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A Special Heritage
Teachers, students honored for commitment to Jewish life, education
Monday, May 10, 2004
By Suzi Brozman
(C) The Jewish Times
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Torah Atlanta President Rick Halpern (center) joins some of the winners of the Jewish
Heritage Contest, Victoria McCurie (left), Deborah Loubser, Judah Kerbel and Karen
Roelofson.
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Rebekah Dunham
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As Jewish educators and community professionals gathered at Congregation Beth Shalom April 29 to honor metro
Atlanta Jewish day school, preschool and synagogue religious school teachers, many of their students also received
recognition as winners of the Jewish Heritage Contest.
“We wanted to come up with something positive to promote education and be a positive experience that would involve
the entire community, offering participation to day schools, Sunday schools and unaffiliated children as well,” said Rick
Halpern, president of contest co-sponsor Torah Atlanta, a Jewish outreach and counter-missionary organization.
Contest winners on the high school level were Rebekah Dunham and Deborah Loubser, both 16. Entrants were
divided into two categories — day school and synagogue religious school — with honors going to one student or class
per grade level in each category. Dunham is a junior at North Gwinnett High School and Loubser is a Yeshiva Atlanta
High School junior. Each girl received a $2,000 stipend toward an Israel Experience.
Dunham’s contest entry, “How the Principles of Judaism have Guided My Life,” started out as a school English
assignment. Her teacher at Temple Shir Shalom, Cantor Steve Hevenstone, encouraged Dunham to expand her ideas
and enter the contest.
“Being Jewish means standing up for your beliefs, teaching others and combating prejudice,” Dunham said. “I don’t
know how I’ll use the prize. I’m talking to people who have lived in Israel. One person suggested I volunteer on a
kibbutz next year.”
Dunham lives her Jewish philosophy by teaching in her temple’s religious school and serving on the teen advisory
board for the Gwinnett Children’s Shelter, where she works to make teens living in the emergency shelter have a more
normal life. She plans a career in law, possibly in government.
Loubser, who won second place in last year’s heritage contest, says she plans to use her stipend to help fund a pre-
college year at a seminary in Israel after high school graduation.
Her essay, “Unity is Strength,” echoes her life experiences. Loubser and her family recently moved to Alpharetta,
where she found a sense of shared community.
“I asked what is really important,” Loubser said. “The answer was my community. I feel passionate about community,
what we can do as part of it.”
Loubser is an avid reader who is also interested in computer graphics.
The contest was co-sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta and administered by Jewish Educational
Services, which sponsored the teacher appreciation program. It offered an opportunity for students at all grade levels
to take part in an activity that stresses their pride in Jewish life and community. Each entry consisted of a written
project with a visual element ranging from drawings to three- dimensional constructions to Power Point presentations.
The contest generated 179 individual and class entries, representing between 450 and 500 children from kindergarten
through high school.
The sixth annual JES teacher appreciation event honored 32 Jewish teachers for their commitment to helping Atlanta’s
Jewish children and their families develop an understanding of and sense of pride in their Judaism.
The program also recognized adult learners receiving their master’s degrees in Jewish education from the Siegal
College of Judaic Studies in Cleveland, Ohio, the only school offering real-time distance Jewish learning by connecting
faculty and students face-to-face via live videoconferencing. Early childhood teachers receiving their child
development associate certification, and educators receiving an associate degree from Nova Southeastern University,
were also recognized.
Said JES Executive Director Paul Flexner, “Atlanta is truly blessed to have an annual event to honor so many of our
dedicated teachers. With the support of each of the schools and the Jewish federation, we are able to highlight the
outstanding accomplishments of educators who week after week both teach and learn in the classrooms with our
children. Their efforts and commitment are what make our community a strong, vibrant place for all of us to live and
grow as Jews.”
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