Student Art On Exhibit at Dixon

The artistic creations of four of our Elementary School students are currently on display at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens.  As part of their Made in Dixon exhibit, the work of Edya Finkelstein, Dovid Freiden, Ethan Morris, and Joel Weinstein can be viewed by the general public until April 4th.  The Dixon has been kind enough to make several free passes available to those Academy families who would like to visit over chol ha-moed.  To get them contact Mrs. Chani Fleischhaker and when you do, be sure to thank her for the wonderful work she does running our school's rather impressive art program! 

Student Wins Scholarship to NYU-Poly

The Cooper Yeshiva High School's resident videographer, technical coordinator, and concert pianist, has received an enticing offer to continue pursuing his passions.  Ethan Addess received notice this week that he was selected for the Promise Fund Scholarship at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University, NYU's school of engineering, applied science, and technology.

According to the letter he received, the purpose of this scholarship program "is to identify, support, and encourage young men and women who demonstrate the potential for making significant contributions to our university."   Should Ethan decide to accept the offer, he would join fellow graduates Andrew Tavin (class of '09) and Yonadav Tsuna (Class of '08) in representing our school on the campuses of NYU.

Ethan's scholarship offer brings the total scholarship offered to this year's seniors up to $44,000, with the vast majority of acceptances still to come.  He, like almost of all of our seniors from both high schools, will spend a year learning in Israel before beginning his college career.  And, like all of our seniors, we're so proud of what Ethan has accomplished and can't wait to see what lies ahead.

Student Accepted to Honors Program

Ariav Schlesinger was notified last week of his acceptance to the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Honors Program at Yeshiva College, the Men's Undergraduate Division of Yeshiva University.  Yeshiva University, ranked by U.S. News and World Report as #52 on their list of the country's best colleges, founded this program in 1999 as a means of challenging outstanding young scholars to reach their full potential by stressing writing, speaking, critical analysis, creativity, the arts, and research. The program also enhances educational programs and expands academic opportunities for all Yeshiva College students through intellectually rigorous experiences, individualized mentoring, and advanced work. It encourages students to express themselves articulately, both verbally and in writing. Through intense study and dedication, graduates of the program develop stronger ties to faculty members at large and contribute strongly to courses and the college community. A long-term educational investment, the program prepares young men who seek prominence in their professions, in their communities, and in the world at large.

Applicants to the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Honors Program, including Ariav, have all earned a minimum combined score of 1400 on the critical reading and math sections of the SAT I or a score of 32 or above on the ACT, a 90 or above high school average, and correspondingly high SAT II and AP scores. Ariav also has many other talents which have been nurtured during his tenure at CYHSB, which include singing, acting, and a gift for studio art. Should he accept the offer, Ariav will have access to a wide range of special honors courses, a plethora of specially designed summer enrichment programs including several experiences abroad, and will have to submit an honors thesis upon graduation.

As part of his acceptance to the program, Ariav received $10,000 in academic scholarship.  Following classmate Luky Guigui, who received close to $20,000 in scholarship awards with his early decision acceptance to Brandeis, Ariav's acceptance to the Honors Program at Yeshiva College is the second exciting announcement in what we anticipate will be another proud college acceptance season for the Cooper Yeshiva High School for Boys and the Goldie Margolin High School for Girls.

The Margolin Academy of the Performing Arts

These past few weeks have featured one incredible student performance after another.  Starting with the third graders whose Purim Play, done completely in Hebrew, gave the 5th graders a run for their money, followed by the second graders who acted out a story from their literature series, and culminating with the second stunning performance by our new lower school Music and Dance program, our elementary school students have been shining like never before.  A special thanks goes to Morah Yehudit, Moreh Shimshon, Mrs. Winestone, Mrs. Fleischhacker, and, the director of our Music and Dance program, Mrs. Kugielsky, for making it all happen.

Of course, our upper school is always ready to get into the act as well.  Tonight at 7:30pm our Girls High School will be presenting a pre-Pesach musical for women at Baron Hirsch on the life of Natan Sharansky and at 7pm on Tuesday of next week, our Boys High School will take the stage with their rendition of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night here at the Academy auditorium.  Be sure to join us!

In case you missed our lower school students in action, here are few clips.  Follow the links for more!

From 3rd Grade Play

From 3rd Grade Play

From 2nd grade play

From Music Performance

Athletics Blog

If you haven't yet seen Coach Carr's new MHA Athletics blog, you have to check it out! It's the hub for everything sports related at the MHA: forms, schedules, news, pictures, and, of course, results.  You can even follow @MacsAthletics on Twitter!

You can access the blog by going to our school homepage (www.mhafyos.org), clicking on the tab for any of our divisions and following the link for athletics. It's a top-notch blog, from a top-notch Athletic Director, who is quickly building a top-notch athletics program here at the MHA!

A Lesson in Poverty

The Girls High School Debate class took a field trip downtown last week to visit the Memphis office of Seedco.  Seedco is a national non-profit organization whose mission is to help low-income individuals and communities move toward economic prosperity.

The eight girls in this elective class are participating in the national high school debate program whose resolved this year is that "The United States federal government should substantially increase social services for persons living in poverty in the United States."  In what is known as policy or cross-examination debate, the girls are paired into teams of two and together they must prepare to argue for and against this resolved.  Before the debate they will be assigned either the role of the affirmative team, in which case they have to argue for the resolved, or the negative team in which case they have to argue against it.  As the affirmative team, though, the girls not only have to convince the judge presiding over the debate of the need to increase social services to the poor, but that they have feasible plan for doing so.  The team on the negative side, then, has to be prepared not only to argue against an increase to federal social services in general, but need to be somewhat familiar with the myriad programs out there and the way in which they work, so as to be able to poke holes in the affirmative team's proposal.

There are few people in the city of Memphis better equipped to start our girls on this journey than Laura Seidell and her team at the Seedco office in Memphis.  Seedco, after all, is a funnel which directs federal funds to a variety of organizations and institutions which help those living at or below the poverty line.  As such, they were able to explain to our girls the details of how various federal programs work, what their strengths are and what challenges they face.  They were also able to explain in real terms just what it means to live in poverty and how real the problems facing the American people are.

From the handouts, powerpoint, and various oral presentations made by the Seedco staff, it was clear that they enjoyed bringing the girls into their world of working with the poor.  From talking to the girls on the drive back, it was clear that they had learned more than they could have from any textbook and that they gained greater appreciation both for the enormity of the problem and for the efforts of the people who have dedicated their lives to trying to solve it.

New Heights in Hebrew

Now that we are a few years into our Lower School Hebrew immersion Judaic Studies curriculum, the seeds that we've been planting are beginning to sprout.  There was no clearer indication than in yesterday's 5th grade play.  Under the direction of Morah Yehudit and Moreh Shimshon, our 5th graders put on a masterful performance about a mother and daughter recounting the story of their family's history -  from Frankfurt to Warsaw and eventually to the Land of Israel - and the importance of their Jewish faith and their Jewish pride in keeping the family together throughout the generations.

More impressive than their acting, though, was the fact that, with the exception of brief narration, the entire play was performed in Hebrew.  Have a look for yourself...

From 5th Grade Play

From 5th Grade Play

From 5th Grade Play

From 5th Grade Play

Rosh Chodesh Adar

Rosh Chodesh Adar at the Academy is one of my favorite days of the year.  It's not just the incredible ruach generated by 207 dancing students along with their teachers and faculty, but it's the way the high school students take the 1st graders on their shoulders, the way the 5th graders dance with the Kindergarteners, the 10th grade rebbeim hold hands with the 3rd graders, and so on and so forth throughout every division and every grade.

It is a family simcha in the every sense of the word.

From Movies

Weather Man comes to MHA

As part of their unit on atmospheric science, Mrs. Henry's 5th grade science class had a special guest teacher today: Channel 3's Chief Weather Anchor, Tim Simpson.  Mr. Simpson spoke to the kids about the various components of weather and the tools we can use to predict it.  He also drew his own weather map and explained to the 5th grade what the various signs and symbols represent.  Perhaps most exciting for our kids, though, was the little "shout out" he gave them on this evening's news:

 

Mrs. Schmitt

Last week we lost a long time member of our faculty, Mrs. Karin Schmitt.  If you knew her, please share your memories with her family by posting something either on the Commercial Appeal's memorial page or on the Legacy.com guestbook .

Here are the words I wrote to our school community immediately after hearing the sad news:

Dear Students, Parents, and Faculty,

I was just informed of the sudden passing of our beloved Math teacher, Mrs. Karen Schmitt earlier today.  As you know, Mrs. Schmitt was a fixture in our Junior High and High Schools for decades.  Her no-nonsense style was complemented by a tremendous heart that wanted nothing more than to see her students succeed.  She would meet with students in class and outside of class,  she'd take on extra sections and create sections within sections, just to give our students that extra boost they needed to taste success. 

In recent years, her declining health forced her into a wheelchair and one only had to watch the way in which our students would gently wheel her from place to place, out to her car, or into the building, to see that our students cared for her as much as she cared for them.  Indeed, our Girls High School had announced that their upcoming Girls School Dinner would be dedicated to honoring Mrs. Schmitt for her years of unwaivering dedication to our school.  Sometimes, though, G-d has other plans. 

Our thoughts and sympathy go out to her family today as they mourn this terrible loss.

Mrs. Schmitt was a teacher who touched the lives of countless students here at the MHA / FYOS and we, as a school, will forever remember her as such.

Sincerely Yours,

Rabbi Perl

Round-table on Kids & Sleep

The Early Childhood Program sponsored a breakfast Round-table discussion for parents this past Wednesday on the issue of children and sleep. Pediatrician Dr. Ellen Stecker,Child Psychologist Dr. Kip Parrish, and our own Early Childhood Director, Mrs. Charna Schubert, offered expert advice to parents on topics ranging from bed-wetting and bed-times to daytime naps and children who don't sleep through the night.

The feedback was quite positive and we hope to host similar forums for parents on issues of interest to them in the near future.  If you have a suggested topic feel free to let Charna know.

Siddur Play

The first graders did a terrific job in their Siddur play this past Sunday.  Under the direction of Morah Chavi Katz, they showed off all the Hebrew they have learned through singing and speaking while demonstrating their growing love for davening and Jewish life.  At the end of the program, Rabbi Greenblatt handed each child the special siddur which their parents worked hard on decorating, followed by a wonderful celebration organized by the many volunteers who helped out.  Thank you to everyone for making it so special and we look forward to watching as these 1st graders use their siddurim for many, many years to come!

From Siddur Play

Friday 1/29 - School is Closed

While there is nothing falling from the sky at the moment, all indications are that by mid- morning travel conditions will, in fact, be dangerous.  We are concerned that waiting until the precipitation has started to cancel school putting may put our students and faculty who live farther from the school in harm's way. Furthermore, the fact that both the city and the county schools have closed would put a significant strain on our faculty for the day.

So...we are closed.  Bring on the snow!

MHA Science Blog

I am thrilled to announce that Mrs. Shelli Henry, our Elementary School Science teacher, has started her own class blog! Mrs. Henry joins Mrs. Johnson (AP English), Mrs. Hood (HS English), Mrs. Perl (AP Psych), Mrs. Tsuna (JH English), and Mrs. Fleischhacker (Art) as the 6th MHA / FYOS teacher to enter the blogosphere.  

Be sure to check on all of them regularly through the links on the bottom left corner of this blog.  Enjoy!

  

Student Wins National Leadership Award

We are very pleased to announce that senior Mendel Lazaros has been selected as a recipient of the 2010-2011 Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarship. This award, funded through The Comcast Foundation, recognizes high school seniors from Comcast communities for commitment to community service, academic achievement, and demonstrated leadership. In addition to many other accomplishments and accolades, Mendel currently serves as president of the CYHSB Student Council and President of the Midwest Region of NCSY.

We know this is just the beginning of Mendel's foray into Jewish communal leadership and we can't wait to see what the future will bring!

Geography Bee

Congratulations to all of our students who competed in today's Geography Bee.  This year's winner, Shmuel Meir Perl, will take a written exam later this week and if he places amongst the top one hundred students in the state he'll be off to Nashville to compete for the State title.  Good luck!

Images from Gatlinburg

The first pictures from what was a truly inspiring, uplifting, (a little wet) and incredibly enjoyable Boys High School retreat in Gatlinburg are now in.  More to come soon...

Article On Line

The Main Street Journal's article on our school is now available online.  While it does not do justice to all of the wonderful elements of our school that have been in place for decades and have created generation after generation of exceptional students, and while it doesn't even capture many of the new initiatives upon which we've embarked (e.g., the process of NAEYC accreditation under Charna Schubert's direction in the Early Childhood, the curricular overhauls of our Lower School General Studies curriculum under Mrs. Gersten's guidance,  the cutting edge Hebrew immersion environment we've created under Rabbi Greenblatt's leadership, and the increased rigor of our Girls High School program under Mrs. Kampf), it does paint a nice picture of a few of our institutional accomplishments as well as our goals for the future.  So, have a read and pass on the link: www.tinyurl.com/mhamainstreet .

Main Street Journal

The January issue of the Main Street Journal contains a feature article in their education section entitled "The Margolin Hebrew Academy: A Salute to Excellence." Unfortunately, the article is not yet available on line, so be sure to pick up a hard copy and share it with your friends!

Memories of Chanukah

I decided that now that the doldrums of post-vacation, sub-freezing, I-can't-wait-until-Pesach blues are upon us, it would be a good time to reflect on all the fun and excitement we had in school just before we went on break, in celebrating and learning about the holiday of Chanukah.

In case you don't know - or can't remember - all that we did, here's a quick refresher of just a few of the highlights:  Boys High School Maccabi Games, Elementary School Bat Ami Program, Girls High School Yom Iyyun, Elementary School Edible Menorah Contest, Boys High School Edible Menorah Contest, Early Childhood Chanukah Celebration, First Grade Chanukah Presentation, Girls High School Chagigah, Girls High School Bowling, Boys High School Siyyum Breakfast, Elementary School “Light Up the Night” Perfomance, Girls High School Chesed Trip, Elementary School Shabbat Chanukah Oneg, and a whole host of others.

Here are some pictures to help bring back the memories...

From Movies