Abrams Extra 2/8/19

Abrams Extra February 8, 2019

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ABRAMS EXTRA

In This Issue

Candle Lighting

Translate the Extra

Big Announcement

Budowsphere

2019 Matching Campaign

Annual Campaign

Basketball

Girl Scout Cookies

Westminster

Jerusalem Mural Wall

Super Sunday

Scholar-in-Residence Beth El Synagogue

After School Art Club

Revised Basketball Schedule 2018-19

Donation Bricks

Recruitment

Cell Phone Rules

Donor Support

Oorah

Dress Code Rules

Abrams Notes

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31 W. College Ave.

Yardley, PA

(215) 493-1800
abramsonline.org

February 8, 2019/ 3 Adar 1

Candle Lighting 5:04 pm/ Terumah

Translate the Extra-
Hebrew and Russian

Translate the Abrams Extra:

Hebrew: https://goo.gl/DGH9ww

Russian: https://goo.gl/vS6jqx

Translated by Google Translate

STAY TUNED FOR BIG ANNOUNCEMENT

Stay Tuned for a Big Announcement to Come!!

Budowsphere

Dear Parents:

April 1 is quickly approaching, and before we know it our 8^th grade trip to Israel will commence. One of the highlights of our annual trip is the dedication of a Torah to the IDF, and the experience of dancing the Torah up to the Kotel to present it to the soldiers is always incredibly moving. It cost almost $10,000 to purchase a Torah, but through the years we have been blessed with generous donors who have enabled us to continue this worthy tradition. The person who has borne the responsibility of all of the logistics surrounding the purchase, carrying the Torah through the airport, onto the plane, etc., has been our own Rabbi Isaac Leizerowski. Rabbi Leizerowski has performed this mitzvah for Abrams for many years and has never complained about the extra work it entails for him.

Therefore, this year Abrams wants to dedicate the Torah in memory of Rabbi Leizerowski’s parents, Rabbi and Mrs. Baruch Leizerowski. I remember Mrs. Leizerowski accompanying us on the Israel trip many times, bringing sandwiches to feed the children on the bus ride to the airport, just in case…! I also remember her walking up the steps to Me’arat Hamachpelah, despite her difficulty due to her ailing knees. Rabbi Baruch Leizerowski, an esteemed Tzadik who was the Head of the Philadelphia Beit Din, was always an inspiration to me. I cannot think of a greater tribute to their memory and a way to honor Rabbi Isaac Leizerowski for his devotion to Abrams than to dedicate a Torah in their honor. We still need $6,000 towards the purchase of the Torah, so please donate what you can and send your check to the office marked “Torah Dedication.”

L’Shalom,

Rabbi Ira Budow

2019 Annual Matching Campaign

WE RAISED:

$602,511

Thank you to everyone who helped to make our annual campaign a huge success! We took a leap of faith and set our goal higher than ever, and we succeeded thanks to YOU!

Abrams is truly a community, and working together achieved our goals.

Mazal Tov to the Abrams family of supporters who enable our dedicated administrators and staff to make the dream of a Jewish education a reality for Jewish children decade after decade!

L’dor v’dor!

Annual Campaign

Annual Campaign Acknowledgments

As you all know, we met our lofty goal of $600,000 for the annual campaign, and there are many people to thank. Of course, we thank each and every one of you who donated to the campaign, made calls and encouraged family and friends to support the school. There are several people whom I need to single out for special recognition, starting with Eve and Steve Milstein, whose lead matching gift enabled us to conduct this ambitious campaign. Their children are no longer at the school, and they do not even live locally anymore. However, their dedication and support of the mission of the school and Jewish education is constant, so I want to thank them for their generosity.

I would be remiss if I didn’t also thank Ellen Weiss, our board president, who set the $600,000 goal and worked tirelessly to the end! She and her husband, Dr. David Weiss, also provided lead gifts to the campaign, so we are indebted them, as well.

Our teachers and staff made calls and participated in the effort with a spirit of camaraderie that warmed my heart. We laughed, talked, and raised money for the school together, and I am proud that our faculty and staff all work together towards the common goal. Thanks to every one of them for playing such significant roles in our success.

Rabbi Ira Budow

Basketball

Our basketball teams have been very active over the past few weeks. The boy’s team played three games this past week, competing against Torah Academy, Pen Ryn, and Gray Nun and won two out of the three games. They are playing great ball, so kudos to Coach Gowton and the team!

This year’s girl’s team is very young, so I didn’t have a lot of confidence in their ability to do well this year. However, they have done well for a team that is new and learning, and actually won a game and were competitive in another. They have lots of ruach, so I am looking forward to watching them develop their skills.

Rabbi Ira Budow

Girl Scout Cookies

Girl Scout cookies will be sold in the

AHA lunchroom:

Thursday, February 14, 2019

Please support our Girl Scout troop 266!

Westminster Dog Show

Westminster

As you probably know, my wife Susan and I are big animal lovers. Susan has taught me to treat animals with love and respect, and I remember when my grandmother, z”l, would laugh and say that our animals were the luckiest on earth to be placed in our house.

This week is the Westminster Dog Show, the Super Bowl of dog shows, and our dog Melody was a participant 10 years ago. This show is only for dogs who are already champions, and this year we are happy to announce that our youngest dog, Brooklyn, will be competing on Monday in NY at the Garden. My wife has a lot of passion about the dogs and the shows, so I will be rooting for Brooklyn and wishing her the best of luck in her competition!

Rabbi Ira Budow

Jerusalem Mural Wall

Please consider participating in the Jerusalem Mural project commemorating the 20th anniversary of the annual Israel Trip.

A $360 donation earns you a line with your name (along with two other donors) on a plaque on the steps.

Jewish Federation Super Sunday

Scholar-in-Residence

BETH EL SYNAGOGUE PRESENTS

Scholar-in-Residence Weekend

Rabbi Rachel Sabath Beit-Halachmi, Ph.D.

Speaking on:

Jewish Ethical Challenges of this Hour

Rabbi Sabath is a scholar, Jewish institutional leader, author, spiritual leader, higher education administrator and public speaker. Most recently Rabbi Sabath led a four-campus team to achieve the goals of a five-year strategic plan as the National Director of Recruitment and Admissions at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC). In 2013 she was also appointed President’s Scholar and most recently was also appointed Assistant Professor of Jewish Thought and Ethics. Rabbi Sabath has taught courses on liturgy, modern Jewish thought, gender, and theology as an adjunct member of the faculty at HUC for over 16 years.

Prior to her recent national role at HUC-JIR, Rabbi Sabath served as Vice President of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem and for over a decade as a

member of the Institute’s faculty, while directing the Hartman Lay leadership, Rabbinic leadership, and

Christian leadership programs for North American leaders as well as programs in pluralism and Jewish identity for officers of the IDF.

Ordained in New York in 1995, Rabbi Sabath also earned a Ph.D. in Jewish philosophy from the Jewish Theological Seminary. For more than a decade she also served seasonally as the rabbi of Congregation Shirat HaYam on Nantucket Island. Rabbi Sabath lived in Israel for nearly 15 years and currently lives in Cincinnati with her husband, Rabbi Ofer Sabath Beit-Halachmi, and their three children.

Shabbat lunch and Saturday evening sessions are free of charge and open to the public.

Reservations are requested by Friday, Feb. 8, 2019 to the Beth El Synagogue office: admin@bethel.net or 609-443-4454.

Please contact the Beth El Synagogue office for further information.

After School Art

After School Art w/

Donna Moskowitz

After School Art Club

Tuesday- 3:30-5

January 15-March 19

Cost: $100

Sign up form:

After School Art Club

Revised Basketball Schedule 2018/19

AHA Revised Basketball Schedule

2018-19

(updated 1/18/19)

Click below to see the basketball schedule for the girls and boys teams. Go Abrams and Mr. G!

Revised 2018 Basketball Schedule

Bricks in the Link

Buy a Brick on the Link Wall and

Support AHA

Support Abrams by purchasing a commemorative brick on the wall in the Link for a $100 donation. The bricks are made of colored Plexiglas and visibly located on the wall outside the gym.

Buy a brick to commemorate a special occasion- it is a wonderful and lasting gift to celebrate a Bar or Bat Mitzvah, birthday, anniversary, graduation, or to recognize the memory of a loved one or friend.

Your donation will be acknowledged to the recipient, and Abrams will benefit from your donation.

Please contact the office if you would like to purchase a brick.

**********

Recruitment

“New Family Recruitment”

Open houses in people’s homes is an effective way to meet with families who are potentially interested in enrolling their children at Abrams. Rabbi Budow and a small group of faculty members are happy to travel to meet informally with your friends and neighbors to discuss the advantages and opportunities that Abrams offers to Jewish children.

If you would like to volunteer to host one of these gatherings, please contact Rabbi Budow.

Safety and Security Reminders

padlock

Reminder- AHA Security Procedures:

All parents should use the front door to enter the school with key cards and not the back doors. Parent swipe cards only work at front door.
Please do not ask students to open any doors- parents must report to the front office and check-in before entering the school.
No student or other person should use the lunchroom doors other than for dismissal or emergency purposes.

These rules are for our children’s safety.

Thank you for your cooperation!

Cell Phone Rules

REMINDER: Cell Phone Rules

Electronic devices have become a common means of communication and information access in today’s society. However, these devices have the potential of disrupting the orderly operation of school. Our cell phone/personal electronic devices policy is designed to keep the focus on education.

At the start of the school day, all cell phones MUST BE TURNED OFF (NOT IN SILENT MODE) AND STORED IN THE STUDENT’S LOCKER OR BOOK BAG FROM 8:30 AM UNTIL 3:30 PM. Students are not permitted to carry them on their person or to use them to make or receive any calls or text messages during the given time.

If a student has an emergency, and needs to be in contact with someone, she/he must use a school phone, or have the permission of a faculty member, to use his/her cell phone. Parents should contact the school office, if they have an emergency message for their

Child(ren).

Electric devices, such as iPods, or hand-held gaming devices may be used on the bus/van transportation to/from school, prior to school, and following school. Students must turn off and place these items in their locker/backpack during school hours.

If any of these items are out at the inappropriate time, they will be confiscated by staff, and given to the director of discipline.

Students will be allowed to bring cell phones on school trips for emergency use only. Any hand-held gaming device will be the responsibility of the students on a school trip.

The school is not responsible for lost, misplaced, damaged or stolen electronic devices/cell phones.

CONSEQUENCES FOR STUDENTS WHO DO NOT FOLLOW THE ABOVE RULES:

1st Offense – Phone confiscated, and returned at the end of the day.

2nd Offense – Phone confiscated, returned at the end of the day, and written notification that requires parent signature.

3rd Offense – Phone confiscated, and parent must pick up phone from director of discipline.

4th Offense – Suspension from school

Support AHA Donor Businesess

Abrams is greatly appreciative of all of the benefactors who donate generously to the school through participation in EITC, LLC, grants, cash donations, etc. Many of these donors are business owners, and Abrams encourages the AHA community to support the businesses of these people whose largess supports the school.

Some of these generous people are:

Expert Home Care

McCaffrey’s Food Market

Team Toyota

Swartz & Culleton

Regional Orthopedic Medical Associates

Rothenberg Law Firm

Flager & Associates

Princeton Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

Marcus & Auerbach

Marlowe, Zwillenberg & Ghaderi

Your Eyes Center

Espresso Cafe

Center For SmartLipo & Plastic Surgery

* This is not a complete list- we will add businesses throughout the year!

Thank you very much to all of our supporters!

Oorah

Abrams thanks Oorah, a nonprofit organization located in Lakewood, NJ for all of its financial support to our students.

Oorah sponsors numerous programs that all share the common goal of opening doors for Jewish children and families. The mission is to reach out to Jewish families everywhere with opportunities to make their Judaic heritage more personal, relevant and meaningful.

Abrams received $100,000 in scholarship aid for qualified families this year from Oorah and is extremely grateful for the generosity of this organization.

School Lunches

Please do not send meat lunches or snacks to school with your children.

Food sent from home must be

dairy or Pareve only!

Thank you very much for your cooperation

Car Pool Rules

All Parents who Car Pool:

Please note that the car pool line is for grades N and K only. All other students are to be dropped off in the front of the building.

Parents who use the back for drop off should follow the directions of the teachers in the parking lot. They are there to assist students and maintain a safe environment.

Under no circumstances are parents to park their cars in the middle of the line and leave them unattended to walk students into the building.

** We ask that parents refrain from cellphone use in the parking areas while dropping off and picking up their children.

Abrams Dress Code

Dress Code

Studies have found that appropriate dress influences behavior and learning. Abrams strives through the dress code to maximize the learning environment.

Respect for the sensitivities of others requires that students/parents/guests follow reasonable standards of modesty and privacy. We ask that students/parents/guests dress in a manner befitting a Jewish day school when entering the building.

Dress Code for Grades 1-8

Clothing cannot advertise or advocate the use of alcohol, drugs, tobacco or weapons.
Clothing cannot display writing or pictures that are obscene or suggestive.
No writing or pictures on the back of pants.
No sleepwear or bedroom slippers to be worn at any time, unless pre-approved for a special occasion.
Heavy linked chains may not be worn as jewelry.
No extreme hair colors are permitted.
All boys must come to school wearing a kippah. Baseball caps and other head coverings are NOT permitted.
No sleeveless shirts, tank tops, halter tops, spaghetti straps, tube tops, crop tops, belly shirts, or tight shirts.

Dress Code for Boys Grades 5-8

Shirts, sweatshirts, tank tops, and tee-shirts should be appropriate for school. Students may not wear undershirts.
Pants or denim jeans must be properly hemmed and not dragging on the floor. Pants will not have rips, holes, or fraying and will not be too tight or over-sized.
Shorts must be to the knee.
Pants/shorts will not sag, as underwear may not be visible.
Boys are to be clean-shaven.
Hair is to be well groomed. Partially or fully shaved heads and ponytails are not allowed.
Piercings of any kind are not allowed.

Dress Code for Girls Grades 5-8

Dresses/skirts/shorts must be no shorter than 2 inches above the knee.
Pants or denim jeans must be properly hemmed and not dragging on the floor. Pants or shorts will not have rips, holes, or fraying and will not be too tight.
Leggings of any type are not permitted to be worn in place of skirts or pants, but may be worn under clothing. If worn, they must be accompanied by a fingertip length or longer, dress, skirt, or top.
Clothing that exposes any part of the midriff, cleavage (front or rear), or any clothing excessively revealing may not be worn.
Clothing materials for tops and bottoms must be opaque (not see-through).

Consequences for Students Who Do Not Follow the Dress Code:

1st Offense – Explain to student what is wrong with his/her attire. Student must change into appropriate clothing.
2nd Offense – Written notification that requires parent signature. Student must change into appropriate clothing.
3rd Offense – Student must change clothes to follow guidelines and parent is called on the telephone immediately.
4th Offense – Suspension from school.
Parent conference required for student to return to school.

Abrams Notes

Birthday Celebrations at School
When sending birthday treats into school to celebrate that special day for your child, please consider sending in a healthy treat, such as frozen fruit bars, rice cakes, fruit salad or cups, sugar free pudding snacks, yogurt cake or pie, cheese sticks, light popcorn or air popped popcorn (when age appropriate), pretzels, carrots/celery (when age appropriate).

Please do not send anything with nuts due to allergies.

In order to maintain a consistent kashrut policy and to avoid confusion, ALL orders for birthday cakes/cupcakes MUST be ordered from Cramer’s Bakery, 16 E. Afton Avenue, Yardley. Cramer’s will deliver the order to the school at a discounted price.

Please call Kim Pierce at 215-321-5707 to place your cake/ cupcake order.

Celebrate Your Simcha at Abrams

Abrams Hebrew Academy is a perfect choice to host your family or social affair, business meeting or athletic event. Whether you’re looking for an inviting space to celebrate a special occasion; a meeting area with state-of-the art technology; a fun, safe environment for a child’s birthday; or a gym or athletic field for a sporting event, Abrams can accommodate your needs and your budget. For more information on room rentals at Abrams Hebrew Academy, call (215) 493-1800 or e-mail info@abramsonline.o rg.

Check Your Child’s Assignments with Homework Now

Parents- all homework will be posted on-line by all teachers grades K-8 by Sunday evening each week.

Instructions for use of homeworknow.com:

Click on homeworknow.com

Click on Parent and Student

Click on find school

Click on Pennsylvania

Click on Abrams Hebrew Academy

Click on your child’s teacher

View homework assignments

Share Abrams News With Others

Is there a family member (such as a grandparent) or friend who would be interested in hearing about everything going on at Abrams? Sign them up for our e-mail list today! Please contact the Main Office.

Information about the Extra

Please submit any information to be considered for inclusion in the Extra to Dale Sattin, Director of Communications: dsattin@abramsonline.org. (215) 493-1800 ext. 22 by

Tuesday of the target week.