The first few days of Chanukah at JKHA were filled with engaging and fun activities that brought out the joy and meaning of the holiday. Fifth graders were hard at work planning and running an amazing Chanukah carnival for lower school. They came up with the ideas for their booths and put them together. From Chanukah candle Plinko, wrapping paper challenges, menorah ring toss and more, the students had a blast and loved winning prizes! Then came an exciting Chanukah-themed scavenger hunt for early childhood and lower school. Classes went on a hunt for Chanukah items and Chanukah-related challenges to complete, and take their photo to mark the task. In place of their monthly Shabbat assembly for the division, students enjoyed a Chanukah-focused Shabbat assembly, filled with lovely Chanukah songs and dancing.

Throughout Chanukah, middle school will be having a Chidon Yisrael competition. Students competed in class to answer Israel-focused trivia. Two student winners from each class will move on to compete in a division-wide oral competition to be crowned the Chidon Yisrael champion. In keeping with the focus on Israel during Chanukah, JKHA sixth-eighth grades took part in an interactive program focusing on Israel’s innovations as well as Chanukah treats. They first learned in class about some of Israel’s innovations and inventions including drip irrigation, cherry tomato planting and pillcam, a camera that you swallow in pill form that travels through your body, taking pictures of your digestive system as it goes. Students then headed to the Naomi Rosenfeld Kehila Center as they created their own versions of these innovations. They replicated the pillcam by programming ozobot robots to follow a color-based code and travel around a map of the digestive tract. They also built their own drip irrigation system. They also enjoyed “Hatikvah” karaoke, and a sufganiyot blind taste test!