Thursday, January 14, 2016

The Big NFL Game Bet Is On!!!

In advance of the big NFL playoff game this coming Sunday between the Denver Broncos and the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Heads of School for Moriah and Yavneh made a big bet this week.
Rabbi Daniel Alter, Moriah's Head of School and a recent transplant from Denver, and Rabbi Jonathan Knapp of Yavneh, originally from Pittsburgh, made a friendly and fun bet with each other Wed. night. The stakes are high as the losing Head of School has agreed to wear the other school's kippa on Monday after the game.
They are pictured here in their respective team colors.

Yavneh Academy Sixth Graders Deliver Mishna Shiurim

Yavneh sixth graders recently created original shiurim on the topic of tefillah, based on their learning of the mishnayot of the fourth perek of Mesechet Berachot. The students presented their shiurim to faculty and guests at a “Lunch-and-Learn” program.
These shiurim were the culmination of an extended project-based learning unit in Rabbi Simcha Schaum’s class, in which the students collaboratively learned the mishnayot and built their shiurim around the question, “What do you think people should know about tefillah that can be learned from משנה ברכות, פרק ד” While each team of students learned the same mishnayot, they each found original ideas and patterns within the perek that represented their deep understanding of the material.
Yoetzet Halacha Shoshana Samuels came to teach the students the ins and outs of how to give a polished shiur and the students prepared mishnayot to teach and cite, and created handouts, slideshows and a few games to make their shiurim come alive. They practiced and then practiced some more to perfect their delivery. Different teams assisted one another by offering constructive critique. Their hard work paid off in shiurim that were delivered with poise and were very well received.

Frisch Art Students Host Yavneh for Artists’ Beit Midrash Program

Frisch Art Students Host Yavneh for Artists’ Beit Midrash Program
Students from the sixth grade at Yavneh Academy visited the 10th grade Frisch students of the visual arts track to learn about the Artists’ Beit Midrash program. Frisch sophomores introduced the program, an ongoing project in which the students study a specific prayer and bring it to life through art.
After the tenth graders offered an overview of tefillat Ashrei, the Yavneh and Frisch students worked in chavrutas to study Ashrei together. They learned all of the פעלים in Ashrei to gain a greater appreciation for the concept of praise, especially as it relates to reference to God. Every student then created a personal image of their praises, which were combined into a collaborative work of art.

Short-Handed Yavneh Upsets Undefeated Noam Eighth Grade Basketball

As the YMSSA Eighth Grade Boy’s season reached the halfway mark this past Thursday evening, the second place (4-1) Yavneh Red Hawks hosted the first place and undefeated (5-0) Noam Knights. This was a rematch of a classic game held a few weeks ago at Noam, when Yavneh’s furious fourth-quarter comeback fell just short. Yavneh held the rematch home court advantage in the new Yavneh gym, before a large and boisterous crowd. Nonetheless, Noam was the significant favorite because Yavneh’s star player Max Zakheim was out with an ankle injury. The crowd would not go home disappointed.
Early in the game it was not looking good for the Red Hawks. Noam raced to a 10-2 lead and Yavneh’s starting center, Amichai Citron, was on the bench after committing two fouls in the opening minute, leaving Coach Ushie Selevan even more short-handed. Yavneh kept its composure and after a series of aggressive successful drives to the basket by Akiva Feit, Dannny Weinberger and Eitan Dukas, a Coby Zwebner jumper gave the team its first lead. Yavneh’s trademark aggressive shut-down defense on the perimeter led to a shocking 20-17 lead for the home team when the halftime buzzer rang.
Coach Ushie’s key strategic decision to go big and insert power forward Ben Tyler into the lineup in place of the injured Zakheim, paid immediate dividends. Not only did Yavneh’s strategy of clogging the middle and denying the ball to Noam’s towering center Billy Krause work to perfection (5 points in the game), but Tyler set a career high with 9 points in his first start of the season.
When the second half began, Yavneh appeared to pull away. That momentum was stopped when the Red Hawks faced yet another obstacle; starting point guard Akiva Feit left to the locker room with apparent illness. Feit, however, showed the grittiness that has been the hallmark of this Yavneh team for three years and came right back on the court after missing just a minute of game action. Inspired by Feit’s return, despite his less than 100 percent, the rest of the game was a clinic in teamwork and tenacity for Yavneh. Danny Weinberger, with an assortment of acrobatic finishes with both hands, led the balanced attack with 13 points. He was followed closely by Citron (12), and Dukas. Feit and Tyler each chipped in 9 points and almost every basket was the result of an assist or a steal leading to a fast break.
Noam did not go down without a fight. Down 9 points with under 3 minutes to play, the Knights embarked on a strategy to put Yavneh on the foul line and earn the victory. Once Yavneh made only 10 of 24 free throws, and long distance gunner Ari Kaminetzky connected four times from well beyond the 3-point arc for Noam, Noam got within a single score. Despite Yoni Mann’s strong second half (17 points in the game) and Ruben Meltzer’s strong all around effort (12 points) for Noam, Feit, Weinberger and Dukas hit just enough clutch free throws in the final minute to allow Yavneh to hold onto a nail-biting 54-53 victory.

Thursday, January 7, 2016

Yavneh Second Graders Receive Chumashim



Yavneh Second Graders Receive Chumashim
The second grade students at Yavneh Academy received theirfirst Chumashim at a special chagigah filled with song and dance. The children celebrated with their families and teachers at a festive party at the conclusion of the ceremony.

Yavneh Fourth Graders Meet Christopher Columbus


Yavneh Fourth Graders Meet Christopher Columbus
As an introduction to Yavneh’s fourth grade unit on explorers, Christopher Columbus (former Yavneh Academy Assistant Principal Mr. Stanley Becker) delighted the students with a description of his preparations for, and experience during, his first journey to the New World.

Yavneh Students Connect With Friendship Circle Campers

Yavneh Students Connect With Friendship Circle Campers
On Thursday, December 24, students of Yavneh Academy volunteered for a Friendship Circle Camp Day. The day began with seventh and eighth grade Yavneh students meeting the campers with warm smiles and welcoming them to Yavneh. After each group of mentors and campers became acquainted, they began kneading and rolling out individual challahs. Davening started afterwards, and everyone sang with loudkavanah. Next, the participants boarded busses to travel to the impressive children’s museum Imagine That. As the children smiled, so did the Yavneh students. Seeing a big burst of happiness coming from the participants brought out the emotions in all of us. It gave us joy to see our campers so happy, and it really was an inspiring and uplifting experience. If any Friendship Circle children needed assistance, the Yavneh students were there to help immediately.
Friendship Circle really left a great impact on all of us, and it makes us want to come back to be with our new friends and campers every day. It’s an amazing program, with outstanding staff who try to make every minute fun. Thank you Friendship Circle for giving us the opportunity to make new friends! We are looking forward to our next event.
By Tamar Fineberg and Kira Elbaum, Yavneh Academy Eighth Graders

Yavneh Academy Participates in Global Read-Aloud

Yavneh Academy Participates in Global Read-Aloud

For the past trimester, Yavneh Academy has participated in something “magical,” something to make this huge world in which we live seem a bit smaller and friendlier. The Global Read Aloud is a worldwide initiative that does exactly what its title implies; children around the globe read a book together. It began in 2010 when Pernille Ripp wanted to connect her students to other students around the globe through literature. In only five years, it has grown and thrived. More than 500,000 students participated this year. Two spin-offs have come into being: Ecouter Lire le Monde for French speaking children, and New Zealand Read Aloud for those children “down under” whose school calendars do not coincide with those in the northern hemisphere.
Its success is based on its simplicity. Teachers sign up and choose their books from an available list. They then connect with other teachers in other schools and decide among themselves how they want to share those books.
Yavneh kindergarten teacher Mrs. Valerie Kleinfeld described her class’ first conversation with their partner class as “magical.” The children were thrilled to meet their new friends who lived in Indiana. They connected by Skyping and sharing a padlet. A padlet is a virtual wall that allows people to express their thoughts on a common topic easily. Each of the books shared messages with the students such as, “it’s OK to be who you are” or “I’ll find what I’m really good at.”
Yavneh first grade teacher Mrs. Laya Levine worked with a group of four other classes, two in Wisconsin, one in Texas and one in Canada. The children exchanged ideas through use of Google Docs, Kidblogs, where they shared recipes for friendship, a postcard exchange and Skype.
Levine feels that it was not just the students who benefited from the Global Read Aloud. “Sharing ideas with teachers was phenomenal, I’ve learned so much from the other teachers’ suggestions. It made me grow. I challenged myself to do what they were doing, even if it was something I had never done before.”
All of Yavneh’s fourth grade secular studies teachers, Mrs. Linda Gans, Mrs. Lynn Bloom and Mrs. Alison Landa participated in this initiative as well. Mrs. Landa felt that collaborating with teachers in other schools and environments was a rewarding learning experience. “Since everyone brings something else to the table, the Global Read Aloud was a great way to be exposed to new and different sites and applications.”
Mrs. Gans felt that the book chosen by Global Read Aloud, “Fish in a Tree” by Lynda Mullaly Hunt, was one of the best children’s books she had ever come across. She intends to incorporate it into her reading curriculum for next year.
For the children, the Global Read Aloud was an exciting way to make new friends. Learning about similarities and differences among children in other classes while sharing the same books was powerful. The classes will continue to meet for the remainder of the school year to share and learn with and from each other.