Recent Herzliah Successes / Recents succès d'Herzliah

I have just returned from Florida where, once again, our students have excelled each of our three teams won gold in each of their divisions at the RAVSAK International Moot Court Beit Din competition where they competed against teams from over thirty of the best Jewish High Schools in North America. While on the plane, homeward bound, I began to reflect on this past year at Herzliah and the impressive accomplishments of so many of our students in so many disciplines. I couldn’t be more proud of our students and felt that you, our parents, should be able to share in their stellar accomplishments.

Did you know that:

Moot Court Beit Din

Three teams competed at the International RAVSAK competition in Florida last week. Each team won GOLD in their divisions!

Science Fair

17 Science Fair presentations that have EACH won prestigious awards from Hydro-Quebec, Dawson College, McGill University, Concordia University, Université de Laval, Merck Canada Ltd, the Montreal Neurological Institute Excellence and The Order of Chemists of Quebec Award (see the attached document for a more extensive list)

QAIS French Public Speaking Competition

Junior Competition First Place Winner and Senior Competition Second Place Winner

Weizmann Institute Physics Safe Cracking Competition

1st place in Quebec Weizmann Institute Safe Cracking competition. The team went on to take 6th place out of 30 teams at the International level competition which took place in Israel. The

Herzliah team was the top Canadian team.

Bible Contest

A secondary III student recently placed first in the Canadian National Bible Contest and is the first Montrealer to win in 17 years. This year, in the Chidon HaTanach, students in the junior high school division came in first and second place and in the senior division came in second.

Sports

Hockey Team - Semi-finalists

Swim Team

2 silver medals in 50m breast,

1 Gold Juvenile boys

JISA Soccer

3 banners won!

Bantam and juvenile girls won the Championship

Juvenile boys won the Championship

Basketball

JISA Championship for Bantam boys

GMAA Indoor

Track & Field

Silver medal in 4 X 200 relay race

Gold and silver medals in 60 m. hurdles

I would like to thank each and every staff member for guiding, mentoring, motivating and

supporting our students. Special thanks to the coaches of each group. Each individual victory adds to the collective pride of our students and staff. Together they create a spirit and enthusiasm that reverberates through our school.

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Je viens tout juste d’arriver de Floride où, une fois de plus, nos élèves ont excellé. Chacune de nos trois équipes a remporté l'or dans leurs divisions respectives lors de la compétition internationale Moot Court Beit Din de RAVSAK. Ils ont concouru contre des équipes de plus de trente des meilleures écoles juives d’Amérique du Nord. Durant le vol de retour, je me suis mis à réfléchir sur cette dernière année à Herzliah et sur les réalisations impressionnantes de tant de nos élèves dans plusieurs disciplines. Je suis extrêmement fier de nos élèves et me suis dit que nous devions partager avec vous, nos parents, leurs incroyables succès.

Saviez-vous que:

Moot Court Beit Din

Trois équipes étaient en compétition au Concours international Ravsak en Floride la semaine passée et les trois équipes ont gagné la médaille d’or de leur division respective.

Expo-Sciences

17 projets ont été présentés à l’Expo-Science et chacun d’entre eux a été récompensé par des prix d’Hydro-Québec, du Collège Dawson, de l’Université McGill, de l’Université Concordia, de

l’Université Laval, de Merck Canada Ltd., des prix d’excellence de l’Institut neurologique de Montréal et de l’Ordre des Chimistes du Québec (voir ci-joint pour une liste plus complète).

Concours Oratoire en Français (QAIS) 

Gagnant de la première place au niveau Junior

Gagnant de la deuxième place au niveau Senior

Concours ‘Safe Cracking’ de l’Institut Weizmann

1ère place dans la compétition « Safe Cracking » de l’Institut Weizmann du Québec. L’équipe s’est donc rendue en Israël pour la compétition internationale et s’est classée 6e sur 30 équipes. L’équipe d’Herzliah était la meilleure équipe canadienne.

Concours de la Bible

Un élève de 3e secondaire à Herzliah s’est récemment classé premier au Concours National de la Bible et est le premier Montréalais à avoir gagné cette place depuis 17 ans. Cette année, au Concours Chidon HaTanach, des élèves de la division 1ère et 2e secondaires sont arrivés premiers et des élèves de la division 3e à 5e secondaires ont gagné la deuxième place.

Sports

Équipe de hockey

Demi-finalistes

Équipe de natation

2 médailles d’argent en 50m brasse

1 médaille d’or pour les garçons niveau Juvénile

Soccer JISA

3 bannières de gagnées!

Les filles Bantam et Juvénile ont gagné le championnat

Les garçons niveau Juvénile ont gagné le championnat

Basketball

Championnat JISA pour les garçons Bantam

Athlétisme GMAA

Médaille d’argent à la course de relais 4 X 200

Médailles d’or et d’argent aux 60 m haie

J’aimerais remercier chacun des enseignants et membres du personnel d’avoir guidé, préparé, motivé et soutenu nos élèves. Un merci tout particulier aux coaches de chacune des équipes. Chaque victoire individuelle ajoute à la fierté collective de nos élèves et celle des enseignants. Ensemble, ils créent un esprit d’équipe et un enthousiasme qui résonnent à travers notre école.

Squad Goals: Dieting for Upcoming High School Reunion by Liz Pearl

This blog, in an abbreviated version, appeared in this month's Her Magazine

Squad Goals: Dieting for Upcoming High School Reunion
Liz Pearl

For years, I have pondered a nagging question: how many more decades will pass before my graduating year (class of ‘81) will plan a high school reunion? The wait is finally over, the planning committee is underway. The official count: it has been 35 years since our graduation. We recently all turned 50. What are we waiting for? The time is now.

Here’s why I finally decided to spearhead the long overdue high school reunion committee.

The self-appointed role gives me a totally legit opportunity to spend more time loitering on Facebook and other enticing social media. Who knows what entertaining discoveries might be revealed along the way?

The reunion prep will provide a welcome opportunity to indulge in nostalgia and satiate my immeasurable need for sentimentality and reminiscing.

This engaging experience will hopefully help me to adjust to the unwelcome empty nest stage I am currently not well-adjusted to.

This forthcoming blast from the past event will potentially empower me to lose a few pounds. (Just thinking about those ‘70’s skin tight high-waisted Just Jeans serves as ample motivation.)

This initiative will allow me to set a good example for my adult kids, all of whom have recently graduated from high school ‒ “There are no friends like old friends!” Kids: some of these friends will be “lifers”.

This approaching gathering will provide one final farewell opportunity to visit my high school building (Montreal: Herzliah High School, Snowden) which I recently learned is scheduled to be relocated sometime soon.

Each of my three siblings has attended, at some point, a high school reunion (same high school) and overall apparently, had a rewarding experience. It’s my turn.

Obviously I would rather connect with former high school classmates at a festive reunion than at a Shiva (sadly, this has already happened a few times). Let’s celebrate the good times.

My husband (also an alumnus of the same high school) has never had a reunion, either. Pathetic. Recently, he reunited with several dispersed classmates after they had all attended the funeral of a dear classmate. How sad is that?

Many of my middle-aged longing-for-our-youth friends have attended high school reunions and generally speaking the reviews have been favorable. (Depressing statistics about disease, death and divorce notwithstanding.)

My kids were fortunate to attend excellent private high schools in Toronto. ‪#‎CHAT (Community Hebrew Academy of Toronto) and ‪#‎CPC (Crestwood Preparatory College). Both of these schools have outstanding alumni departments, incredible assets to the schools, including the faculty, the students and the alumni community. It’s no secret that a topnotch high school produces a resourceful alumni network. I guess it’s time to reconnect and pay it forward.

I was fortunate to have a wonderful high school experience (including all of the usual drama and heartache) at a respected traditional high school in Montreal. ‪#‎HHS (Herzliah High School, Snowdon). It was always considered cool to be a high achieving student, involved in extra-curriculars and a decent person. I’m proud to be a member of this values-based community on Facebook and on other social media. However, sadly, I am part of a sizeable cohort that traversed the 401 Highway from Montreal to Toronto not long after my graduation from high school. Many of my classmates have done the same; that is, migrated to New York, Florida, Boston, London, Israel, and Hong Kong! Etc... It’s a stark reality, not just a passing trend: Anglo exodus from Montreal in the 70s, 80s 90s…In any case, most of us look back fondly on our high school years and generally have good (warm and fuzzy, albeit chilly) feelings about Montreal. Please note: a truly valid demographic study or survey is way beyond the scope of this post. Thankfully, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and other trendy social media have enabled us to share in each other’s lives; we are all just a click away. (True, our Millennial offspring are often needed to assist us with navigating innovative social networking). I’m wondering if there are not some must-have High School Reunion apps somewhere out there in cyberspace. I guess Eventbrite is a simple starting point; I will leave that to the tech committee.

I’m looking forward to finding a keen audience for my faded high school scrapbooks; I am definitely chairing the memorabilia display committee.

Let’s get together sometime soon. The truth is; Montreal is a great city to visit! Call the caterer…let’s get the party started.

There’s still enough time before the reunion to go on a diet.