Last night, around 150 people filled the atrium to thank Eleanor for the significant contribution she has made to raising a generation of mensches. The impact of Eleanor's teaching was evident in the nine years of alumni represented in the 30 who returned to personally thank Eleanor and wish her well as she heads into retirement.

A tribute to Eleanor can be viewed below:

 

Retired Brigadier General Avigdor Kahalani with Russ Klein, Head of School

 

Thank you to the JNF and Ilan Pilo (Jerusalem Emissary & Executive Director - Pacific Region ), for bringing the JNF 2013 Negev Dinner Guest Speaker, Retired Brigadier General Avigdor Kahalani to address our students. Each year during the P2G trip to Israel, King David's Grade 8 students visit Kibbutz El Rom where they watch a documentary about Brigadier General Kahalani's heroic efforts during the 1973 Yom Kippur war. Having him visit King David was extremely meaningful for all.

   

The IDF Chorus followed and they had us all singing and dancing.

 

   

 

Over the past few weeks, we have been studying Shakespeare's Macbeth and the Elizabethan era. Working in groups and using various forms of technology such as garage band or videos, we were asked to  present a scene from the play. The final projects were presented accompanied by a kosher Elizabethan feast we all prepared the day before. I learned so much throughout this unit about how Shakespeare wrote and presented his plays. Thank you Mrs. Wiesenthal.
                   ~ Josh, Grade 10

Characters from Shakespeare's Macbeth before the feast

 

 

Sophie, Talya and Yuval in a clowning performance

The last week of the year has been action packed in King David's Drama room! The Grade 8 class presented their final clowning performances to an audience of excited students! There were no pies-in-the-face this time around, but this stunt was replaced with butter, mayonnaise and water for effect! Also, the Grade 9/10 Drama class presented their final performances of scenes from a haunting play called 'Wolf Lullaby'.

We were fortunate to have a visit from professional film and television actors from the Vancouver Young Actors School. Lisa Ovies, who runs the school, joined actors Ed Witzke (from 'What's Up Warthogs!') and Scott Patey ('The Big Year'), to talk about the business, and answer questions that students had about the realities of an actual career in film and television. It was exciting and inspiring for the class to meet working actors, and this was a wonderful way to wrap up another amazing year of King David Drama! 

 

In English class, the Grade 8 students were asked to spend time focusing on a singular memory or significant event, which eventually culminated in the writing of personal narrative essays. Students read and examined other examples of personal narratives and used details and reflection to emphasize the importance of the event. Through the process of writing, students were invited to share their insights into his/her view of life through the use of narrative storytelling.   

Here are a few samples of their work.  

  Read three of the stories by clicking the links below:  

 

A House But Not a Home