Dear YA Parents, Welcome to the January installment of the parent newsletter.

We will try to keep you up to date with everything happening here at Yeshiva. Of course, if you still have questions, please feel encouraged to get in touch for more details. In an effort to streamline communications, we will list community events and service opportunities on the Community News page of our website. This can be found under Useful Links or by directly accessing http://www.yeshivaatlanta.org/community-news.html Please check regularly for relevant opportunities. This newsletter is also available on our website, under the Bulletins menu. Weather-related school closings: Unless you receive an email from us that indicates otherwise, we follow Dekalb County schools in case of weather-related closings (snow, icy conditions). So if Dekalb County Schools are closed for weather, so are we. You can check Star 94, WSBTV, etc. A good site to bookmark would be http://www.wsbtv.com/closings/index.html. Please be reminded that many of your purchases can also make money for Yeshiva Atlanta. We have an online store that is linked from our website that sells sweatshirts, hats, and many other YA items, with a substantial portion of your purchases going to YA. You may also access it at http://yeshiva.dtgzone.com/home. Kosher Casual is a link from our website, and you may purchase clothes from there with a portion of the proceeds going to YA. Rachel Globus has recently accepted the position of Interim Director of Hillel at Emory University. While Rachel has been very successful and happy in her role here at YA, and was not looking for another job, this is an excellent opportunity for her and she has decided to accept the position. Rachel will continue to work with us through the end of the year as she transitions into her new role. Please join me in wishing Rachel well in this next step of her career. Our Lunch and Learn program will continue on alternate Mondays of each month, from noon until 1 pm in the Media Center. This month they will be January 9 and January 23.

PTSA Corner If you would like to sponsor Rosh Chodesh in honor of an occasion, contact Sharon Fleitman at sharonrf18@gmail.com or 770-713-3128. Sponsorship opportunities for Rosh Chodesh treats are available for January 25, February 23, April 23, and May 22. Sports schedules are available as links from our school website, http://www.yeshivaatlanta.org/ and on RenWeb. Please check frequently for any changes to our schedule. Basketball schedule: Tuesday 1/3 away at Tallulah Falls at 6 pm, Saturday 1/7 home versus Galloway at 7:30, Tuesday 1/10 home versus Mt. Zion at 6:00, Tuesday 1/17 away at Hapeville at 6:00, Saturday 1/21 home versus AIS at 7:30, Monday 1/23 away at Strong Rock at 6:00, Saturday 1/28 home versus Landmark Christian and Ben Franklin at 7:30, and Tuesday 1/31 away at Mt. Zion at 6:00. Wrestling schedule: Wednesday 1/11 away at Cass High School for a tri-match at 5:00, Tuesday 1/17 away at Meadowcreeek at 5:00, Thursday 1/19 away at Mt. Pisgah at 5:30, Monday 1/23 HOME versus Cross Keys at 5:30, Tuesday 1/24 away at Eberton High School for a tri-match at 5:00, and Thursday 1/26 away versus Wesleyan at 5:00. The season will conclude with the Whittenberg Tournament in NYC from Thursday 2/16 Sunday 2/19. School will resume after winter break on Tuesday 1/3. Thursday 1/5 is the Fast of the 10th of Tevet, and school will dismiss at 2:30. There will not be a lunch period on this day. The next Lunch and Learn will be Monday January 9 from noon until 1 pm in the media center. Please come learn with us! The next parent meeting will be Wednesday night January 11 at 7:30 pm in the media center. There is no book to read associated with this meeting. The topic of this meeting will be Technology and our children, from email to Facebook to IMing. We will spend time looking at FaceBook in particular, with emphasis on privacy. Its a great opportunity to discuss parenting our children as relates to technology with other interested parents. (On a related note, Kim Urbach has 3 copies of each of the books on our list in her office, available for parents to check out. Please feel free to come borrow any of the books.) Fall semester ends Friday, January 13. We anticipate making report cards available on RenWeb, with detailed comments about your children, later in the month. The Jewish Day School Conference will be in Atlanta beginning on Sunday January 15. We look forward to learning and sharing new ideas with our colleagues from around the country. Monday January 16 is MLK Day and a teacher work day. There will be no school for students on this day.

On Tuesday January 17 students and teachers will view the film Race to Nowhere during the school day. This film is subtitled The Dark Side of Americas Achievement Culture and talks about the stress that students deal with. Please see http://www.racetonowhere.com/ for details. On Sunday January 22 we will have an Open House for prospective Yeshiva Atlanta families. We hope to make this a spectacular day for all who choose to attend, so please encourage all families with 8th graders to attend! If you are available to assist, please contact Dana Burchfield at dburchfield@yeshivaatlanta.org We will have a Lunch and Learn on Monday January 23 from noon until 1 pm in the media center. Please come learn with us! The SAT will be offered at YA on Sunday 1/29. Yours in YA spirit, Paul Oberman

Randy and Caroline Gold spoke to our school about Jewish genetic screening, at the invitation of Shai 12

The YA Environmental Club

The lion reappeared at our last home YA basketball game

Rabbi Yablok working at his freshly donated SmartBoard!