Greetings from our Kindergarten Buddies

Dear Megan, "Have a good flight and be sure to rest."

Love, your buddy Emilee

Dear Shelby, " Have a fun time in Israel."

Love, Sophia and Amelia

Dear Aaron, "Have a fun time and think about me."

Love, Brian

Dear Alana, "Enjoy the airplane and have fun."

Love, Natalie and Miriam

Dear Micah, "Have a fun time and eat some
delicious Israeli food, especially muffins."
Love, Jack and Ethan

Dear Rebecca, "Have a fun time."

Love, your buddy, Melody

Dear Daniel, "Hope you like Israel.

Think about me." Love, Ian

Dear Daniel, "Have a really fun time."

Love, Henry and Ethan

Dear Slater, "I will miss you." Love, Eli

Dear Samantha, "Have a fun time." Love, Eleanor

Dear Ricky,

"Enjoy the good food, and watch the movies on the airplane,
have fun and bring us something."

Love, Omri and Daniel

"Hi Nikta. Be safe in Israel." Love, your buddy, Amanda

Preparing For The Opening Ceremony

Here are the students preparing for the opening ceremony, in front of the entire student body of David Bloch Elementary School. The VBS Day School students selected a song from the movie Toy Story, "You've Got A Friend In Me". Following the song and dance, each student will introduce him/herself in Hebrew, and invite his/her host to the school stage. Then together they will recite a Hebrew poem of friendship. Here is Susan reviewing the song and dance with the delegation of students.

Look who is traveling to Israel

"I'm very excited to go to Israel for the second time. I hope that my host family will do fun things and show me some cool places."-Slater Girocco

"I'm really excited to go to the Dead Sea and see my buddy Shaked. This is my first time going to Israel and I hope this will be the best experience ever."-Shelby Silver

"I'm so excited to go to Israel, I want to leave now so I can meet my buddy Nitzan."-Samantha Suman

"I'm excited to be going to Israel, my second home. "-Ricky Toren

"I'm so excited to go to Israel and stay with Omer and his family. I also can't wait to go to Jerusalem and the Dead Sea."-Micah Rosen

"I can't wait to go to Israel and be with Tamar. I really want to see all of Israel's wonders."-Nikta Mansouri

"I can't wait to meet Itay, my host in Israel."-Daniel Pachino

"I love Israel and know this will be an amazing experience. I can't wait to see my buddy Yuval."-Megan Taban

"I'm looking forward to meeting new people and seeing new things. I just can't wait to go to Israel."-Daniel Jacobs

"I'm so excited to go to Israel since I've never been out of the country."-Alana Schall

"Israel is like a flower waiting for the right time to thrive and for it's seeds to spread and multiply."-Aaron Drew

"I'm so excited to be able, for the first time, to go to Israel and step into my homeland."-Rebecca Katz

"I am really excited to travel to Israel and especially to see Michael, who will be my host." Michael Marom

"I'm so excited to see all of my new Israeli friends."-Yassi Youdai

Preparing for our Journey

Two months before our journey begins the student delegation meets to prepare for their experience in Israel. Each student has a journal to begin to record their thoughts, hopes, dreams and lessons about their upcoming trip. The journal will include the student entrees before their trip, during the trip and their conclusions following the trip.

Israeli geography and the political situation were the topics of our first meeting. We continued our conversations about life in Israel, similarities and differences, we played a myth or reality match up game about Israeli culture, watched and discussed a pictorial guide of the ancient and the modern sites of Israel, and enjoyed a power point presentation about a past VBS Day School delegation to Israel. One meeting was spent on strategies to problem solve while in Israel, dealing with homesickness, communication with home, what to pack, and partnership guidelines and policies.
To the left is a picture from the special math class with Mr. David Selski. Mr. Selski taught the important conversion skills we will need in Israel, converting Celsius to Fahrenheit, kilometers to miles and shekels to dollars.