י' איר תשע"ז שבת פרשת אחרי מותקדשים Shabbat Parshat Achrei MotKedoshim 10 Iyyar 5777
Candle Lighting: 7:38 May 6, 2017 Havdalah: 8:40 Issue 29
FROM THE DESK OF THE PRINCIPAL Inside This Issue
Daf Yomi for Us
Dear Parents, School News Yom Hazikaron Program This was a special week at SAR, beginning with a By Tali Kobrin, 7th Grade powerful Yom Hazikaron, followed by a festive Yom Ha'atzmaut. We look forward to continuing SAR Yom Ha'atzmaut Celebration our focus on Medinat Yisrael as we prepare for Yom Yerushalayim in three weeks. Thank you to Global Unity Sefer Torah our PTC and all of the volunteers who made the barbecue a success. This Week in the Early Learning Center
We were also fortunate to dedicate the lower N6 Celebrates Yom Ha'atzmaut school teachers' room to Mrs. Lillian Levine, z"l. Mrs. Levine served as the office administrator at A Fun and Meaningful Day in K1 SAR for decades, and treated each student and teacher with love and respect. This Week in the Lower School
I look forward to spending Shabbat with our 8th graders in Richmond, Virginia. Third Grade Leads Hallel We are grateful to the leadership of the Richmond Jewish community and Knesset Beth Israel for their warm Southern hospitality. Fourth Grade Learns about Yerushalayim
The Yoms in Fifth Grade Shabbat Shalom, This Week in the Middle School Rabbi Binyamin Krauss Principal Beit Sefer L'Musika By Roni Cohen, 6th Grade
Eighth Grade Trip to Richmond STEM Corner
RubeGoldberg Machine in MakerXpo! Mazal Tov! this Sunday
First Grade STEAM Enrichment Clusters Launched Mazal tov to the following students on the occasion of a Bar Mitzvah: Sports Highlights
Amittai NajmanLicht (Grade 7) SAR Victories!
Dvar Torah
Parshat Achrei MotKedoshim By Moshe Broder, 2nd Grade
Community News
Daf Yomi for Us Click here for a printerfriendly PDF of this week's Chadashot.
Click here for this week's English version of Daf Yomi for Us. Click here for this week's Hebrew version of Daf Yomi for Us.
SCHOOL NEWS
Yom Hazikaron Program By Tali Kobrin, 7th Grade
This year, I, along with thirtynine other seventh and eighth grade students, participated in the annual Yom Hazikaron tekes. The program included telling the stories of fallen soldiers and singing songs that connect to their stories in a meaningful way. The students who chose to be part of this program have the opportunity to select their general role (singing or narrating) and then they are assigned a portion of the speaking or solo/harmony in a song. Each student also participates as a member of the tekes choir.
I loved watching the tekes in the audience when I was younger, and this year, it was more special to be an active part of it. Preparing for and performing in the tekes required a big time commitment, and it took a lot of practice and hard work, but it turned out beautifully. During the final performance, Cheryl Mandel, the mother of one of the fallen soldiers who we spoke about, was present. She told us afterward that it was the most meaningful memorial service she had ever been to. I was honored to be one of the people that made that happen for her and for everyone else watching.
We performed an abbreviated version of the tekes for Grades 13, and the full program for Grades 48. Afterwards, chayalim spoke to the students in Grades 13 while Cheryl Mandel spoke to the 7th and 8th grade students. It was a meaningful day for everyone throughout the school.
Click here to watch the Yom Hazikaron tekes.
SAR Yom Ha'atzmaut Celebration On Tuesday, we had an incredible day at SAR, celebrating 69 years of Medinat Yisrael's independence. The day began as our 3rd graders led the entire school in Hallel under the guidance of David Glazer, the simcha throughout the building was palpable and our strong connections to Israel were deeply felt. After davening, all students and faculty in the ELC through 8th grade joined together on the field for a chagiga and a daglanut performance by some our 6th graders. Student representatives from Grades 18 told the story, "Are You My Capital?", based on the popular children's book "Are You My Mother?". It was quite amazing to see so many SAR students gather around an Israeli flag as we honored them for their upcoming aliyah.
Middle School students performed and competed in Beit Sefer L'Musika for students in Kindergarten, Grades 12 and 68. Kol hakavod to all of the students who participated in Beit Sefer L'Musika and mazal tov to our winners, 7th graders Eitan Feinberg, Benj Rosen, and Ben Wechselblatt. Click here to watch Beit Sefer L'Musika. While 3rd and 4th grade engaged in internal programming that included activities about Israeli art and music, an interactive timeline, and gadna (army "training"), 5th grade enjoyed their own Maccabiah, 1st and 2nd grade participated in flag making, an obstacle course, and Israeli dancing, and Middle School students spent the afternoon at Tibbetts Brook Park.
After the morning chagiga on the field, the ELC had their own Yom Ha'atzmaut festivities throughout the day as well. K3 invited all of the other Kindergarten classes to have an Israeli restaurant experience, where students could order various invited all of the other Kindergarten classes to have an Israeli restaurant experience, where students could order various Israeli foods at a reserved time in the "restaurant". The entire ELC also enjoyed a musical Yom Ha'atzmaut tekes later in the day.
We concluded the day with beautiful singing by the choir, and then we all joined together to sing Hatikvaha perfect way to end such a special and meaningful afternoon.
Thank you to the teachers for leading our students throughout this day, which was full of simcha and substance. Special thanks for Ailie Schmulowitz, Adina Steinberg, Sarah Heller, David Glazer, Shany Ohayan, and Orna Goldszmidt for planning and coordinating every detail of the day.
We continued our Yom Ha'atzmaut celebration with the entire SAR community at our annual BBQ in honor of Rabbi William Z. & Eda Bess Novick z"l. Everyone enjoyed delicious food, music, dancing, face painting, and a photo booth! Many also participated in the Gift of Life bone marrow drive!
Lastly, we dedicated the SAR Academy Teachers' Room to Lillian Levine, z"l. Mrs. Levine was a beloved former SAR staff member, mother of Academy faculty member Marilyn (and Sandy) Gordon, Philip Levine and Harold Levine and grandmother of Dov Gordon (AC '96) and Yehudah (AC '99) Gordon. At her desk in the Teachers' Room, Lillian tended to the needs of generations of students and faculty by nurturing their hearts and souls.
Tuesday was a meaningful and joyous day at SAR Academy as we celebrated Israel's 69th Birthday!
Thank you to our BBQ sponsors! Click here to view the generous sponsors.
Click here to enjoy a slide show of Yom Ha'atzmaut at SAR Academy.
Global Unity Sefer Torah
SAR students began to sponsor letters in a very special Sefer Torah. In honor of the fiftieth year since the reunification of Yerushalayim, the Afikim foundation is writing a Sefer Torah that will be donated to ZAKA. This Torah is unique in that every letter is being sponsored by acts of lovingkindness. Organizations throughout the world are participating in this project. SAR Academy has reserved a block of 920 letters and the acts of chesed in honor of this Torah have already begun to be performed. Teachers are discussing this initiative in their classes, and the students have responded with enthusiasm. Take a look at the SAR page, and you will see that there are individuals who have committed to helping grandparents for Pesach, visiting residents at the Atria, and helping fold the laundry. This Torah will be dedicated on Yom Yerushalayim. You can sign up to sponsor a letter and commit to an an act of chesed by clicking here. Click here to watch a 1minute video about this special global initiative.
THIS WEEK IN THE EARLY LEARNING CENTER
N6 Celebrates Yom Ha'atzmaut
N6 had a blast celebrating Yom Ha'atzmaut! After a ruachfilled chagiga on the field with the whole school, we headed
back to our class, which our morot had transformed into different cities in Israel! We visited Tel Aviv, where we built skyscrapers; Ramat HaGolan, where we pressed grapes and made grape juice; Eilat, where we went fishing; Jerusalem, where we used blocks to build a model of the city; and the Dead Sea, where we painted with water colors and added salt to our paintings. We learned so much about each city we visited on our tour! We continued celebrating in the afternoon, when we enjoyed a tekes filled with lots of singing and dancing. What an amazing day!
A Fun and Meaningful Day in K1 This week the children of K1 had the opportunity to celebrate the Jewish homeland, Eretz Yisrael. We learned that Yom Ha'atzmaut is actually Israel's Independence Day, since although it was promised to Avraham Avinu and the Jewish people long ago by Hashem, over the years many other nations ruled over the land. After a vote in the United Nations, the independent state of Israel was created. In celebration of 69 years of this beautiful country, we learned about the land (the desert, green mountains, and even snowy peaks all in one tiny landmass) and the flag (the stripes to remind us of a tallit and the Magen David fashioned after the star in King David's shield). Throughout the day, we danced and sang, had a picnic outside, performed in a tekes, and thanked Hashem for our beautiful homeland!
THIS WEEK IN THE LOWER SCHOOL
Third Grade Leads Hallel
In Shira l'Tefillah this year, the third grade spent time learning about Hallel, and they learned some of the common
melodies associated with it. The third grade students have been continuously singing Hallel on Rosh Chodesh as a grade in their tefillah. Therefore, it was very appropriate to have 3rd grade, as a culmination to this year's Shira l'Tefillah, leading Hallel for the entire school on the steps in celebration of Yom Ha'atzmaut this week. It was a beautiful and uplifting experience for everyone. Kol haKavod, third grade!
Click here to enjoy a portion of our Yom Ha'atzmaut Hallel. Fourth Grade Learns about Yerushalayim In anticipation of Yom Ha'atzmaut, fourth grade learned about "The Struggle for Jerusalem" from 19471967 in their General Studies classes. Our studies included the siege of Jerusalem during the War of Independence, how the city became divided during the war, and what it was like to live in Jerusalem during its nineteen years as a divided city. Did you know that some buildings along the border had entrances on both the Israeli and Jordanian sides, and that animals from the Biblical Zoo were transferred to the western part of Jerusalem during the divided years?!
On Yom Ha'atzmaut, the fourth graders had the opportunity to put their learning into practice through a scavenger hunt that took them around the SAR building, inside and out! They thought about ways they could conserve water during the siege, composed a short song to comfort the convoy drivers on their dangerous journey to Jerusalem, and recalled important locations, including the Mandelbaum House, the Burma Road, and the Churva Syngagogue. Our scavenger hunt ended back in fourth grade at the giant Kotel that the students had built over the past week. (Each child had received a "brick," on which they wrote reflections on Yerushalayim, their connections to the city, and their hopes and dreams for its future.) As we gathered by the Kotel on Tuesday, we sadly covered it up, explaining that just as the Jews could not see the real Kotel for nineteen years, we would keep our Kotel covered for three weeks until Yom Yerushalayim. On this day, as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the reunification of Yerushalayim along with the whole school, we will excitedly uncover our Kotel and once again see the beautiful, heartfelt messages of which it is composed!
The Yoms in Fifth Grade This week was a very meaningful one in the fifth grade. On Monday, we commemorated Yom Hazikaron with the whole school at the beautiful tekes led by the 7th and 8th graders. We then had the privilege of hearing our very own Moreh Efraim Paley speak about his experiences in the IDF. Moreh Efraim spoke personally and from the heart about his pride in serving the State of Israel.
We spent the next day celebrating Yom Ha'atzmaut. The fifth grade had color war where we learned about four different cities in Israel. The students created and decorated detailed maps, wrote cheers, created slideshows about their cities and participated in an Apache Relay. We are so proud of how much the fifth graders learned and how much sportsmanship they showed throughout the day. We finished the day with a beautiful Hatikva with Grades 15.
THIS WEEK IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL
Beit Sefer L'Musika By Roni Cohen, 6th Grade On Yom Ha'atzmaut, we had an exciting program, Beit Sefer L’Musika, which is similar to an Israeli version of American Idol. Different student competitors from the Middle School were selected by their peers to compete. It was clear that each group worked very hard as each song was extraordinarily beautiful. After the wonderful performances, the Middle School students voted for a winning group. It was a close call, but at the end of it all, the winners were seventh graders Eitan Feinberg, Benj Rosen, and Ben Wechselblatt. In addition to our winning group, kol hakavod to all of the participants: Tani Lewis and Neta Shpiro (emcees), Joshua LabinskyFleischer & Fay Schneider, Ben Craimer, Judah Hain & Ilan Weiner, Lev Blumenfeld, Eytan Saenger & Yoni Zelkowitz, Rebecca Altholz, Yael Berkowitz & Keren Kubersky, Shachaf Calipha, Tali Kobrin, Roni Naor & Hannah Winter, and Daphna Lent, Gabi Mogilner, Elisheva Raska & Tal Ronen. We also enjoyed a special performance by last year's winner, Adin PepperFox and Arbel Rosen.
Click here to watch the entire competition! Trust me, it is worth the watch!
Eighth Grade Trip to Richmond
The eighth graders preparing for the rapids of the James River in Virginia on Thursday! STEM CORNER RubeGoldberg Machine in MakerXpo! this Sunday We are excited about the upcoming MakerXpo!, hosted by the I.D.E.A. Schools Network, in collaboration with a number of Jewish day schools and high schools. The MakerXpo is a Maker fairlike event that will contain booths and challenges that combine technology and handson learning with the creative spirit that permeates the Maker movement.
Our middle school students will be participating for the second year. Our sixth through eighth graders have collaborated to generate ideas, plan, design, and construct a Jerusalem themed RubeGoldberg machine that will thrill all who come to the fair. The students, under the guidance of Ayelet Feinberg and Chaya Fine, have spent much of their free time working to complete this project and we hope that the school community will come and support us at this fabulous event.
The fair will take place this Sunday as part of the CIJE Innovation Conference at the Hilton in Midtown Manhattan.
This video shows just one of the seven interconnected "walls" that make up our RubeGoldberg machine.
First Grade STEAM Enrichment Clusters Launched Our first grade "STEAM" Enrichment Cluster Program started this week and are off to a great start! Our sixweek program affords each student an opportunity to participate in a STEAM based curricular unit in his/her area of interest. This broad enrichment initiative is founded on the belief that every student has the potential to demonstrate gifted behavior and reflects our deep commitment to foster the growth of each individual child. Our ultimate goal is to help children develop their unique talents and passion and to understand how they can share their gifts with the world. In our changing world, the education of all of our students, gifted in their own unique ways, must allow space for creativity and scholarship so that students remain curious and engaged. This provides opportunity to take risks and think independently, both of which build selfefficacy when children are allowed to struggle a little and find solutions and answers on their own.
Course offerings are quite varied this semester and incorporate different aspects of science, technology, engineering, artdesign and math. Whether they are learning about nutrition and the various food groups with Lisi Mandel, discovering ways in which animals have adapted to survive in their environment wth Renata Cohen, exploring number concepts, designing and writing math storybooks with Soo Greenfield, engaging in engineering practices with Ayelet Feinberg or investigating rocks, minerals and gems with Yael Edelstein, our facilitators aim to further develop students' critical thinking skills, perseverance, collaboration and creativity.
As we walked through the building during the Enrichment Cluster session, the excitement and student engagement was palpable. Students were busy exploring, participating, discovering, creating and observing, each in their own way. In the words of Joseph S. Renzulli, "Every child should have the chance to be exceptional without exception."
For a complete list of course offerings, please click here. The snake in the image to the left was found by the Into the Woods cluster with Jessica Haller! SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS
SAR Victories! Congratulations to the Girls Soccer Team for defeating Yavneh on Tuesday, 131!
Congratulations to the Boys Soccer Team for defeating PEDS on Wednesday, 165!
Congratulations to the 6th Grade Boys Basketball Team for defeating MDS on Thursday, 44 20, in the first round of the playoffs!
Go Sting!
Come join us as SAR is honored with the "Swish for Sderot Education Achievement Award" at the Annual Sderot Dinner on Tuesday evening, May 9th at Terrace on the Park in Queens. SAR participated in the First Annual Swish for Sderot Yeshiva Day School 8th Grade Boys Basketball Tournament to benefit the Hesder Yeshiva and community of Sderot. Click here to view the dinner invitation. For easy online reservations, click here. We hope you will honor the Hesder Yeshiva, community of Sderot, and SAR's 8th Grade Boys Basketball Team at the Annual Sderot Dinner.
DVAR TORAH Parshat Achrei MotKedoshim By Moshe Broder, 2nd Grade One of this week's parshiot is Parshat Kedoshim, where Moshe teaches B'nei Yisrael many different mitzvot. One of these mitzvot is for the Jews to plant fruit trees when they enter Eretz Yisrael. We can learn from this mitzvah the idea of sharing and giving things to other people. A tree will take many years to grow, and when it finally grows fruit, the person who planted it might not be close to it anymore. That means that when a person plants a tree they are really planting it for other people to have in the future.
This also fits in with many other mitzvot in the parsha, such as giving tzedakah to poor people, treating other people nicely, and helping people who are old or sick. All of these mitzvot teach us to think of other people and ways that we can help them.
COMMUNITY NEWS Chesed Opportunities and More
MakerXpo at the CIJE Innovation Conference We're excited to announce that we'll be participating in this year's MakerXpo, run by the I.D.E.A. Schools Network and part of the CIJE Innovation Conference on May 7 at the NY Hilton, from 25 pm. The MakerXpo is an opportunity for children and parents of any age to enjoy interactive booths that feature the latest activities in STEM science, technology, engineering, and math. This year, the MakerXpo will include an animation studio, a robotics presentation, a Rube Goldberg machine, a recess game of simple machines, a plantwatering device and sustainable urban living designs, an origami language challenge, Arduinobased games, a PVC pipe challenge, and more! To find out what last year's MakerXpo was like, watch this video or read this article, and for more information, please contact Tikvah Wiener at [email protected]. To register for the MakerXpo, which is free and a great activity for your whole family, go to this site. For more information, click here.
Cookbook Bat Mitzvah Sale Please join us at Megan Horowitz's home for her MegaCookbook Sale. Drop in to the Horowitz home (117 Berrian Rd.) on May 7th from 1:304:30 pm. Impress your guests with the best recipes from across the spectrum of Megan's family and friends. All proceeds will be donated to Leket Israel, the largest food network in Israel, feeding underprivileged and needy throughout Israel. ($20 per cookbook). Come by and support the cause!!
RJC Health and Halacha Day Sunday, May 21 The RJC Yoetzet Committee will host a Women's Health and Halacha Day on Sunday morning, May 21, 2017; featuring a fantastic lineup of speakers and topics. Breakfast and registration opens at 8:15 AM and the keynote speaker, Professor and Yoetzet Halacha Nechama Price, will begin at 9:00 AM. Various excellent breakout sessions will follow the keynote address. Cost is $25 in advance / $36 at the door. Jscreen will be offering genetic carrier screening for only $36 with pre registration. For more information and to register, go to www.rjconline.org/whhd2017. To view the event flyer, click here. Bake Sale Join us at Gabi Spira's Bat Mitzvah Bake Sale on Thursday evening, May 11th, from 5:308:30 PM at the Spira home (152 Mildred Pkwy), and buy goodies for Shabbat, Mother's Day, or Shavuot! All proceeds will be donated to Masbia, a nonprofit soup kitchen network and food pantry. Please contact Elana Spira at [email protected] with any questions, or to contribute baked goods.
Shavuot at Moshava 2017 Registration! Registration is now open for Shavuot at Moshava for May 30June 1, 2017. Please note that registration works on a first come first serve basis. Space is limited! For the family application, click here. For the Bogrim application, click here. Early bird prices (good through May 11) are as follows: guest house $260 per adult, family cabin $160 per adult and $80 per child, bunk house $125 per adult and $60 per child, and college students and young adults $70. If you have any questions, please email the BANY at [email protected]. For registration and more information, visit www.BANY.org.
Join Team SAR in the Riverdale Y Run Sunday, May 14 (Lag B'Omer) Run a 5K, 10K, or Half Marathon! Click here to register all ages and levels of experience are welcome!
Destination Unknown Come view Destination Unknown on Tuesday, June 6th at Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy (110 South Orange Avenue, Livingston, New Jersey). The movie screening will be at 7 PM and Q&A with Edward Mosberg, one of the several Holocaust survivors prominently featured in the film and the film’s producer—Llion Roberts will follow the film (8:30 PM). Click here to view the event flyer.
Chesed Opportunity for Families The Atria of Riverdale is looking for families or individual volunteers to help lead a festive Shabbat lunch meal for the senior residents. Lunch is free for all participants and a regular commitment is not required. For more information, please contact Lauren Lieberman: [email protected] or Michelle Sarna at [email protected], or click here to sign up for a particular weekend.
שבת שלום!
SAR ACADEMY SAR HIGH SCHOOL Jesselson Campus Dedicated to the Memory of JJ Greenberg z"l 655 West 254th Street 503 West 259th Street Riverdale, NY 10471 Riverdale, NY 10471 718.548.1717 718.548.2727 www.saracademy.org www.sarhighschool.org
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