Reflecting on the Principal Project

It is easy to look at a finished product and see how all the hard work was worth it. It is much more difficult to realize the benefits of one’s unrelenting effort in the middle of a process and take pride in the unfinished work. However, this week I decided to do just that. You see, after we got back from Pesach vacation the third phase of the Principal Project was due. As a quick reminder, the Principal Project is an independent passion-based research project in which 9th grade students research professions they are intrigued by, 10th graders research colleges and Universities, 11th graders work to solve a local issue, and 12th graders develop solutions for a global problem. As this was a new program for the students, at the start of the year it was met with a mix of enthusiasm and hesitation. Yet, as I took a step back this week to read their phase three submissions, which was a narrative of their project and research, I have to say I am impressed and proud of our students.

The 9th and 10th graders have chosen professions and Universities that any parent would be proud of. As Principal, what I personally take the most pride in is the amount of effort our boys put into their research. There have been many instances of freshman coming into my office to tell me about what it takes to get a job in their chosen profession, the mean salary and other things they never even thought about before they began their research. Sophomores would stop me in the hall and let me know about graduation rates, minimum GPA’s and why their chosen University had the best “this” program and “that” program. It has been wonderful to see. The 11th and 12th graders, focused on solving problems in the world with a social entrepreneurship lens, have also blown me away.

Here are a few examples of the social entrepreneurship projects our Juniors and Seniors are tackling:

• A campaign to fight racism
• A method to make donating used clothings, books, furniture, etc. easier
• An electronic sensor to automatically stop drunk driving
• A program to decrease smoking among young people in third world countries due to hunger
• A campaign to reduce local pollution
• A method to reduce poverty in areas of Africa
• A program to get medical supplies to third world countries by enlisting local hospitals

I look forward to sharing the final products with the world, as it is already evident how amazing these projects will be. In the mean time, I am glad I took a step back and reviewed what they are working on, to share these proud reflections with you.

Good to luck to all my students as you perfect your projects in phase four. We’re all excited to see the finished work in phase five!

Yom Hashoah 5775/2015

Commemorating Yom Hashoah this year among the number of different messages, two stood out for me as they were particularly germane to the current situation the Jewish people find themselves. Even though Yom Hasoah has been a fixture in our calendar for the last 70 years these messages had not been as relevant then as they are now.

The first message was the recognition that today’s survivors are not the generation that escaped Nazi Germany, that lived through the labor camps and or the notorious concentration camps. Today’s survivors are their children. While the distinction “survivor” is apt even when describing the next generation the conferring of this title is unfortunately theirs by default. The number of actual survivors has diminished to the extent that one needs to look far and wide to find them. This reality hit me the hardest last may when on May 8th, 2014 Mendel Flaster a Holocaust survivor, who my family and I had come to know fondly, sadly, passed away. Mendel was 19 when the war broke out in 1939. He went through 14 concentration camps and through a combination of self-care, self-sacrifice, and Divine assistance (Siyata D’Ismaya) was able to survive. His powerful message to us was the importance of helping others and he always attributed his survival as being a direct result of his altruism.

The second message was one that Rabbi Stulberger during a special assembly at school and later Rabbi Pini Dunner at a Yom Hashoah event held in his shul (that some of our students  were fortunate enough to attend) shared. They both highlighted the resemblance of current events around the world with the years preceding World War II. They cautioned about the dangers of being complacent and ignoring the rearing of the ugly monster known as anti-semitism.

I am not sure if Yom Hashoah was placed in the calendar so close to Pesach for a specific reason but it seems to me that it echoes the Vehi Sheomda passage that we read during the Seder. Lets us never forget that it is HKBH who ultimately is our savior.

Felt tips

The following is from a news article I read last week.

A Brussels-based European Jewish umbrella organization has launched a campaign which calls on Europeans to wear a Kippah, the traditional Jewish skullcap, and other Jewish symbols to fight rising anti-Semitism on the continent. They are being asked to film themselves walking down the street to show their opposition to rising anti-Semitism.

“The idea is to get as many non-Jews as possible to wear Jewish symbols and show solidarity, and that they are a part of the silent majority that is not anti-Semitic.

While I think this is an interesting initiative I feel the emphasis for us should be on the reason we wear a Kippa. We do so to remind us constantly that we are standing before our creator. The purpose of the reminder is to help us be aware of whose presence we are in and to act accordingly. By following in the footsteps of Hashem we are able to be a light unto the nations. This message needs to be shared with our children who I fear are letting go of their Kippas to blend in with their environment. We need to stand proud of our mission in this world and never shirk our responsibility to Hashem and his creations.