K–newS - Kisharon

K–newS
Parshas Devarim
August 1, 2014
5 Av, 5774
Hands-on
learning for
JFS at Kisharon
K–newS
BeV’S BULLeTIn
The young are
our future
by
The school year drawing to an end offers an
opportune time for reflection. What is
abundantly clear this year, is the positive
impact our services are having on our
community. Here I allude to the comment
from Councillor Melvin Cohen, former
mayor of Barnet that the highlight of his year
of office was a smile from a young girl at
Tuffkid Nursery; I also refer to the cohort of
young people who have just graduated from
A cooling treat
Dr Beverley
Jacobson
Kisharon Chief Executive
Kisharon Day School and who will all be
going on to college. The majority will form
the cornerstone of our new provision in
Stamford Hill.
Yet over and above those who receive services
from us directly, is the enormous contribution
being made by other youngsters. Here, I pay
tribute to the JFS Hand in Hand programme,
the bat mitzvah girls from Yavneh College
who, through iConnect, have managed to
purchase iPads to transform the lives of some
of our young people, and the teenagers from
Immanuel College who were instrumental in
helping with the Montpelier Rise move.
If our goal is to ensure that people with
learning difficulties are able to lead fulfilling
and inclusive lives in our community, how
proud I feel of the youth of our community
who are enabling this to happen.
If you are inspired to get involved, we would
love to hear from you.
A new job... at
the eleventh hour!
Kisharon secured a job for a willing
employee at a moment’s notice.
Shelley Peysner, who works in the
office at Michael Sobel Sinai
Primary School in Kenton, offered a
job to Rosalind Liebert after a
change of heart by a firm that was to
have employed her just a day before
her start date.
It was ice cream all round
after Uncle Doovy visited
head office last week. Men
and women at the day
centre, including women
and support workers from
the Hackney Women’s site
who were at Parson Street
for computer training,
cooled off with a cornet.
Pictured are, from left,
Lesley Hartman and
Hackney
Support
Workers
Shterna Sara
Moses, Feigy
Eagle and
Ruchelle
Greenfeld.
When the firm cancelled, Shlomo
Weltman, Kisharon’s Adult Services
Employment and Opportunities
Manager started job hunting
straight away. Within an hour, he
found the alternative. Shlomo said:
“Shelley was happy to do whatever
Shelley
Peysner is
pictured
left with
Rosalind
Liebert
she could to help Kisharon. Rosalind
coped very well with the change of
plans and did a fantastic job. She
shredded until the machine got very
hot. Then she helped stick labels on
envelopes. Rosalind is looking
forward to going back there.”
Chaim Dovid’s tube triumph
Fast thinking Chaim Dovid Rotenberg was not
flustered when a signal failure on the Northern
Line scuppered his route to work in the City.
After hearing an annoucement on the tube,
Chaim Dovid, who was travelling on his own to work
at Cardano Investment Services, left the train and
found an alternative route to Bank station.
Page 1 picture: JFS pupil Yoav Wynne learns maintenance skills from Yaakov Leon of Bus Stop Bikes. Full story, page 6. Photo: Sue Rifkin
2
Kisharon Head Office: 54 Parson Street, London, NW4 1TP ● T: 020 8203 2233 ● Helpline: 0300 222 5949
K–newS
Hadassa
explains
why...
Men bid farewell
to residential care
Tefillin, tzitzit and the eruv
were explained to Barnet
Council’s Learning
Disability Team by
Hadassa Kessler,
Kisharon’s Supported
Living Development
Manager.
Hadassa was invited to
talk about some of the less
well known elements of
Judaism as the council is
sometimes asked to
recommend orthodox
service providers.
Hadassa said: “I had to
explain why, for some
clients, no other provider
is acceptable.” She told
the special nurses,
psychologists and social
workers what to expect in
an orthodox Jewish home,
not to shake hands with
someone of the opposite
sex, and how Judaism
values life above all else.
Six men living at the Hanna Schwalbe
Home have moved out of residential
care and into supported living. At
their new home in Montpelier Rise in
Golders Green, the men will be
encouraged to cook, shop and care
for their home.
TOP: Yoni Lev
doffs his hat to
the Hanna
Schwalbe
Home.
ABOVE: All
ready to move
in.
Kisharon’s Supported Living
Development Manager. “Today is an
important step forward in the lives of the
people we support and their families
too.”
A team of support workers helped the
men pack and move into their new home.
BELOW:
Young volunteers Ryan Peysner and
“Supported living is a shift from
Moishe
traditional residential care and is about Goldblatt is all Michael Tarsh lent a hand too (see below).
enabling people to live independently smiles.
“The volunteer helpers were wonderful.
with as much or as little support as they Photos: John
It can be difficult for the men to take on
need,” said Hadassa Kessler,
Rifkin
changes but the move went very
smoothly,” said Manager Petrona
Johnson.
“I explained that Judaism
is not just a religion, but a
way of life for every
minute of every day.”
Kisharon plans to redevelop the Hanna
Schwalbe Home, creating more
supported living flats. The men will have
the opportunity to move back in once
the redevelopment is completed.
Additional reporting: Sue Rifkin
‘Amazing’ volunteers help move go smoothly
Ryan Peysner and Michael Tarsh are a
triumphant twosome. The pair helped to pack the
belongings of men from the Hanna Schwalbe
Home then unpacked for them in their new
supported living apartments at Montpelier Rise.
Petrona Johnson, Hanna Schwalbe Manager
said: “The men know Ryan and Michael well
because they are here every week.”
The two 15-year olds, pupils at Immanuel College
in Bushey, visit the men on Thursday evenings.
They bake with Simcha Ballon, read Chumash with
Bezy Gluck and play table football and various
games with the others.
The two have raised funds for Kisharon and
Ryan talks to new volunteers at their induction.
Lara Domjan, Kisharon’s Fundraising Coordinator said: “They are amazing.”
Ryan is pictured top and Michael below.
Kisharon Head Office: 54 Parson Street, London, NW4 1TP ● T: 020 8203 2233 ● Helpline: 0300 222 5949
3
K–newS
HowTuffkid touched
the Mayor’s heart…
Talking of his year in office, Cllr
Cohen said: “People often ask me
what the highlights were and I say ‘I
went to the ordination of a new Chief
Rabbi; I met the Earl of Wessex [at
JLGB] and had lunch with Prince
Charles... But it was a chance
encounter with a small, [disabled]
child at Kisharon’s Tuffkid nursery
that touched my heart.
“She looked up and gave me a huge,
bright smile,” recalled Cllr Cohen
▲
One small girl at Tuffkid Nursery
touched the heart of Councillor Melvin
Cohen, the former Mayor of Barnet.
Cllr Melvin
Cohen
presents his
cheque to
Kisharon Chief
Executive Dr
Beverley
Jacobson and
children from
the Day School
when presenting a cheque for
£19,150 to Kisharon, which was one of
the chosen charities in his mayoral
year.
really is a huge boost for us,” said
Kisharon Chief Executive Dr Beverley
Jacobson. She said Kisharon was
honoured to be one of the recipients.
“You’ve done a splendid job – this
Additional reporting: Sue Rifkin
Something’s cooking at college
A £10,000 rise and fall kitchen,
where adults with learning
difficulties can learn to cook for
themselves, is taking shape
at Kisharon’s new college of
further education at the
Brenner Centre in
Stamford Hill.
The worktops can be individually
adjusted to suit the students,
and with its array of hobs, sinks
and drainers, up to three can be
taught at the same time.
Thirteen students – seven men and
six women – are to start at the college
in September for a year’s course which
will equip them with the skills they need to
live independently and find work. The
project is underway to turn rooms on the
first and second floors into high-quality
classrooms with disabled access.
Demand has outstripped supply, and
there are five students waiting for
places, should any of the original 13
accept offers elsewhere.
A THAnK yOU TO TOVA FOr ALL THe TreATS
For Tova Cope, a wife and mum
who bakes for Shabbos, putting
something extra in the oven was
not too difficult.
But these ‘extras’, a platter of
biscuits, muffins or a cake, ended
up at the Hanna Schwalbe Home
in Golders Green to be eaten on
Shabbos.
Petrona Johnson, Manager of the
home whose tenants have now
moved to Montpelier Rise, said:
“Mrs Cope and her family gave
us a treat every week without fail.
4
She was a wonderful neighbour.”
The Cope family often invited the
men to share a meal over
Shabbos or yom tov too. Tova,
married to Yossi, and with nineyear-old twins Avi and Noam,
and Yaakov, five, said: “I will
miss the men now they’re gone.”
The course will run from
Monday to Wednesday
8.30am until 4pm, and on the
remaining two days, students
may be able to join Kisharon’s
day centres in Stamford Hill
subject to funding.
Pupils who have graduated
from Kisharon Day School will
be among the first intake.
Other students will be former
pupils of Side By Side special
needs school in Stamford Hill,
or from other local schools.
Kisharon Head Office: 54 Parson Street, London, NW4 1TP ● T: 020 8203 2233 ● Helpline: 0300 222 5949
K–newS
iPad joy!
Four adults with learning
difficulties are now proud
owners of iPads, presented to
them by girls on Kisharon’s
iConnect scheme.
Lucy Grant, Sophie Horne, Ella Klein
and Poppy Taylor, all aged 12, jointly
raised £1,600 to pay for the iPads,
which have communication software installed to
help the men to communicate.
The Yavneh College pupils were pioneers of the
iConnect programme in which youngsters in their
bar or bat mitzvah year take on the challenge of
raising funds.
The girls made a series of visits to Kisharon, and had
a disability awareness training session run by
Volunteer Co-ordinator Lara Domjan. Lara said: “We
hope the girls’ connection with Kisharon will be the
start of a long relationship. They have been brilliant,”
The girls raised the money with a bake sale, by
Clockwise from
top: Beams all
round at the
presentation;
Ella Klein and
Sophie Horne
with David
Abrahams;
Poppy Taylor
with Daniel
Yefet.
making and selling bracelets and washing cars.
They donated some of their bat mitzvah money too.
Joe Coogan, Kisharon’s Director of Operations,
presented each girl with a certificate thanking them
for their participation. “You have done a wonderful
thing by giving people we support the opportunity to
use iPads which will improve their lives.”
Additional reporting: Sue Rifkin
Not exactly your
average weekend!
Chaim Dovid Rotenberg (right) took a whistlestop trip
to Antwerp, Belgium’s second biggest city, for a family
simcha. Leaving at the crack of dawn on Friday, he
was back home at The Drive in Golders Green by
Sunday afternoon. Chaim Dovid tells the story...
On Friday morning I left for Antwerp very
early. I drove with my uncle to the
Eurotunnel to get the train. The car went
on a special carriage for cars. We could
get out the car and walk about. We got
into France and then drove to Antwerp. In
the car were my grandmother and aunty.
We arrived in Antwerp at 3:45pm, just in
time for Shabbos.
On Friday night, we davened in the
restaurant hall, and then we had the bar
mitzvah seudah. I had lots of different
Chinese foods. It was very tasty.
On Shabbos morning, I went to a
different shul and there was a big
kiddush after davening. After that we
had lunch in the shul. Then we had a
sleep, and next we had shalosh seudos
in somebody’s house. We davened
Maariv in the house and we heard
havdolah. After that I went back to the
host and I packed my bags and had a
good night’s sleep to get ready for the
journey home.
My cousin, Pearl Kahn was very happy I
came to her son, Yossi’s bar mitzvah.
She said I made her simcha.
On Sunday morning we went to shul to
daven, then waited for my transport
back to London. We arrived in Stamford
Hill at 2:45pm. My support worker
picked me up and we went back to The
Drive. I was very tired after all the
travelling. I had a really good time, and I
am glad I went to Antwerp.”
Kisharon Head Office: 54 Parson Street, London, NW4 1TP ● T: 020 8203 2233 ● Helpline: 0300 222 5949
5
K–newS
Hands-on
learning
Hand in Hand programme introduces
students to the world of Kisharon
“You are entering a world that most of
you won’t have experienced – and you
are the outsider.”
Sixty JFS students were welcomed to
Kisharon with these words from
Richard Franklin, Director of
Fundraising and Communications.
The pupils interacted with adults and
children supported by Kisharon as part
of the JFS Year 9 Hand in Hand
programme which promotes
awareness of the needs of others
through volunteering.
Together with residents and day centre
members, the pupils did gardening,
bicycle maintenance and arts and crafts.
Kisharon Chief Executive Dr Beverley
ABOVE: Jack Rabin, 14, with
Yaakov Leon of Bus Stop Bikes
LEFT: JFS students discover
how Kisharon grows on you
BELOW: Arts and crafts
Photos: Sue Rifkin
Jacobson explained that Kisharon was
set up because children with special
needs were not being adequately
catered for in mainstream schools.
She said that Kisharon means talent
and stressed the importance of
focussing on what people with learning
difficulties can do.
Bev said: “Hand in Hand gives students
a chance to understand what it might be
like in someone else’s shoes. We want to
enable people with
learning difficulties to be integrated into
society and to have the same
opportunities as everyone else.”
Additional reporting: Sue Rifkin
Moonlight walkers raise £6k
6
The 15km Moonlight Walk through
London, from late on Saturday night to
the early hours of Sunday, raised £6K.
and Regional Properties, on a route that
passed the South Bank, Big Ben, Covent
Garden and Buckingham Palace.
The 40 participants in Kisharon’s third
Moonlight Walk set off from prestigious
offices at 55 Baker Street, thanks to the
support of international accountancy
firm BDO and their landlords London
Chief Executive Dr Beverley Jacobson,
dressed at the start as the Kisharon
Bear, was one of a number of staff who
took part.
Additional reporting: Sue Rifkin
Kisharon Head Office: 54 Parson Street, London, NW4 1TP ● T: 020 8203 2233 ● Helpline: 0300 222 5949
K–newS easy
read
The Parsha
Yaakov Kramer is Head of Limmudei Kodesh at Kisharon.
Yaakov tells us about Tisho B’Av
●
Tisho B’Av, the 9th of Av, is the saddest day in the
Jewish calendar.
●
On that date both the 1st and 2nd Botei Mikdosh, Holy
Temples, were destroyed.
●
In the morning we sit on low chairs, like mourners, and
we do not eat or drink all day.
●
On that day we think about what happened and how
we can make ourselves better.
●
Moshiach will come if we learn more Torah, do more
mitzvos and be kind to others.
●
Moshiach will build the 3rd Beis Hamikdash and bring
peace to the whole world.
Kisharon Head Office: 54 Parson Street, London, NW4 1TP ● T: 020 8203 2233 ● Helpline: 0300 222 5949
7
K–newS easy
read
Just the job
●
Simcha Ballon has a new job at M & N Insure in Hendon.
●
He scans documents, so they can be seen on the
computer.
●
Elianne Vogel has started her second job.
●
She is working at Travelink in Hendon.
●
Support Worker Geraldine Frankel is teaching Elianne the
tasks she needs to do at work.
●
Avrom Gruber is working at The Safety Supply Company
in Wembley.
●
Here are the masks Avrom packed in an hour. He works
very hard.
●
Eli Cohen turned up for work at Pardes House Primary
School in Finchley.
●
But the school was closed. The children had broken up
for the summer holidays.
●
Eli went to the Kisharon Head Office and did voluntary
work. Thanks Eli.
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Kisharon Head Office: 54 Parson Street, London, NW4 1TP ● T: 020 8203 2233 ● Helpline: 0300 222 5949

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