8th grade graduation is approaching! :'(
Humanities
Students have chosen their final independent reading assignment for their 8th grade year: They are reading nonfiction books that range in topics from true crime to astrophysics, from historical pirates to DNA sequencing. Additionally, students are preparing for a big test taking place on June 2 that will assess their constitutional knowledge. Through reading excerpts in the American Constitution, students learn to identify 5 key concepts in American law: popular sovereignty, limited government, federalism, checks and balances, and the 3/5ths compromise. These thoughtful and critical 8th graders are excited to get a more intimate understanding of the foundation of American law.
Judaic Studies
The 8th graders are learning about modern day antisemitism. We have been having incredibly important and engaged conversations in class, about our own experiences with antisemitism, both online and IRL. Students have been reading articles and learning about antisemitism, both on the left and on the right. Knowing how to identify anti-Jewish tropes and themes and having time to think about when and how to respond to them better prepares our 8th graders to leave Senesh. Through our conversations in class, it’s also become clear to me that our students are already encountering these painful examples of hatred, and are eager to have a forum to share and discuss them.
Hebrew
This week the students completed their movies about themselves. It is so rewarding to watch the children talk about themselves in Hebrew! I am including the link to the Google File below:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1qwwECWBKkb7KiCj7Dc4Fc8XxFO0HJu6b?usp=sharing
Our next project is reading the short story by Sabion Librecht – Apples in the Desert, and then we will watch the movie and compare the two. The story presents the complexity of the relationships between secular Jews and Religious ones in Israel.
Maths
The 8th Grade has been spending the past month learning everything there is to know about quadratic functions. In the coming weeks, they will expand that knowledge by applying what they’ve learned to real-world situations in which quadratic models are used. They will also explore different areas of statistics before their final year at Hannah Senesh comes to an end. There are just a few weeks left in the school year, but it will be full of big changes, important events, and lots of fun!
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