Golda Och Player Hits 2,000 Points

Senior Gloria Rothenberg becomes the first player at Golda Och Academy to reach the milestone.

Golda Och Academy Senior Gloria Rothenberg scored her 2,000th point Monday night in GOA’s 56-19 victory over Christ the King. This achievement marks the first time in GOA’s history a player has reached this milestone. Rothenberg completed a four-point play in the third quarter to reach her 2,000th point. She totaled 37 points, 14 rebounds, 12 steals, and four assists. “It’s a major achievement, and it couldn’t have happened to a nicer person,” said GOA Athletic Director Janet Herman. “She’s been averaging 500 points a season for the past three years! She worked very hard to improve her skills. You put in your time, and you get the results.” It was the fifth game in a row where she recorded at least a triple-double. She also had a quadruple…

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Shul Spiel: B’nai Shalom

What's Happening in West Orange Synagogues?

This week's focus returns to B'nai Shalom, 300 Pleasant Valley Way.

By the Merit of Women In this week’s Parshah (Yitro) we read of the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. And much of the plot is driven by men. Moses’ father-in-law Yitro meets with and advises Moses prior to his arrival at the mountain. Moses’ sons are introduced. Moses and Aaron partake of a sacrificial meal. Moses ascends and descends the mountain. And Moses adjures the men to “not come near a woman” for three days prior to the ophany. Yet at this very time of the year we are reminded that it is the women who made it all possible. According to the Babylonian Talmud, "Biz’chut Nashim Tzidkaniyot - By the merit of righteous women Israel was redeemed from Egypt" (Sotah 11b). In Egypt, it was the women who maintained the hope and optimism to…

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Golda Och Academy Breaks Ground on $7 Million Expansion and Renovation Project

Groundbreaking ceremony honors Mark and Jane Wilf for their $2 million donation to the project.

Golda Och Academy's lower campus officially broke ground on their $7 million expansion and renovation project Thursday during a special ceremony. The Wilf Lower School Campus Renovation Project was named after Jane and Mark Wilf, who contributed a $2 million lead capital gift for the Lower School renovation. “I think for myself and for our family, we realize the importance of Jewish education to the future of the Jewish community and the Jewish people,” said Mark Wilf. “This new building will provide the classroom space and facilities so that the children here can maximize their education in terms of Jewish values and a love of Israel.” The current building, which houses students from Pre-K to fifth grade, will have newly refurbished …

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Golda Och Students Celebrate Israel

Students learn about culture for Yom Ha'atzmaut, or Israel Independence Day.

Golda Och Academy celebrated Yom Ha'atzmaut, Israel Independence Day, last week with a flurry of cultural activities with visitors from its partner school, MetroWest High School in Ra'anana, Israel.  The Upper School went on a mock flight to Israel and "visited" several classrooms set up to represent different cities, such as Ra'anana, Tel Aviv, and Negev. The students did a variety of activities, such as playing drums, a water game and making necklaces.   At the Lower School, activities included a demonstration of Krav Maga, a self-defense martial art developed in Israel, a SmartBoard presentation of Israeli technology, and a lesson on Israeli dancing. The students dined on falafel and a cake decorated to resemble the Israeli flag. The …

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Holocaust Survivor Speaks at West Orange School

Eva Wiener spoke at Golda Och Academy last week.

When she was a very young girl, Eva Wiener and her parents undertook an epic ocean journey in order to escape Nazi-era Germany and the persecution of Jews like themselves. They and several hundred Jews crowded a cruise ship that took them across the Atlantic Ocean and to Cuba, where they were refused asylum simply because they are Jews. Thursday last week, Wiener came to Golda Och Academy in West Orange, a private Jewish day school, to talk about her experience on that ship, the Holocaust, and her life after to high school students. She was the invited speaker of the 20th Annual Sala Elbaum Yom HaShoah Memorial Lecture, according to school officials. "You are the last generation to meet a Holocaust survivor," she told the audience in the …

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And The Winner Is...

Golda Och Academy is winner of weekly Patch Reader's Choice Best of poll.

When it comes to children and early education, it seems like Golda Och Academy has earned the best reputation in town. The preschool at Golda Och Academy garnered first place in this week's reader's choice poll. Playhouse and Child's Way Jewish Montessori School both came in second. The lower school at Golda Och Academy — a Conservative Jewish day school — serves children from pre-K to fifth grade and is located at 122 Gregory Ave.

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Golda Och Academy Celebrates Pi Day

School places third in Pi Day competition

Golda Och Academy participants in the Pi Day Mathematics Competition last Thursday earned third place out of all 11 schools attending. Top New Jersey mathematics students in grades 3, 4, and 5, competed in the program that was sponsored by the Math League and held at the Solomon Schechter of Greater Monmouth County. "The goal was to really challenge the kids, to have them excited to explore new math concepts," said Golda Och Academy’s team advisor Julie Schwarzwald. The 3rd and 4th grade teams each took second place for their grade levels. In addition to GOA placing third out of the 11 schools attending, GOA was the highest scoring day school at the competition. "What I am most proud of is that by taking team awards, it was clearly a team …

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Golda Och Celebrates 100th Day of School

Students participate in 100-day activities

Golda Och Academy kindergarten students celebrated the 100th day of school last week by counting 100 of each snack, parading through the school singing the 100th day song and staging a "museum" in the gym during lunch time to show off each child's collection of 100 things. How did you celebrate the 100th day of school? Email photos to karen.yi@patch.com.

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Golda Och Students Pitch In for New Orleans

For sixth year, students participate in Katrina Relief Mission

Students from Golda Och Academy of West Orange are volunteering for the sixth year in New Orleans as part of the school's Katrina Relief Mission. From Dec. 6 through Dec. 9, 20 students from the private school will be working in the city, helping neighborhoods continue to recover from the devastating 2005 storm. Over the past six years, Golda Och Academy has sent more than 100 members of the school community to help in the rebuilding efforts of New Orleans. Students and members of the school have also collected hundreds of boxes of supplies and close to $10,000 to help residents of the Gulf Coast.

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