Jewish Studies – YOM IYUN – May 2018

On 15 May 2018 Yavneh College held its annual Yom Iyun day of learning, connected with the upcoming festival of Shavuot.  Almost 80 highly enthusiastic pupils took part in learning in a Yeshiva/Sem style setting.  This gave them the opportunity to access completely new texts, which they had not previously studied at school.  The day was enhanced by the participation of a number of Rabbis and Rebbetzins from the locale.

The day began with an introductory Shiur given by Mr Lewis, on the topic of the connection between Megillat Rut and Shavuot. This encouraged the pupils to grapple with the meaning of the text.

The pupils were divided into year groups and then further into Chavrutot (learning pairs) in which they prepared for the different styles of Shuirim based on source sheets which were provided by the various speakers. Each speaker then shared ideas and messages based on the source sheet with each group in turn, as well as answering any questions from pupils.  The source sheets contained tasks to stretch and challenge the pupils to grapple with unfamiliar texts and to formulate possible answers.

Each of the speakers was superb and the pupils were very fortunate to have this opportunity to learn from them.  The obvious buzz of engagement by all pupils demonstrated just how successful the day was.

The Yom Iyun concluded with some inspiring words from Mrs Simon, the Head of Jewish Studies, who also presented each pupil with a certificate to record their participation in the learning programme.

Feedback from those taking part was very positive and pupils reported how much they benefited from the experience.