Volume 3, Issue 12 | Mar. 6, 2025

MIVASERET MERCAZ

מבשרת מרכז

Mercaz Academy celebrated 100 Days of School and Read Across America Week, held the school spellbound and met (and became) authors. We created so much Purim spirit in our school that we had plenty to share with others. We invited our parents to see how we learn and we embraced our stewardship of the earth. We celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday in many different ways. Scroll down for a glimpse of the last weeks at Mercaz Academy...

Read Across America Week

Author-Illustrator Visit: Mercaz Academy Welcomes Laura Vaccaro Seeger

Two-time Caldecott Honor winner Laura Vaccaro Seeger captivated students with her stories and art during her recent visit to Mercaz Academy. She shared pages from her award-winning books and offered a glimpse into her creative process, explaining the artistic and technical challenges she faces as an author-illustrator. Many of Ms. Seeger’s books feature cleverly and carefully designed cutouts that hint at elements revealed on subsequent pages, which require much precision and forethought and add layers of meaning to her stories.

Ms. Seeger stressed how much she had in common with Mercaz students, revealing that she had dreamed of creating picture books since she was very young. She recommended keeping a journal to collect ideas and observations, as she had since childhood. She encouraged students to allow themselves to be imperfect in their journals, advising them to keep revising their ideas until they felt right to them.

Laura Vaccaro Seeger’s visit also included engaging hands-on activities tailored to the different age groups at Mercaz. Older children were challenged to draw a friend without looking at the paper or lifting their pen, discovering that while the drawings weren’t necessarily what they envisioned while they were creating them, they were beautiful and unique. Younger students learned how to build drawings of Dog and Bear—beloved characters from a popular series by Ms. Seeger—using simple shapes. Afterwards, Ms. Seeger encouraged the students to hold up their drawings while she photographed them in a lovely gesture of encouragement and pride in her Mercaz Academy fans.

Sixth Graders Add Some Technology to Read Across America Week

Sixth graders brought together literacy and technology for Read Across America Week by self-publishing picture books using a website called Book Creator. After learning about the tools available within the program and how to use them, sixth graders plugged their creativity into the mix and composed beautifully illustrated picture books targeted to young readers.

Of course, technology requires the usage of scientific methods, so it was important to test the books’ effectiveness for that age group. Therefore, the sixth grade authors brought their books to the ultimate lab for analysis: Nursery Aleph and Nursery Bet. Sixth graders read their picture books to this ideal and very discerning test audience, and were relieved to gain the ECC Seal of Approval for their literary creations. With these accolades under their belts, the successful sixth graders plan to write their memoirs on Book Creator and enter them into a nationwide contest. Caldecott Medal, here we come!

School Spelling Bee Showcases Skill and Sportsmanship

The Scripps National Spelling Bee gets Mercaz Academy students buzzing with excitement every year, so of course, they were disappointed to learn that the Long Island regional competition for the bee was scheduled to take place on Shabbat–making it impossible to compete. Undaunted, Assistant Principal Karen Leeper made sure that they got their chance to shine by holding the class and school spelling bees as usual.

The audience of second and third graders watched spellbound, impressed by the remarkable skill, bravery, and good sportsmanship from fourth, fifth, and sixth grade spellers as they tackled increasingly challenging words. After 17 fast-moving rounds, a sixth grader claimed the championship and a standing ovation by correctly spelling the word "sensation."

In a very impressive show from the youngest competitors, both runner-up positions were filled by fourth graders who were competing in the school spelling bee for the first time. Had it been possible to advance to the Regional Spelling Bee, all three of these spellers would have represented the school.

Mercaz is proud of the outstanding achievements and graceful play of all nine participants!

Celebrating Dr. Seuss

Fourth graders dressed up to read Dr. Seuss books to the Toddler class.

First graders read Green Eggs and Ham, and then enjoyed some green eggs, courtesy of Mrs. Wald and Mrs. Reinhardt!

Wabbi Fogel demonstrated that he did indeed have a Wocket in his Pocket.

...and more!

Parents Welcomed for Interactive Programs in ECC and Kindergarten

Parents of Nursery Aleph, Nursery Bet, and Kindergarten students experienced a typical morning at school when they joined their children for an interactive school program. In each classroom, families gathered for an abbreviated Circle Time, watching as their children davened and gave tzedakah to start the day. The classes then transitioned into their rotation stations, where parents observed, assisted, and cheered on their children as they moved through the activities, most of which were Purim-themed.

The rotation stations included crafts like painting clowns and ra’ashan (gragger) making, Purim-themed puzzles and math exercises in counting and pattern recognition, as well as teacher-guided learning focused on letter recognition and reading readiness activities. Parents delighted in watching their Kindergarten children play a game of Purim Bingo, in which students read words in Hebrew and matched them to the pictures on their cards. Students also turned detective and hunted for strategically posted photos of digraphs (“two letters, one sound!”) in their classroom, guessing the missing part of the words and writing them in their “notes.”

Parents enjoyed their glimpse into how their children spend their days, and students loved showing their parents how they learn and grow in school with their wonderful teachers.

From Buttons to Budgets: A 100 Days of School Extravaganza

Mercaz Academy students celebrated their 100th day of school in what seemed like 100 different ways. Some painted vibrant posters with 100 dots, while others displayed handmade collages adorned with 100 carefully glued buttons. Kindergarten students strung necklaces with 100 colorful cereal loops and, with the assistance of the fifth grade, discovered how many physical challenges they could perform in 100 seconds. Adding to the festive atmosphere, first graders arrived dressed as centenarians, complete with gray-haired wigs, spectacles, and canes. The day finished with a K-1 parade through the hallways, bringing joy to the whole school community.

Third graders participated in the fun with a special math activity integrating real-world financial literacy with their 100th day celebration. They were given three different word problems, each detailing a set of items they wanted to purchase within a $100 budget. For each problem, they identified the listed items from their word problem, including the price of each item and the quantity they wanted to buy. Then, they created a receipt by listing all the items and their total costs. Students carefully calculated the grand total by adding up all item prices and determined their remaining balance by subtracting that total from $100. Finally, they compared their cost and their budget to determine if they had enough money to cover their purchases or if they exceeded their $100 budget, which meant they had to calculate how much more money they would need to save to complete the purchase. The third graders enjoyed transforming math class into a $100 shopping spree, and may have gained some insight into why third graders don’t carry credit cards.

Sixth Grade Brings A Purim Celebration to Merrick

In what has become a Mercaz Academy pre-Purim tradition, sixth graders visited the Alan & Tatyana Jewish Early Learning Center (JELC) in Merrick, bringing Purim cheer to the young students there. They opened the program with a performance of classic Purim songs, and then put on a skit telling the story of Purim.“

After the performances were over, these seasoned troupers brought out Purim-themed games, including color-sorting and basic addition and subtraction with paper hamentashen. The sixth graders closed their visit by helping the young JELC students make ra’ashanim (graggers) from beads and Lego bricks.

“The kids enjoyed it and were very involved,” said one sixth grader. “We had fun,” explained another sixth grader, “and we could tell that the kids had fun, too.”

Stewards of the Earth: L'Ovdah U'Lishomrah in the GrowTorah Garden

Our GrowTorah garden has laid dormant through the coldest winter months, but a harbinger of spring arrived this week in the form of Farmer Menuchah, our GrowTorah garden educator. Students returned to the garden once more to learn about the first of four core Torah-based values that will guide our GrowTorah spring sessions: stewardship of the earth, tzedakah, compassion for creatures, and incubating emunah (faith).

Students learned that in Bereisheet, the Torah says that Hashem put Man in the Garden of Eden “l’ovdah u’lishomrah, to work and to protect it.” The student stewards of Mercaz then fulfilled their responsibility by preparing the garden for the new growing season. Together, they cleared away the wilted leaves, branches, and plants that had protected the soil through the winter, making space for new seeds and seedlings. To mark this fresh beginning, they finished the day’s efforts by planting peas.

Mercaz Academy is looking forward to a productive spring filled with growth, learning, and connection to the land.