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).