Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy board of trustees, administration, faculty and staff are proud to announce the commencement for the Class of 2020 will be held at 7 p.m. on Monday, May 18, in a private ceremony. The community is invited to watch the ceremony in one of two ways:
• live from their cars in the Jewish Community Campus parking lot (attendees must remain in their vehicles) or
• via livestream on Facebook Live at facebook.com/HymanBrandHebrewAcademy. Viewers do not need to have a Facebook account to watch the graduation proceedings
This live, in-person outdoor graduation ceremony will take place in the main parking lot at the Jewish Community Campus. Just as with any graduation, seniors will deliver their planned speeches and will receive their HBHA diplomas. New this year, is an outside graduation, set up for social distancing, and shared with a streaming audience. School administrators will present from a podium that will be set up in the grass circle at the main entrance so attendees in their cars can view the proceedings while they listen in on a special FM radio station.
The school is working with HBHA parents and Campus security to ensure this one-hour event remains safe, yet accessible. Immediate family members of the graduates will be given parking spaces closest to the podium and speakers. The addition of technology will ensure the audience can hear from their car. And, perhaps most important, participants will be encouraged to cheer for each graduate by using their car horns after the speeches.
“The ceremony will contain most, but not all, elements of our traditional graduation ceremony to ensure everyone’s safety and continued health. We know this has been a challenging time for all of our students, especially our seniors, who are missing all of the usual end-of-year activities. We are pleased we can do something special — and safe — to celebrate the culmination of their time at HBHA,” said Todd Clauer, HBHA’s Upper School principal.
Since HBHA moved to a distance learning program in mid-March, students have kept up with their studies online, and remained connected with their teachers and classmates through Zoom lessons and collaborative projects. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, HBHA Upper School students missed two class trips: The Civil Rights Tour of the South that ninth and 10th graders participate in — in partnership with University Academy students — and the Jewish Heritage Trip to Poland and Israel for juniors and seniors.
“While we cannot make up for the events they have missed throughout the course of the pandemic, we are pleased to be able to offer them a social distance-style graduation experience,” said Clauer.
Seniors in the class of 2020 will attend the following post-secondary institutions:
• Addison Brand, University of Kansas
• Eli Cohavi, University of Denver
• Gavi Glickman, Yeshivat Orayta then University of Maryland Honors Program
• Mirra Goldenberg, University of Colorado
• Ethan Herman, Tulane University
• Sara Saidel, Young Judaea Year Course then University of Maryland
• Ayelet Schuster, Bradley University Honors Program
“On behalf of the entire staff and faculty, we are so proud of our 2020 graduates and wish them only the best in the years to come. Through our school’s individualized college prep and guidance process, our seniors have been very thoughtful in selecting the right fit for themselves, in terms of their continuing education,” said Adam Tilove, HBHA Head of School.
The rain date is 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 19. For more logistics and other information about HBHA’s 2020 graduation ceremony, go to www.hbha.edu.