Evan Nied, Abbie Friedman, Abigail Seeman, Victoria Chapel, Justin Gatlin, Marah Gordon, Tal Zach, Bella Cardon and Noah Alper.
Time flies. Cliché, but true. That is surely what all HAT parents felt about their children at the Hebrew Academy of Tidewater’s commencement ceremony, held on June 4. As parents, it’s difficult to comprehend the passage of time between cribs and baby bottles and the seemingly sudden onset of HAT graduation. Nonetheless, an overwhelming sense of excitement and pride took hold as each graduate made the walk of honor across the multi-purpose room stage to accept diplomas, shake hands and receive awards.
Graduation was extra special this year, as it marked Hebrew Academy’s 60th anniversary year of providing Jewish day school excellence to the Tidewater community.
Graduates will attend:
Norfolk Academy (3)
Norfolk Collegiate (3)
Norfolk Public Schools Young Scholars Program (1)
Virginia Beach Public Schools (2)
They also applied and were accepted to:
Nansemond Suffolk Academy (1)
Cape Henry Collegiate (3)
Norfolk Academy (2)
Norfolk Public Schools Academy of Discovery at Lakewood (1)
Awards and Presentations
Nine Year Awards (These students have been at HAT since the age of 2):
Noah Alper
Bella Cardon
Victoria Chapel
Abigail Friedman
Marah Gordon
Evan Nied
Tal Zach
I. James London Memorial Athlete of the Year Award
Abigail Friedman
Abe and Anna Rudolph Award for Excellence in Mathematics
Marah Gordon
Rabbi Philip Pincus Award
Justin Gatlin
Shirley Helfant and Ruth Josephberg Award for Visual Arts
Abigail Friedman
Hebrew Academy Performing Arts Award
Evan Nied
Hebrew Academy Merit Award for Spirit/ Ruach
Bella Cardon
Lorna Legum Rising Star Award Abigail Seeman Middot Tovot Awards
Tal Zach
Abigail Seeman
Hebrew Academy Mishna Award
Noah Alper
Harold and Jaqueline Spiro Goodman Award for Excellence in General Studies
Victoria Chapel
Rabbi Charles J. Mantel Memorial Award for Excellence in Judaic Studies
Marah Gordon
Hyman I. Stromberg Memorial Award for Academic Excellence
Victoria Chapel
Mazel Tov also to HAT alumni who graduated as high school seniors and are enrolling in college this fall:
Brenna Becker, Virginia Tech
Philip Feldman, University of Virginia
Tal Kedem, The Boston Conservatory
Zack Krell, James Madison University
Ben Klebanoff, Tulane University
Jared Konikoff, College of Charleston
Jenny Lefcoe, one year of seminary in Israel and then Stern College
Melanie Patish, Virginia Commonwealth University
Carly Roesen, University of Maryland
Julia Rosenblum, University of Miami
Rebecca Schwartzman, Drexler University
Jordan Simon, University of Virginia
Natalie Simon, University of Virginia
Eliana Specht, James Madison University
Hebrew Academy of Tidewater is a constituent agency of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater.
by Dee Dee Becker