Volume 4, Issue 9 | January 29, 2026 | | Celebrating growth! From preparing for Tu B'Shvat to welcoming new b’not sherut, Mercaz is blossoming with excitement as we begin the spring semester. This week, we're connecting to nature, exploring science and engineering, reflecting on the fundamentals of faith, and more. Read on for highlights! | | 🌱 Planting Seeds of Learning for Tu B’Shvat
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Mercaz is busy this week preparing to celebrate Tu B’Shvat, the birthday of the trees, through lessons, crafts, and experiences that connect us to nature and to Eretz Yisrael.
In Nursery Bet, students are learning why trees are so important and all the ways we use their wood. Morah Alyssa invited her class to think about how wood is part of their everyday lives, and students eagerly shared examples from their classroom, pointing out wooden building blocks, pencils, paper, and even the class bulletin board. They also explored how trees provide homes for animals, naming squirrels, owls, and raccoons.
In kindergarten, students painted trees as part of their Tu B’Shvat learning, while third graders created fruit trees using found objects including real branches and cotton balls. Second grade is learning about the Seven Species of Israel – wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates – which are traditionally associated with Tu B’Shvat as symbols of the land’s agricultural blessings and connection to the harvest.
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Meanwhile, our sixth graders, guided by Ulpan teachers Morah Lean and Morah Tali, are getting ready for next week’s Tu B’Shvat shuk. Inspired by Jerusalem’s Machane Yehudah open-air market, the shuk will be fully conducted in Hebrew and feature stands selling Israeli snacks like Bissli, pickles, clementines, juice, and dried fruit. The sixth graders will act as vendors, and the rest of the school as customers. In preparation for their role, sixth graders are creating posters to advertise their wares and practicing shopping interactions in Hebrew. Each student will receive five play shekels to spend, and each class will have the chance to experience the hustle and bustle of the Israeli shuk. Thanks to the PTA for sponsoring the event and providing all the food!
We look forward to celebrating Tu B’Shvat as a community next week – honoring nature, learning about Israel, and growing our connections to both!
| | Meet our New B'not Sherut! | | Speaking of Israel, we’re thrilled to welcome two new Israeli imports to the Mercaz community. Naama Heller and Hodaya Asulin, our new B’not Sherut, or National Service Volunteers, arrived this week fresh from Israel. We’re so excited to get to know them, and we encourage everyone to give them a warm bruchot haba'ot (welcome!) when you see them around school or in the community! | | | |
Meet Naama
I’m from Moshav Nehalim near Petach Tikvah. I have six siblings, and I’m the oldest. My dad is the commander of the Yehudah and Shomron Division in the IDF, and my mom works at Bat Ami. I like to read, do sports, and hang out with my friends and my sisters. Last year, I did National Service in a hospital with children that had different psychological disorders. I’m excited about getting to know the kids here, their families, and the community. It’s different and exciting!
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Meet Hodaya
Hi! I’m from the city of Sderot. I’m the fifth of seven siblings. Three of them are married, one is getting married soon, and I have four nieces. I like to paint, read, and do sports, especially Pilates. Last year I worked at Lowenstein Hospital, a rehabilitation hospital, helping patients with different therapies. I’ve been to New York before and I have family in Florida. I’m so excited to meet the community here and have a completely new experience. I’m excited for everything!
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🎨 Nursery Bet: The Science of Colors
Nursery Bet explored the science of colors this week with a fun experiment all about color mixing. Using beakers filled with red, blue, and yellow water, students explored how primary colors combine to create secondary colors, discovering the “formula” for making green, purple, and orange. Along the way, they made predictions, observed changes, and recorded their results by coloring in the new shades they created – practicing real scientific skills like observation, cause and effect, and documentation. Our youngest scientists are mixing curiosity with discovery for colorful learning!
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📜 Third Grade: Exploring Rambam's Thirteen Principles
Third graders put the finishing touches on their projects about the Rambam’s Thirteen Principles of Faith this week. The project began on the Rambam’s yahrzeit, Chof Tevet (the 20th of Tevet). Through learning “Ani Maamin” (“I Believe”), an educational song that expresses the Principles in personal and moving language, students were introduced to the core beliefs that shape Jewish thought and life. The Thirteen Principles of Faith describe who Hashem is, how He relates to the world, and the foundational ideas that guide how Jews think, believe, and live. As students studied each Principle, they illustrated it and created posters, helping them not only understand these essential ideas but internalize them. Through this thoughtful work, students explored how Jewish beliefs inform our values and actions, and how the words of our great sages guide and inspire us in our daily lives.
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⚙️ Fourth Grade: Rube Goldberg
in Action
Fourth graders put on their engineering hats as they designed and built their own Rube Goldberg machines this week. Working in teams, students used everyday materials like cardboard, tape, wooden dominoes, and paper cups to create chain reactions that completed a simple task – in this case, moving a marble from the beginning to the end of the track. Along the way, they explored how energy moves, starting as stored energy, turning into motion, and transferring from one part of the machine to the next. With trial, error, and plenty of creative problem-solving, students planned, fabricated, tested, and refined their designs to meet their goal.
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