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It is a truly amazing phenomenon that a person who went through so much personal pain and tragedy can be in a position to offer chizuk to others, but that encapsulates who Rabbi Leo Dee is, and how he is coping with tremendous personal loss. MTA talmidim were privileged to be able to attend Rabbi Dee’s lecture to YU students on Monday afternoon in MTA’s own beis midrash. The room was packed with talmidim from grades 9-12, YU students, and rebbeim as well. It was standing room only, as everyone realized how much they could benefit from Rabbi’s Dee’s moving words.

It was a record-breaking year for the Ezra graduates of 2023 who were able to go spend a gap year in Eretz Yisrael this year. As the staff and faculty celebrated the departures of 18 students to Israel to learn Torah this September, it was clear that Ezra Academy was growing significantly in their mission to help students develop and grow their foundation for a Jewish future.

Rabbi Lapp’s fourth grade at Yeshiva Tiferes Moshe has been learning great all year. The class just finished learning Parshas Shemos and celebrated with a special siyum this past Sunday! The celebration will continue with a trip to the park to recognize their hard work.

Central continued this year’s focus on the Power of Positivity with “Thank You, Hashem” Day on Wednesday, November 29, one of many self-care days that will be held for students throughout the year. The focus for the end of the semester is “Positivity in Action,” a push that has incorporated various activities and outings stressing the importance of a positive mindset into student interactions with the outside world.

Teachers from HALB Middle School, SKA, and DRS attended Day One of the Civic Spirit Educators Institute earlier this week. At the Institute, teachers from all three schools worked with neighboring schools to gain the tools to cultivate student connection to our country’s founding values and institutions, to empower them to become influential in their communal landscape, and to increase knowledge of foundational American texts and ideas.

Lev Chana student Charles Neumann is so proud of his big brother who is in the IDF. Before his trip to Israel to visit him, Charles’ classmates wrote letters of encouragement for his brother and the entire unit. The soldiers were all so excited to receive the letters. And, of course, the students were so happy to see a picture of their letters in the soldiers’ hands!