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The Monthly Roar
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
PTO Letter…...…………...2
Development……………3-4
Important………………...5-8
AJA Athletics………………9
Month in Review…...10-11
Aladdin Thank You…...12
Looking Forward…..13-22
4 Shevat 5780
January 30, 2020
LETTER FROM OUR PRINCIPAL
Dear AJA Community, The end of the winter is a special time in schools. The calendar invites us to commemorate Dr. King, engage with Black history, and recount the legacies of US presidents. This week, Jewish communities the world over, accustomed to reflecting on the tragedies of the Holocaust at Yom HaShoah during the week following Passover, took note of International Holocaust Remembrance Day as it coincided with the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the death camp at Auschwitz. Last Friday, our middle school students and teachers wrestled with ideas about what it meant to be liberated from such horrors, the trauma from which has haunted its survivors and the larger Jewish community for generations. What can this mean for Jewish day school community? These corners of history are not ones we explore with our elementary school students even as we begin teaching about Holocaust history in fourth grade. We begin with ideas about inclusion and exclusion, about acting as an upstander rather than a bystander. We teach about the impact of our words. To prepare our children for lessons about this low point in Jewish history, our tradition first compels us to recognize the inherent human dignity of all people. And yet the work of liberation, of freedom, and of healing only begins when others see the injustice, name it, and engage with it in ways that are uncomfortable. In commemoration of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., students explored the world that he knew and the steps he took to effect change. That change meant acknowledging the complicity of everyday people. King pushed back against an idea of normal, a normal packaged and legally re-packaged, that for centuries remained untenable to the African-Americans. The history of slavery, families split-up, and daily humiliation are harrowing to students of the Holocaust. Like all calls for cultural change, society met King’s work with resistance. The truth and uncertainty about what lies ahead can be too much for some folks. At AJA, we encourage students to synthesize information and ideas across disciplines. Students who will themselves effect change must be able to identify ideas that have been repackaged but which remain opposed to the liberation of people. Dr. King preached using the language of the Exodus narrative, which Jewish communities are currently reading in synagogues, that education and protest would guide his people from the house of bondage toward the Promised Land. Through our consideration of American history and Jewish history, we teach students to find connections among common themes. What inhibits the freedom of one people can often be found in the oppression of other people. In this cold season of somber commemorations, let us find our strength as a people and our resolve as scholars to make connections
among a diversity of ideas. Education as liberation is our tool to hoist each child above the news of the day and toward a hopeful world of abundance, innovation, and unbridled love. Shabbat shalom, Chris
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MESSAGE FROM THE PARENT
TEACHER ORGANIZATION
Our PTO RAISE CRAZE Fundraiser is well under way and we’ve raised $4280 and tallied 54 acts of kindness! We still have a week left to see both those numbers escalate and try to reach our $7500 goal! It’s not too late to sign up - go to my.raisecraze.com/A5KM5UV and start logging in those acts of kindness! No act is too small! Let’s raise some more money and spread the kindness!!!!
A big thank you to those that brought in books for the books swap. We sold a few books and are excited to be able to donate the rest to children’s hospitals or other organizations in need of great books.
Our next PTO meeting is on Wednesday, February 5, from 8-9 AM in AJA Room 227. Drop of your kids and join us for a cup of coffee and find out about all the upcoming school happenings and all the ways you can help! Hope to see you there!
If you have any questions, suggestions, or comments, please feel free to reach out to us at anytime!
Cheers,
Lillian Schwartz and Dana Nisenfeld
AJA PTO Co-chairs
PTO Meeting
February 5
8:00-9:00 a.m.
Rm. 227 (Maker’s Space)
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6%
Alumni
26%
Parent
68%
Board
2019-2020 Inspire Annual Campaign goal = $265,000
Please consider your donation to the
Inspire Annual Campaign.
HOW CAN YOU GIVE?
FROM THE DEVELOPMENT OFFICE
DONATIONS AND PLEDGES: To make a donation or pledge contact Susan Snyder, Business Manager, or go to https://
www.austinjewishacademy.org/donate/ Payments can also be made through FACTS, credit card, check, or your philanthropic fund. We offer monthly payments for your convenience.
TRIBUTES: Tributes are a great way to send Mazal Tov, condolence, appreciation, and speedy recovery wishes. When you
Students give tzedakah at Kabbalat Shabbat
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TRIBUTES
Alana Dugandzic
Sheri Lippman
Alisa and Jeff Marrow
Lauren and Steve Meyers
Aaron Rochlen
Julie Sanders
Alexandra Schmidt
Susan and Isaac Schmidt
Rosie and Sami Schmidt
In memory of Hilda Greb
Robin Littrell
In memory of Hilda Greb
Heather, and J.R. Middlemas, Isaac, Evin, Avner, Oscar, and Adara
In memory of Hilda Greb
Libby and Danny Ross and Family
In memory of Hilda Greb
Greg Sapire
Thank you Levy and Hensley families for organizing the 3rd annual sushi, beer and wine night.
Gabriel Morales
Mr. Aguero and all the staff members’ hard work towards making AJA a better school.
Yoshiko Goto
In memory of Hilda Greb
Douglas Coplin
Thank you, Chris Aguero, for helping me prepare for my Bar Mitzvah.
Ethan Steinfeld
Risa Ferdman for helping Matt prepare for his bar mitzvah
Heather Kantrowitz for Matt’s Bar Mitzvah guidance
Jerry Gilbert
ADAM SCHMIDT SCHOLARSHIP
FUND DONATIONS
Ariela Shandling
Melanie and Gary Susswein
Miriam and Dr. Isidoro Weiner
Alan Dugandzic
Susan Schmidt
Aaron Rochlen
Daniela Schmidt
Aaron Schmidt
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Raise Craze
Dates: Tuesday, January 21 -
Friday, February 7
Fourth grade Havdalah ceremony
Date: Saturday, February 1
Time: 7:30 - 8:00 p.m.
Location: Congregation Beth Israel
PTO Meeting
Date: Wednesday, February 5
Time: 8:00-9:00 a.m.
Location: Rm. 227 (Maker’s Space)
Tu B’shvat for AJA
Date: Wednesday, February 5
Time: 9:00-10:00 a.m.
Location: MPR
Gala
Date: Sunday, February 9
Time: 6:00 - 10:00 p.m.
Location: Hotel Van Zandt
Tu Bishvat with ECP
Date: Friday, February 14
Time: 9:00 a.m.
Location: AJA Greenhouse
Early release: Student-led conferences
Date: Monday, February 17
Time: 12:00 p.m.
IMPORTANT DATES!
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Kindergarten Round-up
For prospective kindergarteners
Date: Tuesday, February 25
Time: 8:30 a.m.
Location: AJA kindergarten classrooms
First grade Siddur Ceremony
Date: Thursday, February 27
Time: 8:15-9:00 a.m.
Location: CAA Social Hall
Early release: Purim
Date: Tuesday, March 10
Time: 12:00 pm
PSIA
Date: Friday, March 20
Time: 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Location: Giddings, TX
Passover
Dates: Early release, Wednesday, April 8 - 12:00 p.m.
No school, Thursday, April 9 - Friday, April 17
PBL Expo
Date: Tuesday, May 5
Time: 8:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Location: JCC Community Hall
Graduation
Date: Wednesday, May 27
Time: 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Location: JCC Stage Side
IMPORTANT DATES!
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Layer Up!
The weather fluctuates more than we would like, so please send your students
to school with lots of layers, including coats, jackets, gloves, and hats. If the
temperature drops below 50 degrees, students without jackets will have to stay
inside. We love to see students get out and enjoy some fresh air, so help us
help them by making sure they are prepared for the cold!
Hot Lunch Orders
Lunch orders for March will be open from Monday, February 10 until Friday,
February 21 at 12:00 p.m. . Please get your orders in as soon as possible.
Central Texas Interfaith and the Texas Industrial Area Foundation
Your voice matters, whether you are old enough to vote or if you've been vot-ing so long that now you're telling your grandkids to register. Congregation Shir Ami, along with Congregation Beth Shalom, and the National Council of Jewish Women have all been signing postcards to our Senior Texas Senator, John Cornyn to prevent gun violence. Read more about why gun violence pre-vention is Jewish from Rabbi Rebecca Reice of Congregation Shir Ami here:
http://www.austininterfaith.org/2001_cti_rabbi_reice
You can stand up with our Texas siblings in El Paso, Odessa, and Sutherland Springs in the movement for safer gun policies simply by signing! 37 Texans died in mass shootings last year, a record high for at least the past decade. Join with Central Texas Interfaith and the Texas IAF to put 100,000 postcards on Senator John Cornyn’s desk this spring, urging him to act to prevent other un-necessary deaths in our state by passing new laws:
Two bills to enhance background checks have passed the House and are waiting to be considered by the Senate. Bills to restrict high-capacity magazines and to create a “red flag” or extreme risk protection order law to prevent dangerous individuals from pos-sessing firearms have also been introduced in the House.
Add your voice to the call on Senator Cornyn to advance this legislation! Please get your postcard after class or at pick up or drop off from the office. The front desk has the cards. Ask for your card, sign it and add it to the stack. Alternatively, you may sign and share this postcard online at http://www.austininterfaith.org/gunsafety or on social media. For questions, contact Central Texas Interfaith Organizer, Christina Leal at cleal.austininterfaith@gmail.com or Rabbi Rebecca Reice at rabbi@shir-
UPDATES & INFORMATION
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AJA Athletics Camaraderie, Teamwork, and Skill Building
Our 5/6 basketball teams have had an amazing season! The Blue
team is one win away from first place, and the White team is one
win from second. Blue team and White team have only lost
once! Fourth grade basketball also started this month.
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AJA Month in Review PROJECT-BASED LEARNING, SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING, AND JEWISH STUDIES
Kindergarten technology class Fifth graders learn about
Brighter Bites
Eighth graders at the
MLK Day march
Kindergarten earns $761 at their
Pancakes fundraiser!
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AJA Month in Review PROJECT-BASED LEARNING, SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING, AND JEWISH STUDIES
Fourth grade at the “Faces of the
Matriarchs” art installation Girls basketball practice
Third grade fireside mysteries
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On behalf of the staff at Austin
Jewish Academy, we would like
to wish you and your families a
Happy Hannukah!
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