Dear Community,

This week we held our Winter Concert for students across the Junior, Middle and Senior Schools. It was a truly extraordinary event that showcased some incredible talent across the School. A highlight included a talented group of Year 10 multi-instrumentalists that each rotated between bass guitar, piano and drums in a rousing version of Feel Good Inc by Gorillaz. 

Similarly, the accomplished Year 12 band The Three Amigos completed a highly sophisticated and frenetically paced rendition of Johanne Brahm’s Hungarian Dance No. 5 in G minor. In what was one of their final performances for their adoring KDS audience, they again demonstrated their unbridled joy and talent.

Another stand out moment was the debut of Riley H’s song, Day One. This was the winning entrant from this year’s Composition Competition. Part of the prize was for the piece to be arranged for a full band and this was performed by our incredibly talented music educators. 

In my address at the concert I shared an anecdote which I would like to reproduce here.

I spoke of the origin story for what I have heard referred to as our new ‘National Anthem.’

Just a few months ago, a seven-year-old boy from Sydney named Miles Phillips was feeding birds on a family holiday. He was struck by the bright feathers of one bird in particular, and right then and there, a simple chorus popped into his head: “Eastern rosellas, eastern rosellas, look at the beautiful colours.”

Ki Tavo

Candle lighting 5.37pm

Havdalah 6.35pm

by Rabbi Daniel Lichman

I sat in a circle in the courtyard of Temple Beth Israel with the senior leaders of Netzer and listened to them speak of what they love in Netzer and the challenges they face in getting their heads around the ideology of Reform Zionism at this moment. I was touched to sit with them because, twenty years ago, I was in their shoes: a young person in Netzer feeling, in equal part, my love for the youth movement with all it has gifted me and a weight of responsibility with some ideological confusion mixed in.

I cannot resolve the challenges they face; they know, far better than me, how to respond to the needs of the moment they face. What I did feel able to offer them, however, is some historical context to help them comprehend the challenges they face through awareness of the origins of the tensions that they inhabit.

With some serious simplification for the sake of pedagogical concisement, I drew two lines, one representing Reform Judaism and the other Zionism. I began the line of Reform Judaism with Moses Mendelssohn and his innovative idea that Judaism is a religion and can exist in relationship with the state alongside, and in the same way as, Christianity.

Following Mendelssohn, the pioneers of Reform/Progressive Judaism developed the idea that Judaism exists alongside the state in order to contribute to the ethical values of society. They identified that at its very core Judaism constitutes an ethical religion. The superstitious, or cultural, ideas that attached themselves through the course of history can be ‘reformed’ ensuring that the ethical kernel remains.

In the lead-up to the Book Parade today, Gan Gefen stepped into the roles of authors and illustrators to publish their very own class picture book, titled Fifi the Fairy with the Golden Wings. Every child contributed to the tale, writing a line of the narrative, drawing vivid illustrations, or both. Each child will now take home their own copy.

Imagination took center stage today with an unforgettable, color-filled Book Parade! Our children arrived buzzing with excitement, proudly wearing their costumes and showcasing the special books that inspired them. Our educators brought Drew Daywalt’s beloved story The Day the Crayons Quit to life, dressed as the colorful crayons.

Our Years 4, 5 and 6 students participated in the annual BDPSSA Athletics Carnival at Duncan McKinnon Reserve this week. Our amazing athletes jumped, ran, and threw their way to victory, showing amazing sportsmanship and resilience in all events. A special Kol Hakavod goes to Zach S (Year 6) and Ziggy H R (Year 4) for coming first in all their events. Annabelle O (Year 5) for coming second, and Jonah K (Year 6) for coming third.

Well done to all our athletes!

Our VCE Theatre Studies students expanded their theatrical horizons on Tuesday evening with an inspiring excursion to the Melbourne Theatre Company's Southbank Theatre. The cohort attended a powerful performance of The Jungle and the Sea, a sweeping production that follows a Sri Lankan family separated by decades of civil war.

Co-written and directed by S. Shakthidharan and Eamon Flack, this grand epic story explores a mother’s fierce struggle to keep her family’s dignity and safety intact. For our Theatre Studies students, the performance served as a masterclass in modern, high-impact storytelling. The students will be analysing and evaluating this production as part of their coursework. 

 

The Year 8s were victorious on Tuesday 25 August with their teams winning their first round of debates against McKinnon and Haileybury respectively. The topic under debate was that Health Star Ratings should be mandatory in Australia.

Liam Mittelberg, Zach Grebler and Nadav Rath represented the negative side and Liam won best speaker.  Zev Harris, Gabriel Kolieb and Cooper Stabey argued in the affirmative and Cooper was awarded best speaker. Kol Hakavod to both teams.

It has been a pleasure to guide the students in the early stages of the competition, and they have gained so much insight already, attending training sessions and watching exhibition debates.

The students’ successful outcome on Tuesday can be attributed to the groups’ cohesive and supportive atmosphere, diligence to prepare and rehearse arguments and counter arguments in the lead up to the debate and overall interest, enthusiasm and commitment to the program, attending lunchtime meetings, training sessions and meeting and working in their own time.

As part of the Year 1s current Jewish Studies unit, “The Beit Knesset,” they have been learning about the four important parts of a synagogue: the Bima, the Aron Hakodesh, the Parochet, and the Ner Tamid.  To deepen their learning and bring the topic to life, the Year 1 students went on an excursion earlier this week to visit and explore these four features in two different synagogues — Temple Beth Israel and Caulfield Synagogue.  It was a wonderful opportunity for the students to observe and explore the similarities and differences between these two Batei Knesset. The Year 1 students were fascinated to get up close and view a Sefer Torah with Rabbi Ronnie Figdor. To conclude the experience, it was particularly meaningful to hear Cantor Laloum blow the Shofar, especially as we enter Chodesh Elul, a special time of reflection and preparation for the Yamim Noraim.

Jewish education at King David teaches students that Judaism is a rich tapestry of history, family, culture, and shared values. 

Year 7 students Zach and Milla presented at the Kabbalat Mitzvah ceremony on Tuesday and emphasized how Jewish identity manifests through personal and family traditions. For Zach, connection is rooted in his parents' Traditional background, Kashrut, and South African heritage. For Milla, it centres around Shabbat candle lighting, family meals, and visits to her grandparents in Israel. Despite diverse global origins, shared core rituals unite all Jews regardless of how individual families practice. Grateful for the opportunity to learn and practice in a safe environment, both students view their B'nei Mitzvah as a vital milestone. An opportunity to take on the responsibility of mitzvot, upholding these cherished traditions, and proudly celebrating their heritage together with their family, friends, and community.

After the presentations, that also included a reflection by current Year 7 parent Galit Hasen, families rotated through sessions focused on key mitzvot, which were led by Year 7 students.  It was a proud moment for their teachers and families as it was very clear these students have strongly engaged with their Jewish learning.

From the opening notes to the final standing ovation, King David’s annual Winter Concert proved that our students’ musical talent is nothing short of spectacular. Featuring performers from Year 2 stars to virtuoso Year 12 musicians, the evening was a vibrant showcase of skill and energy.

The audience was treated to phenomenal performances by the Junior Strings, RocKing David Band, Concert Band, Nana Band, Senior Strings Ensemble, and Senior Choir. Individual brilliance shone just as brightly: Highlights included Riley H (Year 10) mesmerizing winning original composition “Day One,” Zac S (Year 5) on trumpet and Harry G (Year 7) on saxophone wowed the crowd with exceptional solo prowess.

Bringing the house down, the VCE Music Ensemble, The Three Amigos, delivered an unforgettable grand finale, capping off a truly magnificent celebration of musical excellence.

Last Friday Anat Ankwa from the Centre for Educational Technology facilitated a full-day Hebrew professional development (PD) session for our Middle and Senior School Hebrew teachers on differentiation, and the planning, execution and evaluation of written and speaking skills assessment tasks.

Junior School Hebrew teachers also met with Anat for a PD on Thursday afternoon.

The ongoing commitment by our dedicated staff to improve professional practice and extend themselves positions them as role models for our students.

With the generous support of the World Union of Progressive Judaism (WUPJ), the School is currently hosting Rabbi Daniel Lichman from the Leo Baeck Centre, London as our scholar-in-residence.

During his time at the School, Rabbi Daniel will engage with students, teachers and our wider community in a rich program of learning, prayer, professional development and Jewish experience.

He has already facilitated professional development sessions for Jewish Studies teachers on both campuses and for Jewish Experiential Educators on the Magid Campus. He has led tefilah (prayer) programming for Years 6–8 during Jewish Experiential Education classes, and served as Rabbi-in-residence at the Year 10 Shabbaton.

He is currently running sessions for Years 3–5 students and Jewish learning enrichment sessions in our Beit Midrash for Years 6-10 during regular Jewish Studies classes.

Last night he performed his one-person play, Witness to the Ends in the Lawrence Family Theatrette. A summary about the play given by Rabbi Lichman follows: in the post-7th October context Daniel realises that even the dead are not safe from being manipulated by contemporary political fractures; he sets off on a journey across Lithuania, Ireland and Israel in an attempt to rescue an ancestor.

We are delighted to welcome Rabbi Daniel to King David and to offer our students, teachers and parents the opportunity to learn with him. His teaching brings together Torah, Jewish tradition and contemporary Jewish life, while reflecting the values that are central to our Progressive Jewish community: informed choice and personal autonomy, egalitarianism, and the thoughtful adaptation of Jewish tradition to contemporary life.

Unit 1 & 2 Health and Human Development students have been learning about childhood development such as Physical, Intellectual, Emotional and Social development along with parenting and stages of the life.

To put some theory into practice we recently had our students become egg parents. There were strict rules about how to be the very best egg parent. Aiyana G was our longest lasting egg parent for the class, followed closely by Grace B, Lia G and Abby B. 

We also attended the Prep library session last week where some of the students had a chance to read stories to the Preps. 

Last week selected Years 10 and 11 students met their peers from the mid-Arava region who were visiting Melbourne in a mifgash (encounter) program.

Students were welcomed by Lily L and Gaby J and then spent time in dialogue circles discussing their responses to questions about their lives, their Jewish identity, and their hopes for the future.

After this, students enjoyed Aussie recess snacks like cheesy Vegemite scrolls and lamingtons before introducing their new Israeli friends to Aussie sports and inviting them to join them for a kick of the footy and a spot of cricket, before Sam K and Toby O closed the session with words of thanks.

Special thanks to the Zionist Federation of Australia for supporting the visit.

Last week, several students across the Junior and Senior Schools competed in the Victorian Interschools Competition at Mt Buller, an event featuring approximately 3000 competitors from schools across Victoria.

We are extremely proud of our students and extend our sincere thanks to the families involved for supporting this.

Luca S (Year 1): Competing in the Interschools for the first time as part of our primary team, Luca finished 46th out of 154 competitors in the Alpine event and also represented the School in Ski Cross.

Rafael S (Year 3): Joining the primary team for his first Interschools, Rafael performed admirably across both the Alpine and Ski Cross events in a very large field of competitors.

Macy V (Year 5): Macy took on a total of four events across both snowboarding and skiing. She came 22nd in Ski Cross—narrowly missing the top-20 qualification for Nationals by just 4 seconds in a highly competitive field. Macy also placed 41st out of 140 participants in the Alpine event.

Hugo S (Year 10): Hugo competed in Moguls, Ski Slopestyle, and Ski Cross. Placing 7th and 20th in his Slopestyle and Moguls events, he officially qualified for the Australian Interschools at Perisher. We congratulate Hugo on these outstanding results and wish him all the best at Nationals in September.

We are delighted that Rabbi Micky Boyden will again be our guest rabbi for the High Holy Days.  Rabbi Micky has lived in Israel for forty years holding senior leadership roles in the Progressive community and within his own congregation, Kehillat Yonatan. He is an international speaker and commentator on a range of topics, writing regularly for the “Ha’aretz” and “The Times of Israel” newspapers.  This year, in addition to co-leading High Holy Day services with Kedem's team of lay leaders, Rabbi Micky will present two talks on the current situation in Israel. See attached for details.
Book now with Rosi: rosi.kedem@outlook.com 

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! 
For families, we hope you will join us for the following:
Reverse Tashlich - Sunday 6 Sept at 4pm - RSVP here
Rosh HaShanah PJV Family Service at KDS - Saturday 12 Sept at 9am - RSVP here
Rosh HaShanah Tot Service at TBI - Sunday 13 Sept at 9am - Save the date
Yom Kippur Family Service at TBI - Monday 21 Sept at 9am - Save the date - RSVP coming soon
Sukkot Family Activities - Friday 25 Sept at 4.30pm - Save the date - RSVP coming soon
Simchat Torah Family Activities - Friday 2 Oct at 4.30pm - Save the date - RSVP coming soon
Family services are free for all, and our partnership with KDS makes membership also essentially free for KDS families if you'd like to attend any other service!

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

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.