| Reminders |
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.
|
How To Subscribe to the Calendar
|
For step-by-step instructions for subscribing to the Maimonides Early Childhood Center calendar on your mobile device or computer,
CLICK HERE.
|
|
|
|
From Robin Meyerowitz
|
|
|
Dear Parents,
It has been a fun and wonderful week! We love when the weather is nice. We do a lot of learning and activities outside. We even take wonderful walks. However, it would really help if you would put sunscreen on your children in the morning, and send them to school with water bottles.
We loved the opportunity to meet our students' grandparents and special friends at Yom Orchim today! The students really enjoyed being with their visitors and showing them all of the interesting things they do at school. Thank you to all who came and participated!
Shabbat Shalom
,
Robin
|
Dvar Torah
|
|
by Rabbi David Saltzman
וּסְפַרְתֶּם לָכֶם מִמָּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת מִיּוֹם הֲבִיאֲכֶם אֶת־עֹמֶר הַתְּנוּפָה שֶׁבַע שַׁבָּתוֹת תְּמִימֹת תִּהְיֶינָה׃
עַד מִמָּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת הַשְּׁבִיעִת תִּסְפְּרוּ חֲמִשִּׁים יוֹם וְהִקְרַבְתֶּם מִנְחָה חֲדָשָׁה לַה׃
And from the day on which you bring the sheaf of elevation offering - the day after the Sabbath - you shall count off seven weeks. They must be complete: you must count until the day after the seventh week - fifty days; then you shall bring an offering of new grain to the Lord.
Quick quiz: Why are we counting 49 days during this time period? If you answered "because we are counting the days until we received the Torah," you are challenged to find that idea in the pasukim above. If you did not locate it, that is because the official reason we count seven weeks is that the command is to tally the days from the second day of Pesach - when the omer, a sheaf of barley, was brought as the first harvest to the Beit HaMikdash - until 49 days later, when the wheat offering, as loaves of bread, was brought to Hashem. The pasuk instructs the people to count from one first harvest to the next, from the first offering of barley to the first offering of the wheat.
Unlike today, when the omer period is synonymous with sorrow, in the time of the Beit HaMikdash it was a time of great excitement and anticipation as the farmers were working and watching their fields grow and ripen. Finally, the first wheat harvest was brought as an offering of gratitude to G-d.
Three lessons emerge from this count account.
- The counting of the omer connects the first barley offering to the first wheat offering. As we number each day, we are reminded of the events of the past, the first barley offering, and at the same time we look forward to the events of the future, the first wheat offering. As we experienced Yom Orchim today, and enjoyed the day together with our guests, we were reminded of this same lesson of connecting the past to the future. Having our guests join us today and learn with our students is a way to connect the previous generation to the next generation. Each group shared their knowledge and experience with the other, and made meaningful memories through these interactions.
- The theme of the year at Maimonides is hakarat hatov. Gratitude to Hashem is embedded in the omer experience. The mitzvah of counting begins with hakarat hatov and ends with hakarat hatov, by bringing the first harvests of barley and wheat at the start and completion of the 49 days.
- We are reminded of the importance of living in Eretz Yisrael, as the pasuk states that these mitzvot are perfomed "מִמּוֹשְׁבֹתֵיכֶם תָּבִיאּוּ- you shall bring from your settlements," which Rashi explains means that these are brought solely from the land of Israel. Only in Israel do we have the opportunity to experience these special mitzvot.
We hope that we will soon be able to again perform these mitzvot as G-d intended, and that the omer period will return to its days of glory and celebration.
|
|
Thoughts of the Rav
|
|
by Rabbi Dov Huff
We generally think that a key difference between
Shabbos and
yom tov is that while
yom tov is designated by man, through our ability to declare the new moon,
Shabbos was designated by
Hashem as the recurring day of rest. This difference is highlighted in the phraseology of the
brachot we make in
kiddush on both days.
Yom tov
- "we bless G-d who is mekadesh Yisrael vehazmanim" - He blessed the Jewish people, who in turn sanctify the yom tov.
Shabbos
- "we bless G-d who is mekadesh haShabbat" - He Himself sanctifies Shabbos.
The Rav references a Yerushalmi in Pesachim, which has a text of kiddush on Shabbos that includes "Yisrael" in the process of sanctifying Shabbos as well. The Rav concludes that there are two aspects of kedusha in Shabbos: One from Hashem and one from us.
The Rav says that we sanctify
Shabbos through the recitation of
kiddush, and suggests that it is for this reason that the
Shulchan Aruch insists that one make
kiddush immediately after returning to the house Friday night, so as not to delay doing our part in the sanctification of
Shabbos. The Rav says that it is also this contribution of ours which allows us to do
tosefet Shabbos - to extend
Shabbos beyond the prescribed time.
|
2-Year-Old Class Newsletter
|
|
Dear Parents,
It was wonderful to see all of our visitors who were able to come to
Yom Orchim
today! We really enjoyed doing our art projects with you, showing you how we daven, and having a great
Shabbat
party.
Our newsletter is a double this week, covering our activities from Monday, April 20 through Wednesday, May 2. Spring is officially here, and that means more time spent outside climbing, throwing balls, running, digging, and riding bikes and cars.
We have a beautiful flower garden outside, along the side of the school where we ride our bicycles.
Morah
Chera, one of the four-year-old teachers, helped our class and the other children plant some of our own plants that we started in our growing station, as well as some beautiful pansies. We've also begun composting, so next year we can use our own soil!
All our butterflies have been released. Ask your children if they know any butterfly songs.
The children continue to decorate their
Har Sinai
poster
and count the
Omer
steps it takes to get there, using our own footprints we made by painting our feet.
We hope you enjoy our photos.
Shabbat Shalom
,
Morot Laura and Tzipi
Look who joined us for our Shabbat party two weeks ago! Azariah's grandmother.
Last Monday we had a pop-up doctor's office in our classroom.
The weather was beautiful last Monday. Outside on the playground, the children were looking for something in our tires!
Here is our "butterfly station," where the butterflies were while still in their chrysalis stage.
Last Tuesday we painted a mural outside with the three-year-olds.
The children enjoyed building with Magna Tiles on the map.
On Thursday, we said our last goodbyes to our butterflies before we let them free.
Last Friday, we celebrated Amiel's third birthday during our Shabbat party.
On Tuesday, we used orange and yellow paint to make a warm sun.
Sometimes on Wednesdays, the fifth graders read to us at lunch.
|
|
3-Year-Old Class Newsletter
|
|
Dear Parents,
We have been very busy getting ready for
Yom Orchim
. We started by making sure our classroom was clean for our special guests. The children helped to organize the toys on the shelves and made sure each area of the room was tidy. On Wednesday we measured, poured, and mixed ingredients to make the sugar cookies that we used today. The children were talking about the creative ways they wanted to decorate their cookies with their special guests.
On Wednesday afternoon, we joined the two- and four-year-old classes on a walk to collect sticks for our
Lag B'Omer
"bonfire." The children were excited to each add their stick to the pile.
Thursday morning the whole Early Childhood Center joined together for a
Lag B'Omer
celebration. We "lit" the bonfire, ate yummy baked potatoes, and sang songs. It was so much fun!
Today the children were so happy to welcome their special visitors into their class for Yom Orchim. They started by sitting with their guests to make a
challah
cover. They used fabric markers, jewels, and stickers to decorate their
challah
cover. They were beautiful! Then we went to our circle area and showed our guests how nicely we
daven
. After
davening
, everyone worked together to help set up for our
Shabbat
party. After singing our
Shabbat
songs and making the
brachot
, we were ready to eat. The children each served their guests one of the cookies they had made, and then took one for themselves. Then they frosted their cookies and used gels and sprinkles to decorate them.
After our
Shabbat
party, everyone went upstairs to the gym to join the rest of the ECC and Elementary School. The ECC students sang "
Achshav B'Eretz Yisrael
" together for everyone, and listened to the Elementary School children sing the songs they have been practicing. It was so nice seeing everyone at
Yom Orchim
!
Note: The weather is starting to get warmer. Please remember to put sunscreen on your child before coming to school, and make sure that they have a water bottle so they will be ready to play on the playground. Thank you!
Shabbat Shalom
,
Morot Leisa, Shayna and Sara
Morah Laura got the ECC a real compost bin!
We gathered up leaves and pine cones to throw in the compost bin
We had a lot of fun throwing our findings in the bin!
The students had fun in the nice weather!
|
|
Look at this great smile!
|
Some of us enjoy baking outside!
We are composting every day with our peels and cores from snack and lunch.
Our fifth grade reading buddies came to read to us on Wednesday morning.
They are always very engaging.
The students were very excited to bake cookies for their Yom Orchim guests.
We couldn't wait to share the cookies with our guests!
The children had a wonderful time celebrating Lavi's birthday with his family.
Morah Robin gave our class a fun new Transformer for the kids to build together.
|
4-Year-Old Class Newsletter
|
|
Dear Parents,
It has been a really nice week to be outside! It was great to release our butterflies into the flower garden that we planted last week.
We have also been very busy learning about and preparing for
Lag BaOmer
. We went with
Morah
Tzipi to collect sticks for our
medurah
, or bonfire, which we made on Thursday. We learned that on
Lag BaOmer
we celebrate the birthday of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, who taught his students in secret in a cave with only carob fruit and water to eat and drink. We also learned that
Lag BaOmer
is the day that Rabbi Akiva's students stopped getting sick, and learned how to be good friends.
We were so excited for
Yom Orchim
. We made signs to welcome our guests, and baked cookies for the special cookie jars we made with our guests. It was also fun to decorate some of the cookies for our Shabbat party. Thank you to all the guests who came and made the day so great!
In this week's
parsha
, P
arshat Emor
, we learned about the Jewish holidays - first the
shelosh regallim
, or "three legs"
(
Pesach
,
Shavuot
, and
Sukkot
), and then
Rosh Hashanah
and
Yom Kippur
.
Shabbat Shalom
,
Morot
Mimi, Nechi, Chera, Marggie, and Alexa
The chyrsalises turned into butterflies. A couple of hours before we let them go, we observed them and made some great pictures.
It was very exciting to see our butterflies fly in our blooming garden!
|
|
Playing a game in pairs: Take your friend with covered eyes around the classroom. |
A friend is someone you can trust.
We always have new creative ideas to build with our Magnatiles.
|
|
Getting ready for Lag BaOmer and making bonfires with cellophane and tissue paper. |
We went outside to get some sticks for our Lag BaOmer "campfire."
We found sticks in all shapes and sizes.
In Art class we made drawings inspired by Dr. Seuss.
We worked together to make a puzzle. Each student got to decorate a piece.
The puzzles make beautiful and unique art that now decorates our classroom.
We baked cookies to serve to our Yom Orchim guests.
Here we are making a welcome sign for our Yom Orchim guests.
|
|
|
Alumni Newsletter Online
|
|
The monthly alumni newsletter for April is now online, and can be found
here.
In honor of Israel's 70th anniversary,
this issue features seven profiles of Maimonides School graduates in Israel - one for each decade.
If you would like to receive the alumni newsletter each month, contact Mike Rosenberg at (617) 232-4452 x 405 or mrosenberg@maimonides.org.
|
|
Upper School Play on Monday
|
|
Our Upper School students have been working hard to bring you this year's amazing Upper School play! The play being presented is
"The Glass Menagerie" by Tennessee Williams.
The performance will be Monday, May 7 at 7:00 p.m. The play will be in the Fox gym on Saval campus, and admission is $5 (free for faculty).
Bring your friends, family, and Maimo spirit!
Looking forward to seeing you there!
|
|
Celebrate Israel on Sunday
|
|
|
|
Social Time!
|
|
|
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.
|
See what's happening in other divisions
|
|
 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
|
|
|
