On a bright sunny day in October, Jack Smorgon AO -Steering Committee Chair, and Ron Finkel - Co-chair of the Arava-Australia Leadership Group (ALG), toured some of the sites and activities supported by the Partnership in the Arava together with Partnership Director Rina Peretz Gal and reciprocal relations coordinator Nili Lipsky. The first stop on the tour was the Shittim School orchard, a community project which includes a greenhouse and net houses, a technological hothouse, cages for rabbits and birds, a goat pen, fish ponds and more. Each class comes to the orchard for one hour a week and studies a subject that is particularly suited to it, enabling the children to actually experience some of the subjects studied in the school.

During the visit to the orchard Jack was interviewed by community television activist Jane Ditshee, for a short film to be produced in English. Jane was herself born in Australia, and her son Tom was a member of the student delegation to Australia in 2006. In addition, it should be noted that the community television project itself was funded almost solely by the Partnership for many years, so the interview was particularly fitting.

The tour also included a visit to the Science for All project at the school, the site of the planned art exhibition in December, and the site for the "Australian Corner" project, which is to be implemented by local sculptors. The project calls for the establishment of a special place in the Arava to recognize the connection between the two communities. The visit concluded at Park Sapir, where a Health Day was being held by the school, and the visitors partook of fruit, vegetables and homemade bread together with the students.

On the previous evening the Steering Committee met to approve projects for funding from the 2008 budget. Thanks to the outstanding work of the subcommittees in Israel and Melbourne (the ALG), the meeting proceeded smoothly, and a fruitful and enjoyable year of activities is confidently expected.