SPRING HIGHLIGHTS

HUNGARY:
The Lauder Javne Jewish Community School and Kindergarten, Budapest, Hungary
The Lauder Javne School heralded spring with its annual matzah bake over open fires in the school garden. After a demonstration by high school students on the art of dough making, 300 lower school children started rolling matzah. From kindergarten to the graduating senior class, all the students enjoyed making their own matzah and Seder plates to celebrate Passover.

On Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), grandparents of the students were invited to the School's Commemorative Program. As one child said, "Having the older generation in the School, speaking directly to us, was more meaningful an experience than any history book or documentary could be."

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The Ronald S. Lauder Foundation/ American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJJDC) International Summer Camp in Szarvas, Hungary
2,000 Jewish campers from all over Central and Eastern Europe continue to flood the gates of Szarvas each summer. This year, the Lauder Foundation hopes that an American delegation of youngsters will join with their European counterparts in crossing cultural barriers and forging meaningful friendships.

POLAND:
The Lauder-Morasha School, Warsaw, Poland
Energy abounded as the 126 students of The Lauder-Morasha School observed the Jewish calendar with holiday celebrations one after another. The School participated in a Foundation-sponsored Seder, held a Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) ceremony, celebrated Yom Ha'Atzmaut (Israel Independence Day) with the Warsaw Jewish Community, and staged its second annual Lag Ba'Omer Olympic games.

Immediately after Shavuot, students, teachers and families will begin to prepare for the exciting move into the School's newly-renovated permanent home, which will be officially dedicated in early October.

The Lauder Kindergarten, Warsaw, Poland
40 children are currently enrolled in The Lauder Kindergarten. Each Friday afternoon the children celebrate Shabbat with freshly baked challah, while learning about the Torah portion of the week. Families are always excited to participate with their children in lively holiday celebrations.

The Lauder Etz Chaim School, Wroclaw, Poland
The Lauder Etz Chaim School opened in September with 14 first-graders. A highlight of the school year was an exciting trip to Lodz for Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day) with first-graders of their sister school, The Lauder-Morasha School in Warsaw.

The Ronald S. Lauder Jewish Community Centers and Youth Clubs in Poland -- Gdansk, Krakow, Lodz, Warsaw, Wroclaw.
From youth programs and Shabbat meals, to a new educational family journal, from scintillating guest lectures to Bakbuk, a Jewish youth café, from summer and winter camp activities to Bar and Bat Mitzvah lessons, the Lauder Jewish Community Centers and Youth Clubs are exploding with ideas and increasing numbers of participants.

Jewish life in the historic community of Krakow continues to develop, where the Lauder Youth Center hosts a group of young people involved in a continuous learning program for advanced Judaic studies.

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The Lauder Educational Retreat and Summer Camp -- Szodborow, Poland
For the first time, winter camp in Poland was held in Szodborow, a quiet town near Warsaw. The innovative program offered activities for all ages, including computers, sports, arts and crafts, music, and Hebrew. The Camp's coffeehouse, open nightly, was the center of animated discussions on contemporary Jewish issues.

AUSTRIA
The Lauder Chabad School, Vienna, Austria
The Lauder Chabad School contemplates life in its handsome, newly-built complex with much enthusiasm. The School, which will be moving in September to the scenic Augarten Park location, plans to expand in size and activity.

The Lauder Kindergarten in the Prater, Vienna, Austria
All of the children are looking forward to merging with the elementary and upper school grades of The Lauder Chabad School in their combined new home. The Kindergarten is experimenting with a highly innovative educational model called the "family group." By mixing children of different age groups, the program fosters a feeling of responsibility among older students, while encouraging younger children to learn from their "mentors."

The Ronald S. Lauder Foundation -- ADL Liaison Office, Vienna, Austria
The Lauder-ADL Liaison Office monitors and reports on anti-Semitism, racism and bigotry across the region.

Sephardic Synagogue and Community Center, Vienna, Austria
The Sephardic Synagogue and Community Center continues to attract thousands of Jewish immigrants from Bukhara, Georgia, and the Caucasus mountain region to its Center, reinforcing its status as one of the liveliest hubs of Jewish activity in Vienna for Jews from the former Soviet Union.

CZECH REPUBLIC
The Lauder Kindergarten, Prague, Czech Republic
In honor of Shavuot the Kindergarten is scheduling a gala celebration to which all of its past graduates have been invited. It is a special way to end the school year. Parents, teachers, and students alike are looking forward to September.

The Lauder Gur Aryeh Jewish Day School, Prague, Czech Republic
This year's students decorated classrooms and synagogues in paper flowers and trees to celebrate Shavuot. Enrollment in the School and family involvement in activities continue to increase.

The Educational and Cultural Center of the Jewish Museum in Prague, Czech Republic
The Center, which lies in the heart of Prague's former Jewish ghetto, continues to educate hundreds of tourists and Czech students about the rich Jewish history of Bohemia and Moravia.

SLOVAKIA
The Lauder Gan Menachem Kindergarten, Bratislava, Slovakia Children and parents alike loved the Lag Ba'Omer picnic and bonfire, as well as all the various activities that marked the celebration of each Jewish holiday of the calendar year. They look forward to the "graduation ceremony" for those entering first grade in the fall.

GERMANY
The Ronald S. Lauder Foundation Office -- Berlin, Germany
In response to the changing role of Jewish women in Europe, the Foundation and the Berlin Jewish Community hosted Beit Deborah, a conference to bring together for the first time European women scholars and leaders from all spectrums of Judaism.
The Lauder Lehrhaus, located in Berlin, completed its first year training men and women who will teach in Jewish Communities throughout Germany.

BELARUS
The Lauder Kindergarten, Minsk, Belarus
Teachers continue to keep parents, grandparents and siblings involved in the Kindergarten and happily welcome these special guests to their weekly Kabbalat Shabbat program.

The Lauder Schneor School, Minsk, Belarus
Neither the children nor their teachers allowed the frosty snow to spoil their tree planting ceremony in honor of Tu B'Shevat (the Jewish New Year for trees). After the holiday, students researched and drew their own family trees.

The Lauder Lech Lecha Youth Center, Minsk, Belarus
The Lauder Lech Lecha Youth Center organized family and communal Seders for nearly 600 people in Jewish Communities throughout Belarus. The Center sponsors weekly Shabbat programs, in addition to providing Sunday classes and after- school Jewish enrichment programming.

ROMANIA
The Lauder Reut Kindergarten and Lower School, Bucharest, Romania
With its multimedia exhibits, classroom performances, creative contests, masterful cantatas, and excellent teaching, both in Jewish and secular subjects, this School impresses visitors and the local Jewish Community alike.

BULGARIA
The Jewish School in Sofia, Bulgaria
400 students and their parents are able to attend weekly Kabbalat Shabbat services at the School. As one person said, "It is the most beautiful thing that has happened in our community -- the revival of Jewish tradition with songs, dances, legends, and tears of joy."

UKRAINE
The Lviv Jewish National School, Lviv, Ukraine
Students at the School acted in two special performances -- one dedicated to the remembrance of the Holocaust, and the other to the heroism of Jewish children during World War II.

Kiev Jewish Primary and Secondary School, Kiev, Ukraine
The Foundation continues to support the Kiev Jewish School, which enrolls more than 500 young people. The students receive a strong education steeped in Jewish traditions and values.

RUSSIA, LITHUANIA, MOLDOVA
Kaliningrad, Perm, Tula, Russia; Vilnius, Lithuania; Chisinau, Moldova
The Ronald S. Lauder Foundation is encouraging Jewish endeavors in Kaliningrad, Perm, Tula, Vilnius and Chisinau. In Perm, Tula, and Kaliningrad, the Foundation is proud to be sponsoring Jewish Kindergartens, and in Vilnius, we are supporting The Jewish Kindergarten and The Sholom Aleichem Jewish Day School. The Hebrew Academy of Moldova enrolls youngsters from all over the FSU in addition to the children of Jewish families from its home city in Chisinau (Kishiniev).

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