January 2nd – January 5th
Judaic Studies The 7th graders began our second unit on the book of Bmidbar this week. Students translated the first 3 verses of chapter 11, developed kushiyot (text-based questions) about them, and looked at answers from mefarshim (commentators) including Abarbanel, Rashi, Sforno, and Ramban. Our goal for this unit is to practice developing and answer excellent kushiyot, and to explore how the mefarshim deal with difficulties in the text. We began by looking at the word כמתאוננים/ like complainers. Why are Bnai Yisrael described as “like” complainers? What are they complaining about? Why doesn’t the Torah tell us what they’re complaining... Read More
December 18th – December 21st
Math This week, 7X students started unit six and learned to solve problems involving ratio. After winter break, they will continue with the unit and learn to find rates, average rates, and speed. 7Y studied and reviewed to solve problems involving ratio, rate, and speed. They completed the unit with a worksheet instead of taking a test on Wednesday. After winter break, we will be going on to Unit 7: Percentage. Have a wonderful break! Judaic Studies After Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai was smuggled out of the besieged Jerusalem in a coffin, he made his way to Yavneh, where he... Read More
December 11th – December 15th
Judaic Studies Your 7th graders blew me away this week! We hosted our conference on the Future of Judaism: Perspectives from the Year 90. Students presented the thoughts of their historical group about whether Judaism could continue after the destruction of the Beit haMikdash. Using technology to express their ideas — including Instagrams, websites, and powerpoints — students argued passionately and challenged each other, all in character. We celebrated their hard work by designing (and then eating!) cookie coins for each group, modeled on the Roman coin issued after the defeat of Judea: 7th graders visited with their 3rd grade buddies,... Read More
Dec 4 – Dec 8
Hebrew This week the seventh graders wrote conversations and later on filmed them. The conversations were written based on “life situations” that were assigned to them using vocabulary from our unit. A situation for example: “You have tickets to a concert you are unable to attend, you need to try to sell the tickets to your friend convince them the band is worth going to see”. The students wrote creative conversations memorized them and filmed them. Shabbat Shalom, Yehuda Judaic Studies Students worked hard this week preparing their presentations for Tuesday’s conference, titled The Future(?) of Judaism: Perspectives from 90 CE. The... Read More
Nov 27 – Dec 1
Hebrew This week as part of our unit on Music the 7th graders read articles and research on how Music has a direct impact on our brains and how it influences our life since the time of the Bible and till today. Shabbat shalom, Yehuda Science The 7th Grade STEAM projects are complete and students are excited to demonstrate their function next Tuesday during STEAM Fest. The culmination of weeks of work has produced a sense of accomplishment and pride for each created Rube Goldberg device. The imaginations of the students have produced an array of unique devices! We await our 7th grade parent guests... Read More
November 20th – 22nd
Advisory For the past two weeks, 7th grade girls and boys have had separate advisories. With Yehuda, the 7th grade girls read and discussed an interesting op-ed from the New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/31/opinion/im-10-and-i-want-girls-to-raise-their-hands.html With Allison and Jessica, the boys looked at a different article from the Times https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/04/opinion/sunday/kids-would-you-please-start-fighting.html which they really disagreed with. We will bring the whole group back together after Thanksgiving so students can share their thoughts and suggestions for how to improve our classroom conversations. Judaic Studies This week, students worked on projects to mark the completion of our first Bmidbar unit. The 7th graders made power point presentations, choosing... Read More
Nov 13 – Nov 17
Hebrew This week in class we picked up where the students left off last year in their Neta books. We started by reviewing the unit on music. Students listened to conversations about different opinions on music genres and shared their own opinions. We also discussed the topic of reality shows and what they think about children participating in them. Shabbat Shalom, Yehuda Judaic Studies We have completed our study of the first ten chapters of bmidbar, which are all about the formation of an organized community in preparation for entering the land of Israel. Full of excitement, Moshe invites his father-in-law to... Read More
Nov 6th – Nov 10th
Judaic Studies It was wonderful meeting with many of you during conferences. This week Bnai Yisrael began their journey to Eretz Yisrael! Through creative writing, 7th graders explored what Bnai Yisrael’s emotions and reactions must have been to learning they were finally on their way to the promised land. Students imagined Bnai Yisrael’s high hopes and excitement as they packed up their tents and began their journey. We then thought about what it’s like in our own families when preparing to go on a big trip – the yelling, the forgetting things, the stressing out over being late, etc. Why... Read More
Oct 30th – Nov 3rd
Hebrew This week the middle school continued the proficiency-based online assessment they started last week. We use this assessment twice a year (beginning & end) and look into all four skills: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening. As this is a proficiency-based test, there is no need to prepare for it. There are two main goals for this test. The first is for the school to assess a student’s progress through the year as well as across the grades. The second is to see patterns of progress which will help adapt our curriculum and instruction as needed. The results of this assessment are... Read More
October 23rd – 27th
Judaic Studies 7th graders used the Tanach to figure out how the Israelite camp was set up in the wilderness. Students came up with theories: why is the camp organized in this way? What does the architecture of the space communicate to this nation of former slaves? 7th graders shared many wonderful, thoughtful theories about the placement of the tribes and why the mishkan (tabernacle) is at the center of the camp. Science The 7th Grade STEAM project continues with the design process that continually improves, imagines, plans, and creates. This has allowed the projects to evolve within every class.... Read More