8th grade graduation is approaching! :'(
Humanities Students have chosen their final independent reading assignment for their 8th grade year: They are reading nonfiction books that range in topics from true crime to astrophysics, from historical pirates to DNA sequencing. Additionally, students are preparing for a big test taking place on June 2 that will assess their constitutional knowledge. Through reading excerpts in the American Constitution, students learn to identify 5 key concepts in American law: popular sovereignty, limited government, federalism, checks and balances, and the 3/5ths compromise. These thoughtful and critical 8th graders are excited to get a more intimate understanding of the foundation of... Read More
What’s Happening in 5th- 5/7/21
Humanities I want to start with a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to Shena and Milo for taking such good care of the fifth graders in my absence! Although I was out for 13 weeks, it feels like no time has passed and we are picking up right where we left off. In ELA, we are working our way through the novel, Seedfolks. Seedfolks is about a community garden in a working-class neighborhood of Cleveland. Each chapter of the book is from the perspective of a different member of the community who shares their story and how they made their way to... Read More
Kindergarten blog 4/23/21
Dear Families, In Social Studies we are continuing to make maps. Ater making maps of their bedrooms at home, children made maps of imaginary towns that included streets that they named as well as places they wanted to have in their towns. This led to a trip out to the front of the building to make a map of Smith Street. We first looked at the buildings, noting their size and purpose (grocery store, pizza place, apartment building, coffee shop, offices, school). We then looked at the many structures on the sidewalk and talked about their functions (bike racks, parking signs, gardens, street signs, parking payment... Read More
Third Grade 4/19
Judaics: Celebrating Yom Ha’atzmaut! (Israel’s Independence Day) Students dressed in blue and white on Thursday along with the rest of the school, to celebrate Israel’s 73rd birthday. We learned this week about the concept of Aliyah, which literally means going up, and is used to describe immigration to Israel. Students considered various push and pull factors that might make someone leave the country of their birth to move to a new country. We discovered the many different countries that Jews left to move to Israel and the changing immigration patterns over the years as this related to historical events. Students... Read More
April 15, 2021
HUMANITIES The 7th grade is finishing up our Holocaust and Human Behavior unit, in which the students are putting their final touches on projects ranging from illustrated timelines, fictionalized diary entries, and argumentative essays. I have been proud of the learning and growth students have shown during this unit. This week, we are starting to read Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. We will be reading the play with an accompanying modern English translation, as well as watching selected scenes from the 1968 and 1996 film versions of the play to enrich the experience reading the play. I am looking forward to diving... Read More
Kindergarten Blog 4/15/21
Dear Families, This week in Kindergarten, students practiced addition with a new game. Partners were given two cards, one with an animal, one with an equation (ex: Frogs, 2+7= ___). Together, they solved the problem, and came up with a story to fit the animal and the equation (ex: 2 frogs sat on a log. 7 frogs came to join them. All together there were 9 frogs. The end!). We are also reviewing handwriting steps, and have a brand new tool to use: chalk boards! We use different materials (chalk, sponge, water) to make each letter “the Kindergarten way.” Changing... Read More
April in the 8th Grade
Judaic Studies It’s been a powerful 2 weeks of learning with the 8th grade. I was moved and awed by the focus and thoughtfulness students brought to our Yom haShoah unit. In preparation for our speaker, Dr. Anna Ornstein, we learned about the Holocaust in Hungary, and about Auschwitz. This was a difficult topic, but students were resilient and able to share and process together in a way that I really admired. We began our next unit — looking at moral dilemmas through the lens of Rabbinic literature. We are focusing on a real life question: what should be done... Read More
Kindergarten Blog 3/12/21
Dear Families, It’s been an exciting and artistic week in Kindergarten! In math, students decorated their own Hundreds Charts, and practiced how to use them. We also played a game about ordering numbers. Kids were each given a card with a number on it (shuffled!), and then had to rearrange themselves so that their numbers were in order! We are also learning how to tie our shoes! Students each have a paper shoe to keep at school, and are able to practice tying the laces at points throughout the day. If you would like to practice at home, remind your... Read More
March 11, 2021
HUMANITIES The 7th grade has been deeply engaged in our unit, Holocaust and Human Behavior. We are studying the Holocaust chronologically and analytically while reading and discussing The Diary of Anne Frank. This week, students analyzed Nazi propaganda, the Nuremberg Laws, and decisions average Germans faced under the new Nazi regime. The students have shown an impressive level of engagement, interest, and insight during this difficult unit. Sammy להורים שלום, אני מקווה ששלומכם בטוב. שבוע שעבר סיימנו לעבוד על יחידה מורכבת ומסועפת מפרקים שונים בהיסטוריה בנוגע להתפתחות ״זכויות הילד״. במסגרת היחידה התלמידים צפו בסרטים דוקומנטריים, קראו טקסטים, ערכו דיונים בכיתה,... Read More
March in the 8th Grade
Humanities Students are wrapping up their essay reflections about visiting home-bound elders and will submit them for national competition on this Friday. The beauty of these relationships the students have developed with their elders really shines through their writing! It’s been a pleasure to read. Additionally, students are deep in their study of the legacy of enslavement in the United States. They have read primary source narratives and are making their way through reading the New York Times’ 1619 Broadside. Joseph Math The 8th Grade just finished a hefty unit about systems of Linear Equations and Inequalities. Now that the... Read More