About Us - Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy

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Our History

THE BEGINNING

Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy (HBHA) was founded in 1966 by a group of parents who felt strongly about having a Jewish day school education for their children. Their goal was to provide an exceptional foundation in both general and Jewish academics to the children of Kansas City. The school, then named Hebrew Academy, opened its doors with 33 students, with Hyman Brand, z”l, serving as the first president.

The school first rented space at Ohev Shalom Synagogue, in Prairie Village, KS, and offered academics for grades K-3. Each year, new grades were added, and by 1973, HBHA had grown to include an Upper School.

FIRST HBHA GRADUATES

In 1976, HBHA proudly graduated its first class with nine seniors, and in 1978, the school took on the name of Hyman Brand, in memory of the great man who had helped ensure its success. Continuing to grow, HBHA moved into a former elementary school located on College Boulevard to accommodate a dramatic increase in student numbers.

HBHA'S FIRST MAJOR MOVE

The property consisted of 7.3 acres of land, including the Louis and Dorothy Cumonow Lower School Building, with 13 classrooms, the Lowenstein Library, the Flo Harris Social Hall, and a kosher kitchen furnished by the HBHA Auxiliary. During the spring and summer of 1984, building additions, including a new kindergarten wing, four Upper School classrooms and a new science laboratory were added.

HBHA MOVES TO THE JEWISH COMMUNITY CAMPUS

When the Jewish Community Campus building opened in 1988, HBHA moved into the new Campus facility, where it resides today. It was during this move that “Student Families” were created to maintain a strong sense of togetherness among all of the students. Since the younger students were now located on a separate floor from the Upper and Middle School students, the older students wanted to ensure they maintained a connection with students of all ages. Many years later, students still participate in - and grow up with - their special families which contain students of all ages. The families enjoy Shabbat together each week, and participate in a variety of other special activities throughout the year.

Since HBHA moved to the Campus, additions to the school include the beautiful Dan Fingersh Memorial Garden for quiet reflection and outdoor instruction, a new state-of-the art science lab, and a growing STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Mathematics) curriculum to round out the strong academic foundation.

HBHA TODAY

Having recently celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2017, HBHA continues to grow and thrive, with more than 200 students currently enrolled in the school. Today HBHA serves grades K-12, and takes a whole-child approach to teaching its students: developing and maintaining a curriculum that teaches beyond the test to give students what they need to create a path to their own lifetime of success.

"It's largely at HBHA that I learned ... that there are many different people living Jewishly, and that it is incumbent on us to love each other with all of our differences."

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
			1 Winter Break (NO SCHOOL) Winter Break (NO SCHOOL) January 1, 2025 New Years Day New Years Day January 1, 2025	2 Winter Break (NO SCHOOL) Winter Break (NO SCHOOL) January 2, 2025	3 Winter Break (NO SCHOOL) Winter Break (NO SCHOOL) January 3, 2025	4 Winter Break (NO SCHOOL) Winter Break (NO SCHOOL) January 4, 2025
5 Winter Break (NO SCHOOL) Winter Break (NO SCHOOL) January 5, 2025	6	7 7/8 MS BOYS vs ST. VINCENT DE PAUL 7/8 MS BOYS vs ST. VINCENT DE PAUL January 7, 2025 \| 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM BOYS VARSITY vs IHS BOYS VARSITY vs IHS January 7, 2025 \| 5:45 PM - 7:15 PM GIRLS VARSITY vs DANIEL ACADEMY GIRLS VARSITY vs DANIEL ACADEMY January 7, 2025 \| 7:15 PM - 8:45 PM	8 STUCO Lunch- postponed STUCO Lunch- postponed January 8, 2025 Latke	9 MS GIRLS vs DANIEL MS GIRLS vs DANIEL January 9, 2025 \| 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM MS BOYS vs DANIEL MS BOYS vs DANIEL January 9, 2025 \| 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM VARSITY GIRLS vs DANIEL VARSITY GIRLS vs DANIEL January 9, 2025 \| 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM VARSITY BOYS vs DANIEL VARSITY BOYS vs DANIEL January 9, 2025 \| 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM	10	11 VARSITY GIRLS vs MIDLAND VARSITY GIRLS vs MIDLAND January 11, 2025 \| 7:40 PM - 9:00 PM VARSITY BOYS vs MIDLAND VARSITY BOYS vs MIDLAND January 11, 2025 \| 9:00 PM - 10:30 PM
12	13 7/8 MS BOYS @ SOE 7/8 MS BOYS @ SOE January 13, 2025 \| 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM BOYS VARSITY @ SOE BOYS VARSITY @ SOE January 13, 2025 \| 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM	14 Spelling Bee Spelling Bee January 14, 2025 VARSITY GIRLS @ STEM VARSITY GIRLS @ STEM January 14, 2025 \| 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM MS GIRLS vs MARANATHA MS GIRLS vs MARANATHA January 14, 2025 \| 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM 5/6 MS BOYS vs MARANATHA 5/6 MS BOYS vs MARANATHA January 14, 2025 \| 5:45 PM - 6:45 PM VARSITY BOYS @ STEM VARSITY BOYS @ STEM January 14, 2025 \| 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM	15 Late Start Wednesday at 9:30 am Late Start Wednesday at 9:30 am January 15, 2025 FT Gr 5 FT Gr 5 January 15, 2025 Museum at Prairie Fire	16 FT Gr 7 to Happy Bottoms FT Gr 7 to Happy Bottoms January 16, 2025 VARSITY BOYS vs SOE VARSITY BOYS vs SOE January 16, 2025 \| 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM 5/6 MS BOYS @ SUMMIT CHRISTIAN 5/6 MS BOYS @ SUMMIT CHRISTIAN January 16, 2025 \| 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM MS GIRLS @ SUMMIT CHRISTIAN MS GIRLS @ SUMMIT CHRISTIAN January 16, 2025 \| 7:30 PM - 8:30 PM	17	18
19	20 MLK Day (NO SCHOOL) MLK Day (NO SCHOOL) January 20, 2025	21 Student Experience Day Student Experience Day January 21, 2025 \| 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM Student Experience Days are a wonderful opportunity for students to spend a morning at HBHA, beginning with prayers and concluding with lunch. Click here to sign up. MS GIRLS vs ST. PAULS MS GIRLS vs ST. PAULS January 21, 2025 \| 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM 5/6 MS BOYS vs ST. PAULS 5/6 MS BOYS vs ST. PAULS January 21, 2025 \| 5:45 PM - 6:45 PM 7/8 MS BOYS vs ST. PAULS 7/8 MS BOYS vs ST. PAULS January 21, 2025 \| 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM	22 Taste of Kindergarten Taste of Kindergarten January 22, 2025 \| 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM Click here to sign up: https://shorturl.at/N7R3U Taste of Kindergarten is a unique opportunity for you and your little one(s) to meet our amazing kindergarten teaching team and other staff membe...	23 MS GIRLS @ KAUFFMAN SCHOOL MS GIRLS @ KAUFFMAN SCHOOL January 23, 2025 \| 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM 7/8 MS BOYS @ KAUFFMAN SCHOOl 7/8 MS BOYS @ KAUFFMAN SCHOOl January 23, 2025 \| 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM	24	25 MS GIRLS vs MIDLAND MS GIRLS vs MIDLAND January 25, 2025 \| 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM 7/8 MS BOYS vs MIDLAND 7/8 MS BOYS vs MIDLAND January 25, 2025 \| 8:15 PM - 9:15 PM
26	27	28 Taste of Kindergarten Taste of Kindergarten January 28, 2025 \| 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM Click here to sign up: https://shorturl.at/N7R3U Taste of Kindergarten is a unique opportunity for you and your little one(s) to meet our amazing kindergarten teaching team and other staff membe...	29 Late Start Wednesday at 9:30 am Late Start Wednesday at 9:30 am January 29, 2025	30 VARSITY GIRLS vs KSD VARSITY GIRLS vs KSD January 30, 2025 \| 4:30 PM - 5:45 PM VARSITY BOYS vs KSD VARSITY BOYS vs KSD January 30, 2025 \| 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM 7/8 MS BOYS @ DANIEL ACADEMY (JV) 7/8 MS BOYS @ DANIEL ACADEMY (JV) January 30, 2025 \| 6:15 PM - 7:15 PM 5/6 MS BOYS vs DANIEL ACADEMY 5/6 MS BOYS vs DANIEL ACADEMY January 30, 2025 \| 7:45 PM - 8:45 PM	31 Student Experience Day Student Experience Day January 31, 2025 \| 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM Student Experience Days are a wonderful opportunity for students to spend a morning at HBHA, beginning with prayers and concluding with lunch. Click here to sign up.