Schechter Shavua: April 19, 2021

Students Travel to Israel for Yom Ha'atzmaut!

What better way to celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israel’s birthday) than to travel there to see the sights?! At Schechter, we’re not held back by a pandemic…. instead, each class in the school learned about a city or famous location in Israel and then transformed their classroom into that location. Then, just before lunch, everyone joined Zoom so that each class could showcase their activity and tell the others about the city they chose. There were skits, songs, 3-D replicas, subway systems, and so many other creative ways that students expressed their learning and love of Israel!

Throughout the week, Dubonim(EC2) made sand maps of Israel, fruit salad, and Israeli chocolate balls. On Thursday they put on their sunglasses and took a trip to float in the Dead Sea! They conducted an experiment related to sinking and floating and also created an Israeli cafe with the food they made.

Sh’kedim (EC3-4) got to work constructing the ruins of Masada out of their favorite wood blocks. They even included a working cable car that shuttled toy people between different sections of Masada! They created a long and winding Snake Path and “hiked” along it until they reached the summit. For snack, students made Israeli chopped salad to eat with homemade pita!

T’marim (EC3-4) focused on Haifa. They painted huge mural representations of the city, which now hang in the main hallway. Their favorite part about Haifa is the subway! Students constructed a massive “subway” out of blocks that wound through the classroom and into the hallway past their murals. They had a blast zooming (not Zooming!) their trains around and around! Like their Sh’kedim friends, they also made a delicious Israeli chopped salad to enjoy at snack time.

Parparim(grades K-1) went to Eilat, where the sun is hot and the waves are cool! Students learned all about this beautiful beach location and each took part in creating an artistic representation that makes us smile in the hallway.

Tel Aviv came alive in the Rimonim classroom (grades 2-3). We always look forward to Rimonim’s 3-dimensional hallway art made from recycled materials, and this was no exception! All of the different neighborhoods and sections of Tel Aviv are represented. Michal, our school baking fanatic, provided delicious Israeli delicacies to sample. The highlight of Tel Aviv was visiting a “disco” with very enthusiastic dancers!

Gesher (grades 4-5) studied about Jerusalem and discussed the gates that surround the old city. In groups, students researched about the gates and then created a replica using cardboard and markers. For the schoolwide presentation, each team wrote 4 facts about their gate that they shared with their gate display.

In Middle School, earlier in the week, Keren’s Hebrew group used a map form of Padlet to help facilitate a discussion of the question: What does Israel symbolize for you? Some of their answers are below:

Jeremy: Petach Tikva, Israel - Israel symbolizes the technological center of the world. Although Israel is small, it invents many new things for the world every year. In the picture, you can see the building of the Intel company in the city of Petah Tikva in Israel. Intel uses a lot of electronic stuff.
Eli: Jerusalem - Israel symbolizes for me the state of the Jews - the culmination of many years of modern Zionism.
Lily: The Dead Sea - When I visited Israel, it was a fun place to visit and something I didn't expect.
Ellie: Tel Aviv - When I think of Israel, the first thing I think of is the beach!
Noah: Ramat Gan - I lived here and there's a lot of good food
Eliana: Falafel Gabay on Bograshov Street, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel - This place is important to me because they have crispy shnitzel!

On Thursday, the Middle School team taught the rest of the school about the city of Tzfat, commonly known for its artisans. Some students created a Broadway-based song and dance about Tzfat to teach the younger students about Tzfat in a catchy way! Kol Hakavod!