October 31, 2014

7 Cheshvan 5775

Parshat Lech-Lecha

Candle Lighting: 6:00 pm

 

• There will be no clubs on Monday and Tuesday, November 3rd and 4th due to parent teacher conferences. 
• LOST AND FOUND in the cafeteria, see Mr. Davis for more information - after Tuesday the lost and found articles will be given away. 
• November 13-15 - HYPE Fall Shabbaton (see below)
• Alumni Basketball Game - November 29, 2014 @ Winchester Thurston School 
• GHS biannual production, Sunday, March 1st and Monday, March 2nd in the Robinson Theater at the JCC - Peter Pan. 
• Awards Night and Penny Social on December 9, 2014 at Dave & Buster's at 6:30 pm - see below
• Because it is dangerous for our students, No U-turns in front of the school.
• Check our online calendar for Yom Tov/days off schedule
• School Website 
• Facebook Page

 

Shalom and his family recently enjoyed a trip to D.C. They did not attempt to jump the fence for the White House tour.  But, if they had,  it would have been an easy way to avoid the lines.

Sounds like a great story, do tell? In eighth grade, my class was in the basement classroom at the bottom of the steps (does that room still exist?) with windows looking out to the driveway. On a cold winter day we were having a water fight outside our classroom in the driveway. Somebody forgot to turn the hose off and left it on overnight. When we came back the next day the entire driveway was a sheet of ice. The school was not happy...

Sounds interesting, what kind of robots and what kind of people? I (Shalom) work on robots that work outdoors and do stuff. I am currently working on a robot to explore the moon and another robot for finding life on Mars. My wife Leah is a nurse, working on a GI surgical oncology floor.

What's it like sending your children to the school you attended and where you mother is such a famed individual? The fact that my kids are there is not weird. The weird part is coming into the school thinking I know how it looks, and finding all the rooms have changed. It is also cool seeing people every morning that I used to see every morning all those years ago (such as Mrs. Aronson). My kids really enjoy seeing their grandmother (The Morah Devorah) every morning and having her at the door greeting them.

Eliyahu Mintz brought me into the States this past summer so I could see the good work I'm helping to fund with my work. I spent time at two beautiful camp facilities in the Catskills and attended an amazing bar mitzvah: http://www.jewishpress.com/blogs/ear-to-the-ground/a-boy-a-camp-and-a-bar-mitzvah-hell-never-forget/2014/09/05/?src=ataglance

How do you earn living? See above :-)

How did Hillel Academy prepare you for the future? I had an amazing class at Hillel. Though we only spent three years together, we all feel this incredible bond, as if we were siblings or a family of sorts. We held a reunion several years ago and my face hurt from smiling so much. I think I learned about achdus at Hillel, more than anything else.

Hillel Trivia - How 

many parking spaces in the lot? 

When did you attend Hillel Academy? 1972-1975

Most interesting person in your contacts? Robert Werdine, a moderate Muslim who defended me for my pro-Israel views. See: http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/before-i-vote-a-defense-of-varda-epstein/. We have become dear friends.
 

Share something with our students you wish someone had told you when you were in school? I wish someone had told me that it was normal for teens to suffer so much unbearable angst and that it would not be like that forever and that a productive and wonderful life lay ahead of me.

     Rabbi Sutofsky comes to Hillel with a Masters in Mental Health Counseling from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He has been working with adolescents over the last ten years in Silver Spring, MD, Israel, and Houston, TX. He trained as a therapist at Jewish Family Services (JFS) in Houston for two years, was a student advisor at the Jewish girls high school in Houston (Torah Girls Academy- TGA), and has recently been selected to be part of a weekly training program in New York for Mental Health therapists and school counselors run by Torah Umesorah. He is currently a candidate for Licensure as a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Pennsylvania and will be working under supervision until his licensure is received.

     As school counselor, over the next few months Rabbi Sutofsky will be meeting with each child in grades 6-12 and will be introducing a referral system. This will allow students, teachers, parents and administrators to refer students to meet with Rabbi Sutofsky. He will also be setting up "open office hours" and will act as a resource for students, teachers and the administration. More information regarding the referral system will be forthcoming.

      The goal of the school counseling program is to ultimately provide students with "safe space" to address a range of clinical or behavioral issues that are affecting and impacting students in school. Offering an empathetic, listening ear and usage of counseling interventions, students are provided with a safe place to openly identify and discuss issues that cannot otherwise be identified and dealt with in the classroom. It allows the school to provide a forum where expressive needs for the students can be addressed within consistent, structured counseling sessions, while simultaneously enabling students to remain focused on their classroom learning. 

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Click HYPE TORAH to register for this class and any others as well. 

What's your philosophy as a PE teacher? I believe in order to build the mind, the body needs to be built at the same time. While promoting a healthy lifestyle, it is important to learn your body's physical ability through loco-motor exploration and teamwork.

 Along with Coach Jazz you coach the girls cross country team, describe the feeling of all nine of our runners finishing their first race?  Our runners have had a lot of heart this season. For it being their first race, it was a very proud moment to see the girls cross the finish line and see how happy they were with themselves.

 What advice can you offer our athletes? What can they do to prepare for the running and basketball seasons? Train, train, and train. All year round you need to stay active and practice the sports you love. Don't be afraid to seek extra help from older athletes or teachers who have also played the sport. Go to athletic events and observe how the game is played, video yourself during games and watch it afterwards to see your faults.

 

What has been the most surprising thing at Hillel? Honestly, other than the awesome support from all the other teachers, it would have to be Mr. Brown's cooking. Coming from a public school, we were never blessed with home-made food. He's Superman back behind that counter!

 

What would you like to see in the new Hillel gymnasium? I would love to have more storage space, basketball hoops, and of course more room.

 

Thanks for your time!

Please send any mazel tovs to HillelHappenings@Hillelpgh.org. 

 

HYPE Family Learning Kick-off - 9/21/14	Shofar Demonstration
The bee man.	Hillel Academy's CEO, Dan Kraut, receives The Doris and Leonard H. Rudolph Jewish Professional Award.

Please send condolence notices to HillelHappenings@Hillelpgh.org.