It has been a busy semester in 7th grade Social Studies. Students began with a visit to Ancient Greece and then the powerful empire of Rome, in order to learn about the foundation of western civilization. During their time in Rome, students studied about the rise of dictators and the impact of powerful leaders on the daily life of both citizens and slaves. They learned that when Rome fell, Europe entered a time known as the Dark Ages when the many achievements of Rome were rejected and tribes roamed western Europe seeking land and wealth. During this time, they especially focused on the Vikings, whose powerful ships and warlike gods enabled them to terrorize, plunder and loot. During the first quarter the focus was on critical thinking skills, and students worked hard to hone their critical thinking, discussion, analysis and test-taking skills.

In the second quarter, the seventh graders discovered that feudalism, as well as a powerful emerging Catholic church, caused a shift in power and organization in Europe. Students completed a project about the Bayeux Tapestry - essentially a Medieval embroidery showing the story of the conquest of England by William of Normandy in 1066. Students chose their outcome for the project: websites, slideshows, tri-board, oral presentation, etc. Currently students are learning about castles and are demonstrating their knowledge base by creating games.

Geography studies have continued alongside history. We are studying a series of case studies, comparing cultures in different places around the world. Students have "visited" Bolivia, Nova Scotia and Russia. They use source material and maps to learn about how people live and the things which are important to them. Next semester this preliminary work will lead to projects about what people eat and value in different cultures. Students will also create their own cultures.

Science at Pardes is inquiry based beginning at our youngest grades. In kindergarten, every student is selected to be Scientist of the Week. When chosen for this role, the student prepares an experiment at home, gathers the supplies and practices the steps of the experiment at home. Students can select an experiment from a take home binder or find their own experiment. The Scientist of the Week then demonstrates and explains the experiment in front of his/her peers.

The Scientist of the Week program enables each kindergartener to practice several important skills. Students hone their public speaking skills as they present in front of their peers. Additionally, kindergarten scientists strengthen their sequencing and direction skills as they demonstrate each step of their experiments in a specific order.

It is always so wonderful to hear the excited sounds of the kindergarteners as they witness a peer's science experiment!

Lunch and Learn is a wonderful new program available to our students. Every Monday, our elementary and middle school students gather for fun, learning, and eating with Rabbi Micah Caplan. After spending their recess outside, students join Rabbi Caplan with their lunches. Between the two sessions, one at each lunch period, nearly 60 students choose to spend some time learning about many different Jewish topics in a casual and informal environment. Rabbi Caplan and the students spend time talking about various Jewish values, ethics, stories, and Jewish trivia that connects them to their Jewish identity. The energy in the room is always high and this program is open to all Pardes students in first through eighth grade.

It is so wonderful seeing Pardes students actively choosing to learn more about their Judaism on a weekly basis outside the formal classroom environment. Should you want to learn more about our Lunch and Learn program, please contact Rabbi Caplan at [email protected].

It is very common to walk into a Pardes reading classroom and see multiple novels being read by the students. In Ms. Eckstein's classroom, every child is receiving reading instruction based upon his/her own individual novel and reading level.

After students are assessed to determine their reading levels, each child selects a book of his/her choice based upon his/her reading level. Children are given individual goals based upon the assessments, which she gives throughout the year. The goals include, but are not limited to, retelling important events, synthesizing problems and solutions, synthesizing cause and effect, visualizing setting, predicting, analyzing main characters and interpreting a story by identifying a lesson or theme.

In addition to individually meeting with each child on a regular basis, Ms. Eckstein teaches the entire class strategies they can use while reading in order to have a deeper understanding of their books. These strategies include making connections, questioning, predicting, reacting, etc.

Beginning in January, students will begin writing Ms. Eckstein weekly letters based upon their reading. They will summarize what they read, respond to their reading based on their individual goals and answer questions Ms. Eckstein posed in response to their previous week's letters.

Reading multiple or individual books within a classroom is yet another way Pardes works to meet the needs of each Pardes student.

Do you remember proofs from Geometry class? Mrs. Finks' eighth grade Geometry students have been busy examining Geometric Proofs. Students have been writing Geometric Proofs in three styles: two column proofs, flow proofs, and coordinate proofs. The students used those three styles to prove that two triangles are congruent using Side-Angle-Side (SAS), Side-Side-Side (SSS), Angle-Angle-Side (AAS) and Angle-Side-Angle (ASA). Student did a challenging and enjoyable activity to practice proofs, in which student groups had pieces of proofs in envelopes. They had to put them in the correct order, photograph their proofs and email them to Mrs. Finks. Finally, they learned how to create a coordinate proof using theoretical (variable) values from a description of the drawing.