Israel Club Denounces Beit Shemesh Attacks

The following article was writen by Daniel S., Sam M. and Carmelle B. on  behalf of the Upper School Israel Club.

I never meant any harm. All I ever wanted was to go to school. Yet, on the way to my all-girls school in Beit Shemesh, I have been spat at, and called terrible names by Haredi men. It is hard for me to understand why these men become so upset over the clothes I wear. I attend an orthodox school, and therefore abide by the dress code, stressing modestly. The verbal attacks have increased in number over the past few weeks, making me frightened of even walking to school. Sometimes, I am frustrated to see that fellow Jews treat other Jews this way. We all believe in the same God, the same morals, and the same values. With such malevolence towards one another, we will never be a unified Jewish nation. It is my dream that one day I, along with other Jews of all degrees of religiousness will be able to live with mutual respect, in this amazing country that we call home.

This story of Naama Margolise, an eight-year-old Orthodox girl who was attacked by right-wing extremists on her way to school in Beit Shemesh, struck our Israel Club as a disturbing example of disunity and extremism in our Jewish homeland. The students in our school have a strong personal connection to Israel and travel there in both freshman and senior years. We feel that it is incredibly important for Israel to be a stable and thriving country – “a light unto other nations.”

As a school that emphasizes values of Pluralism and Zionism, we feel it is extremely important to denounce the recent slew of attacks. While the Haredim are only a minority, (they make up only 10% of Israel’s population), recent history teaches us that the power of a violent minority should not be underestimated. The Arab Spring uprisings began as a small group of youth making their voice heard through the use of social networking. If the necessary steps are not taken to quell such acts of injustice towards women and other, less-observant Jews, the situation may escalate to become more violent and politically involved. This is why it is our job as Jewish leaders in our community to stand up for what Israel really is, a democratic homeland for Jews to live in coexistence, regardless of religiousness or gender.

Paula Spack - Giving her Heart and Soul

After talking to first grade teacher Paula Spack (fondly known as Morah P’nina), it seems no one could love teaching as much as she. And clearly, Morah P’nina was born to teach at Golda Och Academy.

“You can’t ask for a better place to be,” said Morah P’nina, a teacher with Golda Och Academy for 23 years and counting.

The 1984 graduate of the former Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union pointed out, “I have spent more than half my life in this school!”

She said her love for teaching began at an early age. As a high school student, Morah P’nina was always finding ways to spend time with the younger school children and would often get passes from her teachers to do so.

“I knew then that I wanted to be in education,” she said. “It’s in my blood. My grandfather, alav hashalom , was a teacher at our school.”

Over the years, Morah P’nina has taught kindergarten through fifth grade, both Judaic and general studies, at Golda Och Academy, including teaching integrated classrooms. Instead of students having one teacher for Judaic studies and another for general studies, “I taught them every subject,” she said. “I was the general and Judaics teacher.” It is not unusual to hear Morah P’nina speak Hebrew to her students when teaching math or other general studies subjects. Her classes are fully integrated.

“I love the little ones and being there at the very beginning of their learning,” she said.

Morah P’nina’s daughter, Liat Kessler, graduated GOA in 2010 and was on a gap year in Israel last year. She is now at Muhlenberg College. Her sons – Avi and Shachar Kessler – are current students at GOA, in grades 11 and 6, respectively. She also has two step-children who are former GOA students - Yael and Jonah Nelson.

Morah P’nina also enjoys Israeli dancing. For the past 10 years she has led our Lower School’s Israeli Dance Troupe – Raglayim Shel Zahav.

The third through fifth grade members of the dance troupe practice on Mondays during recess. In April, they performed in the Israel Folk Dance Festival and Festival of the Arts in New York City. They have also performed at community events, the JCC, and senior homes.

“I danced with this troupe when I was a kid,” she said. “We have three kids whose parents danced in it when they were younger.”

Israeli dancing is her passion, according to Morah P’nina. Every Rosh Chodesh, students at the Lower School start the day with Israeli dancing. “It connects the kids to Israel in another way,” she said. “It’s connected to celebration.”

As if all this weren’t enough to keep her busy, Morah P’nina also writes and directs the fifth grade Moving Up ceremony at the Lower School, and this year she is also in charge of the first grade Siddur Play.

The Caldwell resident is also active at Congregation Agudath Israel of West Essex, where she is a regular Torah reader and leads children’s Shabbat services.

From teaching to dancing to leading services, all of what she does centers around her devotion to Judaism, said Morah P’nina.

“It’s important to me as a Conservative Jewish woman to be an example to the students,” she said. “I plan on, God willing, being here several more years. I put my heart and soul in this place.”


For previous GO Behind the Scenes, click below:
Sandra Charlap

Sandra Charlap – Combining Work Life with Pastime

Everyone hopes to enjoy his or her work life. But when one can turn a hobby into her job, that can be a dream come true.

When she was about 10 years old, Golda Och Academy Upper School art teacher Sandra Charlap discovered her passion for art, and it hasn’t stopped since.  In one form or another, Ms. Charlap has worked in the arts arena all her life.

After attending the Parsons School of Design in New York, Ms. Charlap worked as a ceramic artist selling her creations at high-end stores such as Barney’s and Neiman Marcus.

While her daughters were young, Ms. Charlap began painting murals and faux finishes, but said the work became too physically demanding. With her daughters now ages 12 and 14, Charlap has more time to devote to painting watercolors, abstracts, and pet illustrations.

The bubbly art teacher enjoys trying out different types of art as she combines her work life with her pastime. “When you’re so curious to see how something works,” she said. “If you can keep that curiosity well-tended, you’ll never tire of it. It requires a tremendous amount of time, but it’s so gratifying.”

In addition to teaching at Golda Och, Ms. Charlap gives private art lessons and has a side business painting pet portraits.

Her artwork has been exhibited in several galleries including the Gas Gallery in Maplewood and the Pierro Gallery in South Orange.

“Next thing I know, I’ve got 20 pieces and I’m doing a show,” she laughed. “My home is filled with art.”

And so is her classroom – filled with the artwork of her students, that is.

Students brightened the room with their most recent creation, hand-painted tallitot, or Jewish prayer shawls. The students used hot wax as a resist on the fabric before they painted, a look much like batik textiles.

As if she weren’t busy enough, Ms. Charlap also runs a Creativity Minyan for about 20 High School students.

“It’s about opening up your mind as we do when we pray,” she said. “I try to direct them to tapping that part of their mind.”

This year, Ms. Charlap received a new “toy” for her classroom – a fine art printing press. Printmaking, she said, is her favorite medium now.

“I love the richness and technical requirements of this particular medium,” she said excitingly.

Ms. Charlap began printmaking while working on her degree at Montclair State University where she was greatly inspired by her teacher.

“I hope in many ways that I can be like that,” she said. “As a teacher you hope to be able to influence someone that way.”

Ms. Charlap has certainly made her mark at Golda Och Academy. A former student sent a letter about his decision to minor in art at the University of Maryland after having taken one of her classes at Golda Och.

“He said he loved the class so much and that it changed his direction,” Ms. Charlap said proudly.

She also runs art clinics for Middle School and High Schools students during lunch and recess. Other students visit during breaks to work on a project or stop by just to say hello.

“Even kids who haven’t always had an interest in art usually come around to it,” she said. “You might surprise yourself. It’s all in your attitude. Do your best to keep an open mind and take chances. None of this is ever a failure.”

You can see Ms. Charlap’s pet illustrations at http://www.illustratedpet.com/.

GO Behind the Scenes is a new column on our blog, which will highlight a different faculty or staff member every two weeks. If you would like to nominate someone to be featured, please email DOshri@GoldaOchAcademy.org.

GOA Students Help Rebuild in New Orleans

The following update from the 6th annual Katrina Relief Mission was written by Adam Shapiro, Dean of Students.

December 8, 2011

As our 6th mission comes to a close this evening, I just wanted to give a short update about this group, what they've seen and of course what they've been able to accomplish. 

As I have said to the students time and time again, the beauty of this experience for me is that I've been able to see each and every one of the groups and they have all truly been unique. Mission 6 is not an exception by any stretch of the imagination. They've now completed two incredibly hard days of work with Habitat for Humanity where they assisted with siding, staircases, porches and insulation - trust me, that house looked a lot different this afternoon than it did yesterday morning. Of course, I can't leave out the fact that they have done all this work in some fairly cool weather. While the sun did come out midday today and heated the area up, our group persevered and worked tirelessly to get their jobs done. The one word that came to my mind as we left the site today was 'pride' - because our group exhibited it at every step of the way. They didn't just want to get the job done, they wanted to do it right. 

While we were on the bus on Tuesday afternoon I reminded the group that one of the challenges we faced was that we wanted to 'see' and 'help' while the community here in New Orleans works hard every day to move forward and rebuild their lives with an eye to the future. This message was really brought home in our meeting with Robert Green and subsequent stop at Trinity Lutheran Church - a place of worship for the lower 9th ward that was decimated in the storm.  Robert couldn't say enough about how he felt about our group, he wanted them to understand one key thing - the young generation, the generation raised to help others, is the reason he has hope for the future. He has seen so much loss in his life, yet he still holds his head up and gets up every morning ready to move forward. 

When Robert took us to the church, we were then able to meet with Kathy, a woman who has been instrumental in the rebuilding of the church and surrounding area. Her message was so simple, yet so profound. She told the group how she has spent her life working and donating for 'them' yet after the storm destroyed her house, she realized that for the first time in her life she was 'them' and needed help. At that point, as she told our group, she understood that all of the work we do to make the world better is not for 'them,' rather it is all for 'us' - we cannot exclude ourselves from the world, rather we need to all work together for the greater good - an incredibly valuable lesson learned while sitting in what will be a beautiful place for communal gathering, worship and prayer. 

All in all, this has been a wonderful mission, we've worked hard and seen a lot and we are all excited for our last dinner tonight at the Tulane Hillel followed by a real southern experience - Zydeco music at Rock n Bowl. 

Before I close, I do have to take a moment to give special thanks to my two hard working and amazing chaperones. As I watched both Mrs. Udell and Mrs. Trinker hang from 24 foot ladders today and work with the students to help them every step of the way, I understood, once again, how lucky I am to work with such incredible teachers and role-models. Both of them have given so much more than their time to this mission and it is with the highest level of praise and respect that I say thank you to them - this mission absolutely would not have been as successful without them. 

Roaring Sounds of Laughter After 5 p.m. in the Lower School

by Jul McCormick
GOA Fun Tracks/After Care Coordinator.

Last Monday was a usual day for Funtracks and Aftercare at Golda Och Academy. Funtracks is over at 4:15 p.m. and the Aftercare kids can be found in the classroom finishing their homework. On any given day, around 5:00 p.m. the building is quiet more often than not. The only children in the building at that time are the kids who stay in Aftercare. So when I heard yelling and screaming in the hallway I was a little concerned. You see, my desk is in the main office, which is almost the furthest point away from the Aftercare room on the first floor. I immediately picked up the phone and called down to the Aftercare room and spoke with Ms. Keisha, GOA’s new Aftercare teacher, to make sure everything was ok. Ms. Keisha was laughing, almost uncontrollably, when she answered the call.

She explained to me that everything was ok, and that they were having an Uno Tournament. I decided to walk down and have a look for myself. When I got down to the Aftercare room, the laughter and shenanigans were still in full swing. Four out of the five kids in aftercare had chosen to play in the game with Ms. Keisha. Miri told Ms. Keisha she was “bleeding”. To which Ms. Keisha replied, “Where? Tell me where I am bleeding!” Miri explained that “bleeding” in Uno meant that you were showing everyone your cards! There was a roar of laughter, which was riotous, from the kids over Ms. Keisha’s lack of understanding of “Uno terminology”.

The hootin' and hollerin' continued as Avraham threw down a draw four card to Ms. Keisha. Ms. Keisha groaned as she picked up her four extra cards and all of the children continued to laugh hysterically. Ms. Keisha asked, “Why do I have soooooooo many cards?” Theo, Avraham, Miri, Avi and Naomi found this statement to be hilarious. This seemed like the best game of UNO I had ever had the pleasure to witness.

The volume of laughter from the kids and Ms. Keisha was a wonderful sound to hear. It made me stop and think for just a moment. It made me realize how grateful I am that Ms. Keisha has joined us this year. It made me thankful that she takes the time to sit down and play a game with the kids in Aftercare each and every day. The kids in Aftercare come in at 3:15 p.m. and get right to their homework. The children who have no homework get busy playing. Ms. Keisha and the children spend a portion of everyday out on the playground or so they have time to run and play in open space. I often peek in on Aftercare and I am always pleased to see the interaction between Ms. Keisha and the children. Ms. Keisha and the kids can be seen on any given day jumping rope, reading stories or building with blocks. Whatever the task, Ms. Keisha has shown that she is up for it!

If you are in the Lower School after 3:15 p.m., please take a moment to welcome Ms. Keisha to GOA. She is a wonderful addition to our afterschool team!

Golda Och Academy Students Attend AIPAC Summit

The following articles were written by Golda Och Academy students who attened the 2011 AIPAC Schusterman Advocacy Institute High School Summit in Arlington, VA, Nov. 6-8. The event brought together 400 students from select Jewish day schools, synagogue youth groups, and teen leadership organizations nationwide who are committed to supporting the US-Israel relationship through involvement in the American political process. The goal of the Summit was to provide students with the most advanced political training available, so that they can be more effective activists for a strong US-Israel relationship. The GOA delegation met with Arthur Mandel, a West Orange resident and legislative assistant for Congressman Bill Pascrell. The Golda Och Academy delegation would like to thank Mrs. Karen Ulric for chaperoning.

AIPAC Day 2
By Kineret B.

On our second and longest day of the Schusterman AIPAC High School Summit, our delegation, along with the many other students, attended many sessions that specialized in many areas. A few of them focused on the reasons behind the different issues in the Middle East in which we learned that it is not as simple as “Arabs hate Israel,” but that there are many underlying problems that cause the uneasy relationships in the Middle East and around the world. Our other sessions were mainly focused on the importance of lobbying Congress members and how to do so effectively. We were familiarized on the positions that AIPAC takes on each issue and how to present it in a professional yet personal and conversational way to our political representatives.
Most of the day was filled with structural information, so it was nice to take a break from it all during lunch when we heard four inspirational speakers. The first speaker was an African American representative of North Carolina who spoke of his support for Israel even though he is not Jewish. The next speaker was a southern, Catholic woman who got involved with AIPAC and now works with college students to promote pro-Israel support, yet she is not Jewish. The third speaker was a Muslim who got involved in his on-campus Hillel in college and involved in AIPAC, and has become a strong Israel supporter. He also is not Jewish. The last speaker was a Hispanic college student who attended an AIPAC policy conference and has become a pro-Israel leader on campus, but to our surprise, she also is not Jewish. From these four speakers, it was clear to us that Israel is not alone, and the Jews are not alone. There are people that support Israel as an existing state, and it is not necessary to be Jewish to be passionate about it. There are so many ways to help support Israel, and if effort is put into it, Israel will continue to exist and strive as a Jewish State.


AIPAC Day 3
By Daniel S.

As the Schusterman AIPAC Summit comes to a close, our delegation can only look back in awe and appreciation for all the AIPAC personnel who led and inspired us on our journey to becoming pro-Israel lobbyists and activists. Throughout our three days in Arlington, Virginia, our group was immersed in learning about AIPAC’s different approaches and views on Israel’s current political situation. After this, we were introduced to various methods that we, both as individuals and as a school, can use to promote theses issues to our elected officials. Equipped with these tools, the group took to Capitol Hill where we were scheduled to lobby the administration of Representative Bill Pascrell, Jr. Upon entering the office, we were greeted by Arthur Mandel, Rep. Pascrell’s legislative assistant. Mr. Mandel acts as the representative’s “decision maker” by recommending in which way Mr. Pascrell should vote. After discussing our stances on the issues with him, Mr. Mandel jubilantly explained that he, along with Congressman Pascrell, agreed with us on the majority of the issues and would sponsor legislation that has a positive effect on Israel in the future. Although our group was very glad about the reception we received from the Congressman’s staff, we realized that we must keep in contact with the staff for their voting record to stay this way. And so, we hope to raise awareness in our school about this new form of Israel advocacy and hope for it to bring much needed support for AIPAC and most importantly, Israel, in the future.

Israel Club Shows Support for Release of Gilad Shalit

The following article was written by Golda Och Academy High School Israel Club students after hearing the news of the release agreement for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. To show their support, students wore yellow today.

On Tuesday, as we were walking to our last class of the day, we were stopped by Mr. Shapiro, Dean of Students at GOA. "Did you hear my announcement?" he asked, "Netanyahu announced a huge advancement in the Gilad Shalit compromise; he could be home within days." Rarely have we heard the name Gilad in a sentence so close to the phrase "home within days."

Ever since the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit in 2006, Golda Och Academy students have not gone without recognizing and discussing the story. The issue of whether or not Gilad should be returned was constantly debated. We could never reach an agreement; is it fair to put millions of Israelis in danger for one man? Some of us said yes; Israel has the responsibility of returning every soldier, dead or alive, back to Israel. We also learn in our Tanach and Rabbinics classes that saving one life is like saving the world. However, others said no; regardless of whatever responsibilities Israel has towards its soldiers, putting millions in danger for one person is too risky. We started with weekly updates to the middle school and high school Israel Clubs, leading up to the distribution of yellow ribbons, which adorn most students' backpacks and lockers, and amounting to students visiting the actual Gilad Shalit tent in Jerusalem, while on Na'ale or Neshama. Our 9th graders wrote letters to Gilad’s parents expressing our love and concern for Gilad. We have also had an ongoing count of Gilad's days in captivity on our daily slideshow, and have handed out numerous "גילעד עדיין חי", "Gilad is still alive" stickers.

The students at our school have created such a strong relationship with the whole crisis and feel personally connected to Gilad. Not only have we created a personal association with Gilad, but also with his parents and fellow supporters. As a club, we've read Aviva and Noam Shalit's cries for help, and have shared similar stories of other captives and soldiers with the rest of the High School. We also took the time to read through Gilad’s children’s book, “The Shark and the Fish”, and a song composed by Camp Masad in Gilad's honor. Danielle R., a senior and co-president of the High School Israel Club, noted that the Gilad bumper sticker earned a prestigious spot on her wall of photos next to her bed at camp. Others have also decorated their water bottles or lunch bags with the sticker, serving as a constant reminder of the ordeal.

To be honest, some of us at Golda Och have recently lost hope in the homecoming of Gilad. After being gone for more than five years, we could no longer imagine the day when this character, Gilad Shalit, would become a real person in our Jewish American eyes. Our hearts, as well as our Facebook news feeds, have graciously been filled with new-found hope and curiosity.

Whatever way the story ends, this whole journey has been remarkable. Through the kidnapping of one Israeli soldier, thousands of Jewish communities around the world have come together and established an unmatchable international coalition in support of Gilad and Israel. GOA junior Rafaella S. mentioned how the constant presence of the story has served as a major focal point for Israel supporters everywhere, and the impending arrival of Gilad positively portrays Israel's commitment and close relationships to all of its citizens. We know the fight is far from over, and continue to pray in the hopes of Gilad's return. Carmelle B., a junior and secretary of the High School Israel Club says, “We have worked nonstop over the past five years spreading awareness and gaining support for his release. It is truly amazing to see this dream come true.”