November 2, 2012

Dear Gefen Families,

Until winter break our science unit will be learning all about Air and Weather (perfect timing with Hurricane Sandy!). As a pre-assesssment, we began by talking about what we already know about air and weather and then we created a class (1st and 2nd) air book where the children illustrated what they think air looks like. Some drew their breath that they see outside in the winter and others drew swirls to represent moving air. Next, we shared the story "The Magic School Bus in a Hurricane" and talked about our different experiences of Hurricane Sandy. Lots of experiments yet to come  . . . . . . . .

In math this week we looked at grouping within fraction problems. For example, if we bake 10 cookies and want to make 1/5 chocolate, 1/5 sugar and 3/5 chocolate chip, how do we figure out how many cookies are in a 1/5?

In Torah, we continued with the story of the Tower of Babel. We learned that the people were so busy building the tower that they forgot to take care of their families and animals and they forgot their devotion to G-d. The students were asked to think of a time when they were so busy that they forgot to do something important.

And last, we got together with the kindergarten and first grade to learn about the difference between the popular vote and the electoral college. First, we voted for something (flavor of ice cream, color, etc.). Once we thought we had a "winner," we learned that we weren't done yet, it was only the popular vote. Then, we broke up into "states" to vote for an elector and found that sometimes the "winner" was not really what we expected based on the electoral vote. (We found this great lesson on the CBS Sunday Morning website. Interviewer Mo Rocca went into a classroom to do a similar activity with some young children. The whole story will be airing on PBS next week. Check it out!)

Shabbat Shalom,

Hamorah Caren

Reminder:
School is closed next Tuesday, November 6th, for professional development.