March 15, 2013 / 4 Nissan, 5773
Table of Contents
Shabbat Table Talk
What Would Dr. Seuss Say? If Only
He Were Here Today. To Watch
Solomon Schechter First Graders
Shout "Hurray" To Technology
Solomon Schechter Fourth Graders
Take a Trip Though Time to
"Experience" the Underground
Railroad
Now You Can Raise Funds For
Solomon Schechter Day School
When You Eat Healthy
Solomon Schechter Day School
Chess Team Brings Home Trophies at Illinois State Chess
Championship
High Praise From NETA Hebrew
Program Creators During Filming of our Hebrew Program
Solomon Schechter Day School 5th -
8th Graders Experience Israeli Song and Dance Workshop
Get Your Tickets Today for Solomon
Schechter Day School's Musical
Solomon Schechter and CJHS Host an Important Movie Screening and
Discussion

Alumni News
Solomon Schechter
Day School of
Metropolitan Chicago
Locations, Phone Numbers, and Website
Sager Solomon Schechter
Day School (K-8)
3210 Dundee Road
Northbrook, IL 60062
847.498.2100
Solomon Schechter
Early Childhood Center with the Marvell D. and
Stanley J. z"l Ginsburg
PreK Program
4500 Dempster Road
Skokie, IL 60076
847.674.3206
Note: new number for ECC www.schechter.org
Candle Lighting Time
Friday, March 15
Vayikra
6:39
Click here for candle lighting times for 5773.
Thank You for
Donating to
Solomon Schechter
Day School

Honor Someone
Special with a leaf on our
Tee of Life
Purchasing a leaf on our Tree of Life is a great way to honor someone special.
You can purchase a Gold,
Silver or Copper leaf.
A very special thank you to our PO for recognizing our teachers with a leaf in honor of their work to make the recent
Hagigat Hagan so special!
Click here for our Tree of Life form.
Schechter News
We appreciate the financial support of our community.
Through your generosity,
Solomon Schechter Day
School is able to deliver the highest quality General and
Judaic Studies Education.
Torah Readers
Parashat Vayyikra
The Torah begins the book of Vayikra
(Leviticus) by giving details of the ladder of sacrifices. There are two kinds: an
'olah (a burnt offering that "goes up" on the altar) and a sh'lamim (a "peace" offering). Both of them start with big animals, and go down to smaller ones: bulls, then sheep, then goats. 'Olah offerings then go down to birds, and then even to flour! Our ancestors offered sacrifices as a way of giving something precious to God as a way of saying "I'm sorry" or
"thank you" for something. It seems like there were two parts to giving: giving the right thing, and giving with the right feelings. There is a midrash that tells a story of a poor woman who brought one teaspoon of flour to the priest and asked him to put it on the altar for her. He started to make fun of her for bringing only a teaspoon of flour when other people were bringing bulls, but an angel stopped him and whispered in his ear: "Don't you dare make fun of her. That is everything she has - and because she so much wants to give it,
God accepts it as even more important than a whole herd of bulls from other people."
Passover is coming soon. Many people are busy preparing - whether to lead a seder, host a seder or travel to attend someone else's seder. There are, every year, new conversations to have in the framework of our ancient conversation about freedom. For Jews in
Egypt, freedom meant God taking them out of physical and spiritual slavery, and giving them back their free will so that they could use their own decision-making for good choices. Decisions made when people do have the ability to choose what's right are seen as morally preferable - and we are called upon to be moral people, choosing life.
Questions to take away:
Do you think it's better for the woman to have given the flour, or to have kept it to eat herself?
What does it give to you when you give something away?
What do you see in the world around you - near or far - that limits other people and prevents them from being able to choose on their own? When is a limit slavery, and when is it fair?
How will you talk about this slavery at your seder this year?

3rd Grade
Vayikra 3/11
1.) Erel Amit
2.) Ariana Freimuth
Noa Maeir
3.) Daniel Leshem
Aria Meisler
Rosh Hodesh Nisan 3/12
1.) Gabriel Friedman
2.) Jonathan Okner
3.) Samantha Phillips
4.) J aden Cole
Mira Dogadko
4th Grade
Vayikra 3/11
1.) Ilana Eydelman
2.) Daniel Schraiber
3.) Rebecca Velblum
Rosh Hodesh Nisan 3/12
1.) Ari Gerber
2.) Joseph Arbel
3.) Eliana Akiva
4.) Mia Herman
5th Grade
Vayikra 3/11
1.) David Leshem
2.) Rith Tsesis
3.) Gal Sperber Rocabado
Rosh Hodesh Nisan 3/12
1.) Shana Korn
2.) Sophie Wolle
3.) Elise Rabin
4.) Ari Rosen
6th Grade
Vayikra 3/11
1.) Ari Best
2.) Brian Silverstein
3.) Joshua Weisskopf
Rosh Hodesh Nisan 3/12
1.) Mayaan Skomsvold
2.) Micah Brody
3.) Micah Shaffer
4.) Adi Zetouni
When Ilana Epstein
Weisenberg (SSDS '87) and her husband, Danny , came to their conference for their daughter,
Jordana , a first grader at Sager
Solomon Schechter, the first thing they did was find an iPad outside of Jordana's classroom.
The iPad contained a reader for a
QR code that had a voice recording by Jordana with a review of The Sleep Book by Dr.
Seuss, which they had just read together.
"Jordana (pictured above with
Ilana) came home from school and she described what she had done, but until I saw and heard it for myself I couldn't believe it," said Ilana. "She was so enthralled with this project and couldn't wait to hear her own voice and her classmates, as well as have Danny and I get to hear her voice recording. The fact that she was so excited made us so excited, and to think that she was using technology in such a meaningful way in first grade meant so much to us as parents."
First grade teacher Hannah
Pogrund (a Schechter graduate) explained that the project was part of the first grade celebration of Dr.
Seuss's birthday. "The students celebrated by reading one of his stories with their parents, illustrating one of their favorite parts of the their story, and then using iPads to record an audio review of the book they read. We then converted this recording into a QR code.

7th Grade
Vayikra 3/11
1.) Arie Sztainberg
2.) Avi Horwitz
3.) Jonah Nathan
Rosh Hodesh Nisan 3/12
1.) Annabel Levin
2.) Joey Schrayer
3.) Claire Gruenberg
4.) Tera Eliasoff
8th Grade
Vayikra 3/11
1.) Bobbi Hochberg
2.) Bobbi Hochberg
3.) Jonah Karoll
Rosh Hodesh Nisan 3/12
1.) Harrison Freeman
2.) Ben Gerstein
3.) Kayla Dogadko
4.) Jake Einhorn
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SSDS Quick Business
Connections for this innovative project!
Each of the beautiful illustrations adorned the children's lockers accompanied by the QR code.
When the parents scanned the code, they could hear their child's review."
"It's amazing that I am learning technology from my first grader," added Ilana. "When your child is excited about learning, there is nothing better!"
Thanks to our first grade general studies teachers Hannah Pogrund,
Barbara Fox, and Carol Jesselson
Find out more about
Schechter's
J2J Networking Group!
Click here to see information and links to subscribe to the
SSDS QBC group, join the
LinkedIn Group, join J2J or contact members for more information.

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Reduce. Recycle. ReSimcha!
Schechter Fashion
Boutique
Sunday, April 21
12:00pm-7:00pm
Monday, April 22
3:00pm-7:00pm
Last Day to Donate your
Clothing!
Today is the last day to bring in all sizes of dressy clothing for men, women, and children for our upcoming resale event.
Clothes should be new or like new.
Earn money towards future
SSDS trips, such as to
Washington, DC and Israel.
Fifty percent of the price your item sells for will go towards your family trip earning fund and fifty percent will go towards scholarships for trips.
The more you bring, the more you can earn!
Sager Solomon Schechter Day School fourth graders recently took a trip through time to learn what slaves had to deal with to obtain their freedom. Each student participating in the Underground Railroad simulation received a job -- a slave, conductor, bounty hunter, station patrol, or stationmaster -- and rules to follow -- no talking and no running through the halls! Schechter faculty were aware of the simulation and volunteered some of their classrooms to be safe havens or stations along the route to freedom.
Each conductor had to stop in at least three stations to obtain a ticket for their slave group. They had a map outlining the school, but the stations were not clearly marked. Finding them involved a bit of detective work. The station patrols were able to shut down stations to make the trip to freedom more challenging. The bounty hunters were at the border trying to catch the slaves and conductors before they obtained freedom by crossing the border.

Volunteers still needed for the days of the event, April
21-22.
Click here to print out a copy of the flyer.
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Save the Date
For
A Festival of the Arts
A Celebration of...
Dance Troupe, Art Club, and
Choir
3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th Grades
Including the 7th and 8th Grade
Student-Created Films
Tuesday, May 28th, 2013
7:00pm-8:30pm
Don't miss this wonderful celebration of the arts at
Solomon Schechter Day School.
The festival will showcase our choir, dance troupe, art club and student films.
"The students are so excited to
show off their skills," said art teacher Hallie Redman.
"I love that the students' films will be shown to a wider
audience," added Debbie Harris,
Students gave a rousing thumbs up to the experience!
Many conductors said they were stopped by teachers and asked questions. They were afraid the teachers were trying to trick them into talking to stop their journey!
"The seriousness they felt in trying to escape to freedom was evident in the approach they all took to the adventure," said fourth grade teacher Barb
Tatz. "They groups realized the power in numbers. If they waited to cross the courtyard until more groups had arrived, their chances of a successful crossing were better.
This simulation also provided insight to the struggles the slaves experienced and the challenges they faced. Being stopped due to the color of you skin and the fact that you were property of another human helped them understand the injustices of this time period in our country's history."

Sager technology coordinator.
"We have always shown our students' films to their classmates but this will lend another layer of exposure to their work. I'm very excited that parents will be able to see the films for the first time --and that the films will be shown
alongside fine art and music."
Please mark your calendars and join us for this exciting event!
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Community News
Schechter Parent
Ronit G. Weiner
Presents Art in Show
David and Jamie Baker , parents of two Schechter alumni
-- Lauren, Class of 2008 and
Aliya, Class of 2009 -- are owners of Primrose Valley
Farm, an 83-acre certified organic vegetable farm about 20 miles south of Madison,
Wisconsin. Last year, more than 100 Schechter families subscribed to the Baker's farm, and one of the farm's drop-off locations was Schechter's Northbrook campus. Some families purchased an entire share on their own; other families split a share with another family. This year, Primrose Valley Farm will donate a percentage of the funds that they receive from Schechter families back to our school. This would be a great time to sign up for a produce share while helping Solomon Schechter to reach its financial goals!
To Sign Up for Produce
Ronit G. Wiener parent of Schechter 4th and 6th graders, will be presenting her artwork at
The Art Center of Highland
Park
Now through April 1
Please see www.ronitgallery.com
for more samples of her work including
Judaic artwork.
__________
Join JCC and Mummies

and Masterpieces for an
Interactive, Hands-On
Passover Experience
Bring Passover to Life!
Experience the exodus from
Egypt like never before.
The program is designed for ages 3-10, but everyone is welcome.
* Design your own coat of many colors
* Build your own pyramid (no heavy lifting)
* Sing and dance with a tambourine you create
* Play Egyptian board games and puzzles
* Swim in the "Nile River"
(pool) and more!
Sunday, March 17 2:30-
5:15pm
$25 per family
Click here to Register
Bernard Weinger JCC, 300
Revere Drive
Located in Northbrook
2:30-4:00pm: Egyptian games and Passover Experiences
4:15-5:15pm: Optional swim in the "Nile River" (bring your bathing suit & towel) please bring a re-usable bag to
carry completed project

Click here for more information.
__________
Ralph's World Will Rock Your
Kids at
Temple Beth Israel
On Sunday, March 17
at 12:30pm
Ralph's World, the ultimate music show for kids and families, returns to
Temple Beth Israel
3601 W. Dempster
Skokie
Tickets are available for $15 per person (children under 2 years of age are free) by calling the
TBI office, 847-675-0951 , or by visiting www.ralphsworld.com
Click Here for more information.
__________
Kol Hakavod to Solomon Schechter Day School students (from left)
Tom Mitchell (second grade); Josh Winick, Sam Lichtman, Aaron
Brown (fifth grade); Zach Lichtman (first grade); and Sam Mitchell
(fifth grade) -- all members of the Schechter Chess Team -- who won the 10th place team trophy at the Illinois State Chess Championship in Bloomington-Normal. The team competed against 35 teams from throughout Illinois.
Congratulations also to Zach Lichtman for winning the trophy for
23rd in the state in the K-1 division.
Ramah Day Camp is calling all 3 to 5 year old preschoolers. We don't want you to miss out on these fun-filled mornings.
Our upcoming events are on

Sunday, March 17 (Pesach)
at Ramah Day Camp
98 West Hintz Road
Wheeling
The morning will be filled with singing, playing, cooking and an art activity.
All walk-ins are welcome. If possible rsvp to info@ramahday.com
__________
United Synagogue of
Conservative Judaism Will hold its Annual Evening of
Musical Entertainment
Sunday, March 17 which will honor
Chuck Kahalnik and the
Regional Youth Commission
Leaders of CHUSY.
This year, the concert will feature the talented Sheldon
Low.
This year's co-chairs are
Schechter's own
Tami Warshawsky, Director of
Marketing and Communications and Parent of Alumni, Schechter
Parent
Audra Kaplan Spellberg
and Schechter friend, Susan
Sacks.
Click here for more information.
Call 847.714.9130
or www.chusy.org
__________
SingStrong Chicago
A Cappella Festival
"Solomon Schechter Day School students speak Hebrew at a very high level, they read and write Hebrew well, they are clearly thinking in Hebrew, and they are engaged in real discussions of poetry and literature, Tanach and even halacha!
High praise from NETA creator Hilla Kobliner , who visited Sager
Solomon Schechter Day School on Monday with a film crew to film our NETA Hebrew teachers, Avi Allali, Shosh Konstantin, Osnat
Lichtenfeld, and Ilana Selinger . NETA is the Hebrew Curriculum used at Solomon Schechter in grades 6-8.

Sunday March 24
2:00 pm
Niles West High School
Skokie, IL
If you need a break from
Passover preparations, enjoy this A Cappella Festival! contact: www.singstrong.org
for tickets and information.
__________
JUF Annual Jewish Day
School Night
Dessert Reception
The footage will be used for NETA's professional development module, which will be dedicated to teaching syntactic structures while cultivating thinking and expression.
Hilla Kobliner shared with Linda Foster that Solomon Schechter is at the top of schools in America using the NETA curriculum and she and her film crew could also feel the students' love of
Israel.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
at
The Holiday Inn
7:15 pm
Michael Brandwein, writer and presenter of the Emmy awardwinning television programs
Parenting Puzzle, will be the featured speaker.
Reservations required. Dietary laws observed.
A meaningful gift to the 2013
Jewish United Fund Annual
Campaign is strongly encouraged.
Please email DaySchoolNight@juf.org or call Mindy Bass at 312-444-
2839 if you have any questions.
Click here for more information.
Click here to register.
Pictured above are (from left): Avi Allali, Hilla Kobliner, Dror Kobliner, Gili
Goldsmith, Osnat Lichtenfeld, Rachel Moskovitz,
Shoshana Konstantin, and Ilana Selinger.
"It was an honor for us, for our students, and for our school to take part in the filming," said Osnat Lichtenfeld. "All of our Hebrew teachers work diligently every day to ensure that our students progress in their ability to speak and understand the Hebrew language. We feel like we received an award for our hard work!"

__________
Everyone Reading Illinois
Presents North Shore
Awareness Network
Everyone Reading Illinois is pleased to announce the formation of our North Shore
Awareness Networks.
Please join us for our first meeting on for the viewing of the documentary "Journey into
Dyslexia".
Thursday, April 11
Glencoe Public Library
320 Park Ave
Glencoe, IL 60022
6:30pm
Please RSVP by emailing info@EveryoneReadingIllinois.org
Click here for more information.
____________
The 2013 Israel Solidarity
Day To be Held
On Wednesday, The Community Foundation for Jewish
Education (CFJE) and The iCenter offered a special Israeli song and dance workshop for Solomon Schechter Day School 5th-8th graders led by master dance educator and world reknown choreographer, Ofer Alfasi , and star performer, Uri Zer .
As Ofer taught the dances, he also explained the meaning of the words, and then Uri gave a live singing performance of the music while the students danced!
Sunday, April 28th
from 11:00 am - 4:00 pm at Ravinia Festival in
Highland Park with registration opening at
11:00 am
This year, as we celebrate
Israel's 65th anniversary, we will come together for one big, festive event filled with Israeli spirit!
Ofer and Uri bring their love of Israel and Jewish culture to students and adults around the world. Uri is currently en route to Estonia and

The 2013 Israel Solidarity Day is being chaired by Rabbi Carl
Wolkin and Miriam Lichstein.
Event highlights will include:
* Walk with Israel (a three-mile walkathon
* Fabulous all-day entertainment in Ravinia's
Pavilion featuring the King
David Drummers
* The Maccabeats
* Our headliner, Matisyahu
Food for purchase and festivities for all ages. A teen J-Serve project will also take place on site from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Register online to participate, volunteer and/or donate at www.juf.org/ISD .
Click here for more information.
____________
Please send all Community
News to Millie Cave at millie.cave@schechter.org
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Latvia under the support of the Joint Distribution Committee to help revive Jewish cultural life.
Our thanks to Sid Singer, Etty Dolgin, and Diane Halivni of the CFJE for making this wonderful connection.

Faculty and 4th grade students get one free ticket -- must be ordered online.
Click Here to purchase tickets.
Click here to see the trailer or

See the details in this flyer
Kol Hakavod to the following Schechter alumni from
SSDS '09 who were recognized by the
National Merit Scholarship Association!
Shayna Fertig and Jacob Best were recognized as National Merit
Finalists.
Shayna (Deerfield High School) will be attending University of
Pennsylvania - Jerome Fisher Program in Management and
Technology.
Jacob (Ida Crown Jewish Academy) will be attending Yeshivat Har
Etzion for a gap year.

Mazal Tov to Leora Balinsky, Lena Eskin and Matthew Silberman, who were recognized by National Merit as Commended Scholars.
Leora (Ida Crown Jewish Academy) will be attending Migdal Oz for a gap year.
Lena (Evanston High School) will be attending Cornell University.
Matthew (Ida Crown Jewish Academy) is currently deciding where he will be attending next year.
If you know of another Solomon Schechter graduate who has received an honor or has been recognized for an achievement, please contact francine.epraim@schechter.org
Opportunities for Schechter Alumni to Reconnect!
If you or somebody you know are in one of the following groups, please email francine.ephraim@schechter.org
with current contact information.
Israel Alumni Reunion in Conjunction with our
8th Grade Israel Experience
May 6, 2013 at 7:00 pm in Jerusalem
Class of 2009 Reunion/College Send-Off
May 22, 2013 from 4:00 - 6:00 pm in the Sager cafeteria
Class of 2000 - Class of 2005 Reunion
September 7, 2013 (tentative date)
Planning committee in formation.
Alumni, join us when Schechter goes to the CUBS!
See information at the top of the bulletin!
We hope you have enjoyed reading about the exciting programs and activities at Solomon Schechter Day School. If you know someone who would enjoy reading about our Schechter community, please forward this to them! Send all comments to tami.warshawsky@schechter.org
.
A partner in serving our community, supported by the Jewish United
Fund/Jewish Federation.