Tu B'Shvat Higiah...

"Tu B'Shvat higiah chag ha ilanot..." Tu B'shvat has arrived; the holiday of the trees!
The Tu B'shvat spirit was flowing through the halls of the HAMC yesterday as the entire school attended an all day Tu B'Shvat program in the auditorium.  When the students walked in, an authentic Tu B'shvat Seder was waiting for them, with a table adorned with the Sheva Minim (7 Species); wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates.  Everything tasted delicious!  The younger grades created delicious edible "dirt" and planted seeds in real soil, followed by an energetic scavenger hunt to find the materials to "grow a tree".


Later in the day, our middle school had some special visitors from Lester Senior Housing.  Mrs. Knapp organized a beautiful art project using colorful paints and white canvases to create different nature scenes (flowers, trees, sunsets, etc.).  The student's artistic talents emerged and the final products were incredible (see photos below!).  Before the seniors left, Moreh  Moshe joined the students in serenading our visitors with some spirit-filled Tu B'shvat songs.  Everyone had a great time and it was a wonderful celebration of the day.

A Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration!

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. day, our students put together a celebratory and educational program about one of the most prominent leaders of the African American Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s.

As we prepare to celebrate Tu b'Shvat -- the New Year of the Trees -- our head of school, Moshe Vaknin, tied the two holidays together by reminding our students that Martin Luther King Jr. was passionate about the Torah and that many Jewish leaders still talk about their support for the Movement to this day.

We hope you are as proud of our students as we are!