This Week at Yavneh Academy

December 7, 2023 |25 Kislev 5784 | וישב

We continue to daven to Hashem for the safety of Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael. May peace and tranquility be restored quickly.

Early Childhood Department

Gan Daled was excited to finish their chanukiyot this week. The multistep process began with light exploration, experimenting with various flashlights and different materials such as cds, mirrors, and colorful plastic cards. They then learned about properties such as opaque, transparent and translucent and hunted for the different properties around school. Finally they planned and filled glass jars with materials which would interact differently with light. They painted and stamped chanukiah bases to arrange their jars each night of Chanukah.

Lower School

First graders experienced the exciting process of making their own olive oil. They pitted and crushed the slippery olives with their hands! They squeezed the olives in the olive press, turning them into olive juice. The students learned about using centrifugal force, the force of spinning in order to separate the oil from the juice. Lighting a chanukiyah with oil that the students made by themselves was an unforgettable experience!

PHOTO GALLERY

In 1C, our students were introduced to research and taking notes for our animal classification unit. Our students explored the online resource PebbleGo to gather information about an animal of their choice. They used a recording sheet to organize facts about the animal’s habitat, diet, appearance and additional fun facts. We will continue exploring the animal kingdom by using these new skills to create a variety of writing pieces.

4D has been bursting with energy as we finished our learning of פרשת וישב! The students made videos with scripts and props depicting the events that took place in פרק מ. They pretended to be יוסף in jail, meeting both שר המשקים (the butler) and שר האופים (the baker) and explaining their dreams to them, but giving credit to Hashem. We got to share our videos with our classmates, watching how each group added their own unique twist, and will be celebrating with a siyum over Chanukah! The students can hardly wait!

SEL UPDATE

Third graders are becoming positive perspective taking pros! We’ve learned all about how viewing someone’s actions through a positive lens is a mitzvah and we practiced doing so through drawing, writing, and acting out scenarios in which it appears someone’s done something wrong, when really there’s another perspective at play! Students invested their creative energy in finding the positive perspective and acting out a conversation between different characters explaining their views.

Chanukah sameach from the music elective!

Middle School

One of the highlights of 7th grade in Yavneh is our annual 3-day trip to Camp Frost Valley in Claryville, New York, and this year's trip lived up to its reputation as one of the standout moments in our students' Yavneh careers. From teambuilding activities to beautiful hikes in the mountains of New York, from karaoke competitions and an intense mini-hockey tournament, from learning from our very dedicated staff to learning from birdman/snakeman, our students had three jam-packed days that helped to bring them closer as a grade and helped to challenge them to try new experiences. The trip was punctuated on Tuesday night by a spirited and lively kumsitz and bonfire, where even after a very long day of activities our 7th grade students found a new reserve of energy to sing and dance and celebrate with one another (and roast marshmallows!). A huge thank you to our teachers and especially to Terry Infield, who kept all of us well-fed over the course of the three days.

PHOTO GALLERY

Our 7th and 8th grade students had the distinct honor of hearing from Rabbi Yosef Mendelevich last Friday. Rabbi Mendelevich was one of the Refusniks, Jews who tried to leave the Soviet Union and were denied the ability to do so. He spoke about his time spent in Soviet prison, and how his faith in Hashem kept him from giving up hope. Rabbi Mendelevich, who now lives in Israel and has five children currently serving in Tzahal, made the connection between his personal story and current events in Israel, and inspired the students to see Hashem's hand even during these difficult times, reminding them that we have been through many previous challenges as a people but have always emerged stronger as a result.

Yavneh Academy expanded its Middle School programming this year to include a Big Sister/Brother program. Each 8th grader was partnered with a 6th grade little brother or sister.

Our first program this past week featured a pizza lunch where the 6th and 8th grader partners interviewed each other. Then, a "get to know you" game show was played with teams competing to see which pairs knew each other best! We are excited to see the inter-grade bond continue to develop throughout the year, with 8th graders having the opportunity to lead in a meaningful way.

We look forward to continuing to foster a strong sense of achdut and community within the middle school.

Chayalim in the IDF are incredibly grateful for the cards and letters that we are sending. The chayalim also received tzitzit that were recently created by our faculty members.

Linked HERE is a template you can use if you would your child to create a letter/card to be sent to chayalim. Cards can be sent to the Education Office.

A week after the war broke out in Israel, Yavneh Academy welcomed young sisters from Israel. Accompanied by their mother, Elisheva and their newborn baby sister, they left Israel while their father, Joe, remained. As a reservist, he had been called up to serve in the IDF.

Mr. Reichert was granted a few days leave this week and arrived in NJ to reunite with his family. The new baby girl, who is now two months old, was last seen by her father when she was only a few days old. Their reunion was warm and beautiful. The girls were excited to see their father as he surprised them at Yavneh. Mr. and Mrs. Reichert were able to experience his daughter’s Chumash play rehearsal. Mr. Reichert will return to Israel on Motzei Shabbat; the play is scheduled for December 17th. Joining the rehearsal was a gift for him.

Our 8th graders and many faculty members were invited to speak with Mr. Reichert. Mr. Reichert shared hearing the beginning sirens which signaled the war - as well as Mrs. Reichert going into labor. The decision for Mrs. Reichert to go to the States with the girls was a difficult one; yet it was the logical decision for the family.

Mr. Reichert told us of the wall of letters and pictures he has in his bunk. Pictures and letters sent from people in the United States! He shared that his fellow chayalim wait for the mail and carry around drawings and notes with them. We often wonder if we are making a difference; we are! He shared the outpouring of support from donors and fellow Israelis whether it be through food, clothing, and the many necessary donations that Tzahal needs. He also discussed how many businesses were hurting due to the ongoing war. Throughout his discussion with us, Mr. Reichert showed his commitment to Israel and Yiddishkeit.

May Israel grow from strength to strength and the Reichert family be reunited. We will do our best to take care of the family when Mr. Reichert returns to Israel. Be’ezrat HaShem, they will join him soon.