Jason Tinero, a senior at New Community Jewish High School in West Hills and a resident of Calabasas, was among 10,000 teens from 40 countries who marched from the Auschwitz to Birkenau death camps in Poland to mark Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Memorial Day.
Seniors from New Community Jewish High School and Seniors from the Los Angeles Jewish Home Danced the Night Away at “Senior-Senior Prom”
Sequins, bow ties and dress shoes helped adorn the beautifully decorated Los Angeles Jewish Home in Reseda at NCJHS’ first “Senior-Senior Prom,” an event that united our two communities. With smiles galore, many students danced, performed, or just spoke with the residents at the Home, engendering an experience that one resident called “the most fun night [she had] had in a long time.”
The event was conceived as a part of the Jewish Home’s year-long Centennial Celebration, and New Community Jewish High School’s year-long tenth anniversary celebration. From the corsages to the photobooth, the event was an exquisitely planned collaboration between NCJHS and Jewish Home professional staff, NCJHS students, and Home residents.
For every NCJHS student that attended the two-hour celebration, it was extremely meaningful to see the bright and cheery countenances of the residents and converse with them about everything from their lives to lessons that they gleaned from their long lives (including, in one case, dating advice from a resident surrounded by female suitors). These residents had much wisdom to impart on every NCJHS student, even if the conversation only lasted a couple of minutes.
In between Sinatra songs or twirls on the dance floor, each senior would share with the other “senior” aspects of their lives that were interesting and meaningful. Through this, the youth and elderly bonded in a very unique manner.
Students that attended were mainly from the senior class; others included members of our Advanced Jazz Band, Instrumental Ensemble and Varsity Dance Team, all of whom performed. Other students included members of our wrestling, baseball and basketball teams. Every individual that spent time with the residents, even if it was holding hands and slowly swaying back and forth to a jazz song on the dance floor, brightened up the lives of someone immensely.
-NCJHS senior, Jason Tinero, Co-Editor-in-Chief, The Prowler (student newspaper), contributed greatly to this article.
For more information about the Los Angeles Jewish Home, visit www.jha.org
A group of students received their task during a recent workshop at New Community Jewish High School: Craft a response to college students who liken the Israeli occupation to Nazi Germany.
Click here to read the full article in The Jewish Journal
Learn about Confronting Anti-Semitism, a long-running ADL program tailored specifically for Jewish college-bound students.
Why do you belong at IU?
I belong at IU because I am committed to receiving a quality education in the Kelley School of Business and obtaining the ideal college experience. IU provides the opportunities to make it the right choice for every student. I have participated in many extracurricular activities, become a passionate Hoosier, and made everlasting friendships.
My son recently graduated from Middle School, sort of.
Baseball takes a front seat in our family each spring. My two teenage sons have played on teams since they were little. My husband and I are devoted fans of theirs and we cheer loudly from the stands. When they are not playing baseball themselves, my sons are dedicated to following the stats of their favorite team, the Boston Red Sox. So it was a bit of a conundrum when we learned that Noah, our 8th grader, had a baseball playoff game scheduled at the exact same time of his middle school graduation.
For those of us who spend our professional and often personal lives living and learning among high school students, we understand that hormones are far more powerful than Halakhah. Thus, teaching ethics to high school students is far more about culture and context than about pedagogy or curriculum.
In July 1960, while attending Camp Alonim, I heard Shlomo Bardin talk about his life in Zhitomer, Russia. He told us of a community of Jews within a large city who “cared.” He talked about how the community ensured that everyone who wished to marry was able to do so. He explained how the Jewish burial society (chevrah kadishah) handled each body as a sacred vessel, with dignity, with an understanding that that person had made a contribution to God’s world in some profound way, and how the community could now honor that contribution with the ultimate mitzvah of a dignified burial.
And Bardin told us the words of Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis: “To be good Americans, we must be better Jews.”
Ariel Prince (Class of 2011) has been selected by the UC Berkeley Cal Alumni Association to receive The Leadership Award scholarship for the 2011-12 academic year. Ariel will be attending Berkeley in the fall. Applicants must have had a minimum 3.3 unweighted GPA plus demonstrated innovative, motivational leadership impacting academic, work, or community environments. All recipients receive a financial payment and participate in the Leadership Award Scholar Association’s 2011 Induction Banquet to be held in September.
Since 1934, The Leadership Award has recognized and supported Cal student leaders with merit-based scholarships. With more than 15,000 alumni scholars since its inception, The Leadership Award is the largest non-academic merit scholarship on the UC Berkeley campus and one of the most prestigious.
At New Community Jewish High School, Ariel was on Student Council for 4 years; Co-Founded the NCJHS Chapter of National Honor Society; served as Co-Editor-in-Chief of the student newspaper for 3 years; served as a Student Ambassador for 4 years; and delivered speeches to prospective families at annual open houses.
Among her leadership positions in the community during high school, Ariel served on the Teen Activities Council for the City of Calabasas and held the positions of Treasurer and Public Relations Chair; served as the sole Student Commissioner for the City of Calabasas Parks, Recreation and Education Commission; served as a Teen Juror on the Calabasas Teen Court; and served as the sole student member on the Agoura Hills / Calabasas Community Center Board of Directors. She has been recognized by the City of Calabasas City Council and Community Services Department for her distinguished service to the community.
Varsity Dance Team
Jonathan Sanders named “Golfer of the Year” by LA Daily News
Jonathan Sanders (’12), tied for 8th place in the CIF / CGA Boys State High School Championship
Eric Deming (’11) was selected to the Division 7 ALL CIF Baseball Team, and was league MVP
Baseball team – 2011 Omega League Champion and CIF “Sweet Sixteen”
Baseball coach, Jonathan Zoltan, Coach of the Year
Jeremy Sanders (’10), University of Redlands golfer, named “Freshman of the Year” and earned SCIAC honors for his on-course accomplishments
Varsity Dance Team broke many team records with 5 platinum awards and 4 high gold awards at the Hall of Fame Dance Challenge at Pomona College
At the end of Danny Hirsch’s first week at New Community Jewish High School (NCJHS), a fellow freshman tapped him on the shoulder as he sat eating lunch, alone.
Showing genuine concern, the student wanted to know if Danny was mute, since he had yet to speak to another student.
Having his voice heard is no longer a problem for Hirsch.
This week, Hirsch will represent the senior class as a speaker at graduation. And in April he placed second in a statewide debate tournament.
