Dear MHA Community,

Yesterday, we held our Patrons Meeting and Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast. We thanked outgoing president David Katz for his dedicated service to the MHA and welcomed Aileen Cooper as our new board president. We also acknowledged the tireless efforts of our volunteers and showed a “Year in Review” video. Click here to watch the video and click here to see pictures from the meeting.

The 2017-18 Margolin Hebrew Academy-Feinstone Yeshiva of the South school year was outstanding! The year was rich with meaningful and developmentally appropriate learning opportunities in both General and Judaic studies - many of which you will read more about below!

One of this past year’s overarching initiatives was Growth Mindset. As a school – faculty and students – we learned and practiced techniques that encourage students to choose to be challenged and to build resilience in the face of adversity. This initiative is also influencing how our students demonstrate what they learn.

As we transition to the new school year, we are excited to build on this momentum. Our teachers and administrators are studying, planning, seeking mentorship, researching, meeting in groups and attending workshops and conferences, all to prepare for the first day of school on August 15th. This week, our administrators are in New York at a training program organized by the Consortium of Jewish Day Schools on Responsibility-Centered Discipline. Over the course of the year, we will be introducing new curricula and programs into the school to support increased student achievement and growth. We are anticipating an amazing 2018-19 school year!

In the meantime, we hope you are having a wonderful summer.

Yours truly,

Rabbi Benjy Owen
Head of School
Leach Early Childhood Center

In the ECE, each class studied the Olympics using the Project Approach, a program designed to give students deep thinking skills as well as initiation in their own learning. They also utilized the Project Approach for mini units throughout the year to deepen their critical thinking and higher order thinking skills. The ECE showcased their learning at three holiday parties with parents. Our ECE educators also collaborated with the Baron Hirsch YU fellows, Torah Mitzion Kollel, Bat Ami, and CYHSB students to bring new and exciting Judaic studies experiences throughout the year.
Margolin Hebrew Academy (Grades 1-8)

In the elementary school, students published a book of original poetry in conjunction with our annual Poetry Contest. Readers and Writers Workshop was expanded to include fourth through sixth graders. Teachers reported tremendous growth in reading and writing in these grades, with student achievement evident in testing and class performance. In March, Grades 1-8 displayed what they were learning in science at our Science Expo. Each class produced an interactive display and highlighted which Next Generation Science Standard they were focused on at that point.
 
Nine of our middle school students qualified to take the national Chidon HaTanach exam and thirteen students participated. Our students took the exam entirely in Hebrew and MHA had the highest percentage of qualifying students of any participating school. The middle school girls hosted their very first Courageous Women in Tanach program, where they each spoke passionately as they presented their research on women that they had chosen from the Tanach.

Our academic year culminated in an incredible Celebration of Learning, which shed a light on the creative ways that students learned and connected with their General and Judaic studies lessons in grades 1-12.
Eighth Grade Graduation

In June, twelve eighth grade students took to the MHA stage and shared speeches based on the theme “My Story” at their inspirational Eighth Grade Advancement Program. To read their speeches, visit this link and click on their names. We are excited to watch these students continue to excel at FYOS and beyond.
Feinstone Yeshiva of the South

In the FYOS, fourteen students created the documentary film Names, Not Numbers at the conclusion of an oral history project with Holocaust survivors. The film debuted at a community-wide showing , which also included a unique photo gallery of the survivors that was created by students in Jewish history class.

Five CYHSB students traveled to New York to participate in Model Beis Din, a nationwide competition where High school teams debate each other and test their knowledge of halacha. At their annual Celebration of Torah Learning, these students presented their arguments from Model Beis Din to the community.

As part of their economics and personal finance class, GMSG students participated in a “Shark Tank” program. Executives from the Memphis Jewish community were asked to serve as team and program advisors.

The GMSG Torah Learning Showcase featured a presentation by the GMSG First Place Moot Beit Din team and other Divrei Torah.  

The scores that our students earned on this year's Advanced Placement (AP) exams are impressive! The highest possible score on an AP exam is a 5. To earn a 5, students must master the subject. In recognition of this mastery, students typically receive college credit wherever APs are accepted. In many cases, scores of 4 or even 3 entitle a student to college credit.

Our students took a total of 28 exams in six different AP subjects. In just one example of their outstanding achievement, our students earned the top score of 5 in over half of the tests taken!

Student Awards

Our high school students received numerous impressive awards this year, including:

Batya Bosin received the prestigious Sarah Rivkah and Dr. Bernard Lander zt"l Scholarship awarded jointly by Touro College and NCSY.

Shlomo Bosin and Meira Braverman won the Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarship.

Simi Clapman won the Jane Ross Memorial Scholarship from Special Olympics King Pins Bowling League.

Twelfth Grade Graduation

Eighteen incredible students graduated from FYOS this year. To read their speeches, visit this link and click on their names. Sixteen of our graduates will spend a year in Israel next year. We are pleased to share that several of our students were accepted to their top choice colleges and universities, including Barnard and Brandeis. We are very proud of the accomplishments of all of our graduates and wish them the best in their future endeavors!