The Members of Foundation

In 1982, Miri and Moshe with their two young children, Yaniv and Eido, emigrated from Israel.

One of the most important considerations in making this life-changing decision was to ensure their children would grow up in a community that supported Israel, respected their Jewish heritage and provided a quality education. For this transition they believed Mount Scopus College was the obvious school of choice for their children and this provided a sense of comfort as their new journey began.

Fast forward over thirty years and now Miri and Moshe have two grandchildren, Eli and Noah, at Mount Scopus. Like the generation before, selecting Mount Scopus was an obvious choice for their parents who share the same common values and principles of their parents and so many others.

Miri and Moshe and their family strongly believe in supporting Scopus so that it may continue to provide a remarkable educational, cultural and community experience – not only for the next generation of their own family, but for other families in less fortunate situations. This has become an important priority for their family.

They say “supporting the Foundation is the ideal way of making quality education a reality in the long term for many generations to come”.

We warmly thank them for appreciating the value of Scopus for our community. We welcome them to the level of Founder and look forward to dedicating the Miri and Moshe Meydan Family Plaza in honour of their generosity.

The Pomeroy /Mount Scopus connection is now over 55 years old, beginning when Dug Pomeroy was enrolled in 1961 to graduate in 1969.

The connection was reinforced with Dug and Jill Pomeroy’s children, Lisa OC ‘95 and Mark OC’ 98, attending the school. Mark, with Clare, now continues the tradition with the third generation of Pomeroys - Zac is in upper kinder and Toby will start in 2018.

It may appear that tradition is the motivating force behind the long association with the school, however it is much more than that.

They believe that the College provides a broad and excellent education with solid social values as well as an overall grounding in Jewish heritage. As a family they have most willingly supported and been involved with the Foundation from its inception, knowing that annually the Foundation responsibly provides assistance to children who otherwise could not afford to receive a Scopus education and funds numerous building programs that the School undertakes in order to keep up with the latest standards in educational facilities.

Dug believes the Foundation, in many ways, is the ‘Fountain of Youth’ for the school and says their family is proud to be associated with it.

We thank the Pomeroy Family for their longstanding and ongoing commitment and celebrate their support at Founder level and as recipients of the Yvonne and Leon Fink Memorial Award for Commitment to Jewish Education.

Bonnie and Adrian Blashki

Adrian OC’70 and Bonnie enjoy looking both backwards and forwards at their Scopus connections.

Adrian’s parents, the late Eugenia and Arnold Blashki MBE, came from long established Australian Jewish families. They were very much involved in the earlier days of Scopus with Eugenia, especially, being a powerful force. They quickly became Foundation members at its inception with Eugenia’s great love for music influencing the direction of their gifts to the development of music and performing arts programs. She honoured her own parents, Sima and Jacob Taft, by dedicating a music studio and was always involved and interested in the College’s progress in this area.

Adrian and Bonnie have continued supporting the Foundation, as part of the Eugenia Blashki Family, and have honoured Eugenia in turn by dedicating a music classroom.

Their three children Courtney, Devon and Erin are also proud Scopus graduates and the family have recently celebrated Devon’s marriage to Rachael, who was a fellow student in his year at school. They say they have a lot to thank Scopus for!

We thank them for their ongoing support and interest and for being such great Scopus ambassadors. We honour them as Benefactors and look forward to their further generational involvement.

Elaine Bloch-Jaffe began her association with us six decades ago as a graduate kindergarten teacher at the Kew Campus of Mount Scopus College. At that time, in 1952, Abe Feiglin was Principal and Elaine was recently married to a young lawyer named Arnold Bloch. Elaine was no stranger to communal life, having travelled from her birthplace of Manchester to Australia in 1938 when her father Rabbi Freedman was invited to take up the pulpit of Melbourne Hebrew Congregation.

The Blochs became parents when their eldest, Susan [Boltin], began school in 1960. Four other children followed.

By 1965 Arnold was President of the College and Elaine a regular hostess for visiting VIPS, shlichim and speakers. “So I was there through [Bursar] Cyril Ashton and [Foundation Executive Director] Jim Myers,” Elaine relates “and didn’t we have some amazing events? I
remember lots of auctions. At one I bought a car! At another, one prize was twelve first class tickets to the USA. A donor bought it and gave a ticket each to everyone on his table!” Whether it was collecting goods for the Annual Bazaar or “roneo-ing” the weekly newspaper,
Elaine was involved. “We were considered very advanced to have a roneo machine but we still had to collate each issue,” she recalls. Arnold Bloch was made a Life Governor of Mount Scopus in recognition of his work, and Beit Aharon, the Arnold Bloch shule at Gandel Besen
House, is named for him.

After Arnold’s untimely death at only 56, Elaine was invited more and more into the spotlight, taking on speaking engagements beginning with a speech at her eldest granddaughter’s Batmitzvah. Two of her children and several grandchildren have settled in Israel but there
have been Mount Scopus graduates in each generation, and with 40 great-grandchildren to date, the dynasty is going strong.

Elaine was a ‘foundation’ Foundation member from the very beginning and remains a staunch supporter of the College. Plenty of women might be slowing down at this stage of life but Elaine is convinced “it doesn’t matter what your age is, there is always some way you
can contribute.”

David Moses was born in Carlton and began as a pupil at Mount Scopus in its earliest days at Caulfield synagogue and then St Kilda Road, transferring to the brand new Burwood campus in 1955, and graduating in 1962.

He remembers great times including being taught in a temporary block in Secondary while new buildings were going up around him, and the particular fun (for the students) where Burwood Highway made a deep dip (near modern day Deakin) and the school bus was unable to pass over an overflowing Gardiner’s Creek, necessitating that everyone got out and walked the rest of the way!

Upon meeting Helen at the dances sponsored by ’Club 97’ and beginning to raise a family, there was no discussion. Their children were educated at Mount Scopus and now three grandchildren have continued the family tradition.

For this family, as for so many of us, the College has enabled them to forge lifetime friendships. David commented that “Mount Scopus Memorial College is in my blood; it is part of my DNA; it will always be close to my heart.”

Helen and David joined the Foundation in 2014 and this year became Benefactors. When David addressed the Grandparents and Special Friends Day last year he asked us “to reflect on the incredible & miraculous growth of the College -  this is of course by no small means due to incredible efforts in terms of time & particularly financial support & bequests from many notable individuals, families & institutions- all of whom have had the foresight to appreciate the need & benefit of nurturing our present & future generations to achieve excellence in academic studies to provide a pathway to their future  as well as implanting a strong sense of Yiddishkeit, love for Medinat Yisrael, valued citizens of this wonderful country & moral community awareness & responsibility.”

The Stock family were fortunate to have fled Vienna in the period immediately preceding the outbreak of the Second World War. Their influence upon the growth of the Melbourne Jewish community has been profound and their association with Mount Scopus has now entered its fifth generation.

Karen Stock Schnall (OC73) and her husband Danny Schnall (OC70) recently renewed their commitment to the Foundation.

Karen recalls her earliest involvement with the school when she accompanied her grandfather Sigmund, who chaired one of the College’s earliest Building Committees, to the College grounds. Sigmund’s son, Garry, would go on to become President of the College. Karen too has held many significant roles from leading the Presentation Ball Committee in 1997 to being President of the Parents’ Association and Vice President of the College. Karen is a Life Governor and maintains an active interest in the College.

The Stock family has had a long standing passion for the performing arts. Karen recalls that her parents loved attending performances in the Rose Hall featuring their grandchildren. In 1996, the family’s philanthropy led to the dedication of the Susie and Eric Stock Drama Studio which was ultimately incorporated into the Besen Family Performing Arts Centre. In 2005, Karen dedicated the screen and image as part of the redevelopment of the Slezak Multimedia and Technology Centre in memory of her father.

Karen says that while she is incredibly excited at  having  grandchildren enrolled at Scopus she recognises the enormous commitment required by families to provide a Jewish day school education for their children. “My mother valued the sense of identity and community which Scopus instilled in us. Danny and I appreciated all that Scopus gave us and we have treasured the experiences of our children through the Scopus journey. But we also recognise the sacrifices which many families make. If we can help alleviate that burden in some small way then we feel we are carrying on to uphold our family’s history and values”

Rosie Davis OC ‘69 is thrilled that her three children, Victoria-Lea, Jamie and Bradley together with their partners Tal, Robyn and Nicole, have also chosen Scopus for her grandchildren’s education. Of her seven grandchildren, four are current students with another three to commence over the next few years.

Rosie’s late parents, Jack and Judy Sperling, both Holocaust survivors, instilled in Rosie not only the importance of a Jewish education but also the value of being in a Jewish environment. They truly believed it created a stronger Jewish identity, instilling ‘Yiddishkeit’ and providing the feelings of comfort and confidence.

Rosie recalls that Scopus provided, for both her and her children, a high level of educational programs and critical values combined with longlasting friendships and a powerful sense of community.

These days, Rosie is noticing with great pleasure how her grandchildren are taught and says “it warms my heart to see how they embrace and love all things Jewish. Surely this feeling, underpinned by knowledge, will guarantee them making good choices and perpetuating our traditions. In the world of today, I believe it is vitally important they have a sense of belonging and know who they are. Scopus is giving them that.”

We thank and welcome the Rosie Davis Family for their ongoing support and welcome them this year to the level of Fellow.

Caroline, OC’77, (nee Sweet) and Alan firmly believe that not all people come into the world with the same skills and abilities, let alone opportunities. They also believe that education is a foundation stone of Jewish values. That is why they have sent their children to Scopus and encouraged them in turn, to send their children to the College.

Alan says “the Scopus experience offers outstanding secular learning combined with a traditional Jewish education that provides children with the opportunity to make choices and make decisions based upon sound values. These choices are broad today; and they not only lead to the traditional academic motifs of medicine, law and commerce, but now extend to technology, arts and a range of commerce, sciences and other options that encourage children to pursue courses that interest them and align with their talents. Scopus provides this platform in a caring and nurturing environment.”

They understand that sacrifices for parents are great, but say the rewards are overwhelming. “Our family has enjoyed great satisfaction over decades at the school and we hope and expect that our grandchildren will benefit and enjoy the experiences Scopus offers and contribute towards the improvement of our community, country and world in which we live”.

Thank you Caroline and Alan for sustaining your beliefs and your support.

Guy and Tali Biran are new Foundation members who joined our Scopus family five years ago, when their eldest commenced high school.

Raising children with Jewish traditions and with proud Jewish identity in Australia requires a conscious, constant effort and this is why their Jewish education is so important.  Tali explains that they chose Mount Scopus because “Guy and I wanted our children to attend a Modern Orthodox Jewish school so they can be exposed to the vast range of traditions, knowledge and Jewish experiences so that one day they can make their own informed choices. MSMC plays a key role in establishing the foundations they require to make their own choices as young Jewish individuals. One day, our children will be able to choose as little or as much as they wish to practice as Jews; the choice will be theirs to make.”

Of particular value to Tali and Guy are the many priceless benefits well beyond the academics, such as raising children who know very well who they are and are proud of their Jewish heritage. They see that the school “has a pivotal role in strengthening our children’ Jewish identity and nurturing their Jewish soul. This is evident in every school event and celebration and is a testament to the endless efforts made by staff, both from the formal and informal departments.”

The Biran family is part of a small but growing set of Foundation members where neither is an Old Collegian. Growing up in Israel, they admit it’s often easy to take our Jewish heritage and traditions for granted as there’s no need to constantly make sure we preserve our traditions. “When you live in Israel,” they say “it’s all around you. We feel very fortunate that our three children have the opportunity and privilege to enjoy the Jewish education of MSMC.”

For Tali, the Foundation ensures the longevity of all these incredible benefits for our children and future generations. Guy adds that he has recently joined the College Council and encourages anyone who wishes to contribute to get involved.

“As Scopus marks its 70^th birthday, says the Biran family, “we hope that college will continue to thrive and develop to ensure the continued service to our community. We also hope that Scopus will be celebrating it’s 80^th birthday in Caulfield!!!”

In the early 1980s, Agnes and Joel Freeman started looking for a school for their young son.  Not only was the Kew campus of Scopus conveniently a few hundred metres from their home, but they felt it was also the best Jewish and secular education available for their three children.  The teaching of Jewish traditions closely aligned with the Freemans and after Jeremy’s enrolment into kinder, their daughters Larissa and Vanessa soon followed.

 Agnes joined the School board, and was actively involved in efforts to sustain the Kew campus.She devoted countless hours to the College including establishing and growing the annual fashion parade into a major event, participating on the Ulpan sub-committee for many years, overseeing the relaunch of the school uniform and was Ball President in 2000. Agnes was appointed a Life Governor of the College in recognition of her dedication.  

 After graduating, their three children all partnered old collegians of the College keeping the connection to Scopus strong.  Now as grandparents, Agnes and Joel take great pleasure watching the next generation of their family enjoy the same values given to their own children.  As Joel comments “we are proud and delighted that our 6 grandchildren are (or soon will be) Scopus students.  In particular the sense of Jewish continuity and education is of vital importance to us.”

 Earlier this year, the Freemans joined the Foundation, because they “felt it was the right time and we are lucky enough to be in a position to do so.  It also sets an example within our family for future generations.”