~is a day off from school . . . Adam Lavi
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? מה חדש
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The SAR Dinner
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 This past Sunday evening we celebrated the school's 40th Anniversary at our annual dinner. Parents, grandparents, friends, faculty, and alumni helped make this year's dinner one of our most successful. This year unlike any other, we held the dinner in our high school gym and the program in the high school auditorium. Everyone was pleasantly surprised at the school's transformation into an elegant venue.
What was most impressive, was the warmth and love for the school that permeated the building. Our esteemed principals, Rabbi Harcsztark and Rabbi Krauss, our magnificent honorees, Bettina and Spencer Waxman, Elissa Shay Ordan and Daniel Ordan, Abigail Feinerman Glass and Nancy Lerea, and the wonderful choirs from both the Academy and High School-- delivered a meaningful program that was a great tribute to the school and to our community. A cornerstone of the program, was the video created for the dinner entitled 'Transitions'.
'Transitions' can be seen by clicking on the link provided here. It is the creation of three seniors Sammy Ballan, Doni Bloomfield and Gideon Wieler, who spent hours together with Head of Security, Gilad Mor, to create a video that would be reflective of true SAR experiences. It was a resounding success and we are sure they have a future in movies. We thank each of them and faculty advisor Simon Fleisher for their unique contribution in making the evening extra special.
Kol Hakavod to everyone for their participation and involvement in supporting the scholarship fund and the children who benefit. We also are grateful to the many people who worked so tirelessly on the event including, Hudi and Lawrence Askowitz, Dinner Chairs; Ludwig Bravmann, Fundraising Chair; Sandra Greenstein, Judy Friedman, Susan Tessel and Randi Carrey, Journal Chairs; Avigyle Gorodischer and Lily Weisz, Decor Committee; Wendy and Sidney Ingber, Sheri and Stanley Raskas, and Ina and David Tropper, Grandparent Chairs; and our entire Parent and Alumni Committees.
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Snow and Tell
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First graders wrote creatively about snow.
In the snow
I like to go sledding
I like to make snow angels
I like to eat snow
I like to run down the hill
in the snow.
-Leora Krasner
I like waking up and seeing a bright sunshine, shining in the sky, and seeing a whole lot of snow. As I walk down my stairs I smell the delicious smell of my Mom making mint tea and hot chocolate. After I drink my tea, I go to my piano and play some music.
-Anna Nuchims
Snow is here.
We will play everyday
until there is no snow.
Well. where does it go?
I don't know.
Well what I do is
wait
until
snow comes again.
-Talia Krausz
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Grade 6 Math Competition
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Fifty sixth graders sat for forty minutes to answer many unusual math questions for the Math Olympiad Test last Thursday organized by Morah Pearl Taback. The sixth graders look forward to this competition every year and answer five tests, competing against 800 schools across the country. The students are praised for accepting the challenge of trying unusual math problems. Here are a couple of examples of what they tackled:
Time: 5 minutes
Emma has $1.85 in her pocket, all in quarters and nickels. Her father gives her another quarter. She now has the same number of quarters and nickels. How many nickels does Emma have in all?
Time: 7 minutes
After the multiplications are done, the product of 3 factors of 7 (7 x 7 x 7) has a ones digit of 3. Suppose the product 7 x 7 x 7 x...x 7 x 7 contains exactly 50 factors of 7. After all the multiplications are done, what is the ones digit in the product?
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Chess Tournament
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On Sunday, January 25th, SAR hosted the Tri-State Chess Tournament which drew fifty-eight players representing twelve different schools. Tri-State is an organization which establishes competitive chess programs in elementary schools throughout the Tri-State area.
In the two sections that SAR had a team competing, we won 1st place in the 2nd-5th Grade Novice Division and was the 2nd Place Team in the K-1 section behind MDS.
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~is white . . . Jacob Sternberg
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| חדשות בכיתות |
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Did you ever wonder what life was like during Colonial times? Our first graders presented a first-hand account on Colonial Day. They applied the knowledge gained about the thirteen original colonies toward creating their own colonies. Following a presentation of their work, a hands-on workshop with activities that colonists of old had engaged in were enjoyed by SAR's new colonists and their families.
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The fourth grade has been working hard learning about Colonial America. For Colonial Day, the fourth graders created a video in conjunction with Morah Rivka Heisler to teach their parents about colonial history. The students used graphic organizers to organize the information they knew and database research to supplement their learning. Both were then compiled into a script. The students selected images to accompany the script and narrated it themselves. Kol Hakavod to the wonderful fourth graders!!!!
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~in Japanese is yuki . . . Judah Goldman
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It's That 'KIND' of Week |
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This is a thank you we received from B'nai Baghdad for the beautiful Chanukah cards and tzedakah contribution of K-4. They donated their tzedakah money to purchase an electric menorah for B'nai Baghdad.
I just wanted to send this note to say thanks to you and all the children of SAR Academy for the Chanukah cards and the gift of Menorahs. I really appreciate your leadership as a teacher and the generosity of the kids. All of you have made Chanukah here in the war zone that much more special and have touched our hearts.
Please print the attached for the students and pass on my appreciation.
Happy Chanukah! Vr, Rich, B'nai Baghdad
Very Respectfully,
Richard E. Makarski
CDR, MSC, USN, MBA, MS ITM
Chief, Medical Plans
Information Management Officer
Multi National Forces-Iraq, Baghdad
MNFI Surgeon's Office
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| ~is for building snowmen . . . Davida Krauss
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| איפה חדש : Being at the Presidential Inauguration |
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My Trip to Washington D.C.
I was on the Mall. You would think everybody in Washington D.C. was there. They probably were. We had just heard the swearing in of Vice President Joe Biden. Nobody could believe this was happening. After eight long years, Bush was finally leaving office. Nobody could comprehend it. But it was true. We had made it. And we are prepared to make the next 4 or 8 years count!
When Obama was sworn in as our nation's 44th president, it seemed everybody in the world held its breath. And when he said "America" you could feel a change go through everybody there. For a second, nobody could believe it had actually happened. Nobody could believe it was real. Then it exploded. Some people, like my mom, were sobbing with joy. Others, like me, were applauding. But everywhere people were just showing how happy they were to be there that day, that time, and there is no better sound.
I was just shouting and cheering, because, well, who wouldn't? Barrack Obama was the new President and Bush and Cheney were has-beens. Change is coming to America. A good kind of change. Change we need!
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We Are The Future
Joseph Block, 3Y and Isaac Block, K4 
"This was the first inauguration to have a special event for kids and it was exciting to be at the Kids Inaugural: We Are The Future Concert. We also went to two Jewish parties for the inauguration and at one we met Mayor Bloomberg. We were at the Capitol for the Inauguration itself which was amazing to watch in person."
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~is great to have when we have a big test . . . Erez Major
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דבר תורה : Parashat Bo
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By: Danielle Kinches
Grade: 4
This week's parsha, Parshat Bo, continues the description of the ten plagues (makot) that Hashem brought down on the Egyptians when Pharoah refused to let the Jews escape from slavery. As I read through the three makot in this parsha, I noticed that for some of the plagues, Moshe raised his hand to the sky to begin the plague, while he did not for others. I looked back on the previous parsha, and noticed the same pattern for the other makot: for the plagues of wild beasts, cattle disease, boils and killing of the first born, Moshe did not raise his hand to Hashem, while he did for the plagues of blood, frogs, lice, hail, locusts and darkness. It made me wonder, what is the difference between these two groups of makot? Why would Moshe need to reach out to the sky for one group and not for the other? I discussed this with my family and my Rabbi and I realized that the makot for which Moshe did not raise his hand are things that are not so out of the ordinary and could happen in the course of everyday life. However, the makot for which Moshe did raise his hand were things that Moshe would never be able to do on his own and needed to ask for Hashem's assistance to make the plague happen.
Just like in our own lives, when there are things that we cannot do on our own, we look to Hashem to help us. As we have learned at SAR, it is important that we raise our hands to Hashem through learning Torah, davening, doing good deeds and giving tzedakah every day. Once we do our part, Hashem will be there for us whenever we raise our hands to Him to help us accomplish what we cannot do on our own.
Shabbat Shalom.
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~is cold . . . Stephanie Sokol
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| This Week In Sports
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 7th & 8th Grade Girls Basketball:
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~is fluffy, white, and soft . . . Josh Hyman
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PHOTO OF THE WEEK! |
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"Hot Cocoa Anyone?"
This past Tuesday, third graders that completed their parashat Vayera homework over winter vacation joined Rabbi Krauss for a Hot Cocoa party! At 11 am, the children gathered in 3rd grade, started stirring their hot chocolate and answered trivia questions asked by Rabbi Krauss on Parashat Vayera. Yasher Chochachem to all of them! |
~is like whipped cream . . . Leah Baron
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| Reduce, Reuse, Recycle |
N-2 is looking for an aquarium for their classroom. If you have an aquarium or other realted accessories that you would like to donate please email kanovs@saracademy.org
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| Friends, Partners, and Allies With Israel
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 The Israeli Consulate has launched a project of designing a stamp to honor Israel at 60. Students in grades 6 & up can submit designs representing the theme: "United States and Israel: Friends, Partners, and Allies."
The United States of America and Israel have been great friends and close allies ever since Israel's independence was established in 1948. Our two countries have many common attributes and share ideologies such as democracy, economic freedom and environmental preservation.
As a country formed on the basis of immigration, Israel can relate to American history and how learning to live together and realize one's dream is a driving force in life.
This year Israel celebrates her 60th birthday. This competition provides a great opportunity to express creativity through art and design, while also learning about the strong connections and similarities between our two countries.
Stamps are important symbols of a nation. They reflect the past, present and future, in a range of topics such as sports, culture, nature and politics. We invite you to design a stamp representing US-Israel shared values and accomplishments.
For complete details, visit www.israel60stamp.com
Feel free to bring in your designs to school to Mrs. Jaskoll. She would love to help you. |
| Community News |
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Tefillin For Sale
Two mitzvot with one act. Support Israel and purchase kosher tefillin from Israel at a wholesale price. All profits from the sale go directly to the sofrim and the tefillin makers in Israel. Contact Rabbi Drelich for details email drelim@saracademy.org or 718-548-1717 ext 1212.
Special "Jewish Week" Forum on Organ Transplantation
Featuring SAR parent, grandparent and patron, Blu Greenberg, who will relate how her family made the decision to donate their son JJ's organs upon his tragic death; with medical background provided by Elaine Berg, President/CEO, NY Organ Donor Network, moderated by our Honorary Trustee, Rabbi Charles Sheer of HealthCare Chaplaincy (HCC). Program co-sponsored by HCC and The NY Jewish Week. No fee; refreshments. At UJA-Federation, 130 E. 59th Street, Sunday, February 22nd at 7PM.
Shabbat Shira Celebration
Saturday night Feb. 7th @ 7:30 at Sons of Israel 155 Elliot Avenue Yonkers (1 mile
north of Riverdale/Yonkers border)
Interactive concert with Drum Cafe and Noah Solomon
Reservations online at www.soisrael.net
or call 914-7515246
$15 in advance $20 at the door.
RJC TEEN EVENT
ROPES CHALLENGE & ROCK CLIMBING!!
New Jersey Rock Gym is recognized as the area's premier indoor climbing center.
- Over 12,000 square feet of climbing terrain
- 4,000 square feet of dedicated bouldering
- 41 top Rope Challenge stations
When: Sunday, Feb. 22nd, 2009
Bus leaves RJC @ 11:30 AM.
Where: New Jersey Rock Gym
Who: Grades 8-12
Lunch is included
For info Call Noam Schneck @ 240-393-9119
http://www.njrockgym.com/index.html
RJC Youth Scouts
Sunday - February 1st @10 AM
The second Youth Scout meeting will be taking place next Sunday!
Thank you to the many parents/kids who brought much excitement to our first meeting.
If you were not able to make it, we strongly encourage you to join us next Sunday!
All youth meet in the gym for:
Special Scout's Skill Training Session,
Super Sports activity & much more!
Parents meet in the Hashkama for:
- Registration
- Discussion of 2009 Scouts Schedule,
- Learn more about what you can do as a volunteer for the Youth Scouts program
Tu B'Shvat Afternoon Program @ RJC
Enjoy Shivat Minim Tasting, stories, songs and more!
When: February 7th
Shabbat Afternoon 3:30-4:30
Who: K-1st, 2nd-4th
Sensational Sundays @ RJC
"THE STRIKING VIKING STORY SHOW"
A sketch comedy which uses music, puppets, and comic actors in performing a
hilarious one hour show!
RJC Youth Members: $12 for 1, $15 for 2 or more
Non-members: $15 for 1, $20 for 2 or more
Date: 02-08-09 @ 11AM
Where: Hashkama
Contact: Rjcyouth@gmail.com
Junior Cong Presents:
Super Sunday Snow Tubing @ Campgaw Mountain
IF You love riding down steep snow slopes at super high speeds then this is the trip
for you!
When: Sunday, Feb. 22nd, 2009
Bus leaves RJC @ 10:45 AM
Bus returns to RJC @ 3PM
Where: Campgaw Mountain
Who: Junior Cong Trip (Grades 3-7)
Cost: $40 before 02/11/08
$50 after 02/11/08
(Lunch and Bus fee is included)
Please RSVP to Andrew Bochner @
dreman510@aol.com
http://www.skicampgaw.com/index.html
Harlem Globetrotters
Young Israel of White Plains has secured discount tickets for the Harlem Globetrotters as they make their NY appearance during winter break on February 10th at 7PM at the County Center in White Plains. Please contact Lawrence Askowitz at askowitz@gmail.com for tickets and information.
Sunday Sports League/Softball Sign Up
1st-3rd Grade Coed League
4th-6th Grade Boys League
4th-6th Grade Girls League
Sunday, February 1st
9am-11am @ Westchester Day School
856 Orienta Ave., Mamaroneck
$125/child in 1st-3rd grade
$150/child in 4th-6th Grade
(payable to SSL)
Shiur Tonight, Thursday, January 29th at Young Israel of New Rochelle
Join us tonight, January 29th at 7:30pm at Young Israel of New Rochelle, for an inspiring shiur to be delivered by the world-renowed speaker and author, Rabbi Paysach Krohn. The title of Rabbi Krohn's shiur is "Emunah and Bitachon in Difficult Times." The program has been organized and sponsored by the Meller family to commemorate the yahrzeit of Zack Meller z"l.
Shlock Rock and the "Big Game"@ RJC
This Sunday, February 1st. Enjoy hot dogs, wings, chips and drinks while watching the BIG GAME on a 12 foot screen with a special pre-game concert by the one and only Shlock Rock!
$5 in advance or $10 at the door. Pre-game show starts at 5pm. Call the shul office at 718-548-1850 for reservations and more info. |
| Condolences |
Condolences to Dovid Nulman on the passing of his father, Lou Nulman.
Condolences to the Fix family on the passing of Nachman Fix. |
If you are interested in sponsoring the Chadashot in memory or in honor of someone special, please call Sim Herring at 718-548-1717 ext. 1233 or email him at herris@saracademy.org.
If you would like to submit a Mazal Tov or a Condolence, or general Community News, please email chadashot@saracademy.org
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SAR Academy
655 W. 254th Street Phone:718-548-1717
Riverdale, NY 10471 Fax: 718-601-0082
www.saracademy.org | |
A healthful hint from the school nurse. Cold season is upon us. Don't forget to wash your hands, bring your tissues to school, and make sure you get enough Vitamin C. If your sniffles are really bothering you feel free to stop by the nurse's office.
