On Monday we celebrated Tu BiShvat and our first 100 days of school this academic year. Boy have they flown by! Click here to read the recap if you have not yet had the chance to.

Kol Hakavod to the close to 300 volunteers who joined together this past Sunday to do acts of chessed in memory of Rabbi Joseph Radinsky zt"l. The day which was organized by RMBA, UOS, and Bnei Akiva featured a charity basketball tournament and a blood drive. Throughout the morning volunteers baked cookies for firefighters, assembled over 100 care packages and 150 sandwiches for the homeless, recited tehillim for victims of terror, crafted bracelets for Friendship Circle, prepared mishloach manot for residents of the Medallion, and helped with a multitude of projects around the school. Thank you to shlichim Aviva and Ori Friedmann, and Bnot Sherut Talya Sperling and Moriya Malkiel for organizing the great day!

Students in Morah Roza's 2nd grade Hebrew class learned all about trees in honor of Tu BiShvat. They studied the different parts that comprise a tree: seeds, roots, branches, trunk, leaves, and the fruits that bloom. The class visited the Magical Forest for a special class where they investigated the different parts of the tree and collected leaves, branches, and other parts for a special tree bookmark project. The students were also treated to a fun Tu Bishvat seder where they tasted elements from the Shivat Haminim, the seven species of Israel, and made a giant fruit salad with a side of whipped cream!

The elementary School Marathon project officially kicked off this week with over 70 students participating. Every day the kids run one mile until they have completed their goal of a full marathon (26.2 miles!). If you have not yet signed up your child, you can do so here.

This week in STEAM students had fun learning all about the rainforest! They made binoculars and went searching for animals that live in the rainforest, built many model trees, discussed what they already knew about the rainforest and researched the questions they didn’t. They also learned about the three levels of the rainforest!

Students in Rabbi Ouzzan’s high school Gemara class learned and discussed when and how a homeowner is allowed to kill an intruder according to Jewish law.

This week students in Ms. Morrison's 2nd and 4th grade general studies classes linked up together to have pen pals. Each 2nd grade student was paired with a 4th grader to write back and forth to one another. This activity helps both grades practice sentence structure, handwriting and spelling. It also has helped foster social relationships with kids other than the ones in their grade. It is such fun to see the students excited to get mail and want to write back with an encouraging message or questions about what they like. The two grades will continue this activity for the rest of the year.

This week students in Morah Aviva's ECE4 class celebrated the 100th day of school by bringing in their favorite collections of 100 items and counting them all up together. The students also decorated colorful visors with the number 100 on it and were proud to wear it throughout the day. After lunch, they continued their counting celebration with yummy treats such as marshmallows, jelly beans, chocolate chips, and special kosher Skittles from Israel! They also learned about the Aseret Hadibrot - Ten Commandments in this week’s Parshat Yitro. Morah Aviva explained the importance of having rules to guide us and how these laws help us make good, better, and positive choices. The children learned that Hashem spoke to Bnei Yisrael at Har Sinai and were so happy to hear Hashem’s voice speaking to them!

Ms. Rantz's middle school paper cut art elective has completed their second project about paper dolls. Each student created a character and wardrobe set before cutting them out.

Students in Morah Ester's 4th grade Judaic Studies class have been studying and learning all about tefilla. They learned that the whole world started with a tefilla. Hashem created and fashioned the heaven and earth, yet everything remained undeveloped until there was a tefilla. They also learned that the Yiddish word for tefilla " Davenun" derives from the Aramaic term "D"Avenun- from our fathers! They really enjoyed learning that the act of tefilla is the work of heart that leads us to trust in Hashem. Interestingly the numeric value of tefilla and avodat lev (the work of heart) is both 515!