Let kids learn how fun Hebrew day school can be at RHA
Issue link: https://rhacademy.uberflip.com/i/797601
Our school-wide Buddy Program is a perfect entry point. Our littlest learners are paired with older students who read to them, march with them through the streets on Yom Ha'Atzmaut and cheer for them when they run for Terry Fox. Each year brings a new buddy so that our young ones get to know the bigger kids and feel safe and welcome no matter where they go in the school. By grade 3, our students are learning public speaking and are working as reading buddies to the younger grades. In fourth grade, students are acting as recess buddies and helping engage kids on the playground. In grade 5, leadership skills are a mainstay of an RHA education. Each morning RHA students gather for Daily Physical Activity (DPA) — a 20-minute exercise program that gets kids energized for the day ahead. It is the job of grade 5 classes, divided into groups, to lead and manage the younger students in fitness, sports and dance. Fifth graders also lead our Peacemakers Program on the playground. With clipboard in hand, they help resolve conflicts, they make sure no one is being excluded and they report any incidents to the teacher in charge. Leadership continues every Shabbat, when grade 5 helps lead Shabbat services. We love to watch each of the students develop their own sense of Judaism and embrace practices in ways that are meaningful to them. And finally by grades 6, 7 and 8, our kids are school leaders, participating as always as older buddies, and also as members of Student Council who not only plan activities for the student body but also play an integral role in our Character Education Initiative. Eleanor Roosevelt said this: "To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use you heart." There is a lot of heart at RHA. Our vision at RHA is to produce generations of original minds and compassionate leaders. That means leadership has to be taught right from the start Leaders-In-Training N I N E