Kaleidoscope December 2023 Kislev 5784 2 From the Principal Throughout Term 4, the thoughts and prayers of the entire Scopus community have been with our brothers and sisters in Israel. Prayer services, educational opportunities, fundraising events and more have helped our students understand and empathise with the terrible tragedy of October 7 and the pain of the subsequent war. As our Mission Statement declares, Scopus offers its students a Jewish identity “within a Modern Orthodox and Zionist framework”. This has been an occasion to actualise and to understand what it means to be Zionist. To be Zionist is to see the re-creation of the State of Israel as the moment in which the Jewish people re-entered history. It is to see Israel as the centre of Jewish life and today’s fulcrum of Jewish identity. But more than these theoretical notions, it is to feel a deep and enduring emotional connection to the state, people and land of Israel. That does not imply uncritical support. We encourage our students to access and grapple with different points of view, different visions for the state and different types of Zionism. But the feeling of love for Israel, which starts in the Early Years, and grows and matures through the following years, is the essential foundation for each of the varying perspectives. Although we would never have wished for these circumstances, the present situation has been an opportunity for that love to be manifest. Our students’ passion to understand the latest developments, together with a sense of grief for the murdered, kidnapped or fallen, has reminded us forcibly just what it means to be a Zionist. Rabbi James Kennard Thank you Sharon Over more than 30 years, serving as a Sports Coach, a Phys Ed teacher, a Head of Year, Head of Middle School, Head of Secondary School and finally as Deputy Principal, Sharon Stocker’s impact on Mount Scopus and its community has been immense. Whilst in charge of the Secondary School, Sharon brought to the role a care and concern for every single student, made manifest by her detailed knowledge of each young person, their triumphs and travails, and how best to help them to learn and to grow. At all times Sharon has believed in the highest standards of professionalism, and put that belief into practice in all of her interactions with colleagues, students and parents. In this way she has created expectations and standards for all staff and students to attempt to meet. At the same time, her welcome and assistance to new teachers joining the Scopus family are legendary, and a number of longstanding teachers owe their connection to the school to Sharon’s efforts to help them settle in. For nearly all of my time as Principal, Sharon and I were an excellent team. We worked very closely together; we had very few disagreements – all of which were handled with respect and courtesy; we had many laughs and a few tears. I am deeply grateful to Sharon for all that she has done for Scopus, in so many ways. We wish Sharon many more years of happiness and fulfilment in the various educational fields that now beckon her, and especially in her much-cherished role as a grandmother. Rabbi James Kennard Sharon Stocker – Deputy Principal, Secondary, with Montana Sharp at Scopus Idol back in 2014
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