MHA Runs Away with Memphis in May

Anyone associated with the MHA over the past decade, knows that the Lower School's art program is unsurpassed. Very soon, the rest of Memphis will know it as well. It gives us great pride to announce that three of our students won top prizes in the annual Memphis in May art contest. One of them, selected out of hundreds of entries, received the grand prize and her design will be featured on all of the Memphis in May promotional materials displayed throughout the city over the next month and a half. Congratulations to them and a heartfelt todah rabbah to Mrs. Judy Levin for all that she has given our students and our school over her years of dedicated service.

Calling All Alumni!

In an effort to reconnect with our alumni all over the globe, I have created a Facebook group called MHA / FYOS Alumni. If you are an alum or attended either the Academy or the Yeshiva of the South for some period of time, click here to access the group and sign up. Please encourage every alum you know to do the same! We'll use the group to share memories of the past, connect alumni to our present, and get their input about our future.

A Comedy of Errors & A Mexican Explosion

Our high schools were at their best this past week. It began with the boys' production of Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors. While I love our boys dearly, the truth is that I wondered whether they'd be able to match the girls' production of Antigone just a few weeks ago. Yet, with only three weeks preparation, they rose to the occasion in the most magnificent way. Without a doubt, a lion's share of the credit goes to Dr. Kutliroff for adapting the play and bringing it to life in a way that had our audience rolling in laughter much as audiences did in England four hundred years ago. But it was our boys who pulled it all off in the end, from the set design to the lighting, and from the food concessions to the incredible acting. And, once again, perhaps the most remarkable element of what was a remarkable night, was the knowledge that in just about any other school and in just about any other town, many of the boys who were up there on stage would never have received the opportunity, the encouragement, nor the confidence to perform as they did. Yet, here in Memphis they have the opportunity to shine.






Not to be outdone by the boys across the field, the Girls High School had a production of their own on Wednesday. While it lacked the glitter of our major theatrical performances, it had two rather unique features of its own. First of all, the entire play was performed in Spanish. Second of all, the entire script was written by our girls. Here too, we must give credit to our wonderful Spanish teacher, Mrs. Barbara Mansberg, and to our estudiantes talentosas in her class. Of course, the performance had a distinctly Jewish spin to it as it was followed by a full meal for the girls high school and for the girls in our current 8th grade. The menu featured Spanish punch, Spanish rice, and an entrée lovingly called the Mexican Explosion.

Memphis #1 in Affordable Housing

Anyone living in our community knows that one of its many attractions is the value of its real estate market. Despite the burst of the mortgage bubble, the cost of a decent house in the major Orthodox communities of the New York / New Jersey area remains well out of reach for many young families. New York transplant communities in South Florida are not far behind. In LA and other big cities on the West Coast, things are even worse. Even in the growing Orthodox communities of the South and Midwest, housing prices don't compare to those of Memphis. We all know it - but now we have the data to prove it. According to Money Magazine and CNN.com, a study conducted by an organization called OnBoard asked real estate buyers in major metro areas across the country to determine how far their income gets them in their local real estate market. The city which they determined gets the most house for their money was none other than our own Memphis, TN. Have a look at the list and then pass it on to everyone you know who doesn't yet live in the most affordable housing market in America.

Career Day

When I grow up, I want to be a...

A Family Simchah

The traditional MHA / FYOS Adar festivities kick off with the High School Boys dancing from their wing down to the elementary school wing and into each and every lower school classroom. There they gather up their younger schoolmates to repetitious renditions of "mi-she-nichnas adar" and march with them over to the gym where a band and a mechitza await. It struck me though, as I watched 12th graders walk hand in hand with 2nd graders, and as I saw 16 year olds dance with 3 year olds on their shoulders, that this was not a school celebration. It was a family simchah.

Stunning

When I was first introduced to our school at about this time last year, the Boys and Girls High School plays were repeatedly mentioned as one of the highlights of the school year. While I was taken by the notion that with only35 students in each high school, just about everyone plays an integral part in such productions, I admit that I also figured the quality one could expect from such theatrical productions would similarly reflect the fact that these were schools of only 35 kids. Under the masterful direction of Dr. Jerry Kutliroff, however, the recent production of Antigone by our Girls High School proved me utterly wrong. It was nothing short of stunning.

Onion Powered iPods & Sanitary Dog Smooches

Did you ever wonder whether an onion and an electrolyte liquid might provide enough energy to run your iPod? Did you ever wonder whether it was safer to kiss a dog than a human? Did you ever wonder what type of music might best make your flowers grow or how color affects your sense of taste?

Well, our students did. These were amongst the ninety projects reflecting a breathtaking combination of creativity, ingenuity, wit, and the scientific method, submitted by our students in 4th through 8th grade for this year's annual Science Fair.

Each and every project began with a "problem" which our students set out to explore through a developmentally appropriate experiment of their design, aided and guided by Mrs. Dana Parker, our Lower School Science teacher, and Mrs. Linda George, our Middle School Science Teacher. The boards which our students presented noted the student's original hypothesis as to what he or she expected the results of the experiment to be, followed by a description of the materials and procedure used in its execution, the data collected, and the conclusions drawn. From basic taste tests to complex DNA extraction, and from tests of the local environment to a test of the hallowed "5 Second Rule," the projects demonstrated the value of applied science at its best.

Special thanks to all of our "celebrity" judges who gave of their time to evaluate our students' work, to our science teachers, and to Mrs. Gersten for organizing the event. It is the students themselves, though, who deserve the greatest commendation for a job very well done.

Congratulations!

In keeping with our policy of not naming students on the blog, let me just congratulate that anonymous 12th grade girl who, in this week's Model UN - which featured teams from 43 schools and over 450 students - was awarded "Best Delegate for the International Court of Justice." Well done! Looks like there's a bright career in litigation shining on the horizon...

Math Day, History Day, and Election Podcasts

It's been a busy few weeks in our General Studies classes throughout the school. It seems like every day has featured another special program or another showcase of the wonderful world of ideas in which our students are engaged. Let me share with you just a few...

Two weeks ago our students, under the direction of Ms. Whitney Huey (soon to be Dr. Whitney Huey!), headed over to St. George's Independent School to participate in their annual History Day Competition. Our students did an outstanding job and their award-winning work is now on display for everyone to see in our Elementary School library.

Last Friday featured a showcase of our new Lower School math curriculum, called Everyday Mathematics. Mrs. Robertson invited the families of both our first and second graders for a Family Math Day in which our students taught their parents many of the fun math games they play in class. From High Roller to Bunny Hop, and from Name that Number to The Digit Game, our kids made it clear to their parents that learning math has never been so much fun! It just so happens that Everyday Math in the MHA is also the subject of a feature in this month's Jewish Scene. Check it out by clicking here...




Tuesday of this week brought technology into our 6th grade classroom in an exciting way. As part of their unit on the upcoming election, Mrs. Vaughn's class watched a CNN podcast projected onto the classroom's whiteboard, which covered the issues and players involved in Super Tuesday's primaries. Throughout the broadcast, Mrs. Vaughn explained terms and concepts so as to ensure that each and every student could converse intelligently and insightfully about the upcoming elections.

Can't wait to see what next week brings...