October 9, 2020 — The [Jewish] Holiday Season
Hebrew with Rimma We reviewed vocabulary related to the school: subjects of study and schedule, location and the name of different rooms such as lab, library, gym, art room. We also learned phrases that they may need in daily interactions with other students in school such as “how many times a week we have a PE class, how long is the break etc. Students wrote a short essay about their school that can be a presentation to someone who never was in the school. Students described their friend physically and what they like to do with their friend. They illustrated the depicted... Read More
Kindergarten Blog 10/9/20
Dear Kindergarten Families, This week, kindergarteners became botanists! We are beginning our study of the plant life cycle. Students examined a red bell pepper, studied the seeds with magnifying glasses, and shared what they noticed with their classmates. Students also explored our math workbooks, and practiced writing numbers “the kindergarten way.” Each Pod has also created rules for their community! Students discussed what rules they thought a classroom should have, and worked together to decide on wording, and what ideas were most important. Kindergartners continued doing a shared reading of Mrs. Wishy Washy and brought home their own copies to share with their... Read More
October 8, 2020
HUMANITIES Right now, 7th graders are working diligently on their creative project in response to the summer reading of The Outsiders. Students are working on either an illustrated timeline of scenes from the book or creative first-person narratives from the perspective of imagined characters who witnessed scenes from the book. Their creativity is flowing! In Social Studies, students’ knowledge of the geography and spelling of all fifty U.S. states has improved impressively, which will help them as we study our country’s history throughout the year. We continue having weekly lessons on topics related to the upcoming election including how to have civil... Read More
6th Grade News: 10/9/20
General 6th Grade + Advisory The first month of school this year has been different than any other! Students and teachers alike are slowly but surely adjusting to a hybrid schedule and to learning routines that best ensure our health and safety. We are also embracing the surprise benefits of these strange times, including an influx of innovative digital learning tools that are useful now more than ever, as well as new opportunities for community-building — both grade-wide and in our tight-knit pods, both virtually and in person. Thank you for your patience and support from home as we continue... Read More
What’s Happening in 5th: 10/6/20
Humanities: During our ELA classes, we have begun reading Home of the Brave as a mentor text for our first unit- analyzing themes. So far we have set reading goals for the year and talked extensively about the goal of writing about our reading. When we write about our reading, we are paying close attention to the characters, plot, setting, and repeating objects. We develop ideas about the book and then look for evidence to support our ideas. The goal is not just to speed through a book but rather to think deeply about it and gain insight as we read.... Read More
Kindergarten blog 10/2/20
Dear Kindergarten Families, Shana Tova and Happy October! This week, kindergarteners learned about Sukkot. We are also beginning to study Shabbat, learning about candles and the weekly parasha. We are continuing to add on phrases in Hebrew, about things we do in the classroom. We are strengthening our morning routine, talking about weather, days of the week, and colors— all in Hebrew! We are also learning to describe the colors we are wearing. Kindergarteners are studying each other’s names! We are noticing how many letters a name has, what the letters look like, and how many syllables (beats) are in... Read More
Kindergarten blog 9/25/20
Dear Kindergarten Families, What a wonderful two weeks in kindergarten! In Judaics, our students learned about Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. We are also learning the days of the week, weather, and colors in Hebrew! Kindergartens explored scissors, glue, and more learning how to care for our classroom materials. We are beginning to make friends with numbers, learning math games to play by ourselves and with the whole class. Students began learning about the calendar, and how to find the day of the week. We are also beginning handwriting, learning how to make letters “the Kindergarten way.” Students met Mabel... Read More
September 26 — Our First Full Week!
Judaic Studies with Phyllis Thank you to all of the parents and grandparents who joined us for our Rosh HaShannah presentation last Thursday. The students were so excited to share their personal reflections about Teshuvah (repentance), Tefila (prayer) and Tzedakah (righteous action). We began our week by learning about the life of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Ask your child what important life lessons we can learn from this inspirational woman. In tefila this week we learned about the special prayers for the 10 days of repentance between Rosh HaShannah and Yom Kippur, heard a moving rendition of Avinu Malkenu that has gone... Read More
Third Grade 9/25
Community Building With the full weeks of school we have been doing a lot of community building activities. Third graders have played “Would you Rather?” games to learn more about what they have in common. We have read books about perseverance and taking chances even when we are worried we may fail. We shared instances where we needed to persevere to achieve a goal, like riding a bike or practicing academic skills. We also discussed what we will need to persevere through this year, like wearing masks, staying a safe distance, and learning new things through Zoom or in person.... Read More
First Week of Third Grade!
Community Building It has been an exciting week of reuniting with friends and teachers, learning new routines, and exploring some of the changes in the building. We welcomed a new student, and introduced ourselves to new teachers as well. We are thrilled to have our community expand with new and kind people! To start our day third graders played games to learn more about each other, delved into books about friendship, and shared their feelings about being back in school. We talked about how we love having our own desks, and started receiving more materials to add to them and... Read More