Bronfman Amitim Fellows Visit TMA

On Wednesday, December 1^st, twenty Israeli students visited TMA. The students come from all over Israel and are in the United States for two weeks to learn about the country and to meet American Jews. Over the past five years the Bronfman Fellows have always made a trip to Thurgood Marshall Academy to participate in a dialogue with our students. This year, Mr. Hendricks’s Street Law class participated in the discussion. Our students and the Israelis talked about their lives and the differences between their schools. Our students were surprised that in most Israeli schools there is no prom or homecoming dance. The Israelis, meanwhile, thought our school building was beautiful and exchanged Hebrew slang with our students. Our students were surprised to learn that in Israel, there is mandatory military enlistment for both boys and girls.

However, the discussion did not focus solely on differences. On both sides, the students were surprised at how much they had in common. Many of the students liked similar television shows and music. Our students realized that Israel was not so different from the United States. At the end of the day, no one wanted the conversation to stop. Facebook names and email addresses were exchanged so that the conversation could continue.

A special thank you goes to Julie Dougherty for coordinating the visit. We would also like to thank the staff of the Bronfman Program! This amazing opportunity would not have happened without them.

Text Alive! in action

While the 10th graders at TMA were busy rockin' the DC CASS, the 12th graders in Ms. Lyons' class were busy with Text Alive! Text Alive! is a program through the Shakespeare Theatre Company where:

1. Students came together to perform Henry V onstage at the Shakespeare Theatre Company
2. Students attended a professional performance of Henry V at the Shakespeare Theatre Company AND
3. Teaching artists will return to the classroom to provide students the opportunity to give feedback on the production and the entire program.

Active participant Janay Jones stated, "My experience with Text Alive! was a good one. EVERYONE did a good job, their acting was great and so were their costumes."

Other students commented that reading, seeing, and acting out Henry V gave them a deeper understanding of the play than they would have received by only reading the play.

Thanks to Ms. Lyons, her students, and the Shakespeare Theatre Company for all of their hard work!