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September 21, 2023/ 6th of Tishri 5784/ Parsha Ha'azinu
Candle Lighting: 6:30 PM
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Early Childhood/Lower School | |
During the aseret yemei teshuvah and for the current middah focus, Early Childhood and Lower School students are learning about the importance of saying "selicha - I am sorry." The divisions participated in a tashlich program during the aseret yemai teshuvah that had students focus on putting their best foot forward to start this year, and to think about ways to make good choices. They wrote out or drew a picture of what they could do to do better this year. They then went to a "body of water" to release their strips of paper. These strips will also be used to decorate the school sukkah to remind them of their good intentions and of saying selicha to their family, friends and to Hashem. | |
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Students utilize the Seesaw app to enhance what they are learning in the classroom and work independently. Second graders learned this week how to perform an assigned activity on Seesaw. They were tasked with comparing and contrasting two characters in "Miss Nelson is Missing." They had to listen to the story, complete a graphic organizer using the label and drawing tool in the app and recorded their work in their own voice.
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In their learning about Yom Kippur, EC4 students worked on a dag gadol (large fish) which reminds them of the story of Yonah which is read on Yom Kippur. This project is an enjoyable sensory experience and as a way to calm down in those moments where they may need a break, or are having a hard time saying "slicha," the middah they are working on this month. Students added food coloring, glitter and Yonah to their bottle to represent the dag gadol's belly. Students are excited to complete the rest of their fish and make the story of Yonah come to life.
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Students in 7th grade are already hard at work on independent class projects in their Social Studies class, entitled "What is America?" For this project, each student created a poster that is illustrative of their own personal perceptions of what defines America and what our country represents; additionally, students wrote about how they came to their interpretation and also how a current event in our country occurring right now may impact the future of our nation. Students presented their projects today and entertained comments and questions from their peers. Projects like these enable our students to engage in the important intellectual partnering that fosters critical thinking and analysis skills which are so central to the Middle School 7th grade program. | |
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The Kushner Creatives after school STEM club began this week. Students had the opportunity to get acquainted with the equipment in the Kushner Creators STEAM Lab. They worked with the Hummingbird Bit which is a robotic kit used to create and animate crafts by using sensors and electronic components. They drew monsters and coded them to enable their features to blink lights.
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Middle School students took part in a hatarat nedarim. Rabbi Sukenik led everyone together as they participated in a process during the aseret yemei teshuvah to nullify any vows or commitments that were made this year, either explicit or implied that they couldn't keep. | |
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This week in Kushner’s GrowTorah garden, Farmer Shimon showed raw wheat berries to the students, and they spoke about the Siddura D’Pat, the first 11 of the 39 melachot of Shabbat, which follow the making of bread, our staple food, from plowing to baking. They broke open fresh acorns and removed the very bitter flesh, from which the natives of our area made bread in hard times. Some students got acorns with little weevils in them on their first try. They steeped the acorns in water to see how they removed the bitter tannins, and saw the water slowly turn brown over the course of the day. They harvested some gorgeous purple carrots and Swiss chard, removed infested kale and composted it, and did some weeding. They also planted a taro tuber to see if they could get some foliage before it turns cold. Last, Rabbi Cohen’s class helped Farmer Shimon fix the drip irrigation in two places.
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The RKYHS gym was buzzing with excitement on Tuesday over the many opportunities to get involved at RKYHS. Every Tuesday students have 'chug' or 'club' periods. This period is a time for students to meet with the clubs that they are already involved in as well as get involved in other clubs. Students attended a "chug fair" today where they were able to see the assortment of activities to get involved in, both on Tuesday chug time and throughout the week. Many of the clubs are student-initiated and student-led, offering students a sense of ownership as well as leadership opportunities at all grade levels. Over 70 clubs were represented at the fair, with interests across the board ranging from Robotics, Torah Bowl, Archery, Mock trial and Yachad to ASL, Choir, Homelessness Awareness, Bowling, Investment Club and SO much more!
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It was the perfect weather and setting for the annual Tiyul Beit Sifri for RKYHS students. The whole school, faculty, and administration headed out to the Poconos for an exciting day of outdoor activities on Wednesday. The day provided an opportunity to kick off the year with community building, new friendships, and bonding outside of the school setting. Students could choose from either whitewater rafting, hiking, or mountain biking. The day concluded with a delicious BBQ dinner and bonfire later in the evening.
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Alum Jonathan Zughaft (JKHA '12/RKYHS '16) visited the Media elective class this week. Zughaft works for the Israeli media company buzz.bidur. He spoke to the class about video making for social media, the algorithms involved in posting videos to social media, tips for filming for Instagram and TikTok and more.
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Both the Sports Management Club and the 12th grade Sociology Class had the opportunity to hear from former NBA player Mike Sweetney. After a standout career playing basketball for Georgetown, Sweetney was selected as the 9th overall draft pick in the 2003 NBA draft, where he was drafted to the NY Knicks. Sweetney went on to play in the NBA for 4 years. During his rookie year he suffered the sudden, devastating loss of his father, which began a years-long battle with depression, which caused him to eventually walk away from his NBA career. Sweetney is now a college basketball coach, life coach and mental health advocate and is committed to helping others. When speaking to the Sports Management Club Sweetney focused on his life in the NBA and overcoming adversity and challenges. His talk with the Sociology class was connected to Suicide Awareness Prevention Month. Sweetney discussed with students how he eventually received the help that he needed, and impressed upon them to seek help when they need, not to keep their feelings inside, and never to feel stigmatized.
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The tenth grade art class recently worked on cardboard sculptures. They were tasked with creating a cardboard sculpture based on a landscape from their imagination. They developed the image with details in their sketchbooks so that they could convey texture and depth. They then approached their sculpture utilizing the cardboard medium, varying the textures and sizes and overlapping the pieces to show depth.
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If your child is Covid positive or has any other symptoms of illness, he/she may return to school after 24 hours without fever and any fever-reducing medication. Please use discretion when sending your child to school, and be considerate of the health of the school community.
Please refer to Page 13 in the student handbook for the school’s policy on sick students, which is consistent across all the divisions.
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College visits to RKYHS continued this week. RKYHS hosted visits for the seniors from the following colleges this week - Fairleigh Dickinson University, University of Chicago, Monmouth University, Washington University in St. Louis, Tulane University and Emory University.
Members of the College Guidance team attended virtual industry events sponsored by Harvard, Duke, Georgetown, Stanford, and University of Pennsylvania.
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RKYHS College Guidance holds programs for seniors throughout the fall semester to offer assistance as they navigate the fall college process. They host frequent lunch workshops to help with applications. The largest group yet met this week to work on their applications and receive guidance from the RKYHS counselors. | |
Mr. Berger and Mrs. Levine traveled to Baltimore, MD to attend the NACAC (National Association for College Admissions Counselors) this week to meet with their counterparts from around the country. They were excited to spend time at Johns Hopkins University with Naomi Klein, JKHA '18/RKYHS '22. | |
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Mazel Tov to Vitah Peikus (JKHA ‘02) and Rafi Yankovich (JKHA ‘01/RKYHS ‘05) on the birth of a baby girl!
Mazel Tov to Eldar and Ayala (Tammam) Ben-Zikry (JKHA ‘08/RKYHS ‘12) on the birth of a baby boy!
Mazel Tov to Juliana (Stadtmauer) (JKHA '08/RKYHS '12) and Sammy Schwartz on the birth of a baby girl.
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