a message from nancy
TRANSCRIPT
Mabat At a Glance
In This IssueExciting Zachs Family
Challenge for FOSS
donations!
A Message from Nancy
Save the Date for Ner Tamid!
Gesher's Special Birken
Tour
Latkes and RELISH
Harvesting Potatoes!
Schechter's Warmth
During the Holidays
Middle School Hanukkah
Jeopardy is a Winner!
Passing the Torch
Passing the Torch
Passing the Torch
Passing the Torch
Schechter SchoolOffice Hours (Winter):
Monday- Thursday8am -4pm
Friday8am- 2:30pm
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For Your Calendar:
January 2Classes Resume
Shabbat ShalomParashat VayigashCandlelighting 4:06 pm
December 22 , 2017 4 Tevet, 5778
Exciting Zachs Family Challenge for FOSS donations!
Donate Now!
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January 12EC RELISH
January 15Martin Luther King
DaySchool OPEN
Prospective StudentsDay
MLK Celebration
January 17Middle School
Restructuring InfoMeeting for Parents
January 18Chumash
PresentationRimonim
January 19 End of Term 1
January 22Lower School Report
Card InformationMeeting for Parents
7pm
January 25 Parparim Shema
Program
Tallit Family Programfor 6th grade families
January 31MakerSpace Night for
Parents
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Quick Links
Solomon SchechterWebsite
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6th Day
A Message from Nancy
"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Theseare the enduring, historic words heardby millions of people all over the worldas astronaut Neil Armstrong set foot onthe moon in July, 1969. These fewwords spoke volumes of the generichuman yearning to conquer space andjump boldly into the future.
Except-that's not exactly whatArmstrong uttered on that July day. With technology not quite what it istoday, a word was lost in transmission. What he actually said was, "That's one small step for a man, onegiant leap for mankind." That one small letter "a" changes themeaning completely, indicating that one person can effect achange that has unbounded repercussions. This week's parasha,"Vayigash" provides a powerful example.
This week's reading opens with the word, vayigash, meaning "hestepped forward." Just two weeks ago in Parashat Vayeshev,Judah convinced his brothers not to kill Joseph but rather to sellhim into slavery. In that way, Joseph's blood would not be on theirhands. "After all, he is our brother, our own flesh." Not a great signof brotherly love. In the time that has passed, Judah has seen hisfather destroyed by the loss of Joseph, and now he is faced withreturning home without Benjamin, the only remaining child ofJacob's beloved Rachel.
It is at this point that Judah has his "Neil Armstrong moment." Vayigash: Judah takes one step forward, taking responsibility forhis younger brother, Benjamin, and for his father's peace of mind. In that one step forward, Judah creates an opening for Joseph toreveal his identity to his brothers and for the reunification andhealing of this painfully broken family. Just as Armstrong's stepbroke through the limit of the "final frontier" of space, Judah's onestep changed the course of our story, setting the stage for theenslavement of the descendants of Jacob, the freeing of theslaves, the receiving of Torah at Sinai and the creation of the nationof Israel in the Land of Israel.
We hear so much about the power of one these days, and I am soproud that our students understand at a very early age that theycan harness that power when they take one step forward to helpothers. Making peanut butter sandwiches, donating non-perishable food items, sharing a toy with a friend, inviting aclassmate to join a game: these actions all involve taking a stepforward and inviting change.
Candlelightingwith
Roni and Tomer
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Mazel Tov to....
Alex and BellaMedvedovski
on the Bar Mitzvah oftheir son Matthew
(7th Grade)
&
Gregory and Michelle
As we move into Shabbat Vayigash, what will be your "NeilArmstrong moment"-or better yet, what will be your "Judahmoment"?
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Announcing our Honorees for Ner Tamid!
Save the Date for Ner Tamid!
Evening of Sunday, April 29, 2018at Beth El Temple
We are thrilled to announce that this year's honorees
are Eric and Jessica Zachs and their children, Ben and Paige, Jacob, and Zoë.
The Zachs family exemplifies Schechter's core values ofChochma (Wisdom), Klal Yisrael (Community) andLev Tov (Good Heart). We hope you will join us to
celebrate Schechter and our honorees.
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Follow Schechter on Twitter & Facebook!!! To keep up with all the happenings at SSDS,
Follow us on Twitter HERE and on Facebook HERE
Patchenon the Bar Mitzvah of
their sonWilliam (7th Grade)
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Schechter Offers ourCondolences to....
Gerald Gelles, David and Robin
Gelles, Schechter alumniAlisha and Ronald
Cipriano, Stefanie andDavid Ochs, and
Matthew (Schechter2002) and Tracey
Gelles, and
Olivia, Ella, and JordanCipriano
on the passing ofbeloved wife, mother,
grandmother, andgreat-grandmother
Phyllis Gelles
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Join Our List
Would you like agrandparent, relative, orfriend to receive theSchechter newsletter?Email [email protected] and includethe name, email address,and relationship toSchechter and we will addthem to our list!
RELISH 12.15.17
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Music Tech Coming Soon to Middle School!
Hello Schechter Community!
I am excited to share with you a project that I have been working on since my start this past July.Starting the second term, I willbe teaching a hybridmusic/technology course called"Music Tech Studio."
The newly re-imagined spaceincludes 17 Digital AudioWorkstations that will be usedfor teaching advancedrecording and music productiontechniques to Schechter middle school students. Each studentworkstation is equipped with a full instance of "PreSonus" industrystandard music production software, digital keyboards donated byFrances and Herman Kroshinsky and Joann Temkin (z"l), andother music apps. The studio also features a Zoom mobilerecording interface, as well as various instruments and equipmentfrom donors Chris and Samantha Brainard of Shelton, CT.
The Music Tech Studio is aspace where students canengage with one another viaproject-based learning. Theclassroom environment willbe immersed in creativityand advanced technology,
and is aimed at fostering the growth and development ofmusicianship. Stay tuned for more info!
- Mr. Debicella
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Student Council Hot Chocolate Sales Provide New Balls!
Student council donated funds from the sale of cocoa to purchasenew basketballs for the PEprogram. Students came up withthe idea on their own and thenconsulted with Mr G on thespecific needs for the school."Let's do something for theschool," proposed 8th graderMichael W. as the students weredeveloping the idea.
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MORE great news from Schechter alumni!
Three Schechter alumni, Joey Kornman (2015), Dylan Landau(2014), and Jake Zweifler, competed on behalf of Hall High School
in "As Schools Match Wits," a high school televised triviacompetition.
Hall won the first round! They will advance to round two!
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MORE Latkes andRELISH !!
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Important Dates Coming Up!
You can always find important dates listed on our websitecalendar, and also in the margins of our Mabat each week. We'vegot some dates that we don't want you to miss, so we are listingthem here this week. Mark your calendars!
January 12EC RELISH
January 15Martin Luther King Day: School OPENProspective Students Day and MLK Celebration7pm MLK Program (See flyer below!)
January 177pm Middle School Restructuring Info Meeting for Parents
January 18Chumash Presentation in Rimonim
January 19 End of Term 1
January 227pm Lower School Report Card Information Meeting for Parents
January 25
9am Parparim Shema Program7pm Talit Family Program for 6th grade families
January 317pm MakerSpace Night for Parents
February 43pm Schechter Talent Show
February 14Middle School Science Fair (Time TBD)
February 252:30-4:00pm Hamentashen and RELISH!
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World Dance with Ms. Kate and Judy Poltorak
World Dance is a wonderful new program that has been added toSchechter's array of after school activities. It combinesgeography, history, culture, and social studieswith the fun of dance!
During the fall session,students learned aboutIndia, Hawaii and thePolynesian Islands, aswell as many differentSpanish-speakingcountries. The studentsfirst learned how tolocate the countries on amap, and then learned a variety of dances from those places. Thetypes of dances included Hawaiian and Tahitian, Cha-Cha and Salsa,and Hindi and Bhangra Dance. Nava K. said, "I liked learning thedifferent Hawaiian moves, especially the one that looks like lava."The students practiced each style of dance for two weeks andthen put them all together for a performance. This session, thedancers decided to perform in front of the Rimonim class and theirparents.
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Milo explained, "I like world dance because you get to learndifferent dances from different countries and the dances are reallyfun!"
The next session, led again by Kate and Judy Poltorak, will bestarting January 9th! This will be a 9 week session with 2 weeks foreach style of dance and 3 weeks to prepare for the performanceon March 16th at 2:00pm in the auditorium. The styles of dancethat will be done in this session include African, Irish Step, andMore Latin (Cumbia and Flamenco)! According to Noah, WorldDance is "one of the best after school activities!"
Come join in on all the fun! Iliana's message to other Schechterstudents: "If you like to dance, you will like World Dance!"
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Gesher's Inside View of Airplane Manufacturing
Gesher students took a field trip to Birken Manufacturing inBloomfield to learn about parts that the company manufacturesfor airplane engines. The students were able to see first-hand theprocess of inception or blue prints through completion. Manythanks to Gary Greenberg for the invitation and Eric Schneider(EC4 Teacher Bonnie's husband) for their in-depth tour.
The insider tour was especially meaningful to the students afterMr. Greenberg visited them in Schechter's High-Tech MakerSpaceat the culmination of their wind turbine projects.
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Latkes and RELISH!!!
Thank you to Jason Kay, Jamie Debicella, Chrissy Whalen, and LeahBerson for making our Community-wide Hanukkah Celebration asuccess! And thanks to all who came to celebrate with Schechter!!!
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Harvesting Potatoes!!
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Thoughtful Donations Made to South Park Inn
The Schechter community continues to live up to our core value ofLev Tov (Good Heart), this time providing for people in need! Thisweek, the South Park Inn Homeless Shelter received a wonderfuldonation made by faculty and families including:
17 scarves lovingly hand-made by Nancy Rosen, June Renert, andSusan Kippur (grandmother of Rimonim's Asher), 6 fleece hats for children, 2 sets of hats and scarves, an assortment of children's mittens and other store-boughtscarves!
Thanks so much to everyone who helped participate! You have
brightened people's spirits and kept their bodies warm!
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Hanukkah Jeopardy for the Win!
Middle School students tested their knowledge of Hanukkahhistory, customs, and practices with a lively game of Jeopardy ledby Hebrew teacher Shay Bachar. Post-game Sufganiyot acelebratory snack for everyone!
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News from the Kitchen
We are excited to introduce some new lunch offerings for the newyear. Two new menu items will be offered : Breakfast Buffet will make its debut inJanuary and will include waffles, scrambledeggs, mini bagels with cream cheese andmini yogurt parfaits. Students will be able totry just one or all of these offerings, if theychoose to. In February, look out for our kosher versionof Chick-fil-A , a chicken patty sandwich accompanied by condiments and gourmet side salads such ascole slaw and cucumber salad. This past Monday, we offered raviolis for the first time in a fewyears; we would love to get feedback from the kids on how theyliked it. As always feel free to email us at [email protected] withfeedback, comments or suggestions for us. We are always in needof parent volunteers to help serve lunch. Please let us know if youare interested in helping out. January and February menus have been posted on Renweb.Please remember to enter your orders over vacation. Wishing everyone a Happy Chanukah and Happy New Year.Leah Berson & Danielle Weiss Back to top
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Audrey So bel and Rhianno n Van Bindsbergen, Co -Edito rsSo lo mo n Schechter Day Scho o l o f Greater Hartfo rd