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| The Agnon Agenda | April/May 2013 Issue | |
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WELCOME TO THE APRIL ISSUE OF THE AGNON AGENDA
In addition, this month's Agenda contains three stories showcasing excellence of another sort: the tremendous generosity of our Agnon donors whose commitment to Agnon makes all of the above possible: Our record-breaking annual Benefit Auction; the growth spurt in our new endowment fund; and the inclusion of several of our donors on the inaugural L'Dor V'Dor Honor Roll, which is drawn from all the Jewish day schools by the Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education's (PEJE).
IN THIS ISSUE:
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 AGNON'S ANNUAL AUCTION RAISES RECORD AMOUNT
The Agnon School raised a record $405,000 at its 24th Annual Spring Benefit Auction and Raffle -- "Into the Future: Agnon Graduates Soar to New Heights" -- held on Sunday, April 21, at the school. Of the total amount raised, $300,000 was contributed during the evening's "Fund-A-Need" campaign to renovate the school's auditorium. The remaining $105,000 will be used for scholarship assistance, programming and operations.
"We hosted a sell-out crowd that came together in support of Cleveland's only Jewish community day school," said Laura Leventhal, Director of Development. "Dozens of volunteers put in countless hours to make this evening a success, and the generosity of those in attendance was overwhelming. We want to thank all of the bidders as well as our donors and sponsors."
During the live auction, Agnon Board member and parent Scott Simon acted as the evening's entertaining master of ceremonies. An auctioneer provided excitement, while taking bids on everything from a Caribbean Fly Fishing trip to Taylor Swift concert tickets.
More than 200 merchants, ranging from restaurants and beauty salons to hotels and resorts provided an exciting assortment of items to bid on during the silent auction. Highlights included the extensive listing of electronics as well as teacher outings available for bidding.
"The enthusiasm and generosity of our parents and grandparents and the support from the entire community was overwhelming," said Jerry Isaak-Shapiro, Head of School. "Funds from the Auction ensure a quality Jewish and general studies education for our students today; and the dollars raised for the auditorium will allow us to build an Agnon for tomorrow."
To ensure the success of Agnon's Benefit Auction, numerous volunteers worked tirelessly for months. Event volunteer leadership included Co-Chairs Eliana LeVine, Robin McCann and Meg Ratner; Vice Chairs Lisa Mayers and Ali Tannenbaum; and Chair Advisor Elisabeth Sapell.
  
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AGNON 6TH GRADERS CREATE ANCIENT ROMAN MUSEUM
 Students in the 6th grade recently created an impressive ancient Roman museum to display their handcrafted relics. In addition to giving presentations to fellow classmates, the 6th graders acted as museum docents to students in several grades who visited the museum to read and hear about artifacts that represented ancient Rome. |
AGNON ACCOLADES
 Mazal tov to Agnon 7th grader Rayna Langholt
who qualified for the Power of the Pen State Tournament after successfully competing at the District and Regional levels. Rayna will head to the College of Wooster May 23 -24 for this year's State competition.
Mazal tov to Agnon 2011 graduate Noa Shapiro-Franklin who attends Shaker Heights High School and captured first place in the National History Day competition / Senior Group Performance category for Reed v. Reed: The Pivotal Catalyst to Legal Equality for Woman.
Mazal tov to Agnon 2011 graduate Zachary Reizes who attends Shaker Heights High School and captured first place in the National History Day competition / Senior Individual Documentary category for The Ford Assembly Line.
Mazal tov to Agnon parents John and Joanna Huss who are both Fulbright Scholarship recipients.
Mazal tov to Agnon Middle School teacher Susan Beamish and her husband on the birth of their daughter Sylvia Kathleen, born on April 17. |
FACULTY FOCUS: VALERIE JONES
 Valerie Jones began her career at The Agnon School in 2004 as a Gan Alonim / Pre-Kindergarten teacher before becoming a Gan Shoresh / Preschool teacher. "As an Agnon Early Childhood educator, I tailor lessons to meet each student's individual and developmental needs," said Val. "Our curriculum is values-based, and I incorporate Judaics into all that we do. I also try to create a safe and stimulating environment in which students, ages 3 - 4, are inspired to learn and grow." With a B.A. in psychology from Emory University, Val also holds a four-year Resident Educator License from Notre Dame College. In addition, she has taken Conscious Discipline Training at Agnon. Prior to joining Agnon, Val worked as a Pre-Kindergarten teacher and Summer Camp Counselor at the Mandel JCC for six years. During the summer months, Val works as a Camp Counselor at Agnon's Early Childhood Camp. In her free time, she is an avid reader and likes to jog. Val also enjoys traveling with her family. Born in Durham, North Carolina, Val now lives in Shaker Heights. She has three sons and dog named Romeo. Favorite Food: Good guacamole and chips, as well as thin crust pizza Favorite Book: The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy
Favorite Film: Forrest Gump
Favorite TV Show: Any HBO or Showtime Series
Favorite Music: Bruce Springsteen, Coldplay, Justin Timberlake, The Rolling Stones and The Beatles |
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AGNON TEACHERS AND STUDENTS DONATE HAIR
Three Agnon teachers, Tsipi Arenas, Lindsey Vander, and Kim Favor, as well as several 5th grade girls and boys decided to grow their hair and donate it to various organizations including Pantene, Locks for Love and Zichron Menachem in Israel. Everyone donated 8 to 12 inches of hair. |
 AGNON CO-HOSTS THREE-DAY BASKETBALL SHABBATON
Agnon co-hosted a boys' and girls' basketball Shabbaton with Gross Schechter Day School for more than 50 students in 6th - 8th grades, March 1 - 3. Students from the Hillel Day School of Detroit also participated, traveling to Cleveland to take part in this special activity.
The three-day event held at Agnon included a boys' and girls' basketball tournament, Shabbat services and meals, as well as a Saturday evening Havdalah service. In addition, high school students active in BBYO held two Jewish leadership programs for the middle school students.
This inaugural basketball Shabbaton was a tremendous success. Throughout the weekend, there was positive competition, camaraderie and much excitement among all of the students who participated. In the end, Gross Schechter won the girls' basketball tournament championship, while Detroit's Hillel Day School took home the boys' basketball championship trophy.
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| AGNON IN THE NEWS
Follow coverage of Agnon in the local press.
► Purim passion ● Cleveland Jewish News ● 2/22/13
► Agnon to host three-day basketball tournament ● Cleveland Jewish News ● 2/28/13
► Agnon Events (Lavin & Glaser) ● Cleveland Jewish News ● 3/10/13
► 'Families in Conflict' session set for Agnon School ● Sun News ● March 14, 2013
►Agnon basketball Shabbaton ● Cleveland Jewish News ● 3/22/13
►Students celebrate Passover at Agnon School in Beachwood ● Sun News ● 3/27/13
► A beautiful day in 'Mr. President's neighborhood' (by Jerry Isaak-Shapiro)● Cleveland Jewish News ● 3/28/13
► Agnon librarian heads award committee for children's books ● Cleveland Jewish News ● 3/28/13
► Agnon education lauded ● Cleveland Jewish News ● 4/5/13
► Heritage, service shaped her career (Leah Spector) ● Cleveland Jewish News ● 4/8/13
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 STUDENTS CELEBRATE YOM HAATZMAUT
To celebrate Israel's Independence Day - Yom HaAtzmaut - on April 16, Agnon students wearing blue and white participated in a variety of festive activities throughout the school day. Highlights included a special t'fillah assembly, lively Israeli dancing and an Israeli shuk - or market - where student got to purchase special Israeli treats.  |
 KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS "VISIT" ISRAEL
Agnon Kindergarten students celebrated Yom HaAtzmaut in a very special way - they took a pretend trip to Israel. With backpacks and passports in tow, each student received a boarding pass before getting on the plane. The in-flight movie was a short documentary on the land of Israel. After landing in Tel Aviv, their first stop was to Agnon's Israeli shuk or market where everyone enjoyed buying Israeli treats. |
PASSOVER FOOD DRIVE HELPS JEWISH FAMILIES IN NEED
Agnon's 7th grade students coordinated a kosher for Passover food drive as part of an Agnon tzedakah project aimed at helping low income Jewish Clevelanders - many of whom are elderly Holocaust survivors.
After collecting Passover food from the Agnon community, the 7th graders assembled more than 40 decorative food baskets. Then, they personally delivered each gift package to Jewish families in need before the holiday of Passover began.
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AGNON STUDENTS WIN AT REGIONAL SCIENCE FAIR
 Eleven Agnon middle school students participated in the 60th annual Northeastern Ohio Science and Engineering Fair (NEOSEF) held at John Carroll, March 4 - 7, and all left as winners. After presenting their projects to a team of scientists and engineers, each Agnon student received recognition from the judges.
The following Agnon 7th and 8th graders were this year's NEOSEF award recipients.
Second Place Winners ► Red Ribbon, Silver Medal & $25
● Kayla Giterman (8th Grade)
● Noah Horowitz (8th Grade)
● Gabe Sugerman (8th Grade)
● Callie Gordon (7th Grade)
● Rachael Grossman (7th Grade)
● Jessica Linden (7th Grade)
Third Place Winners ► White Ribbon & Bronze Medal
● Julian Barnett (8th Grade)
● Leah Frydenberg (7th Grade)
● Logan Goldberg (7th Grade)
● Leah Rudow (7th Grade)
Honorable Mention ► Green Ribbon
● Gilda Weinstock (8th Grade)
Special Awards
● Noah Horowitz (8th Grade)
● Gilda Weinstock (8th Grade)
● Logan Goldberg (7th Grade)
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AGNON 8TH GRADE STUDENTS HELP ETHIOPIAN CHILDREN LIVING IN ISRAEL
 In conjunction with their April class trip to Israel, Agnon 8th grade students personally delivered new clothes to Ethiopian children in Israel who live below the poverty level.
Since travelers can only transport items that they have packed themselves, the students first participated in a massive pack-a-thon before their trip. Everyone filled duffle bags with brand new donated clothes for Ethiopian children in need. To cover airline costs for a second piece of luggage, the 8th graders conducted a fund raiser as part of this important social justice project.
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AGNON 8TH GRADERS ACT AS MUSEUM DOCENTS
As part of their year-long Integrated Project, each Agnon 8th grader chooses a painter, studies his or her art extensively, and then attempts to paint in the style of that painter. Then, 8th graders bring their own paintings to the Cleveland Museum of Art, where they stand before a work of their chosen artist and act as docents. They discuss their artist's historical period, aesthetic approach, and most well-known paintings before explaining what they learned about the artist through the process of emulation. Bringing student paintings into the museum requires careful collaboration between Middle School Art teacher Barbara Weiss and the museum's staff who, Weiss explains, "normally get nervous when they see paintings walking around on two feet."
  
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AGNON ENDOWMENT EXPERIENCES TREMENDOUS GROWTH
In 2011, Agnon expanded its efforts to grow its endowment fund to ensure a sound financial future. As a result, the school secured seven major endowment gifts over the past two years, including three pledges of $500,000 or more.
While continuing to secure pledges, Agnon already has commitments that will bring its endowment balance from $1.2 million in 2011 to $4 million by the end of 2015. In addition to these real-time gifts, the school is either aware of or has signed paperwork for an additional $700,000 in legacy and planned gifts. These include bequeaths and life insurance policies.
Bob Immerman was Agnon's lead donor in 2011, with a generous gift of $500,000. Bob has an 18 year connection to Agnon, and his three children - David, Rachel and Sarah - all graduated from the school.
In 2012, the Horowitz Ratner family made a pledge of more than $1,000,000 to the school. This gift represents the first of two inter-generational gifts to Agnon over the past year. What's more, they are the benefactors of two staff educational trips to Israel.
More recently, Agnon received a commitment of $1,000,000 from the Weinberg, Dinner, Kahn and Miller families. This charitable gift represents another multigenerational contribution coming from Penni and Stephen Weinberg (grandparents to six Agnon students), as well as Jennifer and Grant Dinner (parents of two Agnon students), Pamela and Craig Kahn (parents of one Agnon student) and Stephanie and Jared Miller (parents of three Agnon students).
NATIONAL JEWISH ORGANIZATION RECOGNIZES AGNON DONORS
The Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education (PEJE) recently admitted several Agnon donors into its newly created L'Dor V'Dor Honor Roll society. This national giving initiative recognizes generous donors across North America who have invested to secure the future of Jewish day schools through endowment and legacy gifts.
Since 2006, a number of Agnon donors have made contributions or pledges in the amount of $25,000 or more. They include Peter and Aliki Rzepka, the Horowitz Ratner family, the Weinberg-Miller-Dinner-Kahn family, Robert Goldberg, Jon and Margaret Ratner, Sheldon and Terry Adelman, Orry and Sheila Jacobs and an anonymous donor.
To view the complete inaugural PEJE L'Dor V'Dor Honor Roll list, click here. |
8TH GRADE ISRAEL TRIP
Each year, the Agnon 8th grade travels to Israel for about two weeks. This year, Head of School Jerry Isaak-Shapiro and 8th grade teacher Adam Levin undertook the task of blogging the trip, and the insightful and amusing fruit of their efforts is available, along with hundreds of photos, on the Agnon Facebook page (you don't need a Facebook account):
   
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PHOTO GALLERY: CLEVELAND ROCKS
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PHOTO GALLERY: 8TH GRADE ISRAEL SEND-OFF ASSEMBLY
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| AGNON FUND CONTRIBUTIONS
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COMMENTS, CORRECTIONS OR FEEDBACK?
Please e-mail Kathy Peskin, Director of Marketing, at The Agnon School. |
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