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 24^th 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.

Rosh Chodesh Adar 1 saw a packed Beis Chazak programme. Fathers, sons and close family members came together for Tefillah. It was genuinely awe inspiring to see two generations putting on Tefillin and davening together. It was a very special experience to hear so many raising their voices to join in Hallel. The sound was particularly sweet as the sound of song in prayer had been silenced for so long.

Everyone enjoyed a fabulous Bagels Bar breakfast as well as words of Chizuk from Rabbi Landau, who spoke about the meaning of true joy, weaving together many different ideas of Chazal. Rabbi Golker spoke about how the message of the Torah is timeless, yet sometimes the means of communicating that message changes. Beis Chazak is part of the dynamic communication that is needed for these boys.

Thank you to Mr Markiewicz who ensured that as many parents as possible attended. And thank you to Rabbi Doron Birnbaum, who started Beis Chazak four years ago. It felt like a milestone had been reached to see a packed Beis Midrash. The boys who attend are all thriving on their individual journeys towards a stronger sense of their Yiddishkeit.

This year’s theme for Holocaust Memorial Day was ‘One Day’, with an opening ceremony which explored all the different events that can happen over one day. One day in particular was changed by Hershel Grynspan- his actions triggered the tragedy of Kristallnacht.

We were privileged to be joined by students from Copthall School and St. Marys’ Catholic School.

Music composed in Theresienstadt by Jacob Weinberg was played by Mrs Algranati, who explained her choice: the first piece, Grandmothers Legend, was a slow melancholic piece full of yearning and longing, with an upward arching melody. Possibly the composer was thinking about his family and life before the Holocaust which was destroyed on the One Day that changed everyone’s lives. The second contrasting piece is called Wedding Dance. It is unlikely that this piece was written to celebrate an actual wedding within the ghetto, yet it ignites a memory of joyous celebrations. The music is fast, full of life and often quite raucous.

Afterwards, the students went to a range of workshops. Year 9 were with the Art Department listening to survivors’ stories and making their own memorial flame. The JS Department ran a session for Years 7 and 8 about the One Day of Purim in the Vilna Ghetto. They also experienced the History Department workshop about a boy in the Terezin ghetto, using the poem ‘If I never see another Butterfly’ by Pavel Friedman.

Year 10 learned from the English Department’s insightful and detailed workshop, which used powerful images and carefully researched historical material to develop their knowledge of the Holocaust.

The Sixth Form and Year 11 spent time with Dr David Wolgroch, the son of a Holocaust survivor, discussing positive resilience. The Q&A at the end was fascinating, with Dr. Wolgroch relating an experience with his son and his father: the boy asked what the numbers meant on his grandfather’s arm. He was told this was something ‘a bad person did’. The child’s response was to kiss it ‘all better’. To which Dr Wolgroch’s father, astounded, called the child a ‘mensch’. Out of the bitter comes the sweet.

The second half of the day saw all the girls return to the hall where Mrs Abecasis told the story of a German family who were caught up in the Nazi net after they fled to Antwerp. The children went into hiding. They survived and eventually made it to America. The son, Alfred Friedmann, is Mrs Abecasis’ father.

Mrs Jacobson launched the Creative Competition based on the idea of One Day- this can be a written entry or use any form of creative media. Good luck to all.

Ariella G, with other Year 12 students, shared her Parysow project with the school. This was the project to translate the memorial book of the town of Parysow, Poland from Yiddish into English. Batsheva S spoke about her experience translating, and connecting with elderly Yiddish speakers. Avigayil R read an excerpt from the translation, and Maya G concluded with the suggestion of possibly organising another volume in the series.

The final speaker was Mrs Brice, after which the event concluded with a song sung by all about how ONE act of kindness can save a world.

Thank you to Mrs Abecasis for creating such a well-run, educational and inspirational Holocaust Memorial Day.

   

 

The Year 7, Girls’ School, Achdus Day was filled with fun, unity and a lot of laughter!