|
|
|
The Agnon Agenda
| The "Spinning Dreidel" Edition
December 2011
| |
|
Welcome to the "Spinning Dreidel" edition of The Agnon Agenda
Our students and staff have been busy gathering up grandparents, grants, great accolades and gifts for tzedakah projects. If that isn't enough, we've garnered plenty of press coverage of our kids' good deeds (follow the "read more" links to see that coverage).
 It's all here in the December issue of the Agnon Agenda newsletter, including your invitation to attend Agnon's Barnes and Noble Bookfair to benefit The Agnon School. This benefit Bookfair is both a special program on Sunday, Dec. 11 at Barnes and Noble Booksellers in the Eton Collection AND an in-store as well as an online event event that runs from Dec. 11 - Dec. 16 at http://www.bn.com/bookfair. Use ID# 10564714 when you check out online or at ANY Barnes and Noble and a portion of your purchase will be donated to Agnon's Anne Frank Library. On Sunday, Dec. 11, come to Barnes and Noble at Eton, and join in for Chanukah Storytime and Crafts with Agnon Librarian Aimee Lurie (10:00 a.m.); Music performed by Agnon Students (noon); an Origami Craft Project with artist and Agnon Parent Marla Papcum (2:00 p.m.) and Hebrew Storytime presented by Agnon Students (4:00 p.m.). In this issue: |
 THE GATHERING OF THE GRANDPARENTS
Agnon recently hosted more than 250 grandparents during its annual "Grandparents Day" -- the largest gathering since the program began four years ago. The event, which began with breakfast, included remarks from Agnon Board President Orry Jacobs, Head of School Jerry Isaak-Shapiro, and Dr. Jonathan Scharfstein, an Agnon alumni parent whose children now attend Yale, Princeton and Shaker Heights High School.
After breakfast, grandparents visited their grandkid's classrooms to participate in a range of activities. Some grandparents were interviewed about their experiences of historic events; some joined discussions on Israeli politics; others learned about their students' science experiments. Students in several grades wrote and delivered personal notes, while grandparents who could not attend received letters in the mail.
Read more: In the City: Out and About with Grandparents ● Cleveland Jewish News ● November 11, 2011
|
|
|
AGNON STUDENTS MEET WITH DISABLED ISRAELI ATHLETES
Three athletes with the Israeli Sports Center for the Disabled -- a world pioneer in the field of sports rehabilitation -- recently visited The Agnon School and spoke with 8th graders about their challenges and triumphs. To learn more, visit http://fiscd.org/
.
|
|
AGNON ALUMNI SELECTED AS SALTZMAN YOUTH PANELISTS
Congratulations to the following five Agnon alumni selected to participate in the 2011-2012 Saltzman Youth Panel of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland:
- Rachel Kraus, Solon High School -- senior
- Noah Shutkin, Shaker Heights High School -- senior
- Ari Sobel, Beachwood High School -- senior
- Howard Sobel, Beachwood High School -- senior
- Adam Wolf, Hawken -- junior
The panel educates Jewish youths about the philanthropic process and responding to community needs by empowering them to allocate $50,000 to worthy organizations (85% is awarded to Jewish community programs and 15% is awarded to United Way agencies). Through this process, participants learn about community decision-making, leadership and tzedakah.
|
| AGNON ACCOLADES
Mazal tov to Agnon 2nd grader Eli Langholt who recorded a YouTube video review of the new Wii game, Leela, by Deepak Chopra. Chopra enjoyed the review so much that he shared it with his family and posted it on his Facebook pages and website. Watch Eli's review here:
 | | Eli's review of Deepak Chopra's Wii Game Leela |
Mazal tov to Agnon 8th grader Becky Marcus who was recently honored at the Jewish Family Service Association (JFSA) Annual Meeting for dedicating her Bat Mitzvah project to a JFSA cause -- donating food to a food pantry.
Thank you and good luck to Lynn Harris who is retiring from her long-time position as the Taekwondo instructor at The Agnon School. Donna LaQuatra, owner of the ATA Black Belt Academy, will take her place.
|
|
AGNON RECEIVES THREE GRANTS
The Agnon School recently received three grants totaling $7500 from Dollar General, Target and Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education (PEJE).
Dollar General awarded Agnon $3500 from its "Back to School Literacy Foundation" to support a Storytime Resources Collection at the school's Anne Frank Library. The goal is to improve literacy skills among students with learning differences and those not regularly exposed to English outside of school by engaging them with flannel boards, puppets and large books. 
Target presented Agnon with a $2,000 "Art and Culture in Schools" grant to support an artist in residence program. Agnon will connect with artists who engage in non-traditional art forms. Under their guidance, students will explore innovative art forms as well as visit artist studios.
PEJE awarded Agnon a matching grant of approximately $2000 to support staff professional development and training, allowing Karil Bialostosky --
Agnon's new Endowment Director and Grants Coordinator -- to participate in a planned giving conference held in New York. The school also organized an endowment and fundraising seminar for Board and staff members featuring a development and endowment expert.
Read more
► Agnon School Receives $7,500 in Grants to Enhance Programming ● Sun News ● November 10, 2011
► Agnon Receives Three Grants ● Cleveland Jewish News ● November 25, 2011
|
|
NEW GRANDPARENT LEARN & LUNCH PROGRAM BEGINS
Agnon recently launched a new grandparent "Learn and Lunch" program, which invites grandparents by grade level to attend a 45-minute educational session with Jerry Isaak-Shapiro, Head of School, and then enjoy lunch with their grandchildren in the cafeteria.
Throughout the school year, grandparents are not only welcome, but encouraged to visit Agnon and participate in a number of activities. Keep an eye on the Agnon School Calendar to find out when the spring round of "Learn and Lunch" begins.
|
HAPPY CHANUKAH!
From the faculty, staff and students of The Agnon School. |
|
|
|
L'DOR V'DOR WELCOMES AGNON KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS
 
To mark the beginning of their formal Jewish education at The Agnon School, Kindergarten students in the graduating Class of 2020 recently participated in a Welcoming L'Dor V'Dor Ceremony. This special program included prayers, song and a celebratory reception.
|
| AGNON STUDENTS GIVE THANKS THROUGH SOCIAL JUSTICE PROJECTS
Tzedakah, or social justice, is one of The Agnon School's seven core values, but it's more than just a concept to Agnon students. They put this value into action by participating in numerous community service projects in every grade throughout the school year.
To commemorate Thanksgiving, the Agnon community collected non-perishable food items to donate to the Bread of Life Food Pantry. In addition, middle school students took part in a variety of social justice projects to benefit the following local charities:
Bellefaire: Students filled "birthday boxes" with gifts for run-away teenagers residing at Bellefaire, an organization that provides services to young people.
Rescue Village: Using tennis balls, students made handmade pet toys for this Geauga Humane Society animal shelter.
Domestic Violence Center: Students crafted fleece blankets for residents living at this Cleveland shelter home.
The Gathering Place: Students decorated baseball caps and journals for cancer patients affiliated with this organization, which supports, educates and empowers those touched by cancer.
Menorah Park: Students created decorative artwork for people staying at this center for senior living.
After completing these projects at the school, items were delivered with help from the Jewish Family Service Association.
This program was featured on WOIO-TV Channel 19 News and the November issue of Cleveland Family Magazine. Read more about our projects:
►Learning About Social Justice ● Beachwood Patch ● November 28, 2011   
|
|
|
AGNON 4th GRADERS LEARN ABOUT CHANUKAH AND STUDY ANCIENT GREECE
 Beginning in October, Agnon 4th grade students start learning about Ancient Greece in an integrated education unit that culminates with a "Greek Chanukah Night." This unique program brings language arts, social studies, Judaic studies, technology, art, music and math together in a presentation that begins at 7:00 p.m. on December 14th at the school. One of the program's major goals is to enhance each student's Jewish identity. Through the study of Ancient Greece and Hellenism, along with the Jewish history of this time, 4th graders see the relevance of Chanukah and feel the pride of being Jewish. During the program, students will demonstrate everything they learned about the Jewish victory in 165 B.C.E. over the Hellenist Syrians and Antiochus, the Greek King of Syria, who outlawed Jewish rituals and ordered the Jewish people to worship Greek gods. 
Dressed in chitons (loose outer garments worn by ancient Greece citizens), students will read letters in English and in Hebrew that they wrote, pretending to have lived in these ancient times. They will also share myths and information about famous Greek gods that they created, emulating ancient Greek stories, and show a student-generated PowerPoint presentation about the history and modern celebration of Chanukah. Students also researched specific Greek and Jewish history topics to develop educational games and recreated ancient oil lamps using clay. The program will finish with festive songs sung in Hebrew and English. All Agnon students will be involved in a variety of activities to celebrate the Festival of Lights which begins at sundown on December 20th. |
|
|
|
|
