Grayacademy.ca

The Newsletter of Gray Academy of Jewish Education
September 2009 Tevet-Shevet 5769 Jan - Mar 2013 Tevet - Nissan 5773
By SJaiofui JKdsuvu tdsijvs sijf svoijabiqibefahbipu boieoibje ibjodisjbodfibjdab odiabofdob dfiubdbfiu hbaiudbiudfhurtoibjhoidsi ubndiu gadiu biu-biduanbiuds hbiudnbirunb ueiusnbieu unriuhnipaeungaiunrg uriangierun peiunbiae nieurngpiaeunrgpiuan gunaepiurngaipungi- for good.
euab iueaipunbip uenb uanpbiureanbiunfaipunb puisnpb euanbp psi unbe aunb fudpb nba dubn uibn aiunbiaunbir nbiaubipu bpfiunafbipuaifdunbsdiunbaipeuhb aiubnipuab iaunb iusbiahbipunabiru anbip aibun eiaubn aieubnpiusbh ipuaebhaenrt iub diuab iua bipaunbidaunb aiub niaunbiaunb iuanb eauib apeiubn aiubniunbi- January and February were pretty cold months in Winnipeg; aeuhbiptaunb iuauitasibuapouibhrtbah butabiaiubht aiubapiuenti pbuneaipbuneapibun eaiubnpitubn teiaubeau bietuabnaiubn something we are quite used to.
aepiunbapibpiuenb euinb iuenb eiunb etuibnet b The cold weather, however, does not put a stop to the learning and activities at Gray Academy.
We have been staying warm by doing a lot of grade/group projects and activities: • JDIpv siuvfisuv s adoinb Our Gr. 9 - 12 students learned about the power of eiubepubnwtepiubn expression and free speech at Raoul Wallenberg Day.
eiuvnewipubn ewiubti-uebne wubnpriwubn Our Gr. 4 & 5 classes learned about the voyageurs on a very cold Feb. 19.
• Lsfiveoib eib t dub- piuewb etuib eiubn Our JK - Gr. 12 students celebrated Purim with a lot of The Gr. 4s pose in front of beautiful snow sculptures at Festival du Voyageur.
eutbnebiut biune bueb laughs, food and fun. Our Gr. 2 students and their families celebrated a very • nfsupfndu dfun sdfov- memorable Chaggigat Ha-Torah last week. tdsijvs sijf svoijabiqibefahbipu boieoibje ibjodisjbodfibjdab odiabofdob dfiubdbfiu hbaiudbiudfhurtoibjhoidsi ubndiu gadiu dav bn dfiubngd bdiubn diugbndb diub ndpsi ng biduanbiuds hbiudnbirunb ueiusnbieu unriuhnipaeungaiunrg uriangierun peiunbiae nieur Our Kindergarten classes celebrated their 100th ungspiu nfiugn fsiu f euab iueaipunbip uenb uanpbiureanbiunfaipunb puisnpb euanbp psi unbe aunb school with our entire school community. Our P2G delegation returned from Israel, and the list fudpb nba dubn uibn aiunbiaunbir nbiaubipu bpfiunafbipuaifdunbsdiunbaipeuhb aiubnipuab iaunb iusbiahbipunabiru anb goes on and on.
aibun eiaubn aieubnpiusbh ipuaebhaenrt iub diuab iua bipaunbidaunb aiub niaunbiaunb iuanb eauib apeiubn aiubniunbi- The common thread in all of these activities is that we work as aeuhbiptaunb iuauitasibuapouibhrtbah butabiaiubht aiubapiuenti pbuneaipbuneapibun eaiubnpitubn teiaubeau bietuabnaiubn a group, we learn as a group, and we share in our successes as a group; something we are also quite used to.
Wishing you and your family a very happy Pesach as you enjoy the winter read of Ruach Reflections! Joyce Kerr
In this issue.
Raoul Wallenberg Day Look Who Came to Visit New Year, New Endeavors aepiunbapibpiuenb euinb iuenb eiunb etuibnet b The Perrrrfect Way to Give Back 7Finding Familiarity. 8 bfdaubdiub diuab uda ubndap nuif iue uifn iu dfiuug eruih ieundbpiuefgh eriuheaiohuae ihn aeuhria oenhiuen ae-uph oaijbnpatuhjbapoiuth taebna'eoijh pttna;ioej taueitgn oate atepuo hae Here's to another gr Our Community. Our Family. Our Way of Life.
A100 – 123 Doncaster Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3N 2B4 T: 204-477-7410 F: 204-477-7474 E: [email protected] www.grayacademy.ca

Raoul Wallenberg Day
This year, the student planning committee (headed by Yona Lazar and Adi Farage) chose to have Raoul Wallenberg Day centre around the theme of freedom of speech and expression. This was inspired by Salmon Rushdie's quote, "Free speech is life itself."In an effort to turn the day's theme into a philanthropic cause, the students tied the day's fundraising efforts in with two valuable literacy-related causes. One charity was "Share the Magic", which collects gently used books and uses them to create libraries for communities that have few literary resources. Our second charity, "Words for Hope", is being run by Emily Kroft, and aims to increase literacy in the inner schools in Winnipeg, Toronto, and overseas through the sales of handmade bracelets.
The day's speakers complemented the theme perfectly and came from a wide variety of backgrounds and areas. Our Raoul Wallenberg Day kicked off with a student-made video exploring the day's theme and a panel discussion between Dr. Jeremy Maron, Ibrahim Wadood and Bryan Schwartz (moderated by Howard Morry). After discussing varying social, moral and legal perspectives, the students dispersed to attend a variety of breakout sessions, headed up by some incredible speakers. Our speakers' life experiences included everything from growing up during the rule of the Third Reich in Berlin and personally encountering Hitler, to the antisemitic experiences seen in school for an African Jew. Everyone had a fascinating story and the students were enthralled with all their experiences.
The breakout sessions were complemented by performances by spoken word artist Nereo II. He shared about how his love of art and passion for creatively expressing himself have shaped him into the person he is today. His poetry was so captivating, we called him up for an encore, later in the afternoon.
Finally, this engaging day was capped off with a discussion by Ace Burpee about freedom of speech and the media. Ace reminded us about how fortunate we are to live in a country whose media allows our voices to be heard, and about the importance of using our freedom of speech to positively impact others.
Raoul Wallenberg Day was a huge success and brought in many visitors both sharing their stories, and helping us get ours out. Special thanks to CBC who came to cover our day, spoke with our students and featured us in their evening television and radio Top: Panel speakers engage in discussion.
- Ashley Morgan (Marketing & Communications) Middle: John Ngindiru shares about his experiences as an African Jew.
Bottom: Students collect books for the Share the Magic book drive.
came to visit.
Mrs. SpigelmanGr. 5C had an opportunity to speak with their General Studies teacher, Nata A student visits with Mrs. Spigelman via Skype.
Spigelman via Skype while Mrs. Spigelman was in Israel on Partnership 2Gether. This was an exciting event for all! The students were amazed to hear about some of their teacher's experiences and adventures in Israel. It was also really neat to see that while watch a snippet of we were getting ready to eat lunch, Mrs. Spigelman was getting ready to go out for the conversation dinner! An eight hour time difference and oceans separating were not a factor in this class's close ties with their teacher(s). A truly heart warming and memorable experience her students.
- Naama Samphir (General Studies) I Love to Read Month Guest ReadersThroughout February, we had a number of special guests come to read to our students and staff. Here's a peek at a few of them: Winnipeg Free Press journalist Matthew Leibl (‘00), Drew Mindell (‘99) and Richard
Gr. 1 & 3 enjoyed award-winning Alison Gillmor read The
Pollock captivated their audiences while reading to Gr. 4, 5 &
author Carol Matas reading
Phantom Tollbooth, a childhood 6. The three readers host the "Illegal Curve" sports show at TSN from books she had written. favourite of hers, to Gr. 4. Later, Radio 1290, and answered many sports-related questions after Carol talked afterwards about she answered questions about finishing their books.
how to start writing a story and being a writer and journalist.
answered many questions.
Gr. 1 enjoyed a reading from Eva
After being read to by a bunch of exciting readers, the Gr. 1s decided to pay a special visit to a Wiseman, grandmother in our
number of staff around the school and read to them. They read to Mr. Paul, Mr. Sera, Moshe & school, and award-winning author Andrew, Peggy, Ms. Binder and Morah Joyce. Being read to by the Gr. 1s might have proven to be of seven books for young adults.
the biggest treat coming out of I Love to Read Month! came to visit. (cont'd)
Rabbi Steve GreenbergOn Monday, Rabbi Steven Greenberg came to speak to the Gr. 9 - 12 students about being an orthodox rabbi and being gay. He talked to the students about his years at Yeshiva University and struggling with the questions of "Was my desire ugly? Was it okay to listen to my inner feelings?" He talked about the day that he "came out" being the exact day that he also met his partner. Rabbi Greenberg also shared about family members who embraced his choice, and family members who embraced him because they love him. He talked about the Torah being capable of embracing new knowledge and new social situations. - Joyce Kerr (Vice-Principal) Rabbi Greenberg shares about being a gay Orthodox rabbi.
Israeli Hockey PlayersLast week, Dr. Sheppy Coodin's Gr. 11 & 12 Jewish Living class visited with a Gr. 5 - 8 hockey team visiting Canada from Israel. We had pizza, caesar salad and snacks in the MPR, while enjoying their company and getting to know them a little better. Later, we pulled out the juggling props and RipStiks and Dr. Coodin taught everyone how to juggle! We had a very fun afternoon and we wish them the best of luck in their - Samantha Morry & Julia Grubert (Gr. 11) Gray students juggle with the Israeli hockey players.
tribute.
In memory of Jonah Nepon ‘02 (z"l), we asked one of his former teachers
to say a few words. This is how Sharon Freed fondly remembers him: "I knew Jonah as a gentle, kind and friendly young man. He always had a smile on his face. Jonah would offer his help whenever he saw someone in need, but it's his sweet but naughty nature I remember best. He was a guta neshama, a good soul, and even when being a little mischievious, his goodness always shone through." We offer Jonah's family and loved ones our heartfelt condolences as they fondly remember his life. If you have something you'd like to share with us, please send an email to amorgan@grayacademy.
CAIS U13 Boys Basketball Tournament in TorontoIn January, the U13 boys basketball team participated in the annual CAIS U13 Mr. Kagan (Coach) gives the boys a pep talk after their first win.
tournament which was held at Crescent School, in Toronto, Ontario. The boys competed hard in seven games, and ended the tournament in 10th place. Everyone contributed to making each game a real team effort, and Mitchell Levitt- Scan here to watch the tenacity that took Pinsky won the tournament's Jeff Trickett Award. The boys' last day concluded with the boys all the way to a Raptors' game at the Air Canada Centre.
their 10th place finish in the conference! - Jamie Kagan (Athletics) Gr. 3 to Millenium LibraryThe Gr. 3 classrooms celebrated I Love to Read month by visiting the Millennium Library. We discovered many of the resources available to us through the library. Some of the students discovered microfiche and historical filmstrips on the third floor. We saw books that were written in Braille, Russian, Hebrew and many other languages. There were many, books that were interesting and that the children wanted to read. The children felt very lucky to have this huge library in our city. We were able to go on a self-guided tour of the entire building. Most of the children had library cards and were thrilled to choose books to bring home. It was a very fun learning experience for everyone.
- Valerie Leibl (Gr. 3) Students examine a beautiful cultural wall at the library.
Gr. 10 to Siloam MissionMiss Crowley's Gr. 10 Geography class had the wonderful opportunity today to volunteer at Siloam Mission. Students were able to help prepare a meal and serve it to the Mission's patrons as well as help out in various ways. In addition, the class made sure to bring down urgently needed donations, such as toiletries and clothing. Siloam Mission serves over 300,000 meals a year to people in need and offers free dental work, work training, and other important services. Although this visit does have strong curricular connections with our Urban Places unit (5.3 and 5.4), the impact of a visit like this is much more far-reaching. We are very proud of the empathy and pro-active spirit that students displayed from the very onset of planning this activity.
Easter dinner at Siloam Mission. - Heidi Crowley (Humanities) Photo credit: chrisd.ca New year,
new endeavors.
This year's already seen changes that would suggest we're going "out with the old" and "in with the new", and sometimes it's a combination of the two. Here's a peek at two initiatives that have recently taken off : Gray Academy's 1st Annual Jan. 14 was a big day for us, as it saw Gray Academy's first posts to social media. Thanks to the efforts of a number of Student Council members, Gray's Social Launch incorporated social media into a Gray Academy of Jewish Education has been thrilled to offer our Student Council event that boasted a student-made video intro to junior and senior students the opportunity to become part of a our launch, a #socialgray hashtag that started an exciting Twitter world-wide phenomenon: the spelling bee. This year, the school conversation, and a number of photos posted to the Gray's Social hosted the 1st Annual Gray Academy Spelling Bee, an off-shoot Launch #socialgray Facebook event page. of the Postmedia Canspell National Spelling Bee which was a Canada-wide competition. The national endeavour became too In an effort to grow our pages off hte hop, we entered every student who liked us on Facebook and/or followed us on Twitter for a prize. costly to run, and from this disappointment arose the two new Our lucky winner, Noah Gall, received $100 in iTunes gift cards! school-wide bees.
Since our launch, we've gotten 186 likes on Facebook, 66 followers On Jan. 22, more than 25 seniors found their way up to the on Twitter and our videos have gotten over 1200 views on YouTube! microphone and vied for the title of finest senior speller at Gray Academy. Our commentator and host, Gregg Beddome, along Stay tuned to Facebook and Twitter for regular school updates and with organizer, Ms. Buffie, were thrilled when grade twelve stu- check out YouTube for student- and staff-made videos on arts, sports dent, Daniel Lamoureux correctly spelled the final word. Judges and daily life at the school. Deb Nachtigall and Linda Goodbrandson also congratulated Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/MyGrayAcademy.
senior students, Jana Elazer and Ian Baruch on placing in the runner-up category. Follow @MyGrayAcademy and @GA_Raiders on Twitter.
Subscribe to our videos at youtube.com/MyGrayAcademy.
On Feb. 13, over 60 junior students, Gr. 4 - 8, took the stage at the Berney Theatre and spelled, syllable by syllable, word by Special thanks to all the students, staff and parents that have been word for almost two and a half hours of frenetic suspense. The contributing content and getting involved with our pages.
winner, for the second year in a row, was Gr. 6 student, Gillian - Ashley Morgan (Marketing & Communications) Brown. Second place was secured by Ariel Hoult, who, most assuredly, will never forget how to spell the word, "harpsichord". Third place was earned by Cari Slayen and fourth place was presented to Shaked Karabelnicoff. Ari, Cari and Shaked are all Gr. 8 students.
Next year's spelling bees will take place in early 2014. We're all looking forward to the coming together of rival contestants and super-charged fans.
- Barbera Buffie (English) #SocialGray student committee with prize-winner Noah Gall.
The purrrr-fect
way to give back
When asked about why I chose to initiate the fundraiser for the Pet However, whilst finding our new family member, I thought to Rescue Shelter, little pondering was necessary.
myself: Why in the world does a greatly funded, giant animal shelter need to employ euthanasia in order to house animals when It was a Friday when Rocky, a six-year-old Jack Russel Terrier, my smaller, lesser animal shelters can house more without any best friend and fellow member of the family was taken to the vet for unnecessary death? what seemed to be a normal appointment. Within the three-hour appointment we learnt he had cancer, learnt he would die of it, and I talked to one of my teachers, Mrs. Buffie about it, and we soon had him put down in order to allow for him to pass without initiated the fundraiser for the Pet Rescue Shelter that ran until enduring more pain. I lost him that day, and he left a void in my family's heart due to the - Aaron Stone (Gr. 11) abruptness of his death. Though we felt it may have been wrong, we searched for a potential pet to fill this void. After going through Scan here to see the many shelters, we met Junior, a Bulldog-Lab mix. Winnipeg Pet Rescue Shelter's Wishlist for donation items.
Ms. Buffie's Global Connections class poses in front of one of their donation drop-offs for the Winnipeg Pet Rescue Shelter.
Our collection has ended, but donations to the shelter can be brought to 3062 Portage Avenue.
Finding familiarity in
the face of difference
Jewish, Christian, and Muslim students — typically worlds apart — came together over a game of curling and an afternoon of storytelling and laughs on a cold Winnipeg day. This, is how it came about.
In early February, James Friesen, of Westgate Mennonite Collegiate (WMC), contacted our school about the possibility of arranging a program for a group of Student Reflections Arab-Israeli students visiting WMC and Winnipeg for 10 days. These eight students, Getting to meet the Israeli Arabs was really four Muslim and four Christian, all of Palestinian descent, attend Mar Elias High interesting, as we got to see how many other people School, a private Catholic school located in the northern Israeli town of Ibillin.
(besides Jews) living in Israel feel, live, and see things. They're normal teenagers just like us, and Friesen explained the goal of their visit was to expose the students to several faith have contact with Jews and friends who are Jews.
communities, while giving Winnipeg students the chance to meet youth who live with conflict and unrest on a daily basis. Naturally, we were excited for the We learned that they don't have to enter the army, opportunity and said we'd be happy to help Friesen with his initiative, and Mr. while most Israelis do, which was kind of interesting.
Sera (our Principal) arranged for activities to be created during the foreign - Alexa Hecht (Gr. 11) students' time with us. Meeting the Israeli Arabs was very interesting. It They visited us on Feb. 19, and were greeted by eight of our students, who took made me realize that teenagers are the same them on a tour of our campus building. They then participated in a forum everywhere and that they were just as fixated on discussion on commonalities and differences in culture, lifestyle, and beliefs. After peace as we are. That was refreshing to hear. lunch, the entire group went to the Granite Curling Club for two hours of pure Some of us were paired with Christian Israelis and ‘Canadiana'. They were each given a crash course in the traditional Canadian sport some with Muslim Israelis, and one thing that was and took on the challenge with enthusiasm.
the same with everyone is that everyone wanted Thank you to all of the Gray Academy students involved who made the day a huge peace – Jewish, Muslim, and Christian.
learning experience for everyone involved: Alexa H., Shira D., Yona L., Sydney C., - Max Brodovsky-Yager (Gr. 11) Zach D., Josh L., Max B.-Y., and Evgeny G.
In the media, you always hear from the extremists. So, it was really nice to hear from Israeli students from different backgrounds, who were moderate and who wanted peace. With the Israeli-Arabs, we talked about what we like to do and our goals, and how they feel about living in Israel as a Muslim or Christian. I learned that a lot of them want the same things as me – to go into medicine, to go shopping, play sports, and to have peace. And also that as non-Jews it's a little harder living in Israel. - Sydney Chochinov (Gr. 10) Scan here to watch Students from Gray Academy, Westgate Mennonite Collegiate and Mar Elias High School pose CBC's coverage of for a picture before heading out for an afternoon of curling.
Snap happy!
We tried to stay on top of the pictures during the holidays. We hope you enjoy taking a peek into our celebrations and services. Mazel tov!
Our varsity boys basketball team won the MHSAA AAA Zone 12 Championships on March 4!
Last weekend they represented Gray Academy's first time competing at the provincial level in 14 years. After three intense and tight games, the boys fought their way to 6th place. We're so proud of you guys! Go Raiders! Top: L to R – Mr. Beddome (Coach), Roman D., Max B.-Y., Zach D., Ben W., Ben M., Daniel G., The boys in action at the MHSAA AAA Provincial Gil B., Daniel N., Evgeny G., Oren B., Adam S., Mr. Kagan (Coach) Basketball Championships on Mar. 14 Bottom: L to R – Jeremy S., Drew M. (Manager) (Photo credit: alisterca1's "2013 AAA Provincials" album on Flickr) All the Gr. 8 & 9 students who competed in the
Junior High Provincial Debating Championships at
Balmoral Hall on Mar. 3 did a fantastic job of representing Gray Academy's debate program!
Benjmin Saadia won "Best Overall Speaker" and the
inaugural Linda Martin Trophy. He also won the "team" category for "Best in School" with Elliot Kimelman. Both
Benjamin and Elliot will be representing Gray and Manitoba at the Junior National Debate Championships in Vancouver May 10 - 12.
After their performances, Sophie Hershfield and Yael
Debate students pose in their new debate hoodies. Ripstein will be representing Gray and Manitoba at the
Donahoe Cup in Halifax Apr. 13 & 14! Please join us for the.
The 2013 graduates of Gray Academy of Jewish Education cordially invite you to their Graduation Friday, May 17, 2013
April 15 @ 7pm
Shaarey Zedek Synagogue
Academy at Wellington Tickets are $10 at the school Reception to follow office and the door What's Coming Up.
Pesach Break
Mar. 25 - Apr. 2 (incl.) In-Service Days (No School)
Casual Day for a Cause
Apr. 26, May 24 & June 14 Raiders Pride Day
No School (Shavuot & Victoria Day) May 15 - 20 (incl.)
If you have any school news you'd like included in an upcoming issue, please let us know: Uniform Fittings
In-Service Day (2:15pm Dismissal) June 4
Marketing & Communications Last Day of Classes
[email protected] Report Cards June

Source: https://www.grayacademy.ca/uploaded/Marketing/Website/Campus_Life/Ruach_Reflections/2012-2013/ruachjan13LR.pdf