Yavneh's spacious new parking lot was filled, as nearly 1,000 people arrived on campus to attend the annual YPAA carnival and barbecue. Traditionally, the carnival kicks off the school year, but this year there was even more to celebrate. Yavneh families and grandparents, faculty and staff, alumni, and past and present board members, were invited to celebrate the completion of the first phase of Yavneh's $5 million renovation and expansion project. After opening speeches, guests were treated to an evening of festivities.  Kids and grownups enjoyed a delicious BBQ buffet, music, organized sports, carnival rides, karaoke, and face painting.  The new middle school wing, featuring four sunny classrooms and a state of the art science lab, was open for tours.  

The new wing has allowed the school to reconfigure space in the existing building, making more room for Yavneh's stellar art, music, and fitness programs. 

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FROM STRESS TO SERENITY

From Stress to Serenity:  A Parent Workshop at Yavneh Academy  WATCH VIDEO!

At Yavneh, we believe that parents and educators are partners in the education of our children.  Therefore, we have made parent education a priority this year.  We started the year with a workshop co-sponsored by Ohel of Bergen County given by Dr. Norman Blumenthal on the topic of "From Stress to Serenity- Reducing Anxiety in the Home."  The dynamic and informative presentation highlighted why today's children are more anxious than the youngsters in generations past.  This phenomenon could be related to the fact that children are more pampered, more connected with the internet or even due to the academic and social pressures that are put on children today to compete with others.  Dr. Blumenthal asserted that it is important for our children to experience challenge so that they can cope when facing more serious challenges.   They are living in a new world of internet, terrorism and demands, but they are resilient and with structure at home, they can thrive.  Parents left the workshop with much to think about and implement.  We look forward to more parent workshops throughout the year.

 If you would like to suggest topics or presenters, or would like to get involved in planning future events, please reach out to Mrs. Gayle Clachko or Dr. Aliza Frohlich.

Plans for this year's run are well on their way! Don't miss this great event! Come out and run, walk, and cheer! It's a fun and easy way to show your support for Yavneh!

Click here to register or donate! The deadline for online registration is November 6. 

Click here to create your own family page!

Registration begins at 7:30 am
5K Run at 8:30 am
Breakfast (for runners and walkers only) at 8:45 am
1 Mile Fun Run/Walk at 9:30 am
Awards Ceremony at 9:45 am

Yavneh Academy  Open House Video 2014:5775

The Yavneh Academy Open House for prospective parents took place on Wednesday evening, October 22. Over sixty new families visited booths featuring many different aspects of everything Yavneh has to offer. The parents also attended a variety of sessions ranging from "Q and A with Rabbi Knapp" to "A year in ECD." Sessions also highlighted our Learning Center, General Studies and Judaic Studies Curriculum, Apps used in lower grades, and how we motivate our students.

If you know of anyone who missed the Open House but would like to visit our school, please ask them to contact Judy Friedman at [email protected]  to sign up for a tour. 

Online tour sign up is also available at http://www.yavnehacademy.org/content/request-tour.

ECD WINE PRESS

The Ganon & Gan yeladim did a great job turning grapes into grape juice! They used their feet to transform a solid into a liquid. They now know the special bracha בורא פרי הגפן and they learned the different times that we use grape juice or wine for kiddush & for havdala!

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BUZZING IN ECD

Did you know that Honey Bees have 5 eyes?

Did you know that Queen Bees can lay up to 2000 eggs a day?

The yeladim at Yavneh Academy were "buzzing" with excitement as they learned all about bees in honor of Rosh Hashana! They have been reading fiction and non-fiction books about bees and honey, have been exploring a block of honey that came straight from a hive, and they know the different jobs of a Queen Bee, the Nurse Bees, Worker Bees and  Drone Bees in the bee colonies.

Farmer Ed came from Quiver Farms with his bees and bee equipment, and taught the preschoolers in an interactive way all about how honey is made. The students learned that bees suck nectar from flowers and seal the nectar in their bee cells called honeycombs. They also had a chance to dress up like real bee keepers!

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CLIFF SUNFLOWER VISITS FIRST AND SECOND GRADES

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YAVNEH ACADEMY CELEBRATES INTERNATIONAL DOT DAY

In the classic children's book "The Dot" by Peter H. Reynolds, a young child is guided by her teacher to begin a journey of self discovery to "make her mark."  This book resonates with so many educators that a grassroots movement known as "International Dot Day" has been embraced by millions of students and teachers around the world.

First grade teacher Laya Levine, who first celebrated Dot Day with her students last year, introduced Yavneh Academy to International Dot Day.  This year, all students in kindergarten and first grade participated in the excitement of this global crusade.  As Mrs. Levine said, "It was the most magical experience of my teaching career.  The children felt the magic."

The entire day at Yavneh Academy was dedicated to dots and their message of creativity and courage.  It started when the book "The Dot" was read to the children.  Then, each child created his or her own unique dot on iPads.  These dots were uploaded to a website (http://thedotproject.org/ ) allowing the children to participate in the global experience, sharing with other children from all over this giant dot on which we all live.  Mrs. Levine's class then "Skyped" with children in a school in Texas. The universality of the "dot" message became incredibly real to the children as they shared their dots with children who lived so far away, and yet seemed so much "like us."  

The children also created dots to hang in their classrooms and hallways, both individual dots and large collaborative dots.  The children incorporated movement into the celebration by forming dots with their bodies. Special dot snacks (grapes, kiwi slices, plums) were enjoyed.  Finally, augmented reality was used to make dots come alive, bringing Dot Day to another dimension.  

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FOURTH GRADE SHOFAR FACTORY

Now, thanks to an eye opening experience at the "Shofar Factory", we know a lot more, and every child has a Shofar to blow. Rabbi Paul showed all kinds of Shofarot and taught the 4th graders how to prepare a kosher Shofar.  There was sawing, drilling, sanding and shellacking. The students blew their new shofarot together in loud stirring notes to call everyone to teshuva. 

TODAH L'CHAYALIM!

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SIXTH GRADE JUMPSTART PROGRAM

This year our sixth graders got a "jumpstart" on the school year at our Middle School Jumpstart Program on the day before school.  Entering middle school is an exciting  time for our 6th grade students, but one with great changes.  To make the transition easier, students had an orientation which included meeting their sixth grade advisors and reviewing their schedules and the middle school day. They also had the opportunity to arrange their lockers and take a mini-tour of their typical day.  The orientation highlights were the two programs they did in their advisory groups.  Each student received a fabric square on which to write goals they set for themselves in middle school. All the squares were tied together to create a sixth grade "quilt" of their goals.  They then created human webs with balls of yarn, while each expressed his/her hopes for sixth grade. Once everyone was holding a piece of the "web", they discussed what the web represents- that we are all connected and each of us plays a part in our middle school experience. More importantly, being connected helps them accomplish all the  hopes they shared.   

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SIXTH GRADE ORIENTATION

The students experienced the Middle School Adjustment program where their advisors acted out humorous scenarios depicting challenges faced in school by sixth graders.  Along with seventh grade mentors, the advisors discussed those challenges and brainstormed practical solutions.  Seventh graders then ran a Q and A session with students about middle school.  The evening ended with a fun game of Human Bingo, where students and teachers got to know each other better.  

ASERET YIMEI TESHUVA

Teshuva, Tefilla, U'Tzedakah During Aseret Yimei Teshuva 

The Aseret Yimei Teshuva are a time to focus on personal growth and introspection. In order to enhance that atmosphere in the middle school in the days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, the students are running two campaigns. First, they created and are selling "Forgive Me Grams" from which all proceeds are going to the Tzedakah of the month- L'maan Achai.  This drive highlights both Teshuva and Tzedakah at the same time.  Additionally, a committee has established a "No Lashon Hara" week, where during these days we make an extra effort not to gossip and hurt others with our speech. They handed out items during lunch to stress not talking Lashon Hara during lunch.  They also sent out videos for the students to watch in the evening that highlight the power of speech and how today the internet can be very harmful when we "talk" about others on it. 

Once in the maze, the students had to navigate their way through. Along the way they stopped at the stations and filled in the packet, and at every station the whole team was to take a photo and send it to the Yavneh Office. While navigating the maze, there were bridges, colored areas, and a lot of twists and turns. Whoever finished both packets and got out of the maze were to be crowned winners.

In the end only one team finished both handouts. While they were taking their time finding the answers, the other teams that made it out were playing the human sized board game Gemstone Mining, and eating lunch in the model Noah's Ark. An amazing team building experience, this forced you to work together with people who you may never work with. It was a great way to kick-start the last year of Yavneh Academy. 

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Rabbi Sytner then digressed into tefillah. He pointed out the fact that many times a day, we express praise through our prayers- but there is one time when it seems out of place. After eating foods that are Shehakol, Ha'etz, or Ha'adama, we say the blessing of Borei Nefashot. This composition includes the line, "He who creates many souls with their deficiencies." How, the Rabbi wondered, is this praise?

Rabbi Sytner started the answer by telling the story of his kidney transplant. Years ago, Rabbi Sytner donated one of his kidneys to an Israeli woman named Dorit. She was near death, but the new kidney that Dorit received saved her life.

Rabbi Sytner then explained that if G-d had not created Dorit with a kidney problem, he would not have been able to do such a big mitzvah. In truth, if we are deficient in some area, it is really an opportunity for someone else to help us. Hashem made people imperfect for a reason, and we thank Him for making us that way.

The Rabbi's message was inspiring for all of the listeners, especially since it was against the backdrop of the Days of Repentance. We thank Rabbi Sytner for sharing his beautiful lesson!

The students prepared for the session by researching how each of their chosen apps can be integrated into lower school classrooms.  They went so far as to prepare sample lessons and curricular ideas for the teachers. An onlooker in the room could feel the excitement and respect was shared between the students and teachers.  Each time the timer indicated that it was time to move to the next session, the teachers were so engrossed in their learning that they had difficulty breaking away.

During each five minute period, the teachers were taught the uses of an app. They were given a booklet and pen to take notes.

"Yavneh's own take on a 'flipped' classroom." The students were given a few days to prepare with the iPads that have been distributed to each individual student in the middle school. The students created examples, how to videos, handouts, or whatever they thought was needed to enhance their presentation.

For the middle school students who participated, this was a new experience that allowed them to reverse roles with some of their former teachers. The teachers were eager to learn, and interjected their own ideas to the presentation. This wasn't a lecture format; rather, it was an informative conversation. As the students explained each app, the teachers voiced lesson ideas and thoughts which could be brought into their classrooms. This was a great way to expand experiences, while additionally contributing to professional development of the teachers at Yavneh Academy.

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