March 5 – March 9

Advisory

Wednesday’s advisory was amazing! To mourn/celebrate our lack of a snow day, students read and wrote poems about snow in humanities class with Allison. We then had a Snowetry Slam! Students bravely shared their poems and applauded each other’s efforts. We finished with a special trip to Dunkin Donuts for hot cocoa for everyone. It was a really warm and supportive morning for the 7th grade community.

Judaic Studies

This week students identified structural elements and used mishna tips they have learned to translate and discuss Mishna Aleph, Perek Aleph of Masechet Brachot. I know that sounds dry — but it was absolutely fascinating and really a pleasure to learn with your 7th graders.

We thought together about why Rabbi Yehuda haNasi began with this particular mishna. Why does he begin with a question about time — does time exist? Why do the answers to his question all involve different approaches to keeping track of time? Why does the mishna include a story about a great rabbi whose drunk sons don’t seem to know their father’s teachings? How is Rabbi Yehuda haNasi welcoming us into the world of the Mishna and teaching us how we should approach studying it?

Shabbat shalom!

Jessica

Math

7X successfully finished their assignment for “Coordinates and Linear Graphs” and started a new unit on “Inequalities.” In this unit, they will be learning to understand the basic properties of inequalities, solve simple linear inequalities, compare and contrast the solutions of inequalities with different inequality signs, and represent the solution of a linear inequality on a number line.

7Y have been challenged with the “Inequalities” unit and had a slower start with the next unit on “Perimeters and Areas of Plane Figures.” They learned to solve problems involving perimeters/circumferences and areas of squares, rectangles, triangles, and circles this week.

Hebrew

This week students learned about the “Tzabar” ( The ideal Israeli). They learned through articles and short stories about the history of the Tzabar, where the name originates from, about their behavior and how new immigrants in Israel compare their current life style in Israel to their previous life style. Students also acted out parts of the stories we learned and tried to imitate the Tzabar.

שבת שלום,

יהודה

Hebrew Heritage 

הורים יקרים,

השבוע התחלנו יחידה חדשה “זכויות הילד”. התלמידים קראו על תנאי החיים בהם חיו ילדים לפני שלוש מאות שנה. כיצד התייחסו אליהם? מה היו הציפיות מהם? האם היו להם את אותם זכויות כפי שיש לילדים כיום? מה גרם לשינוי בתפיסה כי לילדים יש צרכים שונים מאשר למבוגרים? מלבד קריאת טקסטים ודיון, התלמידים צופים בסרטים דוקומנטריים ועורכים השוואות בין מצבם של ילדים במאות הקודמות לבין כיום.

אשמח לראותכם ביום חמישי הקרוב.

סוף שבוע טוב,

אילנה

Science 

Students this week learned how saltwater and freshwater is different in their freezing point. This was accomplished by using our interaction simulation software from explore learning. After our Wednesday storm this concept was applied in how we treat roads during snow storms and why the ocean does not freeze unless you are located in extreme cold areas of the world. We continue to uncover how complex and different water is on our planet.

Mike Noll

Humanities 

Students worked with their narrative partner to present a short story to the class and lead a discussion. This required courage and focus to moderate a literary discussion with their peers. I was tremendously proud of my students who made astute observations about text, connected texts to their own lives, and analyzed plot and character details with ease. Students worked very hard to create their OWN narratives. I’m excited to read them and share them next week.

We postponed our vocabulary quiz and did our best to have an “indoor” snow day! This included reading and writing poetry, sipping hot chocolate, and watching the news! I loved spending this time with the 7th grade class.