| Reminders |
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 8:45AM-9:45AM THE 4-YEAR-OLD CLASSES WILL HAVE THEIR CHANUKAH CELEBRATION IN THE GYM.
Please check the Lost and Found
table and coat rack outside the Elementary School office if you are looking for a missing item.
For the boys: Every day during davening, we say the bracha for tzitzit, so please make sure your son wears some or keeps in his backpack a pair of tzitzit and a kippah.
If you have any recyclable materials, please send them in for our classes to use. Examples are:
-Paper towel/toilet paper rolls
-Paint color samples
-Scraps of contact paper, wallpaper, or cloth
-Small pieces of tile
-Any other crafty loose parts!
Please send in dress-up clothes, especially authentic doctor clothes and supplies. Thank you!
Whether you are a parent, alumni or faculty member, your Maimo Moments are welcomed and appreciated.
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How To Subscribe to the Calendar
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For step-by-step instructions for subscribing to the Maimonides Early Childhood Center calendar on your mobile device or computer,
CLICK HERE.
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From Robin Meyerowitz
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Dear Parents,
This week, the students have been using all of their senses to learn about Chanukah. Tasting olive oil, singing Chanukah songs, building the Beit Hamikdash, and acting out the Chanukah story have been some of the highlights of our week.
The students can't wait to show you what they have learned at our upcoming Chanukah Celebrations:
4-Year-Old Classes: Wednesday, December 13, 8:45 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
3-Year-Old Class: Tuesday, December 19, 8:45 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
2-Year-Old Class: Tuesday, December 19, 9:30 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.
We really hope to see you there to celebrate with us as a school community!
Shabbat Shalom,
Robin
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Dvar Torah
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by Rabbi David Saltzman
Towards the end of this week's parasha, Yosef interprets the dream of the sar hamashkim (wine bearer) with a positive outcome. He then requests from his cellmate that when the dream comes to fruition and he is released:
כִּ֧י אִם־זְכַרְתַּ֣נִי אִתְּךָ֗ כַּאֲשֶׁר֙ יִ֣יטַב לָ֔ךְ וְעָשִֽׂיתָ־נָּ֥א עִמָּדִ֖י חָ֑סֶד וְהִזְכַּרְתַּ֙נִי֙ אֶל־פַּרְעֹ֔ה וְהוֹצֵאתַ֖נִי מִן־הַבַּ֥יִת הַזֶּֽה׃
But think of me when all is well with you again, and do me the kindness of mentioning me to Pharaoh, so as to free me from this place.
The Radak explains that Yosef felt he was able to ask for this favor because:
כאשר ייטב לך, ותעלה, הדין לזכרני בטובתך, לעשות עמי טובה, כי על ידי פתרוני באה לך בשורה טובה ושמחתיך בעצבך וראוי לך שתטיב לי כשיקויים פתרוני.
When your situation improves, it is fair that you should remember me in your time of fortune and do me a favor. Because through my interpretation your sorrow was alleviated when you heard the good news of your approaching release and reinstatement. When my interpretation will have proven itself, it's fitting for you to perform
hakarat hatov
to me by mentioning my case to Pharaoh so that he will release me also.
The sar hamashkim is soon released, and he has the opportunity to show his hakarat hatov to Yosef. But the parasha reports:
וְלֹֽא־זָכַ֧ר שַֽׂר־הַמַּשְׁקִ֛ים אֶת־יוֹסֵ֖ף וַיִּשְׁכָּחֵֽהוּ
Yet the chief cupbearer did not think of Yosef; he forgot him.
How could the sar hamashkim forget about Yosef and his good interpretation when he had the opportunity to repay the favor? Being released from a possible death sentence, and then returned to a glorified position as the king's butler, is an experience that a person would always remember. How could he forget his interaction with Yosef?
The Bechor Shor offers two options:
לא שם לבו עליו ושכחו וי"מ ולא זכר מיד ושכחו לאחר זמן
Either he did not try to remember and he forgot, or he did not remember right away and he forgot.
As we continue to learn about hakarat hatov, an important element is to act immediately upon one's feelings of gratitude. There are numerous obstacles and pitfalls which can derail one's good intentions when one does not act right away. One lesson we can learn from the sar hamashkim is to always express hakarat hatov instantly, no matter how special or unforgettable the event. You never know when you will have the opportunity again, or whether you will actually remember when the chance presents itself.
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Thoughts of the Rav
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by Rabbi David Saltzman
In his book
Vision and Leadership, the Rav writes that the downfall of Yosef and his brothers was not necessarily caused by jealousy. Rather, its cause was their lack of appreciation for one of the most precious gifts that G-d has granted to humans: The sense of unity that members of a family feel for each other, which should express itself in love and devotion.
The brothers and Yosef should have appreciated each other, their relationships, and their differences. They should have created a unified family, with all their personalities and differences contributing to the greater whole.
Because they were unable to show gratitude to Hashem by appreciating their individuality and creating a strong family unit, they were punished with separation.
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2-Year-Old Class Newsletter
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Dear Parents,
We are beginning our exploration into what Chanukah means to us. We have been providing various ways to make and play with things like
chanukiyot,
and spinning dreidels dipped in paint. We have been cooking pretend latkes with oil, and building a cave to hide our Torah study from the Yevanim (Greek soldiers).
We are also learning special songs with Morah Linda to prepare for our Chanukah party, which is on Tuesday, December 19th at 9:30 a.m. We hope you enjoyed your homemade invitation.
Please check out the photos for more about our week.
Shabbat Shalom,
Morot Tzipi and Laura
We would like to start with a few pictures from last Friday. Yael was our Shabbat Ima during our Shabbat party. Later on Friday, we had Art class with Ms. DiOrio.
Here's Yael, her Ima, and her little brother getting ready to share the challah with her friends at our Shabbat party.
"I want my friend Yair to do it [say kiddush]."
Ms. DiOrio introduced clay, pipe cleaners, and even beads for a really fun project in Art class.
Also last Friday, some of the students from Mrs. Leanne Taylor's Upper School class came to our classroom to play with us.
Getting ready to see what we can do with our Duplo chanukiyah.
On Monday, we traced a very large chanukiyah using the overhead projector.
It's really fun to color in a chanukiyah on the wall!
On Tuesday, in Music class, after we practiced our Chanukah songs, Morah Linda took out her puppet, Mousie, who sings in a high voice.
On Wednesday, we made invitations for our families for our upcoming Chanukah celebration. We used colorful tissue paper squares and water.
Morah Tzipi's Zumba feet on Wednesday morning. Just add a little music and step, step, step.
Playing with candles, frying latkes, and drawing together.
Here we are listening to Morah Tzipi tell us about Parshat Vayeishev. This is Yosef and his family of eleven brothers, mother, sister, and father Yaakov.
Yair matched one of Yosef's brothers with one of the sheaves of wheat from Yosef's dream.
 Yosef didn't like being in the pit where his brothers left him!
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3-Year-Old Class Newsletter
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Dear Parents,
We were happy to welcome back Morah Shayna on Thursday! The students have been very excited to explore the classroom as they learn more about Chanukah. We used the light table to explore the concept of light. The students used Magnatiles to build beautiful structures on top of the table. They were excited to see how beautiful their structures looked when the light was on. We also used the light table to display transparencies of the symbols of Chanukah. After we placed paper on top of the pictures, the students traced the shapes of dreidels,
chanukiyot
, Maccabees, jugs of oil, and latkes.
We talked about how the Greeks made a mess of the inside of the Holy Temple and how sad the Jewish people were. In our block area, we displayed pictures of the Beit Hamikdash, as well as blocks that were wrapped in gold paper. After the students looked at the pictures, they started to build individual buildings. After a little time, they started to work together to create a Beit Hamikdash. We wanted to transform our loft into a Beit Hamikdash so the students could act out the story of Chanukah when they play. They used gold paint to paint poster board that was specially cut to look like the top of the Holy Temple. We then placed the poster board on the top of our loft. The students have been acting out the story of Chanukah with each other in the Beit Hamikdash they created.
The students learned about Parashat Vayaishev through a puppet show. The students learned about how Yaakov loved Yosef more than all his other sons. He made Yosef a beautiful, colorful jacket, which made his brothers jealous. Yosef told his brothers about the dreams he had, which made them feel like he was better than them. They were so angry that they threw Yosef in a pit and sold him to the Arabs. Yosef was brought to Pharaoh's palace, where Yosef became a slave for Potiphar. When Yosef was sent to jail, he met Pharaoh's butler and baker, and was able to interpret their dreams.
The students learned a color song to reinforce how to say the colors in Hebrew.
Parsha Questions
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What is the name of the parsha? (Vayaishev)
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Who was Yaakov's favorite son? (Yosef)
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What did Yaakov give to Yosef? (A beautiful, colorful coat)
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What happened to Yosef? (He was sold as a slave and ended up in an Egyptian jail)
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What was Yosef's special gift? (He could tell people what their dreams meant)
On Tuesday, December 19th from 8:45 a.m. - 9:30 a.m., we will be having our Chanukah celebration in our classroom. We hope you'll be able to join us!
Shabbat Shalom,
Morot Leisa, Shayna, and Sara
Elhanan, Baruch and Eliya had fun dressing up as kings and acting out the story of Chanukah
Bella, Naomi, and Lavi had fun exploring with light as they built with Magnatiles on the light table
Shiraz had fun spinning different types of dreidels to see which one would spin the longest
Elhanan was putting the finishing touches on his chanukiyah
Noam was getting ready for Chanukah by practicing to light the class chanukiyah
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Noa was so proud to show us the bike she had made
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The children love looking at books with their friends on the couch
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Noa, Bella, Ellie, and Naomi loved creating things using playdough and rocks |
Julia loves creating pictures in the art area
Daniel worked hard on his Chanukah invitation
Noa and Ellie worked together to build the Beit Hamikdash with gold blocks
Baruch carefully considered whether he should make a dreidel or a
chanukiyah
Here comes Officer Lavi!
Avishai and Perri made beautiful Chanukah invitations
Naomi, Ellie and Daniel put the finishing touches on the paper we're using for the Beit Hamikdash
Bella, Lavi and Eliya did a great job working together to make special gold paper that we're using for our Beit Hamikdash
Avishai and Noa worked hard painting with gold so we could create our Beit Hamikdash
Julia put a lot of thought into how she wanted to build the Beit Hamikdash
Shiraz and Eliya drew pictures showing what they know about Chanukah
Noam loves wearing the camel hat and acting out the
parsha
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4-Year-Old Class Newsletter
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Dear Parents,
This week, we have been very busy decorating our room and preparing for Chanukah. Our loft is now the Beit Hamikdash, complete with a golden menorah. The students helped make each part by painting cardboard to look like stone, or by wrapping gold paper around blocks for the pieces of our menorah. The students are getting quite good at singing our songs. We can't wait to perform for you next week. We also made
chanukiyot
that we can take home next week to use on Chanukah!
This week we familiarized ourselves with the letters D and
ד
. We traced the letters with loose parts and in squishy bags of paint. We searched for the letters all over the school, and sorted pictures of objects that start with D or
ד
.
This week's
parsha
is
Parshat Vayeishev
. Yaakov gives Yosef a
ketonet pasim
(multicolored striped coat). Each student made their own unique
ketonet pasim
to share with you this weekend.
Here are some questions (and answers) about the
parsha
to share at your Shabbat table:
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Who was Yaakov's favorite son? (Yosef)
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What did Yaakov give to Yosef? (A
ketonet pasim
)
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What are
pasim
? (Stripes)
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How many dreams did Yosef have? (2)
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What were the dreams? (1: There were twelve sheaves of wheat, and the brothers' eleven sheaves bowed down to Yosef's sheaf. 2: There were eleven stars, and a sun and moon, that all bowed down to Yosef's star.)
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What did his brothers do to Yosef? (They threw him in a pit and then sold him.)
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Where does Yosef get taken? (
Mitzrayim
[Egypt])
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Who does Yosef meet in jail? (The head wine maker and the chief baker of Pharaoh.)
Thank you to our Shabbat Ima, Gavriella, for the yummy Challah and Shabbat treat!
Shabbat Shalom!
Morot Mimi, Irit, Marggie, and Chava
We started to build the Beit HaMikdash using the bricks the children made last week.
We also added parts of a box and painted it with the colors we used for the bricks.
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The children started with brushes, and then moved to smooshing the paint with their hands.
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Look at the beautiful result of the Beit HaMikdash!
It was fun playing inside with different symbols and customs of Chanukah.
The children wrapped blocks with gold paper to make a menorah like the one that was in the Beit HaMikdash.
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We experimented with olive oil. First, we put a few drops of oil onto the children's hands so that they could feel it and smell it. The children said that the oil felt slippery and soft, and that it smelled like pizza, challah, and olives.
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Then we went to the tables and, using eyedroppers, we covered a white paper with oil.
The next step was adding liquid watercolors to the paper with the oil. We saw that the watercolors didn't mix with the oil.
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The last step was putting another paper on top and seeing the special designs the children created.
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We also tried to make olive oil by squeezing green and black olives.
The children dipped dreidels
סביבונים
in paint and spun them on a paper.
The children used potato stamps and rubber stamps with the Chanukah symbols.
They also used the potato stamps with paint.
This week, we introduced the letters D and
ד
. The children traced the letters using colorful stones.
They made the letters with their fingers on bags full of paint.
And went on a scavenger hunt to find D, d, and
ד
around the school.
We also went over the names of the children in Hebrew, and counted how many
א, ב, ג, ד
we have in class.
In honor of Parashat Vayeishev, we made colorful striped coats
כתונת פסים
like Yosef's. The children used different materials like pipe cleaners, tape, and tissue paper.
The coats came out unique and beautiful!
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Basketball Tournament This Weekend
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Maimonides School is the center of the Jewish basketball universe this weekend, as the school's boys' and girls' teams host student-athletes from Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York at the annual Maimonides School Invitational Basketball Tournament in Memory of Leland Gelman.
The competition started Thursday night and the games continued this morning. Maimonides teams will continue to compete on Motza'ei Shabbat and Sunday. The teams will be hosted on Shabbat by the Maimonides Kehillah; Rabbi Steven Weil, senior managing director of the Orthodox Union, will speak here
on Friday night. The complete schedule of games and other details can be found at
www.maimohoops.org.
Another tournament feature will be a silent auction, raising money to offset weekend expenses. Highlights include a pair of New England Patriots opening-game playoff tickets and a baseball signed by both Ken Griffey and Ken Griffey Jr. Bidding will begin during the
Saturday night game and conclude early
Sunday afternoon at the boys' championship game.
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Special Movie Screening on Sunday
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There will be a special screening of the movie
My Hero Brother on
Sunday, December 10 at 6:00 p.m. at West Newton Cinema, co-sponsored by Maimonides School, Young Israel of Sharon, New England Yachad, and Striar Hebrew Academy.
My Hero Brother tells the remarkable story of a group of young people with Down syndrome who embark on a demanding trek through the Indian Himalayas with their siblings. As they deal with physical and emotional challenges, unresolved conflicts come to the surface and heartwarming friendships develop.
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Town Hall Meeting in Sharon on Monday
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The Maimonides School Board of Directors
invites parents to a
Town Hall Meeting
Steven Schwartz, Board Chair, and Naty Katz, Head of School, look forward to meeting with you, listening to your suggestions and concerns, and benefiting from this opportunity for open dialogue.
These meetings are intended to focus on the non-academic issues within the purview of the Board such as day school affordability, financial matters, and other topics of interest to the community.
Town Hall Meetings will take place:
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Monday, December 11 at 7:30 p.m. in Sharon -
click here to respond
- Wednesday, January 3 at 7:30 p.m. in Brookline - click here to respond
There will be ample opportunity for questions and discussion during the meetings. To help us prepare, we encourage you to submit questions in advance to
chairman@maimonides.org
We look forward to
an evening of engaging conversation with you.
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ROFEH Toy Drive Ends Monday
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Please bring a new, unwrapped toy for our ROFEH Toy Drive! Boxes have been placed in front of the Elementary, Middle, and Upper School offices.
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Mazel Tov!
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Send us your simchas!
Please share your simcha announcements with us by sending details to info@maimonides.org.
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Social Time!
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There's so much going on here at Maimo! Be sure to check out our social media to get the inside scoop (with lots of great photos) on happenings at school.
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See what's happening in other divisions
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 Lots of wonderful things are happening at Maimonides School!
If you'd like to take a peek at what's happening in the other divisions, click to visit the Elementary School, Middle School, or Upper School newsletter pages.
If you would like to contact a specific school office, please use these emails:
ecc@maimonides.org
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