January 13, 2023 — Dreams for the future …
Humanities with Hilary Dear 4th Grade Families, Thank you to those who attended today’s MLK Tekes! Over the past month, this group has worked so hard at breaking down Dr Martin Luther King Jr’s words (from his “I Have a Dream” speech given on August 28, 1963’s March for Jobs and Freedoms), gaining an understanding of why Dr. King said what he did. That power can be seen in this class’ choreographed excerpt of the speech, which can be found in our Google Photo Album for the week. Over the past few weeks, 4th Grade has not only dissected Dr.... Read More
1/13/23 Kindergarten Blog
Dear Kindergarten Families, It was another busy week in Kindergarten. We are back into full swing after our Winter Break and full of energy and curiosity! In Social Studies we continued our study of Martin Luther King Jr. We learned about Rosa Parks and the bus boycott. We talked about the sit-ins at lunch counters and how they were another form of peaceful protest. We listened to a portion of the I Have a Dream Speech, focusing on the power and strength of King’s voice. We worked hard to learn the words to the song The Dream of Martin Luther... Read More
First Grade News
Hello Families, In Hebrew, we learned the letter tet and added words to our word wall like: tabach (chef), tabaat (ring), telefon (phone) and tractor (tractor). We continued to practice our reading and wrote sentences using the action words tas (to fly for a boy) and tasa (to fly for a girl). In writing workshop, we have launched into our nonfiction writing unit! First graders have decided what they are experts on and have written books to teach their readers about building, math, taking care of babies, video games, baking, and gymnastics. We learned how to plan an information book and think about... Read More
Kindergarten Blog 1/6/23
Dear Kindergarten Families, We hope you all enjoyed the holiday break and Happy New Year! This week, Kindergarteners have been settling back into our routines, and we welcomed Asher to our class. In Social Studies we began our study of Martin Luther King. We talked about the unfair laws that existed during King’s time and the work he did to change the laws. We talked about the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the fact that King believed in nonviolent protest. Children expressed surprise at the laws of segregation and agreed that it was good that Rosa Parks broke the law. We... Read More
Final ’22 Kindergarten Blog
Dear Kindergarten Families, The Kindergartners worked so hard all last week preparing for our Learning Celebrations, and they were so excited to share all they’ve accomplished this year with you all on Friday! Kindergartners practiced songs in Hebrew and English, published their storybooks, picked out math games, and so much more. We said goodbye to Jordan who is moving back to Israel. When we return in January we will welcome Asher Kosslyn to the Penguins. Kindergartners enjoyed joining the whole school at two Hanukkah Candle Lighting Ceremonies and joining the 8th Grade for an Art Project and Sufganiyot. In Science,... Read More
First Grade News
Hello Families, We enjoyed celebrating Chanukah with your children, and we wish you a Chag Sameach and a lovely break! Enjoy the pics! Ilana and Liz
December 16, 2022 — HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Humanities with Hilary Dear 4th Grade Families, It was so wonderful seeing you, last week, for our Publishing Party! The work they showcased was spectacular, and each student really is the expert of their colony. Here is a photo album of 4th Graders throughout the process of our project! The day after, we went on a walking tour around the Financial District, exploring Lower Manhattan history to see where colonists were and their experiences. During this tour, we studied maps, took on the perspective of different occupations (in relation to economics and how artisans/merchants/military/enslaved people/etc would feel about raised taxes), and... Read More
3rd Blog- 12/16
It was so nice seeing all of you for our Lenape celebration! Last week we started all new units! In reading, we started reading mysteries! First we looked at the blurb and tried to figure out what the mystery was and who would solve it. In our read aloud, The Absent Author, Dink’s favorite author goes missing and Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose were going to solve it. As we read together, we tried to solve the mystery before the characters, so we collected clues, identified suspects and their motive and opportunity. We summarized the mystery and shared our own... Read More
6th Grade: Pre-Winter Break Updates! 12/16/22
Humanities It was wonderful seeing so many of you at our Heroes Convention this week! The students were proud to show off their hard work and I’m glad you were able to share in their learning. As you saw at our event, students have been exploring our content through a variety of media these past few weeks, including visual art, analytical writing, and creative digital projects. They examined the people in their independent biography books, considering their heroic and non-heroic qualities. Simultaneously, as we finished reading The Odyssey, we interrogated Odysseus’s character in a similar way: do his legendary accomplishments... Read More
December 16: Winter Updates
Humanities What a joy to share the 5th graders learning during our Conference on Civilization this week. These projects really were a culmination of a lot of hard work and skill-building. Over the past several weeks, we have learned about the Neolithic (farming) revolution and the rise of early city-states in Mesopotamia and throughout the Fertile Crescent. We learned about the challenges these early communities faced and how they managed to create a system of irrigation and farming advancements which allowed them to grow and flourish. We then looked at the seven qualifications of a civilization and each student chose... Read More