Tefilla is most meaningful when we can find personal connections to the words we say. 6th graders are spending time this year exploring the siddur in their classes, giving them a greater appreciation and understanding of the tefillot (prayers) they say each day.

Students in Morah Sandy's ECE3 class enjoyed the last week of fall by collecting leaves and petals and making a fall collage to enjoy in their classroom.

Students in Morah Roza's 4th grade Judaic Studies class got to present their work while learning Navi. After the presentations/ teaching opportunities, the class participated in a discussion about what their peers had taught them.

Students in Morah Esther's 1st grade Tefilla group enjoy a few minutes of yoga each day after davening (praying). This week they learned the Hebrew letter Zayin and its pose.

Students in Morah Aviva's ECE4A class made an ice treasure box this week! The class filled a container with water and objects from the centers and placed it in the freezer overnight. The next morning, the students had a blast chopping and digging at the ice in order to find the objects inside. As time went by, the ice box in the warm classroom began to melt, which of course made the digging a bit easier, but gave everyone a splash too.

Students in Mr. Stanulonis' high school English class enjoyed playing a game that related to the book 1984. The game was a hidden identity game in which students either fall into two camps: Party Members on INGSOC (English Socialism) or the Brotherhood.

Students in Mrs. B's ECE4B class enjoyed learning all about winter. The class cut circles to build snowmen, painted a snow scene, and played with shaving cream "snow." They also read some great snow stories from the library. They are all eagerly awaiting "winter" in Houston.

This week students in Ms. Bigham's lower Montessori class learned more about the ancient Egyptians. They had a lesson on hieroglyphics and had the opportunity to write their names and decode messages using the written language.

This week in Mr. Cell's 11th-12th grade AP US Government class students analyzed Richard Hofstadter's classic 1964 lecture, The Paranoid Style in American Politics. The topic is the history and philosophy of conspiracy theories in American politics—especially timely these days. The class compared and contrasted a few contemporary examples of this phenomenon in their class discussion. The top three discussion participants received some extra credit; the top two received a 'Jewish space laser' and 'mazel tough' decal. Next, the class read and analyzed an article published in 1973 by Mr. Cell's father, Dr. Donald Cell. It was titled, Policy Influence without Policy Choice. It basically argued that voters make ex post, or after the fact, evaluations of candidates. The claim is that voters generally do not evaluate policy positions or the ability to carry out campaign promises, before the policies are actually implemented, since they lack sufficient information and the time to do so. According to the argument, this is okay. With some dissent, the students seemed to appreciate what they considered a "practical" approach to politics. Only after the class discussion was the identity of the author revealed.

Students in Ms. America's 3rd grade class enjoyed time in the library this week when they learned all about the uses of a dictionary and how to look up words using a dictionary. They completed a dictionary team challenge activity as well.