MIVASERET MERCAZ
מבשרת מרכז
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As we prepared for Pesach, we wrote and studied haggadot, and practiced with model seders...but we also met an author, a beekeeper, a doctor, and a pigeon. We played a little ball, observed the stars, and drove a bus. Scroll down to catch a glimpse of a week in the life of Mercaz Academy... |
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A message from our principal, Rabbi Kalman Fogel |
Ask an intelligent Jewish teenager to name the mother of Moses or the father of Lot and you will experience a prolonged pause as they attempt to access this information deep in their memory banks. Then ask a child of six to describe our last days in Egypt, and they’ll regale you with details of each of the plagues and our miraculous exodus. We all understand the reason: because there’s nothing like a seder! Tomorrow, we will hand your children’s education completely back to you. So please take a moment to consider how to make the most of this precious opportunity...READ MORE
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Pesach is coming and Mercaz Academy is ready! |
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Mercaz: The Very Model of a Modern Model Seder |
Mercaz Academy hosted three model sedarim on Wednesday and students had a wonderful time participating in these practice runs for next week’s holiday.
Kindergarten and the first, second, and third grades held their model seder together in the cafeteria. This seder featured a giant-sized k’arah (seder plate) in the center of the room! Students enjoyed following the seder with master of ceremonies Morah Chaya Hecht, who kept things moving with her energetic brand of fun. Second graders were prepared with information cards about the steps of the seder to share with the group, and everyone had a wonderful time dipping, asking, and eating...MORE PHOTOS
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Children’s Author Meish Goldish Visits Mercaz Academy |
Mercaz Academy students were delighted to welcome children’s author Meish Goldish last week. Mr. Goldish, who has written over 500 children’s books during his career, spent the day at Mercaz with students from Nursery Aleph through fourth grade. The children loved listening to Mr. Goldish read some of his books aloud, but they were also kept in stitches listening to him sing his amusing original songs while accompanying himself on the guitar. And, as if that was not enough to impress the students, Mr. Goldish told wonderful jokes like, “What cheese do we eat on Pesach? Matzah-rella!”...MORE PHOTOS
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Mercaz Mustangs Ride Again! |
Just when we were all really missing Mustangs basketball now that the boys’ season is over, we are fortunate to get the Mercaz Mustangs girls out on the court.
At a school pep rally, the new girls team–coached by Assistant Principal Karen Leeper–handily defeated an all-teachers team in a fifteen-minute skirmish. Later that week, they played a team from North Shore Hebrew Academy. The Mustangs played a terrific game, with two players scoring baskets and a team that presented a united front and refused to give up. The Mustangs really understand how to work together as a unit, passing the ball and showing amazing sportsmanship. They even wrote their own cheer! This time, they didn’t capture the win, but we look forward to cheering them on at another game soon.
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First Grade Visits Long Island Children’s Museum |
First grade students were immersed in hands-on and creative critical thinking learning experiences at the Long Island Children's Museum in Garden City last week. A class favorite was the very popular (and slightly messy) bubble room, where they were able to use giant bubble wands and even step inside a bubble. Students also enjoyed visiting an interactive exhibit featuring the work of Mo Willems, author of The Pigeon… series and the Elephant & Piggie books), a fix-it shop, and the pattern studio. Mrs. Wald overheard the children saying that the museum trip was “the most fun trip ever.” Thank you to first grade parents Eliah Barzideh, Jacob Hasedian, and Anita Neman for accompanying the first graders, and to Mrs. Neman for providing the secret recipe for bubbles: 1.32 gallons of water, 1 cup of Dawn dishwashing soap, and 1/3 cup of glycerin.
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Mercaz Buzzing After Visit From Beekeeper Dr. Elie Miodownik |
Dr. Elie Miodownik, a veterinarian from Queens, visited Mercaz Academy to talk about his unusual hobby: beekeeping. (Some students were a little nervous until he reassured him that there would be no live bees in his presentation.) Dr. Miodownik explained the importance of bees to our food supply, noting that it’s not just about the honey. Without bees, the pollination that allows fruits and vegetables to grow wouldn’t be possible.
Dr. Miodownik showed students all the tools of his trade, including one of his box-shaped hives still dripping with honey. Mercaz students got a close-up look at the honeycomb as Dr. Miodownik pulled frame after frame out of the hive...MORE PHOTOS
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Third Grade STEM Studies Blood With an Expert |
The third grade STEM class was excited to welcome another female scientist for Women’s History Month, and Dr. Chana Glasser’s visit was even more special because she is the mother of a third grader! Third graders are studying the heart and blood, and Dr. Glasser, a pediatric hematologist-oncologist, is an expert in the field of human blood. Under her guidance, students observed slides of healthy cells and compared them to slides of unhealthy cells, and identified platelets, red blood cells, and white blood cells. Then they used bottles of water to simulate a drop of blood, adding kidney beans as red blood cells, lima beans as white blood cells, and rice as platelets. What a wonderful way to end Women’s History Month! |
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Spiraling Through the Haggadah: Looking at Pesach Education at Mercaz |
Every student at Mercaz Academy–from the three year olds in Nursery Aleph to the loftiest sixth grader–has prepared a Haggadah for use at the Pesach seder. The Haggadot look very different, of course. Nursery Aleph put their Haggadah on a placemat for an easy to find pictorial reference for the seder; Kitah Vav created a complex document with dense text blocks and commentary; and the other grades provide every gradation in between.
As Mercaz prepared for Pesach, we utilized an educational planning method called a spiral curriculum...MORE PHOTOS
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Second Grade Astronomers Overcome the Bedtime Problem With Technology |
The second grade has been studying the solar system and space, and they’ve learned a great deal about the planets and other features of the night sky. But they have found themselves hampered by the fact that these things are only visible at night (often after bedtime!). Further, most of the features of the solar system can only be identified through powerful telescopes or in areas without light pollution.
Of course, Mrs. Kirschenbaum and Mrs. Last came up with a high-tech solution. Mrs. Last loaded the SkyView Lite app onto the second grade iPads and, on Monday, second graders took the iPads outside to observe constellations, planets, and the moon. It was so exciting to be able to locate them in the sky in real time, even though it was light outside! Students identified the Big and Little Dippers, as well as several planets. Some of the children were able to locate the Seven Sisters and the arm of our own Milky Way galaxy as well. They are now well prepared to observe the night sky–if they are able to stay up through the seder.
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In the Mercaz GrowTorah garden, spring has officially sprung! Noting that one of the names of Pesach is Chag Ha’Aviv (the Spring Festival), students shared ideas with Farmer Menuchah about the parallels between Pesach and springtime (for example, the Jewish people blossomed as a free nation just as the world is blossoming with new growth and flowers at this time).
Students worked in the garden beds, composted plants that wilted during the winter, and removed the weeds from the garden (just like we get rid of chametz on Pesach). They tilled the soil, working oxygen and other necessary nutrients into the earth and loosening it up for planting early spring vegetables, including carrots, parsley, and radishes. Students planted sugar snap peas and discussed different Pesach minhagim (customs) around the consumption of kitniyot (legumes and other select grains and seeds), noting that peas like these could be eaten only by those who do eat kitniyot on Pesach. Finally, students tasted the delicious chives that had returned to the GrowTorah garden with the spring.
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Saturday night, April 1
- Last chance to register for busing for the next school year
Monday, April 3 through Sunday, April 16
Tuesday, April 18
- Yom Hashoah program (Holocaust Remembrance Day)
Tuesday, April 25
- Yom Hazikaron (Israel Memorial Day)
Wednesday, April 26
- Yom Ha'atzmaut (Israel Independence Day)
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