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Mrs. Brackman and Mrs. Gold's 7/8th grade Jewish Thought classes enjoyed a Rosh Hashana fair. There were several stations, each with different holiday activities and learning.
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The Many Facets of the New Year
by Carla Goldberg
Preschool Director
In thinking about how to introduce Rosh Hashanah to young children, we look for the essence of the holiday. We read books, sing songs, bake and watch the children to see which part of the holiday they relate to, are interested in, and want to explore.
With my parent/tot class, this is often their first exposure to the holiday. We want to find activities that connect children to the holiday. This year we decided to focus on two big ideas. One was the shape or symbol of circles. We talked about how apples are round and that we dip apples in honey for a sweet new year. We shared how the challah at Rosh Hashanah is also round to signify the beginning and ending of a year.
Then we explored the sounds of Rosh Hashanah. We made the shofar sounds with our mouths, painted shofars, and then made our very own shofars with noise makers so that they really worked. We hope that the children will come away with an understanding of the symbols and the sounds of the holidays.
You will see classes focusing upon different parts of the holiday according to the students' interests in the classroom. This helps to make the study of the holidays different and engaging each year. As teachers we don't know which direction we will be led by our students, but we are excited to take part in this journey together.
Shana Tova!
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Eddie Padillo in his realm |
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Eddie Padillo "retired" four years ago and yet you can find him in Akiba-Schechter's kitchen from 7 a.m. to about 1 p.m. He used to work 16-18 hours a day, not only as a cook, but also catering parties and creating stunning table decorations, carved of ice or edible (he still does this and is available for hire!). "People eat with their eyes," he says, "so you always have to worry about presentation."
Eddie has 45 years of kitchen experience, including 27 of working for kosher caterers like Kosher Gourmet. He also cooks many other cuisines, for example, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and of course, Mexican. He hails from Michoacán where he started helping his mother in the kitchen at age eight. "I was lucky because I learned English in school and my teacher who worked in travel gave me the opportunity to come to the U.S. in the '70s." He got into culinary school but had to give that up for lack of money, learning on the job instead. "My motto is not to be on top, and not to be at the bottom, and to always be learning." Learn he did, including getting his culinary degree in his 40s.
Is cooking for a school different from cooking for a restaurant? "Oh yes," he says, "a restaurant has a set menu with daily specials; a school requires more variety." You deal with the health department a lot more, for which he is well equipped with a certificate from both city and state. At Akiba he is also on his own, rather than working with a restaurant team. "I'm king of the kitchen now! I do get help from volunteers, but I think they are afraid of me." Why? "Because I am so fast." How about cooking for children? There, Eddie has lots of experience, as he has seven children himself who were, he admits, rather spoiled, growing up with their own personal chef. But, luckily of us, now the kids at Akiba have their own personal chef!
Lunch Orders: Due to the high volume of web orders, we're offering an additional opportunity to prepay and save on costs. Order Monday-Friday lunch for November and December for $220 only.
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Preschool
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This week the Kindergarten began their year-long study looking at self portraits. Each month the children will use different media to study and examine the details of their face and what makes them unique. This month the children used white paper and black felt tip pens. Here, Zohar gets started on his self portrait.
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The Yellow Room has been studying shapes.
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The Green Room children have been having a great time getting to know each other and exploring all of the fun things to do in the classroom. One of their favorite activities is cooking. It's a favorite of the teachers as well because not only is it really fun, it provides opportunities to understand math and science concepts, increase vocabulary, and develop fine motor skills. Here Chloe and Natalie work together.
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Mr. Salk's 1st/2nd graders made Rosh Hashana cards for their buddies from the Blue Room. Here Shoshana and Daphna share theirs with their little buddy. |
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In Morah Dorit's 7/8th grade Hebrew class, Ben is describing a room in his house to David in Hebrew, and David has to draw a map of this room on the board asking questions. The mission is to use as much of the class's current unit's vocabulary as possible, with correct grammar, of course.
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We were so lucky to have great weather for our
tennis unit this year! The
3rd through 8th graders learned the forehand, the backhand, volleys, and serves. We haven't been so lucky with our track unit. We worked our way to a half mile, but the weather has driven us indoors where we are practicing the baton pass for the relay event. This requires a lot of teamwork and communication.
1st and 2nd grade have been working on their basic movement skills including jumping, hopping, galloping, and skipping. We're moving on to manipulative skills, starting with hula hoops. Jumping rope is next!
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Middle School artists studied their own faces and drew expressive self-portraits focusing on proportion, and they drew their own hands at various angles and in different positions.
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Please come to the
first PTO meeting of the year on
October 26 at 8:40 a.m. at the school. Everyone is welcome! Please come help make the PTO successful. There will also be a call-in number provided for those who cannot make it in person.
Also, please remember to
send in $75 (per student) requested contribution for the PTO. Checks should be made out to Akiba-Schechter PTO and are in-lieu of end-of-year and holiday gift collections.
Thank You for the Honey!
A big thank you to the PTO for organizing a small, sweet gift for the teachers and staff!
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...to Daniella Spero (6th) and her family on her Bat Mitzvah the weekend before last.
Refuah shleimah
...to
Barry Levine
, husband of 3rd/4th grade school teacher Julia Levine, on his recent surgery.
Needed: Assistant Fencing Coach
Our fencing program is bursting at the seams! We are looking to hire an assistant coach to help out
on Tuesday
and Thursdays afternoons. Please contact Coach Price
if you know anyone who is interested.
Sukkah Hop
The Hyde Park Sukkah Hop will be on
Saturday, October 22
. If you are interested in hosting, please contact Susan Rosenberg.
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Dates to Remember
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Tuesday, October 11
Erev Yom Kippur - Half Day
12:00 p.m. Preschool Dismissal
12:30 p.m. Grade School Dismissal
Re: Early Dismissal: All buses leave at 12:30. Preschool bus riders will be supervised and eat lunch during the half hour between dismissals. Hot lunch will not be served. If your child is staying until 12:30, please pack a lunch.
Please
notify front desk if your bus rider will not be taking the bus.
Wednesday, October 12
Yom Kippur
No Classes
Monday & Tuesday, October 17 & 18
Sukkot
No Classes
Monday, October 24
Shemini Atzeret
No Classes
Tuesday, October 25
Simchat Torah
No Classes
Wednesday, October 26
Sukkah Fair (
5th/6th Grade)
5:30 - 7:00 p.m.
Loeb Hall
Sunday, October 30
Preschool Brunch
10:00 - 11:30 a.m.
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October 7, 2016
Volume 13, Issue 4
Candle Lighting:
6:01 p.m.
Parasha: Vayelech
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Don't forget to set up your amazonsmile account to benefit Akiba. Thank you!
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Affiliated with the Associated Talmud Torahs and supported by the Kehillah Jewish Education Fund
773-493-8880
Check out our new website!
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