Dear ,
HBHA $3 Million Challenge Update!
HBHA has raised $880,157 in cash and pledges toward our $1 million challenge from the Jewish Heritage Foundation, the Menorah Legacy Foundation and the Sosland Foundation.
We are so close – only $119,843 to go!
We must have all pledges in place by December 31, 2009.
There is still plenty of time to make your pledge.
You can donate securely online at www.hbha.edu. Or, you can send us a check or your pledge instructions to HBHA, 5801 W. 115th Street, Overland Park, KS 66211.
Thanks to all of you who have so generously stepped forward to help make this effort a success. We appreciate each and every one of you.
Shabbat Shalom,
Howard Haas
Calendar Reminders
November 06 - Go Green Day
November 08 - Barnes and Noble Book Fair
November 10 - Grandparent's/Grandfriend's Day
November 10 - Herzl Visits HBHA
November 11 - Camp Ramah Visits HBHA
November 12 - One Homeless Night Event
November 13 - One Homeless Night Jeans Day
November 17 - AMC 8 Math Contest
November 18 - Grade Level Geography Bees
November 18 - Coffee and a Chat with the Head of School
November 18 - Creative Kids
November 19 - PTO Open Meeting 8:00 am
December 01 - Young Judea visits HBHA
For all important information and events, go to our web site, www.hbha.edu.
You can click here to view the monthly printable calendar, which is updated daily.
HBHA in the News
HBHA students were featured in the Kansas City Jewish Chronicle last week. Students designed cards for Hallmark. Click here for the full article>>>
HBHA News and Events
The Chai Lights is now archived on the HBHA web site. Click here to view.
Alumni Join the Endowment Challenge
Are you an alumnus who lives in or near Chicago? The Chicago Branch of the HBHA Alumni Association is hosting a fundraising event to help reach our endowment goal. Join them for an evening of celebration, meeting old friends and new, and help support HBHA! For more information, click here>>>
HBHA Grandparents & Grandfriends Day!
Tuesday, November 10th, 8:00 a.m. JCC Social Hall.
We will have a light buffet breakfast, entertainment and activities with our students. You won’t want to miss this special occasion – and don’t forget your camera!
Please RSVP to Pat Caldwell, pcaldwell@hbha.edu
Veronika Yatskevich is a published author
Veronika Yatskevich, HBHA junior, is a pbulished author. 
Her book, The Ephiphany and the Finish Line, is about a young woman with a family member with schizophrenia. The book is available on Amazon.com. Click here for the link to Veronicas new book!
Laura Siebers maternity leave
As most of you know, Laura Siebers, Middle and Upper School Social Studies teacher is expecting her first baby and is due on December 5th. She is in the home-stretch so we have been preparing for her maternity leave. Laura and Principal Gayle Gray have been working to ensure that during Laura’s absence, learning in the classroom will continue. As your kids may have told you, we have hired a long-term substitute teacher named Gina Campbell to take over all of Laura’s classes during her leave. Gina has been observing classes and spending some time here to get a feel for HBHA, meet the students, and become acquainted with Laura’s schedule.
Gina comes to HBHA with a B.S. in Political Science from UMKC and is currently working on her Masters in Education at Avila University, focusing on Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL). After graduating from UMKC, Gina worked as political consultant in Iowa and was able to apply her academic knowledge to this real world political opportunity. During her time in Iowa, Gina realized she wanted to work with students and decided to enroll in Avila’s Graduate Teaching Program to pursue a career in education. Gina has had classroom teaching experience as a student teacher at Belton High School and as a substitute teacher for several districts. She also recently worked as the Fort Osage High School Tennis Coach.
We are happy that Gina accepted the long-term substitute position and look forward to welcoming her to the HBHA Community. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact either Gayle Gray or Laura Siebers.
Grandparents Visit Kindergarten! Tamir Goodman visits the Middle and Upper School students.
Click here for photos of this and more.....
Support our 7th grade!
The 7th grade class is selling Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy "Chosen Brew" coffee to support their trip to Arizona. A pound of coffee beans sells for $12.50, ground is $13.00, decaf beans are $13.50 and decaf ground is $14.00. These bags of coffee will make great gifts for the holidays. Interested in ordering and don't know a 7th grader? Send an email to Laura Hewitt and she will have a 7th grader contact you.
Grandparent Volunteers
We are developing a list of grandparents who would like to volunteer at HBHA. You don't have to commit to a weekly time period and there may be things you can do even though you live out of town. Click here for more information.
Save the Date!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
5th-12th Grade Students & Parents
Mitzvah Project/Social Event at Harvesters-The Community Food Network
1:00-4:00 p.m. (2 hours working in the warehouse followed by an hour in the party room)
Details to follow in an Evite in December.
Admissions Office News
Kindergarten Admissions events coming soon! Tell family and friends to save the dates:
• Taste of Kindergarten: Wed., Jan. 6 and Tues., Jan. 12 (same program offered twice)
• Kindergarten Round Up: Fri., Feb. 5, 2010
Private tours available weekly throughout year.
Contact Tamara Lawson Schuster: tschuster@hbha.edu or 913.327.8135
HBHA Athletic Spirit Wear
The Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy Athletic Department has taken a huge step forward with athletic apparel. We are now promoting Rams and Lady Rams Athletic Gear year round through our website! The link will be under the Athletics tab and called “Ram’s Store.” Items that will be sold include t-shirts, long sleeve t-shirts, sweatshirts, embroidered polo’s, jackets, stocking caps and much more! 15% of each item sold goes towards the Booster Club. All items are classified as HBHA Spirit Wear and can be worn to school. Please help support our school by purchasing our apparel year around to wear at all athletic events! http://HBHARAMS.logosoftwear.com
Peer Tutoring and Volunteers
One of the special advantages of attending Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy is the fact that we have students from kindergarten to twelfth grade. Our close knit community provides opportunities for the high school students to work one on one with the lower school students in both General Studies and Judaic Studies/Hebrew. Materials and supervision is provided by the lower school classroom teacher. Currently, we have a number of peer volunteers working with lower school students in a variety of subjects, as well as a 7th grader helping out a new student in 8th grade with minimal Hebrew skills. Besides knowing the peer tutoring program is providing additional academic support for students, a high school student can earn community service hours. On a Friday afternoon, you can see a 7th grader helping a new HBHA student without any Judaic Studies background, learning the aleph, bet with him. Flashcards and fun activities are planned by the 7th grader, with supervision by a teacher. One high school student is working on reading skills with a first grader. Another competent high school student is working on a computer program with a student to help increase her reading fluency. Hebrew is being taught to a new second grader twice a week after school by a high school sophomore. English vocabulary and primary reading skills are reinforced to a new student with minimal English exposure. As you can see, our HBHA community is truly a family, the older “siblings” helping their younger counterparts.
Winterim
HBHA has a wonderful program every year the first week in January called Winterim. We offer unique courses for Middle and Upper School students for one week in an effort to increase exposure to different course opportunities. If you have a special skill or talent that you think our students would be interested learning, please email Gayle Gray. We love to have parents come in and volunteer their special skills and teach students. We also welcome ideas from friends and family members that would like to help out.