Parent of Alumni Newsletter

A Newsletter for Parents of Rodeph Sholom School Alumni

A note from the Director of Alumni Relations Dear Parents of Alumni,

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ver the past few years we’ve enjoyed assembling newsletters highlighting what our distinguished society of former RSS students are doing in the world. These stories exemplify the movers, shakers and all around good people our students become after they move on from RSS. We are proud of the amazing things going on in the lives of our alumni and former students, so, we’re thrilled to offer you our very first Parent of Alumni Newsletter!

We think it’s pretty important that everyone in the whole wide world knows how special a Rodeph Sholom School education is, and we’ve gotten pretty good at telling the story of RSS... but we need your help telling the alumni story when our students move beyond these walls. If you’re reading these stories and wondering where news of your child is, email me at lglaser@rssnyc.org, with their latest adventures and triumphs and we’ll make sure to include them in the the next newsletter.

The following stories only represent the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the positive change our alumni are bringing to the world. If you’re inspired and proud of what your children are up to, please give to our Annual Fund so that we can make it possible for more students to enjoy the same experience and ultimately enrich the lives of everyone they touch. Enjoy!

Noam Shapiro ‘07 just launched his

own theater company called Lyra Theater in NYC. Read more about his exciting new venture here.

Our beloved history teacher, Israel trip leader, bow tie aficionado and all around great guy, Mr. Glasser, was recently inducted into the Academy for Teachers. Join me in wishing him a Mazel Tov and a Yashar Koach! Here’s an article we wrote about it. You can email me at lglaser@rssnyc.org to wish him congrats and/or you can donate to the school in his honor.

Nathan Press ‘07 is a senior at Harvard. For the past few years he’s

been an important contributor to The Crimson, the distinguished Ivy’s student run paper. We were so grateful to have Nathan Press ‘07 come by last spring to speak with the our school paper’s staff. Read more about him and his visit here!

Last year, Sammy Grob ‘12 collaborated with a friend to write a ten minute long musical. It won awards and earned them the opportunity to put it on at the New York Theatre Musical Festival this summer. Our favorite part about all of this was that their show was about a middle school election. Wonder where he got the inspiration? Here’s what the press had to say … this too.

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or many of our alumni, summer was not only a time for relaxation and reflection, but for flexing their teaching muscles.

Matt Levin ’07 returned from 10 months at the APV School in the Garhwal Himalayas where he learned and taught with alternative forms of education that emphasize meditation and mindfulness. Matt writes in their newsletter that at APV he lived, “renewed day by day, hour by hour”.

Click here (his letter is at the bottom of the page) to read his very beautiful write-up about the experience.

The Presidential Election might get all the press but it’s not the only voting that takes place each year! Our democratic system extends to our college campuses too and guess what, RSS is well represented! Gabe Rosen ‘11 was recently elected to the Stanford University Undergraduate Senate and Jay Rappaport ‘10 was also elected to Columbia’s student senate!

M A Z E L T OV !

Ezra Levine ’00 and Katie Levy ’04 are engaged to be wed and their

ceremony is right around the corner! We’re so happy for them. Our RSS community feels a little more whole now. Close friend and photographer Nomi Ellenson was on hand to capture the moment, which took place in the center of our Middle School gym. Could be the start of a trend... Ezra, Katie, thanks for reminding us that we’re more than a school and a temple; we’re a home.

Last year, our 8th Grade Girl’s Basketball Team (now freshman in high school) completed their fourth year of undefeated basketball. They’re an RSS dynasty. RSS sports continue to be an important part of our school.

Did you know New York Times journalist, author and now award winning film producer Jacob Bernstein attended RSS? His former teacher, and our current elementary school teacher, Marge Olsen, reminded us after she saw his name in the news. “Everything is Copy”, the documentary he made about his mother, (the late film director, writer, andformer RSS Parent of Alumni) Nora Ephron, was a big hit on HBO last year.

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ianne Bassin

is a Pre-K teacher at RSS who, using resources awarded from the Paul Druzinsky fund, recently wrote and recorded a children’s album about mindfulness titled “Breathe In.” It’s an album for anybody really - an incredible work - and now she’s winning awards for it. Read about it on the school’s site here. Listen to or purchase it here, and be proud that your children went to a school with a faculty of such a high caliber and talent!

Look at our beautiful garden growing on the terrace between 79th and 78th street! Thanks to a gift from Parents of Alumni, Bonnie and Ron Klein, our students are learning first hand what it takes to produce sustainable, urban agriculture.

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rianna Carpati ’15 is running

for Riverdale’s varsity Track and Field team and last year they went to the Penn Relays (the oldest, largest track field competition in the country) and did really well in the Ivy Championships.

In addition to her athletic prowess, Arianna is also an aspiring journalist. She recently penned two really important articles at a Columbia University Journalism workshop and you should read them because it’s meaningful work that illustrates the type of positive change our alumni want to see in the world. Here’s a link to the article, and her opinion piece.

A few of our alumni have worked at RSS as teachers the last couple of years. Molly O’Steen ‘04 is in her second year as a 4th Grade teacher and Sophie Mortner ‘07 taught 2nd Grade last year. Here’s a pretty adorable video of Sophie being interviewed by one of our current students, Talia P.

RSS was recently invited, along with 20 other Jewish schools, to participate in the UJA Federation-NY Day School Challenge, which utilizes a $51M Communal Challenge Fund to match endowment dollars raised by the RSS community over the next two years. RSS is eligible to receive up to $2.5 Million from this fund, and this will be the school’s first major effort focused on endowment. The interest earned from an increased endowment will fund key initiatives that make RSS more affordable to a broader range of families and support additional professional development for our faculty. For more information please contact Mandy Wynn, Director of Development.

What’s Michael Douglas doing in this newsletter? No, he’s not an alumnus, or a parent of one, but the Jewish Funders Network chose our school, alongside 27 other institutions from seven countries, to receive a grant from Avenues to Jewish Engagement for Intermarried Couples and their Families. The grant, established in actor Michael Douglas’s honor, is going to help us get the word out out about how we are a great and inclusive school.

A L et t e r Fro m t h e He a d o f S c h o o l E l e c t Dear Parents of RSS Alumni, As a future parent of alumni myself, I look forward to getting to know you and learning what made RSS such a special place for you and your children. As my sons Leo (2nd Grade) and Toby (Pre-K) exult in learning Hebrew and meeting new friends and teachers in these first weeks at their new school, my excitement at having joined the RSS community has grown as well now that I am here working side-by-side with Jerry. I’ve been heartened by my family’s warm embrace by both the CRS and RSS communities, and I’ve been so impressed by the professionalism and commitment I’ve seen in the faculty, staff, and volunteers here.

I’ve started to get to know current parents in a series of breakfasts. I’ve heard their stories about being drawn to RSS for its reputation as a leader in developing children with high character, with a deep sense of Jewish identity, and with intellectual curiosity as they prepare for challenging academic and work futures.

I’m sure you have stories to share as well: stories of your children having a powerful impact on their new communities and on the world, I expect based in part on their experiences at RSS. I look forward to meeting you and your children in the months and years ahead and to hearing your family’s stories.

Sincerely, Danny Karpf Head of School Elect

Events Rabbi Levine’s 25th Anniversary Panel December 3rd in The Eisner Auditorium at Congregation Rodeph Sholom 6-7:30 PM All of Rabbi Levine’s colleagues both past and present will engage in a fascinating theological conversation followed by a beautiful Havdalah service.

Parent of Alumni Cocktail Party March 2nd in The Schafler Forum at Congregation Rodeph Sholom 6-8 PM

Volunteer There are two important ways you can help our school this year: 1. Did you know that in the last few years RSS established itself as one of the leading schools in the nation for philanthropy? Very few of the 1,600 independent schools in the country can count 97% parent participation in annual giving efforts, and we’ve been over 90% for four years! Now we want to show the world that our alumni parents continue to contribute too. Help us spread the word and become an Annual Fund Volunteer.

2. Each year we send mugs to our alumni who are graduating from high school and care packages to our alumni who are freshmen in college. We’d like to send even more fun stuff, like hamentaschen and party supplies on Purim-and to do that, we need your help!

Email lglaser@rssnyc.org if you’re interested in helping to keep our college aged alumni connected to the RSS community!