Weeks 3 and 4: Monday, September 18th – Thursday, September 28th

Advisory:

This week in advisory, the 8th graders once again stepped up as leaders of the school community. They prepared presentations to help the rest of the students understand the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and what we as a community can do to help.  On Monday, they will give their presentations to the other grades and kick-start our relief drive efforts.

Hebrew:

Dear parents,

For the last two weeks, the 8th grade focused on using the structure of VERB + INFINITIVE verbally, in authentic real-life situations. On Tuesday, the students will have a quiz on these verbs in this structure.

I wish everyone Gmar Chatima Tova and easy fast.

Andreea

Heritage:

,הורים יקרים

השבוע המשכנו לעסוק ביחידת טיולים באמצעות קריאת בלוגים של משפחות ישראליות שטיילו בהולנד, תוך היכרות עם אוצר מילים חדש ושימוש במילות קישור להשוואת בין הטקסטים. בנוסף זו הפעם הראשונה שהגיענו אלינו השינשינים, הם ערכו פעילות של משחקים ושירים הקשורה לחג סוכות.

,גמר חתימה טובה

אילנה

Humanities:

Literature and Writing: We have continued our review of The Chosen and have now started to compose our first major writing assignment of the year.  Students must choose between the two main characters in the text and argue which character made a greater transformation from the beginning to the end of the novel.  We have used this assignment as an opportunity to review the writing process and also the structure of a five-paragraph essay.  Students are well into writing their first drafts and will begin editing and revising their drafts next week. Also, students were responsible for handing in their first week of Independent Reading Journal responses.  Every week by Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, students must complete their responses to at least two prompts of their choice in their independent reading journals about the book they are reading.

History: In History, students completed their first quiz of the year covering vocabulary terms, geography, and map reading skills that we will use throughout the year to read, write, and think like historians. We also studied the Ancient Civilizations of the Americans, with a particular focus on the Maya and Aztec.  Next week, we will study different Native American tribes and their lives before the arrival of European settlers and explore how diverse geographic locations created meaningful differences among the various tribes.

It has been another rewarding (if short) two weeks of learning and I hope everyone has a relaxing and peaceful weekend.

Michael

Judaic Studies:

The 8th graders learned a strange and compelling aggada (story from the Talmud) about Yom Kippur. We had fascinating discussions in class about the main character in the story, Pleimo, and what kind of person he was. The story also includes Satan (in disguise!) so we touched on how the rabbis saw “Satan” and what that might mean for each of us. Students made hilarious and insightful videos, demonstrating their understanding of the content of the story as well as its deeper meaning. I hope to be able to post the videos next week.

Gmar chatima tova! Wishing you all a meaningful and easy fast!

Jessica

Math:

Science:

While Mike was at TEVA this week, the 8th graders worked with Sammi, the STEAM Educator, during their science classes. Both classes learned about and practiced using an app called Noteability. This app allows students to create notes that integrate text, photos, drawings, highlighting, and voice recordings. The students loved exploring this new note-taking tool! In addition, 8b put their knowledge of the periodic table to the test by creating models of different elements. The 8th grade will continue demonstrating and growing their knowledge of the periodic table and elements next week.

The 8th grade team wishes you a happy new year and hopes you have an easy fast!