Israel celebrations, graduation ceremonies

East Valley JCC Day School

In the fifth- and sixth grades, classes focused the month of April on Yom Hashoah. After individually researching WWII, the Holocaust, Hitler, Europe, concentration camps, geography and statistics, they were able to create a science board to display all of the information they had gathered. They also had to research three children of the Holocaust and find out their stories.

Third- and fourth-graders focused on book reports. They were required to fill out many different book report forms focusing on climax, conflict, resolution and cause and effect. They also had to pick a project to display their book visually. One child created a comic book board, another made a diorama out of clay and some made puppets.

The first- and second-graders have been honing their writing skills by creating and illustrating different types of books. They've also been working together to create several styles of class books. Each child will take a book home on the last day of school.

An all-school concert and potluck was held on May 26 in conjunction with graduation ceremonies.

Jess Schwartz Jewish Community High School

The high school has decided to become a part of the Adopt-a-street program and has adopted 52nd Street from Greenway Road to Bell Road. The school is responsible for cleaning this area a minimum of twice per year. The junior class tikkun olam day was May 20; students worked in the morning to avoid the afternoon heat.

On May 25, the school hosted an athletic program banquet, a special evening of awards and recognition for students, athletes and coaches who participated in the co-ed soccer and co-ed track and field teams.

Today, May 27 - which is Lag b'Omer - the high school participates in a two-hour sports field day with seventh- and eighth- graders from The King David School.

Students will participate in stations with challenging physical activities, play games such as Frisbee and volleyball, have an exhibition game for students and faculty and compete in a slam-dunk contest.

The King David School

The King David School conducted a special Yom Hashoah program at morning prayers on May 5. On May 9, Holocaust survivor Gerda Klein, author, historian and speaker, gave a powerful presentation for students in grades 5-8.

A combined Yom Hazikaron/Yom Ha'atzmaut program was held for students in grades 1-8. Eighth-graders led the students in memorial readings, and the community shaliach, Eitan Ben-Ami, made sure all students enjoyed a festive Israeli Independence Day.

The third grade visited the ASU Planetarium and viewed the Mars exhibit.

Second-graders received their first book of the Torah (Genesis) in a special ceremony on May 26.

The entire staff cordially thanks the parent volunteers in PTA for a week of teacher appreciation.

The seventh- and eighth-grade classes were invited to the Jess Schwartz Jewish Community High School for an afternoon of fun on Lag b'Omer.

The sixth-grade class presented an evening program titled "Finding Our Families, Finding Ourselves." It was a special evening of research, recognition and remembrance.

Rabbi Nevo Zuckerman from Tarbut v'Torah Community Day School will begin on July 1 as Judaic studies coordinator.

Stanford 9 testing took place for grades 2-8 the week of May 16. On May 20, grades 5-8 enjoyed a pizza lunch at Cactus Park, sponsored by student council.

Future events include the annual artwalk/talent show evening in early June and eighth-grade graduation on June 8.

Pardes Jewish Day School

Following are Pardes student accomplishments for the 2005-2005 school year.

The fifth grade participated in the science competition at the County Fair. Pardes students won 18 out of 21 categories and will split a monetary award with another school. The funds will go to the science department. The three top winners were Leah Motzkin, Daniel Cohen and Calyn Shahon.

Sixth- and seventh-graders participated in a school science fair that was judged by three outside individuals. Emily Boyd took first prize, Ali Feder took second prize and Jessica Abrams took third prize.

Three students placed in the top highest range for the state algebra contest: Aaron Blitz, Jacob Schaffert and Alex Raskin. Schaffert was also honored for being in the top 10 percent of the state.

Two students received scores with distinction on the SAT's taken as part of the Johns Hopkins Gifted Program: Emily Boyd and Jacob Schaffert.

Future City Contest - Arizona Engineers: Jacob Schaffert, Michael Silverman and David Campbell participated in the Future City Contest. The boys won "Best Use of Water" and "Most Liveable City." They were also honored by the Valley Forward group (engineering and environment) and asked to show and explain their project.

Fifth-grader Ian Gunn had work honored and published in a poetry anthology for students. Five other students were also honored for their work.

Eighth-grader Marissa Galin's design for a stamp called "Colors of Israel" was accepted as one of four in a nationwide contest that will actually be made into a stamp for Israel within the next year. The contest was run by BabaGanewz, a publication by the Avi Chai Foundation. Marissa and her mother will be flown to New York to be honored.

Phoenix Hebrew Academy

Holocaust Remembrance Day was commemorated May 5. Teachers and students viewed Holocaust posters and talked about the Holocaust and why it is important that Jews remember what happened.

In science, the second-grade class did experiments on sound. The first experiment was sound traveling through solids. The boys and girls put their heads on the floor, the classroom door and their desks to see if they could hear sound. The second experiment was homemade telephones. They "called" each other and talked.

On May 12, the school commemorated Yom Ha'atzmaut - Israeli Independence Day - with a gala celebration. Under the direction of Margalit and Yair Shlomi, grades 5-6 presented a meaningful program. They began the assembly with a brief memorial service honoring the memory of all Israeli solders who died defending the state of Israel. They later transitioned into the Yom Ha'atzmaut segment.

First-graders had a great time on their field trip to the Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum. They learned about rocks and enjoyed a treasure hunt, and each student came home with a rock.

The school is very happy with the accomplishments of the eighth-graders. As a reward, they will be going on a two-day trip to Southern California. Mazel Tov to Tal Avrahami, Rachel Dorsch, Mark Eisenberg, Yaffa Gadaev, Drew Gray, Daniel Khaimov, Heather Schwabinger, Brandon Welner, Daniella Yagudaev, Sonya Yagudayev and Ilana Allayev on your graduation.

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