King David School, Melbourne
| The King David School | |
|---|---|
|
"To Know and Understand" | |
| Location | |
|
Armadale, Victoria, 3143 Australia | |
| Information | |
| Type | Independent, Co-educational |
| Religious affiliation(s) | Jewish (Progressive) |
| Established | 1977 |
| Principal | Marc Light |
| Enrolment | 800 (P-12)[1] |
| Colour(s) | Gold and Blue |
| Website |
www |
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,[1] and is affiliated with the Victorian Union of Progressive Judaism.
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 it 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 and electronic sign-boards.[2]
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.[3]
Curriculum
King David School prepares students for the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE), achieving high academic results. The school's LOTE (Languages Other Than English) program includes Hebrew, French, Spanish, Russian and Mandarin.
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 Team league.
The school's sports program is facilitated through its membership of the Eastern Independent Schools of Melbourne (EISM).
Notable alumni
- Talia Zucker - Actress who has appeared on such television shows as Neighbours and City Homicide as well as taking lead roles in Scooter: Secret Agent and the film Lake Mungo
- Sara Reed - Young actress who appeared on the Australian Little Britain Live tour, and on Network Ten's Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? as one of the students. She has also appeared in the Melbourne production of Billy Elliot the Musical, and has recently played the role of Jane in Mary Poppins. She is the younger sister of John.
- John Reed - Young actor who appeared on Neighbours. He is the older brother of Sara.
- David Eldar - Australian national Scrabble champion 2007
- Mikel Guyetsky - Graduated in 2007, is now CEO of both On Track Wealth Services© and Wealth Axis©, two rapidly growing businesses based in the financial services industry.
Notable staff
- Yael Gaita - Wife of Raimond Gaita, author of popular novel, Romulus My Father.* - Former teacher
- Andrew "Drew" Solewicz - Current BIGV Men's Coach Melbourne University Division 1. Former Head coach of the Maccabi Warriors, Cranbourne Cavaliers & McKinnon Cougars Big V Basketball Clubs. BIGV Coach of the Year 2010 & 2011. Bronze medal winning coach/player at 4 Maccabiah Games. He serves as the Sports Manager.
See also
- King David School (disambiguation)
- List of schools in Victoria
- List of high schools in Victoria
- Secular Jewish culture
- Torah study
References
External links
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