January 28th, 2022 ~ 26 Shevat, 5782 |
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A message from The Head of School |
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Over the past two weeks our hallway has been filled with balls, bikes, board games, puzzles, toys, car seats, and snow suits for JFS to distribute to children who are relocating to our area from Afghanistan. We've had such an outpouring of generosity from our students and their families; I am extremely proud of our school community!
On Monday I helped one of our students carry in a big bag and she shared with me that in the bag were some of her very favorite toys from when she was younger. She told me proudly that she that she helped to clean them up, make sure that all the parts were there and that she really hoped that the children from Afghanistan would like them. She continued to say that she knows that Jews have had this experience many times since the Israelites left Egypt, but just couldn't imagine needing to leave home without being able to take anything with her. She then asked what I feel is one of the most important questions we can ask when helping others: what do they need?
Her question was answered on Tuesday when I received a phone call from Elaine Strokoff, JFS's Director of Financial and Food Security. Elaine shared with me that the refugees really need food. Not just any food, but the foods that are "pantry staples" for their culture: olive oil, legumes, chickpeas, long-grain rice, pita, etc. (see below for a full list). As a school community, we have already begun to collect those items and will do so for the next few weeks. Our students will be packing bags of these pantry staples to assist JFS with the distribution of them. I encourage our whole community to help fill this need. Donations can be brought to The Silver Academy and we will make sure they get to the families as quickly as we can.
This project has allowed our Jewish values to be at the forefront for our students. They are, every day, living our values. I think that one of the most important components of education is being able to put what is learned into practice. This is especially true when learning mitzvot.
Shabbat Shalom,
Samara
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In Honor of Parshat B'shalach Ganeinu reenacts the exodus from Egypt and the splitting of the Red Sea. We were both the Israelites crossing the desert (colored gym dots) and the Egyptians chasing them on horseback. We came to the edge of the Red Sea/Yam Souf and pretended to be Nachshon ben Aminadav the man who had such faith in G-d that he walked into the sea up to his nose until the water parted. As the Israelites we crossed on dry land and as the Egyptians the waters (confetti) came crashing down on us. Then lead by Miriam we sang and danced with our timbrels to thanks Hashem for this great miracle. |
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The 4th-6th graders have been working on designing their dream home in computer class. The students really enjoyed this activity. Many of them took it as an opportunity to explore and try different things. Some students constructed really tall towers while others made more conventional or lavish designs. One thing was for sure, no two were the same and they all had such wonderfully great ideas! |
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Afghan Refugee Donation Drive |
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We want to thank everyone again for bringing in so many donations for the Afghan refugees. The 4th-6th graders delivered many items to JFS over the last two weeks. They are very grateful to be able to provide the refugees with so many things! We will continue to collect items and are switching our focus to children's winter gear (coats sizes 1 and up, hats, gloves, boots) and the Afghan pantry staples listed below. |
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- Mazel Tov to Bess Gorelick who celebrated her 100th birthday last week! The 4th-6th grade students who participate in the Better Together program with her celebrated with her on Zoom.
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- Mazel Tov to students Shoshana Feig and Samantha Rubin for the amazing mitzvah of donating their hair to Children With Hair Loss. Additional mazel tovs to Silver Academy alumna Dalia Shvartsman and Silver Academy friend Yael Goldman for their donation of hair as well.
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- Thank you to Lori Rubin, Associate Executive Director of the JCC, for speaking to our students and reading some Tu B'Shevat books. She joined us for our Mitzvah Day planting project and helped discuss some parallels between Tu B'Shevat and Dr. Martin Luther King.
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- Thank you to Angie Marvin, from A. Casual Cut, for donating her services and time to cut hair on Mitzvah Day.
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- Thank you to the Rubin, Berman and Reid families for providing Music Club snacks and thank you to Ortal Klein for volunteering.
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- Thank you to our lunch volunteers: Marcy Flicker, Ricki Gold, Irit and Gilad Goldman, Cynthia Graeff, MarkJo Kasian, Rob Konowitch, Bert and Myrna Rubin and Reva Schertz. It is wonderful to have volunteers back in the school!
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- Thank you to Detective Isaac Levine for speaking to the 2nd and 3rd grade class about his work in our community.
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- We extend our condolences to the Goldsmith family on the passing of Faith's mother, Sylvia Smith Levin. May her memory be for a blessing.
- We extend our condolences to the Abel family on the passing of Dorothy Abel. May her memory be for a blessing.
- We extend our condolences to the Stein family on the passing of Susie's father, Joe Climstein. May his memory be for a blessing.
- We extend our condolences to the Peisner family on the passing of Allen Peisner. May his memory be for a blessing.
- We extend our condolences to the Baturin family on the passing of Floyd Baturin. May his memory be for a blessing.
- We extend our condolences to the Einhorn family on the passing of Louis Einhorn. May his memory be for a blessing.
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Volunteering for lunch duty is a wonderful opportunity to see your children or grandchildren interacting with their friends and teachers at lunch. We are always looking for volunteers!
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Easy ways to support The Silver Academy everyday |
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Giant Scrip
Susan Leviton has Giant gift cards. If anyone would like to purchase any she will sanitize them, put them in an envelope and do a transfer at her curb. No need to come to her door. Susan can be contacted at 717-608-0190.
Giant gift cards are also available in The Silver Academy Office. Contact the school at 717-238-8775 to arrange for pick up.
- Raise money for our school by using gift cards where you are already shopping! Buy e-gift cards, physical gift cards and reloadable gift cards at face value and use for your everyday shopping. Easily pay online and earn a rebate between 2%-16% that goes right to our school.
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Contributions to The Silver Academy are always appreciated and every dollar makes a difference for our students!
Looking for a way to celebrate a birthday or special occasion? Do you have someone you would like to honor? Do you want to make a donation in memory of a loved one? Consider making a donation to The Silver Academy. We will send them a lovely card to share with them that a gift has been made in their honor.
You may contact the school's office to make a contribution or do so online here.
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Mrs. Cherepinsky's Music Lessons |
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Challah With a Twist
Offers Weekly Challah Order and Delivery To Students and Teachers.
- Order your challah by 8:30 pm Thursday evening at challahwithatwist.com. The fresh baked challah will be given to your child to take home on Friday.
- To pay, please send an envelope with your name on it to the school office, including cash, or a check payable to Challah with a Twist, or use Paypal or Venmo.
Challah With a Twist, (a.k.a. Varda Challah), has been providing home baked challah to the Harrisburg community for over 24 years.
For any questions, please call or text Varda Gewirtz at 717-919-1358 .
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