April in the 8th Grade
Judaic Studies
It’s been a powerful 2 weeks of learning with the 8th grade. I was moved and awed by the focus and thoughtfulness students brought to our Yom haShoah unit. In preparation for our speaker, Dr. Anna Ornstein, we learned about the Holocaust in Hungary, and about Auschwitz. This was a difficult topic, but students were resilient and able to share and process together in a way that I really admired. We began our next unit — looking at moral dilemmas through the lens of Rabbinic literature. We are focusing on a real life question: what should be done in a case of conjoined twins, if doctors are positive that if left conjoined, both twins will die? Students have been exploring a variety of Rabbinic texts to try to figure out the ethical issues involved in answering this question. And today we had a festive and fun class with music and Israeli slang to celebrate Yom haAtzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day. Chag sameach!
Humanities
As in Judaics, students have been exploring the Holocaust through a literary-historical lens by reading Elie Wiesel’s Night. Using a curriculum from Facing History and Ourselves, students continue to hone their writing skills and explore how what the Holocaust reveals about human behavior and morality. In class we have thoughtfully considered the role of the kapo in Wiesel’s story, the “choiceless choice” of many of those imprisoned, and Jewish resistance to Nazi oppression.
Math
The 8th Grade has spent the last month learning about Exponential Functions and Polynomials. They are now exploring Quadratic Polynomials, which are one of the most important types of polynomials in Algebra I. In the coming weeks, they will be learning about the properties of Quadratic Functions, as well as how to interpret the graphs of Quadratic Functions. Not only is it the final unit of Algebra I, but it is one of the most interesting ones. Quadratic Functions have many real world uses, particularly in the fields of Business, Engineering, and Science. They are used to observe things such as profit and loss or trajectories of objects; they are also used to construct satellites!
Science
Science continues with the exploration of physics. We introduced the concept of acceleration before break. Students conducting an experiment to discover how different surfaces affect the acceleration of a marble. We are currently exploring the concept of momentum. Students conducted an experiment to discover which materials would be more durable to withstand a free falling marble strike. Through these experiments we continue to work on graphing and experimental lab reporting skills. We cannot wait to finish up our physic unit in the coming weeks.
Hebrew
We are happy to embark on the last part of our learning journey! Last week, the students wrote, acted, and filmed short soap opera skits using daily dialogue that they learned in Hebrew.
This week, in honor of Israel’s Memorial Day, the students watched a few short animation movies about fallen soldiers and discussed the importance of this day in Israeli culture and its challenges.
In honor of Israel’s 73rd Independence Day, the students had an activity led by Habonim Dror and explored interesting Israeli artists. The students then prepared slide shows in which they presented the artist they studied.
I wish everyone a restful and healthy weekend.
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