Boys’ School Trip to The Imperial War Museum

/in , /by

Our Year 9 boys recently spent a day at the Imperial War Museum.

One of the activities they took part in was ‘documentary challenge’, which involved filming their own mini documentaries in the First World War exhibition. The boys thought the Second World War galleries were really interesting and particularly enjoyed the ‘real life’ experience of what it must have been like to experience a bombing raid during the ‘Blitz’. They ‘hid’ in an Anderson Shelter. Another activity which brought history to life was sitting in a recreation of a 1940s living room. They could listen to the news on the ‘wireless’ and even lay in a Morrison Shelter which was a mattress under a table.

Thank you to all the staff involved in making this a memorable occasion.

Year 7 – Football News – We are the champions!

/in , /by

Our Year 7 football team were in very high spirits after an incredible 6-1 win against a good Ashmole Academy team. This successful win secured the first silverware in years for Hasmonean High School for Boys!

Our scorers were Akiva P., Joeli S., Ben N., and Mikael L.

The Man of the Match was Eitan A. with his incredible defensive play and strong captaincy, giving high level communication and structure to the players around him.

All of our Year 7 team played fantastically well together and we are very proud of their success!

Boys’ School Jack Petchey Winners, Spring/Summer 2022

/in , /by

Last week, three of our students won the latest round of Jack Petchey awards:
• Igal S.
• Zvi S.
• David T.

Igal was nominated for his kindness to others. Comments from his peers highlighted that ‘he is very nice to everyone’ and ‘never fights,’ and praised Igal for being ‘a good friend.’

Zvi was also nominated for his kindness to others, as well as voluntary work, with peers praising him for being ‘kind and gentle to everyone’ and being ‘a good person.’

David was also nominated for his kindness to others, with peers citing his niceness, patience and describing him as ‘really kind.’

They join this year’s previous winners (Yaacov B., Yisroel F., Gavi L.) in receiving a certificate and badge, and a £250 award to help a school department of their choice.

Scholars Programme Graduation

/in , /by

On Monday 16th May, Mr Markiewicz and Mr Simberg had the pleasure of taking some of our Year 10 and Year 11 students to King’s University.

The boys had spent a hard term working on the Scholars Programme which meant that they worked closely with a PhD scholar, studying and researching her area of expertise, skin regeneration. They studied in a series of small group university-style tutorials. Our researcher currently acts as a lecturer to students at university level, so it has been a unique opportunity for our pupils to experience university-style teaching.

We visited King’s in order to celebrate our pupils having completed their course and worked on their final assignments.

We went with several other London based schools and it really was quite the experience to sit in a lecture hall and have a tour around one of the country’s most historic and well performing universities.

Lag B’Omer

/in , /by

With bright sunshine and blue skies, Hasmonean set off on its Lag B’Omer adventures.

A plethora of coaches took the girls to Chessington where they had a wonderful day enjoying the rides and just being able to hang out and enjoy unstructured time together. They all received green wristbands with emergency number, HIPE Chessington stickers and ice pops as they boarded coaches. It was a day of sunny breezes with the Vampire ride as an absolute favourite.

The boys spent a day in the water with the Years 7 and 8 going to Fairlop Waters in Essex and our Years 9, 10 and 12’s going to The Wave, Coventry. The Year 7 and 8 boys came back from the trip and excitedly grabbed their burgers from the BBQ which was manned by Dovid Belovski from our HIPE team.

Thank you so much to HIPE for organising the day and to all the staff who ensured that every child had a safe and enjoyable time.

Year 12 Early Entry Day – Girls’ School

/in , /by

On Friday 6th May, our Year 12 girls had a series of workshops dedicated to providing guidance and insight into Medical, Dentistry, Veterinary, and Oxbridge applications.

A massive thank you to Mrs Langdon for her session on how to navigate admissions exams. We also had external visitors who came to talk to the girls. Dr Bergin spoke to them about Dentistry. He had a fascinating insight into life as a dental student and offered valuable expertise on expectations and gaining work experience.

Our alumni, Tamar Neville, came to speak to them of her experience of applying for and doing a medical degree. The girls were able to relate to her experience of being a religious young woman in a competitive career and she patiently answered millions of questions.

Dr Caroline Dewhurst spoke to both Years 12 and 11 about life as a Vet and the girls found this both intriguing and informative. We were also happy to invite back Anna Hastoy from Oxford University to continue her support to our girls with her expertise and insight for both Oxford and Cambridge applications.

It was a really productive day with many of our girls coming out enthused and motivated to start their own journey.

Thank you to Mrs Valencia for organising this very motivating event.

Christchurch College Oxford

/in , /by

Several Year 12 girls attended an educational tour of Christchurch College Oxford on Tuesday 10th May to understand the application process, entry requirements, as well as the life of an undergraduate in one of the world’s top universities.

Girls from Year 12 with aspirations to study at Oxbridge were invited to attend the Oxford College tour following an earlier visit from Oxford outreach staff to Hasmonean the previous week. The tour started with an hour-long presentation covering topics such as university fees, college applications and interviews, Oxford clubs and societies as well as an outline of the popular college courses. Pupils were given some free gifts and souvenirs and after lunch had a lengthy Q&A session with current third year undergraduates where the topics of A-Levels, work-life balance and life as a Christchurch student attending tutorials and lectures was discussed.

The girls then had the opportunity to discuss Jewish Life at Oxford with some Jewish students currently studying at the college followed by a tour of the campus and quads including a visit to the Great Hall dining area and Tom Tower used as locations for the Harry Potter movies. The Year 12 girls were hopefully inspired by the visit and had a flavour of the unique life at Oxford.

Imperial War Museum Trip

/in , /by

Our Year 9 students spent a very enjoyable and interesting day last week at the Imperial War Museum (IWM). The whole year group was invited to attend, regardless of whether they are studying for GCSE History or not.

The IWM is a wonderful museum which really brings the experience of war to life. It is a place where students can explore the causes and consequences of conflict, not only with regard to governments, but also how the lives of ordinary people were affected.

One of the activities they took part in was ‘documentary challenge’, which involved filming their own mini documentaries in the First World War exhibition.

Thank you to Rabbi Gaffin, Mrs Joffe, Mrs Abecasis, Mr Neagus, and Mrs Rand for staffing this trip with Mrs Yaros.

2022 Young Social Enterprise Competition – Seed to Feed

/in , /by

Two Year 12 students at Hasmonean High School for Girls, Ariella Wolfson and Aliza Siepe, were the winners of the 2022 Young Social Enterprise Competition.

The Young Social Enterprise competition, which is run in conjunction with Tzedek and the Office of The Chief Rabbi, invites students in Years 10-13 to design a sustainable project in response to a case study. This year, the case study was showcasing the various challenges faced by individuals in the Mion District in Ghana.

Cost effectiveness, sustainability, viability, creativity, and research were the evaluation criteria throughout the competition and the groups received feedback from Tzedek. There were 3 rounds to the competition: the project proposal form, the creative submission and the final pitch, which was followed by a Q&A with a selection of expert judges.

Their project, called the Seed to Feed Foundation, consisted of two main parts. Firstly, an after-school agriculture club for school children to give them a kick start in their agricultural education which is the main source of income in the Mion District. The second part of their project was the creation of plantable seeded paper. This is made by taking paper based materials out of landfill, mixing them with water and seeds, which when dried, produces seeded paper. This could be used in the schools as a resource and then planted to produce nutritious crops for school lunches after its original purpose had been fulfilled.

The final pitch consisted of five groups and Aliza and Ariella did incredibly well to scoop first prize which is a trip to the United Nations in August.

We are very proud of their achievement.

 

Yom HaZikaron and Yom Ha’Atzmaut at the Girls’ School

/in , /by

This is the day which Hashem has made the day when we can celebrate Yom Ha’Atzmaut in song and in dance at Hasmonean. To celebrate in a way which includes every student, different events were arranged. The hall was filled with students dressed in varying combinations of blue and white, with a backdrop of flags and balloons. For those who wished to praise Hashem in full voice, there was Tephilla with a rousing, heartfelt Hallel.

Following Tephilla, Rikki Shatzkes, on behalf of the Israel Society, gave a clear and brief speech about the establishment and history of the State. She also shared her personal reflections, including speaking about her brother who made Aliyah age 18 and joined the IDF.

Rabbi Schiff came in to speak about his own reflections on Yom Ha’Atzmaut, and clearly showed his excitement at being in Hasmonean at a time when we do celebrate Yom Ha’Atzmaut! He recalled his own swearing in ceremony at the Kotel, where another Hasmo Alumnus (now Lord Kestenbaum), said to him: ‘Why did Hashem say to Moshe go up the mountain and lift up your eyes?’ The answer: it is not easy to live in Israel, but this is where we are supposed to be. ‘Lift up your eyes’ and be thankful for all that Hashem has done. Tov le’Hodot L’Hashem. This is the essence of being a Jew- to always recognise the good.

And with that, each student wrote a note describing what she felt grateful to Israel for, tied it to a blue or white balloon and the whole school released those balloons into the sunshine.

Later on in the morning, there was a return to the hall for celebrating, dancing, eating watermelon, drinking ice coffee, face painting, and balloon art! Tov L’Hodot- it was truly wonderful to be able to celebrate the 74th birthday of our homeland in true Hasmonean style.

Thank you to HIPE, the madrichot who joined us, and to the one and only Kevin and site team.

Yom HaZikaron – Girls’ School

For Yom HaZikaron, Devorah and Avi Kay, parents of Eli who was murdered in Jerusalem in November 2021, came to speak to the Year 8 and 9 girls. Devorah and Avi shared lessons learned from Eli’s life, including the importance of personal integrity, Eli’s love of the Land of Israel, and his willingness to help those around him in need regardless of background or religion.

Devorah told the girls how she has been inspired by Eli about the importance of following one’s own sense of what is right and not worrying what others may think. She shared a story of how Eli paid for a stranger’s shoes when his credit card wasn’t working and how he would greet the market vendors in Machane Yehudah by name. Eli was an exceptional young man whose smile and warmth gave joy to everyone he met.

Avi spoke about the importance of choosing to respond to tragedy with strength. The students were given the opportunities to ask questions at the end of the talk.