NEWS! 

 

Since the start of the war on October 7th, our students have been eager to help whenver possible. Our newest immigrant students from Russia and the Ukraine, fleeing another war, have been busy making meals for soliders, baking for displaced families, and creating art to send to their madrichim who have been called to serve in the Israeli army. All of our students have shown their resilience, flexibility, and willingness to help during this challenging time. They have volunteered at local farms to help with food production, collected and distributed food for displaced families, and organized activities and programs for children who were relocated to our area due to the war. We are proud of their determination and dedication. 

 

Part of this is due to two generous annual grants from Ebenezer Operation Exodus of the United Kingdom.  This significantly increased operational opportunities for volunteering.

 

Students as a group select a year-long, sometimes two year long, project or group to work with -- Holocaust survivors, children from low-income communities, people with disabilities at a local shelter, and more, whom they visit at least monthly.  Other volunteering projects include beach cleanup, hiking trail restoration, and food collection for the needy.  Students clearly understand that in volunteering they gain even more than they give.  

 

Thanks to a grant from Youth Aliyah Child Rescue of the UK, students at the Village is making wine from the Village´s organic grapes (instead of selling them to local wineries!)  Regional Winemaker Rami Bar-Maor is overseeing this initiative.  Students are involved in every phase, from pruning the vines to picking the grapes to the approximately 8 month process of winemaking to creating the label and bottling and selling.

 

Winemaking in this region has a history going back thousands of years.  In fact, in the middle of the Village was discovered an ancient wine-stomping area with holes for the juice to go into the vat.  So the tradition is now being renewed.  Our organic merlot is now available for purchase at the village.

 

95.2% of our 2022 graduates earned full Bagrut (matriculation.).  (The national average is close to 50%.)

 

Almost every year a graduate of the Village is selected:

2020 a student was selected again, but there was no ceremony due to the Corona virus. 

Alex Philin, a 2016 Graduate, Lone Soldier, is the 2018 Outstanding Soldier of the Nahal Division.  

Emile Issekov, 2014 Graduate, is the 2017 Outstanding Soldier of the Golani Division. 

Christina Egernet, 2015 Graduate, is the 2017 Outstanding Soldier of the Air Force.

Graduates received their awards on Israel Independence Day in May, at the residence of the President of Israel, along with only 119 others. 

 

"Chaos", the Village´s first Scottish Border Collie, effectively trained in sheepherding, so impressed that the Village purchased two pups in order to begin a Dog Therapy/ Raising Program.  Each pup was given to a student to begin training -- for the first five months students five times a day the students "meet" with their dogs, who they named "Alpha" and "Arieh."

 

The junior and senior high schools were selected as one of 270 schools to receive the "School of Excellence Award" from the Ministry of Education.  The award is based on Academic Achievement, Values, and Social Cohesion.