On Sunday, Sept. 10, Hillel Yeshiva held its second Annual Back to School Picnic at Firemen’s Field in Oakhurst NJ. The large crowd was filled with about 250 elementary school students and their families this year which was an even greater turnout than last year.

Children and parents enjoying the Back to School Picnic at Firemen's Field.

Pizza and snacks were enjoyed by all and an Igloo ice cream truck handed out frozen treats to happy attendees. A fun bus was also there for the kids to play and do gymnastics. They had an arts and crafts table and carnival style games for the children to enjoy. Families all joined together in various sports that were held on the field throughout the day as well.

Sunday's eager crowd lining up to enjoy Igloo's ice cream truck at the event.

The event was organized by Hillel Yeshiva’s dedicated PTA. It was open to the whole elementary school in a large outdoor location with plenty of room for all to partake in the activities. The event began at 1 in the afternoon and lasted until 4 PM. Event organizer Danielle Shemueli said most people stayed the full three hours, some even longer than that. 

Last year Randy Cohen and Sara Heany organized the first picnic which was deemed a success as well.

With beautiful weather, the event was bustling with parents and children. It was a place where school friends could reconnect after their Summer break and new friends were made as well.

Carnival games enjoyed by the children at the picnic event.

With all of the new families making the move to Deal, NJ, it was a nice place to introduce one another and to get to know Hillel’s teachers and faculty as well as children meeting their new peers. Everyone at Hillel was eager to meet the new members of their small yet growing community.

“The purpose of the event is to kick off the school year in the right direction,” explained Shemueli of Sunday’s event, “Many old and new families get a chance to socialize and have fun together. The beauty of the parks in New Jersey are a real draw for the people who live here already as well as the new families. It’s nice to show off the wholesomeness of our community and to get together at a beautiful venue.”

Children playing sports at the event.

Shemueli believes the PTA will begin hosting more family events like this one in the future.

“The benefit of a small community is that everyone knows each other. Wherever you go, you see familiar faces,” said Shemueli of the benefits to being a part of Deal NJ’s year round community, “It does feel like one big family that supports each other and loves each other.”

Diane Mizrahi, Jessica Esses, Stephanie Kaplan, Vicky Khaski, Gillian Harari, Sally Safdieh, and Marilyn Serure are some of the other PTA members who also helped make the day a success.

Frieda Schweky

Frieda@sephardic.org

Frieda Schweky is Sephardic.Org's official community events reporter. For inquiries and to get involved with our site, please contact Frieda via email.