Se’orah Class 11-12

Mr. Gregg, Morah Vered, Rav Gabi and Ms. Sarah

Friday, January 13, 2012

We would like to begin this week’s update by saying thank you to Jessica Langer, mother of Seela (and a biologist), who visited our classroom on Monday morning to teach us about the sense of taste.  It was a memorable lesson, and we all had a great time. It inspired us to create a follow-up activity that challenges the students to identify different herbs and spices by using their sense of smell. 

And now . . . an update on the SPRING TRIP!  We will be leaving the school bright and early on Monday, June 4^th and heading for Boston.  Our first point of interest will be Plimoth Plantation, where we will experience life as pilgrims as well as tour the Wampanoag Indian Village.  On Tuesday, June 5^th, we will visit Plymouth Rock and the Mayflower (a replica of the original Mayflower).  Then we are off to downtown Boston, where we will walk the Freedom Trail and visit the home of Paul Revere.  On Wednesday, June 6^th, it’s Minute Men National Historic Park for a Revolutionary War re-enactment and an opportunity to do some role playing as we transport ourselves back in time to find out what it was like for both the British and the Colonists during the skirmish to gain control of one of the bridges leading into the village. Thursday, June 7^th, we will tour the living history museum and participate in an enrichment program at Genessee Country Village in Mumford, NY: Abolition – African American Life in 19^th century America.  We will return to the school late Thursday evening. 

Several parents have approached us with conflicts for Friday, June 8^th, so we have decided to come back to school on Thursday evening and take Friday as a discussion day.  The final day of our spring trip will take place the following Monday, June 11^th, when we will visit the Red Mill Museum in Clinton to explore life during the Civil War and participate in an enrichment program through which we will examine life in Pre-Civil War America and New Jersey between 1810 and 1860.  We will even get to visit an 1860′s one-room school house. 

We hope this gives you a satisfying preview of what is sure to be an oustanding spring trip.  We have had a few parents express an interest in chaperoning this trip.  We can take only 6 parents with us, so if you are interested in driving, please let us know as soon as possible.  If we have more than 6 parents sign up, we will give preference to parents of 6^th/7^th years as this will be their last year in our classroom.  Then we will draw names out of a hat for any spots that remain open.  Please note that parents do not pay for the spring trip.  We feel strongly that if a parent is giving up a week of their time to chaperone, that is contribution enough.   Also, keep in mind that we will need parent drivers for the Monday portion of the trip as well.  If you drive for the longer portion and do not want to drive on Monday, please let us know so that we can make arrangements for other drivers. (Please keep reading at the end of this newsletter to learn about more ways to help us with our spring trip!)

The students have decided to split the money raised for the Jester and Pharley Phund between the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the children’s department at Robert Wood Johnson.  In this way they are able to reach out and make a difference in our local community as well as the greater community.  CHOP will be receiving 29 books and RWJ will be receiving 28 books and dolls.  These decisions were made by the class, and we are very proud of their expression of kindness and compassion for others.

Middle School students have had a wonderful immersion experience this week serving as interns in the Primary classrooms.  The Primary teachers reported that they loved having the students help the younger ones and act as excellent role models.  Our Middle Schoolers have also begun a two- part elective: The Art and Math of Geometry.  Monica Morris, a teacher from Princeton Montessori, visited Wednesday and Thursday afternoons this week and will be back again next Wednesday afternoon to share her passion for geometry.  The first session focused on creating tessellations (repeated shapes that form a geometric pattern) in the style of M.C. Escher. 

Shabbat Shalom!

Parashat Sh’mot has the children on the edge of their seats!  They can’t get enough parasha and always ask for more.  Everyone especially loved listening to the book A Little Girl Named Miriam by Dina Rosenfeld. We thank Betzalel Franks and his family for sharing their copy with the whole class.  While listening to the book, a child in Rimon asked a poignant question: “Is the parasha still alive?”  We then discussed that while the people in the Torah are no longer alive, the lessons we learn from our ancestors are eternal and will be valuable and “alive” forever.  A morah asked, what lesson could be learned from Shifra and Puah?  The children answered, “That Jewish women are brave and strong! And so are we!”  A new Sefer Shemot object box has begun.  Its first item is nahar – river.

Middle School students Natania Birnbaum and Eli and Moshe Schwartz joined the Primary classes every morning this week as part of their immersion program.  They were joyfully welcomed by the children and everyone loved having them in the classrooms.  By the end of the week, so many friends were eager to read to them and work with them that they had to make a list and take turns! We thank them and look forward to having other Middle School students join us in the future.

In our Practical Life area, we have introduced silver polishing.  Each class has large silver pitchers, black with tarnish.  As children take their turns with this work, bright shiny circles are beginning to glimmer on the surface of the pitchers.  We look forward to returning these pitchers to their owners, brilliantly reflecting the proud efforts of the classes.  Please encourage your child to polish kiddush cups, candlesticks and other silver accessories in your home to prepare for Shabbat.  Abie Russ-Fishbane, a former Primary student now in Lower Elementary, was prepared when he was asked to polish the silver k’tarim on the Sifrei Torah in Etz Ahaim Shul, in honor of the Yamim Noraim this year!  Talk about practical life!

Shabbat Shalom,

The Primary Morot

Friends in lower elementary settled down to a productive and busy week. In third year Humash, we continued to study parashat Chayei Sara, and some first and second year friends were able to easily identify singular and plural nouns based on last week’s lessons. A very exciting milestone for some students was embarking on the adventure of learning how to read Rashi!

For parasha, first year friends sequenced the story of Moshe and wrote in Hebrew about his experiences in Mitzrayim. They also identified the nouns, prefixes and adjectives in the parasha story.  We are beginning to explore adjectives describing size and quality. Look out for flashcards with new adjectives that we have learned this week. Students used their new words to describe the shatiach (carpet) as chadash (new) and yashan (old), and the kad (jug) as gadol (big) and katan (small). Some third year friends began to use the verb hayiti (was) and eheyeh (will be) along with adjectives to explain how they were or will be feeling.

Third year students have been working on telling time in Hebrew with the Ma Hashah? (What is the time?) grammar cards, while excited first year students demonstrate their new ability to read the clock on our wall.  Currently, they are reading the number plus o’ clock, 15, 30, and 45 with the minute hand.  Please practice looking at an analogue clock with your child to reinforce this skill. 

The first and second grade students continue to look at the layers of the earth and how much inner earth or “barysphere” there is. The third year students continue to study economic geography and the tools which we require to meet our fundamental needs, and they are studying the Silurian Period on the timeline of life, in which sessile invertebrates live on the ocean floor. 

In botany, the children learned the parts and functions of a leaf.  The leaf takes energy from the sun, mixes it with water and carbon dioxide to make food for the plant, and releases excess oxygen.  This process has the fancy name “photosynthesis.”  We collected leaves outdoors and made leaf rubbings which we labeled. Then we made a delicious spinach salad which also provided the opportunity to learn about the halachic importance of washing the spinach thoroughly. 

Shabbat Shalom!

Morah Chavi, Moreh Chever, Ms. Leena, and Morah Melody

Dear Pre-Primary Parents,

We are beginning to see a maturing and refinement of friends’ interactions with one another.  As verbal skills are improving, friends will often help each other by demonstrating how to use a work, changing each others’ shoes, and cleaning up a work that has fallen on the ground. There has been a metamorphosis from a purely individual work ethic to a balanced and cooperative one.  Many friends will ask to work with one another, and even our younger friends look to their peers for assistance with smiles and hand gestures.  We are delighted to see a caring, helpful, and loving community developing in our classroom.

At circle time friends are enjoying books by the author Mo Willems.  The current class favorite is I’m Sad.  The book recounts the story of Gerald, an elephant who is feeling sad.  Gerald’s friend, Piggy, attempts to cheer him up by dressing up as some of Gerald’s favorite characters.  Gerald experiences happiness when he sees these characters, and doesn’t realize it is really Piggy underneath.  The story concludes with Gerald telling Piggy about his recent sightings and wishing that Piggy was there to share in the experience.  Throughout the reading of the book we noticed that friends’ expressions paralleled the storyline; they looked sad when Gerald was sad, and they smiled when Piggy dressed up.  

In line with our focus on feelings, we sang “If You’re Happy and You Know It.”  

If You’re Happy and You Know It

If you’re happy and you know it say, “Hooray”

If you’re happy and you know it say, “Hooray”

If you’re happy and you know it and you really want to show it

If you’re happy and you know it say, “Hooray”

If you’re angry and you know it stomp your feet

If you’re angry and you know it stomp your feet

If you’re angry and you know it and you really want to show it

If you’re angry and you know it stomp your feet.

(Continue with different feelings paired with different actions.) 

Shabbat Shalom,

Morah Sareet, Morah Jean, & Morah Stacy

Lower Elementary

The Hanukkah ruah was palpable in our classroom this week, with great excitement during Tefillah, where students enjoyed dancing and singing for Hallel. During circle we learned Pirkei Avot in memory of Linda Greenberg aleha hashalom, in which we compared a person’s intellect and good deeds to the branches and roots of a tree. With a visual presentation, students saw how a person who is smart but has few good deeds is like a tree with many branches but without strong roots, and a person who has many good deeds is like a tree with strong roots.  Of course, this dovetails beautifully with our botany work, where we have investigated parts of the root and types of roots as well as their functions.  This week we will look at the diversity of taproots.  This lesson ended in an edible taproot cooking project.

In Dikduk, students continued working on our Hanukkah nouns, colors, numbers and nights of the holiday. Third year friends enjoyed describing Hanukkah nouns using their strong descriptive talents with numbers, colors and size. In Kriyah we continued reading the story of Hanukkah, with students proudly identifying the nouns, verbs and adjectives in the story. Other students enjoyed finishing their impressive summaries of the Hanukkah story. Students really loved playing dreidel with the money game, integrating their math skills and works for the hagim. Hanukkah bingo, in which students manipulate verbs relevant to the hag, was popular with third year friends.

In Jewish history, students were assigned historical events and asked to organize themselves in the order of the timeline. Impressively, our friends were able to stand in the correct order identifying briyat ha’olam (creation of the world), followed by the time of Noach, Avraham Avinu, Yetziat Mitzrayim (coming out of Egypt), the time of David Hamelech, the First and Second Beit Hamikdash, Purim, Hanukkah, and finally the present day. This activity helped our friends to integrate their learning of the historical timeline, the timeline of the parshiyot and specific perakim from the humash, and also helped them to visualize that the story of Hanukah really did not happen that long ago relative to the start of time. Students also focused on another aspect of time in the Hodshei Hashanah work and looked at the sequencing of the months of the year and the order of the chagim.

In general history, first and second years are exploring different lengths and concepts of time, and they are creating timelines of their lives which will show their milestones and accomplishments for each year.  Expect your children to question you about their personal development for this project.  We are also examining time by hours, and we learned how to read an analogue clock. The third years continue to study the “timeline of life,” an in depth look at the Phanerozic eon which is where life appeared on Earth.  We have begun with the Cambrian Period, where trilobites were the main life form which dominated the Earth’s oceans.  Naturally, these lessons are accompanied by Jewish Studies discussions so that students have an idea of how science and Torah peacefully coexist without challenging our belief in the Torah’s absolute truth.

Along with our creative writing curriculum, which is continuous for all ages, third years continue practicing editing, using all types of punctuation.  First years continue practicing capitalization rules.  In word study, third years are playing with homonyms and comparing them to homophones. First and second years are experimenting with suffixes.  In order to find the suffix you also must find the root of the word. This idea serves them well in their study of Hebrew and finding the shoresh (root) of a Hebrew word. 

In geography, the first and second years are looking at the composition of the Earth and the actual inner layers.  Another experiment will be on the shelf next week to compliment this exploration.  The third graders are looking at economic geography–how we are reliant on so many people in order to meet our fundamental needs.  This eventually is applied to countries being reliant on one another for goods and services (thank you, China).  

In music, we are delving further into the Baroque period and looking at the composer George Fredrick Handel.     

Shabbat Shalom and Hanukkah Sameiah!    

PRIMARY

The children loved preparing for their performance at the Hanukkah party, and their smiles showed us how much they enjoyed their time in the spotlight! The children are so proud of themselves, and we hope that you are too.

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Hanukkah gives us so many opportunities for works. We used an old-fashioned crank peeler to make applesauce and peel potatoes, and we will be enjoying the applesauce with the latkes we will prepare on Tuesday. We practice saying the brachot on the Hanukkah candles every day.

In parasha, we learned all about Paroh’s dreams and how Yosef was released from prison. We were so relieved when Yosef went from languishing in prison to becoming second in command of all of Egypt. We also learned how Yosef started the process of reuniting with his brothers. Our new parasha word for the week was gavia—goblet.

The T’eina children were curious about the magen david, so they received a beautiful explanation for its significance: the triangle pointing down symblolizes Hashem’s love for Am Yisrael, and the triangle pointing up symbolizes our love for Hashem!

Shabbat Shalom and Hag Sameiah!

Dear Pre-Primary Parents,

This week we have continued our preparation for and celebration of Hanukkah, using Hanukkah-themed works, singing songs, and reading stories. In our practical life area, the children are practicing flipping ‘latkes’ using a small spatula and frying pan.  They are also working on their s’vivon/dreidel spinning techniques. We have a variety of s’vivonim and the children spin them on top of a framed mirror on the table. They are thrilled to watch the s’vivon spin across the mirror, and to see their own faces as well. 

On Thursday we welcomed in winter!  Our language matching work helps the children learn, or talk about, the names of extra items we might wear at this time of year. They enjoy using the hat and mitten work, and it helps them learn to dress themselves. 

Mitten Poem

Thumb in the thumb place

Fingers all together

This is the song we sing in mitten weather

Whether they’re wool

Or made of finest leather

Thumb in the thumb place

Fingers all together

Hanukkiah Li Yesh

Hanukkiah li yesh
tzocheket ba’esh.
V’sacha li balat
al kad katan nechmad.
V’sacha li balat
al kad katan nechmad.
Hanukkiah sheli
orech na ha’ali.
Hanukkiah sheli
orech na ha’ali

(I have a hanukiya

A flame laughs in it

And it whispers to me quietly

Of one small pitcher

My hanukiya

Please raise up your light)

Shabbat Shalom and Hanukkah Sameiah,

Morah Jean, Morah Sareet, and Morah Stacy

Dear Primary Families,

Parashat Chayei Sarah always inspires the children.  We began with the sad news of the passing of Sarah Imeinu at the age of 127 and Avraham’s purchase of a special cave named M’arat HaMachpela to serve as a burial place for her.  Morah Esther shared pictures of her family visiting and davening in the shul built around M’arat  HaMachpela.  Morah Morel shared that her husband, Moreh Chever, and her two sons, Roei and Raz, all had their britot milah there!  We are able to enjoy this special place because Avraham Avinu purchased it instead of acquiring it for free from its original owner, Efron.  This wise decision insured that M’arat HaMachpela belongs to the Jewish people forever. 

The story Kind Little Rivka by Dina Rosenfeld tells how Avraham sent his servant to find a wife for his son, Yitzchak. One friend spontaneously declared, “I want to be kind like Rivka!” A math work in the classroom demonstrates the enormity of Rivka’s kindness when she watered the servant’s camels. The children assign ten jugs to each of ten camels, and they see how quickly they multiply. The new objects in the parasha box are gamal (camel), be’er (well), and taba’at (ring).

This week, we enjoyed the song Eliezer Had Ten Camels:

(To the tune of “I Have a Little Dreidel”)

 Eliezer had ten camels; they went clip clippety clop!

 To find a wife for Yitzchak they ran without a stop.

 Eliezer said, “HaShem, which is the girl, please tell.”

 He looked up and saw Rivka, going to the well.

Other endeavors this week include writing our names in English and Hebrew with beans, reading short-vowel booklets and labeling the bead stair from one to ten.

Shabbat Shalom!

The Primary Morot

Se’orah Class

Mr. Gregg, Morah Vered, Rav Gabi and Ms. Sarah

Friday, November 18, 2011

In Judaic Studies, sixth graders applied their knowledge of literary structure to “Az Yashir” by dividing the psukim into green, yellow, and red strips in the form of an ‘accordion paragraph,’ which they have been studying in English. An accordion paragraph consists of an introduction, statements of support, statements of evidence, and a conclusion, and Az Yashir is a terrific example of this type of structure. The fourth graders have been diligently preparing a diorama of the brachot in the Shmoneh Esrey. The torah sheb’al peh program has experienced exciting progress with the sixth grade memorizing the first mishna in brachot, coinciding with the fifth grade memorizing the order of the Shisha Sidrei Mishna (order of the Talmud).

On Wednesday and Thursday the students enjoyed a presentation by Mr. Gregg and Rav Gabi about global events during the 1500s. One of the many developments of the period was the widespread use of the printing press, which made it possible to replace Jewish books that were destroyed. The students will experience the laborious process of printing with Hebrew print blocks in the manner of the early printing press.

After Thanksgiving, students will have an opportunity to explore gravity through a series of fun and informative experiments.

Shabbat Shalom and we hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving break!