16 Iyar, 5777
This Week at Rochelle Zell
May 12, 2017
College Decision Day Post High School Op ons
College Decisions Pride in Prayer Recruitment Party Immigrant Experience ARK Cafe Concludes Social Studies News This Week in Sports Alumni Trivia A Taste of Torah Community News
Merry is May me and merrier s ll are the seniors who have signed on the do ed line and made their decisions for next year! Several of our seniors are planning to study in Israel, including at Yeshivat Ma'alei Gilboa, Sha'alavim, Bar Ilan, Young Judea Year Course, and Hevruta at the Shalom Hartman Ins tute. This year’s seniors were accepted to more than 70
colleges and gap-year programs. In the fall they will be a ending:
Class Schedule Monday, May 15
A Tuesday, May 16
B Wednesday, May 17 A
American University Binghamton University Boston University Bradley University (2) *University of California, Berkeley University of Chicago (2) *Cornell University *Duke University (2) George Washington University *Harvey Mudd College University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (3) Indiana University Iowa State University Lehigh University *Lewis and Clark College
Loyola University University of Michigan (6) Northwestern University *Nova Southeastern University *Parkland College Princeton University *Rice University Syracuse University *University of Texas, Aus n *Towson University Tulane University Washington University in St. Louis Yeshiva University
Marked above (*) are some of the many schools that welcome their ďŹ rst Rochelle Zell graduate this fall. Congratula ons, seniors!
Thursday, May 18
C Friday, May 19 BB
Quick Links RZJHS.org Calendars Lunch Menu Edline Give Now
Pride in Prayer Save The Date
RZJHS Celebrates Pride with All-School Davening Friday morning featured an all LGBTQ-iden fying davening line up in a display of student respect and solidarity. Emma Canter,
May 17 Physics Expo May 18 Grandparents and Special Friends Day Open Mic Night Athle c Night May 19 Last Day of Classes All-School BBQ May 22 No School May 24 Senior Siyum Gradua on May 23-26 Final Exams
incoming president of Ga'avah, shared a beau ful and inspiring kavannah poem about her own wideranging personal iden ty, as well as charging her peers to be allies, and heed the words of Hillel the sage: If I am not for myself who am I? If I am for myself alone, what am I? If not now, when? READ MORE>> Our guest darshanit was Rabbi Megan GoldMarche of the Base Silverstein Hillel, who told her own story of coming out a er decades as an ally, balancing the anxie es of sel ood with the convic on (born of white suburban en tlement, she assures us wryly!) that she and all Godly human beings are en tled to work within suppor ve and loving communi es to build their own professional opportuni es and familial bonds. Rabbi GoldMarche spoke about the issue of the blemished priests in this week's parsha, ci ng the rabbinic dictum that the physical defects that might disqualify an animal from divine service do not disqualify a human being, whose worth we do not measure by physical or spiritual perfec on; our personal differences are what enable us to connect to others with our fullest selves.
Recruitment Bowling Party Class of 2021 Arrives The incoming ninth grade class met for the first me at the annual New Student Bowling Party at the Wilme e Bowling Center. Student Ambassadors and Student Ambassadors and Rochelle Zell staff welcomed the new students, who come to us from Solomon Schechter, Chicago Jewish Day School, Akiba Schechter, Bernard Zell, and several public middle schools. Incoming students hobnobbed with their peer groups and senior student ambassadors, competed for tle of best bowler, and received their first official RZJHS swag. See you all at orienta on August 21!
Strangers Among Us Ms. Gitlin and Akers/Levin Family Share Their Jewish Refugee Experience Some weeks ago, senior Lexi Levin, men oned to her math teacher that her grandparents had seeded the Russian Jewish refugee rese lement effort in Toledo, Ohio; much to Lexi's surprise, her teacher Ms. Marina Gitlin replied that she and her family had been among the Ohio refugees
whom her family had been given a second chance at life. The equally surprised math teacher invited the Akers family, grandparents of Lexi and David Levin, to join us at school to publicly thank them for their efforts; Mrs. Renee Akers explained how strongly she felt about helping Russian Jews--including the low-stress acquisi on of comfortable living arrangements, schools, language skills, and job skills--because her family was helped in Mexico when they rese led there to escape World War II. Last Friday, the en re school listened with rapt a en on as math teacher Ms. Gitlin took the floor in tefillah, to talk about her childhood experience fleeing an -Semi sm in the Soviet Union and coming to America as a refugee. Many thanks to Mr. James Akers and to Ms. Gitlin for opening up to share their stories, and to raise awareness of the harshness of Eastern European an -Semi sm and life in the Soviet regime. Ms. Gitlin also adds her thanks to HIAS for its integral role in re-se ling Soviet Jews; HIAS has con nued its excellent work rese ling refugees of all faiths and backgrounds in America. To see how you can help, go to h p://www.hias.org.
ARK in the Park Yesterday when our students headed down to the ARK, they found a special treat wai ng to welcome them: an enormous chocolate cake brought by one of the clients in honor of his birthday and our last mee ng of the year. Junior Sol Triester explains, "A consistent group of students made their way to Rogers Park for monthly mee ngs with ARK clients. At this week's final mee ng we reflected on the mutually beneficial rela onship between our school and the clients. The clients gain an incredible sense of community while our eyes are opened to the complexity of the world and the plight of those less fortunate in our Jewish community. We had a great year and look forward to future mee ngs next year!" Junior Hannah Kelly reports from West Rogers Park, "It's rewarding to see how much the clients appreciate our visits!" Ms. Frankel adds, "I am always impressed by the commitment of me and the generosity of spirit that our students demonstrate at the ARK. This club reinforces the immense power of being present and bearing witness to another person's life. A kind smile and a listening ear go such a long way!" Ark Cafe is an opportunity for students to serve dinner to clients and get to know them over a hot meal. Ark in the Park is a student-led discussion where clients and students build rela onships and share stories and experiences with one another.
Alumni Trivia Which successful Google employee is now the poster child for Emory's Business School?
News From the Classroom This Week in Social Studies
While students in A.P. U.S. History recovered from their exam and prepared to tackle the even more sobering task of current events, students in Ms. Feinstein's Global Studies class immersed
themselves in Enlightenment-era philosophy, culmina ng in a pinwheel discussion. The pinwheel discussion is described as follows by educa on expert Jennifer Gonzalez: "Students are divided into three groups, assigned to represent specific points of view. Members of the fourth group are designated as 'provocateurs,' tasked with making sure the discussion keeps going and stays challenging. The four speakers introduce and discuss ques ons they prepared ahead of me (this prepara on is done with their groups). A er some me, new students rotate from behind the speaker into the center seats and con nue the conversa on." Despite the complex format of both the philosophers' texts and the ac vity itself, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau's representa ves did a fantas c job responding to ques ons that they did not know about ahead of me, all within the point of view of the philosopher they were assigned. Also, the provocateurs asked fascina ng ques ons, ranging from the historical context of each philosopher's ideas to which form of government would be ideal. As one can imagine, these philosophies and ques ons are ever-present in our society, and they have no easy answers. The students did an impressive job tackling these ideas!
Fly the 'W' Over Northbrook Baseball and Volleyball Wins
There is great joy in Mudville this week, alias our home field at Meadowhill, where the Tiger baseball team brought home two wins (plus a lot of laundry)! On Monday, the Tigers squared off against Northtown, winning a 5-4 nail-biter in the bo om of the ninth. Strong pitching performances by Jon Silvers, Ari Rosen, Ben Saxton, and Owen Stern kept the game close, se ng the table for an Owen Stern walk-off hit in the bo om of the last inning to cap a see-saw ba le.
Elated by the victory, the Tigers charged headlong into their Thursday a ernoon Senior Night game against Chicago Math and Science. Ari Rosen took the hill and virtually shut down the Titans' offense from the first pitch. Strong relief efforts from Viktor Cin and Ben Saxton helped close out the game. In addi on to the solid pitching performances, a strong offensive punch up and down the lineup helped RZ coast to an easy 13-5 victory. Coach Chanan and Coach Zouber honored the team's seniors, who have contributed so much to the growth of our fantas c baseball program. Honored were Viktor Cin, Jonah Karoll, David Weisskopf, and co-captains Adam Gilman and Jon Silvers. The team now enters the IHSA playoffs going strong, and will host Waldorf on Monday at Meadowhill for a 4:30 p.m. start. The Tiger boys volleyball teams had a great week! It all started on Monday with senior night and two big varsity wins versus Chicago Hope. Our leaders for this match were Ben Hirsch, Joey Schrayer, and Eli Nasa r with a perfect 8-8 on his serves. In the second match of our double header, our seniors lead us to victory again. Danny Gabel had four kills and two digs and Sammy Hoffman had a perfect 9-9 on his serves, Akiva Stein added ten kills, and Dave Vayngart added four kills and two digs. The JV boys avenged the varsity loss versus Chris an Heritage thanks to Daniel Sacks with a perfect 10-10 on his serves, Marc Luban with a perfect 9-9 on his serves, and Guy Ostroff with a perfect 9-9.
Alumni Trivia Our resident Hermione Granger Vanessa Youshaei (CJHS '08) has lots of hard-won experience figuring out what to look for in a school over and above a great educa on. In 2012, she founded BOLD, a nonprofit dedicated to Ba ling the Obstacles of Learning Disabili es. "[Transferring to] Emory was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made," Vanessa recalls. "Not only did I learn a ton from some of the best professors, but I also met some incredibly talented people and made life-long friends from around the world.... Similar to Emory, working at Google has introduced me to a new way of thinking and a new group of people who are extremely intelligent, fun to be around, and most importantly generous and kind -- a pre y rare combo to find." Vanessa's full ar cle can be found in this spring's Emory business magazine! READ MORE>>
A Taste of Torah: Emor During our final weeks of school, seniors are reflec ng in a variety of ways about their years in our school. Many have used the term “covenantal community” to describe Rochelle Zell, a place where they come into being, with the support of both individuals and the structures of the classes and ac vi es, rela onships with the Jewish community, the human community and God. We are a
community that supports each individual and celebrates communally. But beyond that, people buy into the underlying messages about what it means to live according to both halacha (law) and aggadah (narra ve).
Parashat Emor, features a profound ar cula on about what it means to live in a covenantal community: You shall faithfully observe my commandments; I am HaShem. You shall not profane my holy name, so that I may be sanc fied in the midst of the Israelite people — I, HaShem, who sanc fy you, I who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your god, I, Hashem (Lev 22:31-32). God and the people Israel sanc fy one another in a complimentary rela onship. In the words of religious studies professor Dr. Chris ne Hayes: First (God) sanc fies Israel by redeeming her, making her a special possession from among the na ons, and sealing the rela onship with the giving of a covenant whose instruc ons would serve as the blueprint for Israel’s holy voca on. In turn, Israel sanc fies (God) by living out that voca on, by faithfully observing the commandments and becoming a holy people. In the covenant rela onship, as embodied by the divine law, (God) and Israel meet in a reciprocal fashion (What’s Divine About Divine Law, 45). This is the vision of our educa on, for students to embrace the covenant of their educa on and in turn bringing it forth into their lives and into the lives of their future communi es. Rav Beit Sefer Zachary Silver
Community News and Events
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