Mount Scopus Memorial College, commonly known as Mount Scopus, or just Scopus, is an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

Modern Orthodox Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosophy ...

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

comprehensive

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

early learning,

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

, and secondary

day school A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children are given instruction during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compared to a regular s ...

, located in the

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

suburb of Burwood,

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

, Australia. Since 2007, Rabbi James Kennard has been principal of Mount Scopus Memorial College..

History

Mount Scopus Memorial College opened on

St Kilda Road St Kilda Road is a street in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is part of the Melbourne central business district, locality of Melbourne which has the postcode of 3004, and along with Swanston Street forms a major spine of the city. St Kilda ...

in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia in 1949, taking its name from

Mount Scopus Mount Scopus ( ', "Mount of the Watchmen/ Sentinels"; ', lit. "Mount Lookout", or ' "Mount of the Scene/Burial Site", or "Mount Syenite") is a mountain (elevation: above sea level) in northeast Jerusalem. Between the 1948 Arab–Israeli ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, which remained under Israeli control after the

1948 Arab-Israeli War Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

. Mount Scopus College was the first co-educational Jewish day school in Melbourne, originally serving a student population of 143. It was established to meet the educational needs of the influx of

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

refugees to the Melbourne community. In 1953, the college moved to a larger campus in Burwood, which was designed by Melbourne's leading Jewish architect Anatol Kagan in association with Dr. Ernest Fooks. There are also campuses in

St Kilda East St Kilda East is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Glen Eira and Port Phillip local government areas. St Kilda East recorded a population of 12 ...

and Caulfield South. Until 1996 there was a branch in Kew. In terms of

Victorian Certificate of Education The Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) is the credential available to secondary school students who successfully complete year 10, 11 and 12 in the Australian state of Victoria (state), Victoria as well as in some international schools i ...

results, Mount Scopus was the state's highest performing school in 2009.

Principals

The principal of Mount Scopus Memorial College is Dan Strazjt, who replaced Rabbi James Kennard. Previous principals have included Abraham Feiglin (1949–1968), Max Wahlhaus (1969), Aleksander Ranoschy (1970–1985), Rabbi Dr. Steven Lorch (1985–1991), and Rabbi William Altshul (1992–1996). Rabbi Kennard announced that he will retire at the end of 2023.

Sherut Leumi and ulpan

Mount Scopus College was the first of the Melbourne Jewish Day Schools to take part in the

Sherut Leumi Sherut Leumi (, ) is an alternative voluntary form of national service in Israel, as opposed to the mandatory military conscription prevalent in the country. It is designed for individuals who do not meet the eligibility criteria for service in ...

program. Every year, four Israeli women are sent to Mount Scopus as part of their Israeli National Service. They are a major component of Scopus' informal Jewish Studies team. Mount Scopus offers an Ulpan program in which tenth graders travel to Israel for 6–10 weeks. In 2007 and 2010, more than half of the school's tenth graders took part in this program.

Performing arts

The

performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which involve the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. P ...

are considered an important part of school life at Mount Scopus Memorial College. Mount Scopus Memorial College is an IB school. Drama and Dance electives are available to students years 8–12. Theatre Studies is taught in VCE with excellent results. Music is taught from primary through to VCE, with an instrumental program available to students years 2–12. The performing arts calendar includes an annual College Musical, Senior School Play, VCE Theatre Studies Play, Middle-school House Plays, Primary Musical (every two years), multiple Music Soirees and an 'Idol' singing competition. Some recent productions include ''

Bye Bye Birdie ''Bye Bye Birdie'' is a stage musical with music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams, based upon a book by Michael Stewart. Originally titled ''Let's Go Steady'', ''Bye Bye Birdie'' is set in 1958. The play's book was influenced by El ...

'' (2002), '' Grease'' (2003),''

Bugsy Malone ''Bugsy Malone'' is a 1976 gangster musical comedy film written and directed by Alan Parker (in his feature film directorial debut). A co-production of United States and United Kingdom, it features an ensemble cast, comprising only child actor ...

'' (2004), ''

The Wizard of Oz ''The Wizard of Oz'' is a 1939 American Musical film, musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Based on the 1900 novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum, it was primarily directed by Victor Fleming, who left pro ...

'' (2005), ''

Seussical ''Seussical'', sometimes ''Seussical the Musical'', is a musical comedy with lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, music by Stephen Flaherty, and written by Ahrens and Flaherty. The musical is inspired by many of the children's stories of Dr. Seuss, with most ...

'' (2006), ''

Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' is a sung-through musical theatre, musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice, based on the character of Joseph (Genesis), Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis. This was ...

'' (2007), '' Disney's High School Musical'' (2008), ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. ...

(2009),

The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay from 1692 to 1693. Miller wrote ...

(2009), Annie (2010), '' Disney's Beauty and the Beast'' (2011), ''

Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre, southwest London in 1960 before opening in the W ...

'' (2012), ''

Little Shop of Horrors Little Shop of Horrors may refer to: * '' The Little Shop of Horrors'', a 1960 American film * ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (musical), a 1982 musical based on the 1960 film * ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (1986 film), a 1986 American film based on th ...

'' (2013). The 2012 production of ''

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' (, , ) is a Latin Narrative poetry, narrative poem from 8 Common Era, CE by the Ancient Rome, Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''Masterpiece, magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the world from its Cre ...

'' was awarded the Lyrebird Youth Awards for ''Best Production'', ''Best Director'' – Evie Gawenda (Director of Performing Arts 2008–Current), ''Best Lighting'' and ''Best interpretation of script through the use of Multimedia'' – Evie Gawenda and Gideon Szental.

Sport

Mount Scopus is a member of the Eastern Independent Schools of Melbourne (EISM).

EISM Premierships

Mount Scopus has won the following EISM senior premierships. Combined: * Swimming (3) – 1983, 1984, 1985 Boys: * Badminton (4) – 2006, 2007, 2014, 2022 * Basketball – 2022 * Cricket – 1993 * Football – 2006 * Hockey (2) – 2005, 2008 * Soccer (9) – 1999, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 * Softball (10) – 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2021 * Table Tennis (9) – 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2014, 2019 * Tennis (7) – 1990, 2002, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020, 2022 * Volleyball – 2022 Girls: * Athletics – 1971 * Basketball (2) – 1979, 1980 * Bowling – 2004 * Cricket – 2008 * Hockey (6) – 1983, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007 * Soccer (5) – 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2022 * Softball (7) – 1983, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2014, 2017, 2018 * Swimming (9) – 1972, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982 * Table Tennis (3) – 2003, 2021, 2022 * Tennis (5) – 2004, 2005, 2020, 2021, 2022 * Volleyball (2) – 1980, 1981 Mount Scopus have won the following Year 9 EISM Premierships Year 9 Boys: * Football – 2014, 2019 * Indoor Soccer – 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022 * Soccer – 2011, 2013, 2017, 2019 * Softball – 2011, 2018 * Table Tennis – 2010, 2017 * Tennis – 2011, 2013, 2017 * Touch Rugby – 2013 * Ultimate Frisbee – 2017, 2022 * Volleyball – 2017, 2018 Year 9 Girls: * Hockey – 2014, 2017 * Softball – 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017 * Table Tennis – 2015, 2019 * Tennis – 2019 * Touch Rugby – 2012, 2013 * Volleyball – 2014

Notable alumni

Louise Adler Louise Adler is an Australian publisher. She was CEO of Melbourne University Publishing (MUP) from 2003 until 2019, when she became editor-at-large at Hachette Australia. In March 2022 she took up a three-year appointment as director of Adela ...

– publisher *

Neal Ashkanasy Neal M. Ashkanasy (born 5 June 1945) is an Australian academic best known for his work on emotions in the workplace. He was honored for his "service to tertiary education, to psychology and to the community." He began his career as a civil en ...

–

emotional intelligence Emotional intelligence (EI), also known as emotional quotient (EQ), is the ability to perceive, use, understand, manage, and handle emotions. High emotional intelligence includes emotional recognition of emotions of the self and others, using ...

researcher *

Josh Burns Josh Burns (born May 15, 1978) is an Americans, American professional bare-knuckle boxer and former mixed martial artist. Since 2022, he has competed for BYB Extreme Fighting Series, BYB Extreme. Burns currently competes for Bare Knuckle Fightin ...

– Member for

Macnamara MacNamara or McNamara ( Irish: ''Mac Con Mara'') is an Irish surname of a family of County Clare in Ireland. According to historian C. Thomas Cairney, the MacNamaras were one of the chiefly families of the Dal gCais or Dalcassians who were a tri ...

in the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Australian Senate, Senate. Its composition and powers are set out in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. ...

Michael Danby Michael David Danby (born 16 February 1955) is an Australian politician who was an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1998 until 2019, representing the Division of Melbourne Ports, Victoria. Danby was ...

MP – Federal politician, Member for Melbourne Ports *

Bianca Dye Bianca Dye (born 24 August 1973) is an Australian radio presenter. Throughout her career, Dye has presented programs in the competitive Sydney and Brisbane metropolitan radio markets as well as in the provincial radio markets of the Central Coas ...

– radio presenter * Issi Dye – entertainer * Geoffrey Edelsten – entrepreneur *

Josh Frydenberg Joshua Anthony Frydenberg (; born 17 July 1971) is an Australian former politician who served as the treasurer of Australia and deputy leader of the Liberal Party from 2018 to 2022. He also served as a member of parliament (MP) for the divisi ...

MP – former

Treasurer of Australia The Treasurer of Australia, also known as the Federal Treasurer or more simply the Treasurer, is the Federal Executive Council (Australia), minister of state of the Australia, Commonwealth of Australia charged with overseeing government revenu ...

and member for Kooyong in the

* Joe Gersh – businessman * Deborah Glass – Victorian Ombudsman *

Michael Gudinski Michael Solomon Gudinski AM (22 August 1952 – 2 March 2021) was an Australian record executive and promoter who was a leading figure in the Australian music industry. Born and raised in Melbourne, Gudinski formed the highly successful Austr ...

– music industry and entertainment entrepreneur * Michelle Haber – cancer researcher, also attended

Moriah College Moriah College is an independent Modern Orthodox Jewish co-educational early learning, primary and secondary day school, located in Queens Park, an eastern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The college provides education from ear ...

* Janet Hiller – epidemiologist * Dena Kaplan – actress * Naomi Milgrom – businesswoman * Shira Nayman - writer * Eva Orner – filmmaker and

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

winner *

Mark Regev Mark Regev (; born 1960) is an Australian-Israeli diplomat, government advisor and civil servant. Between June 2020 and April 2021, he served as the Prime Minister's Senior Advisor for Foreign Affairs and International Communications. From 2016 ...

– former spokesman for the Israeli Prime Minister and former ambassador of Israel to the United Kingdom *

Kim Rubenstein Kim Rubenstein ( ; born 1965) is an Australian legal scholar, lawyer and political candidate. She is a professor at the University of Canberra. She is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law and Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in A ...

– academic * Carol Schwartz – businesswoman * Harry Sheezel – AFL player at North Melbourne Football Club * David Southwick – Member of the Legislative Assembly in Victoria * Leon Zwier – Lawyer

Notable staff

* Eva Duldig, Austrian-born Australian and Dutch tennis player and author * James Kennard, educationalist and former principal of the school *Jason Shulman, aka hip hop artist

Reason Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing valid conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, religion, scien ...

References

External links

Mount Scopus Memorial College website
{{Authority control Educational institutions established in 1949 Eastern Independent Schools of Melbourne Jewish day schools Jewish schools in Melbourne 1949 establishments in Australia Buildings and structures in the City of Whitehorse Modern Orthodox Jewish day schools Modern Orthodox Judaism in Australia