February 17, 2017 21 Shevat 5777

Parashat Yitro

Candle Lighting 5:57 p.m.
Last shabbat I joined the middle school for its annual shabbaton. The students planned the programming, prepared song sheets, led Tefillah, Torah reading and shabbat singing, and played an epic game of musical chairs! Throughout the shabbaton, I marveled at the leadership, independence and thought that our middle schoolers exhibited. What captivated me most was watching our students as they sang shabbat melodies with ruach (spirit) and fervor. As their voices rose in harmony and filled the atrium with incredible sounds, they often linked arms and swayed or danced to the rhythms. And our 6 th , 7 th and 8 th graders went out of their way to do so with a student from a different grade level or class. On the shabbaton, our students were brought together and cultivated a sense of unity and purpose in their celebration of shabbat.

A model for this unity appears in this week's parashah. The Israelites camped at the base of Mt. Sinai in anticipation of receiving the Torah. To describe the encamped Children of Israel at that defining moment in our nation's history, the Torah uses a singular verb rather than a plural one. Rashi explains that at the moment of God's revelation at Mt. Sinai, the Jewish nation stood as one person with one heart. We were a united and singular being, bound by our shared experience, beliefs, and excitement.

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom,

   

UPCOMING EVENTS
  • Feb. 20 : No school - President's Day
  • Feb. 21: Last day to save 30% on Land's End school uniforms: HERE.
  • Feb. 24: Yearbook ads due. Email akibayearbook2016@gmail.com for more information.  
  • Feb. 26, 6:30 p.m.: Eretz Akiba! Auction, casino and live music. Buy Tickets 

  • Feb. 28, 9 a.m., Pollman Hall: 2nd grade Chumash ceremony

  • March 8, 6:30 p.m., Pollman Hall: 5th grade's Hebrew play "The Wizard of Oz."

  • March 10-24: The best middle school artists from DFW will show off their work at Akiba Academy during the Private School Art Invitational. Stop by to see all the great art from students at Greenhill School, Parish Episcopal School, The Hockaday School, Ann & Nate Levine Academy and more. 

  • Thursdays, 8:30 a.m., Boardroom: Rabbi Rackovsky's Pathways in the Parsha.

HOOP STARS

This week, the 7th/8th grade girls' basketball team clinched the TAPPS 3-AAA district championship!
 
The 5th/6th grade teams went toe-to-toe with t he  Ann and Nate Levine Academy  (girls) and Our Redeemer Lutheran School (boys) last night at playoffs. Akiba won both games and advanced to the next round on Tuesday.  Support both teams at the second round playoffs at 5:30 p.m.,  Dallas Lutheran 8494 Stults Rd. Dallas, TX 75243 . 


MY FIRST SIDDUR 

First grade's Siddur celebration is a milestone for students. It is the moment when they get a prayer book just like their parents and grandparents. After the ceremony, t he children returned to class and were so excited that they opened up their Siddurim and started praying. 


LOWER SCHOOL HONORS PRESIDENTS' DAY  


MATCHING FACTS

3rd graders learn social studies by playing a matching game.

 

ART HAPPENS!

8th grade is busy using the kiln, while 3rd grade works on abstract art.
 

DOLLARS AND SENSE 

8th grade sharpens their financial skills with "penny wars."  
 

SHABBAT TOGETHER

Shabbaton was a singing, praying, friendship-building, overnight experience for middle schoolers.

THE NEW YEAR FOR TREES

Across campus, Tu B'Shevat celebrations integrated science, technology ecology and Hebrew language skills. 

MIGHTY AT MATH

As part of his math curriculum, Josh Rapps had his students create carnival games that relied on probability to determine the outcome. Students created a game and explained how much of a chance the player had for winning the game. 


PRESCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS

The Teenoki Bet class was all about science while learning about the elements of the water cycle. They put water in a glass container with shaving cream on top to simulate clouds. Next they added a few drops of liquid water color onto the shaving cream and watched as it "rained" through the cream. Of course no Teenoki experience would be complete without getting their hands messy in the process!

 

Our Nitzanim students were excited to come back to school after the weekend to find that the seeds they planted last week have sprouted. They learned how to check to see if the soil in their plants is moist or dry and add water whenever needed. They are very good caretakers of  their plants, and are being very patient as their plants slowly grow.


Morah Gail and Morah Orit's Chaverim class went on a field trip to the Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) this week. On their visit to the museum, Chaverim students learned all about the works of Claude Monet. In the days leading up to their museum visit, Morah Lindsey explored Monet with the yeladim in the art studio. Throughout their field trip, they were making a lot of connections between what they were learning at the DMA and what they had learned at school. Thank you to all of our field trip drivers and chaperones for making this trip possible, including: Dana Feinstein, Alissa Akerman, Marna Williams, and Ellen Grishman. Also, a very special thank you to Shauna Milstein for coordinating all of our drivers and chaperones.

       


COMMUNITY NOTICES

 

 

 
 


Akiba Academy provides a superior general and Judaic education to children in preschool through eighth grade. As a Modern Orthodox school, Akiba Academy develops ethical and responsible members of the Jewish people and American society, knowledgeable about and committed to their Jewish heritage and the State of Israel. For more information about Akiba contact  info@akibaacademy.org .