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Message from the Associate Head of School
BENEFIT BALL AND AUCTION NEWS
The 25th Annual Benefit Ball and Auction, Pura Vida, Celebrating Life with Family and Friends, will be held on March 7, 2009, at the Polo Club Boca Raton. The event Chairpersons are DKJA parents, Jill and Yori Galel, who recently hosted a gathering for the extraordinary leadership team at their home. The chairs and leadership team welcome and need your time and talent as plans for the gala and auction get underway. We are privileged to pay tribute to Board Member Harold Jacobsohn, who will be presented with the Linda R. Kaminow Visionary Leadership Award.
Please call (561) 852-3317 or send e-mail to kambers@dkja.org if you would like to be a part of this spectacular event.
SAVE THE DATE
Grandparents’ and Special Friends’ Day
Grandparents’ and Special Friends’ Day will be held on Friday, February 13, 2009. We are proud to announce our 2009 Chairpersons:
Parents: Marianne and Eric Altschul
Grandparents: Karen and Larry Altschul and Judy and Judge Norman Bennett
Great Grandmother: Dorothy Blonder
MAKE A NOTE
Grandparent Organization to be Introduced
Under the guidance of Associate Head of School Sharon Kamber, planning has begun for the formation of a DKJA Grandparent Outreach Program. We are privileged to have Dr. Elliot Burns, Immediate Past President of B’nai Torah Congregation and a grandfather of two DKJA students as chair of this new initiative. Dr. Burns shares that..."We are pleased that this group will come together to enhance the support system to our students, teachers and parents to augment the outstanding efforts of the PTO, and to create grandparent programming and volunteer activities within our school. There are many opportunities to serve as mentors, volunteer in the classroom, assist with the PTO Shuk, and help with other areas. Most of all, our group will give the school a multi-generational perspective on enhancing our children's day-to-day activities."
For those parents who would like to assist, please contact Sharon Kamber, Associate Head of School, at (561) 852-3317 or send e-mail to kambers@dkja.org. Dr. Elliot H. Burns can be reached at (561) 218-9236 (home) or, by e-mail at bocaburns@aol.com. Please indicate your name, address, telephone number, community, e-mail address (if any), out-of-state address if applicable, and telephone number.
Sincerely, Sharon Kamber
Associate Head of School
A Message from the LS Principal of Judaic Studies
A Time For Reflection...
The Shabbat between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is called "Shabbat Shuvah," which means "Shabbat of Re turn." We are called to return, to examine our deeds, and to return to G-d.
The Torah recognizes that everyone makes mistakes. A person's greatness is not recognized because of being perfect, but rather by learning from one's mistakes and moving forward with the proper behavior. This is achieved by looking back, reviewing our actions and acquiring lessons for the future.
As educators we are very much familiar with this kind of process, looking back and reviewing is part of the learning sequence, which teachers use all the time. They examine and check for correctness and accuracy, they look over, and discuss the material already learned, and together with the student they draw morals and apply lessons for the future.
In Pirkei Avot, the Sayings of our Fathers, chapter 5:22, it says: "Ben Bag Bag says turn it (Torah) over and over because everything is in it, and reflect upon it..." It is the richness of our traditions and teachings that gives meaning and guidance into everything that we do.
Gemar Chatimah Tovah. May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year.
Yafa Levit
Principal of Lower School Judaic Studies
Lower & Middle School Highlights
On September 21 and September 22, 2008, fourteen faculty members were trained in the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, which will be implemented this year as part of our ongoing efforts to prevent bullying at all levels.
Members of the Bullying Prevention Coordinating Committee include Natalie Friedman, Carol Kolsky, Rona Bernstein, Sydney Siegel, Andrea Lieberman, Jaime Bricker, Stacy Einhorn, Charon Mendelson, Shelley Katz, Dina Fishman, Sue Schermer, Jay Cohen, Nina Lefkowitz, and Susan Gurspan. The training included an intensive educational component as well as hands-on bullying intervention exercises. The role of the committee will include training the faculty, planning a school-wide kick off, and assisting with ongoing implementation of the program. The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program is an extensively researched, internationally recognized program which promotes positive peer relationships and addresses bullying issues at the individual, classroom, school-wide and community levels. It originated in Norway in the 1980s after three adolescent boys committed suicide, most likely as a result of severe bullying by their peers. In order to insure that we are responding to current trends such as cyberbullying, the school has decided to move from the Steps to Respect program, which has been in place for six years, to the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program. We are pleased to embark upon this new initiative in order to provide the safest possible learning environment for our students.
Photo above: Sue Schermer, Susan Gurspan, Jay Cohen (standing), Shelley Katz, Rona Bernstein, and Andrea Lieberman.
Students Learn about the Holidays
It’s been a very busy few weeks at our school as students learned (and continue to learn) about the Jewish holidays of Rosh  Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot. Many engaging and educational workshops and programs captivated students’ attention.
The Shofar Factory was a hit once again this year. An annual tradition for fourth-graders, this year, the program was extended to include high school students, too.
As we prepare for Sukkot, students in Mrs. Natalie Wohl’s after-school cooking club began practicing the art of making an edible sukkah! The program was so interesting that the Sun-Sentinel featured the chefs in action in the Thursday, Oct. 2, 2008 Food Section.
Happy New Year!
High School at DKJA Happenings
 This time of the year is always a busy time at Jewish day schools. Here, too, at DKJA we have been learning about the chagim in our classes. Informal Jewish education is another way we try to inspire our students. Sometimes though we are uplifted by how they rise to the occasion and inspire us!
We have had weekly Kabbalat Shabbat run by the students. Our last one was led by the new incoming student council – Darit Zweibel, Zack Herbert, Shiri Zweibel, and Brett Kaplan. Leading up to Rosh Hashanah, students have been involved in many activities. It is wonderful to see our 9th graders already looking to take on leadership roles. Danit and Annie Cohen organized a group to decorate our school for the chagim. Suzann Cayne is working on a group to go to Menorah House to visit with the elderly. Ithamar Ben-Avi offered to write letters to Jewish soldiers. Jeffrey Lipson is working on getting a group to try to make a minyan on the days we do not have tefilah. Emily Swire coordinated a program scheduled to follow a Town Meeting. All students are encouraged to get involved!
Make A Difference! Families Encouraged to Attend Interfaith Family Community Program, Life In A Jar
 What began with a group of Protestant high school students in a small Kansas town has become an international phenomenon that has united people of all faiths around the world. On Saturday, November 8, 2008 at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, November 9, 2008 at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., the amazing, courageous story will be coming to South Florida.
Life In A Jar: The Irena Sendler Project, will be presented on those dates in Zinman Hall. It’s the amazing story of Irena Sendler, a Polish Catholic woman, and how she saved 2,500 children from the Warsaw Ghetto by placing them in orphanages, foster homes, convents, and other safe houses. She wrote the names of all of the children she rescued on tissue paper and placed them in a jar, which she buried in her garden. She believed that one day, she would return to dig up the jar, locate the children, and tell them their true identities. Irena and her story represent values that transcend generations of both time and age in the Jewish community.
Tickets for the family-oriented presentation are $5 per person for Hillel Day School and DKJA students and families; $10 for community members. Please contact Stephanie Greenberg at seog@bellsouth.net or Sandra Lilienthal at yeladot@aol.com. The presentation is a special commemoration of 70 years of Kristallnacht.
Yearbook News! Order Early and Save!
Orders placed October 1, 2008-March 31, 2009 are $65.00
Orders placed after March 31, 2009 are $75.00
Make a Note…Those interested in dedicating a page or portion of a yearbook page can do so with a yearbook salutation. Please click on the link below for pricing information, and other details. The deadline for copy submission is December 21, 2008. Please click on the links below for the Yearbook Order Form and the Yearbook Salutation Form:
http://www.dkja.org/documents/order_form_2009.pdf
http://dkja.org/documents/salutations_2009.pdf
DKJA Invites Parents to Technology Seminars
The Claire & Emanuel G. Rosenblatt Technology Program K-12 invites parents to attend our newly introduced Technology Enrichment Seminars, which will be presented by DKJA Technology teacher Michael Luetjen. . Two “Hands On, How To” Sessions will cover a variety of topics. Please fill out the attached flyer (click on Technology Seminar Form below this article in blue), and register for these informative sessions.
Technology Seminar Form
Soccer League Kicks Off
DKJA will kick off its new Soccer League for third and fourth-graders beginning October 26, 2008.The League gets together on Sunday mornings, from either 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. or 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.The cost to join is $110 per child, and the registration deadline is October 17, 2008. For further information, send e-mail to trelld@dkja.org or volinskyj@dkja.org.
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