This Week at Yavneh Academy!

This Week at Yavneh Academy - October 31 , 2019/2 Cheshvan 5780

פרשת נח

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Early Childhood Department

Ganon Aleph wants to know "Will it sink or will it float?"

This week the children began learning the story of Noach and the flood. We learned that it rained for 40 days and nights and that water covered the entire earth. Noach and his family built a teivah to live in that could float upon the water. The children were curious to know how the teivah stayed afloat. The scientific concepts of sink and float were explored with the sand table being filled with water. The children tested different objects by first predicting if they would sink or float and then seeing the actual results. We learned that the density of an item determines if it sinks or floats. If the item is denser than the water, it will sink but if it is less dense than the water it will float.

Exploring in the Gan Maker Space

Gan Bet students have become a class of little engineers as they explore, build and create in our Mini Maker Space. The unique space gives students the opportunity to think critically and then invent elaborate and useful structures. The students carefully plan their designs by prototyping on an iPad or by drawing a blueprint of their own. Then, they spring into action or revise, which is also an important part in the building process. Some children have been working on various structures while others are still in the planning phases. We are in awe of students' creative representations of their developing ideas and impressed by their boundless perseverance!

Lower School

Grade 5 Students Learn about Teivat Noach and Ships Throughout History

Students in classes 5B and 5D learned all about the inventions of different ships throughout history. We examined how boats were used to explore the world and how they have changed over time. Some groups of people that were studied were the Polynesians, Vikings, Chinese, and the Europeans. Some purposes of building boats included war, exploration, commerce, and trade. Simultaneously in Judaic studies, the students are learning Parshat Shmot, perek bet when Yocheved, Moshe's mother, created a teivah (boat) to hide Moshe. The teivah was made from reeds, plaster, and tar. This week, we will read Parshat Noach, where Noach builds a teivah using wood, plaster, and tar. As an interdisciplinary culmination of learning about boats in the Torah and throughout history, students created their own boats that need to stay afloat using different materials such as Popsicle sticks, glue, aluminum foil, and waxed paper.

Middle School

Grade 8 Chesed Mornings!

8th Grade Chesed Mornings have begun! We are continuing our wonderful relationship at the Jewish Home at Rockleigh,and have added visiting Daughters of Miriam, performing for Cafe Europa and learning the art of Mitzvah Clowning.

Yavneh Academy eighth graders, accompanied by Mrs. Lichtiger and Morah Moriya, and the residents of the Jewish Home at Rockleigh have proven that there is no generation gap. The students brought their iPads with them and introduced the residents to technology. Using their devices, the students discussed and researched the residents' origins and hometowns as they taught them how to use Google Maps.

Cafe Europa is an opportunity for Holocaust survivors to enjoy a meal and socialize with other fellow survivors. Our Yavneh students, accompanied by Morah Baruchov and Rabbi Burstein, mingled with the survivors and learned about their lives. Our students read poetry, performed songs from Fiddler on the Roof, presented an original dance and enjoyed a solo pianist performance.

Our students, accompanied by Dr. Frohlich and Mr. Rossman, were welcomed into the Daughters of Miriam nursing home on Wednesday. There the students did a "brushless" art project where they made autumn trees using straws, q-tips, and toothbrushes instead of traditional brushes. Our students chatted with the residents while they painted together. The morning ended with some singing together.

Mitzvah Clowning started as well. Led by Daniel Rothner of Areyvut, the students learned the art of improvisation and just how much health can be spread through Mitzvah Clowning. In future sessions, the students will be cheering up patients at local hospitals and nursing homes.

Grade 7 Goes to Frost Valley

This week, our 7th graders had the unique opportunity to enjoy our annual three day leadership retreat to Frost Valley. Frost Valley specializes in team-building activities such as the "Leap of Faith," "Vertical Playpen" and "Flying Squirrel," where the students must work together to pull one of their group members up through a rope contraption, "Project Adventure," which features an assortment of team-building activities, and more. It was remarkable how encouraging all of the students were of their peers, regardless if they were or were not friends before the trip.

In addition, Frost Valley features a number of beautiful nature hikes, which gave our students the opportunity to experience Hashem and his nature in a new way. The 7th graders are divided up into groups meant to intersperse their usual social groups to enable them to build new relationships through these team-building activities. In addition, the students learned about teamwork through the lens of the Torah through various shiurim from our Yavneh staff. Another one of the highlights of the trip was our Kumzitz led by our very own Mr. Steiner where the students experienced inspiration by joining in song and hearing inspirational stories.

A new addition to this year's trip were two more team building activities at night, the catapult, where the students worked together to build a catapult with a milk crate, a piece of wood and a bungee cord, and the marshmallow challenge, where the students had pieces of spaghetti and tape and were challenged to see which group could build the tallest structure that can hold up a marshmallow with those materials. We continued last year's new tradition of game night, which offered various options for all of the students to enjoy. The boys had a mini-hockey tournament, spike-ball, and board-games, and the girls had karaoke night and board games, as well. It was an incredible trip where the grade truly formed as a unit, as the students learned more about one another, their teachers, and themselves.

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Development Corner

What are matching gifts?

Corporate matching gifts are a type of philanthropy in which companies financially match donations that their employees make to nonprofit organizations, like Yavneh.

Companies usually match donations at a 1:1 ratio, but some will match at a 2:1, 3:1, or even a 4:1 ratio.

Corporate philanthropy programs allow donors to maximize the impact of their donation, but many match-eligible donors don't realize that their company offers a matching gift program. Furthermore, only 7% of donors at matching gift companies actually submit a matching gift request.

Thank you to all of the Yavneh families who do utilize this benefit on Yavneh's behalf. Donors are recognized for their total gift, including the match. To find out if your company matches gifts, please check with your HR representative, or email Robin Tare, Yavneh's Director of Development, at [email protected]

Tizku l'mitzvot!