At OCA, we are dedicated to promoting a personal relationship with Am Yisrael, Eretz Yisrael, and Medinat Yisrael. To that end, we came together to commemorate Yom HaShoah and Yom Hazikaron, and then pulled out all the stops to celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut as a school community!
Yom Hashoah & Yom Hazikaron
On Yom HaShoah each class learned about the day in a way that was appropriate for their age group. Through the sharing of stories, discussions, videos, and the upper Elementary and Middle School tekes, the day was meaningful and solemn for OCA students.
On Yom Hazikaron, upper Elementary and Middle School students commemorated Israel’s fallen soldiers and victims of terror in a moving ceremony, which included stories and videos of the individuals’ lives and contributions.
The tekes also included:
צְפִירָה – Siren and moment of silence
תפילה לשלום המדינה – A prayer for the wellbeing of the State of Israel
תפילה לשלום חיילי צה”ל – A prayer for the wellbeing of the IDF soldiers
יִזְכֹּר – Yizkor
אֵ-ל מָלֵא רַחֲמִים- Kel Maale Rachamim
The tekes concluded with the singing of Hatikvah and Ani Ma’amin.
May their memory be a blessing.
Yom Ha’atzmaut – A Day of Celebration & Learning
Elementary & Middle School – Israeli Innovations
On Wednesday, April 26 we celebrated Yom Ha’atzmaut and Israel’s 75th birthday! After Tefillah and Hallel, our 4th graders proudly performed the Daglanut, showcasing the Israeli flag in an artistic display, and the choir sang signature Israeli songs.
Middle School students learned about the importance, Kedusha, and centrality of Eretz Yisrael, and started their day with Torah learning.
Students then participated in a variety of activities focusing on Israeli inventions and innovations, including:
Drip Irrigation – Students learned about agricultural inventions in Israel. Each student planted seeds and added an irrigation device to a plant.
Solar Panels – After learning about the invention of the solar panel, students created their own personal solar oven, and made s’mores outside using the heat of the sun and their homemade “oven”
“Guess Who?” – The famous “Guess Who?” game was invented by an Israeli! Using props, students played a human “Guess Who?” game!
Waze Navigation – Using a compass, students located special destinations on a map of Israel.
Krav Maga (K-5) – a Krav Maga instructor talked about the history of Krav Maga. Students learned about the mantras and some moves!
Kibbutz – Students learned all about the history of kibbutzim in Israel and made fresh Israeli salads
Bar Ilan – Based on the משכן the מדרש showed that the ultimate purpose of the gifts of this world is to serve ‘ה. In that vein we saw how רבנים and computer scientists at Bar Ilan University harnessed the power of the computer to make over 200 million words of ספרים searchable. The students then had an opportunity to complete a word search of queries of the database, followed by a game of Hebrew Bananagrams to find their own words.
(Early Childhood Center) ECC Explored Israel Through The Senses
ECC students hopped on board a flight from America to Israel holding their Israeli passports and flags. Upon landing, everyone sang Hevenu Shalom Aleichem!
Then, students traveled through Israel exploring a variety sensory activities:
- Visiting the Dead Sea and conducting a science experiment about how salt makes items float.
- Building a model Kotel and writing notes the children placed inside the Kotel bricks.
- Making homemade hummus using a mortar and pestle to grind the garlic and then mixing it with chickpeas.
- Enjoying a juice bar, which included מיץ תפוזים (orange juice) squeezed by the children, themselves.
- The children also explored a variety of art materials as they decorated a dove, crowns and a Magen David.
- Students ended the day visiting the shuk and planting in the OCA Kibbutz garden!
