For the first time in two years, there was a snow day for the students and staff at the Yeshiva of Central Queens (YCQ). On Thursday, December 17, the sixth day of Chanukah, the children of the New York area enjoyed a snow day. For the students of YCQ, this was not an ordinary snow day that was spent away from school and school activities.
Their morning began with a schoolwide virtual davening and Hallel led by the school’s amazing rebbeim, Rabbi Bernstein, Rabbi Soffer, Rabbi Ribalt, Rabbi Hamel, and Rabbi Nat, as well as eighth grader Yuval Wortzel. The davening was filled with ruach and was a beautiful way to bring everyone together virtually. “Even though we davened using Zoom, we had a wonderful and inspiring davening,” said Yuval. After davening, there were two Kahoot games about Chanukah. The games were led by Ms. Rosenblum and Rabbi Soffer. There were questions about Chanukah dates, events, and details about menoros and Chanukiyos. There was even a question about the name of the Greek translation of the Torah (Septuagint). The Septuagint was created for Greek-speaking Jews in the third and second centuries BCE. “That was a really hard question, but the game was really fun!” said Leora Traeger, grade four. The points were tallied and one class from each grade won a pizza party for their entire class.
During the afternoon, students enjoyed their time in the snow, with parents sharing snow day 2020 pictures of YCQ students for all to enjoy in a Snow Day video. Students built snowmen and even an upside-down snowman, wearing YCQ swag, of course. There was even a snow Chanukiyah with ice candles colored with food coloring.
Later that evening, the YCQ PTO ran a virtual create-your-own-dessert program, where students learned to create amazing winter treats, led by Lizzy Kramer, grade six, and her mom. During the session, there were tutorials and demonstrations on how to make Muddy Buddies and Hot Cocoa Bombs. What a tasty end to a fun day. This snow day was a much-needed break and a great Chanukah gift enjoyed by the entire YCQ family.
