Our Stories

The Hametz Inferno

Students on both campuses participated in biyur hametz, or burning leavened bread. This is a traditional method of destroying hametz—food with wheat, oats, rye, barley, or spelt that is traditionally prohibited from being owned or eaten during Passover—before the holiday begins.

North Campus students cleaned out their classrooms, lockers, and desks (another pre-Pesach tradition) and set aside any hametz. They then brought it to the parking lot, sang songs and said blessings, and then burned it in a fire pit!

South Campus students participated in bedikat hametz (searching for leavened bread). In pairs, they hid and found a piece of hametz in their classrooms using a spoon and feather, as is tradition. Then, the campus gathered outside together and each class placed hametz into the fire.

Math/Judaics Fusion!

Pre-K has been learning about 3D shapes. In honor of Pesach, they were introduced to the pyramid! Students discovered the attributes of the shape and then viewed pictures of real pyramids in Egypt to connect to Passover. They made their own out of toothpicks and even added details including matzah and pharaohs. Students were so excited that they even made pyramids out of sand at recess!

Kindergarten Seder and Mimouna

Kindergarteners participated in every part of the seder on the day before break. They followed along using their own Hagadot, said the customary blessings, sang songs, and welcomed Elijah. They also enjoyed vegetable soup for their seder meal! 

After break, Kindergarten also celebrated Mimouna! Mimouna is a Moroccan holiday traditionally celebrated the night that Passover ends to celebrate eating bread again. Students ate a special pastry called a moufleta, played a drum called a darbouka, and danced together!

Ritual Item Creation and Homemade Fire-Baked Matzah

Students across grades created ritual items related to their studies. Grade 2 learned about the four different names of Pesach, which symbolize different elements of the holiday: freedom, matzah, spring, and, of course, the passing over itself. They then decorated matzah plates with illustrations representing each of these four names.

Grade 4 studied texts about matzah in their Judaics Studies classes, and then chose quotes from the texts to use to design their own matzah covers. The next day, they made matzah over a fire on the playground!

Grade 1 students used tissue paper to decorate Kiddush cups for their seder tables and brought them home right before break as surprises for their families.

Mirrors to “See Yourself” in the Passover Story

Grade 5 students studied the Mishnaic teaching that we must see ourselves as if we came out of Egypt. They used this idea to study different texts from the Haggadah, reflecting on how each one helps readers draw the connection between themselves and the Passover story. They culminated their studies by creating mirrors to literally “see themselves,” and decorated them with quotes from their text studies and symbolic images reflecting this idea.

Haggadah Companion Books:

As is our MILTON tradition, middle school students wrote Divrei Torah to share with their families over Pesach. After studying texts related to the holiday, students researched aspects of the Haggadah or seder practices that interested them and then wrote reflections. Each grade’s reflections were compiled together into a “Haggadah Companion” book, and the books were sent home for families to enjoy and use to enhance their Pesach experience.