Maimonides School

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Maimonides School
ישיבת רמב"ם

Established	1937
School type	Private
Staff
Head of School	Currently vacant
MS/US Principal	Rabbi Yair Altshuler
MS/US Secular Studies Principal	Ken Weinstein
Rosh Yeshiva	Rabbi David Shapiro
Total Faculty	119
Students	605
Religious affiliation	Modern Orthodox Judaism
Grades	K-12
Location	34 Philbrick Road or 2 Clark Road Brookline, MA 02445
Information	617-232-4452 info@maimonides.org
Website	Maimonides.org

Maimonides School (Hebrew: ישיבת רמב"ם) is a coeducational, Modern Orthodox, Jewish day school located in Brookline, Massachusetts. The school was founded in 1937 by Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik and is named after Rabbi Moses Maimonides.

Today, Maimonides is a world-renowned Torah institution with over 600 students from kindergarten through grade twelve and over 1,450 alumni, 150 of them living in Israel.

Contents 1 Student body 2 Campus 2.1 Saval building 2.2 Brener building 3 Fiscal situation 4 Student activities 4.1 Current clubs and activities 4.2 Inactive clubs and activities 5 Athletics 5.1 Boys teams 5.2 Girls teams 5.3 Students versus faculty 5.3.1 Faculty Basketball Game 6 Major school events 6.1 Annual Gala 6.2 Chanukah Banquet 6.3 Upper School plays 6.4 Purim Shpiel 6.5 Chagigat HaSiddur 6.6 Chagigat HaChumash 6.7 Chesed Day 6.8 Battle of the Bands 6.9 Color War and Maccabia 6.9.1 Color War 6.9.2 Maccabia 6.10 Retreat 7 Notable Alumni 8 Notable faculty 9 School song 10 References 11 Further reading 12 External links

[edit] Student body

The vast majority of Maimonides students come from one of four communities: Brighton, Brookline, Newton and Sharon. Other communities, such as Providence, Marblehead, Lowell, Malden, Lexington, New Bedford, and Natick are also represented in the student body.

[edit] Campus

Maimonides School currently is situated on a four acre campus in central Brookline, and is housed in two buildings.

[edit] Saval building

The Saval campus, named after Maurice Saval, a longtime school Chairman and benefactor, is the larger and the older of the two buildings. The Saval building houses grades six though twelve, the business office, and other administrative offices. Other features of the Saval building are a full gymnasium, indoor basketball court, Synagogue, a 17,000 volume library and Bet Midrash (house of religious Judaic study), two laboratories, and additional office and study space on the recently completed third level. The inner courtyard now includes a student lounge area and a SprinTurf playing surface for touch football and soccer, while a new upper school student lounge was recently completed. The Esther Edelman Learning Center has also undergone a cosmetic upgrade with new furniture, computers, air-conditioning and thermal pane windows.

[edit] Brener building

The Kindergarten through fifth grades are housed in the Brener building, which is across the street from the Saval building. The building is newer, although it is mostly classrooms. However, it does have a small gym, music room, art room, admissions office, and a library.

[edit] Fiscal situation

In late 2005, the school faced a significant budget deficit. To help alleviate the deficit, the School Board decided on cost-cutting, layoffs of about 9% of the faculty, and an extraordinary fund-raising effort. The school has successfully balanced its budget for 06-07 and seems to have achieved what most Jewish Day Schools continually struggle with - correcting its financial course without severely damaging enrollment or the high quality of its education.

As a result of the layoffs, the school was sued by some of the laid off teachers. In an October 2007 article, the Brookline Tab reported that the Mass Commission Against Discrimination found probable cause for age and gender discrimination against laid off teachers Evelyn Berman and Phyllis Schwartz.^[1] The cases were settled out of court. Berman alleged Elementary School principal Jack Billings did not give her an equal opportunity when she interviewed to be rehired and she accused Billings of falsifying his resume, an allegation later proved to be false.^[2] The 2006 Annual Gala (an event similar to the school's annual dinner) raised six hundred thousand dollars for scholarships for the school, which have increased, even given the current budget crisis. Approximately 60% of all Maimonides students receive some form of tuition assistance.

In January 2007, the cost of tuition and fees for a year at Maimonides' Upper School quietly exceeded $20,000 for the first time.

[edit] Student activities

[edit] Current clubs and activities

The following is an incomplete list of different middle and upper school student-run clubs and organizations, and other extracurricular activities (listed alphabetically):

• Chessed Committee
• David Project Club
• Drama Club (produces annual high school drama production - http://www.freewebs.com/maimonidesdramaclub)
• Girls Choir (Kol Isha)
• Israel Action Committee
  • Publishes Israel Update
• Jazz Band
• Junior Achievement: Titan

The 2006 Co-state-champion Titan team placed fourth in the northeast, and thirteenth nationally.^[3]

• Literary Magazine (The Current)
• School Newspaper (Spectrum)

This club now includes the publication of the "Spectrum Weekly" a weekly page listing dismissal schedule changes and period cancellations, a list of student birthdays, and articles about various news stories pertaining to the last week's worth of current events.

• Math team

The 2006 team won second place in their division at the regional level.^[4]

• MAC (Math Appreciation Club)
• Mock trial

The 2006 team was the most successful Maimonides mock trial team of all time, reaching the "Massachusetts Sweet Sixteen" in the MassBar Mock Trial Tournament.^[5] 2006 was also the first time the mock trial team defeated their arch-rival Brookline High School.

• Chidon Hatanach
• Model United Nations
• Recycling Club
• Soup kitchen
• Student Council
• Yearbook (Halapid)
• Clements Road Clan (a.k.a. the Saved by the Bell Club)

[edit] Inactive clubs and activities

The following is a partial list of clubs and activities that have existed in the past but are currently inactive.

• Astronomy Club
• Boys Choir (Kol Ish)
• Forrest Gump Club
• Mayim Achronim (Torah Journal)
• Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament
• Soviet Jewry committee
• Percussion Club

[edit] Athletics

Maimonides is a member of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association. The school's teams are named the M-Cats.

[edit] Boys teams

• Baseball (Varsity and Junior Varsity - Division III North)
• Basketball (Varsity, Junior Varsity and Middle School - Division IV North)
• Intramural Hockey
• Soccer (Varsity - Division III North)

[edit] Girls teams

• Basketball (Varsity, Junior Varsity and Middle School - Division IV North)
• Intramural Hockey
• Soccer (Varsity - Division III North)
• Softball (Varsity - Division III North)
• Volleyball (Varsity - Division III North)

[edit] Students versus faculty

[edit] Faculty Basketball Game

This game is a longstanding tradition that matches the male members of the senior class against the faculty in a game of basketball, proceeds from which are donated to charity.

[edit] Major school events

[edit] Annual Gala

The Maimonides School Annual Gala is a formal event for benefactors of the school's endowment to gather under the school's auspices, proceeds from which are apportioned for academic scholarships to the school. The gala also serves as an opportunity for the school to recognize the contemporary year's graduating class through a ceremony of which each member of the class is introduced to the guests.

In the early days of the event (then called the Annual Dinner), Maurice Saval, one of the major benefactors of the school (for whom the Saval Campus is named) invited each member of the senior class as his personal guest. Since then, the tradition has been upheld.

The gala is typically held at a hotel or other formal venue, such as the John F. Kennedy Library.

[edit] Chanukah Banquet

Every Chanukah, the middle and upper schools enjoys a uniquely themed banquet, such as monopoly or a casino, accompanied by according decor. The upper school jazz band performs before and during the meal and there is generally some other form of live entertainment afterwards. Many students choose to invite friends from other schools to the banquet, transforming the banquet into an annual gathering of the local high school Jewish community.

Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.

[edit] Upper School plays

The drama production is performed once a year by the Maimonides Drama Club, generally in mid-March, in the Fox gymnasium. It is directed and acted by students exclusively.

Past plays:

• The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie - 2008
• The Children's Hour by Lillian Hellman - 2007
• Lend Me a Tenor by Ken Ludwig - 2006
• Noises Off by Michael Frayn - 2005
• Rumors by Neil Simon - 2004
• The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) by the Reduced Shakespeare Company - 2003
• A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare

In 2006, the school featured a short play directed by an underclassman, in addition to the annual play. The one-acts, which are considerably shorter and of lower budget than the main production, bring drama to students who cannot commit to the full length play.

Past short plays:

• Act III, Scene V by Terry Ortwein - 2007
• The Actor's Nightmare by Christopher Durang - 2006

[edit] Purim Shpiel

Each year the Shpiel is performed by the Senior Class as a series of comedy sketches with the intent of making fun of faculty members.

Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.

 Spiels have traditionally featured only stage performances, but with the availability of new multimedia, recent spiels include multimedia comedy.  The Purim Shpiel is an annual source of tension between administration, who review drafts to censor defamatory and unsavvory material, and the students, who routinely sneak in skits.

[edit] Chagigat HaSiddur

Chagigat HaSiddur is the annual event, commonly known as the "Siddur Play", where the 1st graders receive their first siddur (prayerbook). Before the Chagigah they pray from either abbreviated siddurim or siddurim owned by the school. Afterwards they pray each day from their very own complete siddur. At the Chagigah, each 1st grade class performs a musical skit that addresses some aspect of prayer. The ceremony concludes with the teachers and principals calling up each student individually to receive his or her inscribed and specially bound siddur. The event usually ends with food.

Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.

[edit] Chagigat HaChumash

The Chagigat HaChumash is the annual event where the second grade students receive their first chumash (Bible). At the Chagigah, each 2nd grade class performs a musical skit that addresses some aspect of Torah learning. The ceremony concludes with the teachers and principals calling up each student individually to receive his or her inscribed and specially bound Chumash. After the Students receive their Chumashim, everyone generally enjoys light refreshments.

Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.

[edit] Chesed Day

For the past few years, the Upper School Chesed Committee, with assistance from the Upper School Activities Coordinator, has organized a day when the entire middle and upper school student body leave school for a day and volunteer at different area community service destinations such as the Blue Hills, Pine Street Inn, the Esplanade Association, the Coolidge House, the Department of Conservation and Recreation, Greater Boston Food Bank, Hebrew Rehabilitation Center, Rosie's Place, Cradles to Crayons, The Franklin Park Zoo and the New England Veterans Shelter. Currently, in order to make planning of Chesed Day easier, each grade has had its own Chesed Day.

[edit] Battle of the Bands

Every holiday of Sukkot (Festival of Tabernacles), the school holds a Battle of the Bands. Bands typically form for the sole purpose of competing in Battle of the Bands. The competition is generally made up of rock, jazz, and blues bands, though there has been music of other genres. The judicial method of choosing a winner varies year to year from student voting to faculty judges. Past winners include two time winner Brown Iris and One Fish, Jew Fish. For the first time in Maimonides history, in the 2008 battle of the bands, a 7th grade band ("Etai and the Others") won, beating four other bands including Brown Iris.

[edit] Color War and Maccabia

[edit] Color War

This takes place annually in the Elementary School. Teams are led by 6th graders captains, who compose songs and cheers, make a poster, write a D'var Torah, perform skit and motivate their team to win.

[edit] Maccabia

The Maccabia is a series of sporting events that takes place every few years in grades seven through twelve. Generally organized by the Student Council, it is led by two captains from each class.

[edit] Retreat

Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.

[edit] Notable Alumni

• Eliot Cohen, influential neo-conservative and professor of foreign policy at Johns Hopkins University
• Noah Feldman, Harvard law professor and critic of Modern Orthodox Judaism.^[6]
• Steven Bayme, essayist and author
• Barry Lowenkron, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
• Matthew Levitt, a senior fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, specializing in terrorism and US policy
• Binyamin Appelbaum, journalist at the Boston Globe
• E.B. Solomont, journalist for Forward and The New York Sun
• Rabbi Michael Strassfeld

[edit] Notable faculty

• Rabbi Seth Farber

[edit] School song

The Maimonides School Song is currently not in use. When sung, it was sung to "Ode to Joy" from Beethoven's Ninth. It was written by Ralph Tucker, an English teacher in the early years of the school. The following text is taken from the 1965 yearbook.

Praise to thee our alma mater;
Hail to thee Maimonides;
Homage at this time we pay thee
Whom we laud for all of these:

For the wisdom of the Torah,
For our training secular,
For the light of learning shining
Bright before us like a star.

Guide us in our way of living;
Teach us as the torch we seize
Values true and everlasting,
Hail to thee, Maimonides.

In addition, there is a Hebrew version of the song, but only very few Alumni know the words.

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• Farber, Seth (2003). An American Orthodox Dreamer: Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik and Boston's Maimonides School. Brandeis University Press. ISBN 1-58465-338-8. 
• Siefer, Ted. "Day School Drama", Boston Globe Magazine, 1 October 2006. Retrieved on 2006-10-13. (English) 

[edit] External links

• Maimonides School - Official School Website
  • History
• MIAA
  • School Listing
  • Coaching Staff