King David School, Melbourne
Encyclopedia
The King David School is an independent
, co-educational, progressive Jewish day school
located in Armadale
, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria
, Australia. The school currently caters for approximately 800 students from Pre-School to Year 12, and is affiliated with the Victorian Union of Progressive Judaism
.
In 1978, the school first opened for business as a primary school, and was the first ever Progressive Jewish Day School in Australia. Its principal at that time was Norman Rothman. Whilst there were initially 45 students, the school grew up until in 1984, its biggest current campus (now the Middle School) was purchased in Orrong Road, known as the Isador Magid Campus, after another key figure in the school's establishment. The school later opened its first pre-school on Alma Road, adjacent to Temple Beth Israel, the Joyce and Mark Southwick Pre-school.
The school rapidly rose in student numbers, and celebrated the centennial year of 2000 by extending to Year 12 for the first time in its history. In 2002, the school opened a third campus, the Levi Centre, which was a middle school for years 3-6. This campus was later converted to an administration building, and its lease expired in 2008.
Perhaps the most significant new campus was established in 2006, when a property on Dandenong Road was opened, the Magid Institute, a state of the art senior campus for years 9-12. It was originally an old mansion, but has been transformed into a modern new campus with automated lights, inactive electronic sign-boards and the Internet.
(VCE), achieving high academic results. The school's LOTE (Languages Other Than English) program includes Hebrew, French
, Spanish
, Russian
and Mandarin
.
league.
The school's sports program is facilitated through its membership of the Eastern Independent Schools of Melbourne
(EISM).
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
, co-educational, progressive Jewish day school
Jewish day school
A Jewish day school is a modern Jewish educational institution that is designed to provide Jewish children with both a Jewish and a secular education in one school on a full time basis, hence its name of "day school" meaning a school that the students attend for an entire day and not on a part time...
located in Armadale
Armadale, Victoria
Armadale is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 7 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Stonnington. At the 2006 Census, Armadale had a population of 8,467....
, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, Australia. The school currently caters for approximately 800 students from Pre-School to Year 12, and is affiliated with the Victorian Union of Progressive Judaism
Progressive Judaism
Progressive Judaism , is an umbrella term used by strands of Judaism which affiliate to the World Union for Progressive Judaism. They embrace pluralism, modernity, equality and social justice as core values and believe that such values are consistent with a committed Jewish life...
.
The History
The King David School was first envisioned in the 1970s, by several progressive Jews in Melbourne, and rabbis from Temple Beth Israel. The school was first purchased in 1977, on Kooyong Road, a property still occupied today, the Joyce and Mark Southwick Campus, named after two key influential figures in the school's opening.In 1978, the school first opened for business as a primary school, and was the first ever Progressive Jewish Day School in Australia. Its principal at that time was Norman Rothman. Whilst there were initially 45 students, the school grew up until in 1984, its biggest current campus (now the Middle School) was purchased in Orrong Road, known as the Isador Magid Campus, after another key figure in the school's establishment. The school later opened its first pre-school on Alma Road, adjacent to Temple Beth Israel, the Joyce and Mark Southwick Pre-school.
The school rapidly rose in student numbers, and celebrated the centennial year of 2000 by extending to Year 12 for the first time in its history. In 2002, the school opened a third campus, the Levi Centre, which was a middle school for years 3-6. This campus was later converted to an administration building, and its lease expired in 2008.
Perhaps the most significant new campus was established in 2006, when a property on Dandenong Road was opened, the Magid Institute, a state of the art senior campus for years 9-12. It was originally an old mansion, but has been transformed into a modern new campus with automated lights, inactive electronic sign-boards and the Internet.
Campuses
King David School consists of five campuses in the Metropolitan Armadale area of Melbourne, close to the city's Jewish community. These campuses are the Southwick Pre-school centre, the Southwick Junior School (prep school to year 2), the Magid Campus (year 3 to year 8), the Magid Institute (year 9 to year 12) and the school's newest campus opened in 2011, the Rebecca Magid Center for visual arts, sport, music and theatre.Curriculum
King David School prepares students for the Victorian Certificate of EducationVictorian Certificate of Education
The Victorian Certificate of Education or VCE is the credential awarded to secondary school students who successfully complete high school level studies in the state of Victoria, Australia. Study for the VCE is usually completed over two years, but it can be spread over a longer period in some cases...
(VCE), achieving high academic results. The school's LOTE (Languages Other Than English) program includes Hebrew, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
and Mandarin
Mandarin
-Officials:* Mandarin , a bureaucrat of Imperial China , Vietnam, and by analogy, any senior government bureaucrat-Language:...
.
Co-curriculum
King David School offers co-curricular programs in sport, music, drama, debating, outdoor education and in 2008 became the first known school to run a teacher sanctioned Dream TeamFantasy sport
A fantasy sport is a game where participants act as owners to build a team that competes against other fantasy owners based on the statistics generated by the real individual players or teams of a professional sport...
league.
The school's sports program is facilitated through its membership of the Eastern Independent Schools of Melbourne
Eastern Independent Schools of Melbourne
The Eastern Independent Schools of Melbourne are a group of twenty independent secondary schools in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The schools compete against one another in sporting competitions.-History:...
(EISM).
Notable alumni
- Talia ZuckerTalia Zucker-Biography:She also played the role of Claire Jardine in the ABC series Dirt Game with Joel Edgerton and Gerald Lepkowski in 2009. Talia appeared as a guest character in the Australian drama series City Homicide and played a lead role in the children's series Scooter: Secret Agent and Legacy of the...
- Actress who has appeared on such television shows as NeighboursNeighboursNeighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...
and City Homicide as well as taking lead roles in Scooter- secret agent and upcoming film- Lake Mungo (film)Lake Mungo (film)Lake Mungo is a 2008 Australian psychological horror mockumentary film directed by filmmaker Joel Anderson and stars Talia Zucker.-Plot:Sixteen-year-old Alice Palmer drowns while swimming in the local dam. When her body is recovered and a verdict of accidental death returned, her grieving family... - Sara Reed - Young actress who appeared on the Australian Little Britain LiveLittle Britain LiveLittle Britain Live is a stage show based on the TV sketch series Little Britain, performed by its stars, Matt Lucas and David Walliams, and directed by Jeremy Sams. Supporting characters are played by Paul Putner and Samantha Power . As in the TV show, Tom Baker is the narrator, although his lines...
tour, and on Network TenNetwork TenNetwork Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
's Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (Australian game show)Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? is an Australian quiz show produced by Roving Enterprises that debuted on Network Ten on 26 September 2007. It is hosted by popular TV personality Rove McManus...
as one of the students. She has also appeared in the Melbourne production of Billy Elliott, and has recently played the role of Jane in Mary PoppinsMary Poppins (musical)Mary Poppins is a Walt Disney Theatrical musical based on the similarly titled series of children's books by P. L. Travers and the Disney 1964 film. The West End production opened in December 2004 and received two Olivier Awards, one for Best Actress in a Musical and the other for Best Theatre...
. She is the younger sister of John. - John Reed- Young actor who appeared on NeighboursNeighboursNeighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...
. He is the older brother of Sara. - David EldarDavid Eldar- Scrabble :His Scrabble achievements include: *World Youth Scrabble Champion 2006*Australian National Champion 2007*Victorian State Champion 2003*Runner-up Australian Masters *11th Place World Scrabble Championship 2005...
- Australian national ScrabbleScrabbleScrabble is a word game in which two to four players score points by forming words from individual lettered tiles on a game board marked with a 15-by-15 grid. The words are formed across and down in crossword fashion and must appear in a standard dictionary. Official reference works provide a list...
champion 2007
Notable staff
- Fernando de MoraesFernando de MoraesFernando Jorge Lima de Moraes, commonly referred to as Fernando, is a Brazilian, and naturalised Australian, Footballer currently playing for South Melbourne in the Victorian Premier League...
- A Brazilian soccer player who appeared in the A-LeagueA-LeagueThe A-League is the top Australasian professional football league. Run by Australian governing body Football Federation Australia , it was founded in 2004 following the folding of the National Soccer League and staged its inaugural season in 2005–06. It is sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company...
for the New Zealand Knights in 2006 and currently plays for South Melbourne FCSouth Melbourne FCSouth Melbourne FC is a football club based in South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.Considered the most successful association football club in Australia, they have won four national championships, a string of Victorian State League titles, and represented Oceania in the 2000 FIFA Club World...
in the Victorian Premier LeagueVictorian Premier LeagueThe Victorian Premier League is the highest State level association football competition in Victoria, Australia, and second highest nationally after the A-League...
. He is a member of the sports department and is much loved by the student population. - Frances Flanagan - Daughter of Australian Sports Journalist Martin Flanagan and nephew of Richard Flanagan.* - Former teacher
- Eric Aufgang - Substitute Principal, 2002
- Yael Gaita - Wife of Raimond Gaita, author of popular novel, Romulus My Father.* - Former teacher
- Andrew "Drew" Solewicz - Former Head coach of the Maccabi Warriors Big V basketball team. BIGV Coach of the Year 2010. Bronze medal winning coach/player at 3 Maccabiah Games. He serves as the head of sport.
- Ben Williamson - Member of the popular band, Rainshadow.
See also
- King David School (disambiguation)
- List of schools in Victoria
- List of high schools in Victoria
- Secular Jewish cultureSecular Jewish cultureSecular Jewish culture embraces several related phenomena; above all, it is the international culture of secular communities of Jewish people, but it can also include the cultural contributions of individuals who identify as secular Jews...
- Torah studyTorah studyTorah study is the study by Jewish people of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature and similar works, all of which are Judaism's religious texts...