A Glimpse into Mercaz Academy, October 27-November 9, 2023

Volume 2, Issue 5 | November 9, 2023

MIVASERET MERCAZ

מבשרת מרכז

Mercaz students singing Shabbat songs, representing the days of creation, learning and voting and advocating, and looking at the world in a whole new way. Scroll down for a glimpse into two weeks at Mercaz Academy...

Grandparents Visit for Shabbat Project!

Grandparents Visit for Pre-Shabbat Celebration, Dedicated to Soldiers and Children in Israel

Mercaz Academy was delighted to welcome grandparents (and other special people) back to the campus for a Shabbat Project-inspired celebration last Friday. This year’s gathering was dedicated by students at the school to IDF soldiers and children who are recovering.

The highlight of the morning was when the students from first through sixth grade surrounded the room to sing sweet renditions of “Lecha Dodi,” “Shalom Aleichem,” and “V’Zakeini L’Gadel,” all traditional prayers said to welcome Shabbat. A moving video of these soulful renditions of Shabbat songs is being sent to Mizrachi and to ALYN Hospital to help those who are not in their usual home environments enhance the beauty of their Shabbat...MORE PHOTOS

Six Days of Creation in Student Art

Mercaz students provided a beautiful backdrop to our recent Shabbat grandparent event with their artistic representations of the six days of creation. Each grade was assigned a different day of creation, and students created their own artistic renditions of their day, inspired by artists introduced to them by art teacher Mrs. Elizabeth Danziger. MORE PHOTOS

Mercaz Academy Learns About Democracy

Assemblyman Charles D. Lavine Explains Democracy Before Student Council Elections

Mercaz students in the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades welcomed Assemblyman Charles D. Lavine to our school for a discussion about how government works as a preamble to our student council elections. In introducing him to the students, Assemblyman Lavine was thanked for his strong and vocal support for Israel in this turbulent time. In speaking with the students, he explained the role of elected officials in our democratic system as well as his own position as legislator..

Assemblyman Lavine described how American democracy innovated a new system of government, distinct from monarchies and theocracies. He explained that, when deciding how to vote on legislation, he makes it a point to listen and keep an open mind and encouraged student leaders to do the same. The discussion ended with students asking a wide range of questions, which Assemblyman Lavine graciously answered, providing an illuminating and educational introduction to our own student council elections.

Mercaz Students Go To The Polls

Prepared by Assemblyman Lavine, our candidates finished their campaigning with speeches before the student body. Sixth graders ran for president as teams, preferring “co-presidents” to the president/vice president model. Fifth graders ran singly for two open secretary positions. The franchise was extended down to first grade this year, and students took careful notes on the candidates’ platforms as they spoke. All candidates addressed the situation in Israel, suggesting plans to support the state that is so important to us. There were also several proposals regarding domestic policy, including additional raffles, field trips, homework passes, and a dunk tank for staff members.

Voting was done through a computerized system monitored by Program Director Rabbi Moshe Rubel, and the results were announced at three-thirty on Wednesday afternoon. Winning candidates graciously thanked their opponents as well as their supporters, and all students in the fifth and sixth grades will take a seat on the student council under their newly elected leadership.

Students Write Letters to Senators and Soldiers

Students Practice the Art of Advocacy to Help Israel

How many things can you accomplish with the push of one button? Our fifth and sixth graders will tell you—a lot. Yesterday, our students opened their Chromebooks to the personalized letters they each wrote to Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, expressing their thanks for support of Israel in its time of crisis and asking that they continue to provide Israel with the assistance it needs going forward.

In doing so, our students learned not only the art of advocacy, but that our democratic system welcomes it. Guided by Mercaz President Jeffrey Lichtman, they reviewed how our federal and state officials act in different roles, but all are responsible to those who elect them. Understanding that the federal government is in charge of foreign policy, the students began to exercise their rights of free speech by expressing their priorities to the federal officials who represent all New Yorkers—their senators.

Our empowered students were able to tailor their own messages to convey why Israel is so important to them and their families. When pressing “send,” each student started not only on a lifelong path of participating in American democracy, but also of keeping achaynu kol beit Yisrael (our brother and sisters, all the house of Israel) top of mind and advocating on their behalf. As one student put it after sending the emails, “I am now officially an advocate!”

Supporting Soldiers Through Hebrew Language Letters

In other letter-writing news, Mercaz students in grades four through six have been writing letters to active duty Israeli soldiers in Hebrew.

Under the guidance of Morah Carmit Akhavan, students composed the letters in Hebrew to thank the soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces for their hard work and offering them encouragement and support. The letters were beautifully written and illustrated by our grateful students, who are always eager to do what they can to support Israel, both here at home and across the globe.

Mercaz Academy students making posters to send to Tuesday's "March for Israel" rally in Washington.

They may not all be able to go to Washington, but Mercaz students will do whatever they can to support Israel.

Rainbow Writing in Nursery Aleph

Did you know that Nursery Aleph students are learning their letters with all the colors of the rainbow? A few weeks ago, these students learned about the rainbow in the Torah portion of Noach, and Morah Esther Vaknin incorporated the lesson into alphabet writing practice. The students in Nursery Aleph have been learning the alphabet, adding one letter each week.

“Rainbow writing” is a deceptively simple method to enable students to use sensory learning to improve their letter recognition. Students trace the letter of the week, repeating the exercise with all the colors until the letter looks like a beautiful rainbow. As they trace, they verbally identify the color used and sing a special song reminding them to start “from the top, top, top…” The exercise underlines the kinesthetic tracing action with visual, aural, and vocal components, engaging students in a truly beautiful way.

Meet Mrs. Kaplan!

“I was born to be a librarian,” Mrs. Wendy Kaplan says, and her work history certainly proves that she loves working with books in every possible way. Does she look familiar? It might be because you saw her at the Plainview-Old Bethpage Public Library, where Mrs. Kaplan has worked for more than thirty years as a children’s librarian. Concurrently, she was a school librarian in local public schools, and she worked for a company that scores Regents and other standardized tests. As if this is not enough involvement with books and reading, Mrs. Kaplan has a background in journalism and has worked as a proofreader and a copy editor.

Mrs. Kaplan loves the “warm, family feeling” of the Mercaz community, and is enthusiastic about the traditional religious value system she has found here. “Mercaz students are so eager to learn new things, and to share their stories,” she says. “I’m so happy to be a part of this!”

Kindergarten Science: “Solar Mittens” Reveal Differences in Sun’s Heat Energy

Kindergarten students took a “solar walk” with science teacher Mrs. Vasiliou earlier this week. On a beautifully sunny day, each student wore one white glove and one black one for the walk around the school grounds. Raising their “solar mittens” to the sun, students took note of the temperature in the black gloves versus the white gloves. They were surprised to discover that the black mittens absorbed more heat energy than the white mittens, which reflected some of the heat energy away from their hands. This made hands in the black gloves noticeably warmer!

Mrs. Vasiliou led students in a discussion of the clothing they were wearing at the time, and the kindergarten students concluded that lighter-colored clothing is a better choice in the summer, when it is hot outside.

The kindergarteners also spotted a warbler on their walk, seizing the opportunity to benefit from Mrs. Vasiliou’s hobby of bird-watching!

GrowTorah Looks at Chayei Sarah: Caring for Camels and Other Living Things

Students gathered in the GrowTorah garden this week to examine the story of Eliezer’s search for a wife for Yitzchak, as recounted in this week’s Torah portion. They know that Avraham’s servant, Eliezer, traveled to Charan in search of a wife for Avraham’s son, Yitzchak. Eliezer arrived at a well and prayed to find the right partner for Yitzchak. When Rivkah demonstrated her kindness by volunteering to draw water not only for him, but for his camels, Eliezer knew she was the one.

Mercaz students concluded that kindness is a vital characteristic for the Jewish people; they learned from the story of Rivkah that this kindness should encompass not just people, but Hashem’s other creatures as well. Therefore, students searched the garden for insects, finding several holes in the collard greens. Investigating further, they found two hungry caterpillars that had been chomping on their leaves! They discovered some aphids there, too, providing an opportunity to learn about natural pest control methods like ladybugs that eat the aphids. Later, planting garlic, students found earthworms in the soil. Mercaz students love meeting Hashem’s incredible creatures in our garden.

After examining the produce carefully to make sure that it was insect-free and thus kosher, students harvested and sampled several different crops in the garden, including radishes, chives, parsley, cilantro, and cabbage. Of course, they made a bracha before tasting! Students also gathered samples of all of these, plus some beautiful peppers, to donate to a local food bank, and some herbs to take home. Mercaz students enjoyed emulating the kindness of Rivkah in the bountiful garden of late fall.