Day school students celebrate Purim, successes

Day School Roundup

The King David School

On Feb. 29, the PTO sponsored a Family Fun Day at Cactus Park, with a barbecue, games and a chance for families to get to know one another.

On March 2, students celebrated the 100th birthday of Dr. Seuss. The fifth graders read favorite books to kindergarten, first and second graders.

Meanwhile, fourth graders attended the culmination event of the Black Stallion Literacy Program at the Glendale auditorium.

Students of different grade levels experienced hands on learning on several exciting field trips. Third and fourth graders heard the Youth Symphony at Phoenix Symphony Hall on March 9. Meanwhile, eighth graders visited the Degas sculpture exhibit at the Phoenix Art Museum. Fifth graders traveled to Tucson on March 4 and 5 to visit the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum, where they saw various native animals and learned about the "Web of Life." They also glimpsed the universe at the Arizona State University Flandrow Planetarium and met with their counterparts at the Tucson Hebrew Academy.

On March 8, students came to school dressed as Queen Esther, Haman, and in all sorts of other costumes. The school's Purim Carnival, sponsored by the PTO, included rides, games, cotton candy and snow cones.

Parent/teacher conferences will take place on March 24.

Pardes Jewish Day School

During the month of February, children in kindergarten through fourth grade celebrated Tu B'Shevat with its annual seder. Our second grade followed up a unit about Native American Indians with a field trip to The Heard Museum. The children in the third and fourth grades researched mitzvot and prepared boards for the annual Torah Fair.

In March we celebrated Purim in several ways. Our first and second graders dressed in costume and visited the residents at Kivel. The entire school dressed up in costume and listened to a reading of the Megillah by our Judaic studies teacher, Brad May, dressed as the Homework Fairy. Other field trips in March included the kindergarten going to the Desert Botanical Gardens and the first grade going to The Arizona Puppet Theater.

Our most ambitious project of the month was our annual Shabbat service and dinner. This service was lead almost exclusively by our students, in kindergarten through fourth grade. Cantor Mikhal Shiff- Matter accompanied our songs on guitar.

Our fourth graders visited The Center for Native and Urban Wildlife, in preparation for their overnight at the Outdoor Learning Center at Lake Pleasant. This event will take place at the end of March. Fourth graders are working on a research project about our state.

Phoenix Hebrew Academy

There were many Purim activities held at the school. The officers of the Student Council delivered shalach manot to the Jewish residents of Kivel. Students throughout the school decorated bags, which Student Council filled with goodies using money earned in fund-raisers this year. In addition, students in grades one through four made haman-taschen chains, masks and sang songs. Grades five through eight participated in a "college bowl" to test their Purim knowledge, made banners and performed skits. On Shushan Purim, students held a costume contest, and the upper grades held a carnival for the lower school.

First grade and kindergarten celebrated the birthday of Dr. Seuss with a Pajama Day Read-a-thon Birthday Party. Students enjoyed birthday cake, made Dr. Seuss hats and spent the afternoon reading to each other among pillows and blankets.

The middle school students are putting the final touches on their science fair projects. Next week the projects will travel to Arizona State University to be entered in the Central Arizona Regional Science and Engineering Fair. Fourth grade will present their state reports this week. Each student has been researching the state of his or her choice and will present facts about that state and a hand made three-dimensional map and flag.

American Red Magen David for Israel (ARMDI) visited grades four through eight. They described the important work that they do and how we as a school can help and identify with them.

Jess Schwartz Jewish Community High School

North American Association of Jewish High Schools' fifth annual Continental Leadership Shabbaton was held Feb. 25-29 at Camp Ramah Darom, outside of Atlanta. Students Hannah Wasserman, Marc Troisi and Becca Mauiri were selected to participate and were accompanied by Felice Weiner. The theme was Dugma Ishit - "The Role Model." Our students participated in activities in which they reflected upon the role model in Jewish tradition and in their own experiences. The shabbaton was designed to provide opportunities for community building and for the exploration of Jewish identity.

After being accredited in just a few years, the school has embarked on a new endeavor: National Honor Society. The pillars for selection are scholarship, leadership, service and character. Although the selection process was difficult, juniors Ilyssa Adler, Ruth Storch and Marc Troisi were chosen to form our NHS. We have faith that they will set an excellent precedent.

Faculty and students prepared skits for Purim, paraded down the runway in our costume competition and laughed over a beautiful breakfast prepared by Levana Alon and students Ilyssa Adler, Ben Beller, Nicole Graff, Becca Mauiri and Marc Troisi.

Senior Sara Loeb has been awarded a merit-based President's Scholarship in the amount of 75 percent of the tuition to the University of Judaism.

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