|
October 19, 2023/ 4th of Cheshvan 5784/ Parsha Noach
Candle Lighting: 5:51 PM
| |
JKHA is proud to be able to welcome students who have temporarily relocated from Israel to our school area. To-date we have welcomed 11 students from 5 families into the JKHA family. We are grateful to our JKHA faculty who are seamlessly transitioning students to their classrooms, working together with families to ensure their children acclimate and have a smooth transition to our school and to our students during this trying time. | |
Beginning on Monday, JKHA faculty will be volunteering their time to lead Zoom sessions with English speaking school-aged children aged 5-10 in Israel. Please share with any family or friends in Israel whose kids could benefit from this programming. | |
Large groups of JKHA and RKYHS students and families came out to the Oval in Livingston, NJ for a community-wide rally in support of Israel. JKHA/RKYHS was a supporting organization at the event and Rabbi Maccabee Avishur, RKYHS Principal represented the school within the community, leading tefillot to the thousands-strong crowd in attendance. | |
Early Childhood/Lower School | |
Lower School gathered for a special achdut Shabbat assembly where they learned the new Middah of the Month "time out" focusing on the skill of taking a break and "re-setting." Afterwards all students came together in song for Israel. Click here to watch the video that introduced this month's Middah. | |
| |
|
Early Childhood and Lower School have been enjoying their week of many colors and look forward to Friday's tie dye day! | |
JKHA brought Torah to life for its students as they studied Parshat Noach. Early Childhood greeted animals from the Turtle Back Zoo as the school’s youngest students learned about the animals that Noach had on the teiva. It was a mabul party for EC4! Students made their own teivot, then dressed in their rain gear, they took part in a mabul party! They participated in different types of activities related to rainbows, animals and water. They hypothesized if items would sink or float, went on a rainbow hunt and enjoyed their animal cracker treat | |
| |
|
Yashar koach to JKHA students Sammy and Emma Goldzal and their friends who decided to sell all their simchat Torah candy in shul at the children’s solidarity event that was held to raise money for the IDF. Together they raised close to $500! It has been beautiful to see what our students have been doing on their own to help Israel. Please email erosenfeld@jkha.org to share with us what your children have been doing to help. | |
Eighth graders went on a leadership retreat to Camp Bernie in Port Murray, New Jersey, enjoying a team and community building respite from day to day school life. On this trip, students engaged in exciting outdoor activities, like zip lining, rock climbing, among other activities. Eleventh grade RKYHS madrichim led breakout sessions on what it means to be a leader, followed by personal stories from Ms Levenson and Rabbi Adler, as well as a meaningful dvar Torah about Avraham and Moshe as leaders. Students had a great time hanging out with friends as a celebration of their 8th grade community and growth. | |
| |
|
All of Middle School participated in the "Unite in Tefillah" Program on Friday which included over 30 Middle Schools from around the country. Together with their counterparts throughout the East Coast, students said Tehillim, listened to words of Chizuk, and sang unifying songs together. | |
|
To review for their Chumash Test, seventh graders played Family Feud. Students had to look inside the Chumash and work with their team to come up with the top 4 answers to each question.
This helped them remember that Korach's fight against Moshe hurt more because they were family.
| |
| |
|
This week in Kushner's GrowTorah garden, Farmer Shimon and the middle school students first discussed how Noach prepared for the flood by bringing not only animals but also plants with him; Rashi says he took shoots of grape and fig, and the Torah says he planted a vineyard afterward. We thought about what we could do to prepare for next year's growing season, imitating Noach. First we saved some okra seeds from our garden. We also saved etrog seeds from etrogim that will be composted (and we ate the insides too). We talked about how the natives of this area prepared for hard times, and handled a 1,000+ year old native scraping tool that Farmer Shimon found in Maryland years ago. In the garden, we prepared for the cold ahead by harvesting, composting old plants, turning the soil, and planting garlic cloves for next Spring. A great Fall day in the garden and a good lesson in preparedness. | |
At the end of a difficult and emotional week, RKYHS spearheaded a program on Friday that united over 10,000 high school students from over 45 Yeshiva High Schools all across North America for tefillot and unity, providing comfort and strength. What a beautiful sound it was to hear over 10,000 Jewish students sing acheinu and Hatikvah together to show their love and support for the people of Israel and its soldiers. | |
NBC New York came to RKYHS to highlight the unifying program and the school's commitment to Israel that aired in two separate news segments. Click here to watch the segment. In the segment, 10th grader Nomi Harel eloquently shared her family in Israel's painful story. We send our condolences to the Harel family on the tragic loss of their beloved cousin. | |
It was truly a privilege for our students to speak with the students and teachers in the Ort Afridar school in Ashkelon and hear their firsthand experiences living through a war in their homeland. Earlier in the week, other Ivrit classes met on Zoom with Israeli youth through the Department of Hebrew and Culture at the World Zionist Organization. Both meetings allowed the opportunity for an open discussion about the current situation in Israel. The Israeli students shared how their lives have changed since October 7, and thoughts and personal feelings regarding the war, in a friendly and sensitive atmosphere. | |
|
Every Friday the Jewish Life Committee members man their "shabbat cart." With music to get ready for Shabbat, they often hand out food to help students get into the Shabbat spirit. This past week, the JLC were prepared with Shabbat treats, but in exchange for the snacks, students said a perek of tehillim, increasing out tefillot for eretz yisrael. | | |
The Sports Management Club heard from former NBA player Brian Taylor this week. Taylor formerly played with the NETS and began in the ABA, leading both the ABA and NBA in 3 point shooting at that time. He discussed his career with the students as well as how the game has changed since his time, what contracts looked like in the 1970's, what it was like playing with Dr J, and discussed the ABA/NBA merger during his time. He also shared with students the incredible impact he has had on education for so many students since retiring from the NBA. | |
The second episode of the Kushner ReKap video news segment was released at the end of last week with a focus on Israel. The Kushner ReKap is a student initiated broadcast that is written, filmed and edited entirely by students. Click here to watch the Kushner ReKap. | |
On Friday, RKYHS students came together to use song as a way to express their feelings and to connect both to Hashem and to one another. During the kumzitz, we discussed the worldwide “Just One Shabbos” initiative, which charged people to elevate their Shabbat practices in the merit of chayalei Tzahal. Students then each committed to at least one way they would personally enhance their Shabbat experiences. May their many beautiful mitzvot serve as a zechut for all those protecting our land and people. | |
|
A group of approximately a dozen high school students from France visited our school this week as part of a foreign exchange program with Newark Academy. They are spending two weeks in the US with the students at Newark Academy and spent time on Wednesday visiting our school. They were paired with RKYHS students as the two groups enjoyed hearing about life as a teen in each other's country. The students attended this week's SEED session with our RKYHS students as well. | |  |
RKYHS freshmen headed out to the Turtle Back Zoo for a scavenger hunt this week connected to parshat Noach. Although these are not normal times, mental health experts point to the importance of maintaining as much normalcy in our lives as possible while continuing to show our solidarity with Israel and keep Her in the front of our minds. The trip was one more facet of the programming that RKYHS plans as a way to onboard and acclimate students not just to high school life, but as a way for students to get to know all their new classmates. | | |
A group of RKYHS students volunteered today at the AFYA Foundation warehouse to help pack supplies to be sent to Israel. They sorted and packed personal hygiene and medical supplies that will be distributed to Israelis who have been displaced from southern Israel. The AFYA Foundation delivers vital medical and other supplies around the country and across the globe during times of crisis. Our students appreciated being able to take part in this incredible opportunity to see and be part of the large-scale efforts being done for families in Israel. | | |
Voluntutor headed to the Martin Luther King Youth Center in Bridgewater for their first visit of the year. The RKYHS volunteers work with the students there in their after school program doing homework, reading, and playing games with the children at the center. The center for grade school and middle school students originally began as a youth center and a safe haven for diverse children in the neighborhood to keep them off the streets. Over time, the center expanded to include educational and summer camp programs on a sliding income scale for children from low-income families, who would not be able to afford such services. | | |
As a way for 11th graders to spend some time together and take a break, students got together Monday for a breakfast and team building activities. | |
|
Members of the College Guidance department attended events for the following colleges this week - Columbia University, Vanderbilt, Brown and the University of Chicago. Also, this week, our admissions representative from Brandeis University, Sabryna Coppola presented a workshop for our seniors on interviewing skills. | |
The Seniors have been working very hard on their applications as the first application deadline is approaching. College Guidance held two lunch workshops this week. They also accepted visits from Syracuse, Binghamton, University of Miami, Rutgers, Rochester, College of Staten Island and Drexel. The Binghamton representative was impressed with the large attendance at the session. | |
Middle School and High School Female Judaic studies faculty meet monthly to discuss the book Reclaiming Dignity by Bracha Poliakoff and Rabbi Anthony Manning. Reclaiming Dignity highlights the universal relevance of tzniut to both men and women, evoking a sense of empowerment and pride in this significant Jewish value. In Part I, a diverse anthology of twenty-six essays by leading educators and influencers presents honest and personal perspectives on this sensitive topic. In Part II, a comprehensive, source-based explanation of the halachot will transform the way we understand and learn about tzniut, helping you relate to this challenging mitzvah in a nuanced and positive fashion. The faculty enjoy the collaboration and cross divisional discussions. | |
Middle School math teachers meet monthly to discuss the new curriculum Big Ideas and share strategies that they are implementing in the classroom. With Big Ideas, students are able to identify problems, justify conclusions, and apply skills to relevant, practical, real-world situations. Students continue to develop math reasoning and make conclusions. Students understand that math can be cross-curricular and how technology plays a role in math. The collaboration among their colleagues is appreciated. | |
|
Mazel Tov to Nediva and Aaron Buechler (JKHA ‘08/RKYHS ‘12) on the birth of a baby girl!
Mazel Tov to Tamar and Andrew Turk (JKHA ‘05/RKYHS ‘09) on the birth of a baby boy!
Mazel Tov to David and Yardena (Tammam) Kirsch (JKHA ‘12) on the birth of a baby girl!
Mazel Tov to Andrew Zuckerman (JKHA '07/RKYHS '11) on his marriage to Ryann Haltman!
| |
|
October 16 - 1 Cheshvan
Was dedicated by
Lori and Douglas Zucker
in honor of
IDF Soldiers, Volunteers and all of Am Yisrael.
May our tefillot, middot, and strength protect all who are in danger or in need of chizuk.
October 18 - 3 Cheshvan
Was dedicated by
Debbie, Neil, Julia and Lily Kaplan
in honor of
the upcoming wedding of
Andrew (JKHA '07/RKYHS '11) Zuckerman and Ryann Haltman
and the anniversary of
Debbie and Wayne Zuckerman
October 19 - 4 Cheshvan
Was dedicated by
Jennifer and Jonathan Adler
in honor of
the Bat Mitzvah of their daughter
Shoshana Kate Adler
October 20 - 5 Cheshvan
Was dedicated by
Harriet and George Blank
in loving memory of
Anna Landes
Hanna bat Yitzhok Yaakov z"l
mother of George Blank,grandmother of Howard and Sandra Blank
and Leslie and Joshua Ostrin, andgreat-grandmother of Jessica Zeffren (JKHA '03/RKYHS '07) and Dr. Noam Zeffren, Danielle Chustckie Blank (RKYHS '10) and Adam Blank (JKHA '06/RKYHS '10), Danielle Stark Blank (JKHA '09/RKYHS '13) and Joshua Blank (JKHA '09/RKYHS '13), Tamar and Daniel Blank (JKHA '13/RKYHS '17), Alex Ostrin, Uri Ostrin, Ayelet Ostrin and Sigal Ostrin, and
great-great grandmother of Jonah (2nd Grade), Max (Gan), and Lizzy Zeffren and Leah (Gan), Eitan and Avital Blank in commemoration of her Yahrtzeit
October 20 - 5 Cheshvan
Was dedicated by
Kayla and Michael Erenthal
in memory of
Sarah Nadel
Sarah Bluma bat Reb Shimon Halevi a"h
beloved mother of Kayla Erenthal and
grandmother of Abigail (7th Grade) and Daniella Erenthal
in commemoration of her upcoming third yahrtzeit on 7 Cheshvan.
Click Here to Donate
We Invite You to Dedicate Our Children's Torah Learning at JKHA/RKYHS
If you are interested in sponsoring a Day of Learning, contact Aly Greenstein: agreenstein@jkha.org or (862) 437-8001
| | | | |
