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6th Grade News: 9/11 – 9/15/17

HUMANITIES

This week in Literature we began our new book, The Epic of Gilgamesh. We looked into the story’s background (or the “story of the story”), and read about its origin as an ancient myth. The tale was found written on buried tablets from ancient Mesopotamia, the civilization that we will begin studying in History class in the coming weeks. In fact, Gilgamesh’s story is one of the oldest pieces of western literature still around today. As students read, they are keeping track of themes such as Heroism, Death v. Immortality, and Strength v. Weakness, and searching for examples of literary devices like simile, flashback, and imagery.

In History class, students examined one definition of “Civilization,” understanding that there are many ways to define this term. We then listed eight features that are common to most ancient and modern civilizations, including cities, a writing system, complex religions, organized government, and more. Students took photos in their own neighborhoods and houses to represent each of these features, which helped us all see how the topic is personal and still relevant today.

Finally, here are some photos from our buddy time this week, during which 6th graders played games and chatted with their 2nd grade buddies. Enjoy!

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JUDAICS:

Students will be writing the weekly blog for Judaics. “Blog Writer” is one of the classroom jobs this year. Each student will have this opportunity a few times this year. I hope you enjoy hearing firsthand from them what class has been like for them this week!

This week we learned about Rosh Hashanah. We got to go over a Rosh Hashana Mishnah and translate it. We learned about fulfilling the mitzvah of hearing the shofar. If you hear the voice of the shofar in an echo, then you have not fulfilled the mitzvah. We talked about all different scenarios, like if you heard the voice of the shofar in a microphone or on the radio. I personally think that if you hear the shofar in a microphone or on the radio then you have not fulfilled the mitzvah because it’s like a duplicate of the shofar and it’s not really the real thing. You also must pay attention and have the right intention when hearing the sound, or it doesn’t count. I’m looking forward to learning more about the shofar and how you know if you have fulfilled the mitzvah or not.

-Alison Heffez

We had an amazing first full week of school in Judaics! We spent this week learning about a portion of the Mishna about when the mitzvah of hearing the Shofar is fulfilled. The rabbis end up saying that we need to direct our attention (although the rabbis said “heart” instead) towards the blast, or else the mitzvah is not fulfilled. We learned that blowing into a jar or cistern and hearing the echo doesn’t count. We finished off the week by debating about what makes the mitzvah fulfilled. Ask your child what they think counts as fulfilling the mitzvah! Our whole class is looking forward to our first Judaics quiz on Monday. Wishing you all a great weekend

-Jonah p.s Hi mom!

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HEBREW HERITAGE: 

הורים יקרים,

השבוע התחלנו לעבוד על יחידת חזרה בנושא אוכל, המאפשרת בהדרגה לחזור לחומר הנלמד ולתלמידים החדשים בקבוצה להתאקלם. ביחידת האוכל נעסוק בשאלה: האם יש אוכל ישראלי, ואם כן מהו? הילדים קוראים טקסטים רלוונטים ועובדים על הרחבת אוצר מילים.

סוף שבוע טוב,

אילנה

HEBREW:

Dear parents,

This week the students were busy reviewing various verbs we use when talking about summer vacation in the present tense. Next, the students started making short videos talking about what can be done during summer vacation.

I am looking forward to seeing everyone at our back to school night Monday evening!

Have a wonderful weekend,

Andreea

BAR/BAT MITZVAH CLASS

Starting our year of Bar/Bat Mitzvah studies together has been quite a treat.  We explored the question of “What does it mean to become a Bar/Bat Mitzvah?,” discussed the students’ current and post Bar/Bat Mitzvah responsibilities for their class, school, family and Jewish communities.  Our first project will be creating a Bar/Bat Mitzvah guide based upon a study of what it means to become a Bar/Bat Mitzvah in Jewish law and the history of becoming a Bar/Bat Mitzvah in Jewish history.

MATH

This week in math class we did the first unit in the textbook and a good jumping off point for the rest of the year. The students are working on Pre-Algebra for the first time in school. They are learning how to write an algebraic expression and how to solve when given how much the variable is. Many of the topics we do this year will use variables and pre-algebra so the students are working hard to have a deep understanding of this first unit. We will continue to work with variables next week and look at what combining like terms are. Its been a rather busy week this week. Hopefully everyone enjoys the weekend.

Craig

SCIENCE

This week in science we continue to build on the curiosity of an array of science topics. Students worked with the scientific method in order to approach the class within a single mindset. This allowed students to look at the entire world through the lens of the scientific mindset. We applied this method using our interaction simulation software to make hypothesis about which objects on the virtual shelf would sink. I cannot wait to see how our students discover the next mystery in science!

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Mike Noll