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Donna Klein Jewish Academy
January 29, 2016 - 19 Shvat 5776 
Weekly Parsha (click here)
Shabbat Candlelighing 5:42 p.m.  
Dear DKJA Community,  

Our
week started out with a very full calendar! The celebration of Tu B'Shvat was a highlight as the entire school was filled with song and celebration. Please read a summary of this important day in the article below by Mrs. Yafa Levit, Principal of Lower School Judaic Studies.

Complementing the joyfulness of the holiday was the pride in participating in The Great Kindness Challenge, and the accompanying spirit week (students are pictured enjoying 'Hippie Day'). Just seeing students engaging in acts of kindness, and bringing in donations that will go toward building a school in Kenya, all with pride on their faces, impacted me more than I anticipated. We truly are a school with a Lev Tov (a kind heart!).

Compassion was further demonstrated on Wednesday, designated as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. This day was
 
commemorated in a unique way right on our campus. Claire and Emanuel G. Rosenblatt High School seniors, who will participate on the March of the Living later this year, were honored to be a part of a unique event presented by the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County. Every year, the group from our community carries a Torah scroll throughout their journey. They are joined by 10,000 peers from throughout the world on the life changing journey from the Auschwitz to Birkenau camps.

On this year's trip, the Torah carried by our students will hold a unique and powerful significance because it was recently rescued after being stolen by Nazis 70 years ago. Students will have the unique opportunity to experience the completion of its restoration and ceremonial return to use in Poland, thanks to a new relationship between March of the Living Southern Region and the Jewish Heritage Foundation, both based in Boca Raton.
 
"To our knowledge, we are the first March of the Living (MOL) group to complete a rescued Holocaust Torah in Poland, where the four Holocaust survivors accompanying our students will complete the last four letters," said Mr. Jack Rosenbaum, Director of the MOL Southern Region, which is based at the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County west of Boca Raton. "We are ecstatic that, once this Torah is made kosher there, we will be reading from it at our prayer services and carrying it between the camps as well as when we celebrate Israel Independence Day in Israel!"

Please watch the brief video clip to see our students shine! Kol HaKavod! 
 
Throughout grades K-8, age-appropriate education on this subject was provided. In many Hebrew classes, students wrote down the information about children in the Holocaust, such as how old they were when they passed away, what year they were born, their name, and the concentration camp they experienced, when applicable. Morah Tiki Magril assembled a table with the information, and participants in the exercise put their our own identities on index cards on the table. A representative candle for each name also was placed on the table. May we go from strength to strength.
 

Shabbat Shalom,
Helena Levine
Head of School

Office of Institutonal Advancement Events

DKJA BUSINESS AND NETWORKING GROUP
Join the BANG group on February 4th at 7 p.m. at AKOYA at Boca West Country Club. RSVP to [email protected]. You must pre-register  to gain access at the guard gate. Jonathan D. Louis, PA will sponsor this month's event.  
 
GRANDPARENTS' & SPECIAL FRIENDS' DAY VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Grandparents' & Special Friends' Day is Friday, February 12th. If you would like to volunteer to assist in registration or in another capacity, please contact Volunteer Coordinator Talia Klein at
[email protected]
 
WE HOPE YOU DANCE...THE ULTIMATE DANCE PARTY  
Reserved Tables are filling up for the Benefit Ball and Auction on February 20th. CLICK HERE to sign up and sit with your friends, or reserve a table today. We would love to have a donation of a vacation home. If you or a friend have one, please consider donating it to the auction. It makes for an exciting auction item. 

Highlight of the Week
Tu B'Shvat at DKJA!
By Mrs.Yafa Levit, Principal of Lower School Judaic Studies

In many Jewish sources, we find comparisons between man and tree. "A person is like the tree of the field."- Deut. 20:19.

Why is a person likened to a tree? A tree needs four basic elements in order to survive: soil, water, air and sun. Human beings also require the same basic elements.

The holiday of Tu B'Shvat marks the birthday of the trees. In honor of this holiday, our Kindergarten students dressed up very creatively as trees, and they paraded through the hallways of DKJA and Zale Pre-school, accompanied by many of their parents. They sang lively songs, and one in particular about the almond tree, Hashkaidiyah. The almond tree blossoms in Israel at this time of year.

The Kindergarten students took much pride in this parade, showing off their creativity. This parade has been a long standing "tradition" at DKJA. Thank you Morah Betty Maikhor and Morah Dina Siegal for organizing such a beautiful and meaningful Tu B'Shvat parade.

SAVE THE DATES - HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL PERFORMANCES MARCH 5TH-6TH
Tickets are in the process of being printed, and we will start sales at the beginning of February. Please access the Eagles' Net to for information about sponsorship opportunities, Playbill ads and other relevant information for the play, which will be presented on March 5th and March 6th in Zinman Hall.
PARK & LEARN & MINYAN..PARENTS WELCOME!
Parents are invited to explore how Torah connects to our everyday life, and makes our lives more spiritual and more meaningful, at Park & Learn. It provides an understanding of what is inspiring our children. Park and Learn takes place every Friday morning (when school is in session) from 7:45 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. in the MAC. Click here for details.
 
Parents and loved ones are also invited to the DKJA Minyan, Monday through Thursday mornings after drop-off, from 7:45 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. in the MAC.  Click here for details.

Both programs are led by Rabbi In Residence Baruch Plotkin.

REGISTER NOW FOR FAMILY MITZVAH DAY
FEB. 21ST
DKJA's 12th Annual Family Mitzvah Day takes place on Sunday, Feb. 21, 2016, beginning with a light breakfast and kick-off at 9:30 a.m. in Zinman Hall. Following a short information session and gathering, Family Mitzvah Day activities will commence. Most projects take place from 10:30 a.m. to approximately 1:30 p.m. This event is open to the entire DKJA family, including students, parents, grandparents, alumni, faculty and administrators. Participants can register for a variety of activities. Minimum registration is $18 per family, and additional donations are welcome to support the project. Visit www.dkja.org and access the information and registration form through the Eagle's Net.
 
Please register immediately, as assignments are made on a first-come, first-served basis. Over 750 volunteers participated in last year's event.

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Donna Klein Jewish Academy
561-852-3300
[email protected]
http://www.dkja.org