Alumni News • Issue 2 • December 2016
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| Welcome back to Mishpacha - our Brandeis Marin Family Alumni Association! I am very excited to have officially moved into the role of "Alumni Relations Coordinator" this year, which I think is the perfect fit after 9 years as a Brandeis student and over a decade as a classroom teacher at our school. It has been a great joy to reconnect with so many old friends, former students and family members. These connections are the reasons I love our school so dearly.
After transitioning into our own independent Jewish day school on July 1, 2015, our school is thriving. We still offer many of the amazing programs that so many alums may fondly remember, such as music with Mr. Scott and art with Mrs. Levy, but now we also additionally offer a cutting-edge Maker's program, mindfulness training and project-based learning is deeply woven into all facets of our school's engaging K-8 curriculum.
Throughout the year we welcome you to join us at various school functions, such as the winter concert, Tefillah & Oneg Shabbat, community celebrations and our beloved graduation ceremony in June. We hope that you will come back to visit, reconnect with old friends and update your former teachers and staff members on your journey since leaving our hallways. Please be on the lookout for electronic invites throughout the year.
We hope you enjoy this next edition of the Alumni Newsletter. We plan to distribute our next installment in the late Spring of 2017. And, if you have any exciting news you'd like to share, please feel free to contact me at: bfenster@brandeismarin.org.
Wishing all of our alums and alumni families a very happy holiday season. We hope to see you in 2017!
Warmly,
Becky Fenster ('93) Brandeis Marin Alumni Relations Coordinator | |
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| Coming Home
By: Steve Friedman I realized yet again today as I entered my classroom at Brandeis Marin that I am exactly where I should be--teaching. I taught Jewish studies at Brandeis from 1987-99 and loved it so much, but I "retired" in 1999 to be an at-home father, never thinking I might one day return to teaching because of the twists and turns my life has taken in the past 29 years. READ MORE | |
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| How has BHDS-Marin/Brandeis Marin helped bring you to where you are today? By: Ira Kaufman & Susan Kaufman Ira Kaufman: In 1978, I entered 2nd Grade at a brand new school in Marin County - Brandeis Hillel Day School. It is amazing to realize that my eldest child, Micah, is a 3rd Grader, this year. Brandeis has always been considered a family affair in my memory bank, as I was joined by my sister Nina (Kindergarten in '78) and Mom (Teacher) throughout my seven years as a student there. While it was a small school - less than 50 students that first year, our teachers and parents went to great lengths to build an environment that truly felt more like a family. READ MORE | |
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| Brandeis Marin Alum, Rachel Greenblat, comes back to teach Fourth Grade By: Rachel Greenblat ('02) & Angeline Greenblat Rachel: I think my mom [current first grade teacher, Angeline Greenblat] knew that I would be a teacher before I even knew I wanted to be one! I have always loved kids, and I started babysitting as soon as I was able to. But for most of my life I was very focused on ballet. I danced at the same studio from age 3 to 18, then when I went off to college I decided to continue with my dancing. I graduated with a BFA in Dance, and at my mom's insistence (and very smart thinking!), pursued a minor in education as well. After I graduated college, I moved to NYC and quickly fell in love with aerial yoga, so I decided to become certified, and I ended up teaching for almost two years. I enjoyed combining my dance education with my new love of yoga, and loved being a teacher. READ MORE | |
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| Rediscovering My Own Path By: Toby Pechner ('08) After I graduated from Brandeis in 2008 I attended the Marin School of the Arts at Novato High School where I continued many of the same music opportunities I had at Brandeis. I was a part of rock bands, jazz bands, and choirs, while getting my high school education. I thought I'd forever be a person who would pursue music, and so I continued studying music when I attended Columbia College in Chicago. READ MORE
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| Brandeis Marin alums, Deborah Genet ('95) and Eric Jacobs ('95), reconnect and welcome Poppy Genet Jacobs in the Spring 2016 By: Becky Genet Fenster ('93) Do you remember who you were standing next to in your fourth grade class picture? If you were to ask Brandeis Marin alums, Deborah Genet ('95) and Eric Jacobs ('95), they could actually answer that question thanks to their former Fourth grade teacher, Liz Atterman. READ MORE | |
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| Maker's Makom - Our New Maker's Lab at Brandeis Marin By: Barbara L. Cohen & Becky Genet Fenster ('93) Last year Brandeis Marin was the recipient of a grant from The Covenant Foundation to help our school establish a one-of-a-kind Maker program. In our state-of-the-art Maker's Makom (Maker's Lab), our K-8 students are exposed to and experiment with robotics, coding, electronics and other applied technologies. We also offer classes on developing software and animation programs. All Brandeis Marin students learn about digital citizenship and the responsible use of the Internet. READ MORE | |
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