May 21, 2020 /27th of Iyyar 5780 / Parshat Bamidbar/Candle Lighting: 7:55PM
The administration and faculty at JKHA and RKYHS went on the road to congratulate our seniors and advancing eighth graders. They delivered lawn signs proclaiming our pride for our seniors and eighth graders! Mazal tov to the JKHA and RKYHS Class of 2020!
Early Childhood/Lower School
Kindergarten has been learning about Yom Yerushalayim. They took a virtual tour around Yerushalayim and ended up at a live view of the kotel. They noticed that because Israel is 7 hours ahead it was nighttime already. They then created their own notes that they would put into the kotel. The students brainstormed ideas that they would like to ask Hashem for including - going back to JKHA, to end Corona, having everyone in the world feel better, and, seeing their friends.
Continuing the routine that took place first thing in the day pre-remote learning, Early Childhood and Lower School has resumed their Morning Assembly. To start their day, students join Rabbi Srolovitz and Mrs. DiGiovanni at 8:45 am to sing Hatikvah, recite the Pledge of Allegiance and hear the morning announcements. This quick morning check-in allows everyone to gather as a division and see their friends from all of the grades.
In honor of Yom Yerushalayim, the children in Kitah Aleph made their own beautiful Mizrach signs to hang in their homes. They made these in a zoom lesson where they listened to a story about Yerushalayim. They also learned a special new song about Yerushalayim and they held up their Mizrach signs whenever they heard Yerushalayim in the song.  
Fourth and third graders played a chumash review game called Deal or No Deal to reinforce their chumash learning. Students learned how Yosef's brothers "made a deal" and sold Yosef for 20 coins. Many students got dressed up and created a suitcase with a question on the perek with a number of points received if answered correctly.
First graders joined together with their faculty one evening this week for a pajama party! Mrs. Stein read stories and their morot led them in shma, hamalach hagoel, and some singing (and dancing) about washing up and getting ready for bed.  
Middle School
Seventh and eighth grade students studying the laws of kosher animals in Sefer Devarim capitalized on our remote learning world by taking a trip to the Biblical Museum of Natural History in Jerusalem. Biblical animal expert, Rabbi Dr. Natan Slifkin, brought the Torah to life with his tour of their impressive animal, bird, and fish collection. Students were able to visualize their learning, gain a better understanding of the specifications of kosher animals, and interact with a world class expert on the topic. They were able to appreciate the concept of מה רבו מעשיך השם- How wondrous are your creations, Hashem!"
Middle School is getting ready for Shavuot!  Watch your inboxes for more information about the upcoming Cheesecake Wars! Ingredient list will be sent out Friday.
Tuesday, May 26 at 9pm Middle School students will come together for a "Pre-kun Leil Shavuot." Spend a night preparing for Shavuot with a lineup of "stars."    
RKYHS Students in the News
Junior Aviva Luxenberg had an article published in Fresh Ink for Teens on the AIPAC policy conference through the lens of Covid-19.  Fresh Ink for Teens is an online magazine written by, and for, Jewish students from high schools around the world.  Click here to read the article.  

The work of the RKYHS SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) group to combat distracted driving was featured in a recent issue of the West Essex Tribune newspaper.  Click here to read the article.
High School
In order to hold art class remotely, RKYHS art teacher Mrs. Buechler has exercised creativity in order to combat the challenge of limited supplies for students at home. The tenth grade art elective class just completed painting coffee mugs with  actual  coffee.  After a demo, they were instructed to make a very strong brew and use it as the darkest value of brown.  In several smaller cups, they were asked to use water to dilute the coffee, in different amounts.  The more water they used, the lighter the shade of brown they got.  The lightest color had just a tint of brown.  They drew light pencil guidelines to draw a mug, and kept their mug in front of them for reference.  Then the fun began, they “painted” their mugs using only q- tips to shade and fill in their pieces.  Some students chose to “work together” off line for company while they worked.  When the paintings dried, they erased the pencil lines and sent a photo of their work in for critique. The critique was held over a screen share zoom session.

As always, work was submitted to students’ Artsonia account for them to share with their friends and family.  This week you can “Vote” for student Callie Poleyoff's project by clicking here!
Seniors have been participating in Senior Sessions thisweek.  Senior sessions are a participatory, educational experience for our twelfth graders that prepares them for their next chapters post graduation. The engaging presentations have ranged from Lena Koropey of Gramercy Protocol who spoke about business and social etiquette and networking skills to Rabbi Gideon Black, former Jewish Life on Campus Rabbi from NYU who led a panel about challenges and opportunities for Jewish students on college campuses. Later in the week they heard from David Orbach of Regal Bank (and JKHA/RKYHS parent) about personal finance including bank accounts, budgeting, credit history, and protecting your identity and Carol Jacobson, Early Engagement Director of AIPAC who discussed transitioning from high school to college activism. The remaining sessions next week will cover vaping and domestic violence awareness and prevention on college campuses today as they round out the opportunities that RKYHS has provided them throughout their time at school to be engaged and informed individuals.
For many of the members of the senior class, this week would have been the beginning of an intensive Holocaust Studies seminar in Poland.  Although that experience can not possibly be recreated, a "virtual tour" was arranged with the JRoots tour guide that would've led the group. The three-part series is focusing on what we have to learn from visiting Jewish communities and what life was like on the eve of the Second World War and spotlight on a community as the war began. It also is covering a look at some of the key moments in the Holocaust, uncovering some of the untold stories, and focusing on what the Holocaust should mean to us in 2020 - how we can be expected to learn and teach about it and how we can challenge those who deny it.  RKYHS is grateful to Deborah and Wayne Zuckerman for their generous sponsorship of this program.  
Yashar Koach to our team of students who worked with Deliver Together and Shimon of ShimTal catering to deliver over 170 deliveries this week through Jewish Family Services (JFS) . Working with JFS, the team made deliveries for JFS to thank those who have served in the community, many of whom are now at-risk and cannot leave their homes. Deliver Together is an organization founded by RKYHS juniors Maurice Korish and Adam Hollander to deliver groceries to those at-risk who are not able to get out to the store. You can find more information at  www.delivertogether.org  Hollander and Korish were joined for the deliveries by senior Noam Nissel and juniors Daniel Simon and Eli Novick.  
The RKYHS Sports Management Club heard from champion boxer, Dimitry Salita. As the rare Jew in professional boxing, Salita stood out both for his initial success and his unique role as a shomer Shabbat athlete. Now a promoter representing other boxers, Salita spoke about h ow he balanced boxing and his life now as a promoter with his observance, his most memorable match, antisemitism that he's faced, boxing idols, and more.  
AIPAC students had the opportunity to hear from Jillian Berkowitz, Outreach Specialist for U.S. Senator Robert Menendez and from  Chris Barr, a member of Senator Menendez's Foreign Relations team. The two spoke about the US Israel relationship, what Senator Menendez's positions are on Iran and other foreign policies, current legislation being discussed, and critical issues taking place in the Middle East.  

Spring Campaign
Watch our faculty members grab their "must-have" items to
keep the learning going.
Pay tribute to our creative and committed faculty by supporting the  JKHA/RKYHS Spring Appeal !
Programs and Events
Alumni
Every day we hear about the dedicated individuals in a variety of roles who are on the front lines during the Covid-19 pandemic. We want to take a moment to honor and say THANK YOU to those from our JKHA/RKYHS alumni community who have been giving of themselves and making a difference during these challenging and unprecedented times.

See the faces and names of some of our alumni frontliners. We welcome more submissions from our alumni. Please send your photo and current role to alumni coordinator Erica Rosenfeld to  erosenfeld@jkha.org  so we can recognize you.

To everyone in our alumni community performing wonderful acts of chesed, and to the doctors, nurses, first responders, healthcare and long-term care facility workers and more, JKHA/RKYHS wants to say THANK YOU for all you have been doing and continue to do!
Mazal tov to Rebekah and Andy Freeman (JKHA '05/RKYHS '09) on the birth of their daughter.  
RKYHS JLC SCHMOOZE