Shushan Purim is traditionally one of the most anticipated days at Yavneh Academy, with costumes, activities and many other festivities that culminate two weeks of Adar celebrations. This year, with the coronavirus already having cancelled Yavneh’s Purim chagiga (relegating the eighth grade boys to a smaller group to read the Megilla that they prepared), Shushan Purim was Yavneh’s first day without live school.

Fortunately, Yavneh’s amazing faculty very quickly swung into action. The middle school Chinese Auction was done online, with over half of the middle school students participating via everyone’s new best friend, Zoom. Musician Dov Katz ran chagigot for each grade online, complete with scavenger hunts and Kahoot trivia contests. Students in all grades were able to take part in a costume contest by sending in their pictures of themselves in costume and then voting online for their favorites, and students in the lower school and early childhood had opportunities to take part in various Purim-related games throughout the course of the day.

On Thursday, as would have been the case under normal circumstances, Yavneh went back to learning. Schedules for online learning were made in every division, with both live sessions and structured learning experiences. Additional activities included a lunch and learn in middle school, girls’ hockey practice online and a live cooking class for students to help them prepare for Shabbat. Friday morning began with a communal tefillah online and all divisions had the opportunity to join onegs with live music during the day to help get into the spirit as everyone headed into a very unique Shabbat.

Yavneh continues to daven for those whose health has been impacted by the coronavirus, and that Hashem should bring a quick end to this situation. In the meantime, Yavneh continues to exert every effort to make sure that students are learning, interacting and staying upbeat during this challenging time.