Each week Ganon Bet enjoys learning about the Torah through baking something that has to do with the parsha. Since we do so much baking, we were lucky to have the opportunity to go on a trip and see what happens behind the scenes at Butterflake Bakery. We then came back to school and created our own classroom bakery! We even made vanilla and chocolate playdough and created all types of baked goods with it! We then made sprinkle cookies using some tiny beads and colored rice for the sprinkles! We invited our friends in the other classes to come and buy some baked goods.

The students in Gan Gimmel have been exploring still-life art. After looking at many still-life paintings, the students arranged real fruits and vegetables and took their own still-life photographs. They then sketched and painted their photographs. Finally, the students used loose parts, including gems, corks, stones, tiles, and pom poms, to create their own still-life scenes. Their beautiful still-life artwork and creations were compiled together, and are on display outside of the classroom. 

4th grade has been hard at work learning about Sefer Yehoshua! In class, they created scripted flipgrids that portrayed their surprise as they found out that Achan inappropriately took part in the spoils of Yericho. The students showed off a flair for the dramatic as the students "watched" on the edge of their seats as Yehoshua narrowed the focus of the search from the entire Jewish people down to the final suspect. Yasher Koach, 4B and 4C!  

5C and 5D kicked off their cross-curricular immigration unit. Students focused on life in shtetls, the various waves of immigration, and push and pull factors in social studies lessons. They also began historical fiction novels about immigrant experiences during reading and presented immigrant biography research slideshows to the class. Even though we are only at the beginning of this unit, the students are already eager to learn more!  

Yavneh Academy Opera Club attended the final dress rehearsal of Romeo et Juliette at the Metropolitan Opera.

The Opera Club had two special guests this week- Israeli soprano Sigal Chen, and pianist Dr. Jonathan Dzik. They performed and answered questions.

SEL UPDATE

This week, fourth grade took the time to review the SEL knowledge we’ve gained over the past 6 months and boy have we learned a lot! Playing a fun and intense game of Jeopardy, students showed their mastery of the material, answering questions such as “What is the prefrontal cortex/upstairs of the brain in charge of?” “What should we do with something that is outside of our control?” and “What is a positive perspective that you can have in ____ situation?” In addition to their knowledge, students put their SEL skills into action, showing great sportsmanship and teamwork throughout the game.

Seventh Grade students have been hard at work preparing presentations for the 2024 Bill of Rights Fair. In the bustling halls of Yavneh middle school, students were transformed into pint-sized attorneys, researching Supreme Court case precedents, crafting arguments, and collating data. Our budding legal scholars, collaborated in groups of three or four to create three-panel boards featuring multiple elements, including individual and group “legal briefs,''

curated multimedia, infographics, and a cartoon strip. To create the cartoon strip, students used Book Creator or Canva to storyboard their clients’ scenarios. As they geared up to present, room 502 echoed with impassioned debates over the “original intent” and ongoing judicial interpretation of these amendments to our Constitution. Who knew that the Bill of Rights Fair could become a platform for the next generation of legal maestros?

After weeks of reading some amazing poetry from poets like Gwendlyn Brooks, Langston Hughes, Robert Frost, Maya Angelou, and more, the 8th graders were tasked with writing their own poem, using all the information we learned about poetry, the inspiration of the poetic greats, and their own experiences. Our young poets explored a vast array of topics such as identity, beloved pets, hobbies, personal stories, and favorite places. Each poem was a personal expression of that amazing individual and their creative abilities. After in class competitions, 9 finalists were chosen to compete in the 8th grade poetry slam. Carly Baitner, Ben Fein, Daniel Friedman, Sara Hooper, Molly Jacobs, Charles Kahane, Naama Oren, Zachary Polonetsky, and Micha Silber all read their poems aloud to the grade. After careful deliberation by their peers, Ben Fein was selected as our winner and 2024 Poet Laureate! Runners up were Zachary Polonetsky and Naama Oren. Congratulations to all our 8th graders on some outstanding work!