Yom Yerushalayim!

Enjoy this video produced by our school Schelichim, Omer and Anais, in honor of Yom Yerushalayim!! 
 

Farewell Shahar and Coral!

This was our last week with the 2012 to 2013 Rishonim participants. Thank you Shahar and Coral for a great year of programs, friendship, and fun! We will miss you!!

An HAMC Drum Circle!

Tzeitchem L'Shalom to Lior and Noga...

Yesterday we said goodbye to our Rishonim, Lior and Noga, after an incredible year of learning about Israel and its culture with them. As a final activity, they planned for us אם כל ההפסקות, "The Recess of all Recesses" where they encompassed all of the awesome activities that we have done over the year into one amazing recess! We ate chummus and pita, relived the Tel Aviv Beach, danced to Israeli music and so much more!  Lior and Noga also put together a beautiful slide show of pictures and videos that capture their time spent with us at the HAMC (see video below).

Lior and Noga, we will miss you so much and we will see you in Israel!  B'hatzlacha Rabah!!

A Visit from a Bedouin

Asima El-Ahib came all the way from her Bedouin tent in Israel to visit our 1st graders yesterday.  She was dressed in a long white tunic with a head shawl covering most of her head and looked JUST like one of our Rishonim, Noga ;)  She explained that Bedouins are an Arabian ethnic group who often travel around the desert and live in tents.  Many Bedouins live in Israel although some have now settled in Bedouin towns, the largest being Rahat in the South of Israel.  After learning all about the Bedouin culture, the students got to try on some "noisy" skirts straight from Israel that jingle when you dance.  They learned an Arabic dance and used their skirts to make some music!

Pesach with our Rishonim

It wouldn't be a Jewish holiday without a celebration with Lior and Noga! Today, during lunch Lior and Noga made all of the students an Israeli Pesach treat of a chocolate spread and matzo sandwich...mmmmmm :)  They also poured each student a class of grape juice in honor of the Seder and everyone toasted to Israel in unison!
Chag Sameach!

Love,
Your Rishonim, Lior and Noga

Orange ya glad we have our Rishonim...

This week Lior and Noga taught the 1st-3rd graders all they had to know about the delicious fruits and vegetables of Israel, with a special focus on oranges, or "tapuzim" in Hebrew.  They watched some funny Israeli commercials for orange juice and then had a blast creating their very own "moody" oranges using real oranges, markers, and string. Take a look below at their crazy creations!

Conserving Water with Lior and Noga

Today during lunch, we learned all about the sparse water situation in Israel and the importance of conserving water everywhere.  Our Rishonim, Lior and Noga, explained to us that in Israel, EVERYONE puts in the effort to save water because Israel is such a dry country; even the Kineret is drying up!  Whether it’s taking shorter showers or never leaving the faucet running, there are lots of ways that we all can help in the effort to conserve water. To top the lesson off, Lior and Noga ran a game where 4 students from different grades had to compete to see who could drink the most water in a short period of time.  The crowd was roaring as they cheered each other on and the students had a blast!

An Israeli Chumus-off!

Today, our Shlichim, Lior and Noga, held a Chumus competition in the cafeteria! Lior represented “Abu Shukri Ha Mikori”, “the original chumus” and Noga represented “Abu Shukri Ha Mikori Ha Yoter”, “the even more original chumus”.  The students learned that there are two different ways of eating the two different kinds of chumus. For Lior’s chumus, the students had to wipe the pita in the chumus and for Noga’s chumus, the students had to spin the pita on the chumus in a circular motion. The room was overflowing with school spirit as each student chanted for the chumus they were rooting for!  

“Rishonim" Beach Party!

This week our Israeli “Rishonim” brought the Tel Aviv beach to HAMC! Lior and Noga converted the auditorium stage into a “flowing ocean” and got everyone into the beach spirit by giving out Hawaiian leis and playing the Israeli beach game of “matkot”, paddle-ball.  Once again, our Rishonim successfully gave us a real taste of Israeli culture!

The “Rishonim Program” brings Israel to HAMC every Wednesday!

We are so lucky to have our new “Rishonim” (young emissaries from Israel), Lior and Noga, at HAMC this year!  Lior and Noga are two young Israelis who will be teaching the students about Israel through fun activities and interactive lessons.  On Wednesday, Lior and Noga introduced the HAMC students to two important aspects of Israeli culture; the Israeli “shuk” (market) and the “Kibbutz”. In the morning, the 2^nd grade classroom was transformed into an Israeli “shuk”, where the students had the opportunity to “buy and sell” a variety of fresh foods and then enjoy the food afterwards. The students really experienced the “hustle-bustle” and excitement that one feels when entering an Israeli shuk!

Later in the day, during lunch and recess, the auditorium was transformed into an Israeli Kibbutz with an English and Hebrew sign posted on the door saying, “Welcome to Kibbutz HAMC!”  The students ate their lunches on special blue trays that people who live on a Kibbutz eat on in their communal “Chadar Ochel”, or cafeteria.  Everyone’s favorite part of the afternoon was dancing the Israeli “horah” to old Israeli music. Everyone joined hands and danced in a big circle. We can’t wait to see what Israeli activities Noga and Lior are planning for next Wednesday!