GOA
THE MAGAZINE OF GOLDA OCH ACADEMY
Going Forward
Golda Och Academy Shares The Impact of the Go Forward Campaign
INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT
Stephanie Bash-Soudry Director of Institutional Advancement
Michael Bressman
Director of Development
Dana Halpern ’15 Alumni Engagement Coordinator
Meegan Gliner
Special Events Coordinator
Jackie Cistaro
Development Database Manager
MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS
Glenn Slavin Director of Marketing and Communications
James Bratek
Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications
Erin Sternthal
Associate Director of Marketing and Communications
ADMINISTRATION
Rabbi Daniel Nevins Head of School
Steve Karp
Interim Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer
Sari Allen Director of Admissions and Enrollment Management
Paul-Michael Huseman Principal, Upper School
Carrie Siegel ’92 Principal, Lower School
Heather Brown
Assistant Principal, Lower School
Rabbi Meirav Kallush Director of Israel Education
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Steven Klinghoffer Chair, Board of Trustees
FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL
As GOA students know, the Torah begins with the second Hebrew letter, bet: bereshit bara, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Why not begin the Torah with the first letter, aleph? Our sages offer different explanations. Among them, bet is the letter of blessing (baruch), while aleph is a letter of curse (arur). The Torah comes to bring blessing to the world.
Another explanation refers to the shape of the letter bet, which is closed on three sides but open to the left, in the direction of the rest of the text. This may imply that there are limits to our knowledge about what precedes the Torah, or about hidden dimensions above and below this world. What we can know is the story as it continues to unfold.
Charming as this explanation may be, I have always found it baffling. We can’t know the past, only the future? Isn’t that backwards? Actually, it does make sense. We can never fully understand the actions of others that led to our present situation, but we can take ownership for our present challenges and for shaping our collective future. The letter bet instructs us to look ahead, to see what opportunities await our best efforts, to add blessings for those who will follow.
Golda Och Academy is a school that cares about the Jewish past. I witnessed this with Neshama this year in Poland, and I see it every day as our students learn Jewish history and recreate key experiences such as the Exodus from Egypt and the revelation at Sinai. Still, our school is fundamentally future-focused, preparing children to gain the knowledge, skills, and commitments needed to build Jewish families and communities that live out Jewish values.
In this issue of the GOA Magazine, you will find many examples of how our students and alumni honor the Jewish past and shape the Jewish future. I am especially excited about our new GOA podcast, “Get Well Soon,” in which our students and staff explore issues related to wellness and health.
As we approach the end of the school year, this is also time for friends of GOA to consider how they may invest in the future of our wonderful school. Our Go Forward campaign presents an exciting matching opportunity to invest in making GOA thrive for years to come. We also look forward to gathering as a community at our annual gala dinner on June 5. I hope to see you there! May our efforts yield blessings for the current and future students of GOA, allowing them to write new chapters in the unfolding story of the Jewish people.
Rabbi Daniel Nevins Head of School
FROM THE DIRECTOR OF INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT
An alumni parent recently told me that GOA isn’t just a school; it’s a family These words ring so true. Every member of our GOA family plays an important role in the success of our school, ensuring we grow the next generation of Jewish leaders. As we prepare for the final stage of our ambitious Go Forward campaign, we thank you in advance for your support. Each of you is ensuring that the chain of our heritage and peoplehood remains unbroken.
Our Parents: Making the decision to give the gift of a Jewish day school education is an important one. This requires dedication, commitment and sacrifice. We are incredibly grateful to our parent partners for entrusting us with your precious children.
Our Faculty: Pirkei Avot teaches, “Seek for yourself a teacher and acquire a friend.” Our teachers are the cornerstone of the GOA education, and we are so grateful for their skill and dedication. When our alumni come back to visit or speak about their GOA experience, it is the care and dedication of their teachers that they remember.
Our Grandparents: We deeply value the role the older generation plays in transmitting Judaism to the next generation and in their support of Jewish day school education at GOA. On April 4, we were thrilled to welcome over 400 grandparents to our two campuses for our annual Grandparents and Grandfriends Day. It was a joyous day of celebration and learning!
Our Alumni: Each year at high school graduation, we kvell as we watch our seniors walk across the stage and claim their diplomas that represent many years of hard work and dedication to secular and Judaic Studies. After graduation, through our Schechter/GOA Alumni Society, we stay in touch with our alumni through their various life stages: college, marriage and parenthood. Fast forward - we are so proud that over 20% of our student body are children of alumni and former students. It is very special when we get the call from our alumni that their young children are ready to enroll at GOA.
Our Donors: Without our generous donors, we would not be able to provide the exemplary education that we offer at GOA. We would not be able to make our school affordable and accessible. We are grateful to all our donors who give to their ability to help us fulfill our mission.
Thank you to our entire GOA family who partner with us to nurture strong proud Jewish leaders for the future of our people. Am Yisrael Chai!
Stephanie Bash-Soudry Director of Institutional Advancement
INVESTING IN OUR STUDENTS, FACULTY AND SCHOOL
How Our Campaign is Transforming GOA
The roots of our $20 million Go Forward campaign started in 2019 when the GOA Board of Trustees adopted a five year Strategic Plan to guide the future of the school. At that time, GOA identified nine key pillars that would serve as a framework to prioritize our work ahead. These pillars included Educational Innovation, Faculty and Staff Excellence, Student Services and Support, Family Experience, Jewish Life and Learning, Affordability, Reimagining Physical Space, Community Engagement and School Governance, Finance and Sustainability.
After meeting with numerous key stakeholders and community members, the Go Forward campaign was launched in 2020 with a goal of raising significant support to invest in four key areas: Faculty Excellence, Student Services, Financial Aid and Capital Improvements.
“
Supporting Jewish day school education is more important now than ever. We are truly grateful to all the donors and leaders who have joined us in supporting our ambitious Go Forward campaign. We look forward to meeting our goal with the help of our entire community.
— Steven Klinghoffer CHAIR, BOARD OF TRUSTEES
MajorDonorSupport
In February 2021, the Jane and Daniel Och Family Foundation pledged a transformative $10 million challenge gift to Golda Och Academy in support of our campaign. We are deeply grateful for the Och family’s continuous generosity toward our school and belief in our future. With their gift, the school created the Dr. Michael Och Faculty Excellence Endowment Fund in honor of a very special founding parent of our school.
Thanks to a generous challenge by the Och family, all gifts or pledges to the Go Forward campaign of any amount are being matched on a 1:2 basis, maximizing the funds available for Golda Och Academy’s next chapter.
The school is also grateful to the Wilf Family Foundation for a gift of $1.8 million which enabled us to launch our Faculty Excellence Initiative. In addition, the Go Forward campaign coincided with the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest’s Centennial campaign at which time Mrs. Paula Gottesman launched a generous 1:2 match for all Jewish day school gifts of $100,000 to the Jewish Community Foundation of MetroWest Centennial campaign. Thank you to the Wilf Family Foundation and Paula Gottesman and the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater MetroWest for their support!
Dr. Michael Och celebrates his birthday with our Pre-K students, faculty and administration.
FacultyExcellence
Even before the Covid pandemic and national concerns that faculty would be retiring and leaving the field, GOA recognized the need to invest in our teachers who are the heart and soul of the school. They are the special people who create the magic day in and day out in our classrooms in their interactions with our students. Years after graduation, when our alumni come back to visit and share their post GOA lives, they always share stories of experiences with teachers who made a positive impact on their lives and careers.
Under the leadership of former CFO/COO Julia Malaga, former Head of School Adam Shapiro and our Faculty Deans, the Faculty Excellence Initiative was born. A faculty committee and a new best practice faculty compensation model were created that comprised several bands. The goal was to encourage professional development, student impact, faculty mentoring and more.
“GOA’s commitment to supporting the professional development of its faculty and staff excited me when I arrived in 2021,” said Head of School Rabbi Danny Nevins. “There was a lot of buzz nationally about new models of faculty compensation that would reward innovative instruction and leadership. Our faculty embraced this model, seeking new opportunities to grow and to contribute to the school. Students have also benefited from faculty collaboration across subject areas and divisions.”
The school is proud to have just completed the first three years of the Faculty Excellence Initiative and is studying the impact to determine how to proceed in the future.
StudentServices &LearningSupport
One of the important pillars of the school’s last Strategic Plan was to better meet the needs of diverse student learners and specifically expand the resources available in meeting the learning, social, and emotional needs of students. Former trustee and parent of alumni Elizabeth Bier along with Director of Student Services Lori Jaffe have been instrumental in guiding these efforts leading to the addition of new learning support and guidance staff. “In 2019 when the Board Trustees was embarking on a new strategic plan, I strongly encouraged them to include student support needs in our new agenda,” said Elizabeth Bier. “We started with professional development for the GOA faculty and now six years later, we have made impressive strides in providing our students with both academic and social and emotional assistance.”
As part of the Strategic Plan, GOA has been able to offer one-on-one services, prevention programs for students and families, as well as faculty professional development. “Supporting our students academically, socially, and emotionally is at the heart of what we do,” said Lori Jaffe. “Over the past few years, we’ve grown our capacity to provide individualized support, offer meaningful programming, and strengthen resources that foster student well being. We have also worked closely
“ ” Supporting our students academically, socially, and emotionally is at the heart of what we do.
— Lori Jaffe DIRECTOR OF STUDENT SERVICES
with teachers to help them better support the diverse needs of their students. These efforts have made a tangible difference in students’ lives, and we are deeply grateful to our partners and supporters who help us ensure that every student can thrive.”
GOA is especially grateful for the three years of support from the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey that enabled us to expand guidance staff and meet the mental health/social and emotional needs of our students. Rabbi Danny Nevins added, “We would like to express our tremendous gratitude to HFNJ Executive Director Michael Schmidt and the entire Board and staff of the Healthcare Foundation of NJ who have so closely partnered with us in this very important area.”
FinancialAid
Supporting access for families to a Jewish day school education is one of the key pillars of the Go Forward campaign and a major priority of our school. Thanks to the support of generous donors and our GOA Annual Fund campaign, our school is proud to be able to provide over 50 percent of our student body with financial aid which totals between $4-5 million in support annually. The school is especially grateful to The Gottesman Fund and donors Bob and Trudy Elbaum Gottesman for their generous annual High School Scholarship grant program. Gifts to this essential pillar of the campaign are eligible to be matched 50 percent by the Jane and Daniel Och Family Foundation.
“ ”
— Sari Allen DIRECTOR OF ADMISSIONS AND ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT Financial aid is the key to unlocking a family’s ability to give their child the gift of a Jewish day school education.”
ReimaginingPhysicalSpace
The first floor of the Eric F. Ross Upper School Campus has a fresh new look with a renovated lobby design, new restrooms, a gender-neutral restroom, and student bench lounge area in the back hall near the Guidance offices. Future plans include renovating the Ulam and 2nd and 3rd floor halls. Thank you to trustees and Building Committee leaders Alan Schall ’92 and Jonathan Schwartz for their critical work and leadership on this project.
Thanks to the generous support of The Gottesman Fund Project Moonshot grant and the Dr Lynne B Harrison STEM Endowment Fund, we were able to make our vision of helping our students look up to the stars a reality. We celebrated an opening event for the Observatory on October 21, 2023 called “Reaching for the Stars” where school benefactor and alumni grandparent Dr Lynne B Harrison cut the ribbon on the Observatory.
This past December, we were thrilled to officially open the Greenhouse (or “Hamama” as it is called in Hebrew) on our Wilf Lower School Campus. School past president, grandparent and Greenhouse supporter Jimmy Schwarz did us the honor of officially cutting the ribbon to open the new Greenhouse, which was celebrated by our Lower School students, faculty and special guests. Lower School Campus Rabbi Meirav Kallush led special blessings and our students sang “Inch by inch” and brought in cuttings of fig trees that will grow in the Greenhouse. Thanks to Director of the Lower School Garden Ms. Jul McCormick-Anesh, year-round gardening and environmental activities are available to our students who are enjoying starting seeds, growing plants, composting, collecting rainwater and so much more.
The school leadership is incredibly grateful to all of the donors and supporters who have stepped up during the initial phases of our campaign. The impact has been transformational!
As of Spring 2025, the campaign has currently raised $8.7 million or 87 percent of our community challenge of $10 million with a total of $17,988,811 raised toward the overall goal of $20 million. The campaign is scheduled to be completed in June 2026 which will coincide with our school’s 60th Anniversary Gala Celebration.
GOA’s60thAnniversaryandthePublicPhase
According to Stephanie Bash-Soudry, “We are excited to be launching the public phase of our campaign during the summer in honor of our school’s upcoming 60th anniversary in 2025-26. The entire community will have the opportunity to participate in a range of exciting events and giving opportunities.”
Contact:
StephanieBash-Soudry
Director of Institutional Advancement
973-602-3612 • sbashsoudry@goldaochacademy.org
HIGH SCHOOL CLUB NEWS
New Podcast Studio Brings Student and Faculty Voices to the Community
Get ready for a new generation of GOA voices from our Upper School’s brand-new podcast studio and club! After months of design and research, the GOA podcast studio has been launched in the first floor Robotics lab and will offer a creative outlet for students and faculty members to gain hands-on experience with audio production while sharing their own insights and perspectives with our community.
The concept for the podcast was initiated by Bill Ruhl, Upper School Science Faculty; Mike Stern, Upper School Social Studies Faculty; and Hadas Toren, Upper School Hebrew Faculty, who are currently participating in a year-long fellowship through the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest Day School Initiative funded by a generous grant from the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey. (Additional faculty members participating in the fellowship include Nina Bilmes, Upper School Math Department Chair; Suzanne Epstein, Lower School 5th Grade Team Lead and Math Faculty; and Jamie Himmelstein, Middle School Director.) All six faculty members attended a three-day Deep Listening Institute over the summer led by a team of psychologists from the Stanley H. King Institute in Cambridge, MA, and were then tasked with creating a culminating project or new initiative for their school to support the mental health and well being of faculty and students.
Mr. Stern interviewed Upper School PE/Health Faculty Member Joe Candela about how exercise and social interactions can improve overall wellness. Additional episodes scheduled include an interview by Hadas Toren with Nurse Ilena Kasdan about healthy habits for a strong body and mind and an interview by Mr. Ruhl with Director of Student Services Lori Jaffe about anxiety and social emotional learning.
Search for “Golda Och Academy” on Spotify or visit goldaochacademy.org/podcast
Getting the podcast studio off the ground was a true collaborative effort. Upper School Arts Faculty Member Michael Yeshion helped design the studio with lighting and graphics, Podcast Club president Theo B. ’28 worked on assembling and organizing the studio and Maya S. ’26 helped create the theme music along with Music Faculty member and Choir Director Kristin Roney. “I’m really excited about the new podcast studio and the opportunities it brings to our school,” said Theo B. “We plan to create fun and engaging podcasts that show students’ voices and creativity.”
The GOA Upper School team created a “Get Well Soon” podcast series as an outlet to promote mental and physical well being to the school community. In the first episode, “Move Your Mind,” now on Spotify,
Mr. Ruhl will serve as advisor for the club, which will be a tremendous communication outlet for the student body and faculty. “Podcasts have become part of the social media fabric,” added Mr. Ruhl. “In envisioning and creating the GOA podcast studio and student club, we wanted to give GOA students the skills and experience necessary to effectively use this ubiquitous communication medium and to encourage and empower our students to meld the creativity of content creation with the technical skills of delivering that content to the community.”
Preserving
the Stories of the Holocaust in the 10th Grade Names, Not Numbers® Documentary Film Project
Never Forget is a concept we, as a Jewish day school, aim to instill in all our students throughout their time at Golda Och Academy. It begins in the Lower School with our 2nd grade Butterfly Project which uses age-appropriate oral history and art lessons as part of a worldwide effort to paint and display ceramic butterflies for the 1.5 million children that perished during the Holocaust. And it culminates with our senior trip to Poland and Israel on Neshama. Yet one of the most in depth and personal ways we teach the Holocaust is through the firsthand testimony of survivors who meet with students as part of the 10th grade Names, Not Numbers® program.
Created by award-winning educator Tova FishRosenberg in 2004, Names, Not Numbers® is an intergenerational, oral history film project. It gives students the rare opportunity to research a Holocaust survivor’s life story, create interview questions and then document his or her testimony on camera. This is in addition to learning interviewing and filmmaking techniques from professionals in the field in preparation for the filmed interview. “As anti-Semitism, racism, and intolerance surge in the United States and worldwide, the students participating in the Names, Not Numbers® program learn what apathy and silence can do when morality goes astray,” said Tova Fish-Rosenberg. “By embracing the personal stories and reflections of the survivors and absorbing their extraordinary messages, these students can truly move forward and create a better tomorrow for all.”
Golda Och Academy is one of 80 educational institutions participating in Names, Not Numbers® throughout the U.S., Canada and Israel. Over the past eight years, our school has documented 35 Holocaust survivors’ stories, including interviews of grandparents and great-grandparents conducted by students. The testimonies are preserved not only for our students, but for the families as well. “When I first learned about Names, Not Numbers®, I knew this was the type of program that would be lifechanging for students at Golda Och Academy,” said Erin Sternthal, Holocaust Education Coordinator at GOA. “Hearing and seeing the raw emotion from the witnesses themselves is something that cannot be replicated and is perhaps one of the most powerful methods to teach the lessons of the Holocaust. After hearing firsthand from a survivor, it is impossible for students to ever forget the stories they heard.”
This year, Names, Not Numbers® became a dedicated class as part of the 10th grade curriculum. The first part of the course is focused on Holocaust education with classes taught by Heather Smith, Social Studies Department Chair,
and Bryan Kessler, Social Studies faculty member. Following the Holocaust education classes, students then transition to the Names, Not Numbers® film portion of the project led by Mrs. Sternthal.
To help learn interviewing skills, GOA was fortunate to have parent of alumni Allan Chernoff, CEO of Chernoff Communications and a former CNN correspondent, meet with the 10th grade. Students were then divided into groups and assigned a Holocaust survivor. In January, GOA welcomed five survivors to school to be interviewed on camera. This is for many students the highlight of the program — the opportunity to meet the person they have been researching and hear their story about life before, during and after the Holocaust.
“
Hearing the survivor’s story has reinforced the importance of remembering the past to prevent future atrocities.
— Mia E. ’27
”
Following the interviews, students edit their two-hour testimonies down to 20-minute segments. These segments are pulled together by a professional filmmaker, along with student testimonials throughout their journey during this process, in a documentary film called Names, Not Numbers®: A Movie in the Making. The film is then premiered for hundreds of students, families, survivors and community members in a culminating event. This year’s film premiere was held May 13 at Temple Beth Shalom in Livingston where we celebrated the students and honored the five survivors in the documentary: Judith Bihaly, Sally Frishberg, Asher Matathias, Bernard Schanzer and Arthur Spielman.
Tenth grader Mia E. said, “Interviewing Holocaust survivors has given me a deeper understanding of the resilience and strength of those who endured unimaginable horrors, making history feel more personal and urgent. Through my firsthand experience of hearing the survivor’s story, it has reinforced the importance of remembering the past to prevent future atrocities.”
The Names, Not Numbers® program is generously supported by a prominent national foundation with assistance from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany supported by the German Federal Ministry of Finance and the Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility and Future. For more information about Names, Not Numbers® at GOA, visit goldaochacademy.org/ namesnotnumbers.
NESHAMA UPDATE
“ Every moment has deepended our connection to one another. We have begun to understand the true essence of Neshama.
— Maya L. ’25
ISRAEL
POLAND
— Jesse S. ’25 “
I have felt a lot of anger in these past few days. We are exposed to this overwhelming amount of pain and death, and yet I feel hopelessly distant. I can’t help but keep thinking about a stolen potential. The potential of 6 million lives, hundreds of thousands of Jewish communities, and thousands of synagogues burned to the ground. These feeling of anger and despair have slowly turned to strength, resilience, and hope. For all of those who were silenced as a result of the Shoah, I want to dedicate a part of my life to them by strengthening my Judaism. These few days in Poland have been the best davening of my life. I have tried to wrap tefillin each day and all around be more passionate about my Judaism. As I look to college, I want to be proudly and publicly Jewish and I want to share the stories the we learned here in Poland about the Shoah, keeping a part of the 6 million souls
alive.”
The
The Middle School Band performed under the direction of Mr. Rick Grey.
High School Golden Ochtaves and the Middle School Choir performed under the direction of Ms. Kristin Roney.
ARTS UPDATE
Our High School Musical, “Little Shop of Horrors” had three performances at the JCC MetroWest in December 2024.
Our Lower School Funtracks performed “101 Dalmatians Kids” for students and families in Grades 3-5 on March 12, 2025.
Yonatan Arieh’s Gift of Life Swab is a Donor Match Years Later
For the last 32 years, Golda Och Academy has been involved in fundraising efforts for Gift of Life whose mission is to cure blood cancers through cellular therapy. Gift of Life is one of the nation’s public bone marrow registries that helps find children and adults donors and facilitates transplants for patients. Each year, our National Honor Society holds a Walk for Life fundraiser for the foundation and educates students and faculty about the importance of getting swabbed. This year’s walk took place on May 23.
Walk for Life initially began when Gift of Life founder and then West Orange-resident Jay Feinberg was diagnosed with leukemia. Since Feinberg’s best chance of finding a match was from the Ashkenazi Jewish community, the Feinberg family contacted Golda Och Academy and other local organizations asking if students would participate in a fundraising walk to offset the costs of donor screening.
For Yonatan Arieh ’18, he could never have imagined that getting swabbed in high school would change his life and save another person’s. Years after being swabbed at school, Yonatan received a call in the fall of 2024 informing him he was a match. “My initial reaction was a mix of excitement and apprehension,” he said, “but in that moment I was provided with the ultimate platform to save someone’s life, and the scope and scale of good that I could provide outweighed any internal anxieties.”
The inspiration to get swabbed, Yonatan said, was driven by the opportunity to perform the mitzvah of saving a life. Gift of Life assigns a coordinator who sets up all of the medical appointments for donors. A week before he was scheduled for the transplant, a nurse came daily to inject Yonatan with filgrastim,
a drug used to increase stem cell count. The actual stem cell donation, he said, involved sitting in a donation room for several hours, where a machine pulled blood from one arm, processed the stem cells, and returned the remaining red blood cells into his other arm.
“For me, the act of saving a life is the most impactful good we can hope to do,” said Yonatan. “Gift of Life provides a platform where anyone can have the opportunity to perform this act. It’s too easy to take health for granted when you have it. This process served as a reminder that there are many sick people out there, and we should take every opportunity we can to help them. I hope that I’ve inspired people to sign up if they haven’t already. Every swab is a potential life saved!”
Anyone between the ages of 18 and 60 can be swabbed for the National Bone Marrow registry through Gift of Life, either during a donor drive or using an at-home kit. GOA seniors are offered the opportunity to get swabbed prior to graduation. For additional information, visit www.giftoflife.org.
While in Israel on Neshama, senior Alex L. participated in the Jerusalem Marathon on April 4 as part of the Ariel Center’s team, running the half marathon (along with fellow seniors Ari J., Jesse S. and Matt S.). Alex raised $2,500 for the Ariel Center to support the construction of a sports facility in southern Israel to help those in the region cope with trauma since October 7, 2023.
Gila Goldsmith-Rockman, CEO and Co-Founder of the Ariel Center (far right) with Alex L. and her son at the Jerusalem Marathon.
Seniors Alex. L, Matt S., Ari J. and Jesse S. ran the Jerusalem Half Marathon as part of the Ariel Center’s team.
Alumni Basketball Game
DECEMBER 20, 2024
CLASS NOTES
1998
Lawrence Elbaum and his wife Melissa celebrated the Bat Mitzvah of their daughter Abby, who is a current 7th grader at GOA.
1999
Chanan Golub and his wife Sivia celebrated their son Zev’s Bar Mitzvah on January 11, 2025 in Modi’in, Israel.
2002
Eric Knapp and Molly Elizalde were married on September 21, 2024 at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, NY.
2007
Max Feinblatt and his wife Ellie welcomed the birth of a baby boy, Dylan Ori, on November 15, 2024.
Haley (Vinick) Vogel and her husband Max welcomed the birth of a baby girl, Millie Marion, on August 26, 2024. Millie joins big sister Etta and big brother Judah.
GOLDAOCHACADEMY
2009
Arielle (Sheris) Litz and her husband Joey welcomed the birth of a baby girl, Annie Miriam, on September 23, 2024.
Joelle (Zegas) Bryk and her husband Andrew welcomed the birth of a baby boy, Otto, on November 15, 2024. The bris was officiated by Rabbi Joshua Heller ‘90.
Seffi Kogen was honored with the Young Leadership Award at Columbia/ Barnard Hillel’s Annual Dinner on April 28, 2025. This award recognizes young alumni who demonstrate exemplary and growing commitment, generosity, and service to Columbia/Barnard Hillel.
2012
Manon (Noni) Benisty and Willie Stern were engaged on July 30, 2024. Noni is the daughter of GOA faculty member Natasha Cooper Benisty.
2013
Rachel (Schwartzman) Cardin and her husband Max welcomed the birth of a baby boy, Asher Mori, on January 22, 2025.
Mimi Lebeau ‘24 and Zach Isaacs ‘00 co-authored a book with their family called Here Come the Seagulls. The children’s book teaches about the Tashlich service and is available to purchase on Amazon.
CLASS NOTES
2013
Avi Kessler and Emily Schuback were married on September 22, 2024 in Pearl River, New York. Avi is the son of former GOA faculty member Paula Spack ’84.
Gloria (Rothenberg) Meshberg and her husband Matt welcomed the birth of a baby boy, William Noah, on October 25, 2024.
Carmelle (Bargad) Zakaeim and her husband Koby welcomed the birth of a baby boy, Adam, on January 28, 2025.
2014
Arianna Robbins and Michael Kapnick were engaged on February 15, 2025.
2015
Dana Halpern and Zach Parilla were engaged on October 26, 2024. Dana is the current GOA Alumni Engagement Coordinator.
Jessica (Antiles) Heller and her husband Ben welcomed the birth of a baby girl, Leah Amalia, on February 2, 2025. Jessica is the daughter of former Upper School math teacher Janette Antiles.
2015
Hayley Nagelberg was recently promoted to the rank of captain in the IDF.
2016
Jeremy Berkowitz and Cathleen Macaroy were engaged on March 8, 2025.
Ally Landau was named a First Team All-America by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). This is Ally’s first WBCA All-America honor. Ally also played a key role in leading Smith to its fifth consecutive NEWMAC Championship, where she was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.
2018
Andrew (Andy) Antiles and Emily Weissman were married on November 24, 2024 in Coral Gables, Florida. Andy is the son of former Upper School math teacher Janette Antiles.
May their memory be for a blessing
Mark Arian z”l, beloved husband of Lynn Arian; father of Kate Arian Ben-Maimon (Joseph), Eliana Arian, Rebecca Arian, Jane Arian ’31, Sarah Jordan and David Jordan; grandfather to Meadow Ben-Maimon; brother of Kathy Leb (Robert) and Daniel Arian.
Ruth Banks z”l, beloved mother of Michael Banks (Robin), Beth Cohn (Jules), Jonathan Banks ’78 (Judy), and Matthew Banks ’83 (Simone Schweber); and grandmother of Jeremy, Jess, David, Danny and Maya.
Alex Brodsky z”l, beloved husband of Adina Jacobson ’90; father of Max, Samson, River, and Zev.
Michael Bruckheimer z”l, beloved husband of Caryn Bruckheimer; father of Lower School Judaic Studies Faculty member Morah Stacey David (Oren), Debra Hirsch (Daniel), and Shari Kessler (Jeffrey); grandfather of Yael (Benjamin) Brenner, Elyssa Hirsch, Merav David, Maya Kessler, Rachel Hirsch, Liat David, Ben Kessler, Adi David, and David Kessler; great-grandfather of Reut and Idan Brenner.
Flora C. Cirillo z”l, beloved mother of Anne Kroll (Adrian), grandmother of Jake Kroll ’20.
Elizabeth Cummings Deitz z”l, beloved mother of Ruth Deitz (Robert Green), grandmother of Isaac Deitz-Green ’13, Theo DeitzGreen ’19 and former student Abraham Deitz-Green.
Evelyn Gloria Cornick z”l, beloved mother of Robin Cornick Benvent (Jack) and grandmother of David ’21.
Steven Salomon Elbaum z”l, beloved husband of Judy Elbaum; father of Lawrence Elbaum ’98 (Melissa) and Sally Friedman ’05 (Mark); grandfather of Abigail ’30, Isaac ’32, Remy and Freddy; brother of Trudy Elbaum Gottesman (Bob) and Danny Elbaum (Mary).
Barbara Epstein z”l, beloved wife of Michael Epstein; mother of Sharon Nessel (Craig), Deena Jarashow (Daniel) and David Epstein (Eliana Salzauer); grandmother of Amanda ’11, Aaron ’13 and Zach ’13 Nessel, Yaffa Moerdler, Avigayil Geller, and Leora Jarashow.
Marvin Fish z”l, beloved father of Randi Ostry (Fred), Pam Zingeser (Joel), and Robert Fish z”l (Yeda); grandfather of Ricky Ostry ’07 and former student Ren Ostry.
Steve Gross z”l, beloved husband of Judi Harrison, father of Adam Gross ’19, and son-in-law of Dr Lynne B Harrison.
Carol Haase z”l, beloved mother of Randy Haase (former GOA Board of Trustees Member Judy Rosenberg), grandmother of former students Zach Haase and Aiden Haase and Ben Haase ’21.
Rose Halpern z”l, beloved wife of Rabbi Martin S. Halpern z”l; mother of Gerald Halpern z”l; Zahava Greenberg (Stuart), Zev Halpern (Debra), Shira Rosenbaum (Mark) and Nachama Loeshelle (Harry); mother-in-law of Susan Halpern; and grandmother of Nicole Halpern Markowitz ’08 (David) as well as the bubbe of 8 and greatbubbe of 11.
Bernie Jacobs z”l, beloved husband of Annette Jacobs; father of Caryl Greenberg; father-inlaw of Danny Greenberg; and grandfather of Josh Greenberg ’09, Kira Greenberg ’11, and Rachel Greenberg.
Mavis Jacobson z”l, beloved mother of Andi Lewittes, mother-in-law of Rabbi Adina Lewittes, ex-mother-in-law of Alan Arenson, and cherished grandmother of Farrah Arenson ’10 and Tamar.
Abraham Kasdan z”l, beloved husband of Marcia Kasdan; father of Michael, David, and Lisa Kasdan ’01 and their spouses/partners Lisa Duggan, Kate Elliott & Joshua Brenner; grandfather to Jacob & Lauren Kasdan (mother, Ilena Kasdan, Upper School Nurse), former students Eli & Abby Kasdan (mother, Heather Kasdan), Benjamin & Noah Brenner (mother, Lisa Kasdan); and stepgrandfather to Alice Linkh and Millie Elliott.
Richard Knoller z”l, beloved father of former 5th Grade Trope Teacher Cantor Sharon Knoller and Dr. Julie TelRav (Rabbi Jay TelRav) and grandfather of Aliya, Amitai and Nili.
Phyllis Lacon z”l, beloved mother of Lisa Lacon, grandmother of Cindy ’07 and Emily Gallin ’10.
Helen Lowenstein z”l, beloved mother of Robyn Bier (Joseph) and Alec Lowenstein (Lisa); grandmother of Pamela Davis ’02 (Jordan ‘01), Zachary Bier ’05 (Heather), Michael Bier ’07 (Shelby) and former students Andie Vader (Sean) and Adrian Lowenstein; great-grandmother to Avery ’30, Paige ’30, Noah Davis ’34, Charlie ’36 and Sophie Bier, Billie Allison Bier and Corie Vader.
Baila Mandel z”l, beloved wife of Norman Mandel, mother-inlaw of Camille Davies-Mandel, grandmother of former students Merav Mandel and Golan Mandel.
Leslie Irwin Nathan z”l, beloved father of Gerri Russo (Gregg Russo), grandfather of Sam Russo ’18 and Noa Russo ’20.
Natan Ra’anan z”l, beloved father of former GOA Lower School Faculty Member Neta Lerner ’07 and Donna Ra’ananLerner ’11.
Judy Rachlin z”l, beloved mother of Shari Rachlin Bates ’86, grandmother to Samantha Bates ’20 and former student Molly Bates.
Rose Raport z”l, beloved mother of David Raport (Sheryl), grandmother of Jonathan Raport ’22 and former student Jordan Raport.
Dr. David Reinhard z”l, beloved father of Jay Reinhard (Karen), grandfather of former GOA student Amanda Rose Reinhard z”l, Sam Reinhard ’24 and Max Reinhard.
Peter S. Safran z”l, beloved father of Steven Safran, father-inlaw of 1st Grade Team Lead and Judaic Studies Faculty Member Yael Safran, grandfather of Priela and Yoav Safran.
Janet Wallen z”l, beloved mother of Stacey Schneider (Jesse), grandmother of Isabella Schneider ’22 and former students Abbie and Miranda.
Wendy Hurwitz Walsh z”l, beloved wife of James “Jim” Walsh, mother of Emily Walsh Fox (Ari), grandmother of Mabel ’35 and Sadie.
TO THE PARENTS OF ALUMNI: If this issue is addressed to your daughter/son who no longer maintains a permanent address at your home, please call 973-602-3603 or email alumni@goldaochacademy.org to update our records.
For registrationremainingoptions Michaelortocontribute,contact Development,Bressman,Directorof at973-602-3667 ormbressman@goldaochacademy.org
