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.

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.

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.

The impossible became possible thanks to HIPE and Gesher. Year 12 girls were able to go to Gateshead for a Shabbaton! It was a weekend packed with activities, including the thrills of a theme park!

As per tradition, the girls spent the Shabbat meals with the families of the Gateshead community.

It was a wonderful weekend, made all the more special by being so eagerly anticipated.

Ariella G from Year 11 has been chosen as one of only 20 students worldwide to be invited to the M.I.T √MathROOTS summer programme in Boston.  This is a fantastic achievement by Ariella who deserves our warmest congratulations.