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 On Tuesday, June 8, the Mishnah Enrichment Shiur at YCQ celebrated the siyum on Maseches Bava Basra. Every Tuesday night, Rabbi Ophie Nat, JHS Rebbe, hosted a virtual Mishnah shiur for sixth through eighth grade boys. Rabbi Nat read and explained the mishnah and answered questions. Prior to COVID times, the class met in person in the YCQ shul. This year, the shiur had to meet virtually. “This is my third year in Rabbi Nat’s shiur, and I was disappointed that we weren’t able to have the shiur in person. Nevertheless, it was still a great experience and the learning was fantastic. We were so lucky to be able to have a siyum in person,” said eighth grade student Noam Traeger.

Despite this year’s Celebrate Israel Parade being canceled due to COVID, the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York (JCRC-NY) still held the marching competition – virtually – for the over 200 groups who put on such a great show every year!

TORAH FAIR was an incredible success at Yeshivat Ohr Haiim this year! Under the guidance and tutelage of their devoted rebbeim and moros, under the direction of Rabbi Peretz Hochbaum, Associate Principal of Yeshivat Ohr Haiim, the children created beautiful displays illustrating the history, meaning, and breadth of a range of Judaic topics. Each group project included a three-to-five-page research report, as well as a Display Board or 3-D Art Project. Topics included the 39 M’lachos of Shabbos, Lashon HaRa, Biographies of Tzadikim, The Mishkan, The Ten Makos, Maasei B’reishis, Noach and the Teivah, Sh’mitah, T’filin, and Tz’nius.

On Wednesday, June 9, MTA celebrated the Commencement Ceremony of its 103^rd graduating class at Congregation Keter Torah. The program opened with inspiring words from Head of School Rabbi Joshua Kahn, who also acknowledged the 27 families who were experiencing their last MTA graduation as their youngest or only son graduated. These families have been part of the MTA community ranging between four and 14 years and will be greatly missed.

On Tuesday, June 1, the Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls members of the second-year cohort of RISE (Reach with Independent learning Scholars and Enriching Experiences) took an exciting and educational trip to United Skates of America. The girls enjoyed a hands-on STEM experiment about the role of gravity in roller skating. After a delicious lunch, they enjoyed putting their learning into practice as they skated around the rink!

Due to COVID-19, a lot of students were not able to have a normal school year this year or last, and many schools had to teach over Zoom, due to the restrictions with masks and social distancing. The Yeshiva of Central Queens (YCQ) eighth grade graduating class of 2021 was not able to go on their annual Philadelphia trip for Seventh Graders last year, so YCQ made it possible for the eighth grade students to go this year to Philadelphia for a full day. The seventh grade also visited Philly last week for their annual trip.