As we entered the last week of October, we started one of our first full weeks of school so far this year. October, too, was full of Jewish holidays! For Sukkot, the students had the opportunity to learn about and shake the lulav and etrog. They also completed the mitzvah of eating in the sukkah and recited the accompanying blessings. Some of our students even had the chance to help decorate the sukkah, which was "lots of fun"! Other holidays observed in October were Simhat Torah and Shemini Atzeret.
A special Weizmann tradition, one we all hold very dearly, was also held in October, as it is every year - - the Daniel Pearl Harmony for Humanity Concert. Our students performed four songs and joined the other schools and guests for an additional few songs. The class worked with Mr. Duran to learn the music and they all did a wonderful job.
In social studies, we started learning about our United States. Specifically, we examined the general weather and climate across the county and have been learning about the landforms in each of the regions. We will continue with this unit of study next month.
With fewer school days in October, we had time to complete reading and writing about one short story - - Cherries and Cherry Pits by Vera B. Williams. The book tells the story of a young girl, Bidemmi, who loves to draw. She makes up all kinds of imaginative stories about the fascinating people she creates in her artwork. In this book, naturally, all of her stories are about cherries and the people who sell, buy, eat, and share them, as well as those who plant the cherry pits. The students completed several coordinating writing assignments and answered comprehension questions.
We continued to write in journals each day, either responding to the prompt on the board or selecting a more personal writing topic. Language arts packets were also completed. Some of the topics included synonyms, antonyms, plural nouns, identifying and naming nouns and verbs, reading comprehension, and word work. Again, with the short weeks, we did not introduce new spelling words. Instead, we used the time to review spelling words from previous weeks with a variety of fun activities. Remember, spelling work is the majority of homework in this class. Students are expected to complete a spelling task sheet each school night of the week, which is then turned in the next day. They are also expected to read for approximately 30 minutes each night at home and to fill out a weekly reading log (provided on Mondays, due back on Fridays).
We took a short break from the Saxon math books so we could more intensively review the mathematical operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. We will continue to focus on these task and as the class shows mastery, will return to math book work. Please help your child by reviewing the times tables (up to 12) with them. Using driving time is a great way to help them strengthen and solidify their knowledge of multiplication facts.
We had the opportunity to learn about some basic scientific concepts through a series of children's science videos and the students got their hands wet and dirty with a few science experiments. We talked and wrote about cause and effect scenarios and examined an unopened yet empty can of soda, too. The STREAM class (Science, Technology, Robotics, Art, Math) continues to be a huge hit. This past month students worked on designing and constructing dream catchers and they participated in a paper chain STEAM challenge. On Friday afternoons the students have the opportunity to do coding on the iPads and we are anxiously awaiting the start of our special science class on Wednesdays with Mr. U. (Rebecca's dad).
In Hebrew this month, we are still learning about male and female word characteristics, and are watching the show, Hayo Haya. We also got to learn about the four species and we shook the lulav in the sukkah.
Students in Jewish studies spent time reflecting on various themes for the High Holidays using their "Jewish Holidays, Jewish Values" journals. (Rosh Hashanah: forgiveness, Yom Kippur: teshuvah, or repentance, Sukkot: humility, Simhat Torah: celebration.) These themes offered the students a chance to really think and write about their thoughts and feelings in a meaningful way. In addition, the students have been combining art and Jewish Studies revisiting drawings about the moon and space using oil pastels. We have also begun Judaic ceramic projects. Some students made a kiddush cup and some designed a hamsa. The students did a great job at our Daniel Pearl Concert.
Finally, we had the pleasure of welcoming a new student to the class, Halely. Halely and her family recently arrived from Israel and after a brief warm up period, she is now fully enmeshed in our classroom community. The students have been welcoming and are discovering different ways to communicate with her as she learns English.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to me by email (
lsnyder@weizmann.net
) or by calling the office and leaving a message for me.
Remember to sign up for Student Learning conferences on November 6 & 7.
Kol Tuv,
Mrs. Snyder
