Weeks 5, 6, and 7: October 2nd – October 20th

Advisory

We have been using advisory to help students prepare for the high school placement process, specifically how to handle themselves in an interview setting.  Students worked in pairs and small groups simulating interview questions and responds.

Hebrew

Dear parents,

This week we finished the review unit, culminating with a quiz on adjectives. Next, we started again our Neta books from last year. HaKbatza Aleph is studying book 3, Unit 5 on learning and teaching. HaKbatza  Bet is starting the program from book 2, Unit 7 on trips. For the next two weeks, the students will devote two days a week to AVANT  online testing. These tests are based on accumulative 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

Heritage

,הורים יקרים

במהלך החודש דנו בשאלה האם יש אוכל ישראלי? האם ישנם מאכלים ייחודים למטבח הישראלי? ישראל כאמור נוצרה מעלייתם של יהודים מעדות שונות שהביאו עמם מאכלים מסורתיים להם אשר השתלבו במטבח הישראלי. במהלך היחידה נחשפו התלמידים לסוגי מאכלי העדות ועשו פעילות עם השינשינים בו הרכיבו מנה מסורתית עיראקית.

השבוע עבדנו על פרוייקט סיום היחידה, בה כל תלמיד בחר במאכל עדתי שהוא טעם (במסגרת משפחתית) או היה רוצה להתנסות. התלמידים ערכו מחקר אודותיו במחשב באתרים בעברית ולאחריו וכתבו מספר פסקאות.

בשבוע הבא התלמידים יציגו בפני הכיתה את עבודתם. אתם מוזמנים לשאול את ילדיכם על מה הם כתבו, ומדוע בחרו דווקא במאכל הזה?

,סוף שבוע טוב

אילנה

Humanities

Literature and Writing: These past weeks have been very busy! Students completed the final draft of their argument essays about Chaim Potok’s The Chosen.  Then, they explored the parallels between the Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism in 1950s by reading primary source documents and watching interviews from those who were blacklisted.  Finally they also learned biographical information about Arthur Miller and read an essay explaining his motivations for writing his landmark play, The Crucible.  We have already started reading Act I and will continue to dissect the play in our whole-class and small-group performances and discussions next week.

History: Students finished their group presentations on early regions of the Americas and began to study the history of European exploration and colonization of America. They were broken up into groups to participate in a mock trial of Columbus and others to determine who was ultimately responsible for the violence directed towards the Taino on the island of Hispaniola.  Students will tackle the issues raised during the trial in the coming weeks as they prepare to write an argument essay about the best way to position Christopher Columbus’ legacy in the present.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend,

Michael

Judaic Studies

The 8th graders are deeply immersed in our unit on obligations between parents and children. We began by focusing on what your children are supposed to do for you, as elucidated by the Torah, Mishna, and Talmud. We talked about whether it is sexist that the Mishna says fathers are obligated in mitzvot done for children, but not mothers. Men’s and women’s roles were very different during the time of the rabbis; is this still true today? How should we deal with Jewish texts that were created in a different social context? Another major issue we discussed: the Talmud says children should not contradict their parents. But what if your parent is wrong? What if your parent tells you to do something immoral? It’s been a pleasure learning with such a reflective and thoughtful crew.

Shabbat shalom!

Jessica

Math

Science

Last week students started to explore the properties of matter. This was accomplished by using M&Ms and discovering how a solid dissolves in water.

This week in science students continued to learn how the periodic table functions. We conducted an imaginative activity pretending aliens landed on earth. The elements we have been studying are universal however their names are different here on earth than on the alien’s home planet. In order to start a new friendship that would further our science discoveries, students needed to place the alien names for their elements into the universal periodic table. This allowed students to start understanding the many parts of the table. Working together and solving clues they were able to further their understanding of elements and properties.

Next week in science we will start exploring how atoms come together in order to form molecules using hands on and interactive methods.

Mike Noll

Shabbat Shalom!

The 8th Grade Team