Students came to school on Tuesday dressed in kachol v’lavan (blue and white) in honor of Yom HaAtzmaut and spent the day learning, singing, and experiencing life in Israel. The day began with an incredible tekes (ceremony) . As is the tradition at CJDS, Grade 8 students performed a daglanut (choreographed Israeli flag dance). The impressive drill culminated in the creation of a tunnel of flags to honor anyone present who was born in Israel, lived there for an extended period of time, or served in the Israel Defense Forces. A stream of people - both students and adults - came from all corners of our gym to walk through this tunnel to the front of the room where they led the community in "Hatikvah."

JK, Kindergarten, and Grade 2 students sang the Israeli songs, "Yesh Lee Degel" and "Shevet Achim Ve'achayot" and this year's adorable performance by the new CJDS Poms Squad pepped up the crowd. The entire gym was clapping along, especially to their cheer with the words "We are CJDS and we're here to stay. We're #1 and we'll blow you away. We're proud to be Jewish and we've got the might. Kahol v'lavan, Am Yisrael Chai!" Todah rabah to Kindergarten Teacher Moriah Bradley who leads the Poms Squad, choreographing the cheers and the Grade 8 daglanut ceremony.  

In the afternoon students rotated between Israeli-themed stations: Our Beit Midrash was transformed into Shuk Machane Yehuda, a bustling shuk in Jerusalem, where students purchased produce and snacks with Israeli currency. Students traveled to Tel Aviv where they played matkot (Israeli beach paddle ball) and Gaga. Middle School Science Teacher Alex Randhava led an engineering challenge designed to honor Israel's dedication to improving infrastructure in Africa. Students were challenged to build a structure that could support a small mass above the ground with a goal height of 18 inches and armed with beams only 12 inches long. The fourth station was "Ta'am Israel: Taste of Israel" where students learned about the Israeli organization, Leket, which rescues nutritious surplus food for those in need. Students enjoyed choosing vegetables and herbs to assemble their own Israeli salad.

Todah rabah to our faculty and staff for creating another celebratory and meaningful Yom HaAtzmaut for our students to enjoy!