JconnecT Update

Two years ago we conceived of the idea of harnessing the growing field of online education to expand our capability as an educational center for small Jewish communities in the South and beyond.  Whereas for decades we have served such communities through our high school dormitory programs, which cater to kids from communities that either don't have any Jewish high school or don't have a high school with a mission similar to ours, web conferencing technology opened up new opportunities for us to bring high quality Jewish education to middle and high school students in these communities rather than relying on them coming to us.  We then took this idea to a group of talented educators in Israel known as JETS who had the know-how to make it happen, and the JconnecT program was born.

I am proud to say that this coming year will feature our largest and most diverse JconnecT class ever with students from Charlotte, NC, Birmingham AL, Corpus Christy, TX, Jacksonville, FL, Atlanta, GA, Kansas City, MO, Vancouver, BC, and Portland, ME.

It's not too late to join, so if you know a student not currently in a Jewish Day School who is looking for a high quality supplementary school option, encourage them to watch the video above and to visit our site at www.bit.ly/jconnect .

Richard Lewis Named National Coach of the Year

Jewish Hoops America recently named Richard Lewis, the Cooper Yeshiva High School's Varsity Basketball Coach, as this year's National Coach of the Year.

The organization, which tracks, ranks, and promotes JV and Varsity basketball from Jewish teams across North America wrote the following in their announcement:

The Coach of the Year award goes to Richard Lewis of Cooper Yeshiva-Memphis, who led the Maccabees to their best record ever (27-5), a Tier I appearance at the Cooper Invitational and the Tier II title at the Sarachek Tournament. The Maccabees finished at #14 in the national JHA rankings. 

Richard, who until now has been better known for the outstanding player he was both at the CYHSB and then at Yeshiva University, is now being recognized for what may be even more impressive than any of his previous basketball achievements: taking a small group of guys from a very small school, building them up as people, teammates, and athletes, and inspiring them to give absolutely everything they have each and every time they walk out on the court.  It is the first time this award has been given to a coach from a school not located in the big Jewish communities of New York, LA, or Chicago and it is most deserved.

Congratulations to him and to his star point guard and pupil, Eli Osdoba, who was selected as a Jewish Hoops First Team All-American.