Volume 4, Issue 8 | December 31, 2025

A short and sweet Mini Edition of Mivaseret Mercaz today as we wrap up 2025 with a mid-week break!

Around Mercaz Academy

📜 Chag HaChumash

Kitah Bet marked a truly special milestone last week with a joyful and heartwarming Chag HaChumash celebration. Surrounded by proud parents, grandparents, and siblings, each student received their very first chumash – a beautiful hardcover copy of Bereshit (Genesis), personalized with their name and heartfelt dedications from families and sponsors.

The celebration opened with a Chumash Play, including songs confidently performed by the students in English and Hebrew. Rabbi Fogel then offered a special bracha, blessing the students that the excitement they felt on this day would stay with them every time they open a chumash and learn Torah. He personally presented each child with their very own chumash. The students couldn’t wait to dive in – upon returning to their seats on stage, students eagerly flipped through the pages, pointing out Hebrew words they recognized and exploring the sacred text they will continue to learn from throughout the year – and for years to come!

Following the program, students posed for photos, got hugs, kisses, and flowers from their visitors, and enjoyed a PTA-sponsored reception with their families, who were full of nachat.

“Receiving their very first chumash was as meaningful for me to watch as it has been for them to earn,” said parent Diane Herbst. “You could see how proud each student on stage felt as they stood up to receive it. Mercaz has helped them understand that Torah is present in every aspect of our lives, and I'm so grateful for that!”

💻 Hour of Code

Our students joined millions worldwide for the Hour of Code, a global movement that introduces students to computer science through one hour of hands-on coding activities each year. While our students engage in rich STEM learning far beyond a single annual hour, this event links them with a larger initiative to incorporate problem-solving and computational thinking into education.

At Mercaz, we added a special twist to the program: it was entirely student-led (with teacher guidance and support, of course). Fifth and sixth graders took on leadership roles to guide younger students in kindergarten through fourth grade, one class at a time, through four rotating stations: programming Intelino smart trains, coding Indi cars using visual commands, navigating Dash robots through obstacle courses, and exploring basic electrical engineering by designing functional systems with Snap Circuits.

Students may have thought they were enjoying a break from lessons, but really, they were building skills in technology and coding while building confidence, curiosity and having fun – a win/win!

6️⃣7️⃣th Day of School

Monday was our 67th day of school. To the uninitiated, that might not mean much – but at an elementary school, it was a big deal indeed! With “six-seven” the ubiquitous catchphrase of our times for young students, we took the opportunity to connect the saying with Torah ideas and learning throughout the grades. Third graders discussed how the numbers 6 and 7 relate to the days of the Jewish week, the days of Hashem’s creation, and the cycle of shmittah (the sabbatical year in Israel).

In previous weeks, they also explored the trend through a study of the work of American artist Charles Demuth, who developed the style known as “Precisionism.” His famous painting I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold inspired our students to create their own artwork featuring repeated numbers and experimenting with scale, metallic paint, and thoughtful color choices. Many of them chose – you guessed it – 6 and 7!

In Kindergarten on our 67th day, students learned the difference, or place value, of the numbers, and reinforced their learning through crafts and activities, identifying different types of counters and tallies – all adding up to 6 or 7 – and recreating the numbers with shapes and Play-Doh.