Letters to Sala at Golda Och

Each year in observance of Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, Golda Och Academy hosts a lecture sponsored by Judy and Steve Elbaum. This year, the annual Elbaum Lecture featured author Ann Kirschner whose book Letters to Sala tells the story of her mother’s survival during the Holocaust. In addition to publishing a book, the New York Public Library created an exhibit of the letters and  memorabilia that tell Kirschner’s mother’s story. Both Ann Kirschner and the NY Public Library’s curator of the Letters to Sala exhibit, Jill Vexler spoke to GOA students as part of the school’s Yom Hashoah observance.

Judy Elbaum, author Ann Kirschner, and curator Jill Vexler.

Kirschner shared with Golda Och Academy students the story of growing up with the knowledge that

her mother was a Holocaust survivor, but not knowing any details about her mother’s experiences during

the war. Sala Garncarz Kirschner ended her silence when, in preparation for triple by-pass surgery in

1991, she handed her daughter, Ann, a wallet full of letters. Sala Garncarz Kirschner, (who turned 87

in March 2011), survived the surgery and – finally - revealed her wartime experiences to her family.

Sala was taken from her home when she was 16 and survived five years in seven different Nazi forced-labor camps. Saving the letters she eventually passed on to her daughter Ann became inextricably

linked with saving her life. The letters were not mere pieces of paper: they were the people she loved,

friends and family waiting for her return. She risked her life to preserve the letters always managing

somehow to take them with her from camp to camp.

Sixth-graders Samuel Z. of Montclair and Joshua S. of West Orange peruse the Letters to Sala exhibit. 

Liberated in 1945, Sala came to the United States as a war bride, and hid her papers in a closet. Five

years of her life were also hidden until the day she revealed the existence of more than 300 letters,

photographs, and documents.

Sala’s story is, above all, a story of life and one young woman’s way of seeing beyond years of horror.

From her letters, we learn about friendship and love, Jewish life in occupied Poland, Nazi labor camps,

the intensely human need to rebuild life after the catastrophe of war, and the ability of words to give and

sustain life.

Through the Elbaum’s generosity, the exhibit, Letters to Sala, is on display in the lobby of Golda Och
Academy, (1418 Pleasant Valley Way, West Orange), through Friday, May 27. Exhibit hours are
Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 4:30 pm. To arrange for visits to the exhibition, please contact
Abby Finkel at afinkel@goldaochacademy.com or 973-602-3798. 

Tapping Into Environmental Good

Sixth graders in Mrs. Lowenthal's and Ms. Himmelstien's classes wrote their own lyrics for a water-conscious entry for a contest hosted by the New Jersey American Water and Scholastic. The "Tap for Tap" Song and Dance Contest seeks to encourage students to help the environment by opting for tap water. The lyrics also were written as part of National Poetry Month (April) activities and the Solomon Schechter Day School Association's Mekor Hayim project.





Three winning classrooms will receive a fun-filled Field Day from New Jersey American Water, brand-new Scholastic books, and a pizza party. We think our sixth graders did an amazing job, and we wish them bucket-loads of luck!

National Poetry Month Rocks GOA!

Contributed by English Department Chair Jane Freeman.


It was the first love poem the fire hose had ever received … not the first for the clock, however -- there were no fewer than seven love poems dedicated to the third-floor timepiece. The gym reveled in the newly found ardor of its four admirers as well, while the stone floor in the vestibule shyly reflected her single sonnet. What was going on? To honor National Poetry Month, students and faculty had written poems in honor of their most beloved Golda Och Academy feature, and on April 1 had plastered the objects of their love in appropriate places (one entire class of students had poems pinned to their shirts!).

There were stranger things going on: Mr. Londino was discovered reading a poem in an English class. Poems protruded from every pocket. Seussical verses and hats on cats were flying through the halls. Perhaps most amazing, however, were the visits from the Urban Word NYC prize-winning Spoken Word Poets. English classes reverberated with the stampede of magical zebras, garbage cans bulging with undelivered love letters and dreams of awakening in a new world … all nudged with the panache only a New York City Urban Word Poet can bring (“The sign on this door says AMAZING!”).

April has just begun … what could possibly happen in the coming weeks? Stay tuned … (Wait—was that Brutus running through the BK in a toga? Chasing Puck?)





Created with flickr slideshow from softsea.

A Model Experience at Model UN

From March 13-15, 28 Golda Och Academy students spent three days at the 10th annual Jewish-Canadian Youth Model United Nations. This year we were among more than 160 delegates from nine schools from across the United States and Canada.




Created with flickr slideshow from softsea.

The group received an extraordinary number of awards, including gavels for best delegate on four out of seven committees, which were awarded to Oren Fliegelman, Adam Langenbucher, Jared Fineberg and Sam Rubinstein. Honorable Mention awards were given to Anna Brooks, Matthew Davis, Ben Hersch and Josh Pearlstein. In all, we received eight out of a possible 21 awards!

The recognition accorded our delegation is particularly impressive when we realize that most of the schools either have classes dedicated to preparation for the Model UN or coaches who come into school to prepare the students for debate. Our success is a credit to the caliber of the students and to everyone who helps prepare them for these kinds of activities every day.

The entire delegation was commended by the committee chairs for their research, position papers and ability to stay focused as they stayed in character while articulating their thoughts on a wide range of topics. We were continuously impressed by the manner in which our students conducted themselves, both in committee session and during free time when they had a chance to mingle with the students from other day schools! They are confident, poised and always respectful.

As a special bonus we were treated to a lesson on how to tie a turban from Jason Roth during the no-talent talent show. Guess what? He won!

Many thanks to Eleanor Brooks and Michael Monson for their dedication to our Model UN students.

Insightful Interviews with Holocaust Survivors

Once a year, Golda Och Academy invites participants of Café Europa -- an informal group where Holocaust survivors can engage in conversation, participate in social and educational activities, and develop supportive relationships --  to visit the school.

Our eighth graders learn interviewing skills and then meet with a Holocaust survivor to practice those skills. The students write up the interviews as a way to learn more about the survivors and their Holocaust experiences. The student write-ups will be collated into a booklet, and the students will present those booklets to the survivors at the annual Café Europa Yom Hasho'ah program in May.

Lore Ross Café Europa is a project of the Jewish Family Service of MetroWest.

The Art of Tallit

Our sixth graders are working with art teacher Sandra Charlap and guest artist/teacher Kristen Lauler in art class to make their own tallitot, or prayer shawls. The project began with the students choosing quotes for their atarot, which are the decorative linings on the collar of the tallitot, in their Judaic Studies classes. Ms. Lauler is teaching the art of batik, which is wax-resist dyeing technique.

In May, at the culmination of the tallit project, there will be a presentation, which celebrates the completion of the tallitot and includes a student-led learning and breakfast program with the students' families. The goal of the project is for each student to have a beautiful tallit that will reflect his or her own personality and style!

Created with flickr slideshow from softsea.

Jumping Rope for the Heart!

Last year's Jump Rope for Heart was a true success!

Last Tuesday, Golda Och Academy's Lower School enthusiastically kicked off another one of our successful Tikkun Olam Programs, the "Jump Rope for Heart" campaign, thanks to Marci Robinson, a former Golda Och parent, who once again introduced the program.

The actual event will happen on March 1, and we will be asking all of our students and faculty to wear something red on that day. The money we raise for the American Heart Association will help to support vital research and help our children understand the importance of community service and physical activity. We think it's a true win-win situation!

Donations can be made by visiting our Team Page, where you'll find student pages made by our second through fifth graders in computer class. Our pre-K through first grade students also have the chance to make a page at home with parental guidance.

Also, be sure to browse the American Heart Association website for heart healthy suggestions, to find information about nutrition, physical activity, healthier kids, weight and stress management, as well as games and health experiments to do with your children.