To celebrate the 5th year of the Jewish Schools Awards, we launched the PaJeS Pitch – a unique opportunity to win a substantial amount of money for a special project within a Jewish school. This fantastic prize was made possible by the generous support of the Genesis Philanthropy Group.
How did the PaJeS Pitch work?
The Pitch was a unique opportunity for students to win a substantial amount of money for a special project within their school. PaJeS asked schools to nominate teams of up to four students who came up with the best, brightest and most creative ideas to benefit their school. Teams submitted the projects to PaJeS and a panel of judges’ shortlisted six finalists. We were blown away by the high quality applications that we received. There were cash prizes on offer to the teams with a maximum of £8,000 available for the winning secondary school team and £5,000 available for the winning primary school team. We were enormously appreciative of the kind generosity of the Genesis Philanthropy Group for their sponsorship of the awards and without whom the PaJeS Pitch would not be possible.
The finalist teams presented excellent pitches to four esteemed judges, Chana Kanzen, CEO of Jewish Interactive, Alejandro Okrent, Chief Global Officer of Moishe House, Leo Noe, Executive Chairman and Founder of the Noe Group and Anthony Wagerman, Former CEO of Travelex and PaJeS board member. The judges were wowed by the brilliant efforts made by the teams and they then conferred as to what to award each team. However, during the evening, the Charles Wolfson Charitable Trust was so impressed by the pitches that they generously offered to partner with Genesis Philanthropy Group to ensure that all the finalists projects will be funded.
PAJES PITCH WINNERS AND FINALISTS
Primary School category
Menorah Foundation School JOINT WINNERS
Team members: Amalia Conway, Jesse Freedman, Milly Freedman, Maayan Maurer
Idea: ‘Science Nature Garden
Transforming the current Early Year garden space, which is barren and bare, into a garden to play and learn in – complete with lookout shed, forest school, sensory garden for special needs children, and vegetable growing boxes
Sinai Jewish Primary School JOINT WINNERS
Team members: Katie Cahill, Leah Greenfield, Talia Kutner, Noah Petar
Idea: Sinai Broadcasting and Radio Studio
The team devised a plan to create a school radio station to enable pupils to be creative, share their learning and put a smile on people’s faces through lively DJ performances and upbeat music.
Gesher School
Team members: Chitah Class
Idea: Gesher Toys
The team plans to use a 3D printer to make emotional support toys. Students will design the toys, thinking carefully about how they can support a child who is finding something difficult or challenging and donate the toys to children that need them
Broughton Jewish Cassel Fox Primary School
Team members: Ilana Fagleman, Chavi Fleischer, Yehudit Greenhouse, Gavriel Lurie
Idea: ‘Hall of Israel’
Year 6 pupils will be trained as ‘tour guides’ to help pupils as well as children from non-Jewish schools learn and understand about Israel’s history and geography in a fun and interactive way.
Secondary School category
Kantor King Solomon High School WINNERS
Team members: Mia Hopper, Emily Kinzler, Harrison Pinkus, Elisha Rosenberg
Idea: Eco-Club
The team aim to implement positive environmental changes and to make the school more environmentally sustainable, particularly by addressing current levels of paper and plastic use.
JCoSS
Team members: Millie Ash and Milly Bryk
Idea: A Japanese-inspired school garden
The aim is to create a calm and tranquil area in the school for both students and staff, to promote mental wellbeing, to encourage physical activity through gardening, and to improve the air quality around the school car park.