Volume 1, Issue 5 (June 2011) - The Heschel School

Washington, DC and Philadelphia
DC Trip—National Gallery
By Ariella Kahan
On the last day of the Washington
D.C. trip, the seventh graders went to the
National Gallery. The National Gallery
is an extraordinary art museum with
an exceptional collection of art from the
Renaissance. The seventh grade focused
on Renaissance art during their tours of
the museum to augment their humanities
study of the Renaissance.
In the National Gallery, the grade
was split into four groups based on their
advisory. For an hour, each group was
led by a tour guide through the museum
and learned about
a variety of paintings.
The paintings
were by Botticelli,
Leonardo da Vinci,
Bellini, Titian
and many other
great artists. Some
paintings that the
seventh grade saw
were: Ginevra de’
Benci, The Adoration
of the Magi, both by Leonardo
da Vinci and many others. Many of the
paintings had Christian themes, but one
unique painting depicted a story from
the Torah. This was exciting to many
students because after seeing numerous
paintings of the Madonna and the Saints,
it was exciting to see that the Torah was
also a subject of art during the Renaissance.
Additionally, it was great to connect
what we saw in the museum to our
studies in class. As one seventh grader
said, “It was very exciting to see the
paintings of artists we have been learning
about all year. We saw paintings of
Botticelli, and we read Primavera which
was based on the painting ‘Primavera’ by
Botticelli.”
Two of the four tour guides were
very good, and made the experience at
the National Gallery a favorite of many
students, but unfortunately the other
two tour guides were not as good. Because
of this, the National Gallery got
mixed reviews. Some students called it,
“amazing,” and said it was the best part
of their trip. Other students did not like
it as much, and were disappointed in
the museum. One seventh grader said,
“It was one of the
best museums
of the trip!” Another
said, “it was
very interesting
and we learned
about some of
the Ancient gods
and also about a
famous painter
named Titian.
overall the paintings
were beautiful and articulate.” Although
many reviews of the museum
were very positive, other students were
not as favorable about the National Gallery.
Some students thought they were
too tired to enjoy the museum, and
others thought the tour guide was boring.
Despite the negative reviews, many
students agreed that all around, the
museum was both fun and interesting.
However, many seventh graders hope
the sixth grade will have better luck with
their tour guides next year! ◆
We May Look Different
By Hallie Fawer and Noah Shapiro
On May 4, 2011, the sixth grade went to
the Amish country in Lancaster, Philadelphia
with Shoshana Jebwab, Marilyn
Tawil, Paulette Cohen, David Frankle,
and Donna Aber. After they saw the
film “Jacob’s Choice,” a brief film that
explained certain Amish traditions, they
explored a model of an Amish one-room
schoolhouse, and then visited an Amish
farmer’s house. Once students were inside
and seated, Sam Riehl, the farmer,
welcomed everyone. He reminded students
that every culture has different
beliefs, and that they may look different
but they, like everyone, “are still just human
beings on earth.”
As a matter of fact, a lot of people
thought that the Amish’s homes would
look different from ours. To most people’s
surprise, there were few differences.
A sixth grader commented, “Their houses
looked exactly like ours, except there
were no electric lights, televisions, or
computers. Though everyone noted that
their clothes were different than ours, no
one really focused on that, but instead,
focused on the fact that their activities
were different. Instead of sitting on a
couch with their eyes glued to their electronics,
they were doing farm work, and
even the younger children helped.”
Amish farmer Sam Riehl also explained
to the sixth graders about the
tradition of “Rumspringa,” which is defined
in German as, “running around.”
This refers to a period that begins at
Continued on page 10
Holocaust Museum Exhibit:
“State Of Deception”
by Nico Miller
The seventh grade traveled to
Washington DC on May 5. While there,
they went to an exhibit in the Holocaust
Museum about Nazi propaganda, called
“State of Deception.” When students first
walked into the exhibit, the sound of
Nazi marching music and the sight of
bright colored posters instantly bombarded
them. These posters depicted
a “happy” group of young people who
were going to save the world by getting
rid of the Jews. There was no mention
of the Nazis’ assault on Europe or anything
negative. The exhibit’s design was
intended to make the viewer feel happy
and safe.
If the viewer did not know that this
exhibit was about something horrifying
like the Holocaust, he would have
thought that Hitler was doing something
good. It was clear how powerful
propaganda is, and how easy it is to get
manipulated by it. First of all, the joyous
marching music brought a happy
atmosphere to the room. Next, there
were posters depicting people smiling
Continued on page 10
6 ◆ Heschel Herald, Volume 1, Issue 5 The Abraham Joshua Heschel School