A Joyous Yom Ha'atzmaut at Mercaz Academy

Mercaz Academy went from reciting Tehillim on Yom Hazikaron to celebrating the 77th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel by parading in front of the school, with excited students and their families enthusiastically waving Israeli and American flags. The pride that the students and their parents feel in Israel was very much on display as the parade circled the route repeatedly, accompanied by live music provided by music teacher Craig Resmovits. 

The parade was followed by a reflective time for tefillah, during which the crowd recited the Prayer for the Welfare of Israel, the Prayer for the Hostages, and sang a special musical rendition of the Prayer for Israeli Soldiers led by Mr. Resmovits. The celebration continued with dancing on the lawn to more live (and lively) music, with students joining hands to dance along with parents, and teachers as Israeli flags continued to fly high at the center of circles and the head of fast-moving conga lines.

After parents left and classes resumed, students engaged in a schoolwide Kahoot quiz competition. Twenty-four mixed-grade teams competed to show their knowledge of Israel as they sorted information about Jerusalem and Haifa, and it was an exciting race to the finish line as one team and then another pulled ahead. 

Mercaz Academy is grateful to Program Director Phyllis Tessler, the Mercaz Academy PTA (which, among other things, provided blue and white cookies), and to the administrators, teachers, and lay leaders who ensured that the Yom Ha'atzmaut festivities strengthened the students' connection to Israel while creating joyful memories that will last throughout the year.

Yom Hashoah: Remembering Tragedy...With Hope

As an elementary school, we are always careful to remember the devastation of the Holocaust in a developmentally appropriate way.  In the wake of the events of October 7, the subject can be even more frightening for children, so Director of Programming Morah Phyllis Tessler designed a program for fifth and sixth grade students addressing Yom Hashoah by contextualizing it within the broader timeline of Jewish history. 

The presentation carefully acknowledged the uniquely devastating significance of the Holocaust while placing it alongside other tragic events the Jewish people have faced throughout history—from Egyptian slavery to the destruction of the Temples, the Spanish Inquisition, various expulsions, and the all-too-recent horror of October 7. Students were encouraged to recognize that Hashem’s help has ensured the survival of the Jewish people after every tragedy, emphasizing how–even after the darkest times–the Jewish community has rebuilt, reconnected with Hashem, and emerged stronger. 

Fifth Graders Hold Annual State Fair, Minus Corn Dogs and Livestock

For months, fifth graders have been preparing for the annual Mercaz Academy State Fair, and all their preparation and hard work was on display last week for the rest of the school and their own families. 

These hard-working students researched every aspect of each of their respective states and set up information booths, complete with brochures, a miniature float, and a guidebook crammed with information. In what has become a tradition, the booths all featured “Blue Dog” paintings in the style of artist George Rodrigue, with each student painting a dog into a landscape of his or her state. (One painting incorporated a clever visual pun, as the dog was holding a “mini soda.”) This year, students also composed acrostic poems about their states.

Mercaz Turns In Solid Performance at Lower School CIJE Robotics Tournament

Fourth and fifth grade members of Mercaz Academy’s Robotics Club fielded eight separate teams at the last Lower School CIJE VEX robotics competition, which took place at Manhattan Day School. The team members, now more familiar with tournament rules than they were at the first meet in January, greeted teams from other schools with happy recognition and slid into matchups with practiced efficiency. Students once again put their robots through the paces necessary to rescue a city during a natural disaster, raising downed trees and power lines, raising the roof of an emergency shelter to drop in supplies, delivering medication to the hospital, and clearing roads after a landslide.

The top-scoring team from Mercaz was ranked eighth in a field of 90 teams, a very impressive achievement. All the teams performed well, collaborating with teams from other schools in the VEX “City Technology” cityscape and making their coach, Director of Educational Technology Mrs. Lynda Last, “so proud of how nicely they played and the good experience they had.” Fifth graders are eager to move up to compete in the Middle School League next year, while the fourth graders, now practiced and experienced, look forward to leading the Robotics Club to a first-place victory next year. 

Mercaz Celebrates National Poetry Month With Poems In Their Pockets

Students from second through sixth grade packed their pockets with a poem to mark the end of National Poetry Month. Conceived by fourth grade teacher Mrs. Jenny DeMeo, students composed or chose poems to print, keep in their pockets, and share with anyone who asked. The poems written by students were funny, thoughtful, and inspiring by turns, with some very clever rhymes. Third graders, guided by teacher Mrs. Irene Zervoudis, prepared for the day by writing autobiographical poems containing information about themselves, and Mrs. Katherine Pappacioli’s fifth graders composed acrostic poems about the states they researched for the Fifth Grade State Fair. A sixth grader carried the poem of hope that she had composed at the Yom Hashoah event earlier in the week. 



These portable poems created a day-long celebration of language that transformed an ordinary school day into a festival of words, connection, and self-expression as National Poetry Month drew to a poetic close.

Lessons From Parshat Kedoshim in the GrowTorah Garden: Pe'ah and Leket

This week’s garden learning was rooted in Parshat Kedoshim, which introduces the mitzvot teluyot ba’aretz of pe’ah and leket—the commandments to leave the edges of the field and some fallen crops for those in need. Mitzvot teluyot ba’aretz only apply to gardens and farms in Israel but under the guidance of Farmer Menuchah, students explored how these mitzvot teach us about compassion, generosity, and sharing with our community.

In that spirit, students harvested sage to donate to a food pantry to share the garden’s produce with people in need. They also got their hands dirty planting spinach and cabbage seedlings, expanding the future bounty of the garden while reflecting on our responsibilities as caretakers of the earth and each other.

Tasting Mercaz-grown produce is always an exciting event for students, and they sampled some of the flavors of the GrowTorah garden—fennel, pea shoots, and chives. The students were especially intrigued by the tendrils of the pea shoots, noticing how they wrap around the trellis and lean on each other for support. This sparked a meaningful conversation about how people, like these plants, grow stronger when we support those around us.