Presenting the Class of 2012...

Mazal Tov to the HAMC Graduating Class of 2012!!

We wish you the best of luck in high school and beyond...

Don't forget to come back and visit!

Have a great summer!

HAMC Auction 2012

Thank You for such a Beautiful Evening!

This year's Auction was a wonderful success with over two-hundred guests in attendance, fantastic auction items, lots of good feelings and a beautiful send-off to a fantastic 8th Grade class.

Thank you to everyone who made the night what it was.

Stay tuned for more photos...

HAMC 8th Graders Recap Israel Trip

L'Hitraot Yisrael...

Our 8th Graders returned safe and sound from their incredible trip to Israel this morning. Take a look at pictures from their last day in Eretz Yisrael...

Making Israeli Pen Pals

Hello! This is Sydney Altman and Paige Epstein in Israel. We are coming to the end of our magnificent trip and will be flying back tomorrow. Despite the small amount of time left in Israel, we are still having a stupendous time. Today, we met our Israeli pen pals from Rishon Le Zion. Our group met them at their beautiful school and got to know them. Together we traveled to a beet field where we participated in a mitzvah of harvesting beets and assisting the needy by doing so. We all went out to lunch together at a nearby mall and after went to Tel Aviv with them. In Tel Aviv we made our way to a beach for activities to help us bond even more. We all had so much fun and by the end of the day, we were all such close friends. We plan to keep in touch with our new friends, and maybe see them again someday. We continue to enjoy ourselves greatly, and even though we will miss Israel, we are very excited to see you all soon.

Erev Shabbat in Jerusalem

Hello. This is Jacob and Josh from Jerusalem on our eleventh day in Israel. Today, we toured Yad Vashem where we learned about the Holocaust. Afterwards we walked up Mount Herzl and saw the graves of past leaders, heroes, and soldiers. Later, we went to Machaneh Yehudah market where we had pizzur lunch, bought food and souvenirs. Then we went to our Hotel where we prepared for Shabbat, and later visited the Kotel. We are having an amazing trip and we miss you all. See you soon.

Celebrating Israel's Birthday IN ISRAEL!

Hi! This is Elias Neibart and Lielle Lev blogging from Israel!  We started off the day with a special morning service in honor of Yom Ha’Hatzmaut with another Jewish day school from Cleveland, Ohio.  After the nutritious breakfast, we traveled to the City of David and explored the wonderful water tunnels. We got to see the story’s of the Bible come to life. Most kids were scared in the tunnels because of the dark, but their fear faded and everyone had a great time.  Than we went to have lunch at Ein Yael, where we participated in many activities ranging from basket weaving to pita making.  After the great lunch, we went to the Tzfat hike and experienced beautiful scenery and nature.  We even got to crawl in more pitch black tunnels! After the tiring day, we returned to the hotel to eat and rest. Now we are going to our evening activity to learn and discuss our Jewish roots and heritage.  See you soon! Chag Sameach!

An Israeli Yom Ha Zikaron...

Hello from Jacob and Josh from Sde Boker. First, we had an educational visit at Ben Gurion’s grave, and discussed his life story. Afterwards, we hiked Ein Avdat, and had a delicious Pizzur lunch. We then enjoyed an acting session at the Kibbutz Revivim, and then got a tour of the Kibbutz and its history. When we finished dinner, we heard a siren symbolizing Yom Hazikaron, which is the Remembrance Day for those who have fallen in battles. Then, we had a short ceremony concerning our heroes and our definitions of heroes. We are excited about tomorrow. Farewell, Jacob and Josh.
Check below for a video of us at the Yom HaZikaron ceremony...

Israel Day 2: Shalom from the Kotel!

Hello!!!

 This is Josh and Jacob writing to you from Israel. Today we had a spectacular day in Jerusalem with all of our new friends and staff members. In the beginning, we saw and prayed at the Robinson Arch, and later split into groups and discovered new historical facts about the Western Wall and Herod’s reign. Afterwards, we visited the museum, and watched a short clip and presentation of the architectural designs of the old city of Jerusalem. We then had a Pizzur Lunch at the Jewish quarter; we had very expensive food, and  were ripped off by Israelis. We later went to the western wall, and put our letters in the wall, and prayed to g-d. At the western wall, we went to the underground tunnels and glimpsed at the Western Wall extension. We enjoyed our visit, and hope to return once again in the future.

Farewell, Josh and Jacob.

 

Eighth Graders Arrive in Israel!

A Message from Yerushalayim...

Hi, this is Paige Epstein and Sydney Altman in Israel. 

Today was our first day in Israel, and it was a memorable one!  We reunited with friends from our fellow Gesher schools, and we landed at six thirty in the morning.  After fulfilling the important mitzvah of planting an oak tree, we toured ancient caves, and participated in an exciting archaeological dig.  One of our classmates, Josh Trif, discovered an ancient clay pot from the time of the Macabees, along with other artifacts.  Upon arriving in Jerusalem this afternoon, we checked into the hotel, ate dinner, and discussed the trip to the Kotel, which we will be making tomorrow.  We look forward to the exciting and unforgettable experiences that we will create in the Holy Land.

Love, Paige Epstein and Sydney Altman

Little Shop of Shushan!

Congratulations to the 8th Grade class on their incredible performance of "Little Shop of Shushan"! They did a stellar job singing, acting, and putting in an amazing effort and energy over the past couple of months. All of their hard work really paid off.  Special thanks to theater director (and HAMC alum :) ), Dee Dee Katchen for directing the play and pulling it all together.

DVD's of the play are available for purchase and a flyer is being sent home with more information.

Enjoy the photos of our 8th grade actors and actresses!

Welcome to Camp HAMC!

On Thursday morning, sleepaway camp invaded HAMC! Martin Sipicki, a special visitor from Argentina came to the HAMC to give the middle school students a feel for the incredible NJY sleepaway camps.  While some of our students already go to NJY sleepaway camps (Camp Cedar Lake, Camp Nesher, and more) others are getting ready to go for their first time this summer! Our visitors put us into the camp spirit, teaching us some catchy camp-fire songs, playing a heated game of Simon Says, and singing and dancing to a camp favorite "Salaam".  If we weren't excited for sleepaway camp already, we definitely were after this special event!


For more information on NJY Jewish sleepaway camps click link below:
http://njycamps.org/camps/

Shabbaton 2012!

Even with the arrival of  2012's first snow, this years Shabbaton was a huge success! Our 5th-8th graders had a blast spending the night in school and celebrating Shabbat together.

Here were some of our favorite highlights!

• Bringing in Shabbat with spirited singing led by Moreh Moshe
• Beautiful Kabbalat Shabbat service
• Delicious Shabbat dinner
• Staying up late bonding with our classmates
• Playing in the SNOW!
• Home cooked food from Morah Nurit and Mrs. Bacharach
• Challenging teambuilding games
• Creating our own culinary creations in a heated Iron Chef competition
• Using our teamwork skills in an awesome Apache Relay
• Hanging out with Lior and Noga
• Havdallah ceremony with our parents

And so much more!

There was a real sense of community and family reflected from the Shabbaton that the students created on their own.  The students were filled with so much spirit and excitement throughout the entire Shabbaton and really had an unforgettable weekend.  We can't wait for next year!

A big thanks to Moreh Moshe, Mrs. Bacharach, Morah Nurit, Ms. Gates, Jaclyn, Lior and Noga for putting the Shabbaton together and making sure everyone had a great time throughout the weekend!

Check out photos below of before Shabbat (candle lighting) and after shabbat (Havdallah).

Mary Poppins on Broadway!

Last night, the 4^th-8^th graders ventured to NYC to see Mary Poppins on Broadway!! The students (and chaperones) loved the show and had so much fun experiencing the excitement of New York City theater together.

Check out some of the Mary Poppins “photo shoots” the students took!

8th Graders Explore Different Perspectives of “The Chosen People”

This morning in Rabbi Rudin’s Chumash class, the 8^th graders conducted a debate of sorts on the meaning of the Hebrew phrase, “Am Nivhar”, “The Chosen People”. Throughout the Torah, the Jewish people are referred to as “The Chosen People”, but what does this really mean? The class split up into three separate groups, each group taking on the perspective of Reform, Conservative, or Orthodox Judaism on this matter. The presence of two visiting Rabbi’s from our community really enhanced the lesson and supplemented the students’ research with real-life accounts of the differing perspectives.  Rabbi Rossoff, from Temple B’nei Or of Morristown, represented the Reform viewpoint and Rabbi Adler, from White Meadow Temple of Rockaway, represented the Conservative viewpoint.  Unfortunately, Rabbi East of the Mount Freedom Jewish Center could not make the lesson, but Rabbi Rudin stood in for him to represent the Orthodox perspective on the matter.  While there is no one “correct” answer to this question of the “chosen people”, it was very interesting for the students to research and learn from these visiting Rabbi’s what the different sects of Judaism have to say on the matter.  Overall, the lesson was very informative, interactive, and eye-opening.

8th Grade Enjoys "To Kill a Mockingbird"

The 8th grade students enjoyed seeing the play To Kill A Mockingbird at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey at Drew University…and so did the chaperones! It was a wonderful play that the students really enjoyed.  After the performance, we stayed for the “talk-back” with the actors and director. The girls were even able to get a photo with the male actors, Jem and Dill. The play was the perfect culminating activity for our study of the novel and a wonderful way for us to show our support for the arts!

Eighth-Graders Become Sizzling Scientists!

Last week in the science lab, our eighth-graders learned a unit on chemical building blocks. The students did an experiment using everyday items to create a fizzy explosion! First the students inserted Alka Seltzer tablets in to a latex balloon and then they attached the balloon to the top of a bottle filled with water. The students watched the chemical reaction in awe as the water became completely fizzy from the release of carbon dioxide. This experiment confirmed once again that science can be fun!

A Graduating Class

Congratulations to our very own Class of 2011! We know they will do great things, and we are so excited to watch them continue to impact the world around them!

Thank you to Caroline for the photos!

More photos can be found on our Facebook Page!

More Photos from Israel!

We've got oodles more photos from our Eighth Graders in Israel. We also will have some video coming up soon! Stay tuned and check back in with us! For more photos, keep watching our Flickr account.

Eighth Graders Bond in Jerusalem

Our eighth graders are active and in Israel right now. We've got gobs of pictures that we hope you'll check out. When the students arrived in Israel, they participated in team-building activities, went to Machane Yehuda (the shuk) for lunch, and visited the Kotel on Friday night for Shabbat. Saturday night they visited the ever-happening Ben Yehuda. On Sunday, they spent time at Yad Vashem, Mt. Herzl, the Herzl Museum, and they visited the graves of Theodore Herzl, Yitzhak Rabin, and Hannah Senesh.





Stay tuned for more updates from our students abroad.