Dear Parents,
I am pleased to inform you that this week summer arrived. We are experiencing global warming first hand.
Here are some of the activities we had over the week.
gap year in israelOn Monday-We decided to redecorate our olam (hall) in order to make it cooler for our students. In order to do this we brought in two graffiti artists to help our students create a mural on the wall. We were both excited and nervous about seeing the final creation. It appears that we underestimated our students as the final result is amazing!
On Tuesday-We decided to be brave and to go with the students to the Crazy Mary Horror Maze. Personally I am very afraid of these things. However, our students showed great courage and most of them made it to the higher leaves in the maze. The lowest level is 1 and the highest is 9. The majority of us made it to level 6. It was a good experience for our students as despite the concerns of some, they were there as one group and had to help each other overcome their fears.
For our weekly field trip we went just outside of Jerusalem to do the hike called Sataf. We learned about the ancient Arab villages that once existed in this area and their ingenuity in accessing the natural water flow. We made our way to a pool of water that was built many years ago to collect the flowing water. We were very lucky with the weather and it was a beautiful day for a hike. One of the students said that he was finally able to experience the land by foot and it made him feel closer to Jerusalem. We also learned about what plants we can eat during this time of the year so we had some leaves for lunch and continued on.
gap year in israelOn Wednesday the military track went to Yad Lashirion in Latrun, a memorial place for the armed unit of the IDF. We went there with a former tank commander who happens to be our counselor Hagai. We learned about the different tanks and how they evolved over the years. The most exciting part was to learn about the Merkava 4, the best Israeli tank developed to date. Danielle said that she never realized how important the armed unit was until she came to Latrun.
In Volunteering this week by Shaine Fisher
I work in a kindergarten with physically and mentally impaired students and each day is a new adventure. Whether it’s playing, napping, or doing physical therapy. My favorite part is getting to know each of the children and how to interact with each of their personalities, I’m very grateful for this learning opportunity.
gap year in israelNext Week-
On Sunday we are going to a Masa event called “Preparation for College”. The event is designed to teach the students how to advocate for Israel on college campuses.
On Tuesday we are planning to travel to Sderot. We are going to learn about the city, its population, get to know the residents and the dilemmas they face.
