Temple hosts The Greatest Hanukkah on Earth!

Tucson children participate in a previous observance of Temple Emanu-El's annual The Greatest Hanukkah on Earth!

It’s the celebration of one of America’s most fundamental ideas – the freedom of religion, Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon says of The Greatest Hanukkah on Earth! IX.

And Sunday’s Hanukkah celebration at Tucson’s Temple Emanu-El is “the perfect event,” he says, “because it involves people of all ages – from the 3-year-olds to the 90-year-olds.”

Hanukkah commemorates the Jewish military victory over the Greeks nearly 2,200 years ago.

The Maccabean revolt arose during the oppressive reign of Antiochus IV as king of Syria 175 B.C.-164 B.C., who decreed the abolition of Jewish religious practices.

When the victorious Jews rededicated the Jerusalem temple in 165 B.C., according to legend, though there was just enough clean oil to keep the Eternal Light burning for one day, it miraculously lasted eight days.

Thus Hanukkah observes the event with the lighting of candles over eight days.

To kick off the Festival of Lights (as Hanukkah is also known), members of Temple Emanu-El will light the 12-foot outdoor menorah at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. Each successive night over the eight-day observance, another candle will be lit at the temple, 225 N. Country Club Road.

All are invited to participate in the lighting, says Mila Anderson, Emanu-El’s outreach coordinator. Participants can dedicate the nights to loved ones who have died, discuss how one is rededicating themselves to their religion or demonstrate Jewish values, she said.

Menorah lighting during The Greatest Hanukkah on Earth! at the temple will be 4:30 p.m. Sunday. Families are uged to bring and light Hanukkah menorahs with candles.

The event includes dancing, singing, kid-friendly activities and a play about the story of Hanukkah.

The religious school’s youth and adult choirs – led by Rabbis Cohon and Ben Sharff – will offer traditional Hanukkah music, and Avanim Rock Band will perform.

Dinner of kosher brisket and potato latkes will be served at 6 p.m. A fair, including clowns and arts and crafts, starts at 6:15.

The festival is a way for people to learn more about the religion, Cohon says. “It allows people to participate in Hanukkah songs and the celebration. It’s a great introduction to Judaism, so people can see what it is we do.”

Says Anderson: “It’s a time to bring together the wonderful families for food and a wonderful celebration. The root of the holiday . . . is the struggle for independence and a miraculous victory of the few over the many.

“We have survived and we make this choice to recommit ourselves to our faith and to our tradition.”

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IF YOU GO
What: The Greatest Hanukkah on Earth! IX

Where: Temple Emanu-El, 225 N. Country Club Road

When: 4:30 p.m. Sunday

Price: The show is free; dinner is $18 to temple members, $25 for others, $6 for ages 6-12 and free to 5 and younger. Dinner reservations are required.

Info: 327-4501, www.templeemanueltucson.org

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Nour Jandali teaches Arabic at Cholla High Magnet School.

The Arabic language is spoken by more than 200 million people worldwide but few Tucsonan speak it and it’s even more rare in high school.

But if you walk into Nour Jandali’s seventh period class at Cholla High Magnet School, 2001 W. Starr Pass Blvd., you will find 25 students learning to speak the Modern Standard Arabic language.

With as many as seven different dialects of the language in the Arab world, MSA is understood by most, if not all.

The Tucson Unified School District, which also offers German, Chinese, French and Spanish, is the first district in Pima County to offer a class in Arabic, said Assistant Principal Tariq Rasool.

Jandali, who also works as the Arabic translator for TUSD and teaches math, said teaching another language is important for students.

“It’s about bridging cultures together,” the Syrian-born Jandali said Thursday afternoon in her classroom.

Rasool agrees.

“That’s part of the problem,” he said. “We don’t know each other. There are many misconceptions and no understandings.”

Rasool taught the class the alphabet during the first weeks of school, as the school struggled to find an instructor.

“It has to be drilled into their heads like second nature,” Rasool said of the alphabet. “They had to begin on the fundamentals but they were thrilled to death of the class.”

Students taking the course had their own ideas about utilizing the language.

Racheal Boulio, 17, a junior, hopes that someday the language will take her to the Middle East, where she dreams of studying ancient Egypt.

“I want to be an Egyptologist,” Boulio said. “There’s a mystery behind the place and I want to learn about it. The people have a very interesting culture and the only way to do that is to learn the language.”

The class will “just teach me the basics that you would need (in college) to jump into the language,” she said.

Ernesto Valencia, 15, a freshman who plans on joining the Army once he graduates said “if we know more languages, you get paid more as translators in the Middle East. And it’s just useful.”

It’s also important for David Sotelo, 15, a sophomore, to be trilingual because he plans on becoming a doctor, perhaps in the Middle East.

“I want to be able to help those who don’t know English,” said Sotelo, whose first language is English and second is Spanish.

In addition to pronunciation practice during the first half of class, the students apply what they have learned at computers, using software that helps students learn different languages through pictures and sounds.

But Arabic still proves to be as difficult for the students as it is interesting.

“I still don’t know all of it,” Sotelo said, who spends an extra 30 minutes at home looking over daily notes. “Some of the letters look the same. It gets frustrating, but it helps that she (Jandali) can explain it so that we understand.”

Edgar Deleon, 15, a sophomore, also wants to be trilingual. He already knows English and Spanish.

“It’s been pretty hard, (and) we started from scratch too,” Deleon said. “It’s a lot different than Spanish and English. It’s just cool.”

Sammer Miqbel, 15, a sophomore whose parents were born and raised in Palestine, already knows the language but is in the class to help out.

“I want to show the students that the language isn’t hard and they can learn it if they work hard,” she said. “I just hope more students become interested.”

Cholla High Magnet School sophomore Edgar De Leon, 15, recites the Arabic alphabet.

Howenstine students practice their parts for a still frame DVD production of "The Adventures of Fidget the Bear."

Overcoming life’s challenges is about having hope, imagination, laughter and kindness.

That’s exactly what 18-year-old Matthew Unterriner, who is a Pima Community College student living with osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer, had to do.

So it’s no wonder his classmates at Howenstein High Magnet School in 2006, dedicated a children’s book they wrote to him, “The Adventures of Fidget the Bear” – a book about learning about life’s challenges.

Although the dedication page says Unterriner is a cancer survivor, the cancer remains in his lungs but “stable and not spreading,” Unterriner said.

The school, 555 S. Tucson Blvd., incorporates the Service Learning program into its curriculum, allowing the students to engage in community service projects carrying through the entire semester, depending on each class.

So when the time came for last year’s creative writing class, made up of six seniors and one freshman, to settle on a project, the decision to write a children’s book for kids with cancer was an easy choice.

“Matthew said he wanted to do something for kids who had cancer,” said India Raymond, 15, who was a freshman at the time.

Unterriner, who was diagnosed in 2005, did not help with writing process. He was hospitalized for about a month after the project began.

“He was there long enough to give us the idea,” said Tosha Meshell, 18, the principal writer for the book who now attends the University of Arizona.

Shortly after the book was published in April, the six authors and Unterriner visited University Medical Center and Tucson Medical Center, bringing copies of the book with them along with stuffed bears.

They ended up reading the book to the sick children.

About 200 copies were printed and nearly half went to the two hospitals.

“It was something to give to the kids to enjoy and look past the cancer,” Unterriner said. “(It’s) to make them smile because it’s a rough thing to go through.”

The 38-page book stars a bear named Fidget, who longs to return to his old cave after having to move with his family.

He decides to journey back to his old home but ends up getting lost. Along the way, he meets several animals in the forest and through them learns a few of life’s important lessons.

It took about two weeks to come up with an outline. That’s when the students first chose animals, their traits and the lessons each would teach. Writing the book took about three months.

In his first encounter while lost in the forest, Fidget met a porcupine, Prickles, who shows having a sense of humor is needed through tough times, Meshell said.

Then he meets Candy the skunk who has the power of imagination, Meshell said.

Just as the skunk believed, “if you imagine and believe you’ll be in a better place and (for Matthew it was living outside the hospital), it might come true.”

Blaze the elk represents strength. Elves Honeysuckle and Tidleywinks, both represent friendship.

And, Sir Big Paw the lion teaches that “you should always be kind, no matter what you’re going through and being sick is never an excuse to be mean,” Meshell said.

The true inner strength of Fidget comes when he has to help someone else, said Sue Butler, the creative writing instructor at the time, and now the drama teacher at the school.

“It gave the kids a chance to step up out of their lives,” Butler said, “and away from their teenage issues – putting them in leadership roles. They (are) learning skills and helping others at the same time.

“They are going to make sick children feel good,” she added, “and while we were doing all this, we were thinking of Matt. Our motivation grew from just that.”

But the story does not end there.

Now dubbed the “Bear Hugs Project” by Butler, the book is used in her drama class.

Her students will narrate the story onto a CD using “different voices” for each character and the story will also be put into a still frame DVD.

Shawn Yanez, 16, plans to contribute by creating a Web page to promote the projects. The site will include an order form for buying the book, a donations page, information about the projects and Unterriner and more.

“I just want to help out as much as I can,” Yanez said. “I want to start soon and make it look good.”

“Matt was going through a hard time,” Meshell added. “We just wanted him and other kids like him to feel supported and to keep hope. They aren’t alone. They do have support. Hopefully that came across in the book.”

Illustrations were drawn by David Fitzsimmons , a cartoonist at the Arizona Daily Star, who finished his section of the project, of more then 20 pictures, overnight.

The book is available for $15 by calling Sue Butler at 232-7300.

Howenstine graduate Tosha Meshell (left), 18, is the primary author of Fidget. Howenstine creative writing teacher Sue Butler (above left) discusses Fidget with junior Nichole Dubielak,17.

Brian R. Stark, a seventh-grade teacher at Corona Foothills Middle School holds a copy of the book he wrote about his run across the country. The map shows the route he took, starting from the East Coast.

Brian R. Stark likes to travel, especially on foot.

So when the seventh-grade writing teacher at Corona Foothills Middle School, 16705 S. Houghton Road, got the chance in 1998 to run across the country – nearly 5,000 miles from the East Coast to West Coast – he did not pass it up.

“When you have a chunk of time and you save up enough money,” Stark said, “what can you do with it? I chose to run across the country.”

His stories, ranging from meeting new people to overcoming almost every type of climate, have the attention of his students.

“By blending running and duties of being a teacher together, I’m showing them that it’s OK to be different, to follow your dreams and make an impact,” Stark said. “Middle school is the excellent time to talk about those things.”

While on his run, Stark said, he relied on the kindness of strangers to get through the grueling miles. Many took him into their homes, fed him and even offered monetary support throughout his 278 days on the American Discovery trail, a 19-year-old trail that cuts through the middle of the U.S.

He began at Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware and ended at Point Reyes National Seashore in California.

In the classroom, Stark’s students said his life stories make writing class easier to get through in the afternoon and more enjoyable.

“He’s a great teacher,” said Rebecca Gauthier, 12, “and I think it’s really neat that he’s dedicated to his running.

“He’s had a lot of experiences. I think that’s made him a patient person. He tells me to never give up on anything I try at.”

In the back row, where Cory Warran, 12, sits, it’s hard to pay attention, but he has no trouble staying tuned in to Stark’s stories.

“It’s nice to hear about where he’s gone, what he’s done and who he’s met,” Cory said. “I think he’s a nice teacher because of it.”

Cory said he is inspired to try to “run around the city” of Tucson, though he may not run across the country soon.

John Gardner, 12, recalled a story of the “weird guy in the green hat” who Stark said was a mentally ill man who thought he was a Navy SEAL and hiked for his own well-being.

With those kinds of stories, “he’s just making it easier to learn and have fun,” John said.

Stark’s journey led him to write a 252-page book titled “Getting to the Point.” The copy that Stark gave to the school’s library is usually checked out.

“Running is an unusual way to see the country,” Stark said. “But America is filled with great people, and you won’t run into the greatness of people by going to the mall or watching TV. I hope that comes across in the book.”

Stark offers “Weirdo in the Woods,” an hour of storytelling about interesting people he’s met, as a reward for “students who do their work.”

“It’s been effective,” Stark said. “They perk up when I say I have a story to tell. They see that I have this seemingly endless pit of stories. Other teachers have skills and talents they use in the classroom. This is what I have to work with.”

Stark said he hopes that his students become critical thinkers and that he leaves a lasting impression on them.

“A lot remember maybe an embarrassing moment in middle school,” he said. “But with my stories, I hope they ask themselves what they have to do now in order to have these kinds of fun experiences.

“I want them to want to have these kinds of experiences and become educated, if not in the classroom, out there in the world. If they can think for themselves, the better off they are to make goals and then reach them.”

Stark’s book is available at Fleet Feet Tucson, 6538 E. Tanque Verde Road, and through Vail Unified School District’s Web site, vail.k12.az.us.

Experience Corps provides mentors for young readers

First-grader Tyrese Finley, 7, reads with help from Frank Nibley, 72, at Centennial Elementary School, 2200 W. Wetmore Road. Nibley helps youths with their learning through the Experience Corps.

Frank Nibley is a 72-year-old retiree living in SaddleBrooke, but he’s not sitting at home watching TV or rocking in a chair.

Three days each week he gets on the road at 6 a.m. to arrive at Centennial Elementary School, 2200 W. Wetmore Road, at 7 a.m., an hour before the bell rings.

Each morning he settles himself in the teachers lounge, where he plans his five-hour days for his seven students – even though he’s not a teacher.

He’s been working as a mentor and volunteer tutor for the past two years as part of the Experience Corps, a program founded in 1995 that offers reading and literacy support to underprivileged students. Each student, in kindergarten through third grade, is partnered with a volunteer – a 55-or-older retiree – who provides one-on-one tutoring to improve the students’ reading level.

Nibley puts in 12 to 15 hours per week and receives a stipend of about $214 a month. The rest of the 36 volunteers in the program put in anywhere from two to 15 hours a week.

All volunteers work within two partnered school districts, Flowing Wells and Tucson unified school districts, at various schools.

The 6-foot-2 Nibley, also known as “Grandpa,” sits on miniature chairs at tiny tables, helping children learn to read.

“It’s been most gratifying. There is a definite bond, and if you haven’t done it academically, you’ve at least established a relationship,” he said.

And that bond is no exception when it comes Tyrese Finley, 7, a first-grader whom Nibley began helping last month.

“I was really wanting to see him,” Tyrese said of Nibley’s tardiness that day. “I thought he was sick.”

Tyrese quickly jumped from chapter one to chapter two of “Shhh!,” a 15-page book for his grade level. Two weeks ago, he barely got through the first page. He later finished “Hello!” – in a couple of minutes.

Nibley’s second student, third-grader Briea Broadbent, 8, held her book closely to her chest as she marched out of her classroom in her pink dress and black tennis shoes. She summarized a story from the book to Nibley.

It’s about a “little red ant that went roaming in the cornfields,” she said.

“Some words I didn’t know before,” she said. “Now I know (the words) ‘far away’ and ‘went together.’”

Briea said she gets along with “Mr. Frankenstein,” referring to Nibley’s height.

“He makes me laugh,” she said, and there’s no doubt she would like to see more just like him.

Tyrese and Briea are among the 70 percent of studentsreceiving free or reduced-price lunches at Centennial and the nearly 300 students in the Flowing Wells district not reading at their expected reading level. Both are criteria needed to participate in the program.

Tyrese’s mother noticed a rise in his self-esteem.

“It makes me feel happy seeing that progress in my son,” said Rosaura Finley, the school’s medical assistant. “His attitude is so positive, and Mr. Nibley always makes the effort to come in and let me know how Tyrese is doing.

“I know firsthand,” she said, “as a mother that it does make a positive impact on the kids.”

“All the kids love that personal attention,” said Lisa Stewart, school services coordinator. “They all love Frank. He’s in high demand.

“He’s a great role model to have in their lives,” Stewart said. “Some don’t have a grandparent, and they look up to him as that.”

How did Nibley get to be the “Grandpa” in their young lives?

After a background check, fingerprinting, applications with the schools, orientations and eight hours of training, he was able to play the part.

Nibley also is required to fill out a monthly tutor log, in which he outlines each student’s progress by putting check marks next to “good” or “bad” in different categories of the student’s work ethic.

Nibley goes the extra step.

For each student, he drafts a one-page report, each taking about 45 minutes. In his cover letter, which he submits along with the student reports, he evaluates his experience and the effectiveness of the program. His service is then evaluated by school officials.

It’s not all about tutoring.

Sometimes a strong relationship is more significant, said Lynette Patton, Centennial’s principal.

“Seeing the relationship being built is huge,” Patton said. “It’s helping them to do well in school. I think they’ll be more successful because of it, and the kids just love the attention.

“It’s hard to tie academics to it,” she said, “but we do know we are affecting them with relationships.”

That feeling is the same for the director of the program, Linda Krause.

“The work they are doing in schools, oftentimes you can’t measure the results with tests,” Krause said. “A child who came to them who wasn’t reading a word of English can now read fluently. You see different results that aren’t captured with a test.”

Nibley gives special attention to each of his seven students – 30 minutes each.

And “in order to be effective in what we’re doing,” Nibley added, “you have to mold yourself according to their expectations. You have to put focus on each child. It’s very fulfilling, and it’s very satisfying. I’ve had a wonderful life because of it.”

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ON THE WEB

To become an Experience Corps volunteer, call Hailey Gibbons at 881-3300 Ext. 126, e-mail at hgibbons@volunteersoaz.org or visit experiencecorps.org.

They get 14-minute Q&A with astronaut via ‘ham’ radio

Cynthia Alvarado (from left), 15; Elaine Vizcarra, 15; Antonio Martinez, 15; and Melina Goodman (seated), 16, all from Pueblo High School, were in a group of students who talked with an astronaut on the International Space Station on Friday morning.

Miguel Enriquez, an algebra teacher at Pueblo High Magnet School, wanted it to be a way to make math and science relevant to students and couldn’t have made it more dramatic.

“Math and science now have a meaning,” said Enriquez after 29 young people spoke Friday morning to a NASA astronaut on the International Space Station. “Both are hard subjects, and this has helped them to overlook that.”

The students from Drachman Primary Magnet, Jefferson Elementary, Pistor Middle School and Pueblo eagerly lined up to ask one question each at a microphone that connected them via “ham” radio with flight engineer Clayton C. Anderson aboard the space station. The station began passing over Tucson around 8:05 a.m. giving the students about 14 minutes of radio signal to communicate with Anderson.

Contact was made and the room became silent.

The students asked Anderson about his favorite food in space, how living with no gravity feels and how Earth looks from space.

Lamb and vegetables, meat with potatoes and chocolate pudding were among his favorite dishes in space, though Anderson said he missed “ice cold drinks.”

The youngest students, who sat in the front of the room, giggled as Anderson said the lack of gravity makes him feel like Superman.

“Earth is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” Anderson said. “It’s beautiful on the ground, but even more beautiful in space.”

With simple words, Anderson conveyed a meaningful message: just work hard, get good grades, become a well-rounded person and you can be anything.

Members of Pueblo’s Ham Radio Club, which worked closely with the group Amateur Radio on the International Space Station to make the event possible, were inspired and awestruck.

“I know there is more to the world than just Tucson,” said Antonio Martinez, 15, a Pueblo sophomore, after the event. “I know there is outer space.”

“Just this has opened a lot of doors for me,” said Daniel Carrillo, 15, another Pueblo sophomore. “I’m looking forward to more frequent talks with NASA, and it’s cool because I feel like I just want to be out there right now.”

For Mark Linnaus, 15, also a Pueblo sophomore, the experience has fueled his plans to go to college for an engineering degree.

Members said the club has come a long way since it started last year.

Carrillo recalled the beginning, when a teacher stood on the roof of the classroom holding an antenna in the air so students could use the radios to communicate with other clubs.

After the space station moved out of contact, the room burst with chatter and excitement.

Abraham Ortiz, 12, a seventh-grader at Pistor Middle School, was relieved that he didn’t “mess up” asking his question.

One of three from his school to participate, Ortiz said his original question had to do with lunar eclipse and how Earth moves in its elliptical orbit. But he quickly changed it to one about time travel.

Cynthia Alvarado, 15, a sophomore at Pueblo, said asking about the “psychological pressures experienced after a space walk (was) pretty fun.”

“I really didn’t think it was possible to talk to an astronaut in space,” she said.

Enriquez, who oversees the radio club, called the event “perfect.”

“Now they want to know how their cell phones actually work – the technology behind it,” he said. “Twenty-nine lives have been changed today.”

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International Space Station

www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station

www.rac.ca/ariss/oindex.htm