A Glimpse into Mercaz Academy, October 16-26, 2023

Volume 2, Issue 4 | October 26, 2023

MIVASERET MERCAZ

מבשרת מרכז

Mercaz students are baking challah, tying tzitzit, and checking out a real fire truck. They are experimenting, drilling down into tefillah, and producing a podcast. Scroll down for a glimpse into two weeks at Mercaz Academy...

Mercaz Students Perform Hands-On Mitzvot

The Mitzvah of Separating Challah: Baking Challah With a Bracha

Girls in grades four through six learned about the religious significance and history of challah during a challah bake led by Morah Phyllis Tessler. Working in pairs and with the help of parent volunteers, the girls followed the recipe and measured ingredients themselves, gaining practical cooking experience (and reviewing a little math). They mixed and kneaded the ingredients, squealing as the sticky dough clung to their fingers. Each pair performed the mitzvah of taking challah, reciting the bracha and separating a piece of dough. The rest was left to rise for a few hours, then each girl braided three challot to bake at home for Shabbat.

The challah bake was repeated the next day for all students in grades one through three. Boys and girls received balls of dough prepared in advance to enable them to skip right to the fun part–braiding! The younger students gleefully rolled their dough into “snakes'' and braided their challot with the help of sixth grade students and parent volunteers. Each child took home their braided challah to bake for Shabbat, and parents reported that they were all delicious.

Tying Tzitzit With Rabbi Dr. Grossman

Boys in grades four through six welcomed back Mercaz Academy grandparent Rabbi Dr. Elliot Grossman, who taught them how to tie their very own tzitzit. Each student received a four-cornered garment, and Rabbi Grossman demonstrated how to tie tzitzit according to both the Ashkenazi and Sephardi traditions. The boys knotted the tzitzit, wrapping the shamash string around and around, counting the number of rings as they worked. When the fringes on all four corners were complete, each boy proudly displayed his finished product, and many chose to swap out the tzitzit they were wearing for their beautiful self-made new ones.

Plainview Volunteer Firefighters Visit Mercaz for Fire Prevention Week (and bring their firetruck!)

Students in the ECC were excited to welcome volunteer firefighters for National Fire Prevention Week, with a special connection to our school. Fire Chief Andy Cohen, who directs security at Mercaz, was a very familiar face. Firefighter Billy Mlotok has been seen frequently offering his expertise at Mercaz and also has a well-known wife, Morah Jo Mlotok–our ECC Coordinator. But our youngest Mercaz Academy students were most impressed when they learned that Firefighter Jeremy Mlotok had once been a student in the ECC himself. “I want to be a fireman, too!” shouted one young fan.

These friendly and familiar firefighters taught students from the toddler class to second grade important safety tips. They taught children what common household items should not be touched, demonstrated “stop, drop, and roll,” and showed them what a working firefighter looks like with all the gear on. Our students know never to hide in a fire, how to test a door for heat before escaping, and how to dial 9-1-1 (but only in an emergency).

Students were delighted by their guided firetruck tour, examining the equipment under the firefighters’ watchful eyes, and finished the morning with their very own souvenir fire helmets.

Sixth Grade Shares Parsha Thoughts Through New Production

Students in the sixth grade have begun a new cross-curricular project to burnish their technology skills along with their Torah. They have started a new weekly video to share a few Torah thoughts on the portion of the week with parents and fellow students.

The project was made possible with a technology grant from the Jewish Education Project. Mrs. Last, our Director of Educational Technology, used the funds to create our very own video recording studio, complete with a new iPad for recording and editing, a green screen, and a teleprompter. The project is completely created by students, who write the script, deliver the material on camera with the aid of the teleprompter, and do the filming. When filming is completed, students edit the video and insert the background, adjusting it for appearance and timing it to the performance with iMovie. Although Mrs. Last provides encouragement and instruction, the podcast is a sixth grade production from start to finish.

Students love learning the new technology along with their Torah, and have grand plans for increasingly sophisticated productions as they progress through the school year.

Tefillah Initiative Kickoff: Birchot Hashachar

Kitah Vav kicked off the newest Tefillah Initiative with a fun introduction to Birchot Hashachar, the blessings recited that correspond to the process of waking up in the morning. Mercaz Academy’s “seniors” created an interactive exhibit to demonstrate the importance of the little things we take for granted, like the ability to distinguish between darkness and light, to use our legs, and to see. These creative school leaders designed a maze to navigate blindfolded, a workshop for the bracha thanking Hashem for giving sight to the blind; a clever challenge to distinguish between light and dark from behind a screen, homage to the bracha thanking Hashem for distinguishing between light and dark; obstacle courses to be navigated without the use of legs and arms, in accordance with the interpretation of the bracha thanking Hashem for freeing prisoners as referring to freeing one’s arms, legs, and fingers; and a Hedbanz-style game in which participants guessed words on their foreheads corresponding to the various brachot using clues from teammates.

Students in grades one through five participated in the educational and entertaining exhibition, and emerged with a new and deeper appreciation for the simple gifts from Hashem that we receive every morning. With that engaging introduction to the morning brachot, all the grades will focus on each of these blessings and come together again for fun activities to reinforce their classroom lessons about tefillah.

Meet Mrs. Vasiliou!

Mrs. Maria Vasiliou joined Mercaz this year, teaching third grade general studies as well as science for kindergarten through sixth grade. She is enjoying both her new students and her vastly improved commute! Mrs. Vasiliou received her Masters in Elementary Education from CUNY Queens. She is a sixteen-year veteran of the New York City public school system, where she taught science to students from kindergarten through fifth grade before becoming a full-time third grade teacher. In the Mercaz Academy science room, Mrs. Vasiliou is adapting the Science 21 curriculum, which she likes not only for its organization but for its rich cross-curricular ELA resources.

Mrs. Vasiliou is married and has two grown sons, both in college. She loves nature and spending time outside, which is why she is frequently spotted eating her lunch at a picnic table near our beautiful GrowTorah garden. One of Mrs. Vasiliou’s hobbies is bird watching, and a favorite spot for this is the Elizabeth A. Morton National Wildlife Refuge in Sag Harbor. Mrs. Vasiliou suggests visiting the refuge with black oil sunflower seeds: “Hold them on your open palm and birds will eat them right out of your hand!”

Students Develop “Tunnel Vision” in Science Room

Mercaz students have been thinking about the relationship between light and vision in the science room! These students know that we are able to see an object only if it produces its own light or if it reflects light, which must then enter our eyes. They developed a model to demonstrate the cause and effect relationship between vision and reflected light by making two tubes, one closed and one with two holes in it.

The students placed small objects in the tubes and experimented by covering and uncovering the openings in the two-hole tube; they also put objects into the closed tubes, using a flashlight to look for the objects inside and trying to see what was there without the flashlight. They were able to prove that the objects were only visible when there was some source of light, either from a hole in the tube or a flashlight. These students have a new appreciation for the mechanics behind the blessing in Birchot Hashachar which thanks Hashem for giving vision to those who can’t see!

Parshat Lech Lecha in the GrowTorah Garden

Surrounded by the fruiting plants of the GrowTorah garden, Mercaz students learned about the midrash (Bereisheet Rabah 39:1) that explains how Avraham became the first Jew: he looked at Hashem’s amazing creations and understood His presence. Students discussed the importance of closely looking at the wondrous world that Hashem created for us to develop our emunah (faith). To better see and appreciate Hashem’s creations in nature, the students played a game called “Pokeach Ivrim” (“who gives sight to the blind,” a blessing recited each morning in Birchot Hashachar). Students partnered up in pairs, with one leading the other, eyes closed, to something in the garden that shows how beautiful Hashem’s creations are. When Farmer Menuchah called out “Pokeach Ivrim,” the students opened their eyes to see which amazing plant they had visited.

Students recited the bracha and tasted delicious tomatoes and lemon balm before zooming in to determine how many of Hashem’s beautiful crops can grow in a single bed! Our students found and tasted cilantro, chives, parsley, carrot tops, and delicious cabbage. These Mercaz farmers also harvested thyme, sage, okra, lemon balm, and cabbage for tzedakah. Sixth grade students harvested, packaged, and labeled the crops for donation to the Corner Market Food Pantry. Mercaz students are looking forward to seeing more signs of Hashem’s miracles in our GrowTorah garden and beyond.