Community Service

Photos from Literacy Program in Dorchester, MA

In keeping with the fundamental Jewish values of gemilut hasadim (acts of lovingkindness) and tikkun olam (improving the world), Gann Academy consciously strives to connect midrash (intellectual creativity) and ma'aseh (responsible action) throughout its educational process.

Both students and faculty at Gann Academy participate in community service throughout the school year, and to this end the school has developed partnerships with a variety of Boston-area organizations. These organizations, which include nursing homes, food banks, soup kitchens, nursery schools, day care centers, community farms, and transitional homes for battered women and children, now look forward to regular visits from the Gann Academy community. Students use time spent in their advising group to prepare for their visits. Often the students choose to extend these volunteer opportunities through the tikkun olam option of our March Exploration Week or our senior eight-week spring internship program.

Sophomore, Junior and Senior students will be required to do 18 hours per year. Freshman will participate in three community service days (planned by Gann) throughout the school year.

Limud Clali
	The Limud Clali program is a biweekly interactive seminar designed to introduce our students and faculty to new, exciting, and provocative ideas. The topics are chosen to provoke constructive debate within our community. The program offers three major components: guest speakers, ethics labs, and pluralism labs. Guest speakers represent a wide range of intellectuals, clergy, professionals, and activists, each embodying distinct social, religious, and political views. In the ethics labs students discuss and debate issues and consider their practical applications from both general and uniquely Jewish perspectives. Pluralism labs explore concerns—both Jewish and secular—that affect us as a community of individuals with diverse and conflicting belief systems.
Rabbi Capers Funnye speaking to the Gann Students
Guest Speakers
	The guest speakers for the Limud Clali program represent a diverse group of academicians, clergy, professionals, and activists, each of whom brings a unique perspective to our school. They represent a wide spectrum of social, religious, and political views and are certain to provoke a variety of responses from our students and faculty. Students will, no doubt, discover among our speakers individuals who will serve as role models for their own lives. Some programs center on texts provided by the speaker. The texts are distributed to students and faculty in advance to allow everyone time to study the material. Some of this year's planned speakers and programs include: November 7th - Shira Springer - Boston Globe Reporter - Ethics of Sports December 12th - F. Lvenia - Catholicism changing view of Judaism January 27th - Lisa Lehmann, Medical Ethics January 30th - Rabbi Harold Kushner February 6th - Beiit Teshuva February 27th - Scott Fried - Aids
Stalin Colinet, discussing "The Path to Athletic Scholarship/Playing opportunities at the College Level" to Gann Students

The Sidney and Esther Rabb Ethics Labs

In recognition and appreciation of the generosity of the Sidney and Esther Rabb Charitable Foundation, the ethics labs have been created to help students discuss and debate ethical issues in theory and in practice. These labs investigate ethics from both general and uniquely Jewish perspectives. Some ethics labs begin with a one-hour presentation by a guest speaker, followed by discussions conducted in small group settings. Other ethics labs consist of multiple presentations exploring different aspects of an overall theme. In these labs, students choose the presentation to attend. These formats are designed to encourage interaction and thoughtful exchange of ideas among students.

Pluralism Labs

Pluralism labs explore issues—both Jewish and secular—which affect us as a community of individuals with diverse and conflicting belief systems.