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6th Grade News: 9/4-9/14/18

HUMANITIES

The first few weeks in 6th grade Humanities have been short but busy! I have so enjoyed getting to know this insightful, energetic, and intellectual group of 6th graders.

In ELA (English Language Arts), we’re spending these first few weeks focusing on our summer reading book, Bridge to Terabithia. We’ve used this novel as a lens through which to discuss important themes, like “friendship,” as well as literary terms that we’ll discuss throughout the year, such as direct and indirect characterization.

In Social Studies class, instead of diving immediately into the history of the ancient world, we began the year by talking about our own personal and family histories. To facilitate this discussion, students brought in objects that are meaningful to their families, some of which have been passed down for generations. It was wonderful to see the wide range of precious items they shared, including ancient tefillin, symbolic dolls and necklaces, books, photographs, pieces of clothing, and more. We used this activity to help launch us into a discussion of why we study and care about history in the first place. Hopefully, our conversation will provide a meaningful basis on which to build our yearlong study of ancient cultures and communities. See photos of the students sharing their objects below!

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I hope you had a restful Rosh Hashanah, and I wish you a sweet new year!

Best,

Naomi

MATH

Sixth graders are reviewing and re-examining the order of operations, making use of the acronym PEMDAS. Warning: Errors will occur when (a) students copy down the problem incorrectly, and (b) if they skip steps. They should remember to show all their work, not just the final answer. Make sure your child has a buddy in the class that he/she can contact if they miss anything in class or to get the homework if they are absent. Finally, I am in school at 7:30 every day, and students may come an see me any time before my first class at 8:00 if they are stuck on a problem or just want some reassurance. That’s why I’m here.

Fred

HEBREW

Dear Parents,

Welcome to an exciting year! The 6th grade started the year by discussing the five senses and the ways in which we use them to describe our memories and experiences. In 6th grade the focus is on expanding communication skills from sentences to paragraphs. This week the students started each class by talking for 15 minutes in Hebrew.

I look forward to meeting everyone at back to school night and wish everyone Shannah Tovah !

Andreea

 

HEBREW HERITAGE

להורים שלום,
השבוע המשכנו לעבוד על יחידה החדשה שלנו “המדריך למטייל”, היחידה עוסקת במקומות שבהם התלמידים ביקרו או שהיו מעוניינים לבקר. במסגרת היחידה התלמידים יכינו פרויקט שבו יציגו בפני חבריהם מקום מיוחד עליו הם ממליצים או מקום שהיו מעוניינים להגיע אליו. כהכנה לפרויקט אנו קוראים על ייחודו וחשיבותו של ים המלח, מרחיבים את אוצר המילים ומחזקים את מיומנות הכתיבה.
בנוסף, השינשינים הגיעו אלינו לפעילות פתיחה הקשורה לראש השנה.
אני מאחלת לכם צום קל וגמר חתימה טובה.
אילנה

SCIENCE

Students during our first couple of weeks conducted an activity that allowed them to think about scientific experiments. This allowed everyone to be creative and express their own interests within science. During the second week of science we started to explore the microscopic world. Students were introduced to the microscope and conducted a lab that helped them practice how to use the instrument. They were required to make a slide in order to see how the single printed letter “e” looked under the microscope. In the next few weeks we will be continuing the exploration of this microscopic universe.
Mike Noll

BAR/BAT MITZVAH CLASS with Phyllis
I am very much enjoying getting to know your children in a classroom setting!  We began our year of study together by discussing what it means to become a Bar/Bat Mitzvah. Students shared stories about siblings’ Bar and Bat Mitzvahs and we noticed that at Senesh there is no one way to have a Bar/Bat Mitzvah. To kick off our Areivut (community responsibility) project, we focused in on the words “responsibility” and “community.” Among other activities, students brainstormed their responsibilities for different communities that they belong to and created personal community webs.  After hearing a little bit about my background and Bat Mitzvah experience, students were asked to share a bit about themselves in a “Getting to Know You” assignment. In the upcoming weeks students will be identifying issues that are important to our community as they ultimately choose one non-profit organization per group for our sixth grade led Purim-Passover Penny Drive.

JUDAICS: with Laura

The start of school has been busy diving into Mishnah Rosh Hashana. It has been so exciting to see the 6th graders translating this Rabbinic text and debating the meaning behind the Rabbi’s rules for how to fulfill the mitzvah of hearing the shofar. We have had some great conversations about why it is important to act with intention. Next week we will continue with more Mishnah about doing Teshuva with intention. I hope on back to school night you got to see their beautiful art showing what your intention can be while listening to the various sounds of the shofar.

“I found it interesting that we could have different opinions than the rabbis and come up with reasons based on how we interpreted the text”. – Margot 

“We learned that if you hear the echo of the shofar it doesn’t count as a mitzvah. I think this is because you only hear the leftover sound. I think that this really matters because the Rabbis want us to learn that really hearing the original sound of the shofar if important”. – Emma

G’mar chatima tovah!