Day School Roundup

The Day School Roundup is a monthly feature in which the local day schools update the community on what is happening on their campuses.

The King David School

Fifth-graders experienced life on a space station among other adventures at their recent trip to AstroCamp, located in Idylwild, Calif. The students partnered with Tarbut V'Torah Day School on a fantastic weekend, participating in an underwater antigravity event, building and launching rockets, and viewing space through telescopes. The trip was intensely educational and lots of fun.

In science, grades seven and eight participated in a virtual dissection of frogs and then practiced an actual dissection of worms and frogs under the direction of science teacher Dana Bass.

On Jan. 29, the annual Spelling Bee was held. The winner was seventh-grader Matthew Lakeyn, who will go on to compete in the Maricopa County Spelling Bee.

On Feb. 9, the first-graders each received their own personal siddur at the annual Siddur Ceremony. Family members decorated the siddur covers as a special gift for their children.

Fifth-graders learned about Chinese Art in a special lecture presented by Southwest Learning Sources.

On Feb. 13, second- and fourth-graders learned about various traditions of other countries at the Festival of Cultures.

Middle schoolers enjoyed a special ski weekend in Flagstaff Feb. 7-9. Those who couldn't ski or snowboard learned how, and those who could improved their skills. A record snowfall made the trip even more fun, including some serious snowball activity.

Pardes Jewish Day School

The middle school students are currently involved in a comprehensive First Aid course, taught by Scottsdale fireman, Dana Toporek.

The middle school also had the opportunity to learn about the Manhattan Project, which was the creation of the first atomic bomb, from an engineer on the project.

As part of their ongoing work with the Culver Street Synagogue, the middle school students will have the distinction of being the first school to lead tefillah (prayers) in recent history. They will also help plant flowers around the outside of the synagogue.

Additionally, the fifth-graders will be participating with Kiva School at their annual science fair and will lead Shabbat services at a local retirement home.

The kindergartners wrote letters to show their support to President Bush. The second grade visited the Arizona Science Center the week of Feb. 18.

Fifth-grade students have been participating in the Torah Fair program sponsored by the Bureau of Jewish Education. The students, who research specific mitzvot and/or biblical prophets, have their work displayed at the Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus in Scottsdale.

The seventh-grade students are demonstrating commitment to social action by volunteering to tutor students at an inner city Phoenix-area school.

Tri-City Jewish Community Center Day School

The day school and kindergarten families celebrated Shabbat on Jan. 21. One of the fathers, Roy Birnbaum, catered the wonderful cuisine. The children made challah covers, which added to the beautiful Shabbat ambiance. The evening concluded with one of the fathers, Dan Cooper, telling a Shabbat story. The families enjoyed it so much that another Shabbat dinner is scheduled for April.

The third- and fourth-grade art classes, led by Bobbi Hertz, entered the "Off The Wall" youth art competition sponsored by Contemporary Forum of Phoenix Art Museum. Original animal sculptures of any type were accepted. The children designed and created many animals including a panda bear, giraffe, penguin, alligator, bear and gorilla. The sculptures were brilliant and the children loved entering them in the contest.

The first- and second-grade class has spent time reflecting on the loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia and the seven astronauts we lost. They were very proud that it was the first time a Torah had been on a shuttle mission. The loss of an Israeli astronaut brought the event closer to their lives. The class decided it would be a mitzvah to write letters to Ilan Ramon's family to express their condolences.

Phoenix Hebrew Academy

Phoenix Hebrew Academy is proud to announce that the Mishmar Program has expanded to include classes on Sunday morning. These classes are in addition to the regularly scheduled program on Wednesday afternoons after school.

As part of a social studies/English project, the third-grade students wrote letters to third-graders in Jewish day schools throughout the United States. They told them about Phoenix and Arizona and asked questions about their city and state. Day school students from Georgia, Florida, Connecticut, Kentucky and Nebraska have already responded. The students are looking forward to more responses every day.

The fifth grade had a surprise Tu B'Shevat seder. During the seder the students heard stories and Midrash about each fruit. They said the brachot (blessings) and sang Tu B'Shevat songs. Each student got a special bracha from his/her parents.

Jan. 27 was the 100th day of school at the academy. Many of the younger grades celebrated the day with special activities, games and projects. Kindergarten children wore crowns, beads and 100th day glasses. They shared a special hot dog lunch with the first-graders and blew out 100 candles on a cake. The first-graders made wonderful 100-day projects that were displayed at the 100-Day Museum. Each second-grader brought in 100 items, which were counted by 5s, 10s, 20s, 25s or 50s. They had a special lunch that included a 100-day cake and 100 Grand candy bars. Grade three presented a variety of projects on this special day. Some of the projects included 100 math examples with the number 100 in them; 100 things that did not exist 100 years ago; who was the U.S. president 100 years ago and what was he known for.

The winner of the 2003 Spelling Bee was Sydni Zinker. Sydni will represent the academy at the County/Regional Spelling Bee on Feb. 27. The first runner-up was Adam Fishman. The winner of the Junior Spelling Bee (grades 1 - 4) was Molly Bock and the first runner-up was Roni Gross.

Grades 6, 7 and 8 held their annual Shabbaton Jan. 31-Feb. 1. Children were hosted in nearby homes and they were able to enjoy Shabbat to its fullest with tefillah (prayers), food and song.

Culminating a project on tzedakah, the girls in fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth grades, under the direction of Maragalit Shlomi, made beautiful tzedakah boxes which were used as centerpieces at the Young Leadership Division of the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix dinner. The girls researched the laws of tzedakah and wrote stories to illustrate what an important mitzvah it is.

Throughout the school, teachers discussed the Columbia tragedy. Grades five to eight had the opportunity to see the memorial service broadcast live from Houston. Rabbi Harris Cooperman also led discussions with the students concerning this tragedy and what it means to us as American Jews. In addition, in art, under the direction of Kristen Reid, students expressed their feelings by drawing a mural.

Our school-wide Bracha Bee program has come to an end. The students learned all the various types of brachot a Jewish person should know and do. Each grade had its own Bracha Bee and the winners of each grade were: grade 1, Risa Levertov; grade 2, Michael Galibov; grade 3, Yael Alyeshmerni; grade 4, Devori Wolfe; grade 5, Yisroel Meir Silver; grade 6, Chaya Wolfe; grade 7, Elana Rosengard; and grade 8, Sofia Kandova. The winner of the schoolwide Bracha Bee held Feb. 10 was Elana Rosengard.

Grades three, four and five are hard at work preparing for the Bureau of Jewish Education's Torah Mitzvah Fair. Together with their teachers, they are creating display boards describing various mitzvot we, as Jews, do. They are researching the biblical source of the mitzvot as well as the practical application for today and throughout history.

The student council is hard at work on their mitzvah project. They are collecting new and gently used toys and books for children. These items will be distributed to a Jewish child in need.

Feb. 14 was red, white and blue day. On this day, sponsored by our Student Council, students and faculty dress in our nation's colors.

In honor of President's Day, the seventh- and eighth-grade students, under the direction of Kathy Kerr, will be reading speeches and addresses given by Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. One of the readings will be the address that George Washington gave to the Jews of Newport, R.I., at the Touro Synagogue.

The Jess Schwartz Jewish Community High School

The fall semester Honor Roll was recently announced. The Headmaster's list includes: Ilyssa Adler, Matt Berger, Justin Brooks, Alex Cogan, Anna Harris, Ari Lewine, Alicia Miller, Daniel Rosen, Marc Troisi and Paul Schaffert. The Honor Roll students are: Henry Barkley, Benjamin Beller, Sarah Bukshpan, Tslil Feinberg, Jonathan Feller, Joseph Giardina, Zachary Gilburd, Sara Loeb, Maria Restivo, Aaron Silver, Ruth Storch and Zachary Wiss.

Students will be "on the road" Feb. 27 through March 2. The North American Association of Jewish High Schools is sponsoring a West Coast Shabbaton. Sarah Giardina, Rebecca Mauiri, Ruth Storch, Sara Loeb, Nicole Graff, Joseph Giardina, Ben Beller, Jeremy Levy, Marci Troisi and Paul Schaffert will be accompanied by student government advisors Rabbi Moshe Sokol and Felice Weiner.

On March 14 and 15, the California Jewish Community High Schools have invited some of our students to participate in a special Shabbaton to be held at Malibu Creek State Park in California. Joseph Giardina, Sarah Giardina, Anna Harris, Tslil Feinberg, Sarah Bukshpan, Becca Mauiri and Ruth Storch will represent Jess Schwartz.

Students are also busy visiting various museums in town. The Studio Art class and sophomore students will view not only the exhibit at the Phoenix Art Museum but also the Ansel Adams exhibit at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art. The Honors European History class will be hosting a "salon" with "characters" from the 1890s. Preparations for Purim are also underway.

Students studying French and Spanish will be taking the National French and Spanish language exams in March. They are sponsored by the American Association of Teachers in French and the American Association of Teachers in Spanish and Portuguese. The students are able to participate in this nationwide examination because Dr. Clifford Gallant, their instructor, is a member of these professional organizations. Students will compete at the state and national level. Prizes will include the opportunity for summer travel.

The faculty, parents, students and board members have been busy preparing for an upcoming visit for accreditation. The North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement conducted a site visit on Feb. 19. The school is proud of this accomplishment in only 19 months after opening its doors.

Our Book Buddies program with Madison Heights continues and will be expanded as members of the Headmaster's List will be visiting their book buddies on a more regular basis. Student government recently hosted an ice skating event for current and prospective students and have scheduled a bowling party for Sunday, March 23. Seventeen students took the placement examination for admission and a make-up examination has been scheduled for March 30. For information on a shadow visit for a prospective student, please contact Chris Black, registrar, at 602-385-5100.

Students are also busy helping with the first spring salute to honor the faulty and staff of The Jess Schwartz Jewish Community High School and to celebrate the successes of the school year. Claudia Gil-burd and Cantor Sharona Feller are the co-chairwomen of this special "Hats Off!" event scheduled for Sunday, April 27. To receive an invitation to this special event, please contact the school office.

More than 650 people recently attended the PEJE (Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education) Donor and Leadership Assemblies. Representing Jess Schwartz at the Assembly were Daniel Feller, Sheila Schwartz, Elana Storch and Tina Shein-bein.