Monthly News from Denver Academy of Torah

Transcription

1 GO BRONCOS! Super Bowl Ruminations: Who are our heroes? Rabbi Daniel Alter, Head of School Last Saturday night my son came home from an outing with his friends and was clearly very excited. They had spotted Jack Del Rio. Who is Jack Del Rio? For those of you who are not from Denver, he is the defensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos, and was also the interim coach for a few weeks this season. With the Broncos about to play in the Super Bowl, Del Rio, as well as other Bronco personalities have reached the upper heights of celebrity status in Denver. A few hours before the Del Rio sighting, my son was at seudat shlishit at the DAT Minyan, where the guest speaker, Chazan Koll, spoke about his father, a holocaust survivor who was a Bielski partisan during the war. The Bielski partisans were a group led by the Bielski brothers who managed to save over 1200 Jews during the war, most of them women, children and the elderly, by hiding in the forest. They also fought the Nazis using guerrilla warfare. The Chazan, who was a young child during the holocaust, told stories about his father. Later that night, reflecting on these two experiences, it bothered me that Del Rio evokes far more excitement among our youth then a Bielski partisan. I understand why this is the case, but think it is important for us to consider how we talk to our children about these issues. While the football game is exciting, fun and extremely relevant to them right now, we need to at least make sure that they intellectually understand who they should be admiring and are thinking about what true heroism means. Participation in sport activities are important for the health of our children, and cheering on their teams can be fun. It is hard to not get caught up in Bronco spirit. Let us use these opportunities, however, to talk with our children about the definition of heroism. We all want our children to look up to people who are kind, self sacrificing, heroic, dedicated to our people, continued on Page 5 Dates to Remember Monday, Feb. 3rd New Application & Tuition Assistance Deadline Wednesday, Feb. 5th 5th Grade Parent Meeting w/ Dr. Kasloff Friday, Feb. 7th 100th Day of School! Thursday, Feb. 13th Professional Development Noon Dismissal 8th grade Aftercare Fundraiser. Monday, Feb. 17th Presidents Day No School Monday, Feb. 24th Movie Night Friday, Feb. 28th 8th Grade Fundraiser 5% order deadline & DAT Logo Clothing Order Deadline Purim Basket Ordering Begins Feb. 9th and runs through February 28th

2 Do you have a working CD player that you d like to donate or purchase for the school? If so, please let Rivka Gross know at rgross@datcampus.org. 8th Grade Fundraisers Include Great Programs and Opportunities for YOU! Every year the 8th grade class fundraises to pay for their highly anticipated 8th grade class trip. Additional information and sign up forms regarding the following programs are available on our website: For additional questions 8trip@datcampus.org. Child Care on Feb 13th: The 8th graders will be offering child care on Thursday, February 13th during our noon dismissal for professional development. Childcare will be available from 12:00PM 3:45PM. * Reserve your child s spot by February 10th. $15 for the first child and $10 for additional children. Movie Night on February 24th: Movie Night will take place on Monday, February 24th from 3:45PM 6:00PM. $5 per student which includes snacks. The movie choices include: Monsters University, Ratatouille, and Night at the Museum. DAT Logo Clothing: Hooded sweatshirts and polos (short or long) are available. Adult and youth sizes available. Prices range from $20- $30. Samples are available in the DAT front office. All items are dress code compliant. (K-5 limited to navy, white, light blue or grey.) Show your DAT spirit! Save 5% on Gift Cards! If you shop at Neiman Marcus, Sears, Bloomingdales, or Saks 5th Avenue you can purchase gift cards and save 5% and the 8th Grade class will earn 5%. Last day to order is February 28th. Don t forget that these gift cards can be used across the country so encourage friends and family to buy as well. So, how do I reenroll my child for next year? It s easy all you have to do is return your enrollment contract which will be sent to you in the middle of February. Be sure to return your contract by March 20th to receive the discounted early bird tuition rate! Five boys advanced in rank at Troop 1613's Court of Honor held on January 29. Pictured left to right: Gavriel Asher Reiffman (Life Scout), Caleb Buter (Scout), Ariel Bashari (Tenderfoot Scout), Noam Narrowe (Scout), and Wesley Smith (First Class Scout). For more information about Boy Scouts (6th grade and up) or Cub Scouts (1st - 5th grade) at DAT, please contact Rabbi Hyiam Reiffman at hreiffman@datcampus.org. Kindergarten on a field trip to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Can you guess which unit they have been studying?

3 Follow us on Facebook for more pictures and instant updates: Monthly News from Denver Academy of Torah ROSH CHODESH and RALLY! Today the students celebrated Rosh Chodesh, learning from their teachers and our Principal, Dr. Kasloff, about sensitivity and how to interact with each other. After our traditional Rosh Chodesh celebration the students had a Broncos Super Bowl rally. In the spirit of the Super Bowl, students enjoyed a meal served outside (indoor seating optional!) with hot dogs, orange brownies and blue and orange décor. Thank you to our Rosh Chodesh Lunch volunteers: Rosh Chodesh Chair, Mor Shapiro. Our wonderful other volunteers (many who stood outside in the cold!) include: Chana Donald, Leah Dorbro, Nina Rosenfeld, Rachel Rubin and Terry Smolensky, Additional thanks goes out to Ms. Hammerman and Mrs. Friedman who coordinated our rally and tailgate lunch. We also appreciate additional support from our staff and faculty: Rabbi Reiffman, Mr. Shapiro, Morah Karine, Morah Iris, Mrs. Shurtleff, and Morah Rebekah. Additional thank you to our female middle school students who waited to have their own lunch after they first helped the younger children with their lunch. Pizza Lunch Thank you to our Pizza Lunch Coordinator, Nina Rosenfeld, and our additional volunteers Holly Solomon and Jessica Zalkin. Additional thanks to Neil Rosenfeld who recycles our pizza boxes. DO YOU WANT TO VOLUNTEER?! It s fun, it s easy and we have lots of options. Please go to our website: or Rachel Rubin, CVA Chair,

4 PURIM is just around the corner! This year the holiday begins on Saturday night, March 15th and continues through Sunday, March 16 h. DAT has a 20 year history of preparing Mishloach Manot, Purim food baskets, with delivery service to homes and businesses throughout the Denver area. This service has developed into a signature project, uniquely identified with our school. Each year we count on you, the DAT parents and students, to volunteer your time and effort in selecting a route with baskets and personally delivering them. This project not only serves as a successful fundraiser, but educates our community about Purim, the obligation to send Mishloach Manot, and is a powerful marketing tool informing nearly 700 homes in Denver about DAT s important mission and educational programs. We are counting on each DAT family to deliver at least one route. This year we will have exciting new baskets that will not only support DAT, but also the Women s Bean Project, which helps chronically impoverished and unemployed women learn job-readiness and life skills to become selfsufficient. What a great way to support the school, help these impoverished women and spread the joy of Purim to family and friends, all at the same time! Did you know that we sold over 2,000 Purim Baskets last year? Yom Limmud January 29, 2014/ 28th of Sh vat 5774 Day of Learning Sponsored by Ranya and Mort Zussman, Tami Ellison, & Alec, Adam and Aidan Zussman in memory of their mother and grandmother Irmgard Ellison. z l On her 5th Yahrzeit continued from page 1 virtuous, and have achieved great things for humanity. We all want our children to value those who sacrifice to live a life of Torah. Here are some questions we can be asking our children: Will I continue to be supportive of a team or a player if they have a reputation for not being nice or for actually being a bad person? I remember a number of years ago when we made our son take down a poster of Kobe Bryant. At the time, our son was too young for us to even discuss the despicable controversy surrounding this man. What criteria does modern pop culture use to determine who attains "hero" status? What criteria should we use to determine who attains hero status? Who are the sports players that our children are proud of and why are they proud of them? Are there positive lessons that they can learn from these individuals? Who are our Jewish heroes? If we intellectually understand how to define a hero, are we acting in a way that reflects that respect and admiration? While I don't suggest that you discuss these issues with you children in the middle of the fourth quarter of the game on Sunday, I do think that this weekend offers an opportunity for us to think about these issues and have some really rich conversations with our children.

5 Thank you for making our 21st Annual Dinner such a success! We had well over 360 attendees and exceeded our fundraising goals! This event would not have been possible with out the dedication and commitment from the following individuals: Our Chairs: Devorah and Scott Friedman, Randy and Mike Weiss, and Rayna and Mort Zussman. Our Honorees: Rhoda Reiss Pitler, Nurit and Howard Wedgle, and Barbara and Steve Feldman. We also want to extend our gratitude for their extraordinary efforts: Chava Kasztl who managed all décor for the evening, Naomi Lev who organized the auction, Terri Smolensky for wrapping all of the auction items, and Randy Weiss for directing and writing Tuition. Thank you to Neil Rosenfeld Photography for the photo booth and for event pictures. Additional thank you to Noah Hill and Chana Weiss, our student musicians. Finally, we thank all of the following who assisted in various ways: Rivka Alter, Melanie Avner, Batyah Azoulay, Kathy Bashari, Graeme Bean, Amy Bernard, Amy Berkowitz Caplan, Danya and Naftali Caplan, Joe Clayman, Rivka Cohen, The "DAT Tuition Players", Linda Hamo, Dovid Lev, Sherry Margulies, Rebecca Mogyoros, Adrienne Narrowe, Chaya Parkoff, Hyiam Reiffman, Nina Rosenfeld, Avital Rotbart, Annalise and Wesley Smith, Moira Saltz, Jen Schrutt, Susie Sharf, Karen Schottenstein, and Crystal Smith. *please forgive us if we left anyone out there are so many of you. $1,040 should be $2,500! This month we received a check for $1,040 from King Soopers 5% program. This represents only a small fraction of families participating. Can you imagine how much we could earn each month if every family participated?! Use your reloadable King Soopers or East Side Deli Card! It s EASY! If you aren t doing it, why not? Call Kathy Bashari to get your card today Yom Limmud Sponsor a day of learning at DAT We will recognize your sponsorship in our weekly DATline newsletter, during morning announcements, in an to families and on a large sign at the entrance to the School for the entire day of your Yom Limmud. Contact Kathy Bashari, for more information or to sign up.