MIVASERET MERCAZ
מבשרת מרכז
Purim Edition!
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This week, we're only and all about Purim. Scroll down for a glimpse of a Purim in the life of Mercaz Academy... |
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Family Purim Seudah and Megillah Reading |
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Classes are not in session on Purim, but our dedicated students can’t be kept away from Mercaz Academy! Children and their families were invited to a gala, child-friendly reading of Megillat Esther followed by a “Breakfast Seudah” spread of french toast, scrambled eggs, bagels and fixings, and (of course!) hamentashen.
The megillah was skillfully read by a Mercaz parent, who threw in some entertaining tunes that caused giggles in the audience and kept everyone engaged with frequent pauses for noise to drown out the name of Haman. Most of the crowd wore colorful and creative costumes, and the majority of ra’ashanim (groggers) had been made on campus, to the delight of all...Read more and see lots of photos!
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Purim in the Early Childhood Center |
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Nursery Aleph and Bet welcomed Rosh Chodesh Adar by forming a marching band to parade around the school. |
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Nursery Aleph dressed as characters in the Purim story to create their own Megillah. |
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Nursery Aleph students exchanged Mishloach Manot at their Purim party. |
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After making their own megillot, ra'ashanim (groggers), and funny clown pictures, Nursery Bet enjoyed wearing costumes on Shushan Purim. |
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Nursery Bet welcomed many princesses to their Shushan Purim celebration. |
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Nursery Bet students also exchanged Mishloach Manot at their Purim party. |
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Kindergarten students created ra'ashanim (groggers), megillot, and paper models of some delicious hamentashen in their pre-Purim preparations. |
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Mercaz Academy Shushan Purim Carnival |
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Kitah Vav students designed, created, and ran an exciting and engaging Purim Carnival for the rest of the school on Wednesday, Shushan Purim. Enthusiastic students hopped from booth to booth, participating in Purim-themed activities like “Haman Tossin’,” “One-on-One Basketball Challenge: Mordechai vs. Haman,” hamantash baking, “Pin the Hat on Haman,” and “Vashti Pimple Pop” (which involved lollipops, not blemishes). One particularly popular game of skill involved tossing a beanbag to knock over a bucket of “garbage” on Haman’s head, and participants enthusiastically cheered every time the bucket went over.
Students traded in the tickets they won at each booth for a prize at the end of the session. In the spirit of Purim, all grades had an exciting and satisfying morning. See many, many more photos!
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First Graders Create Beautiful, Handmade, Calorie-Free Hamentashen |
First grade artists used a slab construction method to create delicious (looking) hamantashen! They learned how to wedge, roll, score, and use slip (a combination of clay plus water) to adhere the sides of the hamantashen together. Some of the students got extra creative with their jelly, chocolate chip, or Nutella fillings! The results will be on display for all to see for a few weeks so that the beauty of Purim can continue in our halls. |
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Seen in the Hallways: Purim Art |
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Purim mask pictures in the ECC hallway. |
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ECC Afterschool Enrichment students made these pretty hamentash pictures. |
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Kitah Daled Reads Megillat Esther in Living Color |
Kitah Daled students read the entire text of Megillat Esther from their own megillot...and several students made sure that it was a colorful experience by the time they finished all ten chapters. This particular megillah was decorated with intricate floral designs, providing an opportunity for students to color (and highlight Hebrew verbs) as they learned the material. Psychologists have suggested that coloring activates areas of the brain that enhance focus and concentration, and can be stress-relieving and increase mindfulness–and it is always a fun way to beautify a mitzvah. Although not every student chose to decorate the cover, the highlighted shorashim (root words) brightened the text inside, providing color to the narrative in more ways than one.
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Kitah Vav Bakes Hamentashen With Nursery Bet |
Kitah Vav students, following up on last week’s all-Hebrew hamentash bake, continued the lesson by baking with Nursery Bet. The older Kitah Vav students mixed up the dough before Nursery Bet arrived, and then guided the younger children in rolling, filling, and shaping the hamentashen. Kitah Vav also helped them choose their fillings–jelly, chocolate chip, or sprinkles can be a difficult decision–and taught them some Hebrew vocabulary as well. |
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Kitah Hay Reviews Purim Via a Hike Down the Question Trail |
Purim review became a creative adventure with a Question Trail for Kitah Hay. Many stations were scattered around the room with a multiple-choice question at each station. Each answer chosen (a, b, c, or d) sent the students to a different station. Kitah Hay students who answered each question correctly were able to follow the trail to complete a full circuit. Students who answered a question incorrectly eventually found themselves back at a station they had already completed, which meant they needed to retrace their steps. A working knowledge of Rabbi Kramer's Purim material was the only way to succeed, and fortunately, all the Kitah Hay students were able to "hike the trail" to a satisfying end. |
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Kitah Gimel Is Mysterious in Beautiful Painted Masks |
Hidden things are an important part of Purim, so Kitah Gimel got with the program by painting and decorating beautiful masks donated by Morah Chaya Hecht. These colorful creations obscured their identities with style, and made Kitah Gimel mesmerizing and mysterious to boot. Can you identify these three students? |
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Tuesday, March 14
- Scholastic Book Fair
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All Grades Except Second In-person Parent Teacher Conferences
Monday, March 20
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Second Grade Only In-person Parent Teacher Conferences
Wednesday, March 22
- Author visit, grades ECC-3, Meish Goldish
Tuesday, March 28
Wednesday, March 29
- Model Seder, grades ECC-3
Saturday night, April 1
- Last chance to register for busing for the next school year
Monday, April 3 through Sunday, April 16
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