A Lesson in Civil Rights, History, and Courage
This year our upper school students had the opportunity to hear from Reverend Gwendolyn Webb, a leader of the children's march during the civil rights movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
Reverend Webb discussed her role (which started her ninth grade year) as a leader in the movement. She talked to our students about the injustices that motivated her, as a child close to their age, to get involved. She went into detail about how she got involved, words she heard from Dr. King, and the intricate ways the children of Birmingham planned and executed a march for freedom. The detail with which she recounted her inspirational role in the civil rights movement made for an impactful and memorable discussion. Read more about this meaningful discussion
here.
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Cell Discoveries in our Intermediate Class
The fourth and fifth graders had quite the science lesson (and learning experience) as they explored the cells. The learning and enthusiasm in the science lab was palpable as students used the Power of Minus Ten app on iPads to zoom in and explore human cells. Students were tasked with figuring out how organelles correspond to organs in the body, and wow, did students make impressive analogous connections! Fourth grader Yoav explained that the golgi apparatus serves a similar function in cells to the white blood cells in the body. Many students were also interested in how the mitotic spindle played such an important role, separating the cells, during mitosis. As fourth grader Edith put it, "you would never grow without mitotic spindle!" Samuel and James Henry were very interested in the phases of mitosis, and through the application, they were able to compare the different phases of mitosis.
Throughout the room, students were making connections and learning through discussions as they made discoveries using the app. The enthusiasm and connections regarding the cells that our students were making reflected the kind of critical thinking and understanding our students need in a rapidly developing world!
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Kindergarten and First Grade Started the Year with a Lesson in Letters, Leadership, and QR Codes
At the NEMJDS we believe in our students taking leadership roles as they engage with their learning, and we were so proud of our first grade students as they led our kindergarten students on a letter hunt using
QR
codes as one of their first activities to start the year. Our first grade students were already familiar with
QR
codes, and they worked together with our kindergarten students to show them how to use the iPads and recognize the letters, matching lower and upper case letters. This was an opportunity for our kindergarteners to spend time with older students and also practice their letter recognition as they geared up for a great year!
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ABC 33/40 Features NEMJDS' Involvement in Books Not Bars
ABC 33/40 reported on the Books Not Bars book drive the NEMJDS hosted in October. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) partnered with organizations throughout the state to celebrate Youth Justice Awareness Month by collecting books for incarcerated youth in Alabama. The NEMJDS has a partnership with the SPLC through our Youth Philanthropy, Social Justice, and Leadership Initiative. Our current seventh and eighth grade students visited the SPLC last year on our social justice trip, and Claire Shimberg of the SPLC came to speak to our students this year to launch the book drive. As seventh grader Sofia explained so articulately to ABC 33/40, this book drive was a way for our students, many of whom are avid readers, to get involved in social justice work. Click here f
or the ABC 33/40 news story
.
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Tzedekah Allocations
and a Hebrew Flashmob All in One Lunch
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A Skype Lesson from a
Time for Kids Reporter: How to Critically Understand the Media
Seventh and eighth graders had the opportunity to interview a
Time for Kids reporter, Rebecca Katzman, via Skype after finishing the novel
Nothing But the Truth. This book is about a high school student's disturbance in class during the national anthem, and in the book, this disturbance creates quite the story in the media.
Throughout the novel, students looked at the role reporters and the media play in telling stories and also how the news is crafted. Through our Skype lesson with Ms. Katzman, students learned about her work as a journalist and also the skills she needs to be successful in her role.
The students were especially interested in how Ms. Katzman avoids bias in her writing. Check out the full story
here!
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Rosh Hashanah Preparations: Nature, Reflection, and Science
In preparation
for
Rosh
Hashanah
, our students participated in meaningful activities.
Our kindergarten through fifth grade students loved the visit from the Shofar Factory where they learned about the science behind honey bees, the tradition of the shofar, and more. Kindergarten and first grade also took a tashlich nature walk to reflect on their own behavior in preparation for the New Year.
The fourth and fifth graders read Dori Weinstein's novel
Sliding Into the New Year
. Our students then decorated and filled shoe boxes with artifacts and resolutions (written in Hebrew and English), just like the protagonist in the book. Learn more about our Rosh Hashanah preparations
here
.
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Alumni Spotlight: A Powerful Lesson About Syrian Refugee Aid! Thank you Mack Krell!
Our upper school students had a lesson in current events, social studies, geography, Judaics, and more, as Mack Krell, NEMJDS alumnus and current Northeastern University student, spoke to our students about his time working with
Syrian refugees through IsraAid in Berlin. Mack started his lesson with a film he created in Berlin; the film was a game-show type interview to find out what the locals in Berlin knew about
Syria and its refugees, and our students participated as Mack paused the video. From finding out who the president of
Syria is, to reviewing which five countries border
Syria, to learning how little the
Syrian refugee food allowance is in Lebanon, this introductory activity gave our students the background to understand Mack's powerful experiences over the summer.
Mack talked to our students about the journey the refugees have to take to get to Berlin and how upon arrival in Berlin, refugees have to completely restart their lives. The organization Mack worked with taught the refugees German, computer skills, and more to ensure that they could successfully restart their lives. Mack also explained to our students that so many of the children couldn't enroll in school, and he spent time drawing, playing soccer, and getting to know the children in the shelters to give them a sense of normalcy and make them feel less confined. In addition, Mack discussed the training IsraAid is doing for the Jewish community in Berlin to ensure that they can do their part to help the refugees begin a new life.
Throughout Mack's presentation, our students were overflowing with questions, and they were especially interested in hearing more about his particular experience (and seeing more pictures!) As our students learn about history, civics, and social justice, we are so pleased that they had the opportunity to hear from Mack, part of the NEMJDS family, about his meaningful work.
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Thank You Families and Alumni!
Thank you to all of the families who joined us for drinks with the Head of School at Ms. Abolafia's home, and thank you to our young adult alumni who attended our Alumni Evening of Reminiscing at Ms. Gresham's home!
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Visit Our School
Interested in learning more about our program, and seeing our completely renovated, state-of-the art learning environment? It would be our pleasure to give you a personalized tour! Contact us.
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 BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION
Did you know that every box top collected brings in ten cents to the NEMJDS?
Click here for the list of products with Box Tops and start clipping!
YOU SHOP. AMAZON GIVES!
Click here and choose N.E. Miles Jewish Day School as the organization you'd like to support and a portion of your purchase will go straight to the school!
PUBLIX PARTNERS
When you shop at Publix and use a Publix Partners NEMJDS swipe card, our school earns a donation.
Please your swipe cards when you check out at Publix. If you need a swipe card, please stop by the school office.
To Make a Donation:
Call Lynn Raviv, Development Director at 879-1068 or
Sally Friedman, Birmingham Jewish Foundation at 803-1519.
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For the last 43 years, the N.E. Miles Jewish Day School has been committed to a warm, safe, and positive atmosphere in which children from diverse levels of religious observance are inspired to grow and celebrate Jewishly and embrace life-long learning. With a strong basis in academics, Jewish education, sense of community, development of leadership and menschlichkeit, our school is an integral part of our community and works to make it even better.
Learn more about what it means to be a part of our school family.
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