HANC Middle School Wins Middle School Hockey Championship

The Hebrew Academy of Nassau County opened in 1953. Over the last 70 years, the school has undergone tremendous growth and many awesome occasions. One of the major milestones in our history was when we opened a separate Middle School. This occurred for the 2002-03 school year. Before that, the school operated as Junior High School and Senior High School with one set of administrators. One of the things that happened in that first year under the direction of principal Rabbi Peretz Hochbaum was the launching of the HANC Middle School Hockey team. Over the last two decades, the team had a lot of success. In fact, it went to the championship on many occasions, including the last three in a row. Unfortunately, each time the team made it they lost. Often, the loss was in an excruciating manner. Year after year, hard work would not pay off as the team would never be able to achieve their elusive goal (pun intended) of an illustrious championship. That would all change in the 2223 season.

On March 22, HALB played YDE in the other semifinal match. HALB came out on top, and the final two teams were set. It would once again be HANC vs. HALB. The game was set for Monday night, March 27, at 7:30. The location was HAFTR High School. For HANC, they were facing the same opponent, in the same place, that they lost in the last championship.

At the end of two periods of play, the score was tied. In the third period, back and forth action but no goals and the first overtime the same. Now, it was time for the second overtime. With 8:09 left in the second overtime, there was a faceoff in HANC’s offensive zone. Judah Weitzman took the faceoff and won it over sending it straight to Mo Akerman. Akerman controlled the pass and shot it right into the net.

It had actually happened! The HANC Hurricanes won their first ever Middle School Hockey Championship. HANC was stunned, and the fans rushed the court. There was pandemonium in Lawrence. The HANC crowd was jubilant. Goalie Itai Holtzman was finally able to take a rest after some unbelievable saves. All of the team members deserve recognition., as this win was a perfect example of a true team effort. For Rabbi Harris, it was a flawless celebration 15 years in the making with HANC Hockey, four as a player and 11 as a coach.

A big thank you to Eric Gellman, League Commissioner. A big thank you as well to HAFTR for hosting the championship and livestreaming it.

Congratulations to all of the team members: Avi Hackel, Matis Kahn, Ari Zarzhevsky, Isaac Silbiger, Judah Weitzman, Josh Seewald, Mo Akerman, Simon Steinberg, Itai Holtzman, Noah Ehrenhaus, Harry Ritter, Yedidya Lubner, Jeremy Zeitlin, Leo Maryles, Eliad Holtzman, Jonah Rosman, Noam Koegel, Jacob Schoenfeld, Nate Weissman, Charlie Goldstein, Daniel Wasser, Rafi Calm, Jesse Grysman, Zachary Weitzman, and, of course, Coach Rabbi Mordechai Harris.

Annie at Central

Pass by the Central cafe at 5:00 PM on a weekday, and there’s a pretty good chance you’ll see a dance scene in full swing or the Central choir clustered around the piano, practicing scales. It’s spring musical season, and this year’s feature was the classic musical Annie. The show, staged on Thursday, March 30, was a change of pace from last year’s successful production of Shrek and a welcome challenge for Central’s vibrant arts community. The titular role of Annie was played by senior Shayna Sprung, with senior Perri Sterman as Daddy Warbucks and senior Abby Harris as Miss Hannigan.

The first full dress rehearsal was this past Sunday, March 26, and gave the cast and crew a chance to work as a team to develop the show, helping one another to practice scenes and learn cues.

Sunday also allowed the cast to immerse themselves in their roles — in Abby Harris’s case, stepping into the shoes of beloved villain Miss Hannigan.

“Everyone knows their character,” Abby said. “Any time I’m in a bad mood, I can just be Miss Hannigan. It’s very practical. I just walk in and say, ‘All right, orphans, let’s go!’”

The cast and crew took creative license in a few ways. Initially, Central made the set truly its own, with students from all classes coming together to make big, splashy backgrounds depicting the story’s frenetic New York City setting. To all accounts, the show was better for it, and rousing renditions of “It’s the HardKnock Life” and “Tomorrow” brought the house down.

The cast dedicated this year’s production in loving memory of Adira Koffsky, A”H (‘22), who played a pivotal role in Central’s arts community and in last year’s musical production. With over 200 people in attendance, the show was a smashing success! Thank you to play director, and Central alumna, Rachel Sterman Rosenbaum (‘10)!