Dear Community,

“[Young people] are high-minded because they have not yet been humbled by life, nor have they experienced the force of circumstances…They think they know everything, and are always quite sure about it.”

This fourth century quote from Aristotle fits into a consistent pattern of criticising youth that dates back to at least 624 BCE according to a recently published study by John Protzko and Jonathan W. Schooler in Science Advances magazine. The study aimed to explore the propensity of older generations to criticise characteristics of the younger generation. The researchers entitled this the “Kids These Days Effect”.

They explained: “The pervasiveness of complaints about “kids these days” across millennia suggests that these criticisms are neither accurate nor due to the idiosyncrasies of a particular culture or time—but rather represent a pervasive illusion of humanity.”

The article explored the results of five related studies in which they

Junior Kinder children showcased their Jewish learning to delighted grandparents and special friends today in a joyous Kabbalat Shabbat filled with meaning and song . Special handmade candlesticks were then given to their grandparents and special friends before big hugs and kisses were exchanged!

In Junior School this week it was ‘Numeracy Week’. We have been celebrating all things mathematical. Each year level investigated different problems, which challenged and extended students’ mathematical thinking. The highlight of the week was solving the mystery of ‘Who stole Pickles?’ our resident bear in the Library?’ Just under a hundred students spent Thursday lunchtime solving clues to find the culprit - who cannot be named for fear of losing her job!

In addition to the fun activities, we have been promoting a positive mindset to Maths. All too often we hear people saying, “I wasn’t any good at Maths when I was at school.” This is a shame, as when children hear comments like this, it can validate their own sentiments if / when they find something difficult. We often mistake being ‘good at Maths’ with speed, this is not the case, in fact the opposite may be true.

Last week, during our final lesson of Year 12 History, Revolutions: Adam Freedman, Maddie Meltzer and Eli Paykel-Samuel enjoyed a traditional tea party with Michelle Bass and Margaret Pagone. They feasted upon tea and cake while decked out in crowns and robes. Students were channeling their favourite historical characters, such as Alexandra Kollantai, Tsar Nicholas II and King George III. Appropriate tunes were played and great discussion ensued.

To acknowledge the annual RHSV History Week, students were encouraged, in several classes, to reflect on some important events in Victorian, Australian and World history. The Year 11 Twentieth Century History class assisted in choosing slides to be displayed during the week on the digital noticeboard, as well as choosing some music – ‘Talking about my Generation’ - to be played for bell times.

Given the short week, as well as the celebrations for the final week of Year 12 classes, our scope for activities was limited but several keen students joined some History staff at lunchtime last week to test their knowledge. A Year 11 team, who named themselves ‘Margaret’s Angels’, - Camilla Burrows, Joel Langer, Talia Laski, Ethan Mileikowski, ,Jordy Rogelberg, Max
Sandler and James Silver successfully competed in two rounds, covering Australian and World History questions, against a valiant Year 10 team, nicknamed ‘Dracula equals the original Batman’, consisting of Julia

On Thursday 17 October, Gan Zayit took a short bus ride to visit a special sukkah (it was at my parents’ home!). Although it was a bit wet inside, the children enjoyed a yummy morning tea whilst listening to my father explain the reason we build a sukkah. I explained to the children that once the Jewish People fled Egypt they wondered in the desert for 40 years and built huts (a sukkah) to live in. I asked the children what we use to build a building and they said metal, steel, glass and cement but they didn't have any of these in the desert. What could they have used to build their huts? The children guessed sticks, plants, mud and leaves - kind of like the sukkah we were sitting in!

The F1 in Schools STEM Challenge is a worldwide student competition for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The challenge is multi-faceted and multi-disciplined requiring students to follow an engineering and manufacturing process to design, analyse, test, make and race a miniature F1 car capable of reaching speeds up to 80km/hour along a 20-meter track.

King David School Year 11 students Jordan Engel, Daniel Eikelis, Joel Langer, Daniel Lindros and Ashley Morris worked tirelessly on the challenge over many months and recently competed against 26 other teams in the Melbourne event achieving an award for outstanding industry collaboration. The King David School team were competitive in all aspects of the challenge, which also included a trade display, portfolios, securing sponsorship, marketing and team uniforms.

Year 12 student, Alexandra Kiroi-Bogatyreva has recently returned from representing Australia at the 37th FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championship in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Alexandra spent 4 weeks overseas training, competing and also studying for her VCE exams. She left mid August to compete at the World Cup in Kazan, Russia. From there she continued to the 37th FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championship, which was a first round qualification for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. With World Cup competition in Kazan and then two weeks of intense training program, Alexandra had perfect preparation for the World Championship competition. Milli Gymnastics Arena in Baku welcomed 322 gymnasts representing 62 nations.

Join Friends of KDS for a very special tour of the Lyons House Museum on Sunday 24 November 2019. Places are limited so please book early! The tour includes refreshments. Book at www.trybooking.com/book/event?eid=557023&. For enquiries, please email: friends@kds.vic.edu.au

Mitzvah Day is our time to celebrate the incredible friendship we have developed between the Jewish and Sudanese communities over the last 10 years. We are excited to be running our event at The King David School again this year. DATE: Sunday 17 November TIME: 12pm - 3pm

Join us for breakfast with Dave Sharma MP, former Australian Ambassador to Israel and current Federal MP for Wentworth as he discusses the story and relationship between Israel and Australia. DATE: Wednesday 6 November 2019 at 7:30am BOOKINGS: by 28 October to: tbi.org.au/breakfast COST: $700 per table of 8 or $100 per person

Kedem's 24th AGM is being held on Sunday 10 November 2019. Please see attached for detail.