This week we continued our speedy trip through the spectrum of emotions that is dictated by our calendar. We moved from Yom HaShoah last week, to Yom HaZikaron, Yom HaAtzmaut and towards Anzac Day.

This offers an annual opportunity to reflect on key pillars of our identity, to acknowledge the struggle and sacrifice of our forebears and to celebrate Israel’s centrality to Jewish life, while hoping for a better future for all.

Our school’s mission is to ensure that our students feel a deep and abiding sense of connection to their Jewish identity while maintaining immense pride and loyalty to their Australian home.  This duality should not feel in any way contradictory.  Our students wear this with pride on their uniforms - our school symbol of Kinor David, the ancient lyre of King David, resting on a bed of Australian wattle.

It is reflected in the legacy of Australia’s greatest soldier - Sir John Monash - who led our nation to decisive victories and was celebrated by approximately 300,000 compatriots who lined the streets to honour his funeral procession in 1931. Monash was also the inaugural President of the Zionist Federation of Australia.

The School acknowledged the memorial days of Yom HaZikaron and Anzac Day with meaningful tekesim (assemblies). These are somber opportunities to connect with individual stories of youngsters, many only a little older than our Year 12 students, who lost their lives to protect their communities.

When we transitioned from Yom HaZikaron to the celebration of Yom HaAtzmaut, we raised the flags and focused on the importance of the state of Israel to Jewish peoplehood. The land of Israel is central to our history, liturgy, poetry, art, food, story and culture.  We strive to foster this connection in our students and encourage them to develop a holistic and nuanced understanding of the vitality of the Jewish state.

As a Zionist school, we align with the vast majority of Australian Jewry who see the self-determination of Jews in their nation state as worthy of celebration. Simultaneously, we aspire for Israel to achieve the lofty goals envisioned in its founding Declaration - to be a democratic state that coexists in peace with its neighbours and supports its diverse citizenship to live freely and in harmony.

Our Yom HaAtzmaut celebrations included the traditional reenactment of the State of Israel’s modern genesis as a Year 5 “David Ben Gurion” proclaims that the state has been formed. It involved visiting the Shuk and experiencing some of Israel’s unique produce. At Magid Campus a huge day of student-led kef (fun) cemented our students' love of their culture.

In this intensive period of modern commemorations and celebrations we truly allow for our students to solidify their sense of who they are and what being part of a local and global Jewish community means.