DKJA Students Excel on the Stage and in the classroom
Soar Magazine
The Official Publication of
Winter 2019 Vol. 1 Issue 2
Donna Klein Jewish Academy 9701 Donna Klein Blvd. Boca Raton, FL 33428
SOAR MAGAZINE
WINTER 2019
What’s Inside Vol. 1 - Issue 2 Dreaming Big DKJA Drama Department
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DKJA Athlete to Play Div. I Jessica Siegel
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@DKJABoca Soar Magazine is the official publication of Donna Klein Jewish Academy and Claire and Emanuel G. Rosenblatt High School. It is published quarterly by Florida Sun Printing in Callahan, Fla. For advertising inquiries, please call Director of Development, Scott Ball at 561-852-3325, scottb@dkja.net or Communications Director Matt Franzblau, at 561-8522122, franzblaum@dkja.net. Magazine Edited by: Donna O’Steen
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Holding Court DKJA’s Tennis Extravaganza
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VOLUME 1
I S S U E 2
DKJA Drama Department Teaches Students to Dream Big By Matt Franzblau DKJA Communications Director
T
he DKJA Drama Department is getting regional recognition after it has been chosen as one of the schools to compete at the second annual Kravis Center Dream Awards, a program dedicated to celebrating the achievements of musical theater programs in Palm Beach County. Each year, Drama Department Chair Zoraida Adams and her hardworking students put on a school-wide performance of a well-known production, such as The Addams Family (2017) and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (2018). Following their March performance of Cole Porter’s Anything Goes, Adam’s budding thespians will have the opportunity to take to the stage once again, as this summer a select few will perform at the Kravis Center during its annual awards celebration. “Every year our students work so hard to mount well-known Broadway musicals,” Adams said. “This year will be even more special and you can feel the excitement in the air.” This spring, the Kravis Center will
produce a showcase presentation to demonstrate the accomplishments of local high school musical theater students. The showcase will feature ensemble performances and solo numbers. During the showcase presentation, a panel of judges will select one male and one female Dream Awards winner to represent Palm Beach County in the National High School Musical Theatre Awards (also known as the Jimmy awards) in New York City, later in the month.
4 The Dream Awards will then provide participants with a number of learning opportunities throughout the year, including scholarships for higher education and for performing arts programs held at the Kravis Center during the summer. “Every year I am amazed at the talent and professionalism demonstrated by our students,” Adams added. “They are all winners in my eyes and I am so proud to be able to work with them.” In addition to competing for the national title, each student will spend a week in workshops with Broadway performers, producers, directors and casting agents. In order to participate in this prestigious program, schools must register their musical theater production for review by a qualified team of adjudicators, who then provide directors and students with written feedback. DKJA is one of nearly 20 area schools to participate in the program. To learn more about the Dream Awards, please visit Kravis.org/education-community.
The DKJA Drama Department performs Disney’s Beauty and the Beast last March in front of a capacity crowd in Zinman Hall.
SOAR MAGAZINE
WINTER 2019
Head of School Message place within our school. Through these pages you will find a condensed selection of what we feel represents the many accomplishments at DKJA.
By Helena Levine DKJA Head of School
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want to thank you for taking the time to leaf through our second edition of Soar. I am amazed by the many activities and events taking
It’s hard to believe our second semester is well underway. We have accomplished a lot together and have much more to look forward to. One event we all anticipate with excitement each Spring semester is Grandparents Day, which took place Feb. 8. This annual gathering reminds us just how fortunate we are that our people’s sacred traditions are passed down from generation to generation, L’dor V’dor. We see this notion throughout DKJA, but it is never as evident than on this special day, when we are reminded where we come from. 13 years ago marked my first year at
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DKJA and our children’s first grandparent’s day. I remember the joy of our kids but even more memorable, the joy from their grandparents and great-grandparents who were able to catch a glimpse of the magic that takes place at DKJA each and every day. As we all hold similar memories and experiences close to our heart, let us continue to hold this day and special celebrations close to our heart. May our community continue to go from strength to strength. L’dor V’dor
Helena Levine Head of School
Development Update DKJA raises more than $300K during annual fundraiser
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or the second straight year Donna Klein Jewish Academy reached its goal of raising $300,000 in one day to support the school and its programs. On the first Tuesday in November, better known as Tzedaka Tuesday, DKJA employees, parents, board members and even students sported purple clothing, which theme of the day. From 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., volunteers manned the phones and made calls
to donors in the community, while DKJA staff entered the donations as they came in, totaling more than $324,000 from nearly 450 generous donors. Funds raised on Tzedakah Tuesday will go toward improving initiatives inside and out of the classroom, including eight specialized programs, which range from an instrumental music fund, to Jewish life and learning, arts and athletics.
DKJA students (above) and community volunteers (below) made calls during Tzedakah Tuesday in November.
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The Rabbi’s Message
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either 29 or 30 days. Because the sum of 12 lunar months is about 11 days shorter than the solar year, a 13th month is periodically added in order to align the Jewish year with the solar cycle. This is called ‘Shanah Meuberet’, a pregnant year, and comes in the form of a second Adar. It occurs seven times in a 19-year cycle, including 5779 in the Hebrew calendar and 2019 according to the Gregorian.
By Baruch Plotkin DKJA Rabbi in Residence
T
he first commandment the Jews are given as a people is the mitzvah of Rosh Chodesh, the New Month: “And God said to Moses… in the land of Egypt… This month is for you, the head of the months. First it is for you among the months of the year,” (Exodus 12:1-2). This commands us to formulate the Jewish calendar.
Most calendars pick only one of these systems. Islam for example, uses a lunar-based calendar and completely ignores the solar cycle. The Gregorian calendar on the other hand is completely disassociated from lunar time. Only the Jewish calendar seeks to integrate both.
This means, in effect, that a Jew has the strength to make themselves a ‘master over time.’ Time, after all, is our most precious resource, and when it comes down to it, time is all we have. More than anything else, the way that we quantify and experience time defines who and what we are.
In our lives, like the moon, we experience times of decline, even moments of real darkness, only to rise again like the moon. We live our lives with the moon because we wish to harness the distinct qualities of lunar energy: its courage and creativity, and its capacity for renaissance and rebirth. But we are equally determined to incorporate into our lives the surety and continuity of the sun. Like the sun, life must be grounded in unequivocal truths. It must incorporate faithfulness and consistency, and trying to ride both time-streams simultaneously is no simple task.
Jewish time is basically lunar, linked to the moon’s monthly rise and fall and consists of
Judaism has an inherent duality. There is complete order, including free
choice, regularity and spontaneity, uniformity and individuality, law and freedom, a duty and a prerogative, as well as empathy and self-expression. Even though we experience duality in our lives, our goal is oneness. We think of heaven as separate from earth, but the two can be experienced as one. We understand that masculine is separate from feminine, but we recognize that when these two forces unite the result is the birth of a new life, a new beginning. Judaism delights and demands to live with contradiction. To live in the time of the moon keeping in consideration the cycle of the sun. Dialectical living and thinking and seemingly contradicting ideas point to different aspects of that idea. Puzzles and paradoxes make us wonder and think. They express the complexity of reality. Our Jewish Calendar teaches us that we must embrace contradiction, face it, explore it and learn from it.
Principals’ Message I
n Rosenblatt High School, our 44 Seniors began their final semester as students at DKJA. During this semester, they will meet with a range of Jewish leaders and thinkers as part of our “Senior Speakers” series, exploring important topics as they prepare to graduate and leave our campus. We were also thrilled to bring 50 students to the annual JNF Winter Connection Brunch. In addition, we also held our annual Minimester program. During this unique three-day experience, we paused our regular courses and students picked from over 45 course offerings to learn with our faculty and visiting professionals about business, leadership, art, politics, history and much more.
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n the K-8 building we had a great start to the second semester. Our students participated in the Fun Run sponsored by the PTO. It was so wonder- Marshall Lesack Jill Shoshany ful to see them advocate for their school High School Principal K-8 Principal and raise funds to update our science labs. Our students have also represented our school in the community in beautiful ways, such as winning first place at the Lego Our partnership with Zichron Ya’akov has been blooming, as Hebrew teachers in our League competition at the end of January. Our eighth grade students have started their Middle School, Iris Dahoah and Tiki Magril have been developing relationships with Holocaust unit and have been touched by schools in Zichron Ya’akov. Our students listening to the amazing histories of local skype with Israeli students their age and will Holocaust survivors, while our fifth grade begin relationships that will last a lifetime. students continue to lead in the school by serving on safety patrol, walking students to and from carpool.
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Athletics Update Soccer & Basketball T
he middle school boys soccer team finished its season with a 5-2-2 record, making all the way to the semifinals of the Independent Athletic League Playoffs. They defeated Brauser Maimonides Academy by a score of 4-1 in the quarterfinals and with the help of a pair of goals from Eitan Heller. After starting the season 0-3, the varsity boys soccer team reeled off three-in-a row, evening their record at 3-3 before taking on Boca Christian to close out the first half of the season. By David Trell DKJA Athletics Director
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KJA’s middle school girls basketball team hoisted a shiny new golden trophy earlier this month after defeating St. Marks School of Ft. Lauderdale 30-21 in the championship game of the Independent Athletic League Playoffs. The Eagles wrapped up the season with a 9-1 record under the leadership of head coach Lenny Levine, having downed Pembroke Pines Charter School 19-10 in the semifinals and Hebrew Academy 37-26 in the quarterfinals. Eighth grader Rosalie Weiss scored a combined 66 points in the team’s final three games, with a career high of 31 coming in the quarterfinals. This was the school’s 14th independent Athletic League championship and fourth in girls basketball history.
The varsity girls soccer team finished its season with an overall record of 6-4, posting its first winning season in a number of years.
Student Athlete Spotlight Jessica Siegel
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KJA senior tennis player Jessica Siegel made it official, announcing that she’ll be playing tennis collegiately for Lafayette in Easton, Pa. Siegel made her announcement in November during a High School town hall assembly held in the JCC gym. The Boca Raton native along with teammate Eden Leder became the first tennis players in school history to qualify and play in the Class 1A State Tournament, when they accomplished the feat last year as juniors. Siegel will close out her acclaimed DKJA career this spring before taking her talents to the Division I level this fall.
Siegel made her collegiate choice known with a special ceremony in the JCC gym.
SOAR MAGAZINE
WINTER 2019
High School Student Spotlight
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Blayse Freedman
Soph. travels to South America to Spread Her Love of Baseball equality through girls playing baseball. Some of the stops on her trip included the cities of Montería, Cartagena and the U.S. Embassy in Bogota. During her visits, she brought donated equipment to local teams, then coached and played with each of them.
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laire and Emanuel G. Rosenblatt High School student Blayse Freedman recently returned from a oncein-a-lifetime trip to South America where she took part in an exchange program called ‘Project Beisbol’. The trip was comprised of American youth baseball players who traveled to Colombia to help at-risk kids in South America learn to play the sport. “This trip has had a great impact on how I feel about life, humanity and kindness,” Freedman said. The program was sponsored by the U.S. State Department and run by the University of Montana with the goal of eliciting social change. “The new friendships I have made I will cherish forever,” the baseball enthusiast explained of her travels. “Never could I have imagined how incredible this trip could be.” Freedman, who also plays on the DKJA JV baseball team was representing ‘Baseball For All’, which is a foundation that supports gender
“I created really special bonds with kids my age, older, and younger,” she remembered.” “I loved interacting with them and playing with them.” Besides replenishing some of their new friends’ supply of equipment, Freedman and her American counterparts also tried to pass on some new-found skills to the Colombian baseball players. Afterwards, she and her teammates were rewarded for all their hard work.
Once she returned to South Florida, Freedman was able to put into perspective just how unique her experience was and what an impact her visits made on her fellow baseball players and friends in South America. “For some of these kids, we were the first Americans they had ever met,” she explained. “I plan to continue working with Project Beisbol and collecting used equipment for kids in South America.” This spring, Freedman, who plays first base, will begin her third season playing for DKJA.
“One thing that was really cool was that I was able to play baseball in a professional baseball stadium with local teams,” the DKJA sophomore said. “I was so glad that I’ve learned Spanish at school because it came in handy during this trip.”
Rubin Makes His TV Debut
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KJA Soph. Noah Rubin was selected to participate in a FAU video series: ‘Thinkers and Makers’. This series is meant to teach kids about engineering concepts and is set to air on PBS soon. Noah was
afforded this unique opportunity through Rosenblatt High School’s affiliation with the I-SENSE lab at FAU.
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I S S U E 2
K-8 Student Spotlight
Arielle and Elan Greenbaum Siblings Send Cards of Hope to Pittsburgh Following the Tragedy
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KJA students Arielle (8th Grade) and Elan (5th Grade) Green-
baum organized a card-making event at their home following the tragedy at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh to support the local affected Jewish community. They set up a table with all the supplies to make the cards, while adults and kids from the community joined in to write words of sympathy and draw thoughtful pictures. The cards were then mailed to Hazzan Jeffery Myers who is also the Rabbi at Tree of Life.
DKJA Drama Class Puts on Show as part of Curriculum Students perform ‘The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’
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t’s not too often that a one-act, Broadway length play is the result of a semester’s long coursework, but that’s exactly what students in Drama Department Chair, Zoraida Adam’s Production Class accomplished late last semester, as they put on a performance of ‘The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’.
The show took place in Zinman Hall in front of teachers and students and featured solos and duets from various students on stage, including a number of cameos from unsuspecting high school staff members. Also in the audience that morning
were representatives from the Kravis Center, as they were adjudicating the performance in advance of the Dream Awards set to take place in the spring. The 13 students in the class were intimately involved with the production of the performance and learning the ins and outs of planning, which included the ordering of costumes and even marketing the show to the community.
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WINTER 2019
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VOLUME 1
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16 DKJA Makes a Racquet During
its Annual Tennis Extravaganza Tennis Legend Chris Evert and Recording Artist Jake Spooner Highlight DKJA’s Annual Event
RAFFLE WINNERS ___________________
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KJA’s 13th annual Tennis Extravaganza had a unique flair this year with a guest appearance by one of the sports best, Hall of Famer Chris Evert, and special performance by DKJA alum and SONY recording artist, Jake Spooner of the group ‘Our Fire’. With more than 80 people in attendance, 15 doubles teams took to the courts at the Oaks of Boca Raton to compete for the title of best in their group and a chance to be given their glass trophy by Evert. After a competitive night of play, the doubles duo of Fran and Marc
Custom Designed Stelring Silver, White & Yellow Diamond Tennis Racquet Necklace Grand Prize Winner: Laura Polsky Donor: Gregory’s Fine Jewelry
Widger came out on top in the blue group while and Joel Lerner and Mindy Powers were tops in the red group. Following a brief Q&A session between Head of School Helena Levine and Evert, attendees dined on barbecue while listening to the sweet sounds of Spooner and his bandmate Nicole Babin, who serenaded them with some singles. At the end of the evening, guests took DKJA themed hats, towels and umbrellas as a thank you for coming out to play. To the right is a list of all the evening’s raffle winners.
One Night Say at Shelborne South Beach with a $50 food and beverage credit Winner: Jill Wrubel Donor: Menin Hsopitality Eagle Athletic Package Winner: Fran Wigder Donor: DKJA Athletics Sally Williams Chocolate Basket Winner: Rob Siemens Donor: Nicky & Trevor Shevil One Night Stay at Mondrian South Beach Winner: Jill Rosenthal Donor: Menin Hospitality 50 Minute Signature Massage at GUY&GIRL SPA at the Mondrian South Beach Hotel Winner: Rita Seiff Donor: Menin Hospitality Custom Designed Stone Necklace Winner: Melissa Gerstin Donor: Gregory’s Fine Jewelry
SOAR MAGAZINE
PTO Corner T
he DKJA PTO was busy this fall with various events and activities taking place for students, parents and faculty members. From the holiday gift shop just before Chanukah to doughnut deliveries for students during the festival of lights, volunteers could be seen wrapping gifts and handing out treats all month long. The hardworking DKJA faculty and administration also benefited from the PTO’s goodwill with delicious baked goods that were dropped off in the break room to start off the second to last week of the semester in addition to end of the year teacher gifts.
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WINTER 2019
The PTO got off to a running start in the second semester, quite literally with the first-ever DKJA PTO Fun Run for those in grades K-8. The event kicked off with a pep rally on January 22 and ended with the actual run on the final day of the month.
This year’s theme was STEAM and gave students the opportunity to create their own fundraising web pages while collecting prizes and learning about character building through classroom activities.
PTO volunteers help students checkout at the Holiday Gift Shop
Classroom Snapshots Blending the Past with the Present
Schapiro’s storefront (circa 1970s) Handling boxes of wine (1950s)
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udaics Studies teacher Lynda Kazinec has invited students in her class to bring in and share with their classmates a special Jewish ritual or family heirloom that is important to them for their L’dor V’dor project.
Throughout the year, each of her 52 students do this and it was no different when third grader Jordyn Weiss recently brought in bottles made by Schapiro’s Kosher Wine. Jordyn’s Great-Great Grandfather founded Schapiro‘s Kosher winery in 1899, located on the lower east side of Manhattan. Sadly, the winery
closed its doors in 2005, but it is still a very important part of the Weiss’ family story. Jordyn also shared a couple of Schapiro’s Winery Haggadah’s, which were printed in 1934, in addition to a Kiddush Cup from Jordyn’s mother Liza’s Bat Mitzvah.
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Alumni Update
David Schoenberger and finance. After going through months of preparation and numerous rounds of interviews at other organizations, he finally landed his dream internship. “I would be invited to interviews, prepare for technical and behavioral questions, and seek out the advice from those closest to me,” Schoenberger recalled. “Despite all the preparation, I was faced with the harsh reality of rejection after rejection.”
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laire and Emanuel G. Rosenblatt High School Class of 2015 graduate, David R. Schoenberger recently finished up an internship at the Naftali Group, a real estate development group in New York City, with the help from his longtime mentor and Florida State University’s Career Center. Schoenberger is an FSU senior and an honors student who majors in real estate
After nearly a year of these similar experiences, the DKJA graduate reached out to his mentor and friend, a seasoned real estate developer, who introduced him to the organization which he ultimately would end up interning for. “I was able to set up a phone interview with their CFO, where I spoke about my experiences, my determination to get to New York, and how I would add value to the group if I was given the opportunity to work there for the summer,” he explained.
From Boca Raton to the Big Apple A Decade After Graduation, ’08 Alum Traci Feller is Living Her Dream in NYC
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his past summer in Ft. Lauderdale, Traci Feller took a walk down memory lane with her fellow classmates, whom she graduated with a decade ago. The 2008 Claire and Emanuel G. Rosenblatt High School graduate attended her 10-year reunion and was able to share her recent personal and professional journey, while celebrating her classmates’ successes. Feller’s journey is one that began modestly, with coursework at an in-state school, then a local advertising agency, but quickly flourished, as she ascended to a number of high-profile positions with advertising agencies in New York City that dealt with brands on a national and global level. “I went to Florida Gulf Coast University and I really wanted to pursue the journalism route, but an advertising position fell into my lap when I was still living in Florida, at Zimmerman Advertising (in Ft. Lauderdale),” she remembered of her recent career path.
18 After another conversation with his mentor, who convinced him to hop on a plane and fly there to seal the deal, the college student scrounged together some cash for round trip airfare and brought his suit to the cleaners before heading to Manhattan. “Evidently, the fact that I spent the money to go to their office at a moment’s notice was just enough for them to keep me around for another 12weeks during the summer,” he said. Following his internship, Schoenberger had the chance to reflect on his big city experience and see some of the parallels between the path that led him to New York and his coursework at DKJA and Rosenblatt High School. “The individual relationships I’ve formed over the years at DKJA, with both teachers and friends, have inspired and motivated me every day, setting a foundation of standards I hope to continue as I plan to complete my collegiate career.”
Continued on page no. 23 The agency, referenced in the television hit ‘Mad Men’, was a dream, so she couldn’t refuse. “I got a call asking if I was interested in a position with them in New York City, so they moved me up there,” she recounted with excitement. After working with state-wide and regional brands in Florida, such as H.H. Gregg and Tire Kingdom, Feller found herself promoting companies that garner national and world-wide recognition.
After two years getting her feet wet in the industry, Feller was hooked, and soon realized her passion lie down the road, with advertisements on each side. “After seeing some of the work my team and I created live in the market in magazines, on TV and online, it made me realize that I am a creative thinker and this is something I wanted to pursue long-term,” the college communications major said. That’s when McCann, an advertising agency headquartered in Manhattan, came calling and offered the South Florida native a job.
“I got the opportunity to work on L’Oreal Paris, MGM hotel properties and Verizon, so I was really able to diversify my resumé when I moved to New York,” she recalled. Not only was the DKJA graduate able to expand her experience on paper, but she also improved her presence in the boardroom and became a key person to turn to in high intensity situations, like being on the set of production shoots. She was given numerous public speaking and fast-decision making opportunities, from pitches to presentations, to traveling overseas and being a key person on the set of television commercials in South Africa, Poland and in France.
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K-8 Faculty Spotlight
Dept. of History Chair Immerses Herself in Yiddish for Month-Long Summer Seminar
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iddle School History Department Chair Cheyenne Oliver may be incorporating a few more foreign phrases into her vocabulary this school year, following a seminar in Yiddish literature and culture, with an introduction to conversational Yiddish Oliver, who has been at DKJA for four years, traveled to the Boston area for a month-long program presented by the Yiddish Book Center, called the Great Jewish Books Teachers Summer Seminar. The Yiddish Book Center was founded in Amherst, Massachusetts in 1980 and has since blossomed into a thriving cultural institution, recovering over one million Yiddish books to add to its collections.
From there her cohorts, consisting of about 15 other Jewish educational professionals from as close as Pennsylvania and as far away as California, studied the Holocaust and then the literature of Israel. “We were studying with different professors from Universities across the country who were specialists in their field,” the budding Yiddish expert said. “They picked readings for us and we would spend three to four hours each night going over them, then we would hash it out in these seminars.”
“We looked at film, literature and art and it was incredible,” She remembered of her first trip there. “But it wasn’t enough because I was looking for immersion and all we got was a crash course.”
twined Jews were to the history of the printed words in the United States,” she mentioned as one of her biggest takeaways from the course. Aside from her new-found knowledge on the subject, the soon-to-be adjunct instructor at FAU is excited about the enthusiasm that surrounds these historically spoken words.
“It’s really a special place,” Oliver recalled. “It is this little shtetl in the mountains in Western Massachusetts.” This summer’s experience was actually Oliver’s second trip to the so-called shtetl, as she spent a week there in 2016, becoming initially acquainted with the unique dialect and culture.
Cheyenne Oliver
Her four-week course even included a few out of the classroom experiences, with field trips to places such as a Yiddish music festival and even a lecture on Klezmer music. What Oliver has learned over the Summer is already paying dividends as she is putting to work the new Yiddish tools in her educational toolbelt. “I had no idea how closely inter-
“There’s a lot of life that’s being breathed into this,” she said. “One of the most incredible things was seeing young people being drawn to this to develop more of an appreciation for the Yiddish language.” Oliver hopes to continue expanding her knowledge of Yiddish language, culture, and history as she works on a specific research project related to Jewish American singer, actress and entertainer Sophie Tucker.
Fast-forward two years, and the Broward County native was back in the Northeast becoming more immersed in her new-found language of interest. “The scope and sequence of the course was much more intensive than when I was there in 2016,” she explained. “We started off with enlightenment and moved into a week-long study of Eastern Europe, the pogroms and the communist revolution.”
Oliver (second from right) and her collegues *Credit Yiddish Book Center
SOAR MAGAZINE
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HS Faculty Spotlight History Dept. Chair Studies Holocaust History and Education in Israel
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laire and Emanuel G. Rosenblatt High School History Department Chair Nick Belotto is becoming more acquainted with the state of Israel, thanks to two recent trips within a four-month span. The fifth-year teacher embarked on his first visit to Israel in April, for March of the Living, and then returned just 90 days later on another trip, funded by the same organization. “It was a life changing experience for me,” Belotto described of his first trip to the Jewish state. “I got a lot out of it and I just wanted to get more engaged in helping educate kids on these subjects.” Because of his recent experience with the march, the history teacher was selected to attend a week-long conference at Yad Vashem in July, focusing primarily on how to educate students when taking them on Holocaust related trips. “We were introduced to a lot of educational strategies that allow us to make our trips more engaging or meaningful to students,” he explained. “It kind of reinvigorated an interest in this specific field of history for me.” This new-found interest also sparked parallels for Belotto with what happened nearly three quarters of a century ago and what’s transpiring today. “There are a lot of connections between what happened in the Holocaust and what’s happening today, not necessarily within the
Nick Belotto with student Robbie Shinder at the Western Wall United States, but the whole world,” he explained. “There are a lot of lessons that need to be learned from the Holocaust and from Nazi Germany in order to make sure that it never happens again.” That’s a lesson that this South Florida native has learned not once, but twice, and is eager to impart on future generations.
“This wasn’t just a loss of Jewish life, this was a loss of life,” Belotto, who’s a Christian, describes how he relates to the topic. “I can connect with that regardless of whether I’m a Jew, Christian, Muslim or whatever I might be.” That connection is something he shared with his students on the March this past Spring, and again with his colleagues whom he took part in this experience with this summer.
“Yad Vashem brought in speakers we were able to listen to and they exposed us to a lot of exhibits that were just up and running,” he said. “We were able to use the museum by putting into practice all the educational philosophies that they were giving us.” Approximately two dozen Jewish educators from Israel, to the U.S. and even England and Australia, were able to bring back with them this new-found knowledge and these unique techniques. “In order to take away everything you needed to from the program, you had to have some working knowledge of where you were,” Belotto explained. “So, the education I received there (Poland) first, kind of enabled me to process it a little bit differently and make those real-world connections.” Now it’s Belotto’s turn help his students make those connections, whether on another March to Europe and Israel or simply to his classroom in Boca. He’ll also be assisting in these efforts on a more regional scale as he works with the local chapter of the March of the Living by actually running some of their classes in the near future.
SOAR MAGAZINE
WINTER 2019
A Bird’s Eye View
Greg Joseph was home for the Browns bye week and stopped by room no. 3-209 at DKJA to sign autographs for everyone.
Students pose after a chilly annual Powder Puff football game as part of Spirit Week at Rosenblatt High School.
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Kindergarten and 4th Graders make Thanksgiving cards to deliver to their teachers.
Nurse Anna Sall had fun at the School’s Cork & Canvas event.
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Class Notes ‘07
Lani Beila Mendelson married Ki Hwang in a ceremony at Congregation B’nai Israel in Boca Raton, this past January. The couple honeymooned in South Africa on a Safari and are members of Park Avenue Synagogue where they reside in Manhattan. Mendelson is an Emergency Room Doctor at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Patterson, N.J., while Hwang is a spinal surgeon in private practice in New York and New Jersey. Terri Samuels recently obtained her Licensure in Mental Health Counseling from the state of Florida as well as her national certification, enabling her to see clients in a private practice setting. Samuels had to undergo numerous hours of study in addition to 3,000 supervised
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face-to-face visits at a mental hospital. The Boca Raton native received her Masters’ of Science from Nova Southeastern University and her Bachelors’ of Science from FAU. In addition to her counseling career, she teaches AP Psychology at Claire and Emanuel G. Rosenblatt High School.
‘08 Danielle Zukowsky married Dan Drazen, Saturday, November 17th in Aventura at Beth Torah (Benny Rok Campus). The couple lives in Ft. Lauderdale and both work as attorneys in Broward County.
23 Continued from page 18 “Doing that kind of work led to my success and growing really fast in my industry,” the Account Supervisor explained. “I am very personable and can speak in front of a large crowd to sell an idea.” The ease that comes with talking in front of her peers and thinking quickly on her feet is a skill Feller credits to her DKJA experience and the environment it created which helped her find her voice and self-confidence. “Being at Donna Klein really helped me find my personality and allowed me to speak freely in an open space that being at a bigger school you might not get the opportunity to,” she explained. Feller has since moved on from her first position in the New York advertising world, and continued to work at other renowned New York City agencies on notable brands such as Lysol & Airwick. Currently, Feller is now an Account Supervisor with Tribal Worldwide and works on global digital projects for a Mars pet food brand, Royal Canin. “Being able to strategically pivot your thought processes is something that I think has helped me elevate in my career,” she explained. “I think if I went to a different school, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
Feller at a Zoo in Warsaw, Poland where she traveled for work.
Luckily for Feller, her education is a DKJA one, and fortunately for Rosenblatt High, her imprint is still felt in and around the school each November and will continue to be as she acts as a great ambassador for her Alma Mater in the city that never sleeps.
Spooner Sings Back in Boca
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KJA alumnus Jake Spooner came back to Boca to perform at his school’s annual Tennis Extravaganza, Nov. 17, held at the Oaks of Boca Raton. Spooner, who along with his singing partner Nicole Babin, are
Spooner and Babin perform at DKJA’s annual Tennis Extravaganza, Nov. 17
SONY recording artists and make up the group ‘Our Fire’. The two per-
formed a number of their tunes, including hit single ‘Savage’.