Board Update

Standing L to R: Shawn Sigesmund, Eric Adelson, Jordan Rodney. Sitting L to R: Joel Monson, Sara Gottlieb ’91.

At the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on December 11, 2019, current parent Howard Simkevitz ’91 – board member since 2018 and current Chair of the Risk Management Committee – was elected to the position of Vice President. He will succeed current President Jonathan Zepp when Jonathan’s term concludes at the end of 2020. Said Claire Glowinsky (Chair, Governance Committee): “Howard is strongly committed to the mission and vision of the school. He will no doubt bring TanenbaumCHAT into the next chapter with commitment, passion and success.”

Congratulations to Howard and the five new members who were also inducted at the AGM. B’hatzlacha (good luck) to all Board Members as they continue to serve the school and to build upon TanenbaumCHAT’s legacy of outstanding lay leadership. u TanenbaumCHAT Board of Directors

Jonathan Zepp President

Howard Simkevitz ’91 Vice President

Melanie Kraft Secretary

Russel Orelowitz Treasurer

Ray Rubin Immediate Past President

Eric Adelson Vered Feldman Andrea Frankel Claire Glowinsky Sara Gottlieb ’91 Alan Grad ’88 Mark Gross Hart Heller ’89 Suzy Kauffman ’90 David Mansell Joel Monson Jordan Rodney Tilda Roll Ilana Segal Shawn Sigesmund Stephen Turk Sue Valencia ‘85

Highlights from around the school

We the Nines Our Grade 9 students – all 300-plus of them! – had the opportunity to become fully acquainted with TanenbaumCHAT’s friendly and supportive culture at “We the Nines.” Held at the Hangar in Downsview Park, our newest students enjoyed a roster of fun activities, and had a chance to meet, bond, and kick off their TanenbaumCHAT journeys.

Studying with community Rabbis More than 35 community rabbis from across the GTA were at TanenbaumCHAT on October 3, 2019 for a Yom Iyun day of study. They led study sessions with our students that addressed the notion of being “a positive agent of change”.

Remembrance Day TanenbaumCHAT marked Remembrance Day in a moving ceremony of words and music. This year, we were honoured that visiting athletes from Eilat (in for the Becker International Invitational) were in attendance as we affirmed our commitment to Canada and recognized the sacrifices of generations of Canadian soldiers.

We were privileged to welcome Rabbis from many synagogues and a wide range of affiliations, and were honoured that they partnered with our school and shared their wisdom and insights with our students.

Highlights from around the school

At the Gairdner Awards Grade 12 students Talia Levitt and Jacob Mausberg had the opportunity to attend the by-invitation-only Gairdner Awards Dinner. Talia says they were there “along with 30 other science students from the province.” The Gairdner Awards are presented annually to top international biomedical scientists. “We had the chance to speak to the award winners, hear about their scientific contributions, and watch the awards presentation,” says Talia, noting that “it was truly an inspiring night!”

Remembering Jenny Lewis ’95 Our entire school gathered for a memorial ceremony to honour beloved TanenbaumCHAT teacher, friend and alumna Jenny Lewis ‘95 z”l who passed away in May, 2019. Tributes and reminiscences of Jenny’s humour, kindness, passion for education and fondness for the school were shared by family, students and staff. The inaugural Jenny Lewis Memorial Writing Contest was announced – an initiative suggested by Jenny’s family. It will provide a showcase for our students’ literary skills.

6 | CHATTER Magazine SPRING 2020 REFLECTIONS AND INSIGHTS DURING HOLOCAUST EDUCATION WEEK

During programming for Holocaust Education Week, our students were privileged to hear from survivors Max Eisen, Pinchas Gutter, and Elly Gotz. Among the many important lessons their experiences highlighted about life before, during and following the war, was the supreme importance of not being a bystander when we see injustice in the world. Grade 9 student Abby Finkelstein also created a moving video to support the campaign to collect six million buttons in memory of the six million lives lost in the Holocaust. TanenbaumCHAT was proud to be part of this project, which was embraced by other schools in the city too. L to R: Elly Gotz, Max Eisen, and Pinchas Gutter sharing important insights and reminiscences with our students.

All Together The Tikvah Club promotes inclusivity and connects TanenbaumCHAT students with individuals with special needs. In January, the club welcomed a group from Yachad, The National Jewish Council for Disabilities, a global organization dedicated to addressing the needs of all Jewish individuals with disabilities. Everyone had a great time becoming acquainted. On the program: board games, “Name that Tune” – and food, of course!

Our refurbished gym! During summer 2019, our gym underwent a much-needed renovation. The floor was completely replaced and a new one – featuring a Tigers logo, naturally – was installed, along with new bleachers and scoreboard. Students, staff and visiting athletes have been enjoying the rejuvenated space.

Go Tigers! The Senior Boys Volleyball team (above) finished in 1st place in the Tier 2 TDCAA and won the Championship. The Golf team (right) participated in the TDCAA Golf Championship. Our Junior Girls Basketball team (below) won the second annual Cardinal Newman Basketball Tournament.

Courtside Young Jewish athletes from Montreal, New York, Toronto and Eilat participated in the 4-day TanenbaumCHAT Israel Becker International Invitational basketball tournament. On the court and off, the goal was to create stronger bonds between those who represent the future of the Jewish community around the world. Our TanenbaumCHAT Tigers won the girls championship. In early December, our basketball players also participated in the Florence and Joseph Weiner Basketball Tournament at Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School in Baltimore.

Highlights from around the school

Oh Dreidel Chanukah festivities at TanenbaumCHAT centred around a lively full-school assembly featuring a recounting of the Chanukah story, music, skits, and a TikTok video contest – all topped off with a decorate-your-ownsufganiyah (donut) opportunity!

New York, New York More than 40 students who are enroled in business courses or who are on the TanenbaumCHAT business council participated in a field trip to New York City. Among the activities: a tour of Wall Street, and visits to Bloomberg and NASDAQ. Michael Ptasznik, CFO of NASDAQ and a former TanenbaumCHAT parent, spoke with the group and helped make their visit to the stock exchange particularly memorable with a TanenbaumCHAT-specific welcome sign towering over Times Square!

Our Annual Awards of Excellence for the 2018-19 school year honoured recipients of the Sefton Award for academic excellence, and the Tikun Olam Award for community service. Students, L to R from centre of back row: Benjamin Brandon, Tali Sacke, Ori Epstein. Front row, L to R: Jacob Mausberg, Jared Fischbach, Gabriella Treitel, Shira Reznick.

Once again, our students performed an entire musical in Hebrew! A fantastic production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat” was this year’s Ivrit play.

“CHAT’s Got Talent: Walk of Fame” at City Playhouse featured more than 150 student performers. There were dancers, musicians, vocalists, magicians – and even an aerial silk artist.

TanenbaumCHAT Performs In recent months, students have had many opportunities to wow audiences with their performing skills!

TanenbaumCHAT’s spectacular production of “Matilda” was staged at the City Playhouse in January. The talents of our students were abundantly evident on and off the stage, performing, directing, designing props, costumes and makeup, and managing front-of-house operations.

Music and Community In a wonderful community partnership, the TanenbaumCHAT Singers, led by music teacher Jaclyn Klimitz ‘03, sang alongside the York Regional Police Community Chorus in “One Voice”. The concert, in support of Out of the Cold, was held at Beth Sholom Synagogue on December 3, 2019. A few weeks later, on December 19, TanenbaumCHAT musicians participated in the B’nai Brith Chanukah party for a group of seniors which was held at Beth Radom Congregation.

Highlights from around the school

JUST CAUSE The Jesin-Neuberger Community Service program TanenbaumCHAT requires students to contribute many more volunteer hours beyond the provincial minimum, and our students seize opportunities to step up and give back. To get the ball rolling this year, we invited local organizations to a community service fair so that they could meet students and share volunteer opportunities directly with them. Representatives from the following organizations all set up tables in our Hennick Family Atrium: Friendship Circle Toronto, JNF Toronto, Ve’ahavta, Reena, UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, Toronto Yachad, Bernard Betel Centre, Beth David B’nai Israel Beth Am, Beth Emeth Bais Yehuda Synagogue, Baycrest, Chai Lifeline Canada, and Associated Hebrew Schools. Students also rallied at a number of school-wide events to support several worthwhile organizations and causes. These included the Terry Fox run in September and Think Pink in October, which saw students and staff coming out in force in support of breast cancer research. During Israel Week, students also raised money to sponsor a bench in an outdoor relaxation area of an army base in Israel.

At our annual Rock Your Cause, students selected, advocated and raised money for a variety of organizations. We are also proud of Grade 11 student Noah Goldschmied who was recently recognized with a JCC Volunteer Award for his work with the Inclusion Services Multisport Program over the last two years.