Seated: Avishai Ostilly, Eyal Eisenstein (Leader), Jakey Conway
Standing: Avi Landau, Tzviki Levine, Laivi Sykes

On Tuesday the Year 8 boys made three separate meals representing the languages taught here at Hasmonean: Spanish, French and Hebrew. In their language lessons, Year 7 and 8 students created posters, displays of phrases and menus in the relevant language and helped to create a real buzz of languages in the Boys’ lunch hall.

Well done to Ms Ger for organising this year’s event. And huge thank you to Ms Stavrou and her students for the exquisite food.

The success was so overwhelming that all the food was sold out in the first 15 minutes of the first lunch!

Thank you to all who supported the event.

Gracias * Toda*Merci

Prize Day at Hasmonean High School for Boys kicked off with the talented Zak Wolfson playing the theme tune from “The Muppets” as parents and guests took to their seats. It was a fitting way to start an afternoon full of laughter and joy in celebrating the achievements of our students.

Mrs Lebrett warmly welcomed the award winners and was received with a raucous round of applause when announcing that Hasmonean was among the top non-selective state schools for public examinations for the seventh consecutive year. In her opening address, Mrs Lebrett spoke about the qualities of leadership found in this week’s sedra, Shelach Lecha. The examples of Joshua and Caleb demonstrate the importance of fostering a sense of confidence in the people they lead; in a message to our prize winners, the leaders of the future, Mrs Lebrett made it clear that those who say, “we cannot do it” are probably right, as are those who say “we can.” Solid and justified confidence, based on preparation and performance, leads to triumph.

Hasmonean does not scrimp on the opportunities it provides students with to display the qualities of a good leader. In addition to formal studies, this year there has been an Achdus trip for Year 7 boys, Gateshead Gesher trips, a trip to Scotland, a moving experience for Sixth Formers in Poland, visits to St Joseph’s Hospice in Hackney, football matches in aid of One Child Ghana and the Boys Clubhouse, a Purim Talent Show, visits from 26 Yeshivos, and talks by AJEX veterans and visiting artists.

There was no time however for a tipple or a tantalising and tasty treat supplied by Ms Stavrou and her Food Technology students as the afternoon swiftly moved on to Rabbi Golker, Menahel, and his address to prize winners. Presenting a Dvar Torah on the theme of leadership, Rabbi Golker used Moshe Rabbeinu’s example to show the dual qualities of successful leadership: being a “man of war”, strong and principled, and being a “man of the people” humble and grounded. Rabbi Golker was able to celebrate the success of our students and provide them with a key message for their futures. Indeed, this message of leadership was verified with the introduction of the keynote speaker and guest of honour, Rabbi Lerer of the Central Synagogue in the West End, who began his career in a blazer and a maroon tie, sitting in a Hasmonean classroom alongside Rabbi Golker.

Rabbi Lerer’s stirring and inspirational address focused on the perceptions of humility based on the pasuk, “Vesham Ra’eenu et Hanifilim Bnei Anak Min Hanifilim Vanehi Ve’eynenu Kachagavim Vechain Hayinu Be’eyneyhem,” (There we saw the Nephillim the sons of the giant from among the Nephillim. We were like grasshoppers in our eyes and so we were in their eyes.) Rabbi Lerer stated that many people assume that someone who is humble think themselves to be worthless. But he also noted the words of Baroness Campbell who said, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it’s thinking about yourself less.”

Naftoli Stimler, Head Boy, presented a meaningful speech about the concept of respect and how this can lead to success and growth within a community; he therefore gave the boys an encouraging and stimulating message for their time ahead at Hasmonean. A powerful First Give presentation on JAMI by Year 9 students Daniel LeBlanc, Ben Gersch and Eitan Korman, under the guidance of Rabbi Liss, showed this message of respect in practice. Furthermore, Ari Wolff, “Speak Out” Regional Champion, delivered a riveting, creative and eloquent speech on the topic of exams which showed everyone in the hall that Hasmonean boys have a powerful voice in the wider community. He was a true credit to Mrs Serfaty and to the whole English department.

Accompanied by musical entertainment gifted students Zak Wolfson, Uriel Lev and Dov Samuels, Mrs Lebrett distributed the awards and turned to Mr McClusky, CEO, to end what was a wonderful afternoon with his vote of thanks.

It was an evening which truly inspired all the senses: our eyes were wondered by the display of gallery-worthy art created by the boys and collated by Mrs Jenks and Mr Bazen; our nostrils quivered and tongues tingled with the morsels from the Food Technology Department; our ears were marvelled under the leadership of Mrs Algranati and the musical prowess of her students; and as the parade of delighted boys walked up to the stage, the feeling of pride that emanated from the hall was tangible.

As part of their British Values Studies, a group of Year 9 girls visited Barnet Hill Academy, an Islamic faith school for girls between the ages of 11 to 16 years.

The girls introduced themselves, noting the similarities between names such as Miriam and Maryam. A starter activity, where the girls answered questions such as ‘The place where I feel happiest is…’ showed that they shared many of the same thoughts and feelings. On whiteboards, they wrote down what they did during the day and compared notes. Again, there were a lot of similarities. They were able to spend time with each other; chatting about their hobbies, their friends and their lives in general…in fact, they could not stop chatting! There was supposed to be a video, but it buffered! This did not halt the activities as a break with kosher snacks for all beckoned.

After the break, each girl drew a picture of something that represented her, then put it in a box and passed the box around. The pictures were then drawn out, and students had to discuss what they saw in the picture and tried to guess who the picture belonged to. Our girls also had a tour of Barnet Hill Academy: there are 44 girls in this secondary school which shares a site with a small mixed primary.

The Building Bridges morning was very successful, demonstrating that there is much more that unites us than divides us. Thank you to Mrs Abecasis for organising Tuesdays event, and to all the girls and their exemplary behaviour.

On Friday the 21st June, the Year 8 girls were honoured to have Marie van der Zyl, President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews as their guest. Ms van der Zyl, who is an employment lawyer, took on the office of President of the Board of Deputies on 1st June 2018 and is only the second woman to hold the role.

Ms van der Zyl spoke to the girls about her background. She grew up in Woodford, Essex, and went on to study Law at The University of Liverpool. Her experiences of being at a school and a university with very few other Jewish students, helped to forge her strong Jewish identity. This would eventually lead her to her prestigious position at The Board of Deputies.

As a member of both the Mill Hill and The West London Synagogues, Ms van der Zyl spoke about the importance of volunteering within the community and giving back. Ms van der Zyl was very interested and pleased to hear about the various volunteering programmes that the Hasmonean girls are involved in, such as volunteering at Jewish Care.

The girls heard all about the work of The Board of Deputies focusing on building good inter faith and communal relations with all parts of the community.

Her presentation was followed by some very intelligent questioning. The session was very informative and the girls gained so much from hearing from such an eloquent and prestigious communal speaker.