Thai Boxing

The students are learning how to defend themselves in various situations. At the same time the instructor is teaching them about the values of politeness, respect and love for others.

Ceramics

The students are working with various techniques which they learn from an instructor. The students greatly enjoy the work and the things they create which they take home to their families, or give to their friends or keep themselves.

Painting

The activity is led by two charming instructors who teach the students with great warmth and love.
Every student benefits from personal attention and learns new and interesting techniques of painting, coloring etc. At the start of the year three students from the village won valuable prizes in a painting competition based on the subject of the Holocaust.

Technoda

Two groups take part in this activity which takes place at the Technoda Center at Givat Olga. One group studies physics and the other one studies electronics. The students get individual attention from the instructors, take part in interesting experiments and have wonderful experiences.

Running

There are 15 students in this activity. They train in running at the Hadassah Neurim Youth Village and, through running, they experience etiquette, responsibility and self-confidence. The students achieve impressive results, win first place at numerous competitions and experience a sense of success. A student in the older group won a bronze medal and a silver medal in last summer’s world Maccabiah Games.

Drums

The drumming teacher works individually with each student, about 30 minutes at a time. The students enjoy the activity very much and wait impatiently for the next lesson.

Keyboards

The students at the village play classical works by the great composers under close supervision by the teacher David Stein, who treats each child as if he or she was his own. The students frequently play for visitors to the village.

Riding to Success - Cycling

The activity is run by ECI Ltd., which funds the activity. The activity takes place across the country, as off-road cycling, on the Israel National Trail. The students are escorted by an instructor from the village, a national service volunteer and a professional cycling instructor, on weekly rides in the area. ECI employees join the students once a month for rides along parts of the Israel National Trail. The students get to know parts of the country which they would otherwise not visit, enjoy the country’s landscapes and learn a lot about the country.

Choir

The Pirhei Ben Yakir choir meets regularly and records songs at a professional studio. The choir performs frequently for visitors to the village, and at special events throughout the year. Last summer the choir performed in Jerusalem, as part of the 80th anniversary celebrations of the Jewish Agency, and won great praise.

Creating with Keshet

The activity is operated by representatives of the Keshet broadcasting company, and with the support of the Israeli Spirit organization. The students are allocated cinematic projects by the instructor and, during the week, they are asked to shoot, direct and edit video clips they devise themselves. The best clips are shown on Channel Two. Last year a clip called Dreams, made by Ben Yakir students, won first prize in a national competition held at the Jerusalem Cinematheque.

Ethiopian Sun - Performing Arts

Three talented students are representing Ben Yakir well in a regional drama group.  The activity involves working on self-confidence, stage work, diction, correct and fluent speech and self-expression. The group will put on an impressive musical towards the end of the year.

Amharic Music

The students collaborate with the teacher on their roots music, which gives them a familiar and homey feeling. The activity offers the students an important connection with their roots, tradition and culture which they grew up with.

In addition to these activities the students at the village take part in soccer, basketball and gym activities, as they wish, during the hours of activity at the boarding school.

Written by: Odelia David-Hai, activities supervisor