10  Get Out of My Laboratory! Sara Shkedy (yes, it's spelled without an 'h')

Sara worked at a lab at Methodist over the summer and interned with many doctors

Jonnie Katz at Camp Moshava Houston with his buddy, Ariel Diner

Tali Steinberg with her missing teeth

Josh Hakakian on his couch

 This week Darim Online announced the 2012-2013 cohort for the national Jewish Day School Social Media Academy. The Academy is an intensive program designed to help Jewish Day Schools advance their strategic use of social media in areas such as communication, marketing, community building, alumni relations and development.  

 

Only 20 school were chosen from the large number nationwide applied to participate and based on the merit of the submitted applications.

 

We are proud to announce that RMBA has been selected to benefit from this opportunity.  The team consists of: Samantha Steinberg (Team Leader), Rachel Jacobson Gold, Jay Edwards, Dr. Andrew Schneider and Dr. Barry Diner.

 

"We were incredibly impressed by the applications received," said Lisa Colton, founder and president of Darim Online. "The day school field is hungry to put these tools to use in smart, strategic and valuable ways.  It was very challenging to choose which schools would earn the 20 available spaces in this year's cohort."

  

After School Chess Club for Grades 1-5 to meet at RMBA

9 Sessions

Mondays

Beginning September 24

 

Dear Advice Fairy,

I just started high school, and it's insane. The teachers keep giving us work and they won't stop. Every time I finish one night's homework, I'm immediately given more. The other kids also seem so old and confident. This is nothing like middle school. What should I do?

 

- Freaking Out

 

 

Hey There Freaking Out!

 

I completely understand you. High school can be overwhelming at first. The first thing you need to do is get organized! Have a planner so you know exactly what you have to do every night. The next step is to actually do the work. One way to manage your time well is to have a certain amount of time allotted to each subject. If you tackle things one at a time, it's much less intimidating. Also, give yourself some breaks so you don't get too stressed. The main thing is to stay calm. You'll figure it out soon. And don't worry about the other kids! Everyone had the same sort of problems at first. I hope this helps and I am sure you'll look as confident in no time!

 

-The Advice Fairy

Dear Parents,

On behalf of the PTO, we would like to impart our most sincere gratitude to those families who have shown their support by becoming members of our organization! We are proud to report approximately 90% participation from RMBA families. However, we endeavor to reach our goal of 100% and ask for your help. 

 

The PTO is comprised of parent volunteers, teachers, administrators and support staff who are all dedicated to the successful education of our children. Through PTO sponsored events, financial support is provided to school programs, events, activities, and improvement projects that would otherwise not be funded.  

 

As members of the PTO, parents can become more involved in their children's school experience at whatever level of involvement is comfortable, from the donation of a membership fee to the giving of time and sharing of ideas. The annual membership fee is only $18 per family and donations of greater amounts are always welcomed and appreciated. If you have not already become a member, please consider joining this very worthwhile organization. 

 

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact any of the PTO board members. We look forward to greeting new members and sharing in elevating our children's educational experience!

Jacqueline Jaffe

Membership Committee

Thanks for Our New Members!

 

Gilad & Hadas Amiel                                                     Haim & Tali Bublil 

Idan Liberman & Yamit Ohayon               Mordechai and Suzannah Luchins 

Clive and Linda Shkedy                                        Daniel & Shira Yoshor

 

Entertainment Books

By now ALL families should have received one sample Entertainment Coupon Book. If you did not receive one please check with your youngest child and have him/her check in their locker.

The sale ends on Wednesday, September 12th. ALL SAMPLE BOOKS MUST BE RETURNED OR PAID FOR BY WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5TH.

8th Grade and 12th Grade students: This is a fundraiser for your DC and Israel trips. All proceeds from the books you sell will go to support your individual trip costs!

Click HERE for more information

 

The World Without Us, created by Mitch Anderson and Jason J. Tomaric, is a documentary that tries to answer this question. It focuses on three regions of the world; The Balkans, The Middle East, and Asia. The movie explains America's role in each region, all the while providing firsthand accounts of natives of these regions. It then explains what would happen if America removed its military from that area and what the other nations (such as the UK and Germany) would do once Uncle Sam left. 

The citizens and experts that the documentary interviews know what they are talking about. They give good insight on the states of their nations, both past and current. However, this intelligent insight is overshadowed by the fact that some of them contradict themselves. They begin by saying how America should not intervene but end up saying how, without America, the world would be a much worse place. This makes the movie more complicated -- you must keep track of who keeps on contradicting themselves. If you don't, it will seem like every person interviewed contradicts themselves, making the movie much less enjoyable (I didn't pay attention and I had to watch it again to see who really contradicts themselves and who gets overshadowed). 

Of all the commentators, the most memorable is Niall Ferguson, a Harvard and Oxford professor, who brings interesting and plausible insight regarding the three regions, especially the middle east. His most memorable comment for me was when he stated that if America left the Middle east, Israel would not be able to survive and that the Arab countries would eventually self destruct. Of course, you can't have a documentary that talks about the Middle East without some anti-Israel talk, so let's get to it. Three of the four Arab commentators blame the problems in the Middle East on Israel and condemn America for their support towards Israel. However, the film does not endorse this and no one else in the documentary supports these statements. So, if you were planning on watching this but were worried about the anti-semitism and anti-Israel themes, don't be. 

Overall, the documentary is pretty good. It covers a fascinating topic that is still debated in the present. It gives good historical background when talking about specific issues and, as stated earlier, its commentators and interviews (as a whole) are informative and balanced. However, the contradictions make everyone seem like a hypocrite, making the film much harder to follow. B-

Samantha Steinberg       Faculty Advisor
Rabbi Perry Tirschwell    Executive Director

Contributors: Yoni Schiff, Sam Gelman, Yossi Hoffman, Zach Yoshor, David Hadar, Josh Hakakian, Ariel Wadler, David Palla, Daniella Saghian, Eliana Sinoff, Rebecca Kerzner