Week 34: Monday, May 14th – Friday, May 18th

Dear parents,

This week the 8th grade continued to edit and re-edit their autobiographies. The deadline for submitting the written version is Tuesday. Next week we will be using the autobiographies as a basis for making personal movies in Hebrew.

This is a project that provides a nice opportunity for you to collaborate with the children, so feel free to start in the movie or just assist with production!

I wish everyone Hag Shavuot Sameach,

Andreaa

הורים יקרים,

השבוע המשכנו בלימוד זמן עתיד תוך תרגול הטיית פעלים וכתיבת משפטים.

במסגרת יחידת “משאלות”, קראנו את הסיפור של אלכסנדר פושקין “הדייג ודג הזהב” וערכנו השוואה לסיפור של יהודה אטלס.

סוף שבוע טוב,

אילנה

Humanities

Literature and Writing: This week, students continue their work with Night.  They discussed the role of Kapos in concentration camps, the idea of “choiceless choice”, and wrestled with whether, from their own vantage point, they have the right judge the actions individuals doing whatever they could to survive.  Students also learned about various types of resistance in concentration camps, from everyday acts of kindness and religious expression to armed rebellions and riots. Next week, students will continue to explore the question of religious faith during and after the Holocaust and examine what the words “freedom” and “liberation” really mean for the survivors.

History: This week, students were assigned their end of the year independent research project.  They were allowed to pick an event, movement, or person of their choice in American History to learn more about.  They will have to create a three-sided display board about their topic that includes a three-dimensional or technological element.  On Friday, June 8th, from 10:30 to 11:30, we will have an American History Research Fair in which students will display their work.  Students will also give a five-minute oral presentation of their research to the class before the fair begins on the 8th. Next week, students will have time to work on their projects in class and also start their historical fiction book clubs on slavery.

Hope everyone enjoys the long weekend,

Michael

Judaic Studies

We completed our study of the story of Shimshon. Students wrote or made videos of themselves giving a funeral eulogy for Shimshon, reflecting on his life, and whether or not he should be considered a hero. We looked at various paintings of the story, analyzing the interpretations each artist made, and thinking about art as a type of midrash. Students are now working on art projects to grapple with the issues of faith and free will in Shimshon’s story. Each 8th grader was randomly assigned a “fate” – a limitation for their work, such as “draw with your eyes closed” or “you have to do a collage” or “you may only use shapes and straight lines.” Students have been inventive and creative in their work.

Shabbat shalom and chag sameach,

Jessica

Math and Science

Students this week welcomed a guest speaker, a descendant of John Roebling, chief designer and engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge, who to talked with them about the history of the Brooklyn Bridge and to show students artifacts from the bridge’s initial construction. Then, students  started working on their bridge blueprints inspired by their research done last week. These blueprints were created to scale and based on genuine bridge blueprints. These hand drawn blueprints will be used to create computer versions next week. We are moments from the actual building process of these bridges. We cannot wait to see all this work come together during construction. 

Mike and Craig