March 22, 2018
6 Nissan 5778

Tzav

   Shabbat Candle Lighting 7:23 p.m.

Tammie Rapps
Head of School

Every night Morah Dorit sends an email to the Early Childhood staff and I am fortunate enough to be included in the distribution list for her daily dose of inspiration, education, information and humor. This week she launched a 30-day challenge to recognize the things in our life for which we are grateful. Every email introduces a prompt to encourage the reader to focus on one specific aspect of his or her life to identify a source of gratitude. We the readers then "reply all" to express our thankfulness. This has been a satisfying and gratifying exercise as Dorit's emails remind me to look around and appreciate the many blessings in my life.

This week's parashah ritualizes gratitude in the form of the Todah sacrifice. An offering that was accompanied by feast and libations, the Todah sacrifice was cause for joy and celebration. While we no longer bring sacrifices to express our gratitude to God, two tefillot (prayers) that we recite daily stand in place of the Todah: Psalm 100, "A Song of Thanksgiving" and the Modim prayer in the Amidah. The first equates the need to serve God with joy with the act of expressing thanks. Certainly, modern psychologists and researchers have noted the intimate connection between happiness and gratitude. The second prayer recounts the myriad of small miracles that occur daily and compels us to see the good that Hashem does not only in the big splashy special-effects moments of life, but also in the quiet course of the natural world.

mazal tov

Mazal Tov to the Tucker family on the arrival of their baby boy.


LEARNING AT THE CELLULAR LEVEL

In science class, middle school students explored the four phases of mitosis, making chromosomes out of playdough.





BUILDING INNER, OUTER STRENGTH

During a recent It's a Girl Thing, students identified and explored themes like courage and risk-taking in the heroic story of Miriam. The discussion was followed by a self-defense class with instructor Pamela Cohen, the daughter of Akiba teacher Carol Fitzerman. 



STRENGTHENING CRITICAL THINKING

6th grade girls analyze Mishnah text in Judaic Studies, working on reading comprehension and critical analysis while reviewing the text and highlighting key points.  



OUT OF THE CLASSROOM, INTO THE WORLD

Students visited the Bureau of Engraving and Printing recently, learning how the engraving process works, creating their own printing plates and exploring how currency was printed before 1900. Later,  students performed the mitzvah of tevilat keilim at a local utensil mikvah with their individually created glass Kiddush cups. 
 


SCHULTZ FAMILY FELLOWS

Three members of the Akiba staff were recently chosen to be part of the Schultz Family Israel Educational Leadership Fellows, a program of the Center for Jewish  Education of the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas that is made possible by the Schultz Family Foundation. As part of the program, Tammie Rapps, Andi Bonner and Lisa Kramer Morgan will head to Israel for training and professional development that they will use to inspire our campus. Most recently, the group traveled to Chicago to explore best practices for teaching students about Israel. 
 


EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAM

In Morah Marni and Morah Marcela's K'Ton Ton class (2 year olds), students are learning  what foods are permitted to eat on Passover. To illustrate this concept, e ach child received a piece of bread, bagel, roll, matza or challah. Then they sorted the foods according to what can or cannot be eaten on Pesach.  

Morah Danielle and Morah Liat's Teenoki Alef class (1 year olds), used their different senses to explore Pesach. They played with playdough, patting it, making it flat and poking holes with a fork to make matzah. They also used big plastic frogs to dip in green paint to jump across their paper. 

 

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  [email protected] .