Thursday, December 10, 2015

Kadima Welcomes Delegates from Ort Yad Singalovski

Kadima Day School is a proud participant in the Jewish Federation’s Tel Aviv/Los Angeles School Twinning Program, connecting schools in Los Angeles and Tel Aviv. This powerful initiative has impacted 60,000 students, parents, and faculty through jointly prepared curricula, teacher trainings, and delegation exchanges. Visiting students live with a host family and study history, literature, language, pluralistic Judaism, Zionism and the sciences at their partner school. The resulting connection between the students transcends the distance between Israel and L.A., transforms school cultures and creates a shared Jewish identity and destiny.
For the past several year's Kadima has partnered with the Ort Yad Singalovski school in Tel Aviv as part of  this program.   This week we welcome 11 delegates and their chaperones who are staying in Kadima homes and celebrating Hanukkah with us, in addition to having an educational and cultural exploration of Los Angeles. This program is being hosted by the Kadima 8th grade with involvement by all of the middle school faculty and administrators, and coordinated by our very own Rabbi Chaim Singer-Frankes and Yardena Shamir. 

This week alone, all students - including Kadima's 8th grade and the delegates, met in Santa Monica upon the arrival of our guests and enjoyed breakfast at Mishon Tephilo, a historic synagogue located in Venice and enjoyed the sights and sounds of one of our local beach communities.  

On Monday, students began their day on campus and departed on a field trip to the California Science Center. Tuesday brought opportunities for tzedekah work with delegates volunteering their time at SOVA, one of the local food pantries providing free groceries and services to local individuals in need, regardless of age, ethnicity or religion.  Yesterday, all 8th grade students and delegates traveled to the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and the Museum of Tolerance.  Today, students are on campus participating in Middle School morning services and then are learning about the diversity within the Los Angeles Community.  Later in the day, they will be visiting historical downtown Los Angeles, Chinatown, Hollywood, and other communities of the city. 

If you have not yet had the chance to meet the delegates, and you are on the Kadima campus, please be sure to say hello.

Connection to Israel, the language  and the culture of Israel, and of the Jewish people, is an important part of Kadima's educational mission as we grow students who become leaders in the Jewish community for years to come.