In conversation with Shula Lazar
"It's a school that when you walk in the doors you are living Jewishly all day, every day that you are at Yavneh, and I'm so thrilled to be part of that."
SHULA Lazar has taken the helm as the new principal of Leibler Yavneh College, bringing her extensive teaching experience to the Modern Orthodox Zionist Melbourne school.
Speaking to The AJN about her new position, she said, “We have amazing Jewish schools in Melbourne, we all have our own place and space, and I’m excited to be part of a school that reflects my own Jewish ideology, and to help Yavneh continue its journey to be the very best, practising Modern Orthodox Zionist school it can be.”
The former principal of Perth’s Carmel School, she is working in and out of the classroom, teaching year 8 maths alongside her other duties.
“I always think it’s important for principals to teach, it helps us get to know the kids, it helps us get to know the systems, what’s working and not working in the school, but being a principal is really about leading the teaching and learning of a school,” Lazar shared.
“I’ve had the privilege of teaching across quite a few learning areas. So when I started off, I taught prep Jewish studies, and that then morphed into a few music classes, I then did VCE economics, I’ve done Jewish studies, I’ve done maths.
“So I’m hoping that my experience across both primary and secondary Jewish and general, helps me understand what is best practice in the classroom, and then I can create a supportive environment to ensure that our teachers can be the best that they can be, and our students can learn the best they can too.”
Despite only just taking up the role, Lazar is already getting to know the cohort of around 670 students.
“The school spirit is unbelievable, that’s what I’m excited about at Yavneh. You come to this school and the assemblies are full of life and laughter, and we have students who are excited about their Judaism, and they know how to practise it. It’s a school that when you walk in the doors you are living Jewishly all day, every day that you are at Yavneh, and I’m so thrilled to be part of that.”
The Leibler Yavneh College Foundation recently hosted an event welcoming the new principal. Guests were treated to the extraordinary talents of some of Yavneh’s music students and an inspirational keynote speech by Lazar on “The economics of Jewish education”.
“We have the world’s best music program that brings such soul to our school,” she told The AJN.
Lazar, who taught at Yavneh before moving to Perth in 2016, is following in her mother’s footsteps – she was head of secondary at Yavneh for many years.
“My mother was an integral part of the Yavneh story and there are so many students whose education was shaped by her being here. My mother really is a Yavneh icon,” Lazar told The AJN.
Her time at Carmel cemented her community focused approach and she plans to bring that with her to Yavneh.
She said, “The more one puts into the community, the more one feels that they belong. So it’s not about what is the community going to do for me, it’s about what am I going to do for the community.”
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