Our Week in 5th Grade! 11-1-19
Ah, a full week! It feels so great to get so much learning accomplished! Read on to find out what your fifth grader was up to this week… Advisory: Over the past two weeks in advisory, the students have completed a series of activities that involve following directions closely and attentively. One activity asked the students to follow a series of verbal directions and another gave written directions. We asked the students which one they found easier to follow and discussed the different types of learning styles; visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. The class was then given a “directions test.” Ask... Read More
First Grade Blog
Everyone in first grade was excited to have a full week of school! In Writing this week we continued working on our small moments writing by revising and making sure we are using a picture to add details. We focused on: “When you are done you have just begun”. We also have been learning about our school’s namesake, Hannah Senesh. We learned that she was from Hungary and looked on a map of Europe to find the city she lived, Budapest. We saw photographs of Hannah as a young girl and with her family. We focused on the fact that... Read More
Kindergarten News
Hello Families, This week we have been writing, writing, writing! We started by labeling parts of the room so we know where to put and find things. We practiced stretching out our words slowly to hear all the sounds to know which letters to write. Someone even labeled the teacher area (spelled “ter ar”). We also learned our first 3 snap words “I“, “like“, and “my“. We learned these are specials words we see all the time that follow different sound rules (also known as high frequency or sight words). They also help kindergarteners become faster readers. We practiced putting... Read More
October 31, 2019
Science Students have finished their blueprints of the “Rube Goldberg Machines”. The science room is now filled with engineers applying their skills. Everyone is problem solving and allow ideas from their partners to be expressed in a positive and professional manner. We cannot wait to see how these machines develop over the next few weeks. Math The 7th grade is almost finished with their second unit; Real Numbers. After that, we’ll be moving onto Unit 3: Introduction to Algebra. This is one of the most important units in the curriculum, as it sets the foundation for Algebra. It introduces... Read More
6th Grade News: 10/21 – 11/1/19
Humanities: In 6th grade humanities, we have been focusing A LOT on writing lately. Last week, we prepared for and then took an in-class argument/literary writing assessment. Students were asked to read a very short story and then respond with a well-organized and articulate paragraph. In their responses, students wrote about the protagonist’s feelings or personality traits and backed up their claims with both quotes and details from the story. This week, students had the opportunity to look over their individualized feedback and improve their essays. Some worked on crafting a more focused main idea, others worked on better connecting... Read More
October 31
General Studies with Dawn We’ve covered a lot in our first full week in a while. In writing students continue to work on their Realistic Fiction Stories which we look forward to sharing with you at our Publishing Party on Thursday, November 21. We have been focusing on the concept of Showing Not Telling, and many students are beginning to use descriptive dialogue and action in their stories. We have also talked about the difference between telling a story and writing a summary, which is more of a list of events. In math we continue to work with factors, including... Read More
November 1st — Our first full week in a LONG time!
General Studies with Hilary Dear Third Grade Families, In Social Studies, we started learning about the Lenni Lenape, which is the Native American tribe that lived in New York City back in 1600. We started by looking at a map of Manhattan from the 2000s, and comparing it to a map of what Eric Sanderson (a landscape ecologist) — through research — believed Mannahatta (land of many hills) looked like in 1600. Students noticed that the Hudson River looked wider back then. Some wondered if the water level had dropped and maybe that’s why the land is now bigger/wider. Another... Read More
First Grade blog
This week in first grade we did a lot of sharing. Whether it was during morning meeting or about what animals are in our family, first graders are full of sharing as a classroom community. We enjoyed celebrating Toby and Ethan’s birthday. This week in Science we read a National Geographic book “A Tree For All Seasons.” In the book we learned what happens in each season to a maple tree and the animals in the environment. We observed how trees change and why, and learned that even leaves have veins! In Writing, we worked on our small moments stories... Read More
Kindergarten Newsletter
Hello Families, We had a wonderful time on our first field trip to the Botanical Gardens! The blue and yellow groups got to know new friends in the other class through their partners and small groups. We examined fuzzy, fragrant, edible, and colorful plants. We also sketched and noticed shapes and seasonal changes in the garden around us. The pictures below speak for themselves! Now that we are heading back into full weeks and days after the holidays, kindergarten is shifting focus. Thus far, we have been learning how to be in school while building community, and how to take... Read More
8th Grade Blog 10/17
Hello, 8th Grade Community! Math The 8th grade is revisiting the concept of solving linear equations in one variable. Mastering this concept is the key to moving onto linear equations in two variables, which they’ll be exploring shortly. Linear systems are a key component in Algebra I and they can be solved in several ways. The students will learn how to solve these systems graphically, by substitution, and by elimination before moving onto systems of linear inequalities. Advisory The 8th graders were an integral part of celebrating the 25th anniversary of Hannah Senesh Community Day School on Friday, October 11th.... Read More