March 11: Pajamas and Purim

Humanities: 

In reading, the classes have been hard at work in their Autism Book Clubs. Each group has been reading a book which features a person with autism as the narrator or main character. We have learned about neurodiversity and specifically what it means to be a person with autism, focusing on how each person is an individual with unique experiences. We talked about the characteristics and challenges of the characters in the books and each group created a one-pager with traits, relationships, and a quote that best represents the character.

During writing, we are researching for argumentative essays. The students have stated their claim and three reasons to support their claim. We are now working on researching evidence for each of the reasons. Ask your student to share their topic!

Finally, in social studies, we are moving forward in our study of Ancient Egypt. We have learned about pyramids through a webquest, written in hieroglyphics, presented slideshows about famous pharaohs, and explored the social structure. Up next: gods/goddesses and mummification!

 

Judaic Studies: 

In JS we worked hard to figure out mysteries within the Joseph story texts about who bought and sold Joseph. We used historical information, commentary and clues in the text to help us create detailed crime boards and reports to present to the class. Students worked so hard to look at details and come up with wonderful theories for this classically confusing section of the text.

 We also saw how Joseph’s brother Reuven and father Jacob tore their clothing when they thought Joseph was dead. We talked about the ritual of “kriyah” “tearing the clothing” when someone passes and how it came from this source. Students shared about their personal experiences with seeing this ritual and had beautiful insights on why this physical tearing makes sense to mark a passing. 

Students continued to follow Joseph’s journey into Egypt as a slave and noted how he was changing as a person because of his life experiences. We reflected on the big question, “Can people change?” 

We ended our Chumash studies as dream interpreters looking at the dreams of the fellow prisoners with Joseph and Pharaoh. It has been so exciting to see the students grow in their confidence with translating and excitement for finding kushiyot (text based questions). 

For Purim we are now working on seeing the conflicts in Megillah Esther and thinking about how these conflicts stem from not dealing kindly with difference. We pulled moments from the story and had the characters handle the conflict with kindness and openness instead of disrespect or ignoring it. See the picture below of how they mapped these conflicts onto hamentachen and rewrote the “sweet ending” in the center. 

We also had the pleasure of welcoming Cy’s Dad, Nadar and Maryam to speak with us about their Muslim and Jewish families and how they have dealt respectfully with cultural differences.  

We are so excited to welcome our student teacher Josh Less from Pardes next week. See your email for more information about his month with us! 

Shabbat Shalom, 

Laura 

Hebrew Heritage:

להורים שלום,

השבוע סיימנו לעבוד על יחידת המוזיקה בה התלמידים נחשפו לסוגים שונים של מוזיקה וכלי נגינה. לסיכום כתבו התלמידים פרויקט בו בחרו 2 שירים ישראלים הכי אהובים עליהם וחקרו מה משמעת השיר (טקסט), מי כתב והלחין אותו, מדוע בחרו בשיר הזה?

השבוע התחלנו יחידת חדשה ״אוכל ישראלי״, במסגרת זו נסקור סוגי מאכלים שונים שנתפסים כמאכלים ישראלים ונבין באמצעות גלי העליות לארץ של עדות שונות מהיכן המאכלים הגיעו לישראל

מאחלת לכם סוף שבוע נפלא,

אילנה

Math: 

I hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing February break. The 5th graders have been working hard learning all about fractions. Specifically, adding and subtracting with uncommon denominators– and then multiplying and dividing with fractions. To celebrate Women’s History Month, we will be learning about specific women who helped change the history of mathematics [Examples include: Grace Hopper and Sofia Kovalevskaya]. On Monday 3/14, we will be celebrating Pi Day!

Hebrew with Yuliya:

The 5th graders have been learning more about Jewish famous people. They learned about Elvis Presley and Helen Keler. In additional, they read and learned Rabi Akivah’s life story and how he became important and famous person. Students worked hard to study new vocabulary and then to tell this story.

While learning life stories, we practiced a lot how to use accurately past tense, expended new vocabulary and learned new expressions. Additionally, students completed their Hebrew project “My roots”. Every student wrote about his family history and presented it to the classmates.

We had a lot of fun learning new words with Quizlet and Blooket.

Shabbat Shalom!

Yuliya

 

Science

In science, we have jumped into the second part of our physics study: mass, weight, and density. Students have learned that mass is the measure of how much matter is in an object while weight is the measure of the gravitational force on an object. With these definitions also came an understanding that mass cannot change based on location which weight can. Although, there was a lively discussion about how the amount of matter must change a little because we eat, digest, and eliminate food all day!

The 5th grade scientists have completed two labs to deepen their understanding of weight and mass. In a hands on lab, they learned to use a spring scale and digital scale to measure the weight and mass of different objects in the classroom. They also learned how to convert grams to kilograms and how to calculate weight (Weight = mass x gravitational force). If you didn’t know- the gravitational force on Earth is 9.8 m/s^2! In a virtual lab using Explore Learning, students tested out the weight and mass of different objects on different celestial bodies. If only we could go to space and try it out for ourselves!