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EDUCATION
Above: Zoe Aaron takes a Class of 2016 selfie after all of the diplomas have been distributed. Below: Newly minted Weber School graduates flip their tassels to show their status.
The Weber School Class of 2016 consists of Zoe Aaron, Rebecca Adler, Cassidy Aronin, Michael Asher, Jessica Bachner, Naomi Balaban, Brooke Berman, Abigail Blum, David Borukhov, Avi Botwinick, Dotan Brown, Lillian Brown, Zachary Chase, Roni Dombek, Emily Duner, Lonnie Edlin, Reanna Edlin, Jacob Euster, Ross Falkenstein, Zahava Feldstein, Gregory Fish, Avery Frank, Meredith Galanti, Sydney Gelman, Jordan Gold, Ilana Gorod, Max Harris, Ron Heart, Samuel Italiaander, Joshua Jacobson, Noah Jones, Alexander Osterman-Kaye, Michael Levin, Idan Livnat, Rebecca Meline, Sarah Nelkin, Samantha Nozick, Rafael Oquendo, Benjamin Perlow, Kyle Rabinowitz, Jansen Redler, Marni Rein, Emma Rinzler, Max Rubanenko, Samantha Schiff, Samantha Shapiro, David Shoshan, Eric Silver, Ashley Spector, Benjamin Stinar, Adele Stolovitz, Karin Videlefsky, Cody Wertheimer, Daniel Whitesides, Bailee Yoels and Remy Zimmerman.
Valedictorian Avi Botwinick advises his classmates to try new things.
Faculty speaker Caroline Campbell hugs Meredith Galanti in front of Marni Rein (not visible) after the two graduating seniors introduced her.
Avery Frank shares a laugh with the class while delivering the d’var Torah.
Salutatorian Jessica Bachner strikes a pose after receiving her diploma from Principal Shlaina Van Dyke.
Lillian Brown takes a peek at the crowd during the singing of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Weber Grads Follow History Into Future
T
he Weber School sent the 56 members of the Class of 2016 into the world to write their own stories with the preface of the history of Mount Sinai, Alexander Hamilton, and four years in the hallways and stairways of the Sandy Springs school. “In life, things are not going to be how they used to be,” math teacher Caroline Campbell advised in her fac ulty address to the graduates Sunday morning, May 22, at Georgia Tech’s Ferst Center for the Arts. That was not a warning so much as a statement of fact. Campbell said she planned to be a pharmacist when she graduated from
high school eight years ago, but after one semester at the University of Geor gia, she was on a different path. “Plans are a good thing,” she said, “but change is even better.” She took the class through some examples in its collective history at the Weber School, such as escaping lunch duty and creating a softball team. Salutatorian Jessica Bachner and d’var Torah speaker Avery Frank also took their classmates through memo ries of the past four years. Among the memories, the mini mum of 138,240 steps Frank calculated that they all took just going up and down the four flights of stairs during their time at the school. For comparison, she said Mount Sinai is only 7,497 feet high.
Just as the Jewish people are taught at the end of this week’s Torah portion, Behar, to admire but not worship lead ers such as Moses, so Frank urged her classmates to follow the examples of the teachers, parents and others who served as role models through high school and to become role models to others. “It is now our duty to remember these people, these Moseses, and to keep them relevant and vivid as we continue our journeys and educa tions,” she said. Everyone excels at something, valedictorian Avi Botwinick said. “Find what makes you happy, and excel at it.” Striving to excel is the key to the fi nal history lesson Head of School Rab bi Ed Harwitz taught the class, combin
ing the wisdom of Pirkei Avot and the musical “Hamilton.” He said “Hamilton” raises an im portant question: “Who will be the one who will tell your story?” Pirkei Avot answers that we ac quire our own good name and tell our own story through our own merit, Rab bi Harwitz said. “We have the ability to write that story.” he told the crowd. “Education enables us to build a personal Torah, the content of that story,” and provides the wisdom to apply that story and to translate it into righteous action “that more often than not changes the world for the better.” “We are proud of you,” Rabbi Har witz said, “but we are also counting on you, for history has its eyes on you.” ■ 21 MAY 27 ▪ 2016
By Michael Jacobs mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com
AJT