A Glimpse into Mercaz Academy, September 6-14, 2023

Volume 2, Issue 1 | September 15, 2023

MIVASERET MERCAZ

מבשרת מרכז

It's an exciting new year at Mercaz Academy! We're meeting new friends and greeting new teachers, playing ball indoors and dancing at lunch, hearing from heroes and welcoming lions, searching for simanim and finding people we love everywhere. Scroll down for a glimpse into a week at Mercaz Academy...

A message from our principal, Rabbi Kalman Fogel

As you slice your apples, preparing to dip them in honey, please ponder this question: Are you getting ready for Rosh Hashanah, Yom Teruah, or Yom Hazikaron? We commonly refer to it as "Rosh Hashanah," which translates to "The beginning of the year." However, the Torah, Talmud, and Siddur use these various names interchangeably for the same day!

Like many of our holidays, the multifaceted nature of this day is mirrored in its diverse names...READ MORE

Ready for Rosh Hashanah at Mercaz!

A toddler paints a honey dish.

Kitah Aleph student examining a strange new fruit.

Kitah Bet students learning about simanim.

Nursery Aleph using mixed media to make Rosh Hashanah apples.

Kindergarten analyzes the month of Tishrei using all five senses.

The sixth grade learns about blowing the shofar from Rabbi Dr. Elliot Grossman.

Nursery Bet students examine a shofar.

Kitah Gimel student making a candy apple for a sweet new year.

Kitah Daled's Hebrew cartisei bracha, Rosh Hashanah cards.

An Exciting First Week of School

Chagigah Lunch Welcomes Mercaz Students Back to School

Lunch on the second day of school was transformed into a celebration with music teacher Craig Resmovits playing keyboards. Students enjoyed eating lunch in the chadar ochel (cafeteria) with live music, and their delight increased as they sang Birchat Hamazon with musical accompaniment. But when the tempo increased and the dancing started, the celebration really took off. Excited students (and teachers) hopped and twirled as circles and conga lines intersected and separated. The dance party ended with the students singing, “Acheinu (Our Brothers),” in swaying unison.

Recess followed immediately afterwards and, as the heat index prevented the usual outdoor play, a creative solution was found. The volleyball net was set up in the chadar ochel, and a rousing game of volleyball got started, with boys and girls competing against each other. Play was fierce but friendly, and a great time was had by all.

Students returned to class for their afternoon lessons with smiles on their faces, ready for a new year of learning at Mercaz Academy. MORE PHOTOS

Mercaz Finds 9/11 Hero Close to Home

We Find Out That a Mercaz Staffer Was a 9/11 First Responder

Mercaz Academy marked 9/11 this week with our own Andy Cohen, Director of Facilities and Security at the school and a 9/11 first responder. Mr. Cohen spoke to students in grades four through six about the events of that terrible day with great sensitivity, explaining what happened while shielding the students from the horrific details. As Mr. Cohen–a former police officer who has been a volunteer firefighter for 35 years–told his story, he focused on the people who immediately banded together to help in a tragic situation.

He reminisced about driving into Manhattan that day and seeing state troopers salute him and his friends as they sped towards the wreckage of the World Trade Center...READ MORE

Ariot Visits Kitah Aleph

Kitah Aleph students were learning Hebrew letters when they were surprised by a recent visitor. Ariot, a well-known Hebrew-speaking letter lion, brought each student in Morah Shani's class his or her own copy of a Hebrew book bearing his name. This will make learning letters so much easier! Although eagle-eyed students noted that Ariot and Rabbi Fogel wear the same shoes, Ariot assured them that he was not, in fact, Rabbi Fogel. Thanks, Ariot!

Meet Mrs. Reinhardt!

Mrs. Melissa Reinhardt, our new kindergarten teacher, has been watching us for a while.

A longtime Plainview resident, Mrs. Reinhardt drove past our campus for several years on her way to teach first grade at North Shore Hebrew Academy. Spotting our new name, logo, and look, Mrs. Reinhardt was intrigued.

“I heard great things about Mercaz, how warm and welcoming it was, and I wondered what it was like inside,” Mrs. Reinhardt explained.

Fortunately, when our kindergarten grew too large for one class, she was offered a chance to find out. The class was divided in half; Mrs. Reinhardt teaches general studies to one section while Morah Batsheva teaches religious studies to the other, and they switch at noon.

Mrs. Reinhardt, who has a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and a master’s in Reading, has been teaching for 16 years. She has taught classes ranging from kindergarten through fourth grade but she loves teaching kindergarten because “It’s such a transformative year, preparing for elementary school. You can just watch the magic happen! At the end of the year, you look back, and you can’t believe what they’ve learned–and they’re all ready for first grade.”

Roasting Rosh Hashanah Simanim in the GrowTorah Garden

Mercaz’s GrowTorah program has officially begun! With Rosh Hashanah coming up, Farmer Menuchah discussed the custom to eat simanim as a way to set our goals and intentions for the new year. The Hebrew word simanim can be translated as “signs,” or “indicators,” and the custom is to eat foods whose names are indicative of something we’re hoping for in the new year. These foods might have been chosen as simanim because of inherent qualities–the most common siman is the pomegranate, stuffed full of seeds as we hope the coming year will be stuffed full of mitzvot. However, some simanim are based on clever puns and word play in Hebrew, Ladino, or Yiddish. For example, קָרָא (kara) is a Hebrew word for squash, which sounds similar to קֶרַע (kera), the Hebrew word for “tear” or “rip”–and we hope any unfavorable decrees are torn up.

Speaking of squash, students went on a simanim scavenger hunt in our garden and located some beautiful squash specimens grown from seeds they planted last spring. Farmer Menuchah introduced Mercaz students to the ultimate farm-to-table experience by helping students harvest some of the butternut squash and cook it in the microwave. While the students waited for it to be ready, they picked and ate cherry tomatoes, racking up mitzvot as they went by saying the bracha (blessing) and harvesting some of the tomatoes for tzedakah (our produce is donated to a food bank). Students also picked some herbs and said the bracha in appreciation of their beautiful smell–thus creating an English siman as they hoped for a supe-HERB year).

Inspired by our kara (squash) cooking, we discussed things we’d like to be torn or ripped from the world, such as war, negativity, and world hunger. Finally, we drizzled the butternut squash with maple syrup and cinnamon and enjoyed the delicious food from our garden. We also harvested eggplant, okra, and zucchini for tzedakah as well! We are all looking forward to a beautiful new year in our GrowTorah garden.