October 2019
Dear Parents,
I hope everyone was able to attend the Daniel Pearl Concert this month. The children sang beautifully and it was a wonderful event.
This month the students in K/1 have been enjoying more books by the author and illustrator, Kevin Henkes. They read Chrysanthemum earlier in the year and we have since read Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, and Julius, The Baby of the World. After reading Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, the class discussed making mistakes and needing to apologize, just as Lilly needs to. We thought of examples in our own lives and drew and wrote about them. After reading Julius, and learning how Lilly treated her new baby brother, the class discussed jealousy and how it feels and how it can impact our behavior. We considered our own experiences of feeling jealous and drew and wrote about them. The students have declared themselves big fans of Kevin Henkes. We will continue to read his books and will learn more about him and his work as a writer and illustrator.
The students in K/1 continue to be avid readers. Kindergarten has been working on their letter writing and recognition skills and learning sight words. First grade has reviewed all the short vowels
K/1 made applesauce and apple "doughnuts" this month. We then wrote how to books to let other people know how we made the applesauce. The students wrote and illustrated their work, thinking of titles and making covers to complete their books.
First graders have been working on finding missing addends and sums by counting on, and also solving to find equal expressions in math. The students solve expressions and then write true equations to show if the expressions are equal or not equal. They are also working on doubles and doubles plus one facts, using them to solve addition problems. Students draw pictures and number bonds to solve problems, then write a number sentences and also a statement - if they are solving word problems.
Kindergarteners have been reviewing how to write numbers from 0-9. They are also working on counting and finding partners within a larger number, starting a foundation for solving addition problems.
In science, kindergarten learned about animal behaviors and habitats. First grade is continuing their Plant and Animal Superpowers unit, most recently learning about trees and how they withstand wind and the elements.
This month in Hebrew class we continued with our holiday theme, we made decorations for the sukkah, we learned about the four species, and even got to shake the lulav and etrog with the middle schoolers. First grade learned the letters aleph-hey and they are starting the second book in our Ariyot series.
In Jewish studies students continued to learn about the High Holidays and enjoy some of the rituals; shaking the lulav and etrog,
eating in the sukkah, listening to stories about Rosh Hashanah and tashlik. They really enjoyed making a mini-round hallah for Rosh Hashanah! Thank you to Tamar (Ofer's Mom) for making the dough for us! We began to learn about the Parashah, or weekly Torah portion, starting with Creation. First graders are working on collage murals illustrating what we are learning. They are also making hanukkiot (Kg.) and pamutim- candle holders (1st) out of clay.
I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays this month. We will be having student learning conferences next week and I look forward to seeing you!
Sincerely,
Ms. Ricci
