Maddy Ball Named Athlete of the Week on CBS12

Congratulations to Maddy Ball and to the Lady Eagles for an incredible season.

http://cbs12.com/sports/athlete-of-the-week/athlete-of-the-week-donna-kleins-maddy-ball

Rabin's Song for Peace

Rabin's Song for Peace

On November 4, 1995, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (z”l) was assassinated, and in that moment, Israeli society was forever changed. As music is a window into society, the way in which music swirled around the life and untimely death of Yitzhak Rabin – one of Israel’s first sabra (צבר, native born) leaders – provides interesting portals into Israeli society.

The song Shir LaShalom – words by Yaakov Rotblit and composed by Yair Rosenblum, written in 1969 – became the song of a generation. The song urges to “bring the day” that peace will come. Some feel that the song echoes Rabin’s famous speech at Hebrew University on June 28, 1967, in which he praises the sacrifice of the soldiers of the IDF and starkly reminds the country of the harsh casualty of war.

Originally performed by the Infantry Ensemble (Lehakat Hanachal) of the Israeli Defense Forces, its reception among the military leadership – of which Rabin had been a part – was controversial. Army officials such as Rehavam Ze’vi ("Gandhi") and Ariel Sharon forbade it from being performed in their areas of command, and as such, the song became representative of left-wing peace-oriented politics. Ultimately, it became an official campaign song for the left-wing Meretz party in the 1996 election.

It was with that association that Rabin – former Chief of Staff of the IDF and Commander during the Six Day War – took out a lyric sheet and the words of Shir LaSalom, alongside Shimon Peres, rock star Aviv Gefen, and tens of thousands attending a the peace rally in "Kings of Israel Square" (now "Rabin Square") in Tel Aviv.

Shir LaShalom (שיר לשלום, Song for Peace)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-oxRVJc3Sg

Aviv Geffen, son of Israeli poet and songwriter Yonatan Geffen, was just emerging on the music scene when Rabin became Prime Minister for the second time in 1992. By the time of the peace rally on that fateful night in 1995, Geffen was the rock star and symbol of young Israelis, and he and Rabin were close acquaintances.

Prior to the assassination, Aviv Geffen had written Livkot Lechah (To Cry For You) in memory of a friend who had been killed in a car crash. After the tragedy of Rabin's assassination, this song – performed at the memorial in Rabin Square just one week after Rabin's death – took on a new national meaning.

Livkot Lechah became a song of the “candle generation,” the mostly young mourners who came to light a memorial candle for their fallen leader. The square was covered with candles and melted wax.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja6Ud_c_xrU

Discussion Questions

• What songs in your memory transport you to a specific time and place?
• What songs or lyrics connect you with Israel?

Morah Sammy Lontok

High School Garden Club helps to revitalize the school’s organic garden, Shomrei Ha’adamah .

The group has planted Kale, Fennel, Dill, Basil, and other assorted herbs, “fruits,” and vegetables. Keep a lookout for herbs to cook with!

Pictured are Garden Club Members

Pep Rally for Girls Volleyball

Our school came together along with the 8th grade to cheer on the Lady Eagles as they prepare for the State Semifinal match this Saturday evening.

As a warm-up, they demolished the team seen in the picture below.

RHS Open House and FCIS Conference Highlights

This past week, we had the opportunity to share our school with prospective 9th graders and families at our Open House program. We were so proud of our student tour guides, as well as both of our students, Dylan Joseph and Abraham Waserstein, who spoke about our school and their experiences. We look forward to upcoming day visits from 8th grade students and meetings with families.

On Thursday, I traveled to Miami with other school leaders to attend the FCIS (Florida Council of Independent Schools) Conference. I attended sessions on the “Changing Landscape of College Admission,” “Building Resiliency in Students” and “What Education Will Look Like in 2025.” Additionally, I enjoyed keynote lectures on methods to help children succeed and on the power of mindfulness practices on the brain, the body and the individual as a whole.

Some of the ideas shared in these sessions included:

• New application procedures, fee waivers, marketing and revenue structures have increased the application pools to universities - both public and private - tremendously
• Schools across the country are looking to increase diversity in their student population
• Many schools are looking more at the whole individual - not just test scores and GPA - as they want to know how YOU will add to their campus
• Schools pay attention, even at a public university, if you have shown interest in their school prior to applying: did you visit, go on a tour, answer an email from them, etc.
• Our cultures highlight resume virtues when we really should be highlighting character virtues
• Grit and perseverance are better predictors for success than pure intellect
• In the world of the future,can we move from competition built on defeating to competition for development of collaboration, resilience, challenge; Can we see a loss or failure as a chance for growth?
• Cursive writing will be obsolete in 5 years and keyboards will be soon after; everything will move to audio and dictation
• Teaching is not the wave of the future; the teacher as facilitator, mentor and guide is the wave as all of the information is readily accessible
• Core academic (classroom) success will not be the core of the educational experience; creativity, compassion and critical thinking skills will be near the top as those are the items, coupled with intellect, that colleges and employers are seeking

Rabbi Lesack

 High School Creative Writing Elective Welcomes 8^th Graders

For the first time, Mr. Davis’s Creative Writing Elective is honored to have two writers from the middle school attending alongside high school students.  Sienna Tohar and Isabella Furst (Bella), both 8^th graders at DKJA Middle School, are enjoying a taste of high school rigor and creativity, while pursuing their passion for inventing stories. Both are serious creative writers, according to their instructor.  Bella has already published fiction on the internet, and Sienna is in the process of submitting a poem, to online publishers.  They are joined by sophomore Kaleigh Sislen, described by Mr. Davis as “a sophisticated, accomplished writer”.  Over the course of the semester-long elective, students produce a requisite number of pages of fiction and /or poetry, intended for publication.  Mr. Davis, a novelist and poet, uses a workshop approach to inspire and guide aspirants.  Writing exercises and prompts help stimulate their creativity, as do models from the pens of celebrated writers, such as Hemingway and Steven King.  “Happily,” states Davis, “the participating middle schoolers are a delight. Their dedication and talent makes them fit right in.”

By Mrs. Orly Noiman, Rosenblatt High School Guidance Counselor

Rosenblatt High School has created an incredibly diverse program, The Rosenblatt Teen Prevention Series. This program incorporates the education and awareness of the following topics: academic support, drug and alcohol awareness and prevention, relationships, stress management and self image. To this end a range of speakers are welcomed at Rosenblatt High School from a variety of organizations to support this program.

As our first presenter this year, we welcomed  the Living Skills in the Schools (LSIS) . The mission of this organization is to bring to schools the substance abuse prevention and education program in which age-appropriate presenters share their personal experiences with substance abuse and the importance of maintaining an addiction-free lifestyle.

ON

Orly Noiman, MSW

High School Guidance Counselor

Claire & Emanuel G. Rosenblatt 

Donna Klein Jewish Academy