Rosh Chodesh Adar – Boys’ School

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The Hebrew month of Adar kicked off with a bang at the Boys’ School!

The festival of Purim falls in Adar and is all about excitement and giving. It was very appropriate then that the Boys’ School held a small charity fundraiser which raised over £300 for various different charities in Ukraine.

To celebrate the month of Adar, HIPE had some fun and challenged the students to ‘Anything But a Backpack’ day. The boys’ imaginations ran riot as they brought in shopping trolleys, wheelie cars, pet cages, and even a paddling pool!

 

Rosh Chodesh Adar – Girls’ School

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Rosh Chodesh Adar was celebrated at the Girls’ School with the most beautiful singing of Hallel, made all the more special as it has been two years since we could sing as a whole school. The Hall was decorated with balloon arches, streamers and glow letters by our wonderful HIPE team, who led the girls in dancing at break and at lunchtime to usher in this month of joy.

#ADAR2022 was always going to be special. The theme of Adar ‘I’M A CHAMPION’ was launched with a video and a flash mob which had been created by the students themselves. It was so exciting to see the whole school singing and dancing to the same song- the hall came alive with the sheer joy and excitement of being a CHAMPION. The girls were all given ‘I’M A CHAMPION’ rosettes to wear. The Sixth Form and some staff enlivened the morning further with the traditional Frummy Friday as the dress code for the Sixth Form, culminating in an impromptu ‘Mitzva Tanz’ in the common room! In addition, doughnuts to support Ukraine were sold, in keeping with the mitzvah of Tzedaka which is so central to Purim. Over £200 was raised.

Editorial 03.03.2022

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Dear Parents,

In a week where the external news has been so grim, it was heartening to see the amazing effort put in by so many people to enable us to have our most successful fund raising campaign thus far.

211 teams, 4263 donors and over £1.7 million raised. These are amazing and heart-warming statistics. It was very moving to read the messages of support which came in and to know how much Hasmonean is valued in the community. We are humbled by the trust placed in us to educate the next generation and strive daily to inculcate the values of Rabbi Dr Schonfeld and to produce young men and women of whom we can all be justly proud who will take their place in the world as confident Jews.

We are so grateful to all the donors whose generosity makes it possible to put into practice many of the initiatives we have planned to improve the education we offer even more and to provide timely and effective support to those who are experiencing challenges.

Thank you to each and every one of you for your continued support.

Shabbat Shalom!

Mrs K Brice
Headteacher
Hasmonean High School for Girls

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Dear Parents,

We are delighted to inform you that Hasmonean’s 36-hour fundraising campaign blasted through the initial £1.2m target and exceeded the bonus target of £1.7m.

We are hugely indebted to the boundless generosity and energy of the following people. First, we must pay tribute to Fundraising Chair and MAT trustee Ben Shooter and his wife Katie Shooter who have now raised over £10m for Hasmonean since 2015. This speaks for itself: it is a truly astonishing achievement. Heartfelt gratitude to all that they have given and continue to give to Hasmonean.

Campaign leads Jodi Benaim and Dalia Leaf have worked tirelessly to ensure that this campaign was a huge success. The effort they have put into this campaign from its outset to its end has been phenomenal and the funds raised are testament to this. Enormous thanks to them and their families for the time and boundless energy they have given to this campaign.

Huge thanks go to the rest of the fundraising committee Jackie Benjamin, Steven Blumgart, Daniel Green, Yossi Goldberg, Yossi Halberstadt, Moshe Klajman, Miriam Landau, Dawn Murray, Shira Rabson and Benji Shebson all of whom worked assiduously to ensure the success of the campaign.

We are deeply indebted to all of the school’s trustees, governors and community members who personally provided or secured the matched funding for the campaign. Without their financial backing, this campaign would simply not have got off the ground.
We are grateful to the many, many parents, students and staff members who worked tirelessly either to maximise the community’s donations and to those whose own families gave so generously.

Without the combined efforts of each segment of the community, Hasmonean would not be able to remain the flagship Orthodox Jewish institution that it is today. Thanks to you, Hasmonean will not only continue to survive but will flourish.

With heartfelt thanks to everyone who made this campaign such a fabulous success.

Thank you so, so much everyone!

 

Mr Gary Swabel – Chair of Trustees
Mr Andrew McClusky – CEO

 

Beis Chazak Shabbaton to Lower Mill Estate

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Beis Chazak aims to provide a tailor-made programme, for a selection of pupils in Year 11-13, where the focus is the boys’ personal growth and journey of Yiddishkeit. Beis Chazak’s intention is to generate an atmosphere of achdus and to instil a sense of Jewish pride.

The goal is to provide a deeper understanding of Judaism and foster a greater connection to it; equipping the pupils with the necessary skills and knowledge to support them as young Jewish adults into their lives after school.

Last week, we went big and took the boys on a shabbaton to Lower Mill Estate – ‘The Venice of the Cotswolds.’ There were too many memories created on this Shabbaton to share them all, but some highlights included: the ruach of Kabalat Shabbat in full view of the lake, a 5km trek through the woods in pitch black, kayaking on the lake, and biking through the woods.

Some parents have already shared with us the impact that this had on their sons:

“Yitzi had the most wonderful time and enjoyed every minute. The food, atmosphere, Davenning, all the activities etc. were all outstanding and so well organised. This Shabbaton will be one that Yitzi will remember for a very long time.”

“Noam came home on a high and I’m very grateful. The ruach you gave over has definitely left an impact and something they will always remember. We don’t always see it and we might not always show it, but it’s things like these that really go a very long way and though the kids don’t always show it, you’re obviously doing brilliantly and it’s moments like these that will stay with them always.”

Rabbi Doron Birnbaum together with Rabbi Amram Landau and Mr Avi Markewicz, have tirelessly worked on creating a programme for these boys that regularly runs outstanding projects, trips, and a dynamic Jewish curriculum.

If you would like to be involved in this project, please email d.birnbaum@hasmonean.co.uk

Girls’ School HIPE Events – Years 7 & 8

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The Year 7 girls who are celebrating their Bat Mitzvahs this term enjoyed a painting activity with Sharon Schachter. They created original and attractive masks using a range of acrylic paints. While the paint was drying, they signed and decorated boards for their friends. Mrs Taylor, Director of Jewish Living, spoke to the girls and presented each one with a sefer. The finale of the evening involved every young woman speaking about the significance of her name.

On Thursday 24th February, the Year 8 girls were treated to an afternoon of fun. At lunchtime they piled into coach to go indoor rock climbing at the Westway Climbing. As they were so near Westfield Shopping Centre, it made perfect sense to enjoy a scavenger hunt around the shops, looking for mannequins wearing blue beanies just like the HIPE ones, finding 50% signs, and a range of other challenges designed to bring the girls together. Back at school they created beautiful collages to present the theme of ‘climbing higher.’ Supper was a pizza fest of margarita pizzas and chocolate pizza! Finally, everyone sang their hearts out at a glow-stick kumzitz, where Michal Benisch added to the atmosphere with her exquisite guitar playing. One mother praised the event, saying:” It was a “most fabulous, smashing, awesome, much needed day for Year 8!”

Thank you to the HIPE team and all the staff who supported them to create and facilitate these two very special events.