With more than 100 clubs and activities, TanenbaumCHAT
students thrive beyond the classroom
By Erin Silver
TanenbaumCHAT is known for many things—its robust curriculum, outstanding Jewish education and an environment that fosters a sense of connection and community. But students also flourish outside the classroom walls thanks to the unparalleled number and sheer variety of extracurricular clubs, activities, and programming offered at the school.
“At TanenbaumCHAT, we are dedicated to cultivating an environment where all students have the opportunity to shine beyond the classroom,” says Principal Renee Cohen ’96. “We provide a robust extracurricular program that includes a broad range of teams, clubs, shows, trips, and special events. Our goal is to ensure that our students are positively engaged and emotionally healthy through exceptional programming and extracurricular happenings. We are deeply committed to offering something for every student to enjoy in our lively school culture.”
The school boasts a roster of more than 100 clubs and committees to choose from. Whether students are interested in robotics, sports, music, baking, board games, business, Chidon HaTanach, crochet, the environment, magic, movies, Holocaust Education, Israel engagement, pickleball, theme parks, ukulele, or weightlifting, just to name a few, North America’s largest Jewish community school offers activities for everyone.
“TanenbaumCHAT ensures that students have a smorgasbord of options to choose from,” says Cohen. “We don’t just dip our toes into extracurricular waters; we cannonball right in!”
Students are encouraged to dive into something familiar or test out something new by exploring existing interests or boldly venturing into uncharted territories through the wide offering of clubs and school groups. “Our extracurricular offerings and events are about encouraging students to sharpen their talents, grow their leadership capabilities, collaborate with peers, make lifelong friends, and most importantly, have fun,” she says.
Josh Sable ‘90 has been Co-Director of Student Activities for the past 26 years. He says the school is unmatched when it comes to its clubs, committees, school shows, assemblies, and councils. “I’m not sure there is another school in Toronto that offers as many activities as we do,” says Sable, who helps oversee a large percentage of the non-athletic extracurricular activities at the school. “We try to offer activities that appeal to everyone. We also try to encourage students to not just stay in their lane but to branch out and explore other areas of involvement that are perhaps a bit new or even challenging or scary.”
Sable says this can be highly rewarding and meaningful for students. “It’s exciting to watch a student move effortlessly from performing on stage in a school show to leading a discussion on a Shabbaton to running a club meeting at lunch,” he says. “We challenge our student leaders, whether they are student council members or heads of clubs, committees or special events, to think big and to step out of their comfort zones. Our five favourite words to hear at a meeting are ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if …’ Out-of-the-box thinking begins with a seed of an idea, and a no-holds-barred brainstorming process before we discuss logistics and what is practical. So many of our programs and traditions at TanenbaumCHAT have come from an original idea that a student or staff shared at a brainstorming meeting.”
Grade 12 student, Lucas Warwick is currently Co-President of the Student Council at TanenbaumCHAT, a leadership body that organizes many special events throughout the year including spirit days, fundraisers, carnivals, assemblies, and competitions. Warwick also runs with the cross-country team, is in the school band, and is active in many clubs such as the U.S. Politics Club, and he helps with the Ivrit play.
“School activities have impacted my high school experience by providing me with awesome, fun, and engaging ways to make friends and bond with people who share similar interests,” says Warwick. Participating in school extracurriculars has given him even more positive benefits. “I have benefited from school clubs by being able to explore my own interests and passions. On student council, I get to develop my leadership skills, which helped me realize that I thrive while collaborating with others.”
For students, being part of a club or activity isn’t just something they do to expand their skills or add to their resume. Says Warwick, “School activities are great and the energy is always high. They are something that students look forward to because they are so fun.”
Grade 11 student, Rachel Diamond is also active in student life. She is currently involved in DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America), the school musical, the school talent show, called CHAT’s Got Talent, and the PALS (Peer Assisted Learning Skills) program. In addition, Diamond is also the Junior Communications Director on Student Council and is an active member in other clubs such as the P.S. I Love You volunteering club. She says school activities have profoundly shaped her overall school experience over the years. “They’ve given me opportunities to connect with diverse groups of students, helping me develop friendships beyond my regular classes. They have also provided me with a sense of responsibility and belonging within our school community, and have brought so much joy to my everyday life at TanenbaumCHAT,” says Diamond.
But that’s not all. Diamond says her involvement in school activities has taught her invaluable lessons and skills that will continue with her into the future.
“Serving on Student Council has taught me authentic leadership through advocacy and event planning. Additionally, in DECA, I have honed my public speaking and business networking skills. The connections I have made and new skills I have learned have shaped me into who I am, and have undoubtedly prepared me for future endeavours and success.”
The vibrant student life hasn’t just impacted Diamond and Warwick—they’ve provided a positive school experience for everyone. “School activities are what make the school environment so unique and special,” says Diamond. “They enrich our community by embracing diverse student interests and fostering unity and pride within the TanenbaumCHAT community. I am immensely grateful to be part of such an inclusive and supportive environment.”
School spirit, or ruach, is so infectious that many alumni have come back to teach at the school. In fact, faculty are highly active in volunteering for the extracurricular events and activities that make the school so special. That spirit is one of the many things Principal Cohen and her alumni colleagues enjoy about having returned to the school.
“TanenbaumCHAT is renowned for its top notch academic program, but also for that intangible magic—the ruach—that infuses the hallways,” says Cohen. “From special Yoms, like Purim and Yom Ha’atzmaut, to 10-minute break activities that happen on a regular basis, students come together, showcase their ruach and create memories that last a lifetime. TanenbaumCHAT is truly a vibrant hub of high-level learning, spirit, and camaraderie.”
Sable, another alum, would agree with why TanenbaumCHAT calls you back. “Our students have a rigorous academic program that includes a double program of Jewish and General Studies. We have a work hard, play hard approach to student life at our school,” he says. “At TanenbaumCHAT, it’s cool to study for a test and it’s also cool to dress up for spirit days, run a club meeting at lunch, wrap yourself in an Israeli flag on Yom Ha’atzmaut, dance in Dance/Fashion Show and compete against other schools as part of our Model UN or DECA teams.” He says the goal of the student activities program is to give students—and even staff—a reason to want to come back to school the next day. “This can be achieved through highly engaging extracurricular activities or through simple acts of kindness, such as a smile, a high five, or an informal conversation on the way to class,” says Sable.
Ultimately, the philosophy behind school activities is to make memories. Adds Sable, “When students graduate from our school, we hope that they haven’t just grown as students in the classroom, but we also hope that their experiences outside the classroom were equally meaningful.”
“At TanenbaumCHAT, we are dedicated to cultivating an environment where all students have the opportunity to shine beyond the classroom.”
Principal Renee Cohen ’96
Cohen sums things up well. “For over 60 years, TanenbaumCHAT has provided students with what we call the ‘TanenbaumCHAT experience,’ which gives students a superb academic background and postsecondary preparation, coupled with an extraordinary and vast extracurricular program,” says Cohen. “The exemplary programs, the high level of volunteerism by our faculty, and the unmatched ruach by our students creates a community that continues to expand and thrive.”
She ends with something she tells students at the start of every year. “As I say each year at our opening assemblies in September, Bruchim HaBaiim, Bruchim HaShavim…welcome home, everyone.”
