Gann Academy is pleased to welcome Dr. Dalia Hochman as our new Head of School. Dr. Hochman has already begun work and is eager to meet the entire Gann community. As such, we’d like to invite you to attend one of the many upcoming Meet and Greets scheduled for the coming months.
Gann Athletes Receive Boston Globe All-Scholastic Honor
The Boston Globe just released the 2018-19 All-Scholastic honor roll, highlighting Greater Boston's top athlete-scholars. This year, two Gann athletes—Josh Gans '19 and Matt Gluck '19—received the prestigious All-Scholastic ranking. Josh was recognized for Boys Soccer and Matt for Baseball.
"Both Josh and Matt have epitomized the Gann Athlete during their careers at Gann," said Director of Athletics Brad Ballinger. "Their on-field success is a direct result of their good sportsmanship, resilience, dedication, and caring for their teammates."
"What drew you to Gann Academy?" "What issues are facing Jewish day schools today?" and, "How have your past experiences prepared you for this position?"
These are a few of the questions addressed in last week's interview with Gann's new Head of School, Dr. Dalia Hochman published in The Jewish Advocate.
On June 16, 2019, we came together as a community to celebrate the achievements of the Gann Academy Class of 2019. As these 75 young adults depart from Gann to continue their educational journeys, they bring with them a deep understanding of who they are as individuals and as Jews.
Thank you to the families and friends who joined us in person and online to celebrate the Class of 2019 on their special day! Below is a selection of video highlights from the commencement ceremony. You can view more videos on our Commencement Webpage.
At Gann, we are passionate about helping students explore learning that may not be possible in the four walls of a classroom. And so we craft hands-on learning opportunities each year in which Gann students cultivate awareness, curiosity, and respect for the world around them.
Enter Exploration Week, a weeklong adventure which took place last week that lets students immerse themselves in a new place and topic.
Language learning at Gann is as much about immersing yourself in cultural experiences as it is about mastering vocabulary and grammar. Recently, Gann's Arabic students enjoyed a uniquely immersive experience.
Last week, Gann welcomed the esteemed Islamic calligrapher Hajj Wafaa to campus as part of an ongoing Arabic III unit on the use of calligraphy as an expression of identity. Throughout the unit, students have been researching the history, purpose, and forms of Arabic calligraphy.
Gann women compete on the math team and are members of the Women in STEM club. They take upper-level science, engineering, and math courses. Gann women just plain love any activity that kicks their left brain into gear.
"Gann was a very supportive place for me," says Gann Academy alum Zoe Weiss '17, who now studies computer science at Brown University and has dreams of working for Pixar. "My teachers in all my STEM courses were very encouraging." While at Gann, Weiss was named a winner of the National Center for Women & Information Technology Award for Aspirations in Computing, through its Massachusetts affiliate. The award recognizes high school women for their computing-related achievements.
Gann's myIsrael 2019 trip is in full swing! Our tenth graders are in week three of six in their journey exploring the land of Israel through an exciting mix of experiential learning, camping, sports, art, high-tech, community service and more.
Gann Junior to Receive Israel Bond's Star of David Award
Mazel tov to Gillian Pergament '20. In recognition of her outstanding leadership and devotion to the State of Israel, Israel Bonds will be presenting Gillian with its prestigious Star of David Award at the annual North Shore Community Cocktail Reception in Salem on May 14.
An Op-Ed by Leora Soibelman '21 published in the Shevuon Hatichon student newspaper.
The word "politics" produces an eye-roll every time I say it. That reaction reveals a larger problem in our society: people are wary of government. An institution that is meant to help us and represent our beliefs has become the thing that Americans want to talk least about. And that attitude adds to the cycle that got it there: if people don’t believe in government, it stops working.
Gann Academy was honored to have United States Army Major William Cole address the student body this week. Major Cole, in his capacity as the Massachusetts Admissions Representative for the United States Military Academy, came to welcome Gann senior and Student Council President Jacob Foster as a cadet in West Point's class of 2023.
Gann Academy was honored to have Sarah Cohen, Class of 2011, return to campus on Monday, April 15, to speak with students about her role as the Director of Speechwriting for the Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations.
Gann's Moot Beit Din team brought home first place in a competition on Jewish law hosted by the American Hebrew Academy in Greensboro, North Carolina. The team of four students, Kira Becker ’19, Shira Hoffer ’20, Ilana Jacobs ’19 and Jesse Sivan ’20, coached by Jewish Studies teacher Rabbi Elli Cohn, was tasked with formulating a halakhic answer to a legal case. After successfully presenting and defending their argument before a panel of rabbinic and legal professionals, the team was awarded first place for their halakhic proficiency and depth of knowledge.
Gann Teacher Appears on History Channel Documentary
How many high school students can say that their history teacher is one of the world's leading authorities on an infamous ancient king?
Dr. Adam Marshak's history students can.
During the past month, hundreds of thousands tuned into a new four-part History Channel documentary chronicling the early years of Christianity in which Dr. Marshak shared his knowledge and expertise with viewers. Dr. Marshak, who received his doctorate in Roman History from Yale, is one of the leading authorities on King Herod. The documentary, Jesus: His Life, featured Dr. Marshak as an expert to talk about Herod's rule during the waning BCE years.
We're just a month away from the groundbreaking of Gann Academy's new Innovation Center. Construction kicks off in May and will wrap-up in August before the start of school. Like everything at Gann, a lot of intentionality was placed on the design of the new facilities.
Teaching at Gann is more project-based than ever, with more long-term and in-depth projects. The new Innovation Center will let students move more fluidly from small group work to class presentations, from research to prototypes, and from questions to answers. "Our goal is to make learning more visible," says Sarah DuBeau-Farley, Assistant Director of Teaching and Learning, Science Department Chair, and a project leader for the Innovation Center. The new open spaces, and the use of glass partitions instead of standard walls, will allow students to observe their peers using the tools and facilities; encouraging the sharing of ideas and facilitating innovation.
It was a Friday morning and the whole school was gathered for Hakhel, Gann's weekly student-run assembly. Talya Lerner '19 had just been called for an announcement. "After going undefeated in our division," Talya starts, then pauses for dramatic effect, "we made it all the way to the final four!" The whole student body let out a cheer.
It’s time to register for next year’s courses at Gann and the choices are abundant: more than 125 courses in the humanities, math, sciences, languages and Jewish studies, not to mention the arts and electives that range from poetry to thermodynamics. "We continually refine our curriculum to ensure that our course offerings reflect the interests of students and the skills and knowledge they'll need to succeed in college and beyond," says Jacob Pinnolis, Director of Teaching and Learning. "Last year, we introduced expanded math and physics offerings for ninth graders and more high-level Judaics choices. This year, we've focused on furthering our advanced studies options."
Traveling Fellowship Awarded: Gann Teacher Heading to Japan
Gann nurtures its teachers as deliberately and thoughtfully as it does its students because passionate teachers make for engaged students. One of the unique programs Gann offers faculty is the Carol Ruth Jacobs Traveling Fellowship. For the past seven years, with the generous donor support, the Fellowship has enabled one Gann teacher to travel each year to pursue new experiences which will enhance their teaching. This month, the newest recipient was announced, Media Arts teacher Maya Wainhaus. Wainhaus will travel on one of the program’s furthest trips thus far: she’ll head to Japan to experience, document, and study modern street photography.
