Scholarship Dinner Success!

More than 400 school parents, grandparents, alumni parents, alumni and friends joined us last evening to honor school leaders Jane and Mark Wilf and Mark Lederman at the Sheraton Parsippany Hotel. It was a wonderful evening of celebration where more than $270,000 was raised to support scholarships at our school, pay tribute to our honorees and recognize the top Jewish day school education that is provided at our school.

Many thanks to everyone who attended, participated and supported Golda Och Academy students! The Virtual Journal can be viewed online at www.GoldaOchAcademy.org/Dinner.

Our Children, Our Future
Here's our dinner video, which spotlights our Lower School and upcoming renovation project.




Many thanks to the volunteer leadership team who made the evening such a success including: Sheryl Pearlstein and Shelley Paradis, Board Development Co-Chairs; Evie Posner and Gayle Wieseneck, Dinner Chairs; Alan & Elisa Pines, Zygi and Audrey Wilf, Journal Chairs; Shelley Paradis and Joanne Bramnick, Journal Coordinators; and Michele Landau and Shari Broder, Silent Auction Chairs!

Special thanks to all the school staff and administrators whose significant support ensured the event's success!

Jumping Rope for the Heart!

Last year's Jump Rope for Heart was a true success!

Last Tuesday, Golda Och Academy's Lower School enthusiastically kicked off another one of our successful Tikkun Olam Programs, the "Jump Rope for Heart" campaign, thanks to Marci Robinson, a former Golda Och parent, who once again introduced the program.

The actual event will happen on March 1, and we will be asking all of our students and faculty to wear something red on that day. The money we raise for the American Heart Association will help to support vital research and help our children understand the importance of community service and physical activity. We think it's a true win-win situation!

Donations can be made by visiting our Team Page, where you'll find student pages made by our second through fifth graders in computer class. Our pre-K through first grade students also have the chance to make a page at home with parental guidance.

Also, be sure to browse the American Heart Association website for heart healthy suggestions, to find information about nutrition, physical activity, healthier kids, weight and stress management, as well as games and health experiments to do with your children.

A Melaveh Malka Milestone

Our Lower School, with grades pre-K through fifth, celebrates Jewish milestone events at every grade. The beauty of these milestones is that they include family education, which provides our students and parents with the joy of discovery!

On Saturday, our third graders and their families experienced the beauty of the havdallah ceremony, a ritual that symbolically marks the end of Shabbat and ushers in the new week. Families gathered for a student presentation and hands-on art projects, including the making of beautiful havdallah sets out of glass and beads, as well as a spice bag.

Our students were taught how to sign the havdallah blessings, and it was a moving experience to watch all of the students signing in unison. The evening then concluded with a festive and delicious Melaveh Malka.

We want to say Yashar Koach! to our students and offer many thanks to Carrie Zucker Siegel, Gena rosenberg, the entire third grade staff, and Morah Ruti for all of their hard work in creating such a beautiful Jewish milestone and for making great memories to add to our students' extensive treasury of positive Jewish experiences.

Stay tuned for more milestone events with our Lower School students!