B”H

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2013

VOLUME 2 ISSUE 2

10735 144th St, Edmonton, AB T5N 3L1 Phone: 780.451.1848 Fax: 780.451.2254 menorahacademy.org ~ office@menorahacademy.org

Proceeds go to Parent Council

Help support great school programming & spirit

Please see Office for more information

Rosh Hashana Tashlich Trip

Staff and students had a meaningful & fun-filled trip to Saskatchewan River and Louise McKinney Park . We started with a

meaningful teshuva story along with the Tashlich prayer & time for self-reflection, followed by exciting group-oriented

activities and games that brought everyone together for a great start to our new year!

Students are not the only ones always learning! In our quest to

stay on the cutting edge of education, we regularly offer staff

professional development! This year’s staff PD has focused on Jim

Fay’s methods of Love and Logic as well as Faber and Mazlish,

some of which we shared with parents at Orientation Night!

Pre-K held a Tashlich

Picnic including a make-

shift river & colourful

fish! Our children learned

all about the power of

teshuva and tefilah, and

how Hashem forgives us

and wants us to make

good choices! (We just

have to remember to let

only fish eat our crumbs!)

Menorah Academy had a supercharged Welcome Back to

School barbecue filled with exciting activities

including an inflatable castle & obstacle course,

balloon making, crafts, sports, and of course family time

and delicious food! Many families joined us for our high

octane energy event as we primed for an incredible

school year ahead!

Nursery class enjoyed making floor puzzles while learning aleph

bais & how to make colour patterns! Learning is so much fun!

Grade One took a pre-sukkah hop to their classmates sukkahs!

We saw different types of schach, decorations, and sukkah

boards. We ended at the Ghermezian's sukkah, where Rabbi

Draiman gave a hands-on presentation with his own lulav,

esrog, haddasim, and aravos.

Grade One Sukkah Field Trip

Morah Laufer, Mrs. Mintz

and their Kindergarten

class enjoyed creating and

sewing Shofar and Sukkah

decorations.

In honor of Rosh Hashana, Miss

Goldbarb and her grade 4/5

girls designed and constructed a

scale project representing a

person's mitzvos and aveiros.

The girls decorated the scales

and then filled the "mitzvos

side" with different mitzvos that

they wanted to work on.

Grade 4/5 Girls Create

Mitzvos Scales

How long have you been involved in

extreme sports? My first “extreme sports”

event, the Edmonton Coronation Triathlon

9X, happened in 2012. Since then, I started

participating in extreme obstacle races, zom-

bie races, colour race and night races.

What inspired you to start? I happened to be

driving by the Coronation Triathlon when the

Police blocked the roads for the event. I

pulled over to watch the athletes go by on

their bikes. Watching that event LIVE was

electrifying for me in wanting to

participate! I thought to myself: I am a good

swimmer and cyclist, and I am not the best

runner- but I will learn and try!

How many events do you participate in a

year? In 2012, four events. In 2013, 14

events scheduled.

Do you have a favourite

event? Tough Mudder

events are hardcore 18-20

km obstacle courses with

25-30 mi l i ta ry -s tyle

obstacles. Designed by

British Special Forces to

test mental as well as

physical strength, obstacles often play on

common human fears, such as fire, confined

spaces, water, electricity and heights. Tough

Mudder is not a race, but a challenge.

Teamwork and camaraderie come before

course time.

What do you like to do when not racing? If

I am racing abroad, I will plan exciting

adventures/experiences a week prior to the

race or after. I’m not afraid of trying new

things. For example, this summer I tried:

rappelling, zip lining, paddle boarding,

indoor surfing, archery, summer

bob-sledding, kayaking and hiking in the

desert.

Out of all your extreme sport experiences

which one has been the most

memorable? I hiked "The Wave" in Utah.

Only 20 people a day are allowed to visit,

and a lottery draw is done 3 months in

advance to secure a pass. The Wave is one of

the most photographed, visually

surreal, and world-renowned geologic

formations in the Southwestern United

States. My day was amazing, but also scary.

Heading back, I got lost for a time with very

little water left (from the 4 litres I brought)

for this desert hike. I was lucky to meet a

couple heading back as well.

What kind of training is involved? For some

of the races, just straight practicing helps.

With others, you need to develop a "mental

toughness" toward any unknown obstacle the

race may present against you. You need to be

in the mindset that you can and will over-

c o m e a n y o b s t a c l e . I f y o u

believe you will fail, you will fail. But first,

you need to try… if you fail, you will learn

for the next time and change up your

training. This can be said for training for a

race or dealing with any life situation:

success will come, but first you must try.

Was there ever a time when you asked

yourself.. what am I doing? Many times!

Just this past weekend, I was in Kamloops at

a Spartan Race. It was 2 degrees with 17cm

of snow on the mountain

which I had to run up and

down twice for over 21 km.

At the top, the temperature

dropped to -8 degrees with

2 8 o b s t a c l e s ,

including dragging cinder

blocks, carrying 2 40lbs

bags of sand, and hiking up

and down a 50 degree hill!

Are there any techniques you use to keep

yourself driven? Sure: Life is short! Try

new things! Don't wait till you are older to

work on a bucket list. Do it now while you are still able. I am afraid of heights, but I

always want to try rappelling. I set a goal and

found ways to achieve it. I signed up for a

rappelling course so I could get

familiar with the equipment and work on my

fear of heights at a local climbing gym. A

month later, I did two 30' rappels in a canyon

in Utah. Was I scared? You bet! I just

focused on what I had to do and not look

down.

Why should kids sign up for the Extreme

sports club? I can provide the insight

(training tips/ techniques) so your child can

complete a Kid's Triathlon like the Kids of

Steel or a biathlon (running and cycling). In

addition, I will challenge the students with

"kid friendly" obstacle courses in a bootcamp

style. My goal is to inspire self-confidence, a

sense of achievement, and motivate kids to

stay active.

———————————————— Entering his 3rd year at Menorah Academy, Mr. Frank

currently teaches the Grade 9 Boys, Computers, and Gym.

He also volunteers his time to Menorah

Academy’s Afterschool Clubs program, including

Computer Art, Sports and Extreme Sports.

Menorah Academy Focus on Teachers: Not Just Your Average Equation Specialists! As part of our commitment to strengthen the relationship between child, parent and teacher, this new column will focus on one of our

valued staff members and will appear in every issue of this year’s newsletters. Read about their amazing lives in and out of the classroom!

The Sky’s the Limit: Mr. Gary Frank, Extreme Sports Adventurer and Enthusiast

“My goal is to inspire

self-confidence, a

sense of achievement,

and motivate kids to

stay active.”

Menorah Academy Fall 2013

After School Clubs

A Parent Advisory Council Project

Share your milestones with your Menorah family!

Menorah Academy Staff & Parent

class-specific email lists were updated

on Thursday, August 15.

Many school-wide and grade-specific

emails have been sent out by the

school office and teachers since late

August, and will continue ahead.

Please send an email ASAP to

info@menorahacademy.org

for any corrections, additions, or to be

removed from a list.

Do you get office & teacher emails?

REGISTER NOW!! Email info@menorahacademy to reserve your spot!

Grab your FRIENDS, pick your CLUBS, rates go DOWN!

Clubs will run with at least 4 members

10% discount for 8 registrants 25% discount for 10 registrants

Payment is due AFTER notice of your child’s confirmed class registration,

and PRIOR to the first class.

MONDAYS Girls’ Choir With Miss Goldfarb

TUESDAYS Girls’ Israeli Dance With Rikud Academy

Boys’ Multisports Grade 2 & up With Rabbi Sass

WEDNESDAYS Extreme Sports With Mr. Frank

CLUBS THAT JUST NEED A FEW MORE TO RUN…

Please email info@menorahacademy.org TODAY to reserve your spot! Computer Class FOR PARENTS! Learn what YOU want! With Rabbi Draiman

Zumba Jewish Style! Grade 4 & up, parents welcome With Miss Sinyor

Chess With Mr. Famulak

Its not too late to join

CONFIRMED After School Clubs. Come see us on

Monday, October 7 with registration forms & payment. Visit menorahacademy.org for

registration forms.

From 4:00pm to 5:00pm

6 WEEKS! Clubs begin

Monday, October 7 and run to

Thursday, November 14

Clubs run weekly on a day to be chosen based on requests.