Kohelet Fellowships Event

Our community enjoyed a historic moment last Thursday night.  Thanks to the Kohelet Foundation, 92 parents from both the Academy and Solomon Schechter - representing all three Orthodox shuls, Chabad, the two Conservative shuls, and the Reform Temple - gathered together for an evening of joint Torah study.

The program, which featured a two-part presentation by Rabbi Dr. Meir Soloveitchik with group source study in between, was this year's first communal event of the Kohelet Fellowships program.  The Fellowships program, now in its second year and in its first year in Memphis, provides a tuition break to parents who enroll in and complete either the Partners in Torah or Jewish Learning Institute's adult education program.  We are proud of the fact that with only 102 families in our school, we have 97 parents enrolled in the program.

As one of the 97, I can attest to the fact that it has energized our parent base and is helping to foster a love for life-long learning throughout our community.

Steak Dinner 2010

The boys of our high school shined once again, as they wined, dined, and entertained some three hundred guests in their annual Steak Dinner.  The Steak Dinner is the major fund raising event which provides the high school with its student activities budget.  For weeks the boys worked on securing sponsorships, preparing their faculty tribute video (replete with comical advertisements for the dinner's corporate sponsors), practicing their solo (two pianists) and band performances, divrei Torah, programs, decorations, and - of course - the four course meal.  Under Rabbi Gersten's masterful guidance, the boys, once again, did not disappoint.

Here are some images from what was a very special night:

Chanukah PhotoStory

Just a few weeks ago we equipped our Early Childhood classrooms with webcams and introduced our teachers to ways in which they could incorporate Skype and PhotoStory into their teaching.  To say they jumped at the opportunity would be an understatement.  Our students have gone on a tour of menorahs in a neighborhood in Israel via Skype and helped to bring digital images alive with their own narration.

To get a sense for the way in which these tools are enriching the learning experience for our children, watch this PhotoStory created by our 4 year-olds in PreK in which they use pictures of themselves and their own words to share the story of Chanukah.

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. 

Mazel Tov!

Exciting news!  In this week's parasha Yitzchak takes Rivkah to be his wife and thanks to the creativity of our Early Childhood Morahs, all of our Early Childhood children were on hand to watch!  Not only were the chatan and kallah there with their families, but so was the band, the photographers, the bride's maids, the mesader kiddushin, and a whole host of well wishers.  The chuppah was followed by a scrumptious reception.  Special thank you to Morah Debbie for all her help in putting it together!

Fall Festival 2010

Our Third Annual Fall Festival was a smashing success.  Parents and children from across the community came together for a fun-filled morning of moonbounces, hayrides, story-telling, and much more.  Click on the slideshow below to see some of the Festival's most precious moments.




You can find all of these pictures and several more on our Fall Festival Picasa web album.  Enjoy!

Speakers Galore

We've had a steady stream of experts and activists in various fields present to our Middle School and High School students over the past few weeks.

On October 6th we had the pleasure of hosting Dr. Rona Novick, whose groundbreaking bullying prevention program called BRAVE, we are piloting in our Middle School.  As part of the Azrieli Graduate School's Institute for University School Partnership, Dr. Novick visits our school several times over the course of the year to collect data regarding the implementation of her program as well as to lead related programs with our Middle School students.  A recognized expert in Child Psychology, Dr. Novick, also graciously offers to give a parenting workshop to our parent body each time she visits.  This time, her topic was "Trusting our Teens:  The Balance Between Adolescent Independence and Parental Supervision" and over fifty parents came out to participate in the evening workshop.

This past Tuesday, our Middle and High School Girls had the privilege of hearing from Ms. Rochelle Shoretz, founder of Sharsheret, an organization which supports Jewish women with breast cancer.  Ms. Shoretz, a Columbia trained attorney who clerked for the Supreme Court and is now battling a second round of cancer, shared her remarkable story with our students.  To get a sense for what they experienced, watch this incredible Fox News interview with Ms. Shoretz:

To cap things off, thanks to the Baron Hirsch Congregation, both our Boys High School and our Girls High School had the pleasure of hearing words of inspiration from Rav Ronen and Mrs. Pnina Neuwirth this past Friday.  The Neuwirths, who serves as Scholars In Residence at Baron Hirsch over the weekend, are heavily involved in the Tzohar Organization which is trying to bridge the secular and religious divide which currently tears at the heart of Israeli society. From Speakers

Technology and Hebrew Immersion

Our separate school-wide initiatives in Hebrew Immersion and in Technology came together today as our 3rd grade class took a new document camera for a test run.  The document camera functions much as an overhead projector did in the past, except that now one need copy or write onto transparencies in order to project something for the class to see.  In fact, with a document camera, one can project just about anything - from a textbook or student work to a piece of art or a biological specimen, and anything in between.  

The document camera, coupled with our new wireless slates and the SMART Notebook software with which every class has been outfitted, is particularly useful in our lower school classrooms where we have introduced the Tal Am Hebrew Immersion program.  As the Tal Am program produces all of its books and notebooks, many of which contain visual stimuli critical to teaching our children without having to translate into English, and as they are not yet available in digital form, the document camera allows the teacher to simply place the workbook under the camera, which projects an enlarged picture of it onto the whiteboard, and then the class can use the wireless slate to analyze the work and fill in the correct answers

Here's a quick video we took of our 3rd grade doing exactly that this morning:

  

As part of the Max Cooper Business and Technology Program we hope to purchase two document cameras.  If you're interested in sponsoring the purchase of additional units for additional classrooms please let our business office know.

Sukkot at the MHA

The days leading up to Sukkot are always an exciting time in school.  From classroom sukkot and sukkah decorations in the Early Childhood to model sukkot and students modeling as the ushpizin in the Lower school, and from the intense hilchot schach competition in the Boys High School to the diverse Sukkot stations in the Girls High School, everywhere you turned this week there was excitement, enthusiasm and hands-on education, in preparation for the upcoming holiday.

Here's a glimpse...

Student Named National Merit Semifinalist

More than 1.5 million juniors in over 22,000 high schools entered the 2009 National Merit Program by taking the 2009 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®). Of those 1.5 million only 16,000 students nationwide - and only 44 in the city of Memphis - qualified as National Merit Semifinalists. We're most proud that 12th grader Maddie Tavin was one of them.

The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, which represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest scoring entrants in each state. These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 8,400 National Merit Scholarships, worth more than $36 million, that will be offered next spring. We wish Maddie the best of luck on the next - and final - stage!

6 Students Win National AP Awards

Evidence of our astounding results on last year's AP tests continue to roll in. Just recently we learned that 5 of the 19 students in last year's graduating class - or 26% of the class - won prestigious national awards from the College Board for their performance on the APs, as did one member of last year's Junior class.

Luky Guigi and Rachel Rubenstein received the AP Scholar Award which is given to students who receive scores of 3 or higher on three or more AP exams. Debbie Farber and Ariav Schlesinger received the AP Scholar with Honor Award for scoring an average of at least 3.25 on all AP Exams taken AND scoring 3 or higher on four or more of those exams. Ariel Cooper, last year's valedictorian, received the AP Scholar with Distinction Award which is given to highly select few students who receive an average score of at least 3.5 on all AP exams AND score 3 or higher on five or more of those exams (Ariel took 6 AP exams and scored an average of 4.67 out of 5).

Maddie Tavin, who is only now a senior in our Goldie Margolin School for Girls, also received the AP Scholar award for having already taken 3 Advanced Placement Exams prior to her Senior Year and having scored a perfect 5 on all three.

Congratulations again to all of the students and all of their teachers for a job splendidly done.

   

Selichot Night

As has become a tradition over the past few years, both of our high schools gathered in their respective schools late on the Saturday night before Rosh Hashanah, for a moving program prior to the beginning of selichot.  Under the direction of Rabbi Noam Stein, both schools began with a powerful excerpt from the movie Freedom Writers, followed by an assignment for self reflection, a time to share thoughts with each other, and some powerful singing.  Then, the two schools came together in the Beit Midrash for selichot led by Rabbi Gersten.

It was a most fitting way to begin the Yamim Nora'im.

Kollel Night of Learning

One of our most beautiful community events is the bi-annual night of learning which our Kollel Torah MiTzion hosts twice a year to help us get ready for Yamim Nora'im and then again for Pesach.  The evening begins with chavruta study of Torah sources relating to the upcoming holiday and then each of the four congregational rabbis gives a short shiur based on the sources prepared.  It is nothing short of inspiring to watch our Beit Midrash fill with men and women, grandparents and grandchildren, all there to expand to grow in knowledge and spirit in preparation for the chag.

May our growth in Torah learning and communal collaboration only increase and strengthen in the coming year.

You Can Make a Difference

Dear Friends,

As our preparations for the Yamim Noraim intensify, so do the efforts of our dedicated lay leaders to make this year's annual campaign the success we need it to be.

As you can imagine, like Day Schools across the country, the economic downturn has taken a heavy toll on us and many of our families.  Nonetheless, our administrative team and our outstanding team of educators are as committed as ever not only to continuing to deliver high quality education in all subject areas, but to constantly improving and constantly growing.  For us, there's no other way.  After all, the future of our children, our community, and klal yisrael depends on it.

The only way we can continue do so, however, is with your support.  Therefore, I ask that in this season of teshuva, tefilla, and tzedaka, you give whatever your means allows to help our school continue to actualize its mission.

Doing so is easy.  Just click here to access our secure paypal form which will walk you through the simple process.  That's all it takes.

I thank you in advance for helping to make a difference in the lives of our children.

Best wishes for a ketivah va-chatimah tovah,

Rabbi Perl