Joyful Shulamith marks Chanukah

Each year, the students and faculty of Shulamith Middle Division look forward to Chanukah and the chance to celebrate the chag together with unbounded joy, fun-filled activities, inspiring communal tefillot and, of course, tasty treats!

The Chanukah Chagiga took place on the second day of Chanukah. Teachers, students, and our guests from Kulanu united in lighting up the dance floor with achdut and ruach.

Upon returning from vacation on the seventh day of Chanukah, after a scrumptious breakfast sponsored by the G.O., students watched a new Chanukah music video and a moving video in which Holocaust survivors spoke in Ivrit about their mesirat nefesh in lighting Chanukah candles in the most trying circumstances. Next, the G.O. — Sela Pollak, Rachelli Wasser, Eliana Eichler and Tamar Davies — performed a song written for the occasion.  Divrei Torah were offered by eighth grader Dvora Golombeck and sixth graders Shoshana Brunner and Chaya Malka Bokow.

After breakfast, students from the sixth and eighth grades travelled to the Long Island Living Center to bring Chanukah joy to the residents.

The holiday culminated on the eighth day with a display of creative energy. A few weeks before Chanukah, the G.O. had announced a contest called, “Do You Wanna’ Build a…?” Students responded by building artistic menorahs, dreidels and more. When the votes were tallied, the winners were Hana Adler of Grade 8, for her funky “Beauty Shop” menorah; First Place to fifth graders Hadassah Chait and Tamar Infergen for a colored bottle menorah that glowed; Second Place to fifth grader Leah Weiss for her traditional and very beautiful gold menorah crafted from paper towel rolls; third place ended in a tie between eighth graders Tamar Herschberg and Dani Prero who cleverly created a menorah from a banana, and fifth graders Elisheva Feinberg, Shira Mintz and Rina Wiseman, who made a giant gold gift wrapped dreidel.

In addition to these in-school activities, each class enjoyed a Chanukah party some time over the chag hosted by their mechanchot. The affection that the students and teachers share with one another is a heart-warming part of the Shulamith Middle Division experience.