Dean's Writing Award Winners

With all the excitement surround Pesach, we didn't get a chance to announce the March winners of the Dean's Writing Contest. We again had the pleasure of choosing from lots of great selections covering many different topics, many different genres, and from many different grades. This month's winner in the Judaic Studies category was 2nd grader Edya Finkelstein, and the winner in the General Studies category was 3rd grader, Shmuel Meir Perl. Click here to see the list of nominees and to read the work of each of the finalists.

Yom Ha-Shoah

The remarkable talents of our Torah MiTzion Kollel and our Bat Ami girls, as well as those of Moreh Shimshon, were on full display today's moving and thought-provoking Yom Ha-Shoah program. The program began with grades three through twelve entering a darkened gym through a "tunnel" of Holocaust pictures which helped them create mental picture of at least some element of the tragedy. With a visual image in mind, each student then lit a candle which, together with those of all of our other students, formed two Jewish stars.

The students then sat for a presentation which began with Yizkor for victims of the Nazi genocide then segued into a dramatic performance based on letters sent between brothers living on opposite sides of Europe as Hitler came to power. The presentation ended with a reading from a little girl who described her feeling upon entering a concentration camp followed by a chilling rendition of Ani Ma'amin and Ha-Tikvah.

To make the program even more personal, grades 7-12 then took part in an additional segment in which they traced the life story of a particular Jew through the Holocaust years and then came together to talk and discuss what the Holocaust means to them personally and to us as Jews.

Yasher kochachem to all to who helped put the program together.

Chametz that was in your possession over Pesach is no longer good after Pesach, but pictures that were in your possession (and never made it onto your blog) are definitely still good. So...here are some snapshots of the various programs and activities held throughout the school in the weeks leading up to our Pesach break in an effort to prepare our students for this yom tov. From the Early Childhood parents Pesach program to the Girls High School Yom Iyyun and everything in between, it was truly a special time of year.

2nd Grade Pesach Play

Words cannot describe the spectacular job our 2nd grade, under the direction of Morah Rachel, did on yesterday's Pesach play, so I'm hoping these clips can...

From 2nd Grade Pesach Play

From 2nd Grade Pesach Play

From 2nd Grade Pesach Play

From 2nd Grade Pesach Play

From 2nd Grade Pesach Play

For more pictures from the play click here.

Krupp And Cooper Beat The Buzzer To Head Into Tier-II Finals

Coverage of last night's game from Macslive.com...


Jason Kirshner and Mark Rocklin

Published on: 03/30/2009

March 29, 2009 (MacsLive Reporting Services, New York) – The second Tier II semifinal of Big Sunday featured two teams that live and die on their shooting. Tonight’s headline story would be the hot hand of Joel Bowman (17 points), the Cooper Macs 6”4 guard, who camped out at the three point arc, on his way to propelling the Cooper Macs past a good Maimonides M-Cats squad, 49-47.

The full throttle defense of both the (13) Cooper Yeshiva Macs and the(9) Maimonides M-Cats held each team scoreless for the first 4 minutes and 30 seconds of the game when Ari Packer would fly to the rim putting in the acrobatic lay-up sparking his team on a 7-0 run. The M-Cat defense and cheering section proved too much for the Macs to handle, until Joe Bowman would rally the Macs back into the game on his three point touch. But Ben Zack of Maimo was also feeling the rhythm knocking down three-pointers of his own, and at the end of one quarter it was M-Cats leading 13-8.

The start of the second quarter looked like a carbon copy of the start of the first as both teams picked up their intensity and wouldn’t allow the ball into the cylinder, until unsung hero from the first quarter, Bowman, would continue his touch draining the long ball. On their ensuing possession Cooper hit another three point field goal taking the lead 14-13. The Maimonides M-Cats did not panic, making a little run for themselves and going into the half leading 22-16...

Read the rest at Macslive.com

Tal Am in Action

While a bit belated, I couldn't help but post this clip from our 3rd grade Purim puppet show a few weeks ago. It displays so beautifully the strides we have taken in facilitating natural acquisition of Hebrew language through the implementation of the Tal Am program and the creation of Hebrew immersion environments for all Judaic studies in grades one through four.

Names, Not Numbers

Two hundred and sixty people from across the community came out last night to view Names, Not Numbers: A Movie in the Making. The documentary film told the story of the oral history project which our seniors embarked upon this year under the direction of Rabbi Gersten, in which they researched, interviewed, filmed, and edited the stories of 6 local Holocaust survivors and one concentration camp liberator.

The evening began with a dinner for the students and their families together with the interviewees and their families. It then proceeded with a formal program in which those who had come heard from Mr. Bob Mamlin, the Dachau liberator who participated in the program, followed by Mrs. Tova Rosenberg, the program's creator, who introduced the film. After the film, Rabbi Gersten called up each student who presented the final version of their work to the interviewee about whom it was made. Plaques of gratitude were also given to Mrs. Rosenberg and to Mr. Bert Bornblum, whose charitable foundation helped fund the project.

Our deepest thanks for a most memorable evening goes to the Memphis JCC, and its Director, Mr. Barrie Weiser; to Rabbi Gersten for months of hard work teaching our students and organizing the program's many logistics; and, most of all, to our fourteen phenomenal seniors who did exceptional work.

Copies of the video can be ordered through the school by emailing Mrs. Phylis Levine at plevine@mhafyos.org. For the pictures found in the slide show below, click here.

CyC Now a Blog

The Cooper Yeshiva Connection (CyC), the newsletter which Rabbi Spodek created earlier this year to keep parents and community members up to date with the latest events in our Boys High School, has now become a blog: http://cooperyeshiva.blogspot.com . On the site you can subscribe for email updates so that new posts are delivered directly to your inbox. I'll also keep a feed from the CyC site on the bottom right hand of this blog so that you can easily keep up to date.

Dean's Writing Contest

The winners of February's Dean's Writing Contest have just been announced. Winning for best General Studies piece for this month is Asher Finkelstein who accidentally "fell into his book," and landed up changing the course of American history. Best Judaic Studies piece for this month goes to Kindergartner Akiva Braverman who, through the use of inventive spelling, expressed his feelings for the holiday of Tu B'shvat. For a full list of nominees and to read the work of the finalists and winners, visit our Dean's Writing Award wikispace.

Great job to all and keep on writing!

Another Stunning Performance

Under the masterful direction of Dr. Jerry Kuttliroff, our Girls High School put on another stunning dramatic performance last week. This time it was George Bernard Shaw's classic play Pygmalion. The efforts which our girls put in to getting their lines memorized, their timing perfected, and their accents ever-so authentic, were nothing less than extraordinary - and it showed.

Below is a brief clip from the show. For more pictures click here. Enjoy!

From Pygmillion

City Champs!

In what was an amazing display of teamwork, discipline, and effort, our Junior High Macs fought through adversity last night to make MHA / FYOS history by becoming the first Jr. Macs team to become Memphis City Parks League basketball champions. The team came out on fire, working the ball to the open man, and draining shots from everywhere on the court. Their defense was stifling and even when their opponents closed the lead to only 1 point in the second half, they kept their focus and persevered.




Perhaps even more impressive still was the complement the league commissioner gave the team during the trophy presentation when she said that not only did they play "awesome" basketball, but that she has never seen a display of sportsmanship quite like that of our boys. It was a kiddush Hashem of the highest order and an accomplishment for which we should all be most proud.






Congratulations to Coach Carr and to all of the guys for a truly spectacular season!

For more pictures from the game click here.

Adar Is Here!

The spirit which engulfs our school with the onset of the month of Adar is electrifying and contagious. Every student from Pre-K3 to 12th grade, and every teacher from Judaic Studies to General Studies, gets into the celebratory mood as the holiday of Purim approaches. Here is a short compilation of but a few of the sights and sounds which have pervaded our hallways and classrooms over the past week...

Alumni Game 2009

There are few days in our school calendar as special as the annual alumni game. Hundreds of men, women, and children spanning four generations, sixty years of school history, and all walks of life, come together for a laid back evening of food, fun, and basketball. Every child who wants to play gets a chance to shine and every parent who wants to play gets a chance to try. The number of volunteers is astounding, the willingness to help is inspiring, and the collegial spirit is uplifting.

Thanks to the efforts of Tracy Rapp and her dedicated committee, this year's game was even more special than most. Held for the first time in Briarcrest, it featured even more children's games, more food selection, and a crowd that might well have been the biggest ever. There was even exciting basketball (from the 1st-3rd graders, at least!).

Thank you to all who helped make it happen.

Academy Students Win National Awards

Two of our high school students received prestigious national awards last week. Andrew Tavin, a senior in our Cooper Yeshiva High School for Boys, was selected from among 16,000 semifinalists to advance to finalist standing in the National Merit Scholarship Program. Winners of the National Merit Scholarship are selected based on their academic record, information about the school's curricula and grading system, two sets of test scores, his or her school official's written recommendation, information about the student's activities and leadership, and the student’s own essay. By attaining Finalist standing, Andrew, has already put himself in the running for several lucrative college scholarships both from the National Merit Program itself as well as from its college and corporate partners.

Raquel Kampf, a senior in our Goldie Margolin School for Girls, was notified last week of her standing as a Finalist in the Coca-Cola Scholars Program. While the National Merit Scholarship puts its primary focus on a student’s academic accomplishment, the Coca-Cola Scholarship gives equal weight to a student’s leadership and community service accomplishments – an area where Raquel’s accomplishments are extraordinary. From her roles as President of Student Council, Editor-in-Chief of the Yearbook, and lead actress in the school play, to her weekly volunteer efforts at the Memphis Jewish Home, her work with the homeless at the Cook Convention Center, and her efforts on behalf of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Raquel has distinguished herself in her school community and well beyond, as an emerging leader with a passion for making the world around her a better place.

Chosen out of 75,000 applicants and 2,100 Semifinalists, Raquel has already qualified for an award of $10,000 toward her college tuition. On the weekend of April 3^rd, Raquel will join the other 251 Finalists for Coca-Cola’s Scholars Weekend in Atlanta. There she will be honored at a special banquet and will participate in a host of special programming designed only for this select group of highly accomplished high school students. Raquel will also undergo several interviews over the weekend which will help to determine whether she qualifies as one of fifty-two Finalists who will be chosen as National Scholars and will receive $20,000, instead of $10,000, toward their college tuition.

Andrew topped off the week with yet another award. He was part of the school’s ten student delegation which took part in a three-day simulated Model United Nations convened by Yeshiva University in Stamford, Connecticut. Over 450 students attended from 43 different Jewish High Schools from across the country. Each school was assigned a different country and each student was asked to represent his or her country on a particular UN committee. Andrew returned to Memphis with a First Place Award for Committee Leadership, for his skillful stewardship of the 1540 - Terrorism Prevention Committee.

Both Andrew and Raquel expect to hear from their respective scholarship programs regarding their final status in late April or May. We wish them the best of luck!

"I Forgot the Book in School"

That may be true, but for students in grades 1-6 - at least for Math - that is no longer a valid excuse. We have purchased a license for the online component of our Everyday Math curriculum which means that by clicking on https://www.everydaymathonline.com your child can access his or her reference book which has everything he or she needs to review, to help with homework, or to study for a test. Our 8th graders taking Algebra 1 have a similar system which can be accessed at www.algebra1.com.

To use these online resources, your child will need the password they were given. In the event that they don't remember it, feel free to contact his or her teacher who will gladly let you know what it is.

These links will also be added to the sidebar of the blog so that they will be easily accessible even after this post gets buried in the archives.

January Winners

The winners of January's Dean's Writing Awards are in. While, due to tough competition on the General Studies side this month he did not win, special mention should be made of the fact that we received another submission from Kindergarten this month. This time is was the work of Netzach Kolton. Edging out Netzach in the General Studies category this month was another first. Unlike previous submissions which have all been essays or creative writing assignments to which students are free to devote as much time as they'd like, this month's winning submission was a timed response to an essay question on an AP English test by Andrew Tavin. It is a pretty remarkable creation for something written under pressure.

The winner in our Judaic Studies category is only two sentences long - but it's quality, not quantity we're after. It is a question and answer on Chumash written in neat, grammatical Hebrew by 2nd grader Seth Wanderman. It is short but definitely sweet.

Well done, Seth! Well done, Andrew! Keep up the good work.

We Regret to Announce...

...the passing of numerous boring words in the 5th and 6th grade. They were laid to rest in an elaborate ceremony today presided over by Mrs. Becky Walker and Mrs. Cindy Massey. Eulogies were delivered and tears were shed by all. Words such as "big," "pretty," "nice," and many others have been survived by far more interesting relatives such as "enormous," "glowing," and "beneficent."

Click below to hear some of the words which were said in to tribute the words that are dead.

From Dead Word Funeral

From Dead Word Funeral

From Dead Word Funeral

From Dead Word Funeral

From Dead Word Funeral

Ski Slopes and Ballot Boxes

There has been a flurry of activity in the Girls High School over the past week. Last week featured their annual Gatlinburg retreat which, thanks to their dedicated faculty, their creative and energetic Bat Ami girls, and - most of all - the students themselves, was a tremendous success. The ruach was fantastic, the camaraderie was uplifting, and the messages which we shared with one another were inspiring. Of course, the hike and the skiing weren't too bad either.

With no rest for the weary, soon after their return the girls in our Zionism II class under the leadership Mrs. Bluma Zuckerbrodt Finkeltstein, took to the stage to educate our 7th through 12th grades about the upcoming Israeli Elections. With campaign banners hung throughout the gym, stimulating speeches from the leading candidates of the four major parties, and ballot boxes in which to cast their vote, it was a fantastic - and important - example of experiential learning for all of our upper grades.

Well done, girls!

Gatlinburg Shabbaton

Another set of unforgettable moments were created and forever forged in the memories of our high school boys this past shabbos in their annual Gatlinburg Shabbaton. Masterfully orchestrated by Rabbi Gersten, the weekend - whose theme was Emet vi-Sheker (Honesty and Deceit) - featured everything from simulated moral dillemas and stimulating text-based learning to inspiring ruach and insightful conversations, and from to time in town, time with friends, and time on the slopes, to the time-honored tradition of the CYHSB Polar Bear Club. There is nothing quite like it...

Shabbos Blogging

To all of my blog subscribers who have been wondering what siman in Shulchan Aruch allows me to blog on shabbos, let me put your mind at ease. The email which you receive telling you of an update to my blog, is automatically produced by a service called Feedburner and generally goes out 12 to 24 hours after I have posted an entry. As Fridays tend to offer me a few more free minutes to blog than do the other days of the week, the email from Feedburner alerting you of an update often goes out once shabbos has started - hence the appearance that I am blogging between aliyos or during the rabbi's speech. Please rest assured, though, that I am not.