Girls’ School – Erev Rosh Hashanah

Erev Rosh Hashanah, hours before the start of the Day of Judgement, the girls’ school was busy with spiritual preparations. The Year 11 students were inspired and challenged by the words of chizuk from the always popular Rabbi Moshe Levy, executive director of Chazak. Rabbi Jonny Hughes of Radlett United Synagogue spoke to our Year 10 students about how to take advantage of the power of Rosh Hashanah and took questions from the audience.

Years 7 – 9 took part in a dynamic classroom session with their Kodesh teachers, understanding how Rosh Hashanah can be part of the Eseres Y’Mei Teshuvah (10 days of Repentance), even though we do not do Teshuvah on Rosh Hashanah. Their session continued with a guide to the Matzo to assist the students in accessing the awesome Tefillos which we say on the day.

The HIPE team, with assistance from the student leadership team and Rabbi Bennett, created a beautiful Monopoly-themed Machzor guide, containing Divrei Torah and space for the students to write their own notes in preparation for the davening.

Girls’ School – Behind The Mask

HIPE was delighted to announce its newest initiative: #behindthemask

The idea of the programme is to open the girls’ eyes and enthuse them with an attitude of gratitude. Ultimately there is always someone “behind the mask” orchestrating every event in our lives, and someone who it is important to have gratitude towards.

This fits into this time of year in the Jewish calendar, which is very much focused on growth and reflection.

After these past few months at home, we feel all of our students can benefit from some out of classroom informal bonding and the JS department kindly allowed HIPE to use their class time for the sessions to take place.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, each year group had an exciting session in the hall which included a balloon release (please be reassured the balloons are biodegradable latex), tie dying masks, learning about gratitude, and some more exciting surprises. The HIPE team regaled the girls with stories, examples of how Hashem directs our world and lots of humour- always the best way of ensuring an important message remains.

At a time, when we cannot do so much of what we usually do, the HIPE event certainly helped the girls to focus on the significance of the Atzeret Yemei Teshuva and how we interact with each other.

Editorial 24/9/2020

Dear Parents,

At this season of solemn reflection, when there is so much to depress us in the world, we have been heartened at school by the restoration of a form of normality. This enables us to see beyond the immediate crisis and to remember that what matters in life is the quality of the relationships we build with those around us. These can be sustained by online contact, but it is only when we meet together that we can truly deepen and extend our bonds with others. And so, it has been a joy to interact with our students again and to appreciate all that they bring us.

We have also benefited from the enthusiasm and energy of our HIPE teams who have been reinforcing the meaning of the festivals in creative and exciting ways. We all need to be reminded of how we should be grateful to Hashem for the gifts He gives us and to reflect on how we can make the world a better place.

Gmar Chatima Tova,

Mrs K Brice
Headteacher: Girls’ School

Editorial 17th September 2020

 

Dear Parents,

 

Welcome, everyone, to the new academic year – particularly to those parents who are new to the schools.

 

We’d like to start by thanking each and every one of you who helped us to exceed our fundraising target last year.

 

Following that very successful campaign, we wanted to give you an update on how the money that was raised is being used.

 

As you can see in the table above, of around £4.3m of parental donations and fundraising last year…

… approximately £3.7m is being used to meet the running costs for the last academic year and to carry urgent and essential capital works at both sites, including roof work, new boilers and a comprehensive CCTV upgrade

  • Whilst the costs of the capital work far exceeds the school’s contributions, we have achieved this through winning additional grants from the Government and CST.

 

£250k is being used to enable us to take in extra Year 7 boys this year

  • Without this investment, these children would not have had a Jewish school to attend. The funds were donated specifically for this purpose.
  • £200k will pay for building work to create new corridors, extra toilets and reconfigure rooms.
  • £50k will pay for extra pastoral support and teaching costs.

 

Whilst the above funds had to be allocated in this way, as we raised in excess of our target, we are able to make some modest, targeted investments, as follows:

 

£160k will be invested in initiatives to raise standards of achievement in the sixth form

  • Appointing a KS5 raising achievement co-ordinator to boost results across the curriculum
  • Extra tutoring in key subjects
  • Recruitment and retention initiatives to attract and retain the very best teachers
  • Augmenting classroom learning using targeted digital supplements
  • Using blended learning initiatives to preserve a broad curriculum

 

£130k will be invested in informal education

The Informal Education team has been expanded have been brought on board to help our students realise the beauty of Judaism and that Torah is not just a Toras Emes but a Toras Chaim. The programme will include:

  • Yemei Iyun – themed activities
  • Volunteering
  • Shabbatonim
  • After school activities
  • Mentoring and 1 to 1 personal spiritual support for Year 7 girls
  • Cross-departmental links

 

£100k will be invested in blended learning

Lockdown has enabled us to fully appreciate the power of technology to offer wrap-around education.  Building on this enables us to seamlessly educate children through any future lockdowns and make the best use of our resources across the two sites:

  • Staff within departments will be given the time and resources to develop digital learning and digital resources in each learning area
  • Synchronous (real time) and asynchronous (pre-prepared/recorded) teaching will be blended
  • Digital supplements for a variety of subjects will be offered to give students access to the best online resources
  • We will also be partnering with other education technology lead schools to ensure we are at the cutting edge of this area.

 

Our need this year

This year we will need to receive £4.1m to pay for the running costs of the school.  We will be reporting on how well we are performing against monthly targets so that you will be able to see the progress that is being made against them.

 

Thank you to each and every one of you for your support last year… and thank you in anticipation of your support this coming year.

 

 

Gary Swabel – Chair, Hasmonean MAT

Andrew McClusky – CEO, Hasmonean MAT

Editorial 10/9/2020

Dear Parents,

It has been an absolute privilege and a great pleasure to welcome back students in all year groups at school over the past week. It has been wonderful to see classrooms filled with students learning and a powerful reminder of the importance of education on academic, social and personal development. We have missed our students immensely, and some have even been brave enough to admit that they have missed school over the past few months!

Of course, the school is operating in a very different way than we have done before.  I would like to thank the students, staff and parents for following the new guidance carefully and taking the important steps to protect themselves and others by reducing the risk of transmission.  As I have mentioned to all of the students, this is a form of secondary education which is very different than one they have seen previously. We are, by necessity, working in an imperfect world, as the Hasmonean Boys’ school building was simply not planned nor designed with a ‘bubbled’ system in mind.  We continue to refine our systems in order to keep the students and staff as safe as we possibly can.

I would like to personally thank you for the many messages of support which I have received before the term started. In this important and auspicious month of Elul, it is important to remind ourselves that the middot of gratitude, positivity, kindness and resilience as well as respect for our fellow human beings are vital attributes which we all – adults and children alike – need to be showing at this time.

Wishing you all a relaxing and healthy Shabbat.

Mrs D Lebrett

Headteacher

Hasmonean High School for Boys

Editorial 3rd September 2020

Dear Parents,

 

The Alshich explains that the essence of the mitzvah of bikkurim which features at the beginning of this week’s parsha is hakoras hatov, expressing gratitude. After months of hard work, ploughing, sowing, tending, pruning and harvesting, the farmer brings the first of his fruit to the Beis HaMikdash as an expression of thanks.

 

The Alshich continues that hakoras hatov is fundamental to our emunah and observance of mitzvos. That is why the mitzvah was carried out with so much fanfare and the farmer made a public declaration of thanks to Hashem.

 

Not only does the concept of giving thanks give us our name (Yehudi), the Midrash Rabbah at the very beginning of Bereishis tells us that the world was created for the sake of the mitzvah of bikkurim.

 

And perhaps that is why we begin each day with Modeh Ani, words of gratitude.

 

As ever, the messages of the week’s parsha are timely and timeless and it is with much gratitude and a feeling of enormous relief that we are thankfully back in school. After many months of online learning and with much planning, we are again able to pursue our noble passion of educating and inspiring the next generation.

 

We have tried hard indeed to ensure that the school is safe as can be. Please remind your child that masks need be worn in all communal places in school.

 

In Modim D’Rabbanan we say a remarkable thing. “Modim anachnu loch”, we thank you Hashem … “al she’anachnu modim loch”, for being able to thank you.

 

I am very grateful to have the opportunity to thank the all those people who have worked through the summer to help us get to this day and I hope and pray that the entire Hasmonean family, and people the world over, stay safe and healthy and that we are blessed with a successful year ahead.

 

Good Shabbos,

 

 

Rabbi J Golker

Menahel

 

 

Editorial 3/9/2020

Dear Parents

The Alshich explains that the essence of the mitzvah of bikkurim which features at the beginning of this week’s parsha is hakoras hatov, expressing gratitude. After months of hard work, ploughing, sowing, tending, pruning and harvesting, the farmer brings the first of his fruit to the Beis HaMikdash as an expression of thanks.

The Alshich continues that hakoras hatov is fundamental to our emunah and observance of mitzvos. That is why the mitzvah was carried out with so much fanfare and the farmer made a public declaration of thanks to Hashem.

Not only does the concept of giving thanks give us our name (Yehudi), the Midrash Rabbah at the very beginning of Bereishis tells us that the world was created for the sake of the mitzvah of bikkurim.

And perhaps that is why we begin each day with Modeh Ani, words of gratitude.

As ever, the messages of the week’s parsha are timely and timeless and it is with much gratitude and a feeling of enormous relief that we are thankfully back in school. After many months of online learning and with much planning, we are again able to pursue our noble passion of educating and inspiring the next generation.

We have tried hard indeed to ensure that the school is safe as can be. Please remind your child that masks need be worn in all communal places in school.

In Modim D’Rabbanan we say a remarkable thing. “Modim anachnu loch”, we thank you Hashem … “al she’anachnu modim loch”, for being able to thank you.

I am very grateful to have the opportunity to thank the all those people who have worked through the summer to help us get to this day and I hope and pray that the entire Hasmonean family, and people the world over, stay safe and healthy and that we are blessed with a successful year ahead.

Good Shabbos

Rabbi Golker
Menahel