On Wednesday, May 28, our building was filled with students, faculty, staff, family, friends and well-wishers from the community as we celebrated the accomplishments of the class of 2008.
 
The theme for graduation was from Proverbs: Shma atah, v'ni, vachacham v'asher baderech libecha--Listen, my child, and become wise, and delight in the path of your own heart. This theme was in evidence throughout all the day's speeches and events. 

Rabbi Goldberg began the morning's Siyum using a series of texts to explore the relationship between students and teachers. Dr. Raviv reunited the seniors with a "Letter from the Kotel" which each of them had written in Jerusalem some six months earlier during their Israel Experience. The letter was part of a program asking students to think "What would the Kotel ask of me, a 21st century Jewish young adult, had it had the ability to give me a note?". These highly personal and reflective letters were sealed in envelopes and kept at CJHS until graduation. Finally, faculty and staff took great delight in sharing personal stories, and discussing the many accomplishments of each of our graduating seniors.

 

The graduation ceremony featured several speakers, including Lynn Wiznitzer, Rabbi Goldberg and Dr. Schaffner. Seth Berkman, Vanessa Youshaei, Ronni Binah, Daniel Kanter, and Lilli Flink spoke on behalf of their class. Rose Kiken and Jacob Stoehr served as Class Marshals, and Rabbi Barkan and Avram Coven blew the shofar. The CJHS A Cappella choir performed, and Richard Kahn and Noa Fleischacker played the Processional and Recessional.
 
In presenting the class gift, Daniel Kanter said, "We decided to give the school its very own Havdalah set. Just as the act of Havdalah symbolizes the transition from week to week, let this Havdalah set show the transition between our class and the next. We hope you can use this at every CJHS Shabbaton, and many other events that take place for years to come."
 

Heartfelt thanks to all who worked so hard to make this graduation so special: Ms. Inez Altman, Sra. Deborah Brejcha, Mrs. Sharon Chefitz, Sra. Claudia Linda, Mrs. Michele Agbodza, Ms. Dori Robinson, Mrs. Gail Gottlieb, Mr. Bruce Scher, Mr. Dale Griffith, Mrs. Martha Keefe, Ms. Doris Menk, Ms. Maria Pani, Mr. Alex Kosarev, Mr. Igor Burda, and Mr. Jim Guidone.

 

We are pleased to share some of the joyous moments and statements from graduation below.