A Passover message from
The Silver Academy to you!
As we prepare for our annual celebration of the Passover holiday, we take time to reflect on all of life's blessings, and to share our gratitude for our many good fortunes. We are especially grateful for you, our joyous and supportive community, who have made The Silver Academy a treasure of the Harrisburg Jewish Community. 
 
Passover is also a time to reflect on the blessing of freedom, as the Passover story recounts our liberation from slavery in the land of Egypt. As we gather around our Seder tables, we must also reflect on the blessings of modern lives, especially in our ability to choose our individual paths. We must take the time to appreciate the gift of our freedom to be Jewish, and to practice Judaism and its traditions l'dor va dor, from generation to generation. For over 74 years, the Silver Academy family has granted the gift of sharing our Jewish traditions through many generations of families, and we are truly grateful for this blessing.
 
We wish you and your families a Chag Sameach and a wonderful Pesach. We look forward to seeing you after the break!

Events at a Glance
  • 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
QUICK LINKS:

Lunch Menu - March
Good things happen everyday at The Silver Academy!
Mrs. Debra Freeburn, Head of School
dfreeburn@silveracademypa.org

At this time of year, The Silver Academy faculty and staff spend a great deal of time retaining and recruiting students. We meet with our current Silver families and inquire as to what we can do better in the year to come, what we’ve done well this year, and establish goals for our students for the coming year. We reach out to new families to find out how The Silver Academy can meet their needs, if in fact they are searching for a school that provides an excellent education, a small class size, and a values-based curriculum.
 
Jackie Rubin organizes and carries out event after event to reach members of the Greater Harrisburg community, who are ‘blown away’ by the programming and opportunities we offer at Silver. We are now advertising our school by having billboards in four locations around Harrisburg. The Silver Academy and its students will be featured in the “Silence Your Phones” video segment that will air prior to the Jewish Film Festival’s extraordinary films. Our kids are competing and WINNING science fair competitions on the regional level, and being invited to Pittsburgh to see the competition of the students who are competing in the international science and engineering fair. We are entered in the Cadena Initiative, as our middle school students have proposed ideas to prevent or respond to a natural disaster, by using research skills, analysis, and problem-solving skills to support their proposal, and in turn, support vulnerable communities. At The Silver Academy, we enter essay contests, and participate in community events. We have young students who independently propose ideas and are moving ahead on their own, by starting recycling clubs outside of school. We raise money, raise awareness, and most importantly, raise leaders who eventually come back to Harrisburg and are the rising stars in high schools around the area.
 
But what can YOU do? Keep the momentum going….get the word out….help us to become the Cinderella story of education!!!
 
Cinderella is possibly the most iconic of all fairy tales, and is the archetype of the rags-to-riches story. Cinderella’s name reflects her status as the stepsister who is forced to do housework and has low standing in the household. But like many fairy tales, (and during March Madness, and in the movies), the name Cinderella or the metaphor of a Cinderella story, refers to someone or something that has overcome unlikely odds and succeeds and above all, perseveres and becomes memorable.
 
In the movie  Caddyshack , Bill Murray used the Cinderella idiom to describe a lowly greens keeper’s unlikely rise to stardom when he becomes the Master’s champion. Today we hear Cinderella spoken of during March Madness, as the single-elimination bracket format of the annual NCAA basketball tournament gives a lower-ranked team a chance to upset higher-ranked teams with a single victory. Think...UMBC beating #1 ranked Virginia and remaining unbeaten and now playing in the final four!!!!
 
Now, think of The Silver Academy: the Cinderella story of education. We are a school that provides a values-based education with small class size, and teaches each student that he/she has a voice, that their opinion matters, and that they CAN make a difference. The Silver Academy, which teaches a second language and does not spend months teaching to the test. The Silver Academy, which promotes students to be individuals who have pride in who they are and where they come from. The Silver Academy, which develops students who are critical thinkers and go on to be leaders in their college, in their profession and in their community.
 
Wishing you and your family joy and happiness, peace and good health, love and togetherness, this Passover and throughout the year.

Debra
D'VAR TORAH

D'var Torah for Parshat Tzav
(last week's Parchat)

by Elez Bell


to read last week's D'var Torah
A Peek Inside Our Classrooms
First Grade Judaics
Mrs. Alla Fligelman (Morah Alla)
afligelman@silveracademypa.org

Our first graders' Hebrew reading and writing skills are improving every day! They just finished their third book of Ariot, and are very proud of this accomplishment! (Ariot is our Hebrew reading program.) In fact, students are five letters away from being able to read any word in Hebrew! These young students are already writing in a Hebrew Journal every morning: This is an amazing achievement for first graders! I hope you have an opportunity to see their new journals and Hebrew writing!

Spring is here (although our weather does not seem to agree), and there is so much to do in preparation of Pesach! Our study of Pesach consists of three sections: preparation for the holiday, the symbols at the Seder, and finally, Magid - the story of Pesach.

Students love setting the Seder table and really know what needs to be on the table. They are ready to help at home! They also learned the “ seder ” of the Seder.

First Grade has joined with second grade in learning the story of Pesach in a fun, dramatic fashion. We are working diligently to prepare a play with songs, music and a lot of action! This is such a wonderful way for students to strengthen their Hebrew reading, and speaking fluency, syntax, vocabulary and grammar. Most importantly, students are immersed in learning about this fascinating part of our history in Hebrew. As we present slaves breaking from slavery to freedom, with G-d’s mighty hand, we can almost feel ourselves breaking out of Egypt! 

We wish you a happy and kosher Pesach! 
Celebrating Pi Day in Middle School
Mrs. Jane Dalton
jdalton@silveracademypa.org


The date March 14, written as 3.14, has become known as Pi Day. You may know Pi as that crazy, never ending, irrational number used with circles, 3.1415926535. Our 5th through 8th grade students celebrated this day in math class with a variety of activities...one was quite yummy!

Silver Academy's 5th and 6th grades discovered that when measuring the circumference of a circular lid and the diameter of the lid, the circumference is slightly more than 3 times the diameter! Students also learned that the more exact the measurements, the closer the ratio is to Pi.  Our 7th and 8th grades estimated the area of circles and then calculated the area using the area formula, ( Area = Pi x Radius x Radius) .  

What would Pi Day be without a real pie? Each class ended with students eating a delicious pie of their our own specially selected flavor! Yum!
Mark Your Calendar...

Sunday, April 22 - 12:20-2:30
At Giant Foods on Linglestown Road

Free for kids of all ages

Learn About, Sample, and Create Kid-Friendly Foods

Lead by Alla Fliegelman, (Hebrew Teacher at The Silver Academy),
and Shanna Shultz, RD, LDN, (Nutritionist at Giant Foods)

RSVP by April 20th

CLICK HERE for information about registration
JCC Offers Music Program for Preschoolers-Kdg

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.

Development Office News
Mark your calendar now!

Oz just made an unprecedented SIX national TV appearances this week on ESPN, many of which are going viral. Be sure to check out this clip on  USA TODAY  


Tickets, Ads and Sponsorships are available for his Thursday, May 31st, appearance in Harrisburg! Remember..private cocktail hours with Oz for sponsors only!




What is EITC?

Watch this video and learn about this Pennsylvania scholarship program that is
extremely valuable to our students!
Alumni, please join us!
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
Our first virtual meeting was held on Tuesday March 13, where we created our mission statement and values for our circle. 
Click here to request a grant from our Alumni Giving Circle
​ 
Please join us for the next Giving Circle on 
Wednesday April 11 at 7pm!

We want YOU to be a part of this important endeavor contact Shari Dym at  sdym@silveracademypa.org !

Order your Challah and Passover Game!
Passover Seder Game by Varda


  • 15 Pesach themed mini pillows
  • Seder game stores in a drawstring bag.
  • Handcrafted by Varda


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.
Varda Gewirtz,  717-919-1358  
Super Silver Snapshots!
Yesterday our school was alive with preparations for Passover, as our students participated in age-grouped Model Seders. Along with the traditional rituals, some grades presented the story through song and theater. Of course, everyone enjoyed searching for the afikomen and a sweet treat at the end!