Thursday, December 12, 2020 |  2 Tevet 5781

Scroll down the page to explore the programs and academies unique to Weber and not found at any other Atlanta-area high schools!

Students in CP Hebrew 2, 3, and 4 recently finished studying a unit on Hanukkah foods with their teachers Sheri Arotchas, Almog Yehuda, Yaira Auz, and Iris Greber. You could hear rumbling stomachs across the school as a total of 6 classes and 86 students learned the history of Sofganiyon (Israeli donuts), Levivot (Israeli latkes), and Sfinge (Israeli Moroccan donuts) and how to cook them! After an asynchronous workshop with Israeli pastry chef David Mendes, students were set loose in their home kitchens, tasked with videoing themselves cooking the foods for their families while discussing the process in Hebrew.

The students had a great time experimenting in the kitchen and their families appreciated having traditional Hanukkah foods for the holiday!

Click here to see freshman Frank Silverman teach us how to cook Sfinge. Watch out Food Network!

Missy Davis, Olivia Rocamora's maternity substitute for her Immigration Lit class, found a creative way to connect a core text, "Tortilla Curtain," to the podcast Scattered, featuring comedian and writer Chris Garcia. The podcast details Chris's journey to uncover information about his recently deceased father, delving into his father's struggle under Fidel Castro's regime in Cuba and the events that led to him leaving Cuba and immigrating to the US. The podcast paired well with the core text as both depict the struggles immigrants face when coming to the US and some of the atrocities they have endured in their home countries. After listening to the podcast and discussing what they heard, students were thrilled to have an opportunity to hear from Mr. Garcia himself!

"I reached out to Chris when I first heard his podcast to ask for clarification on a few details...and he offered to zoom with the class." Ms. Davis shared. "Zooming with him was a lot of fun. He answered students' questions about his life and shared more background information on how the podcast came to be." 

Ms. Davis noted that Sra. Rocamora and Mr. Garcia share some commonalities as both of their close family members immigrated from Cuba around the same time. Mr. Garcia encouraged Sra. Rocamora to continue learning and writing about her family's history to keep her family's story alive. 

Chris is currently a head writer on the Netflix show "Mr. Iglesias" and performs stand up comedy in LA. He has been featured on Comedy Central and the James Corden Show.

Weber Alum Adam Podber (Class of 2008), who credits Weber with playing a pivotal role in his journey to becoming a full-time artist and muralist, was invited to participate in the Jewish Street Art Festival (LINK) in LA -- currently reimagined as a mural festival across the US and Canada. Adam is one of nine participating artists painting a mural in their city during Hanukkah, with a unifying theme of "light over darkness."

Adam is painting at the Selig Center, in coordination with the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta. Adam invited a few community members to 'light'/paint a candle on the menorah, including Gabby Spatt from Blue Dove Foundation, Leslie Gordon of the Breman Museum, Nir Levy from OneTable, Nikki Berne from Jewish Kids Groups, and Eric Robbins from Federation.

"Weber helped, encouraged, and pushed me to succeed with myriad opportunities to pursue art." shared Adam. "I owe a lot to Weber. Not only for my growth in my regular art classes but for the opportunity to take independent study art courses and jointly enroll with SCAD during the last semester of senior year. Weber played such an important role in my creative journey and career that I'm thrilled to be able to share this project with Weber and the Jewish community at large."

Kol HaKavod to Head of School Rabbi Ed Harwitz and our student volunteers who continue Weber's tradition of commemorating the original miracles of Hannukah with school-wide candle lightings each day of Hanukkah.

Kol Hakavod to sophomore Irene Sharon who hosted Waggs for Weber's first-ever Pawnukkah party! Waggs for Weber is quickly becoming one of Weber's most enthusiastic and involved clubs thanks to Irene's leadership!

Thank you to special guest musician Jacob Spike Kraus who joined students in Music Director Drew Cohen's composition class. Mr. Kraus walked the students through his process of songwriting as musical midrash and shared how he transforms ancient text into catchy pop.

Congratulations to junior Naomi Kurapotwa who was a top winner in her age group in the Atlanta Jewish Times Hanukkah art contest! Click here to view her original piece, "Warmth of the Chanukkiah."

Thank you to Sign Greeters for the festive Chanukah greetings at our school entrance!

The Weber School

6751 Roswell Road   •   Atlanta, GA 30328   •   (404) 917-2500