Kitah Bet

Shalom!

This week in Jewish Studies, we learned what God created on Thursday and Friday. We used the Smartboard to summarize this information. The kids had a lot of fun! In our prayers, we are moving along with Ashrei. We’re on the letter yud. In Hebrew, we studied the tools that help us learn (computer, flashcards, books, etc). Next week, we will start studying Tu B’Shevat!

In General Studies this week, for the first time ever, some of the students had the class jobs of being Bloggers! These jobs will rotate each week, just like our regular jobs. Here is their information on what we studied in each subject:

Math Blogger (Abigail) - I love math! Now we are measuring during math class. Math is a positive thinking area. When you brainstorm, you get good ideas for math. We learned about nonstandard units (measuring in big paper clips, small paper clips, hand spans, arm spans, our own feet, and lengths of ribbon). Then we learned about the standard unit of meters. We had fun measuring ourselves and things all around the room with metersticks!

We also learned that there is a U.S. system and a Metric system. The meter is on the left, and the yard is on the right.

Reading Blogger (Noah) – Every week, we have a Reading test on Friday. Today, our Reading story is “A Weed Is a Flower,” and that’s true! This story is the biography of George Washington Carver’s life.

Spelling Blogger (Nahila) - On Mondays, we take our Spelling Pretest. After that, we see what list we have for the week. We get Blue List or Green List. On Fridays, we take our test.

Wordly Wise Blogger (Lial) - When we study Wordly Wise, we learn what words mean and when we use them. Most of the words have more than one meaning. We read a story called “Bailey Finds a New Home,” and answered some questions.

In the future, we’ll have more Bloggers. In Science this week, we began a big unit on Plants and Photosynthesis. We started to work on individual Science Journals, and we wished there was more time in the school day! We will do more studying next week, and we’ll even plant seeds!

In Music class on Monday, we had so much fun drumming!

Our Mystery Reader this week was Hazzan Holzer! Even after thinking about his three clues, we were surprised to see him! He read us the wonderful book The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. Toda, Hazzan!

While outside at recess one day, Mrs. McVearry and the kids discovered an interesting creature! For an optional extra credit assignment, can you figure out what it is? You can turn in your answer any time next week.

We have all missed Zoe very much this week! We look forward to her healthy return soon!

Please check out the Art Blog. The students have been working on some special activities!

Shabbat Shalom,

Morah Rivka & Miss Stein

Happy 2012!

The students transitioned back to school very nicely, and we’ve had a great four-day week! On Tuesday, we learned that New Year’s Resolutions are promises you make to yourself. After reading aloud a funny play called “I Resolve,” we brainstormed and then drafted our own resolutions. Our final step was publishing them by writing them on a snowflake paper of our choosing. Feel free to stop by next week to see our tree bulletin board inside the classroom!

In addition to the weekly Spelling stories we write, we have been enjoying other forms of creative writing as well. On Tuesday, we wrote about our Winter Break activities. We are also currently working on a class book on iPads with Mrs. Hernandez! After a whole class brainstorming session on the things we should include in the book, each of the students wrote a rough draft, edited, revised, and typed their final copy on an iPad. We’re now adding pictures and finishing up our work. We look forward to showing you our creation when it’s complete.

In Math class this week, we learned to solve word problems using something called unit bars. Please see the post from Tuesday for an explanation. I’m proud of how quickly the kids have acquired this new skill.

Today, we took Star Reading tests again in the library to see how much we have grown as readers so far this year!

We played basketball in P.E. this week, and it was so much fun!

Morah Rivka and I wish you a healthy and happy new year!

Shabbat Shalom,

Miss Stein

Happy Winter Break!

This was a busy and productive week of school. In Math class, we continued practicing subtraction with regrouping. In Reading class, we read  the story “Anansi Goes Fishing.”      It was about a shrewd turtle who fools a spider using trickery. In this folk tale, we studied cause and effect; and when creative ideas are good versus when they are bad.

The students did an excellent job of locating compound words within the story and around our entire classroom! We integrated life science into these lessons by reading about insects, arachnids, and animal helpers. We also incorporated social studies by reading about how a spider’s web is similar to a fisherman’s net, and what happens after fishermen cast their nets into the sea.

It was perfect timing when we received our second set of Pen Pal letters! We will write back to our new friends after the break.

Our Mystery Reader today was Tal and Jona’s grandfather, and he read us Too Many Latkes! by Richard Codor. It was a really funny fable!

During Library with Mrs. Hallett, we chose some wonderful books to enjoy over the next two weeks.

  Today, we had not only a Chanukah party, but a farewell party too! We will miss both boys, and we look forward to their future visits.

Morah Rivka and I would like to thank all of you very much for your generous Chanukah gifts! Hag Sameach and Happy New Year!

Miss Stein

Shalom!

This week in Jewish Studies, we continued to study the Chanukah story. We emphasized how the Jewish people felt when the Greeks came to Israel and didn’t allow them to live Jewish lives.

In the book of Bereshit, we learned about the third day of creation, when God created the earth and the plants. The students searched for, and highlighted, the important Hebrew words.

In the prayer Ashrei, we learned two new letters, dalet and hay. Everyone is mastering this prayer, one line at a time. Great job!

In General Studies this week, our Reading story was called “Dear Juno,” and it was about a little boy who corresponds with his grandmother, who lives in Korea. We discussed the different ways that people can communicate, and one of them was using sign language. Sage brought in information on how to make the letters of the alphabet and the numbers 1-10 with our hands, and we had fun learning!

We also brainstormed as a class some of the many ways that people can communicate.

 In Math this week, we studied subtracting with regrouping, first in the tens and then in the hundreds. These were big lessons, and everyone worked hard! The students really enjoyed solving problems on our SmartBoard!

Did you hear that we used pedometers in P.E. class? The kids took thousands of steps and got so much exercise this week! They also enjoyed playing hockey.

Our Mystery Reader today read us the book Sammy Spider’s First Hanukkah by Sylvia A. Rouss, and we really enjoyed the silly story!

During snack time, many kids have expressed the desire for more food or sometimes different food than what is in their backpacks. I’ve encouraged the kids to speak to their parents and to help pack their own school snacks. Also, we have created a snack basket where I keep pretzels, crackers, and raisins. If you’d like to contribute to this basket, please feel free to send in healthy, kosher goodies! Thank you.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Shabbat Shalom,

Morah Rivka & Miss Stein