This Week at Yavneh Academy

November 19, 2020 | 4 Kislev 5781 | תולדות

Early Childhood Department

Ganon Bet Explores Fruits and Vegetables of the Season

Ganon Bet has been preparing for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday through a focus on favorite fruits, vegetables and flowers that we enjoy at this time of year. We began by learning the life cycles of apples, pumpkins, and sunflowers. Next, we investigated an acorn squash through our 5 senses. We noticed the grooves on the outside and seeds on the inside, both having similarities to a pumpkin. We then took out the seeds from the squash, apple and sunflower and planted them in our classroom. We’ve been watering and watching them daily and can’t wait for our hard work to start blossoming before our very eyes!

הקול קול יעקב והידים ידי עשו

This week Gan Gimmel dove into an interesting part of the Toldot story, Yitzchak's confusion and bracha switch at the end of his life. We learned about how Yitzchak lost his sense of sight when he got older but still could use his other senses of hearing, tasting, seeing and smelling. We used a sensory box to isolate our sense of touch in order to describe and guess different objects from our classroom without seeing the object. Were they hard or soft, smooth or bumpy, light or heavy, round or square? We then used the sensory box to challenge our friends during free play the next day. We next used our sense of hearing to guess our friend's recorded voice. It was harder than we thought!

Gan Bet Prepares for Thanksgiving

Gan Bet has been very busy preparing for Thanksgiving. We created our own thankful trees to show how thankful we are for all the wonderful things we have. We wrote down on paper what we were thankful for and then put our leaves on our trees. We created our own corn paintings and decorated our tree holder with them. We are so proud to be bringing them home so they can be on our Thanksgiving table.

Lower School

4C Learns about US Government

In honor of the recent elections, 4C studied the US government. We learned about the three branches of government, the jobs of the President, and the requirements to run for office. After learning about the Electoral College, we were excited to watch the Presidential election results unfold as we monitored the blue vs. red states. Don’t miss the bulletin board outside our room which showcases our learning!

First Grade Breakout EDU

Mystery, adventure, and critical thinking filled the classrooms as first graders collaborated to solve clues to open a locked box using Breakout EDU. Breakout EDU is an academic twist on Escape the Room. The Breakout session was connected to the children’s book, Run Turkey Run, and tied into the Thanksgiving unit. In small groups, students practiced their math and literacy skills as they solved puzzles in order to open letter and number locks on a surprise box. For example, students used UV lights to find a special code for one numeric lock. In other puzzles, students added and counted to crack the code.They solved the code to alphabet locks by completing sentences with recent spelling words. Searching for clues and ideas while

concurrently building social and academic skills was an exhilarating experience for the students. All four groups: Turkey, Cranberry, Stuffing and Pumpkin, were amazing code

breakers.

Applying SEL Lessons to Chumash Lessons

In 3D this week, we were able to combine the lessons learned in SEL and apply it to what we are learning in Chumash! We discussed the importance of noticing positive character traits in our friends and those positive traits make us better people. In Chumash, we learned how Eliezer was looking for a wife for Yitzchak and was able to find her by noticing the girl's positive qualities, and we even acted it out! We love it when we realize that what we learn in Torah impacts us in our everyday life!

Interdisciplinary Boat Building Challenge

After learning about Parshat Noach, and the tevah's exact dimensions, various explorers and the dynamic ships that they built, fifth graders were tasked with an interdisciplinary boat building challenge. Students were asked to incorporate knowledge and details from both learned units to create a boat that would float and be structurally sound. Students created a blueprint with a basic design and materials that they would be using. Then, the magic happened; students changed, refined and tweaked their designs to make even stronger boats than what they had originally planned. Being flexible and innovative proved to be the most important tools!

Middle School

Honor Day Delegation Program Unexpectedly Reunites Two Chayalim at Yavneh

Yearly, Yavneh Academy Middle School is privileged to hear from a soldier who is part of the Wounded IDF Veterans organization. The veterans share their stories of fighting in the Israeli army and unfortunately the dangers that they face. The program is always one of chizuk for us, the viewing audience of teachers and students.

This week's program featured Shahaf Segal. Shahaf served in the special anti-terror unit, Sayeret Golani, as a sharpshooter and a medic. During operation “cast lead” (the Gaza war), the team’s Staff Sergeant, Dvir Emanuelof, was shot and killed from a terror tunnel. Shahaf was injured while trying to save Dvir’s life. Shahaf was evacuated to Soroka hospital for a major reconstructive surgery on his arm, which led to five years of surgeries and rehabilitation in Tel HaShomer hospital.

Sports are a major part of Shahaf’s life including MMA, climbing and snowboarding. Shahaf has earned his L.LB, M.B.A and his practicing certificate. He is currently applying to American universities to earn an additional degree. Shahaf’s life motto: “What matters most is how well you walk through the fire.”

This year's program was even more special to us. As students sat in Mr. Arik Nagel’s class, they quietly heard him say, “I served with him.” “I was there when he was shot.” “I helped carry him to the medics.” The program concluded with a heartfelt reunion between Shahaf and our own Mr. Nagel. Miles and years may separate them; their love for Israel and the camaraderie they developed has never left them. The army and their emunah and bitachon in HaShem have bonded them for life.

Please take a moment to watch this unique Yavneh moment.

Grade 7 Morning of Adventure

Our 7th grade students braved the sun-soaked cold on this morning for an exciting series of team-building and bonding activities. The students spent the morning at the fields by the Paramus Library being led by our own Dr. Frohlich and Mr. David, as well as Rabbi Tani Prero, the "Wilderness Rabbi" and director of Camp Yagilu. Students ran complicated races, played giant games of collaborative connect four, and overall had a wonderful time despite the chill. After a full morning of activities they returned to school for pizza and ice cream (and some warmth!). Click here for more photos!

Yavneh Academy is participating in

The 28th Annual Bergen County Chanukah Toy Drive.

We are collecting new and unwrapped toys and gifts for children and young adults going through trying times.

The Bergen County Toy Drive is a great collaborative effort across many Bergen County Jewish schools and synagogues and donates to 18 different charity organizations. Your donations will help us share the excitement of Chanukah with thousands of children and young adults. This is a great opportunity to involve your children in the mitzvah of tzedakah!

Please click here for more information.

Toy donations will be collected in the main hallway until November 30th.