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6th Grade News: 10/16-10/20/17

HUMANITIES

Our first full week back after the many holidays was a productive one, now that we have more time to really dig into the material. In Writing class, students wrapped up their final drafts of their narrative essays, in which they all told true stories of obstacles in their lives. They spent some time peer-editing as part of the writing process, which allowed them simultaneously to learn more about their peers’ lives while also gaining valuable writing tips.

In Literature class, students finished reading The Epic of Gilgamesh. The final chapters sparked sophisticated discussions and questions: Did Gilgamesh reach his goals? Did he find true fulfillment in the end, despite the fact that he didn’t literally achieve immortality? Are there other ways to achieve immortality–besides physically living forever? In addition, students reflected on the semester’s theme of heroism as they drew comparisons between a song about Superman and the story of Gilgamesh. 

Students focused on map skills and geography in History class. They practiced locating and describing locations in terms of latitude, longitude, and cardinal directions, and they explored the connections between ancient Mesopotamia’s geography and its culture.
Finally, 6th graders showed tremendous leadership and teaching skills as they taught their 2nd grade buddies the songs they learned at TEVA (see photos below). Through initiatives like these, 6th graders are spreading the knowledge they gained at TEVA around sustainability, “tikkun olam” (repairing the world), and waste reduction.
Shabbat shalom,
Naomi
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JUDAICS

By Niki

“This week we finished our Mishnah packet about Sukkot. We learned two paragraphs of Mishnah, we learned what is kosher and not kosher in the structure of the sukkah. It was interesting to learn about how many details there are in the text and so many ways that your sukkah can be unkosher. It made me concerned to think about how many ways your sukkah can be unkosher, because it might make it hard for people to have a kosher sukkah. I think it would be more important to have a sukkah even if it’s not perfectly kosher so you can still celebrate. I am looking forward to starting to build our model sukkahs next week! We could choose to be in a group that designed a sukkah that “pushes the limits” and make a sukkah that is kosher but doesn’t look like a sukkah. You could be in a group that makes a futuristic model on the computer. Or a group that makes a sukkah that teaches a lesson about things that are temporary in our world.” 

By Isaac

“This week in class we learned more of Mishnah Sukkot and did a lot of translation with our chevruta We were learning the different laws of how to make a kosher sukkah. One law that I really liked was the height maximum law. I think that if it is too tall then it is like you are reaching up to G-d and it reminded me of the tower of babel. We then choose our groups for making our own model sukkot. The sukkah that Saul and I are making is a futuristic sukkah. We really focused on making it so that it would be kind of like a tech sukkah.  We will be making a 3-D model of it on the ipad and I can’t wait to get started!”

HEBREW

Dear parents,

This week we finished the review unit. Next, we started again our Neta books. HaKbatza Aleph is studying book 2, Unit 1 on Tel- Aviv, life in the city by the sea. HaKbatza Bet has started the program from book 1 Unit 1, and is now on Unit 2, in which we will study the neighborhood.

In addition, for the next two weeks, the students will devote two days a week to AVANT online testing. These tests are based on cumulative knowledge, so there is no need to study. They do not count for the students’ grade, but they give us an indication about students’ placement in leveled groups.

I wish everyone a wonderful weekend,

Andreea

HEBREW HERITAGE

הורים יקרים,

השבוע התלמידים עבדו על פרוייקט סיום יחידת “המדריך למטייל” אשר במסגרתו כל תלמיד בחר ביעד שביקר או שהיה מעוניין לבקר. מטרת הפרוייקט היא להקנות לתלמידים את הכלים לחיפוש במחשב באתרים בעברית. התלמידים כתבו בלוג המשלב מספר פיסקאות המתארות לקורא את החוויה וכמו כן את המלצותיו.

סוף שבוע טוב,

אילנה

SCIENCE

Students this week in science continued their exploration of the micro universe. Building on microscope skills formed last week, they took individual cheek cell samples. They created their own slide and attempted to make a science discovery. Next week we will continue the exploration of cells and their internal parts.

Mike Noll

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