Celebrating the Trees During Tu B’Shevat

To celebrate Tu B’Shevat, “The Jewish New Year of the Trees,” Perelman students delighted in fresh fruits, planted seedlings, decorated flower pots, learned about the growing process, played a special thematic Twister, cooked, made bar charts of their favorite fruits, and more. This special day both heralds the awakening of the first blossoms in Israel and serves as a poignant reminder of the importance of environmental stewardship and the renewal of the natural world.

Students came together for a festive Tu B’Shevat seder where everyone had the opportunity to enjoy the Shivat Haminim (Seven Species - wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates), described in the Torah as being abundant in Israel. Our fifth grade students took a deeper dive into the 7 species as they explored the meaning behind the Hebrew and the prayers sang for each one. Fourth grade students took part in a culinary activity in which they used a variety of fruits and vegetables to create different types of salads to enjoy in celebration of the holiday - prepared while speaking completely in Hebrew. 

We also once again partnered with the Jewish National Fund (JNF) to purchase trees, another Tu B'Shevat tradition. Students brought quarters to school to hang on our "quarter collection trees.'' We counted the quarters students brought to school each day to record our progress (each tree purchased from JNF costs 72 quarters)! We were excited to make Israel even more beautiful and green while teaching our children the importance of tzedakah and tikkun olam (repairing the world)!

In celebration of this special day, our students explored environmental activism, history, math, science, and culinary arts while tapping into their Hebrew language skills and having fun!

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