Thank you so much to all the families, students, grandparents, faculty and staff that helped us exceed our fundraising goal! What an amazing tone to set as we kicked off the 22–23 annual campaign and in just 2 days almost 2/3 of our families participated. Thank you! We are so appreciative of your dedication, generosity and support. If you have not yet donated, but would like to make an annual campaign donation please click here. If you would like to join RMBA's Grandparent circle, additional info can be found here.

Ms. Morrison's 4th Grade class was so excited to use the school laptops this week to research and make a Google slide slow. Each student picked a creature to research and present to the class. Ms. Morrison was especially impressed with how the students helped one another to find information they needed, and some students even continued their research at recess! Such dedication!

Students in Mrs. Rosenzweig's Middle School BIMA Makerspace elective had a great week working on their projects. The excitement was palpable as 6 students completed their coded virtual reality educational maze. The students celebrated the completion by playing each others mazes using the VR oculus go sets. The students also completed their Rosh Hashanah personalized embroidered towels this week.

Students in Mrs. Traxler's Women's Seminar culminated their discussion and sub-unit on Beautiful Within- a look into the lens of Tzniut (modesty) with a surprise guest, Mrs. Bashie Kellerman. Students were treated to explore and enhance outer beauty, as the two go hand in hand, with the products Mrs. Kellerman presented. Everyone was excited to sample hand scrubs, mini facials, and to take home samples. A special thanks to Mrs. Kellerman. What a truly beautiful group of women, inside and out!

As part of our Horim Lomdim, parents learn, series, Lower School Judaic Studies Principal Rivkie Gottlieb taught a group of parents about the symbolism of the apple that we dip in honey on Rosh Hashanah. Aside from the many sources that help us understand the symbolism, participants explored another meaningful aspect with the apple; it's star, and points surrounding it. Using a variety of apple species, the group sliced each one horizontally to find that each apple had a five point star, just like the five parts of each neshama (soul). Each star was also surrounded by ten dots that can be symbolic of the 10 sefirot in which G-d manifests Himself in our physical world. We hope and pray that all areas of our lives, both physically and spiritually are sweetened for the upcoming year. Participants enjoyed decorating napkins to use at the Rosh Hashanah table using painted apple halves to stamp and create beautiful and unique works to grace their tables. Mrs. Gottlieb also visually demonstrated with a string, the connection that we all have with Hashem; imagine a 613 strand rope, 1 strand for each of the mitzvot that we connect to G-d through, the most important and central unbreakable string is there always, regardless of our actions. When we err and don't keep a mitzvah it is as if that strand is cut, when we repent and work at that connection it is like making a knot in that string. When measuring the difference between the uncut string and the string with a knot it was noted that the later is shorter, representing a closer connection to G-d.

4th Grade Girls in Morah Roza's Judaic Studies class enjoyed a special project where they created challah covers in honor of Rosh Hashanah! They are all excited to bring these home and use throughout the chagim (holidays).

Students in Morah Susie's ECE2A class enjoyed a special project for Rosh Hashanah, using an apple stamping technique.

Students in 7th and 8th grade enjoyed having Rabbi Silvestri join their minyan this week to lead selichot which was followed by a short dvar Torah after davening. This year, our upper school has 3 different minyanim that come together for Rosh Chodesh and special occasions. We hope you will join us too!

Apple tasting, shofar collages, letter Dalet in the Aleph Bet, and new tricycles and scooters, were just some of the awesome things Morah Aviv's ECE4 class was up to this week! Everyone enjoyed tasting 5 types of apples and deciding if they tasted sweet, sour, or bitter. Morah Aviva created a special graph to chart the favorites and least favorites. Everyone got a kick out of the names of the apples, especially "Pink Lady"! Students enjoyed gluing "dagim", fish, onto the letter Dalet and had fun making shofar collages with different size shofars, big, medium, small, and smallest. After, the students practiced their Hebrew writing skills by challenging themselves to label their collages with the Hebrew word Shofarot.

7th Grade students in Dr. Arnold's science class enjoyed learning all about and creating their own volcanos this week.

Morah Tsippi's ECE2B class created beautiful apple print collages. The students learned all about the apples - colors, shape, and the different parts of an apple. The students enjoyed a cute story about a baby star who hid inside an apple on a tree. The star laughed so hard that the apple fell off the tree and split in half to reveal the baby star!

Students in Ms. Morrison's 2nd grade class explored the part and functions of a plant. The class started a plant notebook to record their observations. They also planted bean seeds in plastic bags and hung them by their classroom window. The students will watch, measure, and record their plants as they grow.

As part of our Horim Lomdim, parents learn, series Rabbi Silvestri hosted the first Lunch n' Learn of the year which included delicious sushi! Rabbi Silvestri discussed the true essence of Rosh Hashanah being a day of recommitting to the way of life that Hashem prescribes for us, a life based on ahavah, love, where each day is an opportunity to improve from the day before.

Students in Ms. Rantz's 1st Grade art class began their unit on space, not outer space, but the element of art that helps our artwork have interest. This week they focused on the creation of the Jewish month of Tishrei's symbols filled with patterns. Students cut out the positive objects and glued the pieces a new to show which was positive and which was the negative parts of their artwork.

Students in Morah Yocheved's 1st Grade Judaic Studies class had a fun time exploring and utilizing clear tracing boards to help with reading and writing Hebrew which made the learning that much more fun!

Students in Morah Clara's ECE3B class learned all about Rosh Hashanah traditions in our families and about the bracha (blessing) for the new fruit, like the pomegranate. The students enjoyed an apple tasting and learning about the cycle of an apple tree from when the seed is planted to when the tree produces juicy apples. The students had a great time learning about the simanim, symbols, and various traditions, and creating plates and placemats to take home. They also learned about Parshat Nitzavim and how Moshe speaks to Bnei Yisrael about the importance of Jewish unity and respecting, loving, and embracing the Torah's commandments. The class also had a fun time at the library using a world map to learn about continents.

This week, as Morah Sandy's ECE3A class prepared for Rosh Hashanah, they continued with their weekly parsha lesson where they learned in Parshat Nitzavim that Moshe gathers Bnei Yisrael to say goodbye as he will not be entering Eretz Yisrael with them. He asks the people if they will continue to serve Hashem and tells them when Mashiach comes everyone will return to the Land of Israel. The students made a picture showing this using their handprint to waive bye, the Torah, and a shofar telling us Mashiach has come and two faces showing that we all have freedom of choice.