The School is Alive with the Sounds of Music...

It has been a week, well slightly more than a week, filled with music. It began last Friday with a walk through the birth of Hatikva by Astrith Baltsan, a renown Israeli concert pianist and scholar. Students were captivated as she told the story of a complex song that reflects the character of the country that it represents. It was an incredible preparation for our return to school this past Monday for Yom HaZikaron and Yom Ha’atzma’ut.

Each of these days was marked by music. On Yom HaZikaron, we sang with mourning and longing in our hearts for those who had given the ultimate sacrifice in defense of the state of Israel. Just as the mood shifted in Israel, so too here did our hearts lighten as we entered Yom Ha’atzma’ut. The senior class marked our celebrations by their incredible performance of the Prince of Egypt, completely in Hebrew. We wrapped up the day with songs of joy and hope.

Here is just a taste of the music that mirrored our emotions as we moved through the week.

Shabbat Shalom!

Friday Letter - January 18, 2013

Wednesday around lunchtime, students and some faculty were a bit perplexed by the noises emanating from the lobby of the Upper School. At times, it seemed melodic and would resonate down the hall in a pleasing manner. What could the noise possibly be? Cautiously, the students and staff peered around the corner or stepped out of their offices to see what was going on.

Huddled around a electronic keyboard with Joan Freeman Cohen at the keys, were four members of our staff, Barbara Mann, Becky Friedman-Charry, Mike Bourdet, and myself. Furiously studying sheet music for several songs, this small group was launching the first Schechter School of Long Island Guerilla Choir.

What is a Guerrilla Choir? Think of it as a musical flash mob - several people gathering together for the expressed purpose of singing a little bit. No prior rehearsals, just some sight singing with a little piano help to make sure that we stayed in the same key.

Of course, being a group of singing educators, we did have an ulterior motive which was to pique the interest of Schechter students and staff in exploring organized vocal music. In other words, you can sing in places other than the shower. Already students have been approaching us and asking, “What was that for?”

The Guerilla Choir will strike again in a few weeks during lunch on Feb. 4. If you are in the building, join us and hum along for a few bars.

Shabbat Shalom!

Friday Letter - December 14, 2012

For the last several weeks, it has been dark when I have left for school in the morning and dark again when I have arrived at home. With the winter solstice approaching, we will soon see increasing daylight hours, but until then, I find myself craving the light. Perhaps it is fitting then that the Festival of Lights arrives in the midst of this darkness imposed by the Earth’s axis and its rotation around the sun.

Fortunately, there has been plenty of (high)lights to go around this week. Saturday night brought with it the first night of Hanukkah and the closing performance of Shlemiel the First. This group of talented high school actors shown on the stage as they made the audience laugh until we cried with the antics of the residents of Chelm. The “wisdom” of the Chelmites defied logic and the performance amazed and delighted. Kol HaKavod to Joan Freedman Cohen and the cast and crew!

The days brightened some more with our Hanukkah Haggigah (holiday celebration). Middle school and high school students thoroughly enjoyed the rhymes, rhythms, and music of Bible Raps performer Matt Barr. Students (and Rabbi Bernstein and Rabbi Josh) joined in on stage for portions of the performance as they used this medium to explore the holiday and their connection to Judaism.

Glow sticks, strobe lights, and candle light pierced the darkness during the middle school dance. In addition to our own students, we were joined by students from Solomon Schechter Day School of Queens and East Midwood Hebrew Day School. This was a wonderful opportunity to bring students together from the schools within the Schechter Network. We closed the night with a communal candle lighting and the singing of Maoz Tzur.

There is a Talmudic argument between the houses of Hillel and Shammai over how candles should be lit during Hanukkah. Shammai’s disciples promoted starting with all eight candles lit and reducing the number of candles each day while Hillel’s students thought that we should should increase the candles until all eight were burning the last night. While everyone knows which school of thought we follow on this issue, it is clear to me that, at least this Hanukkah, we have seen the light increase as we have moved through the holiday.

Shabbat Shalom v’Chag Urim Same’ach!

Friday Letter - 9/21/12

In the 21st century, almost no one works alone. Even if you have a job that permits you to work from home, you are still connected to colleagues, regardless of how near or far they may be. While individuals may achieve great breakthroughs and have inspiring visions (think Steve Jobs), it takes a collaborative effort to turn these ideas into a reality that can change the world.

4This is why we are interested in building a culture of collaboration at the Upper School. The introduction of Moodle (see below for a short video on how to log into Moodle) is just one of the tools that we are using. Another is the introduction of Google Apps for Education.

Similar to a personal Gmail account, Google Apps for Education provides a student with a basic e-mail account. Students can use this account to communicate with teachers, as well as with fellow students when working on group projects. More than this, Google Apps includes access to collaborative documents, spreadsheets and presentations, as well as the ability to upload and store other kinds of documents (e.g. Word files, pictures). The formula for student email addresses is first initial, last name and high school graduation year followed by @ssdsnassau.org. For example, Joe Smith (a 9th grader) is jsmith16@ssdsnassau.org. The 6th and 7th grade accounts are limited to send and receive emails to/from an @ssdsnassau.org address only. E-mail accounts are accessible via www.gmail.com. Students should enter their full e-mail address as their username.

Another collaborative effort is also underway as we have partnered with Paul Effman Music to kick-off our Middle School band program. Students listened and watched examples of a variety of instruments that they will have the ability to learn and explore through the after-school band program. Interest was high as the students heard the theme from the Super Mario games played on the flute. They even broke out in song themselves as a teacher played Hava Negillah on the clarinet. We are looking forward to seeing the students take the stage themselves in the future.

Of course, the highlight of my weekend (besides celebrating Rosh HaShanah with my family) was attending the High School Shabbaton. We were blessed with glorious weather and a fabulous program organized through the collaborative efforts of Mike Hirsch, Rabbi Josh, Senora Cahn, and the Student Council. Please check out the blog post from Paw Print Now that shares the student perspective on the Shabbaton.

G’mar Chatimah Tovah!