Today was an incredibly exciting day in our Kindergarten class as they celebrated 100 days of learning! We are bursting with pride for our youngest Junior School students and all they have achieved in their first 100 days of primary school education. They had a blast dressing up as 100-year-old versions of themselves, enjoyed activities centered around the number 100 and decorated biscuits.
Seeing these little learners grow and excel in Kindergarten has been such a joy! Mazal Tov, Masada College Kindergarten!
We enjoyed another fabulous Senior School Athletics Carnival! The perfect winter’s day blessed us with ideal conditions and our students’ enthusiasm and high levels of participation were fantastic. With the active involvement of our dedicated staff and exceptional House Captains, along with our talented athletes and an amazing venue, we couldn’t be more fortunate!
Masada College is thrilled to announce the appointment of Mrs Karen Gunasekara as the new Head of Junior School. Well known in the Masada community, Karen taught at the College between 2016 and 2019. With extensive experience in leading and educating across a range of school contexts both in Australia and in the United Kingdom, Karen is a highly respected educator.
Karen’s passion for driving whole school improvement is evident through her commitment to ongoing learning, as she embarks on completing ‘The National Flagship’ program at the Association of Independent Schools (AIS). She is dedicated to growing as a leader and inspiring leadership in others.
“I am delighted to be returning to work at Masada in partnership with students, teachers and parents. My philosophy centers around inclusion, empowerment and positive relationships where the dignity and rights of all are respected. I am committed to making a positive contribution to Masada College Junior School and ensuring that each child’s experience of their early years and primary education is a distinct and meaningful time in their life, not simply a journey into adulthood.”
We are thrilled to have Karen join the team and look forward to the positive impact she will have on the Masada Community. Please join us in welcoming her to the Junior School!
A wonderful start to Term 2 with our Yom Hazikaron commemorations followed by amazing Yom Ha’atzmaut celebrations. How lucky are Masada College students!
The Roots Family Heritage Project encourages Year 9 students to think of their place both in the chain of Jewish people and within their family unit. Mazal Tov to Jessica who won first place and to our finalists for their outstanding work. We are grateful for our collaboration with the UIA which generously donates the prizes each year. Jessica has won $1000 towards a ticket to Israel to participate in a program of her choice.
We are incredibly proud of Ada (Adi) Halevi, our Head of Languages, who has received the Outstanding Language Educator Award for 2022 from the Modern Languages Teachers Association of NSW (MLTANSW). The award recognises contributions to high-quality teaching and learning of languages in schools.
Adi has been teaching Hebrew at Masada College for 21 years and leads an exemplary languages faculty at the College. She is admired by students, parents and staff for her devotion and ability to engage students in Hebrew, with many of Adi’s HSC students achieving a band 6 in Modern and Classical Hebrew as well as First in Subject. Adi goes above and beyond to support Masada students, volunteering many outside school hours to help students reach their potential.
Adi is currently working hard with the Year 12 Modern Hebrew class in preparation for their HSC and with the accelerated Year 10 Modern Hebrew class who will sit their HSC in Year 11.
Mazal Tov Adi – the Masada community is very grateful for your endless dedication and applauds this well-deserved recognition of your outstanding contribution to teaching.
Masada College Kindergarten celebrated 100 Days of learning by dressing up as their 100-year-old-selves, they participated in Math activities to explore the number 100 and enjoyed a delicious cake. They were super excited to celebrate the milestone, they thoroughly enjoyed the countdown to the event and were extremely proud of all they have learnt in the first 100 days of Junior School. The celebration built the children’s knowledge of number including counting forwards, counting in tens and working out how many more days until they reached 100.
We are delighted to welcome Simone Sharples as our 2022 Year 5 class teacher and Year 7 art teacher. Simone joined Masada as a casual teacher in 2021 and shares with us her impressions of the College.
“I joined Masada knowing very little about the College other than it was walking distance from my house and it had a fabulous reputation in the community. I was in for such an awe-inspiring journey.
At Masada, I have felt supported, appreciated and surrounded by the most amazing staff and students that I have seen during my many years of teaching both here in Australia and internationally. Masada is quickly becoming noticed as one of the best schools here in the North Shore. There are three reasons why I believe Masada is truly unique and marvellous.
The first is inclusivity – from the moment you arrive you will be greeted with offers of help, support and friendly faces. I have a very fond memory……within days of accepting a maternity leave position at Masada it was announced that we would make the shift to online learning. Throughout the day I had eight people send me messages to show their support and ten people pop their head into my room to ask if there was anything they could do to help. How amazing is that! I felt part of the Masada family immediately.
Secondly connections – the interpersonal relationships, warmth and connectedness makes Masada magical. Here, educators believe in their students, respect them and connect with them on a personal level. Happy children are successful children and flourish.
Thirdly appreciation – we all know that teaching can sometimes feel very taxing and be hard work. Not at Masada. Here staff, students and parents value what you are doing, notice the small extra efforts you are making and then let you know how valued you are.” – Simone Sharples
