HHNE's Big Bang Event! 2012 Annual Scholarship Event Don't forget to mark your calendars for the Big Bang Event!
Featuring: Mayim Bialik, star of the CBS hit sitcom, The Big Bang Theory
Honoring: The Zachs Family
Presenting the President's Award to: Barbara Zalesch
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Beth El Temple, West Hartford
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ORA Presentation
Raising Student Awareness
HHNE provided a special program for the 11th and 12th grades on Thursday, May 10th. We were fortunate to host Rabbi Jeremy Stern, the Executive Director of Organization for the Resolution of Agunot (ORA), and Rabbi Jonathan Hefter, the Educational Coordinator of ORA. Rabbi Brahm Weinberg and Mrs. Elana Weinberg also helped to facilitate the program.
For those who are not familiar with the term, an agunah (pl. agunot) is a woman whose marriage is functionally over, but whose husband is unable or unwilling to give her a get (writ of Jewish divorce). Without such a document, the woman is unable to remarry. Situations in which the husband is able to give his wife a get but refuses to do so are viewed as a form of domestic abuse by many psychologists.
Rabbis Stern and Hefter spoke to the students about the problem of agunah, about ways they can be involved in advocating on behalf of these women, and about measures that they can take to prevent this tragic situation from arising for themselves, for family, and for friends.
After a brief introduction, students were broken up into two or three groups for a small session about what an agunah is--talmudic and modern day-- using original sources. They also read two different vignettes about agunot. Afterwards, all of the students came together for a wrap up session, which included a brief video and audio tape.
The program proved both educational and also practical, and sparked a ton of discussion in our school community. Thank you very much to Mrs. Weinberg for arranging for ORA to come to HHNE.
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Israel Travel
Hebrew Students Form Ad Campaign
Hebrew IV Seniors recently created an advertising campaign for travel to Israel. The class, taught by Mrs. Meira Eisenberg, divided into five "ad agencies," each representing a different region in Israel. Each group developed a brochure, written entirely in Hebrew, which described attractions that would appeal to various interest groups: hikers, archeologists, bird watchers, bar/bat mitzvah groups, etc... Students stretched their vocabularies and exercised their writing skills as they learned about these areas and developed their campaigns. The brochures also included beautiful drawings and cartoons by our artistically talented students. This collaborative effort included keeping a detailed, daily log (also written in Hebrew), assessing each student's contributions.
This assignment was a good example of how our Hebrew department's goal is not only for the students to learn the language but also for them to learn about the Israeli people, geography, and culture.
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Congratulations!
Grinspoon Outstanding Teacher Award Winner at HHNE
 HHNE is proud to announce that Mrs. Heather Page is one of this year's recipients of the annual Grinspoon Foundation Award for Excellence in Jewish Education. The Grinspoon Foundation began this award in 1996 in an effort "to recognize and support quality teaching in Jewish education." Teachers may be nominated by colleagues, students and/or parents. Nominated teachers submit lesson plans for a model lesson as well as recommendations from administrators and are observed by a committee of evaluators from the Foundation.
Mrs. Page teaches Language and Composition (AP), Literary Genres (Academic), and Literary Appreciation (Honors), and is in charge of College Guidance.
We are proud that Mrs. Elana Weinberg, Rabbi Uri Grosberg, and Ms. Donna Lorenzo were also nominated this year. |
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Color War
Field Day at HHNE
According to the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, the three Cs--collaboration, communication, and creativity--are essential to students' future success in the 21st century workforce. Of course, in their personal lives and in their roles as future communal leaders, we hope that our students will use these skills to effect positive change in their communities and the world.
Inside and outside of the classroom, HHNE strives to provide opportunities for students to develop these essential skills and traits during their high school years, which is why extracurricular programs that stress teamwork, cooperation, and problem solving are a crucial adjunct to our academic course of study. In that spirit, HHNE held its annual "Field Day" earlier this month. This event provided significant opportunity for collaboration and teamwork and also served as an opportunity for students to take a break from their rigorous class schedule and psych themselves up for their fast-approaching AP and final exams. The event kicked off with a school sleepover. The night before the Field Day, students gathered at HHNE for some fun surprises, with such features as a human bubble, a game bus, and a giant blanket fort:
On Field Day, students participated in the main event: Color War.
During Color War, students were split into two teams, Fire (the red team) and Ice (the blue team). Throughout the day, students and teachers participated in a number of competitions, some cognitive and some athletic. These included junkyard wars, during which teams were challenged to build a Rube Goldberg machine that would put out a candle, and a Judaic knowledge competition. Teams also participated in cake decorating, tug-of-war, dodge ball, and more. HHNE thanks Emunah Garfield ('12) and her student government team for all of their effort in overseeing the planning of this very successful event.
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Wish List
Reaching Out to the Community
HHNE is in need of a wheelchair!
If anyone in the community has a working wheelchair they would like to donate, please contact our main office at (860) 231-0317.
Thank you!
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Smile for the Camera!
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