Students at the Solomon Schechter Day School of Raritan Valley in East Brunswick teamed with the Jewish Federation of Greater Middlesex County to assist fellow Jews at home and abroad.

Dec. 3 was "Magnificent Monday," when each class from kindergarten through eighth grade presented federation officials with $448 in tzedaka money they had collected throughout the year.

The program, started 17 years ago, is a takeoff on the federation's Super Sunday and is traditionally staged shortly after that annual fund-raising phonathon, which was held on Nov. 18.

"We really want to see our kids become engaged in federation and the Jewish community," said head of school Dr. Howard Rosenblatt. "One of our concerns as a Jewish day school is that we teach our students that we don't separate ourselves from our community."

The federation provided the school with a list of services it supports, which range from local education and social service efforts to a host of activities in Israel and other countries. After some discussion, the kindergarten through seventh-grade classes each selected one project to support. For example, the second-graders earmarked their gift to buy medicine for Israeli children, while the third-graders chose to have their funds be used to provide meals for the elderly in Middlesex County.

"We talked about a lot of different organizations that federation supports," said Linda Benish, a social studies and language arts teacher and coordinator of the program since its inception.

The eighth grade came up with a project that wasn't on the federation's list.

"They wanted to raise money for troubled teenagers in Israel to get counseling. As teens, they wanted to help those teens," Benish said. That money will be earmarked for the Jewish Agency for Israel, which sponsors such programs.

On Magnificent Monday, class representatives presented bags of coins to federation president Lee Livingston and allocations committee chair Seth Gross. Also in attendance were the federation's immediate past president, Philip Cantor, and associate executive director Susan Antman.

"We really have to give big yasher koach to Linda Benish because she's been doing this all these years and really educating these kids about tikun olam," said Antman. "They have really become our partners in ensuring the future success of federation by nurturing future generations of Jewish leaders."

Tzedaka money is collected at the school each Monday and earmarked for various causes based on the recommendations of the school's student councils.

"We try to teach values, and we also try at this time of year to give to both Jewish and non-Jewish recipients," said Rosenblatt. "We collect money on Monday at services because we want kids to understand this is a common part of the weekday morning minyan at many synagogues."

Kindergartners raised money for dental care for Israeli children. "They need our help so we have to help them," said Sasha Magnabusco of East Brunswick. "We want to make it so their teeth don't fall out and get all yellow. Your teeth are alive, and we don't want their teeth to die."

Sarah Cehelyk, a second-grader also from East Brunswick, said she wanted "all children to be healthy so that everybody would be happy."