May 23, 2019 /18 Iyar /Parshat Behar/Candle Lighting: 7:58 PM
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The JKHA/RKYHS Dinner is less than 2 weeks away on June 5th.
Come celebrate our honorees and our school community!
Make your reservations and place an ad today!
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Early Childhood/Lower School
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JKHA was thrilled to welcome the incoming 2019-20 Pre-K and Kindergarten students. In the two "meet and greet" sessions, parents had the opportunity to meet one another. In addition, they heard from Rabbi Rubin and Mrs. DiGiovanni and met the administrative team while children were engaged in a variety of activities. Next year's kindergartners spent time in our current kindergarten to get acclimated to the classroom and teachers, while their parents heard from Mrs. DiGiovannni regarding the goals and objectives of Kindergarten and our Early Childhood program. In the Pre-K "meet and greet" the incoming students engaged in art projects and had a song session with Morah Sara and the N3 and Pre-K teachers.
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Celebrating the athletic and unifying nature of Lag BaOmer, Lower School students got to experience Israeli recess games with our Rishon, Yehonatan Friedman, and engaged in team-building activities with Rabbi Srolovitz.
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The fourth grade graced the stage today for one final Lower School performance, a phenomenal fusion of the Yosef story and music from the Broadway show Annie- entirely in Hebrew. Focusing on themes of unity and growth, students sang, danced, acted and performed beautifully for their parents, grandparents, and Lower School buddies. The students put in a tremendous amount of effort and learned the messages of the play on a deeper level. This creative and innovative production was created by fourth grade teacher Mrs. Nechama Dina Hendel and was produced by the entire fourth grade faculty.
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Fourth Graders have been immersed in a Native American unit. Students researched their assigned tribes and created a brochure using online research and books. Students researched food, economy, geography, shelter, important leaders, and relationship with European settlers for each tribe. Students then created a project at home to demonstrate their understanding of their tribe creating artifacts, posters, power points, and 3-D dioramas. All parts of the Native American projects were displayed when fourth grade students presented their projects to the lower grades this week and included a display of the Native American style pottery that they created in the RKYHS ceramics studio and fired in the kiln.
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The JKHA eighth graders are wrapping up a jam-packed three days in Washington, DC. It has been a great opportunity to see important sights while bonding as a grade before their upcoming advancement. Highlights of the trip include touring the historic sites of the city such as the Washington Monument, and the Lincoln Memorial, touring the Capitol Building and the impressive artworks in the rotunda, a trip to Fort McHenry, and the Air and Space Museum. They visited the United States Holocaust Museum, an important culmination of their Holocaust studies as it tied together all the different learning and experiences that they had this year. The students also had time for bonding at a sunset a dinner boat cruise, and a bbq dinner at Lewisville Park to dance to their favorite songs and celebrate Lag BaOmer.
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The entire JKHA seventh grade took part in a "Book Day," an inspiring morning of activities to discuss, engage, reflect, and extend their insights following their independent read of
The Way to Bea
by Kat Yeh. The JKHA program connected this program's message to the passuk from Pirkei Avot
"If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if I am only for myself, who am I? If not now, when?"
(1:14) They spent the morning learning to recognize the superhero within everyone, reading the clues around them, and demonstrating that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
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The seventh grade boys kicked off their Bar Mitzvah programming this week with a special trip to Brooklyn. At the Shatnez Testers of America, students learned about the mitzvah of Shatnez and how experts test clothing for Shatnez. Next, students had the unique opportunity to visit Rabbi Yaakov Michael, one of the best "batim machers" (tefillin makers) in the world. Rabbi Michael mesmerized students as he showed them the process of making tefillin, starting from the hide all the way to the finished product. Students saw his incredible machinery used to make the tefillin square, were able to practice making the shin of the tefillin as professionals do, and saw his high tech computer tefillin checking system. After a pizza lunch, students enjoyed a stop at Eichler's, the vast seforim and Judaica store. Their trip ended with mincha at the famous Landau's "minyan factory" where students were amazed to see the number of minyanim that take place there daily.
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As another part of the Bar Mitzvah week of programming, students were fortunate to participate in a “round robin” of sessions led by JKHA parents and community members who encouraged students to consider their role as עוסקים בצרכי צבור, those who involve themselves with the community. Mr. Keith Mendelson discussed the role of the chazzan, Mr. Mitch Cohen discussed the role of the gabbai, Mr. Avi Laub discussed the opportunities that Bnei Mitzvah have to do chessed, and Mr. Jonathan Teitelbaum taught students how to find time for mincha by making time for mincha. We were so fortunate to have a panel who spoke so passionately about topics very close to their hearts as their messages truly penetrated the hearts of our students.
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RKYHS sophomore Jesse Koppel is featured in this week’s Jewish Link as the Sportstar of the Week! Read the interview with Jesse
here
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Congratulations to the Kushner Cobras Baseball Team on defeating Maimonides to win the 2019 Ezra Schwartz Memorial Baseball Tournament! Yashar koach to Eli Fishbein on winning the home run derby at the tournament! The team spent the weekend in Boston competing against Maimonides, SAR, and RAMAZ at the tournament established in memory of Maimonides alum Ezra Schwartz who was killed while studying in Israel for the year.
Watch the team's winning moment here.
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Our RKYHS sophomore engineering students presented their Capstone Projects at the CIJE (Center for Initiatives in Jewish Education) annual Innovation Day Conference on Sunday, with more than 1500 students from approximately 40 other Jewish Day schools. A highlight of the day was when the team of RKYHS sophomore Maurice Korish and SINAI Maor at RKYHS student Yisroel Newmark won first place in the Innovation in Health Care category for their "Feedbot" facial recognition software that enables physically challenged people to feed themselves independently. The team of RKYHS sophomores Eli Novick, Rebecca Nussbaum and Tommi Ratzker took home second place in the Innovative Technology category for their "J-DAWG" Juul detector, which senses Juuling in school bathrooms and notifies appropriate administrators. Their team is also one of six semi-finalists that will compete in the CIJE Shark Tank competition next year, selected from over 70 entries.
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RKYHS juniors participated in a two-day Israel Studies Seminar, jointly run by Bnei Akiva and RKYHS, and held at Camp Moshava. Moshava’s setting created the ideal atmosphere for authentic learning while our students enjoyed an exciting and fun-filled social and educational retreat. The two-day retreat focused on Israel’s history, years of accomplishments, and its central role for the Jewish people. The sessions emphasized Jewish identity, continuity and nationhood, and the learning was interactive, informal and engaging. Students also participated in team-building exercises, sports activities in the beautiful spring weather, and enjoyed a bonfire kumsitz under the stars. The Israel Studies Seminar is an important grade event that created shared memories for our students to cherish and meaningful experiences to empower the next generation of Jewish leaders.
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Seniors are participating in Senior Sessions, a participatory, educational experience for our twelfth graders that prepares them for their next chapters post graduation. From engaging presentations from experts on topics including personal finance and mental health to sessions on domestic violence awareness and prevention and how to face the challenges of being observant on college campuses, members of the Class of 2019 are appreciating their last opportunity to explore the best aspects of an engaged and informed RKYHS education with their friends and teachers. Students also took a meaningful trip to the 9/11 Tribute Center and Memorial fountains, One World Trade Center and Observatory and the Auschwitz exhibit at the Museum of Jewish Heritage. Senior Sessions will continue next week.
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Twelfth grade students participating in the Holocaust Studies Seminar arrived in Poland yesterday to begin their meaningful and emotional week-long trip. The group began in Warsaw, visiting Jewish cemeteries and the Warsaw Ghetto.
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Ninth grade students taking both Spanish and art class are participating in an interdisciplinary unit to create piñatas in the art studio. After learning about the cultural significance and history of the piñatas in Spanish class, they headed to the art studio and learned about paper mache and creating three dimensional art before creating piñatas of their own.
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Members of the RKYHS SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) participated in The Champion Schools Awards Showcase at the theater at Great Adventure. The Champion Schools Program is a peer-to-peer program about teen driving safety presented by The Brain Injury Alliance of New Jersey (BIANJ). The awards were the culmination of our group's innovative safe driving campaign which emphasized peer to peer messages for safe driving.
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A Look at Math at JKHA/RKYHS
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Kushner Torah Videos (KTV)
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Rabbi Sasha Pecaric is joined by Freshman Dani Bank to discuss the lessons from this week's Parshat Behar.
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Parshat Behar begins with the laws of Shmita,the Sabbatical year. Observance of the Shmita year is very difficult, particularly for farmers..Just imagine if the halacha required us to take a sabbatical from our jobs ,and forfeit our means of income for an entire year, once every seven years! Indeed the Medrash calls the people who observe shmita as "Giboray Koach-,masters of strength" for their faith and courage to observe shmita.
The Torah actually anticipates this difficulty, and says, "And if you will say: what will I eat during the seventh year?! "Hashem promises that His blessing will be during the sixth year .The crops will produce sufficient grain for three years!
However the question must be asked,if this is so, what is the great faith in observing shemita?! The farmer had already put away during the sixth year from the bumper crop enough food,for three years!
Perhaps the answer is that the reality of life is that human beings tend to forget. Even though a person may have made triple his normal income in the sixth year, if in the middle of the seventh he sees that there is no income, he gets nervous. We remember the"bad" but we don't remember the "good" so well. All too often ,we forget all the kindness Hashem has given us.
It does take a master of strength not to ask during the seventh year, What will I eat?",regardless of how much was put away during the sixth year.
The "takeaway" for us is to focus and appreciate all the goodness we have in our lives.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi David Selengut
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Mazal Tov to Maya Dickman and to Lena and Menachem Dickman on the occasion of Maya's Bat Mitzvah!
Mazal Tov to Josh Kirsch and to Jill and Rabbi Richard Kirsch on the occasion of Josh's Bar Mitzvah!
Mazel Tov to Elisheva Isler and to Rachel and Stephen Isler on the occasion of Elisheva's Bat Mitzvah.
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Discount cards are here! $20 per card. Cards will be available at the school office next week. Venmo @JKHA-PTC or pay via cash or check. Thank you to all the amazing local businesses who have participated!
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We Invite You to Dedicate Our
Children's Torah Learning
at JKHA/RKYHS
If you are interested in sponsoring a Day of Learning, contact Sarah Levinson: slevinson@jkha.org or (862) 437-8001
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If you are interested in dedicating a mezuzah, please contact Lauren Shapiro, Director of Development at
lshapiro@jkha.org
or
(862) 437-8192
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Mazal tov to Allie (Mayer JKHA '06/RKYHS '10) and Yosef Feurstein on the birth
of a baby boy.
Mazal tov to Dani (Statfeld JKHA '00/RKYHS '04) and Todd Elkin on the birth
of a baby boy.
Mazal tov to Rabbi Eryn London (JKHA '99/RKYHS '03) on her engagement to Dr. Michael Gilmont, PhD.
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