Purim was enthusiastically celebrated early throughout all the divisions of JKHA in advance of Purim. Maccabiah competitions took place in middle school, with Purim-themed challenges throughout the day culminating in team songs and banner presentation. Early childhood festively paraded around the building with the Bnot Sherut and danced away at a chagiga. Lower school students became fashion designers for Project Runway—teacher edition! Working in groups they designed fabulous Purim outfits for their teachers who later strutted down the runway showing off the creations with a panel of “expert” judges.

A highlight for the early childhood and lower school Purim celebration was a “Masked Reader” contest. A take off of the Masked Singer and in conjunction with Read Across America week, teachers and administrators disguised themselves in inflatable costumes and competed in an obstacle course, then students watched a special book read as they tried to guess who it was up on the stage.

A special Purim Moadim L’STEAMcha was enjoyed in middle school as students designed, programmed and prepped robots in Purim costumes to then “walk” the runway. Students unleashed their creativity and technical skills as they combined learning, design, programming and performance for a truly memorable celebration. The fashion designers dressed the robots as a character from the Megillah, the engineers programmed the robot to get it ready to strut its stuff, programming it so that it can move in a way to show off its costume, and the broadcasters crafted a dynamic news broadcast as the robot made its grand entrance.