Schools celebrate Sukkot

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.

Phoenix Hebrew Academy

September and October have been very busy months at Phoenix Hebrew Academy.

The third grade class just finished up a unit on plants and seeds. They grew many different kinds of seeds, including watermelon, carrot, squash, corn, pumpkin and peas. Each child observed the life cycle of each of the seeds. The class also painted watercolor pictures with five different types of leaves.

The second-graders are studying the animal kingdom in science, which includes a visit to Petco to see and touch live animals. The children made puppets of their favorite animals and presented them with five facts to their parents. The fourth-grade class wrote fables and read them aloud to the first graders and the first-grade class illustrated the fables. This collaboration is displayed in the office foyer.

On Oct. 4, the entire school went to Great Skate. Everyone had a wonderful time in keeping up the long-standing Sukkot tradition.

The children spent a few hours sukkah-hopping Oct. 5. Students were taken around to different sukkahs to see how they were decorated and were given treats. The experience enhanced the child-ren's appreciation of the holiday.

Childsplay treated the students to a special performance this month. The performance, "New Kid," is a play that deals with many issues regarding immigration, assimilation, different cultures and customs, stereotypes and prejudice, language and communication, bullies and targets and most importantly, transcending differences and celebrating diversity.

The fourth-grade class is studying 288 high frequency words that appear often in the Torah, under the direction of Rabbi Yakov Stolberg. By breaking them up into eight lists of 36 words each, the class hopes to master all the words in a short while.

Jess Schwartz Jewish Community High School

Oct. 18 was the first of five Tikkun Olam Days throughout the school year. Students and faculty volunteered at Maggie's Place, St. Vincent de Paul and Kivel Campus of Care. Faculty and students will spend a full day in one of these four locations, then reconvene at the school for reflection.

In honor of the JSJCHS Celebration of Writing Week, Nov. 1-5, seventh- and eighth-graders at Pardes Jewish Day School, The King David School, Phoenix Hebrew Academy and Gan Yeladeem: The Looking Glass School received an invitation to join the celebration on Tuesday, Nov. 2, to enjoy a reading by featured writer Eugene Bales, author of "Rudolf, To His Therapist." Bales, a humorist from Kansas City, will read and discuss writing from 9-10:30 a.m. in the small sanctuary at Temple Chai.

Prospective students and their families are invited to attend an open house at the school at 1-4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 7.

The King David School

The Arizona Opera performed for the entire school in an interactive assembly. During the performance, the performers demonstrated the various "ingredients" of opera to make "Opera Soup."

Student Council held elections and the candidates gave speeches to first-eighth grades in advance of the elections.

KDS students shone at the Arizona State Fair Student Art Exhibit. Of the 73 students whose artwork was entered, 63 won awards. Twenty-eight students won first prize, 22 placed second, eight placed third, one placed fourth, and four students received honorable mentions.

At three curriculum nights for the various grades levels, parents had the opportunity to learn more about the curriculum and the classroom goals and procedures for the coming year.

Sukkot was celebrated schoolwide, with visits to the sukkah built on the school grounds, as well as some visits to other sukkahs in the community. During Sukkot, three young men from Chabad of Arizona came to assist various classes with their celebrations, describing the meanings of the rituals and symbols of the holiday.

New staff member Rivka Wise joined the KDS family. Wise will be teaching third-grade Judaica studies, eighth-grade Spanish, and will be assisting with remedial Hebrew.

Student photos will be taken on Oct. 27 by Lifetouch Studios.

First quarter ends on Oct. 29. Report cards will follow, as will parent conferences on Nov. 5.

In early November, the eighth-graders will lead students and faculty in a memorial service for Prime Minister Rabin in an assembly for third-eighth grades.

Pardes Jewish Day School

The kindergarten students participated in a consecration ceremony in the sanctuary of Temple Beth Israel. Rabbi Erica Burech of Temple Beth Israel, Rabbi Lisa Tzur of Temple Chai and Rabbi Peter Levi of Temple Chai blessed the children. The children of Levi and Tzur were part of this consecration as they are students at Pardes.

For Sukkot, all families, faculty and children attended the ninth annual Sukkot breakfast.

Students in kindergarten through third grade attended a performance of "Frog and Toad" at the Herberger Theatre.

Students participated in the unrolling of the Torah for Simchat Torah. Judaic studies teacher Brad May led the unrolling and students sang songs to celebrate.

The middle school had many special events in one week. One day students in fifth-eighth grade came to school in wild clothes and hats. The next day was International Day. Students came dressed in costumes representing countries all over the world and brought food from the country each was representing. "Mix-Up Day" took place the next day, with fifth-graders going to sixth grade for the day, sixth graders going to seventh grade and seventh-graders going to eighth grade. Grade eight students went back to grade five for the day. The week culminated in pajama and movie day. The week was a way to celebrate the end of the first quarter grading period and to reward the hard work of the middle school students.

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