It sure felt welcoming to walk into the Junior High of Bruriah on the first day of school. Eliana Glick, an eighth grader from West Orange, said the feel of the day made her happy to be back at Bruriah! The entire wing was transformed to depict the theme of the year “JHB Forever Family.” After some time spent on admiring the decor, the day continued with davening, welcome speeches, locker setup, chumash and math assessments, and yeoman distribution. Shaindel Gelbfish, the school’s new director of programming, facilitated a great team building activity where every girl received a stack of colored strips with her own name printed on each. The girls walked around finding things in common with as many peers as possible, switching strips in the process. After the allotted time, the girls divided by grade and created a large chain with the strips they received from others. They are looking forward to hanging this tremendous chain in the davening and multi-purpose room. To end this family-themed program, the girls worked in partners to create “homes” out of graham crackers and marshmallow fluff. Before heading home, everyone enjoyed a delicious salad bar. Said eighth grader Tali Pinsker of Hillside, “Orientation set the tone for the coming school year.”