In our School Vision we state that we aspire for our students to develop “a close and meaningful relationship with the land and State of Israel”. Balancing the building of a sense of identification, affinity and love of Israel with an age and developmentally-appropriate analysis of Israel’s complexities and nuances can prove challenging. To what […]
Academic and psychologist, Angela Lee Duckworth, conducted studies on the characteristics that led to success in a vast range of settings. Her analysis led to the conclusion that “in all those very different contexts, one characteristic emerged as a significant predictor of success. And it wasn’t social intelligence. It wasn’t good looks, physical health, and
Educational expert, Professor John Hattie has identified that among the many variables that affect student learning, the one that has the most impact is teachers. In his new book Visible Learning: The Sequel, Hattie has explored 2100 meta analyses drawn from 130,000 studies which involved 400 million students. He found that a focus on impact
Since the emergence of of the State of Israel 75 years ago, there has been a flux in the relationship between Israel and diaspora communities. The Diaspora used to be referred to in Hebrew as the galut which translates as exile. This was reflective of an Israeli view that the communities outside of Israel were lesser in
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I would like to share with you an extract of the speech that I delivered this morning at our KDSPA Annual Breakfast. Those of you who are here today will be clear that The King David School offers something very special. Alongside a robust and engaging academic, co-curricular and values education, the School provides a
Over the past weeks you will have heard about the Victorian Government’s proposal to remove the decades long Payroll Tax exemption that has been in place for independent schools. Needless to say, I am greatly concerned by the financial implications of this proposed change and, even more so, by the absolute lack of consultation or
This year’s National Reconciliation Week theme is ‘Be a Voice for Generations’. Across the school we have been immersed in meaningful activities that celebrate First Nations’ culture, history and contribution and also recognise the devastation that has resulted from dispossession and the efforts to close the gap that exists in so many aspects of life
In Colum McCann’s novel Apeirogon he uses one thousand and one chapters which vary in length and structure to tell the extraordinary true story of Bassam Aramin and Rami Elhanan, two grieving fathers, one Israeli and one Palestinian. Bassam and Rami both tragically lost their daughters to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and have channelled their grief and
In 2014, my first day as Principal of The King David School coincided with Yom HaShoah. This meant that the first time I spoke to the student body was in the context of an important sombre commemoration. I wanted to share something personal with the school community so I decided to tell my late Grandmother,
The singularity is a futurist concept that describes a time when artificial intelligence (AI) is so advanced that it surpasses the capacity of the human brain. The concept suggests that beyond the singularity, there is limited scope for us to envision what the future might bring because the AI will herald a range of advancements