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PARSHAT OF THE WEEK - SHELACH |
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The Torah states:
"And Calev stilled the people towards Moshe and said, 'We should certainly go up and possess the land for we are well able to take it.' "
There were two good spies - Calev and Joshua. Why did only Calev speak to the people and not Joshua?
The Arizal, a famous rabbi and mystic (kabbalist), explains that Joshua preferred that Calev speak to the people because he felt that if he spoke up, the people would respond, "You only want to enter the land because of your desire for power. You are only concerned about your own welfare. You want leadership for yourself. For us, it is not in our best interests to go to the land."
Our lesson: When we try to influence others to do something, it is important that they view what we say as being for their welfare.
If someone we are trying to influence feels that we are motivated by self-interest, he will not heed us. In such a case, it is better to have an unbiased person speak to him.
by Rabbi Kalman Packouz |
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IMPORTANT REMINDER |
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Thank you all for your support and cooperation in making the 2008/09 school year an incredible success!
Please return the 2009 - 2010 Admission & Tuition agreements and settle any outstanding accounts.
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O AMBASSADOR UPDATE |
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Thanks to everyone who supported the trip to Kenya. The "O Ambassadors" are safely home after a truly life-changing experience, bubbling over with stories of unusual food, exotic animals, and heartwarming friendship. The team inspired us all by successfully building a medical center and finishing a school for the residents of Masai Mara, Kenya.
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THE POLAND - ISRAEL EXPERIENCE
AN 11TH GRADE STUDENT REPORTS... |
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TRIAL OF MY PEOPLE
Poland is a beautiful country. Well, the open farmlands are. The developing cities are more comparable to Los Angeles; filled with tall buildings, buses, people, and browning trees scattered in cities like Warsaw and Lublin, where the class stayed for a few of the nights. Driving to the camps through ongoing scenes of greenery and quaint cottages, our minds couldn't help but wonder what to expect. Majdanek was an emotional experience, one that was in view of a main street, and a 5 minute walk away from a high school we visited just minutes before. Auschwitz, Birkenau, and Treblinka were in the middle of stunning forests and fields. The colors were fresh and invigorating, yet the rotting wooden buildings and mass graves spoke the stories of those who had perished or suffered the inhumanities of the Nazis. It was overwhelming to experience and comprehend the coexistence of unimaginable tragedies and visual beauty.
The journey to and in Israel took a totally different course. The land has a different beauty; one of emotional connections, ancient history, pride, and excitement for the future. Our first stop, the Western Wall, was the perfect way for first-timers to connect with the country. The long drive down to Eilat, swimming in seas, a pond, and a pool, walking in water tunnels of the ancient city of David, hiking Masada, and all the countless wonders we saw with our own eyes had a massive effect on each and every person in our group. Going to Yad Vashem shed new lights on the Holocaust, and the monuments were powerful. Going to the tombs of Yitzchak Rabin, Chana Senesh, and hundreds of fallen soldiers allowed us, a group of 16-18 year olds, to see how brave the soldiers (many of whom are only a year older than us) are.
The combination of Poland, the firsthand view of the Holocaust and old European Jewry, with Israel, the firsthand view at Jewish biblical history and ancient Jewry, is one that leaves a mark on our hearts that is indescribable. The profound appreciations and connections to our Jewish roots and Judaism made by each student will last a lifetime and more.
Ariel Weinberg
11th grade student |
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8th GRADE PROMOTION |
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| Last Tuesday, our 8th Grade students were promoted to official Upper Schoolers. Over 200 family members and friends indulged in a beautiful buffet of sandwiches, hors douvres and fruit before the students spoke, and performed for their audience.
The students were presented with promotion certificates and boxes for keeping their memorabilia. Thank you to Blueberry Hill for so graciously providing all of the refreshments.
In addition, photographs of year end MS Carnival are available at http://tge.smugmug.com (Gallery: Tarbut, Password: Tarbut09) |
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TVT JUNIOR BECOMES EAGLE SCOUT |
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Kol Ha'Kavod to to rising TVT junior Charles DeLoach on achieving the rank of Eagle Scout. According to the Boy Scots of America website ( http://www.scouting.org), only about 5% of Boy Scouts achieve this distinction, indicative of the scout's citizenship training, character development and personal fitness.
Charles chose TVT as the recipient of his service project, creating additional storage space on the upper school field to assist with the increased needs of the flourishing campus.
Congratulations, Charles! |
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7th GRADE PATENTS PENDING! |
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TVT 7th grade students, Roy Elzur and Matthew Cohen were recently awarded an exclusive patent pending by the U.S. Patent Office on their ingenious "ToothBrushPop".
Both boys have been active in TVT's Patent Club, and were mentored by Mr. Nelson Nahum, Vice President of Software Engineering and Fellow at LSI, who holds several patents in the field of Storage Systems. Mazel Tov! (Keep an eye out next year, as the Patent Club reconvenes for another outstanding session). |
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TVT 7th JUDAIC SIYUM (CONCLUSION) |
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This past Monday the 7th grade students of Mr. Zoppo's Judaic class concluded their semester-long study of the book of Genesis with a family game night. The twist was that student chevrutas, study partners, created the games themselves, using them for the night's entertainment. This allowed the students to display their new knowledge in an entertaining and creative way.
Many thanks to Sharon and Michael Berman and family for their gracious hospitality. Thanks also to the parents and students who participated in the evening of fun and games.
A wonderful time was had by all!
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5th GRADE PROMOTION |
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| Yesterday's 5th grade promotion ceremony was outstanding! Mr. Marc Franklin, Executive Vice President of the Board, welcomed all in attendance, followed by a speech given by the Student Council President.
The fifth graders sang three musical selections under the direction of Mrs. Sarit Livnat and musical accompaniment of Mrs. Rocky Brown. Promotion certificates were presented to each student by Papa Gelman. Mr. Grant Furry assembled a comprehensive PowerPoint presentation that included pictures of the students from their kindergarten years to the present.
Mr. John Fowler, our new Middle School Principal, welcomed our newly promoted students to the Middle School and all enjoyed a reception at the Upper School Courtyard, prepared by parents of the 4th grade class.
Mazel Tov to our new 6th graders! |
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3rd GRADE WAX MUSEUM |
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The Third Grade Wax Museum was the culmination of a four week "Heroes" biography unit. Students researched their hero on the internet, read a biography, and took notes,using color coded, topic related note cards. They made a timeline of their hero's life and composed a report that was used, in turn, to inspire speeches, which were delivered at the "Wax Museum".
All of the students dressed up using costumes and props to portray their characters and posed as if they were "wax figures".
Each one wore a "push me" button. (When the button was pushed, the student recited an "autobiographical" speech.) The Third Grade Wax Museum was a huge success, delighting family, friends and students alike!
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US STUDENTS TEACH GEOMETRY TO KINDERGARTEN |
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To the extreme enjoyment of TVT's kindergarten students, Mrs. Korinevskaya's math class made a special trip to the Lower School, sharing their knowledge of shapes -- and an ample supply of ice cream. Has learning about volume ever been this cool?
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TVT SCIENCE TEACHER RECEIVES YOUTUBE AWARD |
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Tarbut V' Torah's Physics Teacher, Mr. James Lincoln, received 1st place recognition for a video lesson he created in the American Physical Society's "Toy Box Physics" contest.
His video and the others can be viewed on the following link:
Congratulations Mr. Lincoln! |
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FACULTY SCREENPLAY PICKED UP FOR PRODUCTION |
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Upper School English teacher Frank Thurmond has just signed a worldwide marketing and distribution agreement with a major production company that plans to produce one of Thurmond's screenplays as a major feature film.
Thurmond will be working as both a writer and producer on the project, which is currently scheduled to be shot in 2010 and released in theaters later that year. A formal press release about the project, entitled "A Magical Mystery Tour", will be published soon in "Variety" and "The Hollywood Reporter".
In order to work full time on this and other projects he currently has in development, Mr. Thurmond will be taking a sabbatical from teaching and will not be returning to TVT next academic year. |
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DON'T MISS THIS SUMMER AT TVT. . . |
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SUMMER COLLEGE INSTITUTE |
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| All TVT senior students are invited to attend
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SUMMER SPORTS CAMPS |
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CROSS COUNTRY RUNNING & FITNESS CAMP For the first time, TVT will be offering a summer cross country running & fitness sports camp. It will begin on Monday, August 3rd and will meet every Monday through Thursday from 5-7pm, during the month of August. Coached by Cross Country coach, Mr. James Lincoln, the camp is open to all incoming 9-12th graders.
Email- coachlincoln@gmail.com to ask for more details.
The following camps are open to all students grades 5-8: VOLLEYBALL: Designed for various levels of experience, Volleyball Camp will focus on individual as well as team skill sets: passing, setting, hitting, blocking, digging and serving. Cost is $150. Please contact general studies teacher Elizabeth Stone at estone@tarbut.comfor more information.
Session 1: August 17 - August 21 (8:30am - Noon).
SOCCER: Soccer Camp is being led by Shelby Ganitch (sganitch@tarbut.com), a general studies assistant in the lower school with over 15 years experience playing soccer - 3 as a coach at TVT. The camp will focus on conditioning, drills, strengthening, aggressiveness, juggling, one-on-one, shooting, plays and an overall understanding of the sport. Total cost: $150.
Session 1: July 6 - July 10 (9:00am - Noon)
Session 2: August 3 - August 7 (9:00am - Noon) |
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SUMMER STUDY SKILLS BOOT CAMP |
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This summer TVT will offer a study skills boot camp for students in grades 6-9 on August 19-21, from 9am to 3pm.
Click here to view the details of the program. |
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FOR PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS |
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FOR PARENTS:
KEHILLAH ("COMMUNITY") CONNECTION "KC" WELCOMES NEW FAMILIES TO TVT |
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Welcome new families to TVT!
Please contact, Laura Dolan, Kehillah Connection Chair, lauradolan217@cox.net by June 18th, if you're interested in participating. |
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PTSO |
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Thank you to everyone who served on the PTSO so diligently this past year; you brought joy with you wherever you went and greatly enhanced the TVT experience for our students and staff.
For everything you have done, thank you. We look forward to next year, welcoming a unified PTSO and the excitement of a new school year, which is fast approaching. For more information, check your summer packets - coming soon! |
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GRANDPARENTS CLUB FORMING |
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Interested individuals should contact Linsey Savage, Assistant to the Acting Head of School, at lsavage@tarbut.com or (949) 509-9500 ext. 3224. | |
