From the Principal’s Desk: Our Masada College Community

This past week has been a remarkable reminder of what makes our school community so special. I had the privilege of addressing two important gatherings that embodied different yet complementary aspects of our school's mission.

At our first senior assembly of the year, I spoke to our students about the profound wisdom found in Hillel's words: "If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I?" These words resonate deeply with our vision for education – one that balances personal achievement with community responsibility. As I always do at the start of the year, I challenged our students to identify their own "personal Everest" and to embrace high expectations not just as academic goals, but as stepping stones to becoming complete human beings.

Last night, at our Parent Welcome Evening, I witnessed this philosophy in action as our mishpacha came together in a beautiful display of community spirit. The evening exemplified our motto "goodness makes greatness" as families connected, shared, and demonstrated their commitment to supporting one another. The generosity shown during our fundraising efforts for our chesed program reminded me that our community's strength lies in how we care for each other, particularly in times of crisis.

The intersection of these two messages, striving for personal excellence while maintaining a deep commitment to community support, forms the cornerstone of what we aim to achieve at Masada. When our students push beyond their comfort zones in the classroom, they grow not just academically but as individuals. Similarly, when our families come together to ensure every child can attend school with dignity, we demonstrate a collective greatness comes from acts of goodness.

As we progress through 2025, I am filled with optimism about what we can achieve together. Whether it's our students striving for academic excellence while supporting their peers, or our parent community ensuring no family faces challenges alone, we are creating an environment where personal growth and community support go hand in hand.

Together, we're building more than just a school; we're nurturing a mishpacha where goodness truly does make greatness.

Raquel Charet
College Principal

This year brings an exciting new opportunity in the Junior School: the early stages of developing a Makerspace area. This space will serve as a hub for creativity and innovation, where students can design, build, and experiment with a variety of materials and tools. The Makerspace will provide a unique chance to enhance problem-solving, critical thinking, and collaboration skills through hands-on projects. Students will have the opportunity to explore their ideas, work on group projects, and bring their imaginations to life.

We are thrilled to announce that Year 6 will be the first to trial this space as part of their preparations for the upcoming Year 6 Fete. Teachers will soon begin planning with students on possible ways to use the Makerspace to bring their ideas to life for this exciting event. Watch this space for updates—we look forward to sharing more as the fete draws near.

In addition to the Makerspace, we are introducing a Cyber Safety & Digital Wellbeing Program for 2025. Developed by qualified teachers, this program will engage your child in live-streamed incursions each term, focused on helping students create safer and more positive online experiences. A parent webinar will be held later in the term—please keep an eye out for more details to follow.

Karen Gunasekara
Head of Junior School

Welcome to Term 1 2025

Jewish life at Masada College is already buzzing with activity!

We began the year by celebrating Tu BiShvat together as a whole school, from ELC to Year 12. Students and staff joined in planting a tree, enjoying delicious fruits, and singing songs to mark the occasion. See a video of the celebrations here.

Looking ahead this term, we are excited for Purim and Pesach, with special programs planned across the school. Purim will bring a vibrant carnival spirit with this year’s theme of Heroes and Villains. Our Purim charity drive will run across the entire school, supporting three select charities in fulfillment of the Purim mitzvah of Matanot La’Evyonim – giving to those in need. Stay tuned for more details! In Junior School, preparations will soon begin for our Model Seder.

Exciting Additions to the Jewish Life Team
We are delighted to welcome alumnus Shani Ieremias to the JLEd team for Term 1, joining Rafi Franklin and Ori Lewin. With their leadership, we are launching new and enhanced initiatives, including: Lunch & Learn sessions, a revitalised Tefillah program with special sessions for Years 7, 8 and new students who want to improve their Hebrew reading and a special Kabbalat Shabbat experience every Friday.

Year 7 Jewish Life & Orientation camp
The Year 7 Orientation Camp will focus on Achdut (unity) and Chesed (kindness) through team-building activities, alongside the special ruach dancing that makes Masada camps unforgettable! In Jewish Life classes, Year 7 students will embark on a journey to explore their personal Jewish identities and learn about key Jewish historical figures.

New Jewish Life Lessons Year 11 & 12
In alignment with the Sydney Jewish community’s approach to Senior Jewish education, we are thrilled to introduce a new Jewish Life lesson for Years 11 and 12. Held once a fortnight, these sessions will solidify and enhance students' Jewish knowledge, serving as the final step in strengthening their Jewish identity before adulthood.

Enriching Jewish Learning in the Junior School
We continue to enrich our curriculum, building on the foundations laid in 2024, by incorporating new elements that foster a deep and personal connection to Jewish values and traditions. One example of this is the integration of Masada College’s seven key values into our Jewish studies curriculum. Each Jewish holiday will be an opportunity for students to explore its deeper personal messages and discover how they can apply these values to their daily lives. This approach encourages meaningful connections between Jewish teachings and personal growth.

Junior School Jewish Life Leadership and new initiatives
We are excited to welcome our Year 6 Jewish Life Madrichim, who will lead assemblies and assist with Jewish Life events throughout the year. Additionally, we are launching a new Benching (Grace after meals) raffle at assemblies.

We look forward to an exciting year ahead, filled with meaningful Jewish learning experiences and school celebrations.

Shterny Dadon
College Head of Jewish Life (ELC-12)

The Yellow Room has had an exciting start to 2025! Our friend Alyssa brought in some tadpoles from her home pond, and we’ve been fascinated by watching them grow.

Every Monday, we change the water to keep their environment just right. The children take turns feeding them a mix of goldfish flakes and dried bloodworms, and they love watching the tadpoles create little bubbles—a sign that they’re happy in their tank.

As they’ve grown, we’ve separated them into two tanks: one for the froglets, which now have four legs but still have their tails, and another for the remaining tadpoles. Once they mature into full-grown frogs, they’ll return home with Alyssa to be released back into the pond.

Enjoy some pictures of our Junior School 2025 classes!

Chinese Langauge Students made lanterns and wrote the character "福" (fu) in Chinese class to celebrate the Chinese New Year. They hope that the new year brings happiness and peace to everyone. The lanterns symbolise light and joy, while the character "福" represents good fortune. It’s a tradition to celebrate with these crafts to welcome the new year with positive energy. May the new year be filled with blessings for all!

Annie Feng Chinese Teacher

Mazal Tov to our weekly Benching(Grace after meals) raffle winners! This year, we’ve introduced an exciting new initiative—students who bench nicely each day receive a ticket and are entered into a weekly draw at assemblies.

Congratulations to the exceptional individuals who have been recognised as recipients of the Week 2 Merit Awards!

Please be reminded that parking regulations at the College are in place to ensure the safe arrival and departure of all students. Your cooperation in adhering to these guidelines is greatly appreciated.

We have noticed an increasing number of vehicles dropping children off near the undercroft area, which causes congestion in the car park and interferes with the designated bus drop-off point. To avoid this disruption, we kindly ask that any vehicle dropping off students from 8am within the gates proceed to the rear area ‘Zones’, as it is the designated drop-off point for students.

Thank you for your understanding and for helping us maintain a safe and efficient environment for everyone.

Here is a reminder:

MORNING ROUTINE- MONDAY TO FRIDAY

· To drop off your child, please DRIVE SLOWLY down THE LEFT-HAND LANE, permit your passengers to leave the vehicle in the drop off zone and proceed carefully toward the exit.

· There is NO PARKING on school grounds during drop off and pick up time

AFTERNOON ROUTINE - MONDAY TO FRIDAY

· From 3:20pm (2:40pm on Friday), 'ZONES' become active and our car park becomes a drive-through pick-up area

· After 3:20pm you may stack up in four lanes -at this time you must be in your car.

· No pedestrian traffic is permitted through the car park by a parent, friend, child or driver during "Zones"

· Please do not move out of the Zones area until the member of staff indicates that it is safe

· No child will be permitted to enter a vehicle while there is any vehicular movement within the denned ‘pick-up zone'

Year 2 have been learning about machines and in particular the form of bicycles. Students enjoyed drawing from direct observation and used their prior knowledge of bicycle parts to pay close attention to the finer details such as texture, line, pattern, tone and shape. They were very pleased with their drawings! Well done Year 2!

Gaby Franks

Visual Art Teacher (Junior School)

A beautiful week of TuBishvat celebrations. On Wednesday 12th, JNF visited to do an immersive program about the importance of trees and their symbolic connection to Judaism. Incorporating our wellbeing program Grow Your Mind students explored a character trait to “grow” on our Junior school tree and gave students opportunities to make connections between themselves and Jewish values. Each student planted ‘Seeds of Hope’ in their own pots to cultivate and grow, with a message of growth and support for Israel.

On Thursday 13th gathering as a whole school, the Junior school took part in a special planting ceremony highlighting Masada’s through line Unity and Drive, 2025.

During Jewish Studies, Torah Stream and Religion and Culture lessons, students experienced a Shavuot seder learning about the symbolic foods.

Last Friday, all of our Years 3-6 students had the chance to showcase their skills and teamwork at the PSSA Gala Day! Despite a bit of rain, our students made the most of the day, competing across three locations in Cricket or League Tag.

Our junior boys and girls (Years 3-4) took part in a League Tag Gala, while our senior boys and girls (Years 5-6) played in their own League Tag competition. Meanwhile, both junior and senior students participated in the Cricket Gala, putting their batting, bowling, and fielding skills to the test.

It was fantastic to see our students applying the strategies they’ve been working on during Friday training sessions, stepping up in a competitive setting, and supporting their teammates with great sportsmanship. Win or lose, they played with determination, learned valuable lessons, and had a great time!

We look forward to the next Gala Day in a few weeks.

Brad Gordon

PE and SPORT

Year 7 and 8 Students made lanterns and wrote the character "福" (fu) in Chinese class to celebrate the Chinese New Year. They hope that the new year brings happiness and peace to everyone. The lanterns symbolise light and joy, while the character "福" represents good fortune. It’s a tradition to celebrate with these crafts to welcome the new year with positive energy. May the new year be filled with blessings for all!

Ms Annie Feng
Chinese Teacher

For many of our Year 7 students, Technology Mandatory is a new and exciting subject as they enter the Senior School. To help them build their understanding and skills, students have been engaging in a variety of design challenges aimed at fostering teamwork, design thinking, and problem-solving.

These hands-on activities have been a fantastic opportunity for students to collaborate, think creatively, and tackle real-world challenges. Through these challenges, students have not only learned valuable technical skills but have also developed their ability to work together as a team and approach problems with innovative solutions.

The feedback from our Year 7 students has been overwhelmingly positive—they’ve had an amazing time experimenting with new ideas and growing their confidence in the process. We’re excited to continue seeing their development in this engaging and dynamic subject as they explore the design and technology world.

Meg Steel
TAS Teacher

This term, our Year 11 Design and Technology students have been making great strides in their skill development as they work with a variety of tools in the workshop. They have learned the ins and outs of the drop saw, domino, and router table while assembling a small frame. These hands-on experiences not only boost their confidence but also provide them with valuable knowledge on how to safely and effectively use this equipment in their future design projects.

Meanwhile, Year 9 and 10 students have been focusing on safety and expanding their practical skills. After completing their Onguard safety tests, they have had the opportunity to familiarise themselves with new equipment that will enhance their abilities. By gaining an understanding of how these tools can be used and the benefits they bring students are laying a strong foundation for future design work.

Our Year 8 Technology students have also been busy building essential skills. They’ve been working with hand tools to create a rebate joint, which will be used in their Cam Toy project. In a supportive and nurturing environment, students are encouraged to build their skills, learn from their mistakes, and gain confidence that will serve them in future projects.

These practical experiences are an essential part of our curriculum, helping students gain hands-on skills that they can carry forward in their own creative projects. It’s exciting to see them grow in both confidence and competence as they continue to develop their technical abilities.

We look forward to seeing how they apply these skills in their future work and projects!

Meg Steel
TAS Teacher