| Reminders |
MONDAY, MAY 28 SCHOOL WILL BE CLOSED FOR MEMORIAL DAY.
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,
We are having so much fun exploring, playing, and learning outside. We had Science class outside this week, investigating acids and basics by using red cabbage as an indicator. We have also been taking nature walks. It has been a wonderful time!
We are hoping in the next couple of weeks to have a water play day. If you have some fun water play items to bring in, please label them and get them ready. We will check the weather next week and will tell you the date as soon as we know it.
Because our students are spending a lot of time outside, they all need lableled water bottles, so please send one in for your child. Also, please put sunscreen on your child in the morning before they come to school. If you would like the teachers to reapply sunscreen to your child during the school day, please send in a labeled sunscreen bottle with your child, and either verbally tell your child's teachers or write them a note.
Also stay tuned for a summertime Wacky Wednesday: Pajama Day!
Shabbat Shalom,
Robin
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Dvar Torah
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by Rabbi David Saltzman
In this week's
parsha, we learn that on the first day of
Nissan the
Mishkan was erected and
Hashem's
Shechinah came down and filled the
Mishkan. This was an amazing day for the Jewish people, and in gratitude, each prince/
nassi brought the same
korban for each of the twelve tribes for twelve days in a row, one on each day. Even though each
nassi brought the same exact
korban, the
Torah lists every single item in great detail every single day. Each
korban was made up of 35 identical items, and the
Torah lists each
korban in detail twelve times. Why did each of the
nessim bring a
korban every single day? And knowing that each word written in the
Torah is precious, why do you think it lists each
korban twelve separate times, even though it is the same each time?
In the Elementary School this week, we suggested that the reason the nessim brought all these korbanot was to show hakarat hatov to Hashem for His presence resting with all of Bnei Yisrael in the Mishkan. Each nassi wanted to demonstrate their hakarat hatov on behalf of their shevet (tribe), and therefore each nassi brought their own korban. Furthermore, listing the korbanot in such great detail informs us how much Hashem appreciated every single korban. Even though they were identical and repetitious, a repeated act of hakarat hatov is just as meaningful as a similar one preceding it. Writing them all out using the same words emphasizes the nessim's similar expressions of hakarat hatov and Hashem's equal appreciation of their acts of gratitude.
A second idea is that each nassi chose the same korban in order to show their equality and unity through their expression of hakarat hatov. The purpose of showing hakarat hatov is not to win a competition, it is to express sincere gratitude.
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Thoughts of the Rav
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by Rabbi David Saltzman
The Rav wonders: Why is
Birkat Kohanim placed in the section of
hoda'ah (thanksgiving) when repeating
Shemona Esrei? Why is it not placed in the
bakasha (request) section, since we are asking
Hashem for His blessing?
The Rav answers that Birkat Kohanim is a blessing that emanates from Hashem (through the kohanim). There is no greater chesed we can receive than a blessing from Hashem Himself. When you receive a beracha of such magnitude, you immediately realize the need to give thanksgiving, and therefore this beracha is placed in the hoda'ah section.
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2-Year-Old Class Newsletter
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Dear Parents,
We are continuing to work on our special photo book, which you will see before school ends. The students have really loved working together to create it.
Last week we made cheesecakes, and even used hammers to crush our own graham crackers for crust.
We have completed our study of butterflies and caterpillars, and are going to continue playing doctors and patients with real uniforms and doctors' equipment.
We had Music on Tuesday with Morah Linda and the three-year-old class. We love spending time with the "big kids" and their
morahs
.
At lunch time, we've been playing with letters and the sounds they make. We will say something like, "If you take an N, and put it in front of 'butterfly,' you get 'nutterfly'..."
Now that the weather is warming up, we'll be spending lots of time outside, especially during the morning hours. Please apply sunscreen on your child before school begins.
We hope you enjoy these photos from last Thursday, May 17th through this Wednesday, May 23.
Studying the Torah with Morah Tzipi
We borrowed the light table and used it to trace Hebrew letters from the Torah.
Making sure we keep the school clean after we eat lunch!
We had a special Shabbat party last Friday, and even had a visit from Head of School Naty Katz.
Using hammers to crush the graham crackers was super fun. Then we mixed the cheeses and poured the mixture into small aluminum tins.
Here the kids are waiting for Ms. DiOrio to finish setting up for Art class. "Everyone touch your nose!"
Driving the train heading to the West Coast, with seat belts fastened. Off to the Pacific Ocean, to be exact.
See-sawing, and getting ready to play on our homemade drums. Each class helped decorate one of the drums.
Playing doctor is not just fun, it's a good way to learn how to be gentle with each other. It's also a great way to exercise our imaginations, and to make going to the real doctor easier.
We hang out in the hallway a lot. Here we are sharing some coloring pages that Shoshana brought to school before lunchtime.
Shabbat shalom
,
Morot
Tzipi and Laura
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3-Year-Old Class Newsletter
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Dear Parents,
The students were so excited on Tuesday to see their friends and share what they had done over
Shavuot
!
The two-year-old class joined us for Music with Morah Linda. It was so sweet to see how our class welcomed the younger students and made sure they had enough space in our circle. They also took such pride in setting a good example of how to act during Music class, and showing them some of the moves they do for Morah Linda's weekly songs.
We started working on an "imaging book" with the class. We began by reading
A Trip to Mezuzah Land
by Sara Leiberman. In the story
Morah
Chana takes her class on a wondrous trip through the skies to learn all about the
mezuzah
. They meet the scribe who carefully writes each word, and see an assortment of beautiful
mezuzah
cases. In the book, the students float up into the sky in ships. Our class was very interested in how the ships were floating in the air like clouds. When we started discussing that we will be creating an "imagine" book, we asked the students where they wanted their rest mat to float to. Each child thought about where they would want their rest mat to go, and drew a picture showing this. We hung their pictures up in our classroom, which was their first draft. Next they will have a chance to decide whether there is some other place they would like their mat to go, or if they want to keep their first idea, and will draw another picture. When the students are done with their drafts, we will make copies of their final picture, and create a class "imagine" book, a copy of which will be given to each child. We are so excited to go through the process of the students making a book!
Each week Amy Freedman from Gateways has been coming into our class and doing Social Thinking activities with the students. She has been discussing with the class what expected and unexpected behaviors are, e.g., taking turns with a toy at school is expected behavior. Wearing a snowsuit when it's 80 degrees outside is unexpected behavior. We read a social thinking book to the class, and asked the students what they thought were expected behaviors and unexpected behaviors. Before being dismissed for lunch, each child gave an example of a behavior in their life that was either expected or unexpected, for instance, "My Abba gave me five lollipops is unexpected behavior." We look forward to learning more from Amy next week.
Shabbat Shalom
,
Morot
Leisa, Shayna, and Sara
During provocation time, the students worked hard to make beautiful creations.
Some of the creations were hung up in our classroom.
And some of them we took home!
The students also enjoyed making their own creations at the easel.
We really liked painting on the yellow and green paper.
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Doing experiments at the sand table is a favorite activity for many of the students.
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They are cooperative and imaginative.
This week, we were lucky to have the 2-year-old class join us for Music.
The children enjoyed each other's company and did a great job taking turns.
The class is starting to work on an "Imagine" book together.
It will be about each child's rest mat going on a journey. Ask your child where theirs went.
Each class got buckets to decorate that were hung outside for the children to use as drums on the playground.
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4-Year-Old Class Newsletter
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Dear Parents,
The week started off with lots of excitement as Morah Nechi, the students, and I welcomed
Morah
Irit back part-time. We had a good-bye and thank-you party for Morah Nechi on Friday. On Tuesday, Morah Irit will start full-time as a volunteer in our Balloons classroom.
We spent our mornings outside this week, enjoying and exploring in the warm sunshine. We noticed the changes in the garden, and were very excited to see some of the flower buds we have been caring for bloom and open. We especially loved digging in the dirt for worms and ants. We found a few blooms that some of the students felt very connected to, and even wanted to keep as pets!
As we continued to discuss our theme of friendship, we started a new project delving into our imaginations. In our "Imagine a Friend" project, we dreamed up who and how we would want a friend to be, letting our creativity take the lead. One student invented a friend that was a bat, while another made up a friend that could walk upside down on the ceiling. It was really fun to imagine the silliest and most creative ways a friend could be.
We began to learn new songs about friendship this week, and we worked together to think up the hand motions to the song Shnei Chaverim. We are really looking forward to sharing all this with you at our end-of-year celebration on the last day of school, Friday, June 15 at 11:00 a.m. You are all invited!
During Science, we explored how everyday objects can be acidic or basic by using red cabbage as our indicator. Each student had the opportunity to use a pipette to test out the chemical reaction. We were wowed by the ways the colors changed.
Thank you to Avital, our
Shabbat Ima
, for the delicious
challah
and treat that she brought in to celebrate her birthday at our
Shabbat
party this Friday.
Shabbat Shalom
!
Morot Mimi, Nechi, Irit, Alexa, Marggie, and Chera
Decorating some used buckets to recycle into something new
We used all kind of materials and markers to make the buckets beautiful
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Morah Laura tied the buckets we made to the playground fence and now we have new drums
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The playdough we made was too sticky, so we added some flour to make it better.
Painting with watercolors
Making colorful butterflies
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Playing outside on a nice, sunny day
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Science class outside! We learned about acidic and basic liquids.
The red cabbage juice changed colors depending on whether the everyday liquid was acidic or basic.
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Days of Learning Sponsorship
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We are grateful to Simone and David Sherman for sponsoring days of learning this week. If you'd like to learn more about supporting our school with a day of learning sponsorship, please visit our
website.
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Donations to Cradles to Crayons
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The Maimonides eighth grade is collecting items for Cradles To Crayons in honor of their Middle School Aliyah (graduation) ceremony!
They would appreciate if you could help them by donating new or gently-used items for babies and children. There will be collection boxes near the entrance of the Saval shul. The organization could use kids' clothes, games, books, and bedding.
Cradles to Crayons is especially looking for:
- Boys Pants 4-5/7-8
- Boys Shirts 2T-12
- Girls Shirts 2T-12
- Twin Blankets
- Girls' and Boys' Sweaters
- Girls' and Boys' Boots
Thank you!
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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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