This week in STEAM we continued learning about the many forms of water during the winter season. We made snow people in 2D and 3D using recyclable materials and had a good ole Texan snow ball fight!

This week in Ms. Ruben's middle school English classes, 6h grade was busy reading I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai and discussed how school means freedom to children who are confined to follow strict rules in their homes and communities. In 7th grade the students worked on the historical fiction novel Refugee by Alan Gratz which brilliantly weaves together three stories of refugee children and their families fleeing their homes in Germany in 1939, Cuba in 1994, and Syria in 2015. Students in 8th grade delved into the novel A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. The novel is based on the true story of Salva Dut, a refuge from Southern Sudan, and a lost boy who traveled thousands of miles through Africa fleeing his war torn country. All three classes are additionally exploring the plight of refugees through TED talks, articles and poetry.

Students in Morah Aviva's ECE4A class learned all about Bnei Yisrael receiving the Ten Commandments from Hashem on Har Sinai in parshat Yitro. The class worked eagerly, coloring with oil pastels, pasting fluorescent rectangles, and writing the Hebrew letters Aleph thru Yud on each rectangle to create their own Aseret HaDibrot (10 commandments).

Students in Mr. Polanski's middle school science classes had a busy week. 6th grade learned about seed plants and performed a chemical experiment involving a weak acid and a weak base. Students in 7th grade studied mountain building, while students in 8th grade learned about simple machines and compound machines. The students also all practiced standardized test taking.

Students in Morah Sandy's ECE3 class learned about Matan Torah (receiving the Torah) on Har Sinai. They learned that Har Sinai was humble and small, which led to lessons on humility and comparing small, medium, and large sizes.

A big thank you to the Houston Pecan Company for generously donating dried fruits for our students to enjoy on Tu Bi'Shvat!

Students in Ori Friedmann's middle school Hebrew class had a great time participating in a Tu Bi'Shvat themed Amazing Race including fruit tasting, creating fruit salads, and solving Hebrew riddles.

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