MIVASERET MERCAZ
מבשרת מרכז
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This week, we received siddurim to speak to Hashem and chumashm to hear Him speak to us, learned about Martin Luther King, Jr., baked, tended, researched, stretched our minds and our bodies, and spent our free time growing in every way. Scroll down for a glimpse of a week in the life of Mercaz Academy...
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A Message From Our Assistant Principal, Ms. Karen Leeper |
At Mercaz Academy, teaching character (middot tovot) is at the root of everything we do. Our school community supports and encourages acceptance and respect for each others’ differences, as per the Torah lessons and American ideals that we study every day. Here at Mercaz, we grow closer by learning from and about each other. And we all learn from the Torah, which encourages us to relate to those who are downtrodden, as we ourselves were in Egypt.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was inspired by these ideas, and saw the parallels between the history of his people and our own...Read more
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Mercaz Academy Marks Martin Luther King Jr. Day |
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On Monday, January 16, Mercaz Academy students observed Martin Luther King Jr. Day by learning about his life, his legacy, and his struggle for civil rights for all.
Our programs and projects were informed by the values that we uphold every day at Mercaz Academy:
- On the inside, where it counts, we are all the same.
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Sinat chinam, baseless hatred, is corrosive to those who hate as well as the hated.
- We must not mistreat or oppress a stranger, because we were once ourselves strangers in Egypt.
- Being an upstander is vital to maintaining a healthy society.
- We can learn from each other and care for each other.
Please follow the link below to see some of the lessons that were taught at our school on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
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Mercaz Academy Celebrates Kitah Bet Chag HaChumash... |
Kitah Bet celebrated a milestone in their Torah study on Thursday: now they are ready to start learning Chumash from the text, thanks to their preparation by Morah Tikva. The Chag HaChumash started with a musical presentation that took place entirely in Hebrew. The second graders demonstrated their knowledge of the five books of the Torah with songs, recitations, posters, and some adorable dance moves, delighting their audience of family and friends. After presenting each student with a Chumash of his or her very own, Rabbi Fogel addressed Kitah Bet, reminding them that earlier in the week they dramatized the story of Avram who went where Hashem told him without asking questions.
“Where does Hashem tell us what he wants to do?” Rabbi Fogel asked. “In the Chumash!” the students replied. Rabbi Fogel explained that the Chumash contains the words of Hashem telling us how to live our lives–and for the rest of their lives, they would open that Chumash and remember that it was the first one they ever received. Finally, Rabbi Fogel offered the hope and the blessing that they would always find Torah study as sweet as they do now–and the lesson was reinforced with a delicious cake and refreshments supplied by parents and PTA. Congratulations to Kitah Bet and Morah Tikva on a job well done!
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...and Mercaz Academy Celebrates Kitah Aleph Chag HaSiddur |
Mercaz Academy was blessed with a great deal to celebrate as Kitah Aleph received their first siddurim at their Chag HaSiddur on Monday. Kitah Aleph has been learning all about tefillah (prayer) with Morah Shani in preparation for the day they would begin using the siddur to pray. To display their knowledge, they designed and created a tefillah bulletin board in their room, working hard to think of ways to symbolize the process of prayer and drawing, cutting, and hanging their ideas up for all to see.
Of course, the culmination of their studies took place at the Chag HaSiddur, where they sang about tefillah and recited the lessons they have learned about tefillah for an appreciative audience of parents, grandparents, friends, and teachers...Read more
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STEM: Third and Fourth Graders Blown Away By Energy Research |
Third and fourth grade students have been researching different forms of energy in STEM class, and the first energy source the students have investigated was wind. Therefore, they designed miniature wind turbines–otherwise known as pinwheels. After assembling their pinwheels, students tried them out, blowing from different angles and determining how to make the pinwheels spin in different directions. Best of all, whether a pinwheel powered by breath or a real wind turbine, students were impressed by the fact that wind is a completely renewable resource. |
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What Happens in ECC Afternoon Enrichment on Mondays? |
One benefit of the Early Childhood Center’s location within Mercaz Academy is access to the facilities and programs of the elementary school, and the ECC Afternoon Enrichment program takes full advantage of this bounty. In addition to the second snack time, recess, and time for free play, students enjoy a different special activity every day, taught by certified and talented teachers in spacious and fully equipped facilities.
On Monday, children in Afternoon Enrichment participate in yoga sessions with Morah Francie Goldberg, Mercaz Academy’s certified Early Childhood yoga instructor. The session opens with warm ups and deep breathing, and...Read more
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Did you know that Mercaz Academy was on News Channel 12? You can see us on television by clicking on the image below. |
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Kindergarten Welcomes Green New Mascot |
Kindergarten students welcomed not only a new student to their class, but a new mascot. The class voted to give the mascot, a green and leafy plant, a Hebrew name: Ilan, which means “tree.” Right now, Ilan the Plant is a little short to carry this name, but kindergarteners know that a lot of small things grow to be very big with time, so they remain convinced that the name fits. Students drew pictures of their new class plant and wrote the plant’s name in Hebrew for display. Congratulations to the kindergarten class on Ilan’s luxuriant leaves. We’re certain that Ilan has been finding it very easy to be green while under their care. |
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Kitah Gimel Throws a Wedding |
Kitah Gimel celebrated their accomplishment of completing the study of Parshat Chayei Sarah by re-enacting a wedding! As the last perek (chapter) of this parsha was about Avraham sending his servant Eliezer to find a wife for Yitzchak, Kitah Gimel decided to have a wedding party for the marriage of Yitzchak and Rivkah. The students created the decorations, prepared the wedding feast, and re-enacted the entire process from Eliezer’s bridal search through the chuppah (wedding canopy).
Morah Chaya taught Kitah Gimel the Rashi stating that throughout Sarah’s life, the miracles that took place in her tent were that a light burned from Erev Shabbat to Erev Shabbat, there was a blessing in her challah dough, and that a cloud hung over her tent. Students learned that, although these miracles ceased with Sarah’s death, they returned when Rivkah married Yitzchak and moved into the tent. Therefore, they finished off a very special celebration by baking challah, just like Rivkah did as a newlywed. Kitah Gimel is now considering careers as wedding planners.
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Tech Enrichment: Coding Through Free Time |
Mercaz Academy now offers students the option of volunteering to spend their break time doing educational technology projects. Students in grades four through six receive an hour at noon that is evenly divided between lunch and recess. However, students now have the option to spend all the time in which they are not actively eating working on an optional group project. After finishing their lunches, students who sign up for that day’s enrichment head upstairs to the technology room where, under Mrs. Last’s guidance, they can work on a group tech project through the remainder of lunch and recess. Students have delighted in the opportunity to use their free time to work together on enjoyable challenges like designing and coding complex routes for the Intelio smart trains as well as programming Dash robots to run around a slalom. Tech enrichment has become such a popular option that open slots fill up immediately, and the extra practice serves as additional preparation for Mercaz students to enter the world of technology with confidence and skill.
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Thursday, January 19-Sunday, January 27
Wednesday, February 1
- Mercaz Mustangs basketball at NSHA, 7:00 pm
Sunday, February 5
- Mercaz Mustangs basketball at Mercaz, 11:00 am
Monday, February 6
Thursday, February 9
- Mercaz Mustangs basketball at HALB, 7:30 pm
Monday, February 20
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No school: President's Day
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