Much Ado About Nothing

Another Dr. Kutliroff production.  Another smashing success.  This time it was the Girls High School rendition of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing and once again two-thirds of our high school collaborated in bringing the 16th century playwright's masterful writing to life on stage.

What made this production stand out in my mind, was the fact that no one girl stole the show.  There were so many outstanding performances from so many different girls -  9th through 12th grades, dormers and in-towners alike -  that it truly spoke to caliber, capability, and talent of our girls as a whole.  Thank you again to Dr. Kutliroff and his trusted assistants and congratulations to all of the girls for a job beautifully done.

The slideshow below provides glimpses into what was a magical evening.  Click here for a web album with all the pictures.

3rd Grade Tal Am in Action

The 3rd grade, under the leadership of Morah Yehudit, demonstrated the power of the Tal Am program this morning, when they performed the story of Avraham Avinu for parents and students alike.  The performance used a mixture of prose, pesukim, and songs, all completely in Hebrew, to teach both the narrative of parashat Vayera as well as the practical lessons it offers for our lives.

Have a look at the clips below and notice the content knowledge, the Hebrew skills, and the excitement for learning which runs rampant in our 3rd grade classroom.

From Avraham play-11-24-10

From Avraham play-11-24-10

From Avraham play-11-24-10

From Avraham play-11-24-10

Celebrations in the CYHSB

These past few weeks have been chock full of celebrations in the Cooper Yeshiva High School for Boys. Starting with the Thursday night mishmar siyum by Mr. David Schlesinger, which, thanks to Jon Wogan, brought the community and our boys together to celebrate talmud Torah, to the weekend of celebrating our Torah MiTzion Kollel, to the most recent simchah - the birth of a baby boy to CYHSB principal, Rabbi Uriel Lubetski and his wife Shani, it's been one joyous occasion after another in our Boys High School.

Here are some pictures from the siyyum and the kollel weekend, including a special edition of our famed Friday afternoon chulent tisch:



And, hot off the press, here are the pictures from this morning's bris:

Torah MiTzion National Convention

Our school and community was privileged to host the national convention of Torah MiTzion Kollelim from across North America two weeks ago.  The shuls and school came alive with activity as 70 shlichim from Israel descended on Memphis for a weekend filled with learning, networking, teaching, and growing.  In honor of the event, our Memphis kollel created this video which offers just a taste of the wonderful work the Torah MiTzion Kollel does throughout our community.

Writing Award is Back!

The Dean's Writing Award is back up and running. Each month, one piece of student writing regarding Judaic Studies and one piece of student writing on a General Studies topic will be awarded the Dean's Writing Award.  The names of the nominees will be posted to our Dean's Writing Award Wikispace, and the work of our winners in each category will be posted as well, for all to see.  In addition, each of the winners will take a home a small gift card to Barnes and Nobles.  So, write away!

As we did not award the prize to anyone in September, I have selected 2 winners in our General Studies category for this month, and one in our Judaic Studies category.  The two General Studies winners are Lee Sauer (2nd Grade) for her story about firefighters and Alyssa Wruble (8th Grade) for her dramatic depiction of Middle Passage.  On the Judaic Studies side, the winner is Asher Finkelstein (8th Grade) who insightfully compared the lessons of  Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde with those of the Talmud.  Look at the wikispace for the names of the other nominees.

Congratulations to all and keep up the good work!

Pilgrims and Poems

Though the word Pilgrims at this time of year typically conjures images of the 17th century English dissenters who first colonized Plymouth Massachusetts, we had a different sort of Pilgrim marching through our campus earlier this week.  Though also English, these were the Chaucerian Pilgrims of the 14th century, traveling the countryside and commenting on society in metered rhyme.

With her Girls High School English class in the morning, and then with her Boys High School class in the afternoon,  Mrs. Hasenmeuller led her Pilgrims through the drizzle to various spots on campus where they paused and offered their own Chaucerian poem.

Of course, Mrs. Hasenmueller joined in the fun, and offered these "comments" on her "society" to her Girls High School class:

Cooper Invitational 2010

Just when we thought it couldn't get any better... it did.  All week long emails have been pouring in from across the continent with feedback on this year's tournament.  Here's a small smattering of what we're hearing from coaches and chaperones who participated in last weekend's event:

"I think you have a problem. This year's tournament was so well done, I don't see how you can top it next year.  From the changeover to using vans to a wonderfully balanced field of teams, this year's tourny was great.

I am sorry that I could not experience the community's hospitality but everyone I talked to said the same thing, how nice and warm and inviting thier hosts were. It is truely a wonderful testament to the Jewish community in Memphis."


"WOW!!! That is all I can say.  The tournament was an amazing success and Daniella and I were both honored to participate.

The tournament’s high level of play, shabbos experience, and fabulous speakers would have been more than enough to make for a successful and enjoyable weekend, but you went above and beyond with your friendly smile and warm welcome. Thank you for your hospitality, hard work, and for making Daniella and myself feel like we were part of a team.

I look forward to speaking with you in the near future and visiting Memphis again soon."


"I just wanted to thank you for your most gracious southern welcome to the staff from Yeshiva University. Coach Halpert said that you made him feel like a rock star. Our reports were that it was a very successful tournament. I’m just disappointed that MTA didn’t win in the finals."

"I must say that because of you and the Cooper Yeshiva family, the athletes in general, and my players in particular, had the experience of a lifetime that they will never forget. Literally for the rest of their lives they will carry with them the warmest and finest memories of their time in Memphis."

"I want to thank you and all of the people who helped you with this year’s Cooper Tournament. The Flatbush team truly had an experience of a lifetime and not just from a basketball perspective. The messages delivered by all your speakers are those that I hope all tournaments will strive to deliver to all kids in the future. You and all the people associated with the tournament should be very proud of this great accomplishment."

"Once again let me tell you how impressed I am with the quality of this tourney. Your leadership has turned this into the best Jewish tournament in the country bar non! Not even N. Y. Can compete now that you went streaming! Congrats on a job well done.......again!!"

Our deepest appreciation again goes out to Tournament Director, Josh Kahane, for his remarkable efforts in putting the event together. 


Below are some highlights from the weekend.  For all of the pictures from the tournament click here: Album 1, Album 2.