Year 13 Girls’ School Shabbaton

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The Hasmo Hotel reopened last weekend for some very special guests: the Year 13 graduates.

Mrs Paster, Miss Simonsson, Mrs Naylor, and Mrs Brice were the brave teachers who slept overnight at school. Ms Valencia was with them on Friday night, Miss Gelley walked up in the morning to join the girls, and Rabbi Bennett and his family walked over for lunch.

The theme was ‘Transitioning and Making the Right Choices’, with a group of alumni walking over to learn with the girls on that theme. Shiurim were also given by Mrs Paster and Miss Gelley. There was a novel ‘backwards panel’ where different girls were asked questions about their experiences of Hasmonean.

Thank you again to HIPE team who have really given their all to ensure these girls have had a magnificent end to their time at Hasmonean. Although, as we always say ‘you can take the girl out of Hasmonean, but you can’t take Hasmonean out of the girl’.

Boys’ School Activities Event

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The annual Activities Event 2021 kicked off with a range of trips heading out from Hasmonean Boys. Coaches were filled with excited boys from Years 7-10. Five coaches were headed towards paintballing, one to water sports and two to trampolining and mini golf. It was an exciting day full of flips and tricks throughout. The lads were helped by the wonderful weather which ensured that rain did not stop play!

On Tuesday many of the students were hosted by Power League for the football tournament of the century. For those who preferred not to play football, they were able to spend the day on site for Grand Hasmo Day filled with inflatables, music, gaming, cooking and art sessions. Thanks to some of our amazing staff for running these fantastic sessions.

To end it all off we had Sports Day 2021 which was filled with new personal bests, photo finishes and competitive spirit. The boys enjoyed a range of team challenges, as well as the more traditional and highly competitive races. Thanks to Mr Tutty and Mr Sharpe for organising such an exciting day to end off a phenomenal few days!

 

Girls’ School Activities Event

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The annual Activities Event kicked off to a great start on Monday. The girls marched up to Hendon Rugby Club for a somewhat different Sports Day. The first half of the day saw them attempt a range of challenges which included throwing balls into targets, hula hoop relays, netball shooting, obstacle courses, and hockey slaloms. Team leaders from each year group and a host of enthusiastic staff ensured that everyone had a fun morning. After lunch, the more traditional events began: shot putt, javelin and a range of races. Again, the team leaders ensured that as many girls as possible had a chance to compete. And, even if you weren’t competing, it was a perfectly sunny day to hang out in the grass and cheer your friends on!

On Tuesday, the girls enjoyed Theme Park Day: Years 7 and 8 went to Chessington and Years 9 and 10 to Thorpe Park.

Wednesday saw a phenomenal Grand Hasmo at the Girls’ School, with Mrs Jacobson and Mrs Miller deftly organising 357 students into four different slots to do activities such as fencing, mug painting, dance, sculpturing Easter Island inspired heads with Mr Bazen, inflatables, table tennis, football and beginners First Aid. One group of girls were given the chance to decorate Mrs Jacobson’s English classroom with a magnificent Macbeth mural. Thank you to our indefatigable events manager, Mr Tutty who ensured that everyone was in the right bubble at the right time going to the right event! Our Activities Event was more of a challenge to pull off than in past years and it was wonderful to see staff and students enjoying being at Hasmonean in a more relaxed environment.

Our trip to Winchester

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On Wednesday 23rd June, we went to Winchester. It was fantastic! I must say, before this trip I really didn’t know anything about Winchester: to be honest it really wasn’t at the top of my priority list but, little did I know, it should have been!

On Wednesday morning we were all ready and set to head off. We got on to the coaches and began our journey. Finally, after around two and a half hours we arrived! As we drove in, I was blown away, it was nothing like I had expected: I knew it would be a nice area but I had no idea how just how nice!
You know when you see something and at just one glimpse and you instantly adore it, well that’s exactly how I felt when we made our way to the beautiful park. The grass was a perfect green, not one weed in sight, the gorgeous flowers rustled in the breeze. Their stunning detailed petals floated away, it was like a painting in a fairy-tale book – it was mesmerizing, oh and by the way we hadn’t even started the trip yet! We then split into our groups and started a treasure hunt, searching for different clues found in a booklet we had received about the history of Winchester.

We passed some incredible shops whilst looking for clues, made entirely of wood, and might I add everyone was so friendly. When we had a question about a place we needed to find, we asked a random person who looked pretty knowledgeable and a few seconds into the conversation she and the teacher were having a full blown chat!

Once we had finished our hunt we went back to the delightful park and had lunch there, and we even got some cute little keychains with a picture of Winchester on it! Back to the coach and on to the next place! At this point I had no idea where we were going but, if it was anything like the place before, I was very glad.

As we arrived there was no surprise to me that it was just as beautiful as the place before … if anything it was better! I then saw a sign saying ‘Jane Austen’s house’. Her real house! Wow! So that was awesome but you know what was even more awesome … we got to go in! As I entered I was astonished this place was absolutely delightful! We saw her room, her kitchen, her garden, let me just say that was very enchanting, we even saw her dining room and everything else in her house. It was all so old and most of the things were original, it was just amazing! After a really good look at her charming house, we started to head back.

Another two hours to get back and finally we arrived at school. I’m so glad I went: it was a trip I will never forget – I couldn’t wait to get home and tell everyone about it!

Thank you to Mrs Abecasis for organising this amazing trip and to all the staff who joined Year 7 and Year 8 to make the day such a success.

By Dinah Bernadout Year 8

 

Girls’ School Event – AJEX

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We feel extremely privileged to have interviewed Jewish veterans and family members of veterans who have served or are currently serving in the British armed forces. Through AJEX, this opportunity provided us with valuable insight into the Jewish experience of the British armed forces, and we learned that antisemitism in the army is not as common as one may predict it to be. In fact, other soldiers often demonstrated increased respect and interest for their Jewish colleagues.

This was very interesting to learn, and perhaps a fact that should be shared as a means of encouragement – the veterans interviewed all felt that they represented the Jewish community in the military world. The experiences of those being interviewed were vast. We spoke to a surgeon who practised in the context of battle, and learnt that most wounds he treated were disease and sickness related, rather than injury related. Of course, it was particularly insightful to hear first-hand descriptions of the 6-day war in 1967, and another interviewee spoke of his experiences of living in London during the Blitz.

Many questions were addressed to Dan Fox, who is still serving in the military, and he answered questions regarding confidentiality. He taught us of a 30-year “mark” that should be passed before soldiers share details of their experiences, and described the various rankings of the army and ways in which ranking is prohibited from speaking of their experiences. Another interviewee described his time in submarines and gliders, and revealed that he would often return from missions unable to speak of them to his family. He said that this was difficult, but also very necessary.

Some questions surrounded the veterans’ feelings towards their experiences. A common denominator of all those interviewed was their warm feeling towards their former or current colleagues, who they referred to as their “brothers.” Each of them spoke fondly of their memories, and described the friendships that serving in the British military evoked. Overall, this was a rare and extremely interesting experience, which we found both intellectually stimulating and heart-warming.

Thank you to Mrs Yaros for rising to the challenge of Zoom and creating this event.

Written by Alyssa T, Year 13

Year 8 Bar Mitzvah Extravaganza

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The Year 8 boys all celebrated their Bar Mitzvahs together in a unique way on a one day at the Bar Mitzvah Extravaganza. Due to the fact COVID has seriously impacted their Bar Mitzvah year, the HIPE team decided to step in and give the boys a day they would never forget.

The students started the day with a minyan for Shacharis and a special breakfast. From there they were straight off to enjoy a morning of trampolining followed by Aqua Bounce UK for a splash of fun!

After this very active and busy day, the students were then sent home to get dressed in their suits. They returned to the transformed Hasmonean boys’ school hall, which had been decorated to present the Bar Mitzvah Seuda of a lifetime. Each boy had his own Mazal Tov board for friends to sign. There was also a photo booth, and arcade games galore were stationed around the hall.

The entertainment didn’t stop there – there was a live DJ, high tech lighting, silver service waiters, and a BBQ dinner. The boys were also privileged to hear Divrei Torah and words of Chizuk from Rabbi Golker, Menahel of the School. The boys had the time of their lives, able to celebrate freely and thoroughly enjoy themselves.

A huge thank you must go to all the generous sponsors who contributed to make the event possible, to Mrs Lebrett for actively supporting the programme from the onset, Rabbi Muster and Rabbi Golker for their support, and the HIPE team for all their hard work and planning.

Jewish News Young Writers Competition

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One of our Year 9 student, Maya, has been selected as the winner in the secondary category of the Jewish News Young Writers Competition. This is an annual competition where students are asked to write a short story with a given title. This year, the title was ‘Article – The Gauntlet – Entry for Jewish News Young Writers Competition’, and Maya wrote a moving essay based on her own experience.

There will be an in-person awards ceremony for winners and runners-up from both categories and their families in October.

Congratulations to Maya!

Girls’ School Bat Mitzvah

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The hall was decked out to befit a true Simcha: the annual Year 7 Bat Mitzvah event. This year it was even more special as so many girls have not been able to have their usual celebrations. Mrs Naylor and HIPE created a beautiful event centred on the theme of growth; which included filling gratitude jars, making sweet trees and giving the girls seeds to grow at home. The evening also included a photo booth, dancing and a crepe stand, as well as a speaker from GIFT.

Thank you to Mrs Naylor, HIPE Team, Mrs Epton, Mrs Brice, Ms Liley, Ms Gelley, Miss Simonsson, Ms Sprei, and all the school team for supporting and creating this lovely evening.

Biology Olympiad

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Congratulations to everyone who took the Intermediate Biology Olympiad but in particular to:

Sarah E and Dov S- Commended

Talia G, Chaim S and Noam D – Highly Commended

Gabriella S and Avital L – Bronze medal

Reuven Simcha G – Silver medal

Aliza W and Avital O – Gold medal!

 

This is a huge achievement for our students. Thank you to the Biology Department for their dedication and support.

 

Girls’ School Year 11 HIPE XTREME

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HIPE really pulled out all the stops for our wonderful Year 11 girls. They were treated to the most amazing range of activities, under the banner of ‘keeping your balance’.

The week opened with a trip to the Lea Valley where they revelled in the glorious sunshine; enjoying Aqua Bounce and boating and getting thoroughly wet! On their return to school, Jteen spent time talking to the girls, who had been provided with special booklets containing Tephilla, the schedule for the week and space to make notes about ‘keeping your balance’.

Tuesday saw them at Grafham Water, cycling round the lake, as well as bouncing around in Kangoo shoes and creating artwork for GIFT in the late afternoon. Of course, there was pizza!

Thorpe Park beckoned on Wednesday with rides galore and the splashdown thrills of Loggers Leap.

The final event was climbing the O2- a spectacular challenge and finale to the week’s adventures. In the evening there was a Q&A session and a barbeque.

Thank you to all the HIPE team, Mrs Paster and all the staff who accompanied the girls. They all really appreciated every moment of the week.