Each year that I have taken groups to Israel, we encourage the students to experience the trip through all of their chumshim (senses): sight, taste, touch, smell, and hearing. As we walk the land, we want them to experience the trip at this basic level and then begin to process the more complex thoughts and emotions churned up by a trip to Israel.
This week, I’ve been thinking a lot about using my senses as I’ve walked the halls of the Upper School. Close your eyes for just a moment and concentrate with me as I walk you through my sensory experience at school.
Touch - The feel of a diligently built bridge being taken apart in Sci-Tech to figure out why it failed. It is just as important to understand why something did not work as it is to get it working as these students learn the principles of engineering.
Taste - We shared cookies, donuts, and juice with our neighbors at St. Aidan’s at our second annual Thanksgiving celebration. We gathered the middle schools of both institutions together for an opportunity to reflect and appreciate all that we are thankful for this holiday. Students heard Father Kevin and Rabbi Josh talk about the things that they have taken for granted and now realize how important they are. Mrs. Joan Friedman Cohen organized a group of 6th and 7th graders on drums and recorders to teach the students a song and the St. Aidan’s choir performed.
Sight - The image of a coalition of Muslim and Jewish schools, synagogues and mosques
gathering together at Hempstead Town Hall to present Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray with blankets, warm coats and non-perishable food items that they have collected to donate to Hurricane Sandy victims. These items will be distributed by the Town of Hempstead to families in hard-hit communities throughout the Town, whose lives have been devastated by Hurricane Sandy, and many of whom are still unable to return to their homes.
Hearing - Take an audio tour of many of the classes and other experiences that the Upper School students have had through Sounds of Schechter.
Of course, I have not left off the important sense of smell. Naturally, this week brings with it the smell of turkey roasting in the oven and all of the delicious smells of Thanksgiving. In these post-Sandy days, we have heightened our sense of gratitude towards our blessings. Take a look at what the 10th grade minyan thought about gratitude through the bracha מודים אנחנו לך in the עמידה. Here is a visual representation of their responses.
I wish you and your families a Happy Thanksgiving.
Shabbat Shalom!
Showing posts with label Sounds of Schechter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sounds of Schechter. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Friday, November 9, 2012
Friday Letter - November 9, 2012
To say that the last two weeks have been unusual would be an understatement. Widespread power outages, damage from two major storms, and gas shortages are not typical topics of conversation in our Schechter community. With all of these unexpected challenges in front of us, it is amazing how our students are rising to the occasion. Through the efforts of the Kesher Club, the school lobby is filling with donations for those families most severely impacted by the storms and the Student Government coin challenge is well underway with the goal of supporting the SSLI Hurricane Sandy fund.
While it is amazing to watch the resilience of our students as they get back into the swing of things and work to move along in their studies, it is important to know that adolescent resilience is not a bottomless well from which to draw from. On the surface, your child may appear to be holding it together, but underneath this, there may be a feeling of fragility as students crave the regularity of their own routines, the privacy of their own homes, and the sense of being in their own space.
Resilience is defined as the ability for something to return to its original form after being stressed or placed in adverse circumstances. We can build resilience by having a positive attitude and emotions and the ability to express our emotions, even if they are negative. Feeling competent and talented at something also strengthens one’s resilience. Resilience can further be buoyed by being connected to the social networks around you and taking advantage of the supports offered. Our Chesed Committee is here to help whether it is a Shabbat meal or finding you warm shelter and we encourage you to take advantage of the services being offered.
As the school year progresses, we will be looking to support our students’ resilience and foster their ability to not just get back to where they were, but to move forward in their academic, social, cognitive, emotional growth. For more on building your child’s resilience, the National Association of School Psychologists offers this handout.
Of course, another way to deal with the stress of these moments and to boost our resilience is a little humor. Take a listen to our 9th grade music class as they sing The Frankenstorm Blues (music and lyrics by Joan Friedman Cohen and the Class of 2016).
We know that conditions at home for many for studying and doing homework are nowhere near optimal. As the end of the quarter approaches, your children’s teachers are trying to be as sensitive as possible to these circumstances. If your child is struggling or feeling overwhelmed, please contact the individual teacher or Senora Cahn for help in navigating the workload.
Shabbat Shalom!
While it is amazing to watch the resilience of our students as they get back into the swing of things and work to move along in their studies, it is important to know that adolescent resilience is not a bottomless well from which to draw from. On the surface, your child may appear to be holding it together, but underneath this, there may be a feeling of fragility as students crave the regularity of their own routines, the privacy of their own homes, and the sense of being in their own space.
Resilience is defined as the ability for something to return to its original form after being stressed or placed in adverse circumstances. We can build resilience by having a positive attitude and emotions and the ability to express our emotions, even if they are negative. Feeling competent and talented at something also strengthens one’s resilience. Resilience can further be buoyed by being connected to the social networks around you and taking advantage of the supports offered. Our Chesed Committee is here to help whether it is a Shabbat meal or finding you warm shelter and we encourage you to take advantage of the services being offered.
As the school year progresses, we will be looking to support our students’ resilience and foster their ability to not just get back to where they were, but to move forward in their academic, social, cognitive, emotional growth. For more on building your child’s resilience, the National Association of School Psychologists offers this handout.
Of course, another way to deal with the stress of these moments and to boost our resilience is a little humor. Take a listen to our 9th grade music class as they sing The Frankenstorm Blues (music and lyrics by Joan Friedman Cohen and the Class of 2016).
We know that conditions at home for many for studying and doing homework are nowhere near optimal. As the end of the quarter approaches, your children’s teachers are trying to be as sensitive as possible to these circumstances. If your child is struggling or feeling overwhelmed, please contact the individual teacher or Senora Cahn for help in navigating the workload.
Shabbat Shalom!
Friday, October 5, 2012
Friday Letter - 10/5/2012
Sukkot is a holiday about thanksgiving. The American Thanksgiving is even modeled on it. From a historical perspective, the harvest is in and we are excited (hopefully) that the land has provided for us with sustenance for another season. We recite in the Amidah each day of the holiday that Sukkot is z’man simchateinu (our time of rejoicing).
Not everyone, however, has enough to eat and views the end of the growing season as a time of rejoicing. The fragility of our sukkot as we sit outside for our meals reminds us of this. Today, on our inaugural Hesed Day in the Upper School, we explored the role of hunger in the world with the help of American Jewish World Service. High School students further delved into the topic in small breakout groups while Middle School students explored a gallery of images of a typical meal in different parts of the world.
At its core, the message that students heard today that was that Ani V’atah N’shaneh Et Ha’Olam. Listen as a group of Schechter students brings this message to life through song. For more on the progra, please check out this post from Paw Print Now.
As I wandered through the halls during hol ha-moed Sukkot, these were the sounds of Schechter.
Shabbat Shalom V’Chag Same’ach!
Not everyone, however, has enough to eat and views the end of the growing season as a time of rejoicing. The fragility of our sukkot as we sit outside for our meals reminds us of this. Today, on our inaugural Hesed Day in the Upper School, we explored the role of hunger in the world with the help of American Jewish World Service. High School students further delved into the topic in small breakout groups while Middle School students explored a gallery of images of a typical meal in different parts of the world.
At its core, the message that students heard today that was that Ani V’atah N’shaneh Et Ha’Olam. Listen as a group of Schechter students brings this message to life through song. For more on the progra, please check out this post from Paw Print Now.
As I wandered through the halls during hol ha-moed Sukkot, these were the sounds of Schechter.
Shabbat Shalom V’Chag Same’ach!
Friday, September 28, 2012
Friday Letter - 9/28/12
When I look back on the past week, two sounds resonate in my head. The first, of course, was the final shofar blast at the end of Yom Kippur (more on that in a moment). The other was the sound of tefillah in the Middle School this past Friday.
Now, normally tefillah is filled with sounds. After all, we do a significant amount of our davening out loud. This particular Friday morning was different. New melodies were introduced and the level of our ruach was enhanced by our two guests who are up-and-coming musicians and educators from the Conservative Movement. Josh Warshawsky and Daniel Novick are products of the Conservative Movement in Chicago and Northern Virginia, both serving as international officers in United Synagogue Youth in 2008. Josh is a senior at the Joint Program between Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary, an alum of the Nativ program in Israel, and during the summers is the Rosh Musikah at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin. Daniel is a rabbinical student at the Jewish Theological Seminary and was the co-creator of "Shaharit Live!," an unique tefillah experience for USY combining music and multimedia that has been utilized in Conservative Movement institutions around the country. Last Friday, was the first of the monthly visits that Josh and Daniel will be making to lead the Middle School in tefillah once a month and spend some time with students in our Upper School.
Daniel and Josh were a hit with the Middle School. Students were singing (some even dancing) as we davened our way through Shaharit. It was truly an inspirational experience and one that we hope will add to all of our future tefillot together. For taste of the sound created, click here.
The final shofar blast on Yom Kippur took on more meaning for me this year, perhaps because of the way my thoughts were primed for the holiday through the high school’s Yom Kippur workshops. After first period tefillah, the high school students broke into smaller groups to focus on one of many topics to help engage more fully in Yom Kippur. The topics ran the gambit from the practical, A Yom Kippur Survival Guide, to the more weighty, Would You Forgive a Nazi?. In each session, students explored, debated, and questioned the practices and themes of Yom Kippur. Kol HaKavod to Rabbi Josh and the faculty for organizing this experience.
Now, normally tefillah is filled with sounds. After all, we do a significant amount of our davening out loud. This particular Friday morning was different. New melodies were introduced and the level of our ruach was enhanced by our two guests who are up-and-coming musicians and educators from the Conservative Movement. Josh Warshawsky and Daniel Novick are products of the Conservative Movement in Chicago and Northern Virginia, both serving as international officers in United Synagogue Youth in 2008. Josh is a senior at the Joint Program between Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary, an alum of the Nativ program in Israel, and during the summers is the Rosh Musikah at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin. Daniel is a rabbinical student at the Jewish Theological Seminary and was the co-creator of "Shaharit Live!," an unique tefillah experience for USY combining music and multimedia that has been utilized in Conservative Movement institutions around the country. Last Friday, was the first of the monthly visits that Josh and Daniel will be making to lead the Middle School in tefillah once a month and spend some time with students in our Upper School.
Daniel and Josh were a hit with the Middle School. Students were singing (some even dancing) as we davened our way through Shaharit. It was truly an inspirational experience and one that we hope will add to all of our future tefillot together. For taste of the sound created, click here.
The final shofar blast on Yom Kippur took on more meaning for me this year, perhaps because of the way my thoughts were primed for the holiday through the high school’s Yom Kippur workshops. After first period tefillah, the high school students broke into smaller groups to focus on one of many topics to help engage more fully in Yom Kippur. The topics ran the gambit from the practical, A Yom Kippur Survival Guide, to the more weighty, Would You Forgive a Nazi?. In each session, students explored, debated, and questioned the practices and themes of Yom Kippur. Kol HaKavod to Rabbi Josh and the faculty for organizing this experience.
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