February 12, 2026 | 26 Shvat 5786 | משפטים | | |
In Ganon Aleph, we began learning all about the Purim story and even discussed the palace of Shushan! The children created their own palace artwork using only shapes. It was so exciting to see how circles, squares, triangles, and rectangles can come together to form something so beautiful, unique, and creative.
We also read City Shapes by Diana Murray. This story inspired us to look closely at the world around us. We discovered that shapes are everywhere…in buildings, street signs, houses, and really the entire world right outside our windows! It was a wonderful way to connect our math shape learning to the upcoming Jewish holiday and to real-life experiences!
| | |
This week in Gan Gimmel, our classroom was buzzing with creativity and teamwork as the children worked on an exciting woodworking project: building our very own puppet theater! With guidance the children hammered, sanded and measured to bring their vision to life!
This project supported fine motor skills, teamwork, and perseverance. Our new puppet theater will add so much excitement to our Purim exploration! Next, we will design our set using a variety of crafting materials. Then, we will bring the Purim characters to life by creating puppets of our own and finally, it’s showtime as we perform our very own Purim Puppet Show!
| | Our Early Childhood students and teachers were so excited to go sledding this week on the Yavneh hills! | | On Tuesday, we held our annual Shvat Bracha Bee! Every contestant did a fantastic job on stage. We had three finalists from second grade and one from first grade. We are so proud of all the students who participated in this meaningful event, their hard work and dedication were truly evident! | | This week, students in grades 3, 4, and 5 took part in our Annual Shvat Brachot Experience. In mixed-grade teams, they rotated through a variety of exciting challenges that tested their knowledge of brachot on foods and mitzvot. The room was filled with ruach as students collaborated and raced against the clock. Everyone had a fantastic time! | | The students in 3B have been enjoying their study of geography! Our discussions have sparked a strong interest in learning more about the continents and oceans. Students used their research skills to gather information and created beautiful, detailed posters to showcase their learning. We invite you to stop by and see our bulletin board near Room 307 to check out their hard work! | | 4A was in full Bracha mode in preparation for the Bracha Experience. The students excitedly learned the order of the different brachot with the help of the acronym המגע אש. We spoke about practical applications with all of our yummy food and then made poster boards for each bracha with examples of food. This visual reminder is so helpful and the beautiful artwork fills our classroom walls. | | President Lincoln celebrated his 217th birthday by visiting third graders. He shared information about his incredible life and how he freed the slaves. | | SEL UPDATE: Our first grade students learned a coping strategy during SEL called Pause, Rewind, and Play to help them manage strong emotions and make safe choices. Pause means stopping and taking a deep breath to calm their bodies. Rewind helps students think about what happened and how they are feeling. Play encourages them to choose a helpful action, such as “try again,” talking to a friend or adult, and taking a break. Students practiced using this tool by sharing real-life examples and created their own Pause, Rewind, and Play guide sheets to use whenever they need support. | | |
Yavneh Academy was honored again this year to participate in Sharsheret Pink Day. The day began with a presentation for the seventh and eighth grades by Mrs. Bonnie Beckoff, director of support services at Sharsheret, who spoke about the mission of Sharsheret. The sixth graders heard an inspirational presentation by Coach Lauren Greene who, as a breast cancer survivor, explained how essential Sharsheret is for the community.
The students decorated the school in pink. A committee proudly ran a pink snack sale during lunch with all proceeds going to Sharsheret. The highlight of the day was the Sharsheret Pink Day Hoopathon where our middle schoolers had the chance to shoot hoops and use hula hoops for Sharsheret (with pink basketballs and hula hoops, of course!), with sponsorships from parents. All money raised will be donated to Sharsheret. Seventh graders coordinated the hoopathon, based on the inspiration of their unit in Advisory when they learned of the story of a middle schooler who raised millions of dollars for the needy through starting hoopathons, stressing that even teenagers can “change the world.” Congratulations to our seventh grade who won the hoopathon with 3,454 baskets and hula hoop rotations. And, of course, the YPAA proudly coordinated their yearly Pink Day shirt and kippa sale. We are so proud of our students’ involvement in this important mission of Sharsheret.
| | |
Led by our Banot, Shachar and Maya, the 8th grade girls and their mothers shared in the special mitzvah of taking challah this past Tuesday night. We began the evening with treats and time to bond together. Rebbetzin Michal Zahtz then spoke about the different reasons women are given this special mitzvah. One reason she particularly emphasized was the opportunity to take something seemingly simple and elevate it to holiness.
Following the Dvar Torah, the girls and their mothers created beautiful hafrashat challah cards. The evening concluded with everyone braiding challot together, with the bracha recited by Mrs. K’s mother as a zechut for a refuah shelaima for our beloved Mrs. K.
| | |
This week we welcomed Rav Yehuda Elon, a sofer from the organization Otiot Shel Ahava who also works together with Sulamot. He spent time at Yavneh teaching students about the beauty and significance of safrut and the Torah.
The program centered on the powerful idea that each person is like a letter in the Torah - unique, essential, and meaningful, only when connected to others. Each student was assigned a letter and had the opportunity to sit with the sofer as he carefully wrote that letter, allowing them to witness the care, precision, and holiness involved in writing a Torah.
In addition, students created stencils and decorative frames featuring their Hebrew names, learning how the art of safrut connects to their own identity and place within the Jewish people.
This Torah is being written together with students from communities around the world, and it carries special significance. It is being written in memory of Ofir Libstein, a chayal who fell in battle on October 7th. Upon completion, the Torah will be dedicated in one of the communities that was attacked on that tragic day serving as a symbol of unity, remembrance, and resilience.
It was a deeply moving experience for our students, one that connected learning, creativity, and meaning in a powerful way. We are grateful to Rav Yehuda, Otiot Shel Ahava, and Sulamot for bringing this opportunity to our school.
| | This past Saturday night, the 6th grade came to Yavneh for a fun and delicious Melaveh Malka. Students enjoyed delicious pizza and pasta from Zevy's Pizza. Our student committee created a fun game "guess the baby." Students viewed pictures of their peers as babies and guessed who was who. After a Dvar Torah and benching, students enjoyed a game of Minute To Win It along with music and dancing. The evening ended with a raffle, prizes and an ice cream dessert. A great time was had by all! | | |
In his presentation to parents, author Richard Simon offered a compelling look at our current digital habits. Drawing from his book Unplug, Mr. Simon shared compelling ideas on how constant phone use can impact our health, disrupt our focus, and create distance in our relationships. He provided 11 practical strategies for unplugging, illustrating their effectiveness through success stories ranging from his own year-long experiment without a phone to the experiences of professional athletes, professionals, and public figures.
The following morning, Mr. Simon met with our 6th, 7th, and 8th graders to share a similar message. He equipped students with tangible tools to reclaim their time and focus from their devices. By engaging both parents and students, Mr. Simon has provided our community with a shared starting point to prioritize presence and build healthier relationships with technology.
Building on Mr. Simon’s presentation, Yavneh’s Student Technology Advisory Committee shared a video they created challenging our entire community to find more moments to unplug and reconnect offline.
| | Yavneh Academy is a beneficiary agency of the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey. | | | | | |
