February 5, 2026 | 19 Shvat 5786 | יתרו | | We loved celebrating Tu B’Shvat, the birthday of the trees, at Gan Yavneh! Our amazing Gan Yavneh style birthday party had it all: crowns for every child, parachute play, bubbles galore, music and movement, and of course a tree-themed birthday cake to top it all off. A joyful, meaningful celebration filled with smiles, movement, and lots of leafy fun! | | While the snow is covering the ground in NJ, in Israel the almond trees are beginning to bloom. The children in the ECD have been immersed in learning all about the chag of Tu B’Shvat. They connected their learning to math, literacy, science and art. This included planting, making trees in the Art Center, tasting different kinds of fruit, building with wood, going on wood hunts, and much more. The entire ECD gathered to celebrate Tu B’Shvat with a beautiful Seder. To get things started, we watched a skit put on by the ECD teachers called The Best Gift for a Tree. Mr. Yoni then led singing and dancing, and then all of the classes joined together for the Seder. The tables were set beautifully, with wood centerpieces and foods representing the sheva minim - wheat crackers, grape juice, fig bars, pomegranate seeds, raisins, olives, and dates. It was delicious and meaningful. | | Celebrating Tu B’Shvat was a blast in Ganon Bet! We celebrated with Mr. Yoni and had a PreK wide sing along and Tu B'Shvat Seder with the shivat haminim. We made a cake for the trees and shared birthday wishes, thanking the trees for all that they give us. We planted grass seeds and we can’t wait to watch them grow! | | Building upon our Tu B’Shvat learning, Gan Bet students are exploring the brachot we say everyday on fruits and vegetables. Students tasted pomegranate seeds during our Shivat Haminim tasting and explored where they grow and why we make a Borei Pri Ha’Eitz on them. After transforming our Bayit into a Trader Joe’s supermarket, Gan Bet students planned, shopped, and purchased fruits and vegetables. Afterwards, they worked in groups to sort their items into ‘Borei Pri Ha’Eitz’ and ‘Borei Pri HaAdama’ categories. Inspired by Tu B’Shvat learning, students sculpted their own fruits and vegetables in the Art Center and also tended to their planted seeds in our classroom. | | What a beautiful Tu B’Shvat evening! Our women’s event, generously sponsored by KKL, brought together so many women from our community for an inspiring night of connection and tefillah. Morah Isca and the amazing Bnot Sherut led a meaningful Tu B’Shvat Seder and Seder Amenim, sharing powerful inspiration about the strength of saying Amen. Together we davened for so many needs, felt uplifted, and enjoyed a delicious dinner. A beautiful reminder of the power of coming together as a community. | | In honor of Tu B'Shvat, first graders learned about the Seven Species and about fruits and trees that are common in Eretz Yisrael. The children practiced the different brachot that we say over various types of foods. To wrap up the activity, each group received a puzzle to assemble, featuring trees of Eretz Yisrael. | | Our Grade 1 mathematicians, and their adult guests, had a fabulous time at Math Night. Upon arriving, students and guests were welcomed by Mrs. Landa and the Grade 1 teachers, who led engaging hands-on math activities. The evening concluded with a guesstimation game and math-related giveaways. Mazal tov to Ezra in Class 1A for making the closest guess in our guesstimating jar challenge! | | In conjunction with their study of birds in science, Class 1E has been following the Friends of Big Bear Valley Eagle Cam. The live-stream allows people around the world to observe the eagle couple, Jackie and Shadow, through nesting season. The students compiled a list of their questions and had the opportunity to Zoom with a representative from Big Bear Valley, to learn more about the eagles and their nesting process. Thank you to Nikki and The Friends of Big Bear Valley for giving us this special learning opportunity! | | Today, our 2nd grade students had a blast at the Liberty Science Center! 🧪🚀 They explored freely with their teachers, dove into exciting exhibits, experienced the planetarium, and even enjoyed a private science lesson all about matter. A day full of curiosity, discovery, and fun! ✨ | | As a culminating experience to the fifth grade’s unit on survival and colonization, students stepped back in time to Colonial America to discover what life was like when everything was made from scratch. Our young colonists took on roles as blacksmiths, calligraphers, candle makers, bakers, and butter churners. The hands-on experience was both fun and eye-opening; students unanimously agreed that we are fortunate to have access to the everyday goods we enjoy today. | | The 5th grade Scribble and Scratch Recess Art Club met for the first time. Under the guidance of Ms. Ora Bayewitz-Meier, students are exploring immigration-related art from the Jewish Museum and creating their own works inspired by the themes and styles they study. | | SEL UPDATE: Second graders jumped into our midyear SEL review by excitedly reflecting on their winter break, and how they put their SEL tools to work in real-life situations. Using our thinking boards, students drew and wrote about strategies like Riding the Wave by trying something hard and discovering they liked it. Another strategy is using Size of the Problem to stay calm during tricky moments. They also talked about tools from their SEL toolbox such as Pause/Breath, Rewind, and Play to help them reset and make good choices. It was exciting to see how confidently students are building resilience and self regulation skills they can use both in and out of school. | | |
This week we enjoyed our annual middle school Brachot Bee. All students participated in the initial quiz. The top four winners from each grade then competed in the Brachot Bee in front of the grade. The three grade winners then competed to be the overall Middle School winner.
Congratulations to Cara Teicher, Chani Sussman, and Adir Davidovich the winners of each of their grades - and to Cara Teicher out Middle School Brachot Bee winner.
Students also enjoyed making brachot in front of their peers. Contestants that correctly identified the bracha for the food, made the bracha out loud, and enjoyed a snack. Students won juice boxes, steak jerky, watermelon, and cupcakes, to name a few. A great and tasty time was had by all.
| | DON'T MISS THIS IMPORTANT WORKSHOP FOR ALL PARENTS! | | NEXT SESSION IS THIS COMING WEDNESDAY! | | Yavneh Academy is a beneficiary agency of the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey. | | | | | |
