Every week Ganon Bet learns a new letter as part of our Sounds in Motion curriculum. This week we learned about the letter “s.” which included our name study for letter “s.” We interviewed Sammy and Solomon and reviewed different words that start with the "s" sound. 

Spring has sprung in Gan Bet! We are talking about spring, drawing spring murals and taking spring walks. We found buds on trees and even beautiful flowers on the trees and on the ground. 

שמחה רבה, שמחה רבה, אביב הגיע פסח בא

We love books in the ECD! We had a treat this week when a real author visited the ECD classrooms. Esther Friedman, author of the book Dots, Dots, Dots! spent time in every classroom. She read the book, which is about expressing your own individuality, self expression, self discovery and creativity, and then spent time answering questions both about being an author as well as about the illustrations in the book. The children have all been “authors” in their own right, both while writing class books, as well as individual books. This was an inspiring visit.  

Second graders continued to learn about space and space exploration this week. After learning about various exploratory missions and the challenges with having equipment land on Mars, the students were presented with a STEM challenge! They were tasked with creating a lander that would allow their astronaut to land safely in its spacecraft within a set landing area. Students were given the opportunity to test out their landers at different heights, modifying and improving with each test. They did an amazing job and all "astronauts" landed successfully! 

Over the past couple of weeks, 5C has been learning the Makkot in depth during Chumash class. This week, we concluded our study with Makkat Bichorot. The students were excited to delve deep into the well known story of the Makkot. They often worked B'chavrutah and were able to notice the many patterns that come up amongst the Makkot. 

This week students celebrated finishing Sefer Shmot with Shnayim Mikrah. Morah Sandman delivered a shiur to the students introducing Sefer Vayikrah. They then enjoyed pizza, fries, and ice cream and played a Kahoot reviewing Sefer Shmot and some great prizes were distributed!

Yavneh Academy 7th graders were privileged to meet with Mr. Jason Greenblatt, Senior Director of Arab-Israel Diplomacy at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, as part of their unit in Advisory "Do Not Stand Idly By" where we stress the importance of getting involved when one sees injustice in the world. They have spent over a month in Advisory discussing why we have the obligation to be “upstanders” and not bystanders in order to stop injustice by preventing bullying, cheating etc. and in the world at large, as political activists. Most importantly, they learned about the role they can play in political action when it comes to standing up and advocating for Israel, particularly during this difficult time. They have become educated about the situation in Gaza, how to combat the misinformation in the media and how to take action to make a difference for Israel.

Mr. Greenblatt’s presentation was the highlight of the unit. He spoke about his role in government as Assistant to the President and the White House Special Envoy to the Middle East and bringing the Abraham Accords into being. Through his presentation and through insightful questions from the students, Mr. Greenblatt eloquently expressed to the students his insights in the situation in Israel now, and described in detail the important role he played in the White House and some of his most memorable moments. Mr. Greenblatt shared how he balanced being a proud Orthodox Jew while interacting with the Arab representatives. He also stressed how there is more to do in the future to ensure peace in the Middle East. And, the students had the opportunity to hear a bit from Mr. Greenblatt’s daughter, Vera, who is a Yavneh Academy seventh grader, about how she shared the history-making endeavors of her father. This presentation was perfectly suited for Taanit Esther and as we approached Purim, as Mordechai said to Esther in Esther 4:14 

וּמִ֣י יוֹדֵ֔עַ אִם־לְעֵ֣ת כָּזֹ֔את הִגַּ֖עַתְּ לַמַּלְכֽוּת

“…and who knows whether at a time like this you will attain the kingdom?"  Mr. Greenblatt clearly came to the government, as Esther did, to make a difference for the Jewish people. 

Mr. Greenblatt potently shared with the students how they as teens can already impact the world. The students left inspired to “not stand idly by” and make a difference.