Schools

Touro’s Lander Colleges graduated more than 600 students last Sunday at the 48^th Annual Commencement Exercises, held at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center. Families, friends and faculty came out to honor the graduates in the first in-person ceremony in three years. For a group of students who spent a good part of their college years in lockdown and on zoom, emotions ran high as they celebrated their collective achievements and shared the crowning moment of their academic careers.

A new Sh’mitah initiative is taking place in the Bais Yaakov Academy of Queens. A three-week S’firas HaOmer program entitled “SH’MITAH AND ME – Making Sh’mitah Personal” encourages the girls to internalize the lessons and practice the good midos learned from this mitzvah. After all, Sh’mitah is a mitzvah for farmers in Eretz Yisrael. What does it have to do with me? This is the goal of our program.

Over 300 people from across the communities served by SINAI Schools came out to celebrate the SINAI students at their Unique Inspirations Student Art Show at Teaneck’s RAIN event space. A highlight of the SINAI academic year since 2014, the art show, sponsored by Bear Givers, was an opportunity for students, families, and community members to come together in person and celebrate the students’ artwork after a two-year hiatus due to COVID.

As part of the Names, Not Numbers Holocaust Education Program, the boys in the seventh grade interviewed Mrs. Chaya Small of Chicago, great-grandmother of two YTM talmidim, Yechiel and Betzalel Small. Bubby Small visited the boys in Morah Bryna’s kindergarten class and shared with them her amazing story. In a very child-friendly way, she left the boys spellbound as she put on her kimono and told the boys all about her trip from Poland to Shanghai as a young child and her stay there during the war.

On Monday, May 16, the Yeshiva of Central Queens PTO, honorees, and guests gathered in the YCQ Dining Hall to honor departing faculty members Mrs. Ellen Orlanski, Mrs. Darlene Picciano, Rabbi Michael Ribalt, and Ms. Jenni Chubak at the annual YCQ PTO Supperette.

Yeshiva Tiferes Moshe celebrated Lag BaOmer with an annual bonfire. The Lag BaOmer simchah started with a bonfire and live music. The celebration for grades 1-4 started with Rabbi Bookson speaking to the boys about what the simchah of Lag BaOmer is and why we are celebrating. Rabbi Pollak was then honored with lighting the fire and continued with singing Bar Yochai along with the boys. Rabbi Bookson then led the boys in enthusiastic singing and dancing around the bonfire with music by Yossi Newman. After the dancing, the boys enjoyed soft-serve ice cream from our very own ice cream machine sponsored by the YTM Parents Association. The boys then enjoyed a special pizza and spicy-fries lunch with over 100 pies ordered from Shimon’s and Benjy’s pizza shops.