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December 20, 2013
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Announcing our MAIN EVENT HONOREES
for 2013-2014:
Mr. Neil and Mrs. Marcy Kalnitz
Join us for this gala event on February 23, 2014
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A Message from our Head of School
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One of my daughters is auditioning for the middle school girls' production and has been singing "My Favorite Things" around the house all week. I cannot seem to stop humming the catchy tune and today, as I entered the TDSA building this morning, I could not help but recount my favorite things about Torah Day School. I love the smell of cholent wafting through the hallways erev Shabbos (Thank you, Rabbi Alterman!) and the sound of students learning Mishnayos at 7 a.m. with Rabbi Hiller.Even more important, I love that even though we are about to go on an extended break, there is a flurry of activity throughout the building, at all hours of the day and evening. Just this week, the second grade boys celebrated a siyum and received their beloved Chumashim. The sixth graders held their Science Fair, exhibiting their phenomenal grasp of the scientific method. Each kindergarten girl enjoyed dressing like a כלה, bride, while the boys enjoyed donning their כןעים, hats, all to "show-off" that they have learned about the letter "כ". Middle school girls have been busy preparing d'vrei Torah, Shabbos activities, and centerpieces in anticipation of their Shabbaton. In addition, they have held auditions for their upcoming production. The fifth graders went on a "math" expedition to Kroger, with the objective of calculating an exact amount of money, tax included to spend. Sixth grade girls held a mock-trial determining the guilt or innocence of the miraglim, spies, who journeyed into Israel. I could go on and on. Your children are immersed in a school filled with learning experiences, both textual and experiential based. Their teachers are creative, caring and committed. The students have the opportunity to stretch themselves intellectually. And these are just a few of my favorite things.Report cards have been mailed, so please be on the lookout for them.
Enjoy your winter break. Read, relax, review and we will see you bright and early Thursday, January 2nd!
Good Shabbos,
Rabbi Joshua Einzig
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Divrei Torah by Eighth Grade Boys
Parshas Shemot
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 By Joshua Leff In the first perek of the parsha, passuk 15-16 relates that the king of Egypt summoned Shifrah and Puah to his palace. The king told these Jewish midwives that, when they are delivering a Jewish baby, they were to kill the boys and not the girls. Rashi tells us that their real names weren't Shifrah and Puah; rather, they were Yocheved and Miriam. So why were they called Shifrah and Puah? Rashi answers by saying that Yocheved was called Shifrah because Shifrah means beauty and she beautified the child at birth. Miriam was called Puah because the root word of Puah means to cry out, and Miriam would cry and speak to the child like a mother would. Another reason Miriam was called Puah is because Miriam would cry out when the child was born, just like a mother would. |
 By Kalman Warga The Gur Aryeh says that the twelve shvatim are like the twelve constellations in the sky. Both a constellation and a shevet are composed of individual units which complement each other. Just as a combination of stars makes a constellation, a combination of shevatim makes a nation. R' Yaakov Kamenetsky explains that Yaakov was like the sun and the shevatim like the stars. When Yaakov died, the "sun" went out and the shevatim, the "stars", stepped up and supported the B'nei Yisrael in Mitzrayim. As long as Jews remember their roots, they are only in geographic, not spiritual exile, and their light will never go out. |
- Dr. Jason and Mrs. Kimberly Berendt and family on the bar mitzvah of their son, David.
- Mr. Paul and Mrs. Ilana Shenk on the engagement of their son Rafi to Aviva Lager, daughter of Mr. Micha and Mrs. Suri Lager of Baltimore, MD.
- Rabbi Yoel and Mrs. Chavie Spotts and family on the bar mitzvah of their son, Yosef.
Please let us know about your simchos; our TDSA family likes to share in your nachas with you! A great way to celebrate your simcha is by sponsoring a TDSA Day of Learning for $180 to sponsor a full day or $90 for half a day (must be shared with another person). You can also do a Group Day of Learning if you have a number of friends who want to sponsor with you. Please contact Sara Abrams in the Business Office, 404-982-0800 ext. 104, or sabrams@torahday.org.
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Calendar Corner
פינת לוח הזמנים
Fri. -Sat. 12/20-21 י''ז - י''ח טבת
MS Girls' Shabbaton, Peachtree City
Mon. 12/23-Wed. 1/1 כ'-כ''ט אבת
NO school- winter recess
Thurs. 1/2 א' שבט
Rosh Chodesh Shevatראש חדש שבת
School resumes regular time
Thurs. 1/16 ט''ו שבת
Tu B'Shevat תמשה
עשר ט''ו בשבת
Mon. 1/20 י''ט שבת
NO school- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Wed. 2/5 ה' אדר א
3:30 Dismissal all grades; No afterschool
classes- Parent-teacher Conferences
Thurs. 2/6 ו' אדר
8:30 a.m. MSB Shacharis
9:15 opening for K-5 and MSG
Mon.-Fri. 2/10-14 י'-י''ד אדר א
Iowa Tests of Basic Skills grades 2-5
Tues. -Wed. 2/11-12 י'א-י'ב אדר א
Iowa Tests of Basic Skills- grades 6-8
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After School Classes Offered
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From the Desk of Mrs. Linda Rabinowitz,
General Studies Principal
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The TDSA 2013-2014 Science Fair was a huge success by all accounts. Friends and family members turned out in force to view and discuss the myriad of projects done by our sixth grade students. Everyone was impressed with the quality of the work and the ease with which to students were able to explain their projects.
Many thanks are in order for all of the people who contributed to making this event a success. First and foremost, thank you to Mrs. Christine Castle who inspires and encourages our students to do their very best. She is very skillful at tapping into the students' interests and sparking enthusiasm for science in general. We are fortunate to have her as part of our middle school team.
Thank you to our judges for giving of their time and expertise: Dr. Paula Gorlin, Dr. Adina Hirsch, Dr. Elizabeth Herman, Dr. Krista Queen, Dr. Yael Weiss, Dr. Mr. Asher Morris, Mr. Doug Hrabe, and Dr. Jacqueline Gindler. For helping behind the scenes with set up and other tasks, thank you to Mrs. Marcy Kalnitz and Mr. Luis Cortes. Thank you to all of the middle school teachers who contributed their class time and expertise to guide the students: Mrs. Catherine Munson, Mrs. Rhoda Gleicher, Mrs. Lisa Stroll, Mrs. Shani Roberts, Mrs. Russy Tendler, Rabbi E. Tendler, and Ms. Paige Lefont. For technology support, thank you to Mrs. Davida Levin, Mrs. Theresa Burns, and Mr. Gary Fink. A huge thank you goes to our older middle school students who volunteered their time to help the sixth graders with their projects.
And, now for the announcement you have probably been waiting for...the winners...
For the Girls: Honorable Mentions: Tali Afrah, for the most attractive board; Nina Barayev, for the most informative; and Tamar Stein, for excellence in her presentation.
First Place Winners: Ahava Heart, for an engineering project, and to Devorah Berkowitz for the best overall project.
For the Boys: Honorable Mentions: Abe Schoen, for the most attractive board; Yehuda Deutsch, for a great presentation and explanation; Avigdor Tendler and Yehuda Khalili, for excellence and thoroughness; and Moshe Adler, for the most original project idea.
First Place Winners: Pay Feldman, for an engineering project; Ohr Shmuel, for the most challenging endeavor; and Emanuel Glinsky, for the best overall project.
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Devorah Berkowitz for the best overall project.
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6th Grade Science Fair Video
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Ahava Heart, for an engineering project
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Emanuel Glinsky, for the best overall project
| Ohr Shmuel, for the most challenging endeavor | Pay Feldman, for an engineering project |
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Our 2013-2014 Annual Fund Campaign: Friends of TDSA continues to grow! We are just over halfway to our goal of $500,000. Our goal is to have 100% participation from our parent body. Please make a difference by making a pledge to Friends of TDSA Annual Fund! The future of our children and their education depend on it! You have probably seen our newly designed TDSA car magnet on many cars around town; and you too will receive one with your pledge. Please call today to let the community and our generous donors, many of whom are not current, past or future TDSA families, know that TDSA parents are on board with them, and join them in their support of Torah Day School of Atlanta.
Remember to save the date, Sunday, February 23, 2014, for our gala DESERT NIGHT: Celebrating our Torah Oasis 2014 Main Event! Our TDSA honor roll includes Marcy and Neil Kalnitz, honorees, Dr. Sadell Sloan z"l, posthumously honored with the Volunteer Award, Mr. Jonathan and Mrs. Ilene Miller, President's Award, and Mrs. Davida Levin, Distinguished Educator Award. Please join us at the Georgia Tech Ballroom for this fabulous dinner (6:00 p.m.) and program (7:30 p.m.) followed by Maariv. Reservations at $90 per person are available at www.tdsamainevent.com.
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Friends of TDSA 2014 Update
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Our "Friend of TDSA" Annual Fund is off to a great start! Thank you to all our donors who already pledged to this year's campaign! Your generous donation helps us maintain a high standard of academic excellence! If you haven't made your 2013-2014 pledge yet, we encourage you to do so by going online: www.FriendsofTDSA.com You can make a difference!: www.FriendsofTDSA.com You can make a difference!
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Counseling Corner by Dr. Sarah Levy
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We are pleased to introduce Mrs. Elana Neustadter , who will be working with me in the counseling department as a social work intern. We will be working together on presenting an anti-bullying/positive leadership program to our students. Mrs. Neustadter received her Master's degree in social work from the Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva Universit,y and is also a certified life coach. Mrs. Neustadter recently moved to Atlanta with her husband and two children from New York. She excited to be working at TDSA.
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Class Acts פעילויות בכתות
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Kindergarten Boys and Girls - Mrs. D. Friedman's Limudei Kodesh classes
Kitak "K" made a siyum on their study of sefer Bereishis this week, as each student gave a d'var Torah based on a parsha of his or her choice from the sefer. Their classmates listened carefully as highlights and insights from the entire sefer were expounded upon. The children celebrated with delicious treats; after all, Torah learning is always sweet!
Second and Third Grade Girls - Mrs. Resenson's Ivrit class
Winter was the topic this week in the girls' Ivrit class, specifically vocabulary about clothing, weather, and winter gear. They presented a play about these to their classmates. To help them reinforce the concepts and words, the girls created finger puppets of the key vocabulary, such as clouds, rain, umbrellas, hats, gloves and the like, then sang songs about them.
Eighth grade girls - Mrs. Alterman's Limudei Kodesh class
At this time of year, there is plenty of drama in our class. The hard work and planning we have been investing in Shabbaton has almost been eclipsed by the sudden death of Shlomo Hamelech in our study of Sefer Melachim. While royal deaths are to be expected in ancient texts, nothing could have prepared us for the division that is about to rip through the Jewish people. We are left trying to understand the roles of Yosef and Yehuda in the grand scheme on the way to Moshiach. We are looking forward to some stimulating "cup conversations" in the days to come. During a cup conversation, three students get silver paper cups (speech is silver) and the rest get gold ones (silence is golden). Anyone with a silver cup can speak, suggest, or speculate on the topic. They then trade their silver cup with someone who has a gold cup, and that person can now chime into the conversation either with a new idea or a response to someone else's idea. The process stimulates active listening, deeper thought, and very enlightening discussions!
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Business Bytes מעט על עסקים
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Thank you for helping us pass what we brought in last year!
We are at $629,288 and will continue to solicit funds until we are told that the cap has been met. The more we bring in as a team, the more TDSA can do for the students!
These are some of the highlights of the current SSO law:
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Thank you to the TDSA families and friends who have already enrolled in the SSO program for 2014 for a total of $558,638 so far! We are only $39,451 away from last year's total!!
Keep it coming!
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Picture This Photo/Video Galleries!
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2B Chumash Presentation
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Kindergarten Siyum
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Kindergarten Kallahs learn the letter Kaf
12-19-2013
| Sixth Grade Science Fair 12-18-2013 |
2B Chumash Presentation 12-17-2013
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6G Science Fair Preparation
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3G Bottle or Poster
Biography Project
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1B Beautiful House in the Neighborhood
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Kindergarten Siyum
| TDSA at JFGA Super Sunday 12-8-2013 |
6B Science Fair Preparation
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Password for photo galleries: tdsafamily
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On January 12th, Chabad of Georgia will be hosting Michael Medved for a lecture entitled "Israel Alone? How the Jewish State can continue to flourish in an often hostile world". The event flyer and details are available at our Spotlight email.
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