Parents of the Sophomore Class are invited to join us next Monday, October 31 at 2:00 PM for the kick-off of the grade's month-long project: The Frisch-Africa Encounter. We'll be sending you lots of detailed information during the coming weeks. On Monday the kids will be hearing from Rachel Ishofsky of Jewish Heart for Africa and from our Coordinator of Interdisciplinary Studies, Mrs. Tikvah Wiener, about a project which will include lessons about Israeli technologies being used in Africa; the realities of Modern Africa; the absorption of Ethiopian Jews into Israeli society; African- Americans in Early America; the controversy over Sudanese refugees in Israel; a Green-a-thon; lessons from Sefer Shmot (which we're studying this year) about the treatment of the stranger and the other; and more.
We realize that right in the middle of the afternoon is not the most convenient time for parents, but if you can make the time, I think you'll enjoy being there for the start of this ambitious program, which is a key component of the tenth grade's Exploration theme.
I was just about to write an email wishing each of you a Chag Samai'ach and telling you about some stuff happening after Yom Tov was something quite lovely and noteworthy happened:
During the last twenty minutes or so dozens, literally dozens, of young men and women have popped into my office to happliy and excitedly to make sure I'd heard the news that a deal had been made to release Gilad Shalit. Their joy couldn't have been greater had this been a Simcha in their own families (which, of course, it is). Between Frisch and Parents we're obviously doing something right! We can only pray that Gilad Shalit will in fact be coming home next month.
Much more prosaic but also somewhat exciting: Once again this year our students will have the opportunity to participate in a series of lectures and programs on significant issues in Jewish life and thought conducted by major figures in the Jewish intellectual world. The lecture/program series, funded once again by the Tikvah Foundation, is open to all students in each of the grades. We do require, however, that students demonstrate serious interest--it's hard to believe but there are actually high school students who'd attend a lecture or two just to get out of a few classes (we weren't at all like that when we were kids)--by completing a short application and essay and by doing some reading and written work--nothing onerous--before and after each program. Applications are available in the office and are due by no later than November 2.
PSAT FOR GRADES 10-11: All sophomores and juniors will be taking the PSAT on Wednesday, October 26. No pre-registration is needed. Students just need to be in school on time and to have some pencils, a calculator, and $14 in cash or in a check made out to The Frisch School.
The faculty and I wish each Frisch student and family a G'mar Chatimah Tovah.
The Frisch School has been the scene of so much almost non-stop activity during the last ten days that I can only give you a brief, fragmentary report:
Charlie Harary talks to our students about how Teshuva is returning to who You could be.
Yesterday's Teshuva assembly was one of our best ever. Our guest speaker, Mr. Charlie Harary, was just about the best inspirational speaker I have ever heard. The kids loved him--please ask your son/daughter about him. We also enjoyed an inspirational video and comments by Rabbi Goldfischer. We always end our Teshuva assemblies with sweets and an inevitable corny attempt to connect that year's creative food offering with some aspect of Teshuva. This year, it was chocolate chip cookie and ice cream sandwiches which Rabbi Goldfischer tried to explain fit perfectly into a Passuk about Teshuva that we read in Shul before Rosh Hashanah.
Over 300 of our students disconnecting from their cell phones to reconnect to each other.
More than 300 students who've voluntarily disconnected themselves from their phones --Disconnect to Connect-- had a Frisch version of speed dating in the shul. Picture this: An outer circle of freshmen and sophomores reaching all around the Shul and facing them an inner circle of juniors and seniors chatting with them about a list of topics for a few minutes, and then on signal the inner circle stands up and shifts a few seats and each younger student then chats with another upperclassman. The program concluded with a short Mussar schmooze by Rabbi Bashist. Like many of our best programs this one was initiated and run by our students.
The entire school embarked on a Tehilim project, one student from each grade saying a Perek of Tehilim each day, for the next 150 days until we have completed Tehilim four times, not on behalf of Gilad Shalit, we don't want to think that he'll be in captivity that much longer, but inspired by him.
The following email sent by Rabbi Sher who worked with a group of our AISAC kids on this project, to all of the Talmud teachers this morning: (Check out the YouTube; really well done!)
As Rabbi Ciner announced to the school on Tuesday, one aspect of Frisch's approach to Aseret Y'mei Teshuva is enhanced appreciation of Israel. As such, a video with the highlights of Bibi's speech to the UN was made by AISAC and is now on youtube. Please show this to your class on Thursday. It's about 20 minutes long (there were a lot of highlights- it was really a great speech). Afterwards, there is a one page assignment for them to fill out about using points made by the PM to defend Israel on college campuses. I know there's a lot to do and many of us are giving tests next week, but it is really important to see a Jewish leader stand up in front of representatives from the entire world and plead his case. And there were significant Jewish overtones and themes to a lot of his speech.
All of the above + Chessed Days for each grade, major interdisciplinary programs kicked off by Mrs Wiener and her colleagues, and, of course, the rich daily experience of our regular classes.
