"Upper School Corner"

Mounting research shows there may be benefits to playing video games.

When including video games and esports in the classroom as part of curriculum, administrators are seeing an increase in teamwork and engagement from participating students. 

Below are 4 examples of benefits that can be learned from gameplay.

1. BETTER SPATIAL ATTENTION: One study found that playing action video games improves the ability to locate a target stimulus among distractions — a test that predicts driving ability. A meta-analysis of 111 video game–related studies recently published in the Psychological Bulletin found 10 to 30 hours of gameplay can help students improve their spatial cognition and multitasking. The report’s… Read More »

Hebrew Academy Middle School Students have been conducting an in-depth, interdisciplinary research project about earthquakes. Their research has included discovering the causes of and patterns of seismic activity. They have also learned the differences between the tectonic activity associated with volcanoes and those associated with earthquakes.

The students use the knowledge they have gained through their studies to design a structure and identify what could help their structure stay standing. Students will be presenting their research findings and their structures with a presentation on Dec 13.

Students are also creating a creative visual component to supplement their final reports.  Some students will be using a news segment, a… Read More »

 Dr. Hilary Buff has been the consulting psychologist for The Hebrew Academy for the last 5 years. She has touched and impacted the lives of all of our students, teachers, staff, and parents. With her dedication and skill, she established strong partnerships between our school and The Jewish Federation & Family Services in both Orange County and Long Beach. The Hebrew Academy has benefited from her efforts by having these organizations on-site regularly to help our children and families with support and counseling services. She also contributed to the core social emotional program our school prides itself on to nourish young minds and hearts.  She is an alum of the Academy as well as a legacy parent whose children have… Read More »

There are 6 main reasons, according to the Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education, that are behind most parents motivation to send their kids to day school. They range from education to comfort within the Jewish Community. Each has their place, and each helps affirm why The Hebrew Academy is the best place for our communities children. No matter what stage of Jewish life you may walk in, a Jewish Education will not only prepare your child for the real world but will also perpetuate their Jewish Identity and help them see the beauty in our religion and culture.

 Excellence in Education -

Jewish Day Schools offer a challenging dual curriculum that is usually coupled with a smaller class size. This allows for individualized… Read More »

The prompt for this year’s essay contest was Martin Niemöller’s famous poem:

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a Socialist.

 

Then they came for the… Read More »

The Theatre Arts Program at Hebrew Academy of Orange County is excited to present this year’s annual high school girls’ performance. The annual performance allows young theater enthusiasts to share their passion for the arts with their peers and the opportunity to perform or work backstage. Based on A Light for Greytowers, this year’s performance will be taking place this upcoming Tuesday on February 27th at Hebrew Academy of Orange County (HAOC).

The girls’ involvement with putting on the annual production is “one of the most important projects done all year,” according to Chedva Aben-Moha, who, along with Devorah Serraf, runs the production, with the help of Rochel Leah Stillerman, the… Read More »

The need to defend oneself physically is one that is always useful. That might be said doubly so for women, and especially for young ladies. What if young ladies were trained in a self-defense technique to help them?

That is precisely what is being done at Hebrew Academy Orange County, where girls in 5th grade through high school are offered a self-defense class. The class utilizes krav maga, contact-combat in Hebrew (קרב מגע), which is a military self-defense and fighting system developed for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The class is taught once a week for 45 minutes by Hebrew Academy Orange County’s chief of security, a ten-year veteran of the IDF.

The krav maga course is about more than self-defense. “I’m… Read More »

This Shabbos we are having our first HAOC Upper School Girls Unity Shabbaton!!!

We are so excited to bring our girls together for a Shabbos of growth, fun and memories. It is going to be an incredible opportunity for our girls grades 6 through 12 to get to know each other and bond in a new way. We are looking forward to a fun outing to bowling and slurpees on Friday followed by a photo booth and souvenir sign in. Mrs. Mushka and Rabbi Friedman will be joining us to provide inspiration over Shabbos. We will be having workshops on healthy friendships, self awareness and independent thinking and lots of fun programming to ensure a great time is had by all. We are going to end off with swimming and a sing along bonfire with music provided by… Read More »

Judaic studies at the Hebrew Academy strengthens and reinforces everything that our students learn all  across the curriculum.

Moreover, the method in which our students engage in Chumash/ Torah studies in Middle school affords them wonderful opportunities  to stretch their thinking and imagination, and the ability to create and construct powerful and inspiring personal life lessons that they can apply to their  lives as students today and that will guide and shape their characters long into the future.   

As our students study the original text of the Torah, they are asked to make associations and form connections with everything else in their lives.Our Middle school boys Chumash/Torah class incorporates Bloom's… Read More »

Scientific Inquiry- Bridging Hearts and Minds

Small class sizes, something I never fathomed to experience in public education. The ability to track, assess, motivate and engage students is a customized experience here at Hebrew Academy. We all learn differently and science can be a difficult topic to get across to young minds. I am very blessed and grateful to have this opportunity to investigate scientific concepts with a group of eager students and a very supportive and flexible staff.

We have began the year as most science classes do, by engaging in discussions and creating a climate of respect and acceptance. Student’s quickly began learning about scientific investigations and how learning can be a community effort. We are… Read More »

The end of the calendar year brought with it a wonderful opportunity for the sixth graders to work cooperatively on a middle school project which focused on endangered species.  This Project Based Learning or PBL had our students engaged in deep research in their science classes to find out as much as possible about the impact human activities have had on habitat and species loss.  Through meticulous data collection and analysis, they were able to make connections between climate change and the potential extinction of their chosen species.  Once they collected all of their data, they were tasked with filming an educational video to educate others on the challenges facing their species and how the risks to these animals could… Read More »

 Preparing for the Future

The students in the high school have been engaged in activities which focus on postsecondary preparedness. We have been examining the entrance requirements of the various colleges and seminaries for which your students have expressed interest. All high school students wrote college application essays for their college or seminary of choice. This was a very practical exercise for our seniors, who have submitted applications beginning at the end of November. We have learned about the traits of a compelling entrance essay, and we’ve explored various methods of writing which will help our students’ submissions to stand out.

Additionally, our seniors sat down for another in an ongoing… Read More »

Hello, my name is Yiska Berkowitz and I teach Jewish History and Yahadus to the Middle School Girls and Jewish History to the Middle School Boys.

In Yahadus, we delved into all of the holidays of Tishrei, as well as the month of Elul and The Fast of Gedaliah.  We reviewed the basics and learned new insights and meanings behind the laws and customs.  I hope your children shared some of the information with you over the holidays!

After Thanksgiving break, I will be doing a unit on The Calendar.  The students will learn why some months have one day of Rosh Chodesh, and others have two, and they will also become more familiar with the dates and events on the Jewish Calendar.

In Jewish History, we picked up right where… Read More »