COVID-19 Can’t Stop Yom Haatzmaut Festivities at GOA

Grace Saperstein ‘22

Since last March, COVID-19 has taken a lot of joy out of many celebrations across the world. This school year has been anything but a normal year but Golda Och Academy has still managed to provide fun and engaging programming. Yom Haatzmaut, which took place this year on April 15, celebrates Israel’s 73 years of independence. GOA was able to find unique ways to incorporate fun into this joyous holiday in school. ​

The festivities began with a falafel lunch. During 7th period, students had the option to choose from a number of activities to participate in. These activities included a Mock-Kot Tournament, an art activity, improv activity or making an Israeli music video. To add to this fun, during 8th period, students participated in a Kahoot about Israel that was a great educational and entertaining experience. 
    The Mock-Kot tournament was a great way to take a break from the stressful school day and bond with students from other grades. The tournament was led by the Student Council and took place in the gym and Ulam. Students played in teams of 2 and were asked to create fun team names. 
Sophomore Sophie Fischer participated in the Mock-Kot tournament and said, “I thought it was very fun and I really enjoyed myself! I loved being able to play with friends in other grades.” 
The final few rounds got very competitive, leaving everyone in suspense. Congratulations to champions Oren Ramer and Inbar Adiel from Team Tobi Boyd! 
Junior Jonathan Raport chose the Israeli music video activity and had a blast.
“It was so fun to participate in and help edit the video,” Raport said. “Mr. Mittleman set up a green screen and later had us edit ourselves onto different backgrounds to make it look like we were in Israel. After we filmed, Mr.Mittlemen let us edit the video together and the end result turned out great!”
The Kahoot game was also a big hit for everyone. Created by junior Elan Wasserman, juniors Ilan Feldman and Pacey Ely hosted the Kahoot and helped make the event engaging and entertaining. 
“The school-wide Kahoot was pretty unexpected. It was a lot of fun and I think it was kind of a community effort, working together to figure out answers and kind of put our heads together. It was rewarding and fun,” sophomore and Kahoot champion Betty Spinrad said.
In order to allow remote students an opportunity to participate in this joyous day, Mrs. Watson ran a Zoom art activity as well.  
“I participated in a meaningful, fun, and engaging art program connecting Israel independence to colorful drawing. I enjoyed nice conversations with my fellow participating artists,” sophomore Russell Moss said. 
    Yom Haatzmaut this year was definitely one that will never be forgotten. Despite the COVID-19 restrictions this year, GOA still managed to make the most out of this year’s Yom Haatzmaut and organize an enjoyable day for the students.