EVENTS AT A GLANCE
- March 9, 1:50 - Kabbalat Shabbat
- March 13 - Model Seder (Middle School with JCC Seniors)
- March 27 - Model Seders (Ganeinu - 5th grade)
- March 29, 11:40 - Early Dismissal
- March 30 - No School, Passover
- April 2 -6 - No School, Passover
- April 10, 9:30 - Virtual tour of Zomet Museum in Israel, 4th-8th grades
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Good things happen everyday at The Silver Academy!
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Mrs. Debra Freeburn, Head of School
The past few weeks at The Silver Academy have been fantastic!! Two weeks ago, we welcomed current and potential new families to visit our school. They sat in on some classes taught by our amazing teachers, talked to faculty and staff, and viewed some of the unbelievable work of our students. These events were positive and filled with energy and enthusiasm for The Silver Academy, and the 2018-2019 school year.
This week, we had parent conferences on Tuesday evening and Wednesday afternoon. Parents met with their son or daughter’s teachers, and got an in-depth look at the opportunities that will be provided at Silver next year.
But why, you may be wondering, were these such fantastic weeks? I’d say optimism, positive thinking, anticipation, and confidence!
It seems clear to me that optimism leads to success. If you look at leaders and successful business people, CEOs, and millionaires, certainly one thing they have in common is their optimism and positivity. While there are many theories as to why this is true, the Torah seems to suggest that it’s a “fundamental law of the universe,” often referred to as “the law of attraction.” The Torah points to anecdotal evidence and teaches that optimism and positive thinking attract success and positive outcomes. When the Torah tells stories, it uses words that connote the positive. It explains that words have power, and when we say something negative, we are attracting negative outcomes. It seems to me that the Torah is suggesting we speak and think in the positive, rather than the negative. When we talk in the positive, our minds provide more words that are optimistic than pessimistic. Therefore, we can’t focus on the negative, and concentrate instead on the positive.
Having a positive attitude is not only a predictor of success, but also a predictor of resilience, or how quickly a person will recover from adversity. Dr. Dennis Charney, Dean of Mount Sinai School of Medicine, examined 750 Vietnam War veterans who were held as prisoners for six to eight years, tortured, and kept in solitary confinement. His research found that there were ten characteristics that set apart those who recovered most quickly, and the top characteristic was optimism!!!
I spoke with many families in the last two weeks, reaching out to them for ideas, thoughts, and input for next year. The ONE thing that every person had in common was the positive way they framed their words. There is a positive, contagious energy within our families at The Silver Academy, filled with optimism for today, and confidence that their children will be successful in the future.
Sabbath Shalom,
Debra
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D'var Torah for Parshiot
Vayakhel-Pekudei
by Samuel Shvartsman (2017)
to read this week's D'var Torah
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A Peek Inside Our Classrooms
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Kindergarten General Studies
Mrs. Kate Carpenter
Kindergarten is continuing to explore some Big Ideas in History. The question we asked back in October is
Why do people come to America
? We learned that human beings originated in Africa and migrated east through Asia until they crossed a land bridge and arrived in a new land. These long-ago people were the First Americans.
Later the Vikings came to America’s North East coast looking for adventure. But they met many hardships instead and returned to Greenland. In 1492 Columbus set out from Spain looking for gold and jewels. Even though he thought he had sailed west to the Indies, he had really discovered a land that was new to Europeans. In November we learned how the Pilgrims came to America for religious freedom.
Now we are deep into the story of how and why West Africans came to America in the 17
th
and 18
th
centuries. Using music, movement, maps, posters, and books, we have explored early African history and the human consequences of the slave trade.
We kept our focus on the everyday heroes who helped enslaved people get to freedom on the Underground Railroad, and we met famous heroes such as Harriet Tubman, Abraham Lincoln, Ruby Bridges, and the Rev. Martin Luther King who taught us that “The arc of history is long, but it bends towards justice.”
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Judaics in 4th and 5th Grades
Rabbi Yosef Gewirtz
One of the great challenges in Jewish education is to help students apply the beautiful ideas they learn in classic Jewish texts to their daily lives. The Shomrei Halashon (Careful Speech) program is very effective in metamorphosing the theoretical into the actual.
Shomrei Halashon is one of the many quality curriculums developed by the Chofeitz Chaim Heritage Foundation. CCHF’s original focus was ethical speech, but their mission has broadened to include all areas of positive character development.
Currently being used in almost 200 schools worldwide, and geared for 4th and 5th grade students, Shomrei Halashon is designed to help children build the skill of avoiding “
lashon
hara” (defamatory speech). The program includes 126 short daily lessons comprised of a topic, a true-to-life illustrated story, and provocative questions to make the learning of ethical speech both engaging and applicable to the students’ lives. In addition, the program includes weekly and monthly reviews that solidify these lessons as well as monthly prizes.
One of the recent topics was what they should say to parents or teachers if they inadvertently ask them for information that could be “
lashon hara
”! Parents reading this report are encouraged to try it out on their children. Hopefully they will refuse to divulge the information but in a respectful way. If they “mess up” and start telling the negative information, please gently interrupt them and say, “Wait a minute! Isn’t that “
lashon hara”
? They will be very impressed!
Caution in Speech!
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Check out these fun, educational programs!
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Music Together is coming to the JCC!
The 10-week Spring Semester will begin April 5th at 4:00.
Weekly classes are 45 minutes of singing, dancing, instrument play, and FUN.
Each adult must be accompanied by at least one child aged 8 mo. through Kindergarten. Register by creating an account at www.musictogethersusquehanna.com.
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We are excited to share the launch of a new pilot program for The Rabbi David L. Silver Yeshiva Academy Alumni...
A Silver Academy Alumni Giving Circle!
What is a Giving Circle? A giving circle pools the intellect and resources of a group of like-minded individuals to make an impact on the world.
Click Here to learn more about Giving Circles
At SA, we are experimenting with this concept by forming an Alumni Giving Circle. Through this Giving Circle, alumni will come together virtually to hear from educators, administrators and lay leaders. With the information gathered from these community ambassadors, the members of the Giving Circle will decide where the contributions should be directed within SA and the greater Harrisburg Jewish community.
The first Giving Circle call is Tuesday, March 13!
We want YOU to be a part of this important endeavor!
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Watch this video for a sneak preview of OZ!
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What is EITC?
Watch this video and learn about this Pennsylvania scholarship program that is
extremely valuable to our students!
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YOM LIMMUD
יום לימוד or “Day of Learning”
Dedicate a Day of Learning to honor your grandchild, to remember a loved one,
or to celebrate an important day!
CLICK HERE
to learn about this meaningful donation.
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Order your Challah and Passover Game!
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Passover Seder Game by Varda
- 15 Pesach themed mini pillows
- Seder game stores in a drawstring bag.
- Handcrafted by Varda
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Challah With a Twist
Offers Weekly Challah Order and Delivery To Students and Teachers
- Order your challah by Thursday night at this website: challahwithatwist.com. It will be delivered to school on Friday.
- Send check to school, payable to Challah with a Twist, or use Paypal or Venmo .
"Challah With a Twist", (a.k.a. Varda Challah), has been providing home baked challah for the Harrisburg community for over 20 years.
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A day in the Art Room...so many creative projects!
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