Off to Israel ...

Yesterday, we bade farewell to our eighth grade class of 2011 as they jet-setted off to Israel for a two-week adventure.

Stay tuned for lots of photos, video, and updates!

The ECC Model Seder!

Our Early Childhood Center's model seder was quite the treat. We had visitors from Lester Housing, ate matzo and drank juice, sang for Eliyahu, and more! Enjoy the video and photos of a truly meaningful treat.

HAMC Goes Green to Fight Consumption

On Tuesday, Rabbi Lawrence Troster of GreenFaith gave two special presentations to our HAMC students. First, he spoke to our kindergarten through fourth grade students on "God Must Love Beetles" and then he spoke to our fifth through eighth graders on "Saving Tree of Life: Jewish Environmental Wisdom and Tikkun 'Olam."

Rabbi Troster used the provocative pictures of photographer Chris Jordan, Jewish wisdom literature, and Jewish prayers to provoke a lively discussion on how we can try to create a more sustainable, happier way of life. The presentations focused on being mindful consumers rather than mindless consumers.

The students got together in groups to discuss and brainstorm on these topics and their work will be showcased on bulletin boards around the school. Our goal is to inspire and motivate students as we move forward with "greening" our school and to connect being "green" with being Jewish.

Rabbi Troster's slideshow from the presentation to the fifth through eighth graders. Let us know what you think, and let us know what your students thought about the program!

Rabbi Troster of Greenfaith on Consumption

View more presentations from hamcblog.

A Model Seder Experience!

Today at HAMC, we were busy prepping our students for Passover with a model seder. Our kindergarten through eighth-grade students got together for a seder, singing, and even searched far and wide across the school for the afikomen!




Created with flickr slideshow from softsea.

Did your students enjoy the seder? We'd love to hear their favorite experience! Stay tuned for photos and videos from our Early Childhood Center's seder, too.

Trip Prep: New Faces, New Friends

HAMC students had a great time this morning with the students from Hannah Senesh Community Day School in Brooklyn and Carmel Academy (formerly WFHA) in Connecticut.

They all are so happy with their new-found friends, and our sixth-graders are looking forward to TEVA with these schools, our seventh graders are eager to visit Washington DC with Carmel Academy, and our eighth graders are excited to join with Carmel and Hannah Senesh for their Israel experience!

The eighth graders put together some interesting presentations on Israel locations including Eilat, the Dead Sea, the Kinneret, Jerusalem and more. You can view them all on our YouTube page, but here's one we thought was unique for its musical number!




There are a lot of pictures from the morning on our Facebook Page, but here is a preview of the bonding that was going on between the students!

A Pre-Israel Trip Presentation!

Our eighth graders are gearing up for their Israel trip at the end of the month, and students Jacob S. and Sam B. created a PowerPoint presentation to show everyone the highlights of their upcoming trip. Their itinerary looks outstanding, and we're so excited to hear about their experiences!

Eighth Grade Israel Trip

View more presentations from hamcblog.

HAMC Parents Take Moroccan Cooking Cues

Our Parent Association Cooking Class recently undertook Moroccan cuisine, thanks to our very own Head of School Moshe Vaknin and Moroccan dishes that were passed down from his mother. The class made challah for Shabbat, muffaletta with honey (a lightly fried dough with honey that traditionally is eaten after Passover), roasted eggplant with homemade tehina, beets with garlic and cumin, and spicy fish, which traditionally is eaten on Friday night.

The scent of Moroccan spices and the unique sounds of Moroccan music flowed throughout the school.

Moshe, who donned special clothing for the evening, also made sweet treats of peanut butter cookies and macaroons -- also traditional to his culture. The meal was paired with tea and nana (mint), and everyone enjoyed the feast.




Moshe’s Spicy Fish Recipe


Ingredients
Skinless Salmon, cut into 2-inch pieces
5 Roma tomatoes
2 red peppers
1-2 jalapeno peppers
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
1 Tbls cumin
1-2 Tbls paprika
3 Tbls Osem vegetable soup mix
half a head of garlic (Moshe uses a whole head!)
juice of one lemon

1. Place the salmon in the bottom of the skillet and pour the juice of one lemon over the fish.
2. Chop the Roma tomatoes, red peppers, and jalapenos and sprinkle over the fish. Then, sprinkle the sliced garlic on the fish.
3. Pour the vegetable oil over the fish and put the pan on the stove on medium-high heat.
4. Add 1/2 cup cold water, just enough to cover the fish.
5. Cook until it boils and then turn it down to a simmer -- do NOT cover the fish!
6. As it starts to bubble, add the cumin, paprika, and Osem vegetable mix.
7. Let simmer on low for an hour, and add more water if needed. 

Muffaletta


Ingredients
3 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups warm (not boiling) water
Pinch salt
Vegetable (not olive) oil, as needed.

1. Place the flour and salt in a bowl, and scoop out a "well" in the middle and add the water there.
2. Mix, adding a little extra water if dough seems too dry. Mix together until a light and elastic dough is formed.
3. Divide the dough into 15 to 20 small balls, cover with a dish towel, and let stand for 30 minutes on a flat, well-oiled surface.
4. Oil hands, and on an oiled surface, roll the dough into thin circles.
5. Spread a small amount of oil in a frying pan and cook muffaletta on medium heat.
6. Cook both sides. (Note: Pan doesn't need to be re-greased before cooking the rest.)
7. Place on a plate and cover with a dish towel to keep them warm.
8. Serve warm with honey.

Makes 15 to 20 muffalettas, and they can be frozen and reheated in the microwave.

B'tayavon! (Bon Appetite!)

Changing Day School Culture

There's no such thing as old news for us, and we want to share a wonderful article from an October issue of New Jersey Jewish News that highlights the amazing work that the community has undertaken to raise endowment funds for the three MetroWest Jewish day schools. The article really expresses what our Head of School Moshe Vaknin calls avodat kodesh -- holy work. The cooperative efforts of the three MetroWest schools is something for which we all should be proud!

Heads of all three participating schools are also raving about their experiences with the project. They say having a communal pot of money to use to bring experts in to all three schools enables them to solve common problems at a lower cost. They also like having colleagues to turn to in what is often a lonely job. 

The leaders of the three schools meet every six weeks and said any initial anxiety they may have had about working together dissipated early. 

“We have put away our differences — we don’t discuss prayer or philosophy,” said Moshe Vaknin, head of school at the Nathan Bohrer-Abraham Kaufman Hebrew Academy of Morris County, a nondenominational community day school in Randolph. “We can see what our synergies are, what commonalities can enhance all of us. There are so many things we don’t compete over, and this is an opportunity to find ways to collaborate.”