Sharyn Blaustein Volume 21 Principal Issue 29 May 22, 2015 Sivan 4, 5775 Rabbi Yamin Levy LIHA Rabbi THE VOICE OF OUR CHILDREN A WEEKLY PUBLICATION Please visit our website www.lihagn.org for the FULL newsletter in color!

Message by Rabbi Yamin Levy, LIHA Rabbi

We Expect 100% Participation

Shalom My Dear Parents, Students and Friends of LIHA,

This coming week we celebrate the holiday of Shavu’oth the commemoration of the giving of our ToRah at Har Sinai. On some level this is a culmination of sorts that began with Abraham’s selection of G-d and his commitment and the commitment of his descendants to partner with Hashem and create a compassionate beautiful world. The revelation of G-d at Mount Sinai and the announcement of the Ten Commandments is at the same time a culmination and a new beginning. The beginning of a nation that, as Maimonides so beautifully describes, when Abraham discovered G-d he understood that his purpose and the purpose of his children will be to make the world a better place, a more caring place, a compassionate place, a place that looks out for those who cannot look out for themselves. Our mission as Jews is a journey not a destination. Our dream of a messianic era is not something we believe in to be at a later time but rather an era that we usher in today. The white Queen in Alice in Wonderland said something like “Jam yesterday and Jam tomorrow but never Jam today”. That is not the Jewish way. Today is not a side point or parenthesis between yesterday and tomorrow.

Today needs to be filled with good things, we need to learn and express our purpose TODAY. The Tehilim says it magnificently – “This is the day that the Lord has made; on it let us rejoice and be glad”. We know what it means to be conscious of our illustrious past and we certainly know what it means to plan for our future but let us not loose site of the importance of NOW, of what we can accomplish today. I am sure all the parents who are reading this short thought know what it is like traveling with young children. The minute you set out the kids begin to ask “are we there yet” “when are we going to arrive”. For children who are traveling the journey cannot be fully appreciated because they are consumed with the destination. We as adults should avoid falling into the same trap. The journey of life is filled with opportunities that make the immediate moment Messianic and Divine. When our ancestors stood at Mount Sinai the power of that moment was infused not only by the past that they were redeeming and the future that they were creating but also by embracing the infinitely spiritual character of that very moment where contact with their creator changed them forever.

Parashat Bemidbar Shabbat Candle Lighting time is at 7:52 p.m. Havdalah time is at 9:03 p.m.

REGISTRATION IS IN FULL SWING FOR THE COMING SCHOOL YEAR! FORMS HAVE BEEN SENT OUT VIA EMAIL OR CAN BE ACCESSED ON OUR WEBSITE – WWW.LIHAGN.ORG UNDER THE “FOR PARENTS” TAB.

LIHA’S newsletter has gone digital! Come join us in walking with Shai Check our website www.lihagn.org for at the Israeli Parade on May 31st the Newsletter in full color, photo for information call 855-SHAI-777 galleries, homework, and other important announcements!! Check our

website for reenrollment and registration contract!

Mazel Tov! Aharon Bahkshi Has a New Baby Brother

Dear Parents, Long Island Hebrew Academy is pleased to REMINDER!! announce that for the 2015- 2016 school year Morah

Chaya will be creating and School is Closed implementing a new intensive Monday, May 25th Ivrit Program for our For Shavuot & Hebrew Department. We Memorial Day look forward to this exciting new development and hope that you will join us as it unfolds. Chag Sameach! Morah Sara

Mr. & Mrs. Take A Look At LIHA The following Marc Dorwitt parents have for Noach’s donated a book Toddler birthday to the LIHA Mr. & Mrs. We began the week by learning about a Chag Library in honor Ashir Pirouzian Shavuot. The children learned that Hashem gave of their for Yael’s the Torah to the Jewish people and the Jewish which means "we will do ״עמשנו השענ״ children’s birthday people said birthday… Mr. David and we will listen" Also in class we read the book Soleimani & Ms. "When the World was Quiet" Shula Ograd for Shabbat Aba was Eitan and Shabbat Ima was Elora. Jordana’s Shabbat Shalom :) birthday

Nursery I

This week the children finished all of their Shavuot projects. While all the projects were beautiful – the children are most proud of their “Mitzvot Book”. We wish everyone a Chag Sameach and enjoy the cheese cake! Our Shabbat Ima & Abba were Orielle & Ethan Shabbat Shalom

Nursery II We are all looking forward to Shavout. We have been learning through games, songs, books and projects all about how Hashem gave us the Torah on Har Sinai. We ended the week by making cheese borekas for you to bake at home. It was a lot of fun. Chag Samech. Shabbat Ima & Abba were Shir & Daniel

Pre K This week we finished up our preparations for the upcoming Chag Shavuot. The children learned all about the Torah and how important it is to follow the rules Hashem set down for us to be a good Jewish nation. The children had so much fun make their own cheesecakes by crushing up the graham crackers and adding cheese, whipped cream and strawberries. Our Abba & Ima were Brandon & Rachel R.

Kindergarten English

Our trip to Queens College where we saw a Curious George play was wonderful. The children all enjoyed. At the beginning the children didn't know to clap after songs. By the end they all did! Thank you to Mrs. Hasedian for being our chaperone. We learned about various hand held tools such as a saw, chisel, drill, hammer, screwdriver and file as we read "Old MacDonald had a Woodshop." We reviewed the short sound that vowel o makes while discussing characters and prepositions/ prepositional phrases. In math we moved from two dimensional shapes to three. We discussed animals and plants and how they need one another. We want to wish a very happy birthday to Hila who turns 6 on Fri. Please mark your calendars for a most exciting program. On Thursday, June 18 we will graduate from Kindergarten. It will begin at 9:30. Plan for giving us 1- 1 1/2 hours of your time. The children will remain in school until the Fri. dismissal. We are gearing up for this momentous occasion. Please look for a formal invite towards the end of next week. Shabbat Shalom and enjoy the Chag!

Kindergarten Hebrew It has been a very busy week. We learned the letters “Tzadi ”, “final Tzadi ”and the words were Tzipor (bird), Tzitzit and Tzedakah (charity). Parashat “Bamidbar” explains to us about the 12 Tribes (Shevatim); the each had their own designer flag and the Bnei Yisrael would rest around this flag. The children colored “Shavuot” book, one of which is customarily learned about the Halachot. Daddy’s stay up all night on the first night of Shavuot to read the whole torah and eat dairy food! Our Shabbat Imma & Abba were Ariella & Lior this week. Chag Sameach & Shabbat Shalom

1st Grade Hebrew – ‘ This week learned greeting words in Hebrew and how and when to use them. We learned words like (good morning) , (welcome) and more. We learned all about the upcoming holiday . In parasha we started a new book, Bamidbar.

1st Grade English This week the first grade completed chapter 10 in math. They will take the chapter 10 math test on the Tuesday that we come back to school. After lasts weeks visit to the Queens Hall of Science and seeing the 3d Galapagos movie. The students were very interested in talking about what they saw. So this week we did a wonderful activity on Sea Turtles. They came out beautiful!

2nd Grade English

2nd grade had another great week. In math, we learned how to measure in centimeters. We continue to work on reading comprehension and writing. Shabbat Shalom!

2nd Grade Hebrew The yeladim have been preparing for Shavuot. Enjoy the holiday with your loved ones

3rd Grade English This week the students are finishing up all the research for the Animal Research Project. Next week we will begin working on our posters and diagrams. We hope to have the parents in sometime In June to learn about all the amazing wild animals that the students researched.

3rd Grade Hebrew The yeladim have been preparing for Shavuot. Enjoy the holiday with your loved ones

4th Grade English

The fourth grade has just finished chapter 9 in math and have begun chapter 10, where they will learn about measurement and geometry. They are reading, “Number the Stars”. They are also learning about which countries were occupied during WWII.

4th Grade Hebrew The class learned about the concept of the Shabbat, Dinim, Halchot, prayers and more. We are going to have a presentation soon for all that we learned. The class will also learn about Shavuot and Megitat Rut.

th 5 Grade English 5th grade finished up learning about dividing fractions this week. We continue to work on improving our reading and writing skills. They are getting excited about graduation and are doing a great job practicing for it. Have a great weekend!

5th Grade Hebrew This week the class learned about Shavuot and also read the Megitat Rut . We have been practicing for our graduation that is coming soon.