Our Used Uniform Sale has been set for Monday, June 14 and Tuesday, June 15 (June 15th is also the date that Top Marks requires its orders in to guarantee shipment by July). It will be a 50/50 sale, with half the proceeds of the sale going back to the parents and half to the PTA. To sell your items, please download and fill out this form from the website, and hand it in to the office with the clothing you wish to sell by Thursday, June 10. To facilitate an easier sale, the last two weeks of school - Monday, June 14 to Thursday, June 24th - will be uniform free.

The PTA is bringing back its useful and popular School Supply fundraiser. They will be putting together supply kits for every grade, delivered directly to your child's classroom for the start of school in September.

The deadline for submitting orders is Wednesday, June 30. Please download the order form from the website and put it in the PTA box with a cheque made out to Hillel Academy PTA. If you have any questions, please contact Debbie Sussman or Gina Camel-Toueg.

The PTA also has a Camp Supply fundraiser. Get your kids set for camp early and support your PTA at the same time! To see the items and obtain an order form, go to the website and put it in the PTA box by June 10.

Remember, the website login is 'parent' and password is 'parent101'.

The annual SJCC Walkathon is coming up on June 6 at 9:30 am, and we hope to see a lot of Hillel families there!

The Walkathon is a 9km route around the neighbourhood that people can walk, run or cycle, but this year a 2km family route has also been added. There will be lunch and a lot of great, free kids' activities - it is a fun day for the family - an easy way to give back to our community!

The funds raised go to a number of important organizations and programs, but this year, the organizers have also agreed to give 10% of anything raised by Hillel students right back to Hillel. As a further incentive, the class that raises the most money will win a pool party and lunch.

You can register to participate online ahead of time or at the event itself. If you can't make it yourself, you could also consider donating to Hillel's own Chai Walker, Student Services Coordinator, Tal Gilboa (pictured on the right). After many years at Hillel, Tal is moving to Montreal and she views this as her last chance to give back to a school she loves. The more money she raises, the larger the percentage that Hillel will get back! You can read more about it, and donate, here.

We just found out that our grade 3 Judaics teacher, Ruth Lebovich, has been chosen to receive the Esther and Eric Exton Education Award, from the Jewish National Fund of Canada. Only one educator is chosen from across Canada each year. The JNF committee said they chose Morah Ruthie for her "comprehensive understanding of Israeli culture, religion, history, tradition, etc, using innovative and creative teaching methods that have been both inspiring and effective".

The award will be presented to Morah Ruthie (pictured below, surrounded by her students) next November, at the annual Negev dinner in Ottawa.

Hip hop dancer and teacher Daniel Katz, spent the week teaching students in Ms. Kettle's gym classes the basics of hip hop dancing. The kids thought they were just having fun, but it turns out hip hop is great exercise - cardio, stretching, coordination - as well as fun.

The residents at Hillel Lodge got a special treat on Thursday, when the ADK students went over to perform in their very own circus! The kids played the parts of animals, trainers and performers. Above, Animal Trainer Mia puts her lions, Skull (Bennett), Nala (Sandra) and Siana (Noa), through their paces.

A salient point mentioned in this week's Torah portion almost escapes detection, considering that the parasha deals with various stories of interest, ranging from the travels of the people of Israel in the desert to the account of Moshe's strained relations with his wife, Zipporah. The Torah mentions that the tribe of Dan is known as the Measef, meaning the 'gatherer.'

The Talmud Yerushalmi in Eruvin tells us that Dan travels behind the other tribes in order to gather up all objects left behind. Dan becomes a garbage collector, if you take the interpretation at face value. On the other hand, you could look at it differently, and derive a very important ethical teaching from this Talmudic explanation.

The tribe of Dan demonstrates that it shows care and concern for the belongings of others, even trivial items. It reminds one of the Talmudic statement that Jacob, our patriarch, also makes sure to gather up even small flasks in order not to allow litter to remain as he travels with his entourage back to Canaan. Dan's actions speak to the interrelationship of all Jews: we have an obligation to look after the needs of our fellow Jews. In the words of Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, the great Talmudist and philosopher of the 20th Century, as part of the Covenant of Fate of Israel, we show our commonality with our fellow Jew by feeling his pain and assisting him in relieving him of it. Tribal distinctions in ancient times, or ideological differences in our time, should not prevent us from caring about our fellow Jew and helping him/her in a time of need.

- Rabbi Howard Finkelstein