were joined by students from several other Melbourne schools. The Monash Commemorative Service is held each year, organised by the Spirit of Australia Foundation.

With military proceedings, the laying of wreaths, and speeches attesting to his legacy, the Service was a poignant testament to the impact of a single individual on the course of history.

Each year the Debaters Association of Victoria run several competitions apart from the interschool debates.

One of these is the Junior Public Speaking competition. This year two Year 9 students, Noa Abrahams and Gabrielle Arnheim, participated in early May. Both performed most admirably and Gabrielle, with just one point more than Noa, tied for fourth place in their region and so progressed to the semi-finals.

We congratulate all students who elect to challenge themselves with extra pursuits and, in particular congratulate Gabrielle for moving through to the next round. Students from around the State took part and in the end only about a dozen proceeded to the final round. We look forward to further such pursuits form many KDS students.

Between 31 July and 10 August, seven pairs of King David students from Years 9, 10, 11 and 12 once again had the opportunity to participate in the model UN Evatt Youth Security Council competition. The competition was an eye-opening experience into the world of high-profile diplomacy, with students from various Victorian schools, in teams of two, representing the 15 current nations on the UN Security Council, including countries such as Russia, USA and Chile.

In different half day sessions, our volunteer teams of Huw Goldstein and Sasha Goldenberg (UK), Gabi Abrahams and Oren Bahari (UK), Michelle Maryanovsky and Alisa Bortnik (USA), Rafael Ungar and Adam Black (France), Ben Brill and Daniel Szmerling (Russia), Noah Briggs and Adam Kaplan (China) and Noa Abrahams and Gabrielle Arnheim (Chile) represented their allotted countries admirably and with impassioned arguments.

The Maths Department invites all KDS students to participate in the 2015 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 Daniel Freidgeim (Year 9) who submitted the correct solution for Maths Challenge 17.

We are so proud of all the performers and musicians in this year's Middle School Musical, "Peter Pan Jr". Students in Years 3-8 impressed a sold out audience on the opening night with their talented portrayal of the classic Disney characters. With only a few tickets left for the remaining performances, make sure you don't miss out on this spectacular production. For tickets, visit our website: www.kds.vic.edu.au

We will be gathering as a community to honour the memory of Debra Howieson and acknowledge the contribution she made as Deputy Principal (2001 - 2010) to The King David School. Thursday 27 August 7pm to 8pm Magid Institute, 373 Dandenong R.

Zionist Council of Victoria welcomes the community to come and cheer on contestants in the State Bible Quiz and learn some Bible trivia! Sunday 30 August 3.00pm to 4.30pm Beth Weizmann Community Centre

Etz Chayim are hosting a Bollywood Feast fundraiser/ party on August 29, at 7:30pm at the Curry Leaf, Elwood. $45 per person, includes an Indian feast, wine and entertainment. Bookings: www. trybooking.com/IOMU

You are invited to join the KDSPA fundraising event and subscribe with us to the Melbourne Theatre Company 2016 Season. If you are interested in joining our theatre party, or if you have previously registered, but changed your contact details, please email debmaybloom@bigpond.com by Monday 24 Aug 2015.

The KDSPA would love to invite you and your friends to join us for a Pink Ribbon morning tea on Friday 11 September at 9.30am to raise money for a very worthy cause. There have been many families in our school community who have been touched in one way or another by breast cancer and we want to show our support by hosting this event and raise funds for vital life-changing breast cancer research. Let’s all help. Let’s all try and make a real difference. Come along and enjoy a morning of great entertainment, prizes, food and more. And don’t forget to wear a touch of pink!

JCCV presents a GLBTI symposium on social inclusion for Jews of diverse sexual orientation and gender identity. The symposium will aim provide an understanding of the human cost of homophobia,biphobia and transphobia in the Jewish community Sunday 23 August 2015 6.00pm - 9.00pm

Rabbi Danny Schiff, internationally renowned Jewish ethicist will lead Kedem’s 2015 High Holyday Services. Venue: The King David School, 117 Kooyong Rd, Armadale All welcome!

The Zionist Council of Victoria is hosting the Arava Agri-Science Delegation who will share their knowledge with local scientists and educators on "How Israel Helps Feed the World”. For a link to the event, please click HERE

Tzedek is an Australian-based support and advocacy group for Jewish victims/survivors of child sexual abuse. We are dedicated to prevention through education and public awareness. Tzedek is launching Child Protection Week with a community education forum. This is a forum for anyone committed to the safety of children in the Jewish Community. The forum will be run with input from Jewish Community Watch.