Dear Parents,

Our staff CPD on Tuesday was training on identifying and then overcoming unconscious bias. Research has shown that teachers instinctively think that boys are better at Maths than girls, although when tests were marked blind, the girls scored more highly. Quiet children are often considered less clever than their more vocal peers. Students with messy handwriting will not do as well as those whose work is very neat even if the content is comparable. Students whom teachers like will perform better and everyone lives up – or, more concerningly, down-to the level expected of them.  We can also be influenced by a host of factors such as identifying a student with someone whom we have known in the past (for good or ill), hearing things about students which mean we judge them before we have even met them, or believing stereotypes such as that some ethnic groups are considered to be better at particular subjects.

The good news is that although all of us (not just teachers) are prone to unconscious bias, we can start to do something about it and to consciously act to adjust our behaviour or attitudes.  At school we have been marking the Year 11 and Year 13 assessments by candidate number to avoid bias and the training made us reflect on our classroom practice. Unconscious bias can also affect the way that families function. Is one child ‘the clever one’ or ‘the sporty one’ or musical or helpful, or perhaps difficult or naughty?  These labels can quickly become self-fulfilling prophecies as the child in question acts in accordance with our expectations.  So, we all need to question the way we look at other people and ask ourselves how far are we being affected by preconceptions and how we can change them.

Have a good Shabbos,

Mrs K Brice

Headteacher

Hasmonean High School for Girls

Dear Parents,

We were all deeply saddened this week to hear about the death of his Royal Highness Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh. The students have been writing condolence wishes to the Royal Family and have been learning more about Prince Philip’s extraordinary life. We also reminded them that, in 1993, Yad Vashem bestowed the title of Righteous Among the Nations on Princess Alice, Prince Philip’s mother, to commemorate the fact that she saved a Jewish family from Nazi persecution. A year later, her children, Prince Philip and Princess George of Hanover travelled to Yad Vashem and planted a tree in her honour. During the ceremony, Prince Philip said: “I suspect that it never occurred to her that her action was in any way special. She was a person with deep religious faith and she would have considered it to be a totally human action to fellow human beings in distress.”

This selfless attitude to duty was also evident in Prince Philip’s life as well. He continually demonstrated his unfailing support and loyalty to Her Majesty the Queen over many decades.
At Hasmonean, we have also run the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award for many years – this has inspired many generations of Hasmonean students to help others, to think about their roles as citizens of the United Kingdom and to instil a desire in helping to serve their communities.

Prince Philip’s long and extraordinary life, his faithful service, support for young people and commitment to community are characteristics which we aim to nurture in the students from the time they start Hasmonean until they leave.

This week’s Parsha describes certain afflictions, collectively called tzara’as, which caused the affected person (or item) to become tamei. The Gemara in Arachin 16a details that one of the reasons why a person could be afflicted with tzara’as was because they were arrogant and disconnected from humanity. It is clear that Prince Philip, as the consort to Her Majesty the Queen, always had a human touch and connected with the people around him. He will be much missed.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs D Lebrett
Headteacher – Boys’ School

Dear Parents,

Making Our Days Count

Chazal teach that the period of Sefiras Ha’Omer is meant to be one of introspection and growth.

I once heard an insightful question regarding our counting of the Omer from Rabbi Zev Leff. Rabbi Leff noted that there seems to be a contradiction in the way we count. We count the days at the beginning of each day and the weeks at the end of each week. To be consistent we should either do both at the beginning or both at the end.

Rabbi Leff answered that the way we count teaches us a lesson of how to best use the Sefira. Often when we embark on a journey of teshuva or spiritual growth, we take too big a jump. Educators in the kiruv yeshivos discourage rapid movement as it is difficult to maintain. It is far better to make small, concrete strides.

When Dayan Ahron Dovid Dunner shlita met Rav Shach ztl during the Gulf war in 1991, he asked the Godol Hador what message he should convey to Klal Yisroel. Rav Shach told him that we should do teshuva, but to only take small steps. And in a moment of personal disclosure, he added “Do you know what I took on last Rosh Hashona?” “To bentsch with a bentscher. And only when I am at home and only until Pesach.” If it is true for the Godol Hador, it is certainly true for all of us.

Our counting each day reflects this. We count at the beginning of each day to show that each day is a separate small unit. We want to improve but recognise that the best way to do so is in small strides.

However, in order not to become despondent by the seemingly small successes, it is important to sometimes take stock of our achievements. We therefore look back at the end of each week and assess our progress. That is why we count at the end of each week. Slowly-slowly, the small successes add up to something quite substantial.

Take Daf Yomi. Each day another page. But not before too long, many perokim and masechtos are covered. A person can then take encouragement from his accomplishments and this gives him the incentive to continue onward and upward.

The way we count, therefore, guides us as to how we should utilise the precious days of the Sefira. Counting at the beginning of each day reminds us to make small goals and counting at the end of each week encourages us to take stock and, hopefully, look back with pride at our achievements.

The summer term is a time for just this, particularly this year. We can stock and pride in the accomplishments of the tumultuous two previous terms but plan to move forward with concrete, realistic and at the same time ambitious goals for the period ahead.

Good Shabbos,

Rabbi J Golker
Menahel

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Hasmonean Achievements

Every year, Hasmonean students enter Israel’s Chidon HaTanach competition, which requires an encyclopaedic knowledge and love of Tanach. This year was not like all other years. Last year, Batsheva Schwab reached the final. This year, all three UK candidates: Sara Solomon, Leah K and Orly Maierovits made it to the last 16. Rabbi Eliyahu Silverman taught them and nurtured their skills. He encouraged them to persevere and invest in their Tanach studies. This achievement is all the more remarkable when the only country outside Israel that has ever sent three candidates has been the US. Hasmonean’s candidates will be showing their skills on Yom Ha’Atzmaut where the quiz will be taking place live in Israel via Zoom.

The Chidon will be live on channel “Kan 11”, at 11 am Israel time (9 am UK time) on Yom HaAtzmaut, April 15. You can watch it here – https://www.kan.org.il/live/tv.aspx?stationid=2