Days 4 & 5: Shabbat in Israel
Shabbat Shalom! Today was our first and only Friday in Jerusalem and we sure did make it special. We started our day with a trip to Har Hertzl (הר הרצל), the largest cemetery in Israel for the burial of the country’s leaders and political figures. It is also a place of burial for the thousands of Israeli soldiers who lost their lives in the wars of Israel and the victims of actions of terrorism. We even got to visit Hannah Senesh’s grave, which was recently changed after a 70 year old mistake was discovered by an 18 year old student... Read More
Day 3: Masada and the Dead Sea
Today we started our day by waking up in the Bedouin tent! We ate a yummy breakfast there and got on the bus and headed to Masada. At Masada we hiked to the top of the mountain, did tefillah, heard our tour guide’s family connection to the Holocaust, took two minutes of silence to remember the Holocaust during the siren, and learned a bit about the history of Masada. We then ended our Masada tour by taking the cable car down. Next, we got back in the bus and drove up to the Dead Sea. There we had lunch and... Read More
Day 2: Exploring the South
The day started with an early wake up at 6:30am (12:30 in our minds because of jet lag.) We started by going to an overlook of the Negev to do tefila. It was mind blowing! We then went to a museum dedicated to Ilan Ramon. We learned about Ilan Ramon and how he was the first Israeli in space, and how he and six other astronauts died in a tragic accident. After the museum we went on a hike at Ein Avdat with some amazing scenery and a waterfall. Then we went to Sde Boker, the town where David Ben... Read More
Day 1: Arriving in Israel
Hello everyone! We started the day on the plane. We had two meals and a lot of fun hanging out with our friends. When we got to the airport in Israel, we passed security, took a COVID test and then went on the bus to take another COVID test! Everyone tested negative-phew! After that we drove all the way down to Mitzpeh Ramon where we checked into the hotel and ate dinner. After that we looked at a map and got a run down of our plans for the next two weeks in Israel! We are looking forward to traveling... Read More
2nd Grade Blog: 4/8
During Writer’s Workshop the second grade authors have begun a fiction unit! We began by reading and immersing ourselves in series books. We dove into Henry and Mudge and as readers we first studied how Cynthia Rylant writes her series books. The students discovered that Cynthia starts writing each book with the main characters and settings, that she keeps the main characters throughout the series and that there is either a problem and solution or an event (similar to a small moment) in each one. Next we started with prewriting! The students began by brainstorming their main characters and created... Read More
3/11/22 Second Grade Classroom Blog
2nd graders in Judiac Studies started the week with a big concert for the Holocaust survivors. The survivors enjoyed the interactive activity 2nd grade created for them. Sharing their knowledge about Purim, performing songs and daily Teffilot. The children were amazing. 2nd graders learned about the importance of the relationship with elderly people and we all had a blast. Thank you Week of 3/9/22 Pajama day was a blast! The kids had so much fun and said that they wished they could have pajama day every day! During writing we wrote about our special stuffies and lovies and made up... Read More
Interview with the 2021 Covenant Grantees: Jews of Color Engagement, Within and Beyond our Walls
The New Class: Interviews with the 2021 Covenant Grantees in The Covenant Foundation’s online journal, Sight Line. Hannah Senesh Community Day School – To create a culture of belonging for Jews of Color by developing curricula, community programming, and a multicultural camp through the lens of equity and inclusion. What sparked the idea for this grant project? “Community” is more than our name—it’s our identity. Since 1995, Senesh has been committed to creating a community that reflects the evolving Jewish world where all Jews feel a sense of belonging. This work has matured as we’ve deepened relationships and intentionally worked to... Read More
Senesh Receives Prestigious Grant
We are thrilled to share that Hannah Senesh Community Day School is a recipient of a Signature Grant from the Covenant Foundation of $135,000 over the next three years. This grant will fund our initiative: Jews of Color Engagement, Within and Beyond Our Walls, which aims to create a culture of belonging for Jews of Color by developing curricula, community programming, and a multicultural camp through the lens of equity and inclusion. Senesh is again in the company of 302 other Signature Grantees and 94 Ignition Grantees that have received Covenant Grants during the past 30 years. (We had been a recipient... Read More
First Grade News
Dear Families, It was so lovely to get to welcome you all into our building to celebrate our first grader’s learning so far this year. It was truly wonderful to walk around the room and get to greet you all and express how proud we are of them—better yet, we got to see how proud they are of themselves as they presented their portfolios. In case you missed it, photos from the event can be found in this album: Shabbat Shalom, Talia, Ilana, Liz, and Noa
Kindergarten Blog 11/12
The biggest event of the week was certainly getting to see our Fourth Grade Buddies again. Activities included Fourth Graders reading stories to the Kindergartners, playing a game of Sharks and Sailors, and Kindergartners teaching the hand motions to and singing This Land is Your Land. We look forward to seeing the Buddies again soon. We continue to love singing each morning and are working on singing one of our favorites, This Pretty Planet, as a round. Here is a link to Tom Chapin singing it. We listen to this frequently at snack time. This Pretty Planet In preparation for... Read More