Weekly Newsletter – May 15, 2020 - King David High School

May 8, 2020 / 14 Iyar 5780

Shabbat Begins: 8:22 p.m. Shabbat Ends: 9:39 p.m.

Parsha: Emor: Leviticus 21:1-24:23

THANK YOU FOR BEING A LIGHT!

Despite the challenging time, our school is glowing brightly today thanks to the many lights added in the past two days! A huge thank you to all our community members who responded to our Gala email from May 13th. In the past two days alone, we received 45 donations totalling more than $28,000 – an incredible accomplishment in such a short time! Each donation will have double the impact, thanks to our two generous donors who have offered to match all new gifts.

And we’re not done yet! Our Annual Campaign is ongoing, and on Tuesday, May 26, we will be having our Day of Giving in partnership with our Jewish Day School community. Stay tuned for more information in the coming days.

Todah Rabah to everyone who has contributed to our Annual Campaign thus far. We know that these are difficult times, and your support is greatly appreciated!

SPOTLIGHT ON ALUMNI

Shane Rozen-Delman, Class of 2016

Shane recently completed his first year in the Bachelor of Commerce/Juris Doctor joint program at Queen’s University, one of five students chosen for the Class of 2022. During his Commerce degree at Queen’s, he was hired as a teaching assistant for several business courses and has been the workshop coordinator for Queen’s Commerce Law Association (QCLA).

After realizing the challenges that people face in trying to navigate the application process of law school and best ways of writing the LSAT, Shane was motivated to start his own business, RD Academic Advising, to provide students with tailored advice that will support them in achieving their academic goals. You can learn more about RD Academic Advising by clicking here.

Shane says he is grateful for his King David education, and that it helped prepare him for life after high school.

"There were two teachers and several classes that left an impression on me," Shane says. "Ms. Lane changed the way I looked at education. Her passion, kindness and commitment towards teaching made me see how effective one can be when you are passionate about what you do. Mr. Gorski was also instrumental in helping guide my post-secondary decision. The first business course I took was in his classroom, and at that moment, I knew that I wanted to pursue a Commerce undergrad. Additionally, my interest in law also began when I was in his Grade 12 Law course. Thank you to Ms. Lane and Mr. Gorski for inspiring me on a daily basis throughout my 5 years at King David High School!"

Kol Hakavod on all your success, Shane – we’re so proud of you!

ALUMNI CONNECTIONS

On Wednesday, as part of our ongoing King David Connects event series, King David alum, Rebecca Laskin (Class of 2019) spoke to Grade 12 students about what life is like in university. She offered tips for navigating dorm life, how to get the most out of your classes, and how she keeps on top of her work load. Rebecca shared that one of the best strategies she used was to explore the reviews of professors teaching the courses she was interested in, because the time spent doing this resulted in amazing learning experiences.

Students asked many questions, and were particularly interested in what her experience with remote learning was like for the last couple months of the semester. Rebecca was incredibly positive, and eased some of the students’ concerns about starting post-secondary at such a difficult time, when so much is still unknown.

Rebecca also discussed the ways in which she remains connected to her Judaism while she’s away from home. She said that one of the first things she did in her Queen’s dorm room was hang the mezuzah she received from King David last year – it was both a way to stay connected to her Jewish faith, and was also a way to make new friends, who asked her about its significance. Rebecca also encouraged our students to take part in Chabad or Hillel, which operates near most university campuses.

We’re so grateful to Rebecca for taking the time to speak to our students, and for her continued desire to remain connected to her King David family.

PROJECT-BASED LEARNING

In Ms. Belson’s Judaic Studies 8 class, students have been learning about the beginnings of Zionism and the founding of the State of Israel. The Balfour Declaration was a letter that was written to Lord Rothschild in 1917, that promoted British support for a Jewish Homeland. It was a controversial letter, steeped in ambiguous language. Nevertheless, the letter is seen in being an instrumental piece in leading to the eventual declaration for Israel as an independent Jewish state in 1948.

Students were tasked with creating projects exploring the Balfour Declaration and it’s significance. In the video above, you can watch an incredible speed drawing project on the subject, created by Anaiya Greenberg.

YEARBOOK CLASS IS WORKING HARD!

During this unprecedented time, our Yearbook Class is working harder than ever to make sure our students have a wonderful memory book of the school year. On Thursday, the class brainstormed ways to keep all our students invested, and how best to get some fun photos while everyone is isolated. The group came up with some creative ideas, including a photo competition – stay tuned for the results!

EXPLORING SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS

Jonathan Kitzen – top right – speaks to the Our World Club

This week, King David parent Jonathan Kitzen spoke to the Our World Club about waste management systems and posed a concerning question: why are we flushing clean, drinkable water literally down the toilet? The members of the club listened as Mr. Kitzen, who runs Demizine Technology, guided them through the history of waste, the new technologies in biomass creation and utilization, and his own company’s focus on small-scale sceptic units that require no water hook up. But what can our students at King David do to help crate a large-scale shift to more sustainable waste management systems? Mr. Kitzen says the best thing is to do some research, draft up policies around the matter, and submit them to our government. Maybe we have a future politician amongst our students! Thank you so much Mr. Kitzen for taking the time to join our students this week!

A SMILE FOR THIS WEEK