March  22, 2013

This week we researched and wrote about different Pesach traditions from around the world. Did you know that in Iran everyone at the seder table takes an onion and lightly hits the person next to them on the shoulder? This symbolizes when the Jews were slaves and were hit by the Egyptians. Or, maybe you didn't know that in Turkey the adults act out the Passover story for the children before the seder begins. We also practiced the four questions and wrote our own questions about Pesach. In addition, the K-2 students had a mock seder today which was run by our fifth graders.

In science we've been learning all about the life cycle of the butterfly, including learning butterfly words in Hebrew. This week we began to prepare for the science fair by illustrating the life cycle stages for our presentation board.

This week for math we reviewed double and triple digit addition and subtraction with regrouping. Please make sure your child is still practicing his/her facts at home (up through 20).

Wishing everyone a wonderful Passover and an enjoyable break.

Shabbat Shalom,

Hamorah Caren

Reminders:
The book report is due on Wednesday, April 3rd.
Please send in research for your child's country project on Wednesday, April 3rd.
Tuesday, April 9th we will be taking a field trip to the Butterfly Place. More information will be sent home after break.

Silent Reading Time

Working together to find words in the dictionary.

Playing Passover Jeopardy with Ziv and Rivi.

Working on Centimeter Art during Math.

March 15, 2013

Dear Gefen Families,

This week in math we focused on measuring with centimeters. The students created a character and designed a map of their character's day. Then, they measured the character's travels in centimeters. It was a lot of fun! Soon their projects will be up in the hall to view.

We continued our study of Passover by reviewing the symbols on the seder plate and reviewing the order of the seder. We discussed each step in detail and practiced blessings. We also shared some Passover stories.

In science we started to learn about the butterfly life cycle. And, we wrote our class poem about butterflies using alliteration. This poem was entered into the science poetry contest. A copy of the poem was sent home on Thursday.

In Torah we discussed the story of Jacob meeting Rachel. He had to work for seven years to marry her. We wrote about whether or not this was fair.  And, we wrote about whether or not there was something we felt it would be worth working seven years for.

And, last, for grammar we reviewed quotation marks and learned about articles (a, an and the).

Shabbat Shalom,

Hamorah Caren

Reminders: book reports are due Wednesday, April 3rd
Please send in research material for your child's country study on that day as well.

Using the computer at recess.

Writing about the symbols on the seder plate.

Displaying a seder plate.

Comparing answers during math class.

March 8, 2013

Dear Gefen Families,

This week we began to learn about Passover. We generated a list of things that we already know and then we shared an interesting story about the why's and how's of Passover. Next, we did some creative writing, first as an Egyptian writing to Pharaoh and then as a slave writing to Pharaoh. Next week we will examine the seder plate, the order of the seder and the four questions. And, last, we will learn about  how Passover is celebrated in other parts of the world.

For math, we finished our perimeter art and learned about volume and area. If you have a chance, check out the hallway in front of our classroom!

In our Torah study we focused on Jacob's dream. We talked about how G-d gave Jacob the courage to move on by himself and then each student gave an example of a difficult time and what gave them the courage to get through it.

In science we began our butterfly unit by reading a story about butterflies. Then, we jumped into learning about alliteration because the first and second grades will be entering a class poem about butterflies to the Massachusetts Science Poetry Contest. This poem will be displayed at our school poetry night.

Shabbat Shalom,

Hamorah Caren

Reminders:
Please return the country choice selection sheet
We will be going on a field trip to the Butterfly Place on April 9th. More to follow.

Reading with K buddies

Working on Perimeter Art

Showing the volume of a structure

Some of our Perimeter Art

March 1, 2013

Dear Gefen Families,

I hope that everyone had a restful February break. It is hard to believe that it is already March. Where has the time gone?

This week we celebrated our 100th day of school! There were many activities for the children to choose from: a 100 day activity book, put 100 gumballs into the gumball machines, what measures 100 cm, exercise for 100 seconds, etc. The kids had so much fun.

In our last week learning about civil rights we shared a book called When Grandmama Sings by Margaree King Mitchell. It is about a woman who goes on tour to sing in the segregated south. And, we learned about Harriet Tubman as well. As a conclusion to our unit, the children wrote about their dreams, G-d's dream and MLK's dream. We also watched a clip from the news about the Rosa Parks statue that was just unveiled. (Perfect timing as our unit came to a close!)

In math we continued our unit on geometry. We completed symmetry and now we are looking at both flat and 3-D shapes. We are also learning about the perimeter of shapes and in what real life situations we would need to know perimeter. Next, we will look at area and volume.

And, finally, for Torah, we continued the story of the birthright issue between Jacob and Esau.  We talked about why Rebecca helped to trick Isaac and whether or not she did the right thing. We also discussed whether or not Esau really had a right to be angry.

Shabbat Shalom,

Hamorah Caren

Reminder: Students in grades 3-8 are required to do a project for the school science fair. Students in K-2 will be doing a project as a class. However, K-2 students are encouraged to do a project on their own as well. It's not too late!  Please speak with Hamorah Nancy if you are interested.

100th Day Activity Books

100 Gumballs

Second Grade Creates Symmetrical Art

Purim Costumes

Working on Plural Noun Menu

February 15, 2013

I hope that everyone enjoyed last weekend's blizzard! The children were so excited to be able to play in all the snow at school.

Fun at Recess

This week in math we continued our look at symmetry. The students were asked to create symmetrical art using construction paper. The pictures are amazing!

Creating Symmetrical Art

In our study of civil rights we jumped back in time and focused on slavery. Before beginning, we made the connection to the Passover story and the Jews being slaves in Egypt. What is a slave? What does it mean to not be free? Then, we shared a wonderful story called Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine. It is a true story of a man born into slavery who mailed himself to the north in a crate so that he could be free. We also shared another book called Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson. This story tells of a girl born into slavery who creates a quilt which depicts a map of the underground railroad. As a connection, we asked the students to make representation of what freedom means to them. We will be turning these pictures into our own "freedom quilt."

Shabbat Shalom and have a wonderful winter break.

Hamorah Caren

Tying a story during writer's workshop

Working on story illustrations.

February 8, 2013


During this very short week for our study of Civil Rights we read a story called Freedom on the Menu by Carole Boston Weatherford. It is the true story of the Greensboro sit-ins. After reading it and discussing what it means to be free, the kids created picket signs to teach others what the sit-ins were all about. We also wrote some poetry about freedom.

In math we began learning about symmetry. This was an introduction to our unit on Geometry. And, for fun, we solved some Purim math problems involving addition and subtraction.

And, for grammar, we reviewed plurals and contractions. Also, possessives were introduced.

Shabbat Shalom.

Hamorah Caren

February 1, 2013

Dear Gefen Families,

This week in social studies the students created "faces" using different facial parts that they found in magazines. Our theme was "we are all different on the outside but the same on the inside." The project connected nicely to our unit on civil rights. Next, we learned about Rosa Parks through the use of a story and worksheet. We even saw the actual bus that she rode in and her own personal account of what happened to her.

Creating "faces" using magazines

In math we spent the week reviewing fractions and money. The students were put into two groups and each group was given a set of fraction or money "brainteaser" cards. So much fun was had as the kids answered questions such as: Count the students in your class to see how many there are in all. Write fractions to answer the questions - how many students are boys? girls? have brown hair? Or, read the clues and put the coins in the correct boxes - the coins in the middle column are the same, one of the most valuable coins is directly above the coin worth 10 cents, Lincoln is directly above Washington and the coin values in the top row go from least to greatest.

Solving Money Brainteasers

Solving Fraction Brainteasers

During Tefillah this week the students began to ask a lot of questions about G-d. This sparked some great conversation. We shared a story called What is G-d? by Etan Boritzer and then the students wrote about what G-d looks like/feels like to them and they also wrote about a time when they felt G-d.

We began learning about plurals. This week we learned the rule for changing the "y" to an "i" and adding and "es."

Last, we talked a bit about Groundhog Day and learned some basics about groundhogs.

Shabbat Shalom,

Hamorah Caren

Reminders:

No school on Thursday, February 7th due to staff professional day.
The second book report is due on Friday, February 8th.

Learning with Ziv and Rivi