SIHA Weekly for April 16, 2021

by admin | Apr 16, 2021 | Newsletter

Dvar Torah

Dvar Torah Parashat Tazrea M’tzora
[This week there are 2 Parashot]
(adapted from Rabbi Yisochor Frand)
This week’s Parasha discusses, amongst other things, the Halachot of a woman who gave birth [during the time of the Mishkan and the Beit Hamikdash]. Pasuk says that she must bring sacrifices- korbanot, a sheep and a bird. The bird offering can either be a Tor or a Ben Yona . A turtle dove or a young dove. Out of the dozens of choices of birds, these are the only two choices.
The Baal Haturim points out that anytime these birds are mentioned in the Torah the tor is mentioned first, except for here.
In all other cases bird offerings are offered in pairs, here is the only case where only one bird is offered.
A Medrash teaches that a tor-turtle dove has a very unique quality;if its mate dies, it will never seek another mate. it will mourn for its lost mate for the rest of its life!
Since, were one to offer a a tor- a turtle dove, it would cause pain to the remaining bird, the Torah is telling us to switch from the usual preference of a turtle dove and use the “secondary choice”, a young dove instead.
The Torah is concerned about the “emotional feelings” of the bird!
Reb Simcha Zeesel Brodie derives 2 insights from what the Baal Haturim has illustrated for us:
One, we see how sensitive the Torah is to the feelings of a little bird, all the more so how careful we must be towards the feelings of our fellow human beings.
Two, we see the Torah appreciating the loyalty of the tor-turtle dove. We can learn from here to be loyal to; our family, friends and of course to Hashem our G-d who does so much for us, and to his holy Torah.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Y.S. Kuritsky

Special Announcements

A great, big, THANK YOU to the wonderful PTA for setting up the amazing celebration in honor of Yom Haatzmaut this week! The students had an incredibly fun time! They all walked away with passports, pins, ice cream, and an amazing memory. You all are phenomenal! 

A big SIHA congratulations to our wonderful students of the month!

• Kindergarten – Volfson, Dalia
• First Grade – Maslov, Seth
• Second Grade – Portman, Benjamin
• Third Grade – Shutman, Tanya
• 4A – Oz, Noilee
• 4B – Nikolayevsky, Joshua
• Fifth Grade – Dym, Sophie
• Middle School – Fishman, Gabriella
• Middle School (Judaic Studies) – Koldin, Shai

A few 3rd grade girls greeted Mrs. Polasak so excitedly to show her the beautiful flowers they picked during recess on a glorious spring day!

Mrs. Polasak was so impressed that the girls shared their flowers with their peers who also wanted to be in the picture holding flowers! So proud of the middos these girls had to share so more girls would be included in the picture! Keep up the great middos!!!

We are so proud to see our students getting dental checkups and we love when they dress the proper way with her elbows covered and kippa on his head even when out of school! What a big kiddush Hashem! Mrs. Polasak was so impressed with how friendly they were to her at the dentist office! Great job Leah and Ryan Yakobzon!

Programming

This week we started this month’s contest! The contest is ‘An Act of Kindness a day!’

Each child is encouraged to make their days count. Every time they do an act of kindness (mitzvah), they will fill out a card and place it in the envelope on our board. At the end of the month, we will choose a winner from each class. In addition, Ms. Dershowitz and Ms. Weitzner gave out a sefirat haOmer chart to each child with a stamper. The students need to stamp for every day until we get to the end of the month! 

We also gave out prizes for all the students who filled out their charts for Pesach. 

Judaics

Kindergarten and First Grade
We had a great week in Kindergarten and First Grade Judaics. We introduced our new Sefirat Haomer Middot unit and started off with the mitzvah of Kibbud Av Veim! The children did a great job thinking of ways in which we can honor our parents like listening right away, not waking them up when they are sleeping and helping out around the house! We even drew our own pictures of having Kibud Av Veim! They are proudly displayed on our walls and in the hallways! We can’t wait to see what next week’s middah will be!
Shabbat Shalom!

Second Grade

We had a busy week as we learned all about Kashrut. The students all did very well on their quizes on Tuesday. They know many of the kosher signs. They know that animals need split hooves and must chew it’s cud and that fish require fins and scales to be kosher. We had a great time playing Jeopardy while practicing our reading skills and we are busy every day working on different worksheets which reinforce various exception rules in the Hebrew Alphabet. Shabbat Shalom!

Third Grade

This week was packed with learning. Students enjoy the new daily Kriah challenge and are ready to break their speed record!
the new dikduk lesson is challenging as we learn how to label Hebrew words by “gender”! Yes, in Hebrew words are either male or female. We are also learning to label them by singular or plural.
On Thursday, we celebrated Yom Ha’atzma’ut and learned many interesting facts about the Land of Israel, how it became a State 73 years ago, the holiest site is the Kotel and why it can never be destroyed…
In Parsha we learned about the power of speech and how we should stay away from speaking Loshon Hara.
Shabbat Shalom
Mrs Ivry

Fourth Grade

4A
This week was a major exciting week. The children received their own special Chumash. Each one was wrapped in wrapping paper, and each child got one in addition to an individual letter with a special treat. Once we discovered the treasure we went right away and learned the skill to find the correct Perek ( Chapter) and Passuk ( verse). We can’t wait for the upcoming Chumash Performance, and we even started practicing for it. We are learning the story of Rabbi Akiva in depth. From when he was a shepherd all the way of becoming a Huge Giant in Torah.
In Beiur Tefila we are learning the translation of the tefilla of Elokai Neshama. Morah explained how special the Neshama is as it is a piece of Hashem. To further explain this Morah took a balloon and blew it up. Inside of the balloon is the air of the blower. So to we say in the Tefilla Ata Nifachta Bi – you blew it into me. We have a piece of Hashem inside of us!
We cant wait to continue practicing the Chumash songs for the performance!
Shabbat Shalom,
Mrs. Bistritz

4B

Thankyou Hashem for another wonderful week of learning and soaring together. We count the Omer each morning in anticipation for Shavuot, when we’ll celebrate the giving of the Torah. We, like, swim in Hebrew sight words, Shorashim (3 letter roots of Hebrew words) and Roshei Tavos/ Hebrew prefixes. We’re careful to wake up whichever student might be sleeping next door with our excited chanting and singing of all these things. The enthusiasm that we have towards beginning Chumash lessons is tangible! This week’s Parshah, we learnt, discusses the Mitzvah of Bris Millah/circumcision. It’s a Mitzvah that we don’t understand, but we do it anyway, being the devoted servants of Hashem that we make it our business to be. Our writing is really picking up and writing Hebrew words in our notes,as opposed to Hebrew words written in alphabet, is being greatly encouraged. Thank you for sharing your treasures with me! Shabbat Shalom!
Morah Toba

5th and 6th Girls

The girls ask great questions and are interactive and involved in class. Keep it up

5th and 6th Boys

This week we used yom Hazikaron to focus on the concept of Hakarat Hatov/ appreciation .
When we think about the sacrifice of the soldiers, it helps us remember how much we need to appreciate what we do have.
We also had a special presentation for Yom Haatzmaut in which we showed how Eretz Yisrael is a special Gift from Hashem to us. We also had fun looking up some of the exciting things to do in the Land.

Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Levy

7th and 8th Girls

We had another wonderful week here , thank You Hashem. I come to school to teach, but, I’ll confess, I learn so much. My girls are fountains. They are overflowing with Torah knowledge and passion. Rachel Dym, for example, spoke to us on the topic of why the Torah isn’t just a history book, but rather a guide that is filled with meaning and symbols. Our Chumash lessons are going strong, even with the spring fever syndrome that has gripped us. The girls work so hard to follow along and collect all the necessary notes. We discussed the power of the days we’re in, Sefirat Haomer, the days between Pesach and Shavuot. We said that our nation underwent a drastic spiritual transformation between Galut Mitzrayim (it’s redemption is celebrated on Pesach) and Matan Torah (which is celebrated on Shavuot). They were raised from the lowest level of impurity to the highest level of purity! Ofcourse, until today,these days have that power to raise us. Spiritual growth is “on sale”! Indeed, Torah is not a history book.
Thank you for sharing your treasures with me! IShabbat Shalom!
Morah Toba

7th and 8th Boys

Much recognition to Noah Garber who always gives a hearty good morning to Rabbi Kuritsky!
This week we reviewed the laws of S’firat Ha’omer [you know, what Rabbi Kuritsky keeps sending nightly reminders about]. We continued to learn about the laws of a woman whose husband has “apparently” died, but must be identified properly prior to her remarrying. We learned that the testimony must always include identifying the face with the nose. We learned a lot about this week’s TWO Parashot. We learned about someone who got Tzara’at on his body, clothing or his house!
Tzara’at can come for 7-10 reasons. Most are for sins. We also learned that Tzara’at can come on a house to get rid of a house that was used for idolatry by the previous occupiers of Eretz Yisroel, the Cana’anim, or just to help a Jew find a treasure hidden behind a wall! We practiced davening. We also found a remarkable Gmara that informs us that even IF we were to desire forbidden “pleasures” i.e. eating ham/bacon [from a swine], we can enjoy that taste in a permitted manner i.e. eating the “shibuta” fish. If we would desire to eat blood [for whatever reason???] , we can accomplish that by eating the liver of a properly slaughtered kosher animal. Were we to desire fat from a domestic animal, which is forbidden, we can eat fat from a “wild animal” i.e. a deer [properly slaughtered etc.] , which is permitted.
There was more..

Elementary School

Kindergarten
This week kindergarten was amazing! They were challenged to use a graphic organizer to help them independently write a summary of a story and they did an excellent job! The entire class did a wonderful job reading and spelling words with blends. They also read a nonfiction story about soccer. In math they continued to review 3D shapes for their math test on Monday by playing shape games, listening to stories, and playing with the 3D shapes. They also continued to practice adding within 20 by counting on. In science they learned that animals have different adaptations to help them survive in their habitats. In social studies they learned all about the American flag. They learned facts about the American flag, they painted the flag, they discussed what the pledge of allegiance means, and they listened to the star spangled banner.

In Social Studies we continue to explore Life Long Ago. We learned how much education has changed since settlers first arrived in North America. And in Science we made observations of the sun. It was interesting to see how the moon appears to change from week to week. Students had fun making up names for the different phases of the moon such as “Banana moon” for.the crescent phase and “Pizza moon” for the full moon.

Second Grade
The second grade had a busy week. In ELA, the students have been learning all about adjectives and articles. All week the students have been hard at work drafting their research reports. On Tuesday, they worked with their writing groups outside! In math, the second graders finished their unit on data and graphs. On Monday, they collected data by asking classmates to vote on their chosen topic and created their very own graphs. On Tuesday, they all did amazing on their test! The second graders have now started a new unit on geometry. In social studies, the students have been learning all about the formation of the United States of America.

In science, students created amazing projects about “Solar System were presented during science class.
Students also learned and started a new chapter about Matter and Its Properties.

Miss Sasha

In science, students learned the causes of Earth’s seasons and the phases of the Moon;
learned and recognized how stars can be classified according to their size, color, temperature and age. During art/science students enjoyed and created the Solar System.

Fifth Grade

Fifth graders had a busy week! In reading, they continued their novel study of Moon over Manifest. In grammar, this week was all about adverbs! Students learned about adverbs and practiced identifying adverbs, identifying verbs they describe, and using adverbs in their own sentences. In writing, we learned about point of view and wrote beautiful paragraphs! 

In social studies, students wrapped up their lesson on the ancient Inca civilization and started their lesson on the ancient Aztec civilization. Students took notes and discussed what they learned in class! 

In science, students learned the differences between a mixture and solution and methods used to identify them; compare and classified matter according to its physical state.

Middle School

Middle School ELA and Social Studies

6th Grade
Sixth graders had a great week! In reading, we continued our novel study of Milkweed. In grammar, we learned about the perfect tenses, and students wrote some beautiful sentences, perfectly. In writing, we learned about story structure, and wrote beautiful paragraphs. Mrs. Hazen would like to commend Etai for working hard on his writing!

In Social Studies, the 6th graders continued on their unit on Ancient Greece. Students took wonderful notes, and enjoyed a spirited class discussion over what they learned. They also had a quiz, and everyone did amazing! 

7th Grade
Seventh graders had a busy week! With the state test just a week away, this week was all about the test prep. Students reviewed annotation rules, and practiced multiple choice, short answer, and long answer questions. In reading, we started a new novel: Chasing Lincoln’s Killer. Mrs. Hazen would like to commend Leam and Noah for being very diligent!

8th grade
Eighth graders had a busy week! Students wrapped up their speech unit by giving wonderful speeches. They also had a mini-unit on oral interpretation, and learned to read dialogue with excitement and inflection. Everyone did a great job, but Eliana deserves a shoutout for her amazing energy! In reading, we learned about allegory and fables, and are starting our next novel: Animal Farm.

In Social Studies, we continued working on our unit on the Great Depression. We learned the causes and effects of the Dust Bowl, and the many different challenges our country faced in the early 20th century.

Middle School Math

Middle School Science

6th Grade
Students learned and recognized that heat is responsible for changes in the state of matter. Identify melting and boiling points as constant temperatures at which substances change states. Methods used to separate mixtures and solutions were performed from students.

7th Grade
As a part of our student’s academic journey through the human body and how the body maintains the state of balance through homeostasis; students will be investigating how nutrients actually get into our cells to give our body what it needs to undergo life processes. Students will be investigating through video, readings and by creating a story wherein they take the position of a piece of food as it travels through, the quite amazing digestive system and all of its organs. Students will learn the difference between mechanical and chemical digestion, the various organs of the digestive system and their function, what is needed to begin the digestive process and what our food is made up of and how it breaks down to get into our cells. They will be able to explain the role that carbohydrates, proteins and lipids have in the body.

8th Grade

Energy flows and matter cycles among organisms, and between organisms and their environment, creating interconnected systems. In this unit, students learn about the biotic and abiotic factors in a river ecosystem, using the Hudson River as a case study. They then investigate the impact of an invasive species (zebra mussels) on this ecosystem, using teaching case materials created by scientists at the American Museum of Natural History. Students then make hypotheses about how the presence of zebra mussels might affect specific biotic or abiotic factors. Finally, using data collected by the Cary Institute, students write scientific explanations confirming or rejecting their hypotheses, thus building an understanding of the role of data and collaboration in the scientific community.

Jewish History
7th grade learned about responsibility. We learned that we cannot control what happens to us but we can control our reactions!
8th grade finished our study of the Herodian Kingdom and is moving on to Roman Rule

SIHA Weekly for April 9, 2021

by admin | Apr 9, 2021 | Newsletter

Dvar Torah

Parashat Shmini
The Dr. turned to one patient and his family and said “Eat whatever you like. No diet restrictions”!
The Dr. then turned to the other patient and told him and his family “follow a very strict diet! Do not eat …”

Parashat Shmini delineates the list of which animals, fish, and birds we, as Jews may eat and which animals , birds and fish we may not eat.
When describing the animals the Torah states Zot Hachaya, literally meaning “this is the live one” . In Hebrew the word Chaya often means “wild animal”. Rashi explains that this term here is not referring to a wild animal, but to us, the Jews! The Torah is telling us that we are Chaya, a living one. Since we the Jews are destined to live a true life of Torah in this world and to merit an eternal life in Olam Haba the world to come. It is imperative that we eat “healthy foods” – kosher food. This will keep us properly sustained in this world and help us merit the world to come. The Midrash explains this with a parable;
A Dr. came into a hospital room where there were two sickly patients, laying there surrounded by family members. The Dr. examined the first patient and told the family “he may eat whatever he wants. No restrictions at all”. The Dr. then went to the other side of the room to where the second patient lay in his bed. After examining him, the Dr. told his family “it is very important for him to follow a strict diet! None of this or that may be eaten!”.
The family of the second patient became very alarmed and nervously asked “why the strict diet for our relative and for the other fellow, no restrictions at all?”
The Dr. looked at them very seriously and explained “the other patient is not going to live anyway. He may as well eat whatever he wants, but your relative is going to live, he therefore needs to be careful and follow the strict diet”.
The other nations were offered the Torah, but rejected it. We Jews accepted it! We are destined to “live”, therefore we must follow the diet and eat only kosher. It is not a punishment, but a remedy for life, in this world and the next.

One day, when we were learning the laws of what a Jew is expected/obligated to do every morning upon waking up; saying “modeh ani” washing 3 times with a cup on each hand, [boys] put on Tzitzit and a Kipah etc. a wonderful student A.L. commented “we have so many restrictions”. After Learning the above lesson we can see that there is a very good reason. The Torah says about us Jews that we are “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” . We are the King of all kings’ children. We are princes and princesses. Princes and princesses don’t go to a public school and study with the populace. They have private tutors who teach them. They are trained in acting royally. They are trained how to dress and how to eat. They are taught about their royal blood and heritage.
It is the same with us Jews. We can say/complain that we have “so many restrictions”, or we can realize that it is because we are G-d’s people, His chosen nation destined to live. As such, we must act, dress and eat differently than the rest of the populace.
After Hashem takes us out of Mitzrayim, from 86 years of being the victims of barbaric torture, murder and slavery, we are commanded to keep His Mitzvot. Hashem says “it was worth it to take you out and do all the miracles even if you just keep kosher!
Let’s try.
Shabbat Shalom

Special Announcement

Happy Birthday to Alivia Clift in 3rd Grade, Sarit Iunger in 2nd Grave, and Gabriella Fishman in 6th grade!

A message from Gabby’s Classmates:

Happy birthday Gabby!
You are the bestest friend! You are very kind and generous.
— from Madi, Eva and Mia

Students took advantage of the nice weather:

Parsha outside with ‘Morah Rebecca’

Congratulations to THIRD grade upon winning the Adar contest, the winners smiled at their friends and families and did many acts of kindness. Third grade received very cute smiley bracelets .

Thursday April 8, is “Yom Hashoah”.
In SIHA, every class learned a little about the life of a young child who was ruthlessly murdered by the Nazis and other Jew haters.
Each class took upon themselves to do Mitzvot in the Zchut/merit of the murdered Jewish child. We, our bodies, are not eternal, but our souls are. We are given a body and a life in this world to perform Mitzvot and serve Hashem, thereby “feeding” our souls with everlasting sustenance. The lives of these young Jews were snuffed out by Nazis and other Jew haters, thereby “starving” their souls of everlasting sustenance.
We hope that with the gifts, the merits that the students have done and will do for these children, that they will feel satiated in the Olam Ha’emet, in heaven.
Rabbi Kuritsky

Programming News

Dear parents.
I hope you are all doing well and had a beautiful Pesach holiday.
We had a wonderful (short) week, thank G-d!
Upcoming Contest:
As we count the Omer, we are working to do an act of kindness a day (or more!)
The students will receive their charts on Tuesday. Please encourage this at home as well.
Thank you very much!
Best regards,
Miss Dershowitz

Dear Parents,

April 8th is Yom Hashoa, The Holocaust Remembrance Day. On this very sad day we remember more than six million Jewish lives that were taken from us by Nazi Germany under Hitler. People were taken from their homes which they thought were a safe place. People’s families were torn apart and many people never saw their family members after World War II was over .

Today Miss. Weitzner and Miss. Dershowitz gave each class a poster board for one child who was tragically murdered in the holocaust. The teachers read their class a summary of the child’s life and how they were arrested and sent to the nazi camps. Because these children can not do any mitzvot now that they are not alive, the students will be putting a sticker on their poster board when they do a mitzvah ( a good deed ) in remembrance of this child.

Ms. Weitzner / Ms. Dershowitz

Judaics

Kindergarten and First Grade
We had such a great week this week in Kindergarten and First Grade Judaics! It was so great to be back in school and see all our delicious, smiling friends!

This week in Kindergarten we finished learning the Aleph Bet by learning the letters Taf and Saf! We had a special ice cream party to celbrate! Morah is so proud of how hard all the children are working to know their aleph bet!

This week in First Grade we began reading Tehillim! We know that Tehillim (Psalms) are special prayers we can say whenever we want. Each word is like an arrow going straight up to Hashem, bring our prayers to Him. To celebrate we had a surprise ice cream party! We are so proud!!

This week we learnt about Sefira. Sefira is the time period from the second day of Pesach until Shavuot. Just like someone who is waiting for something to happen counts how many days until the special event, like a birthday; we count 49 days from Pesach until we got the biggest, bestest, most amazing present ever! The Torah! On Shavuot!!. We learnt how during this time we especially work on being kind to others. The children had great examples of how we can be kind to others. We are looking forward to starting our Honorable Mentschen, good Middot (character traits) program next week!

This week we also began a new Gedolim unit. We learnt how the Gedolim are big tzaddikim who learn so much Torah and do lots of mitzvot. We can learn so much from the Gedolim and we hope one day to be like them too. This week we learnt about Rav Aharon Kotler, and heard many stories about this great tzaddik.

Second Grade

We had a busy week zooming away in 2nd grade. The children are working hard at preparing their Haggadahs and enjoyed watching some clips of Passover songs and stories.  They can’t wait to ask you the Ma Nishtana (4 Questions G-d willing next week at your family Seder. Shabbat Shalom

Third Grade
It was so nice to come back to school and see all the students after such a long break. I would like to welcome Joshua Applebaum to our class.
we learned so much this short week. Starting with the new Shorashim curriculum and this week’s Parsha Shemini which teaches us about all the different types of Kosher animals.

Shabbat Shalom
Mrs Ivry
Fourth Grade

5th and 6th Girls
Dear parents.
Thank G-d, we had a wonderful short week in Judaics.
I’m so proud of all the girls who kept the Pesach contest, keeping many Mitzvot of Pesach and cleaning their room and backpacks for Pesach.
We will be celebrating with slurpee fun to reward all those who kept the contest???
We began learning the Shemoneh Esrei prayer in depth. We went on a trip around the school, imagining how we were getting closer to the throne room, where we had a private audience with the king. Throughout our Davening, it is the most amazing opportunity to talk to the king of all kings, Hashem. When we get up to Shemoneh Esrei, we are having a private audience with Him in His throne room. What a special opportunity, let’s use it out! We started learning the first blessing of Shemoneh Esrei in depth.
We learned about this week’s Parsha, Parshat Shemini which talks about the Mishkan (Temporary house of G-d in this world where the Jews served Him in the desert.) and which animals are kosher, etc.
We learned in Pirkei Avot about what it means to be a good friend to others, as well as understanding that every person has their own unique good qualities and deficiencies. We want to be truly kind people who are wonderful to be around. We are all going to work toward that goal throughout the rest of the year in Pirkei Avot.
Happy Bat Mitzvah to Gabi Fishman!
We had a beautiful Bat Mitzvah party in school to celebrate.
We began learning all about what it means to be a Jewish Woman – a Bat Mitzvah.
Have a wonderful Shabbat and an enjoyable relaxing weekend!
Best regards,
Miss Dershowitz

5th and 6th Boys
Welcome Back!
Despite having a short week, we dived right into the laws and Ideas of the Omer, as well as beginning the Book of Ruth in preparation for Shavuot.
We also discussed Yom Hashoa, and how every single human being can make an positive impact on society.
Looking forward to next Week.
Shabbat Shalom!

7th and 8th Girls

As reported by Ariella Shindelman and Eliana Volfson:

This week was the first week back from Pesach break! Mora Tobah made it very fun for us to return to our studies. We learned about the signs that Hashem gave Moshe to take the Jews out of Mitzrayim.
We had an ‘open mic’ class in which Rachel talked about how Torah is not a history book. We also played 7up, which was a lot of fun, and on Friday we had a Shabbat party!
Morah Toba brought in caramel popcorn and BBQ chips.

The 7th and 8th girls are very grateful to Morah Toba for teaching them and making Judaics as fun as possible!

7th and 8th Boys

This week we began with laws of Sfirat Ha’omer .We discussed this “fairly easy” Mitzva to count the 49 days , daily from the 2nd night of Pesach until the night prior to Shavuot.
We did something really weird , The Rabbi/Judaics study teacher asked the boys/the students to choose the curriculum.
Shai asked to learn about the “giants” that fell from heaven in the time of Noach.
Amiel asked to learn about the laws of “a husband dying and his widow remarrying”.
Noah asked to learn “stories about the Parashah”
Michael asked to learn the “Aleph Bet”.
Rabbi Kuritsky is working on “making everyone happy”.
We began intricate laws on what body parts are necessary to identify the deceased husband. How much time may elapse after death. Are specific marks on the body sufficient. Is clothing sufficient evidence.
We also discussed a real “live” story of Rabbi Bauman who jumped into the Atlantic ocean to save one of his students. He was successful in saving his student but then went missing, only to have his body found floating five days later.
Was/is his wife permitted to remarry?

Elementary School

Kindergarten
This week kindergarten had a lot of fun learning how to read long vowel words with Bossy E at the end of the word. They continued to work on their writing skills and wrote about how to give a pig a bath and what they see outside in the spring. They loved reading this week’s story which was about a dinosaur named Flip. They also practiced spelling blends with the letter l. In math they continued to learn about 3D shapes. They experimented with 3D shapes to learn if they can stack, slide, or roll and they played a scavenger hunt game to find the different shapes. They also learned how to add within 20 by counting on. In science they sorted pictures of objects based on if they are living or nonliving. They also made a book about the 4 things all animals need to survive. In social studies they finished their unit on community helpers by learning to sing and dance to a fun song about what community helper they can be when they grow up.
First Grade
Our first graders had a very interesting week. In reading they made inferences about two friends. They did research to help compare butterflies and bees. Students also continue to add and subtract two-digit numbers in Math.

In Science we made observations about the sky. We discovered that we can see stars, moon, planets, and comets in the night sky. However, the sun is the only bright star we can see during the day. Students also enjoyed experimenting with light to see how the sky changes as the earth rotates!

Second Grade
The second graders has had a busy week! In ELA, the second grade has been working on analogies and cause and effect. They have also been hard at work drafting their first paragraph of a research report. In math, the second graders have been learning about different ways to represent data. They’ve been creating pictographs, bar graphs, and line plots. In social studies, the students have been learning all about the 13 colonies and why the colonists declared independence from Britain. On Wednesday, April 7th, we celebrated Sarit Iunger’s 8th birthday. Happy birthday Sarit!

In Science, second graders were so excited to present their project on the Solar System.
Discussions about planets during science class were surprising.
More projects are going to be presented in the following week.

This week grade three came back from the break ready to learn from day one. To refresh our memories after the holidays, we spent most of the week reviewing our past topics. During our Grammar lessons, we used our new spelling words to create and analyze complete sentences. Students dissected each sentence into different parts of speech such as nouns, adjectives, and verbs of all sorts. They also found the prepositions, conjunctions, the simple and complete subjects and predicates too. During our Reading lessons we continued to learn about how authors set the mood or atmosphere within a piece of writing. We also began reading our new class novel, James and the Giant Peach, which allowed students to see first hand the use of imagery, vivid words, and setting as means to set the mood. During our Social Studies lessons, we reviewed what we had learned about the Aztecs thus far and students took a quiz with the concentration on the development and fall of their great Tenochtitlan City. During the Computer lesson, students reviewed the format and elements of an e-mail. In Math, we reviewed topics like solving multiple step word problems with multiplication and division, locating the area and and the perimeter of shapes, and reading and labeling the analog clock. In Russian class, students were introduced to vocabulary using the letter З, while also reviewing our past vocabulary.

This week we also had the pleasure of welcoming a new student. Joshua has joined our class and we were all very impressed with his ability to speak both Russian and Hebrew, as well as with how he has been able to participate so well in our class activities.

In science, students learned the causes of fast changes on Earth’s surface; how a volcano is formed and the causes of a volcano. Facts and researches on natural disasters and damages that they caused were assigned to the students.

Miss Sasha

In science, students learned and understood the role of the Sun’s energy on Earth. Discuss the role of the Sun’s gravity in the solar system. Students described and compared the planets in our Solar System.

4B
4B had a busy week! With 7 children in person and 6 on zoom, it was a very interesting classroom dynamic. In ELA we reviewed our grammar unit on adjectives, in preparation for a test next week. In math we continued to learn about decimals. We learned how to change decimals into fractions, and vice versa. We also learned how to add and subtract decimals, and round them. When we weren’t learning, we were taking advantage of the beautiful weather and new playground!

In science, the students gave a “Be a Meteorologist” presentation: Students were able to present their weather map using the data they collected.

Fifth Grade

In ELA we practiced making subject pronouns and verbs agree with each other. We practiced identifying compound subject pronouns and compound object pronouns as well.
In writing, we practiced identifying the structure of poems and plays and how the structure of a poem/drama affects our understanding of it.
We also continued to read our class novel, Moon Over Manifest.

In social studies we learned about the Toltec civilization of Mesoamerica and we began learning about the Inca.

In science students learned the importance of physical properties ; they understood the ways to measure the volume and density of an object.

Middle School

Middle School ELA and Social Studies

6th Grade

Sixth graders were very excited to be back in school and with their friends!
In ELA, we started reading a new novel: Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli. This novel is set during the time of the Holocaust, and students showed great curiosity about the novel’s protagonist and setting. In grammar, we learned about present and past participles, and in writing, we practiced writing about point of view.
This week, we had the pleasure of meeting Naomi, virtually! All the 6th graders are very excited about their new classmate. Welcome!

In social studies we finished off our Ancient China unit by making paper. The 6th graders had a blast!
We also began learning about ancient Greece. The class seems very interested in ancient Greece as a whole and I look forward to our journey through this ancient civilization.

7th Grade
This week was all about the upcoming state test! We reviewed how to annotate for fiction and nonfiction, and practiced on multiple choice texts of great variety. We also wrapped up our novel study of Farewell to Manzanar by writing an editorial. Mrs. Hazen would like to commend Noah on his hard work!
In Social Studies, we learned about the Industrial Revolution in America. Students had a great time playing an interactive game in which they learned about the changes in working life during the 19th century.

8th Grade
This was a busy week for the 8th grade! Students came back from the break ready to go, and started working on their speeches! We read and analyzed famous speeches, such as Elie Weisel’s ‘Perils of Indifference’ and JFK’s Inaugural address. Students also outlined their speech, and are ready to practice this coming week.
8th graders also finished their novel study of the Outsiders with an art project. Everyone did an amazing job, but Mrs. Hazen would like to commend Taylor on all her hard work!

In Social Studies, we started learning about the Great Depression. We covered the causes and events that started everything, and read primary source material from the era. Mrs. Hazen would like to commend Yehuda for being amazing during class discussion!

Middle School Math

8th honors finished chapter 6 and reviewed concepts in chapters 3 to 5.
8th reviewed graphing and previous topics taught earlier.
7th honors reviewed graphing and slope while preparing for the state test exam.
7th reviewed concepts for the state test.
6th review percent and proportions.
5th grade reviewed operations with decimals.

Middle School Science

6th graders
This week 6th graders connect science and math calculating and comparing the density of different objects using math formulas.
Thank you Ms. O ?!

7th Grade

Over the next couple of weeks students will be learning how our body systems function to maintain homeostasis. Students just finished up the Immune System and they all did well on their test. This week we are discovering the benefits and necessity of our skin. Students will be able to distinguish between the epidermis and the dermis, identify the functions of the skin and the role it plays to protect us from various pathogens and environmental toxins.

8th Grade Students

8th Grade will be investigating how humans are complex organisms that maintain a narrow set of internal conditions through a system of feedback and communication mechanisms between multiple organ systems. In this unit, students will explore how body systems interact to effectively monitor and respond to both internal and external environmental changes. Students complete both Making Connections (a NY State required lab) and a human thermoregulation laboratory, both of which focus on skills of experimental design.

SIHA Newsletter: Special Passover Edition!

by admin | Mar 26, 2021 | Newsletter

Dvar Torah

As the holiday of Pesach is almost upon us, I think about how lucky we are to be in school together learning about our Freedom. The halls and zoom classrooms are filled with ideas and songs as our devoted Rebbeim and Morot prepare our talmidim for the upcoming Yom Tov.

In the Hagadah there are many times that we thank Hashem for all that He has done for us and continues to do to this day. The language of the Hagadah and the mitzva of bikurim (first fruits) is similar and intertwined. There is a medresh in Sefer Berashit that states that the world was created for 3 things: Bnei Israel, The Torah, and for the Bikurim. The obvious question is how can the mitzva of Bikurim be compared in importance to the entire nation of Israel and our Holy Torah?

The Commentary of the Alshich explains that the mitzva of Bikurim contains within it something that is fundamental to being a human being – the obligation for people to express their gratitude. Showing gratitude is so basic that the whole world was created just for this mitzva, which teaches us and trains us in the attribute of appreciation. Adam wouldn’t have been kicked out of Gan Eden (garden of Eden) if he didn’t complain about Chava. Someone who is ungrateful to the people around him eventually will be ungrateful to G-d.

I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to Hashem for allowing me this unbelievable opportunity of being involved in the holiest work imaginable, making a home away from home for our precious children. Especially grateful to Him for giving us the majority of the year of in-person instruction. There is nothing like learning and growing when we do it together, in person. I too would like to express my deep thanks to our tireless and dedicated administrators; Rabbi Kuritsky, Ilanit, Ety, Yana, Ms. Ortiz, Mrs. Adams, and Tara. To our talented teachers, your commitment and devotion to reach our goal in touching every pure and young soul is completely outstanding and awe inspiring. To our dear parents, our partners in this holy endeavor, working with you is a true privilege and pleasure!

So as we prepare for Pesach let us shower Hashem with praise and thankfulness for all the good He does for us all the time. For, no matter what the state of our life is, we are so indebted to the Creator of the World for life itself.
Chag Kosher V’Someach.
Dr. Chana Uzhansky
Chana Uzhansky Ed.D
Head of School
SIHA

Special Announcement!

Mazal Tov to Noah, Zachary, Sloane Garber and the entire Garber family upon the occasion of Noah’s Bar Mitzvah!

Abigail Azaraev (sister of Ethan) is the winner of a brand new חלה דעקעל aka Chalah cover. We had a school wide raffle for this beautiful Chalah cover. Of course it can be used to cover מצה Matzoh as well

Happy Birthdays!

Happy Birthday to:

• Asher Hecht – 6th Grade
• Mark Mihelson – 6th Grade
• Ari Levient – 1st Grade
• Tyler Nieves – 7th Grade
• Ethan Badalov – 4A
• Alivia Clift – 3rd Grade
• Benjamin Portman – 2nd Grade
• Max Schneider – Kindergarten

Programming News

Dear parents.
Wow, what an exciting week we had at Siha!
On Tuesday, we had a beautiful model seder in every classroom. We had a great time, going through the Pesach Seder and learning about what to do throughout the first 2 nights of Pesach (the Seder nights.)
Reminder:
Pesach Cleaning Contest – Due Thursday night!!
Every student received a Pesach cleaning checklist with the guidelines for how to clean their rooms for the Pesach holiday. Please email me a picture of your child’s checklist so they can receive a very exciting prize upon their return to school after Pesach break. Please send them to rdershowitz16@sihebrewacademy.com.
We hope you enjoy the Siha Pesach package. Thank you to our wonderful 7th and 8th grade girls, who assisted in putting them together??
Have a beautiful, happy and kosher holiday of Pesach!
Best regards,
Miss Dershowitz
Ms Esti

Judaics

Kindergarten and First Grade

We had a zooming week in Kindergarten and First Grade Judaics! This week we learnt about the different parts of the seder and hagaddah. We colored, jumped, and drew as we learnt about Pesach! We are getting really good at singing the mah nishtana and we even have motions! We are looking forward to being in school next week and making all our Pesach projects like an afikomen bag and pesach pillow for leaning! Shabbat Shalom!

Second Grade

It was wondeful being back to in person learning this week. We completed our Haggdahs and all enjoyed the model Seder on Tuesday. Shout out to Ben for hiding the afikomon and to Amit for finding it. Have a wonderful, happy Passover. Chag Kosher V’somaiach!

Morah Chaya

Fourth Grade

4A
Hope all of you will have a beautiful chag!
We learned so much about Pesach, and the children did a great job leaning and decorating their own Hagadda.
Chag Sameiach!

4th:
We had such a great Pesach- spirited half week. It was short, but so full. We enjoyed the hands- on seder, watching all the things that we’ve been discussing “come to life”. We know that the idea of discussing our redemption from Egypt is supposed to strengthen our trust muscle, it’s supposed to show us how Hashem can save us from just anything, with His “strong hand”. One student brought up a good point, she said that she’s sure He can get us out of Coved too! The Seder ends, we discussed, by us saying that next year we should merit celebrating Pesach in Jerusalem! Thank you for sharing your treasures with me. Have a wonderful Chag!
Morah Toba

5th and 6th Girls

Dear parents.
Wow, we had an amazing and exciting week learning all about Pesach!
We really enjoyed decorating and stuffing Seder pillows. Great job, girls?
We had a great time at our mock Pesach seder, learning all about what to do at our Pesach Seder at home. We didn’t get to sing Hallel or Nirtza, but we all know that at the end of the Pesach Seder, we sing Hallel, praise to Hashem for taking us out of our bondage in Egypt and for choosing us as His treasured nation. We also then pray that next year we should celebrate Pesach in Jerusalem!
We learned a beautiful song about how all the nations of the world tried to kill us throughout the ages, until today (anti-semitism.) In Egypt, the Purim story, the Greeks (Chanukah), the crusades, the holocaust (etc. etc.!) But Hashem promised that if we stay connected with the Torah, He will save us. Despite every odd, the Jewish nation is still alive, vast and vibrant! That is the miracle we talk about in the Haggadah at Vehi She’amdah.
Have a wonderful happy kosher Pesach! Enjoy your weekend!
Best regards,
Miss Dershowitz

7th and 8th Girls
7th/8th:
We had a wonderful half week, wrapping up our Hagada lessons and getting into the Pesach spirit. Our practice Seder was great fun and informative too. At the point where we had the Matzah, a thought provoking question was presented- why does Matzah symbolize freedom rather than a fancier kind of bread like a bouget or a sour dough loaf? Because in Judaism freedom means: free to serve Hashem and we left Egypt in order to receive the Torah! We spent the last few minutes together before Chag dancing to some great Pesach music. I will miss my amazing girls so much. Have a wonderful Chag!
Morah Toba

7th and 8th Boys

Schoolwide Raffle
Rabbi Kuritsky raffled off a beautiful Chalah cover in honor of Pesach. all were excited. The proud winner is Abigail Azaraev, in third grade [sister of Ethan, in 8th grade]

Great Question!
Tali [aka Sofia] Sandler presented Rabbi Kuritsky with a real important question about the upcoming Pesach. Usually on erev Pesach [day preceding Pesach] we stop eating and have our homes cleaned of all Chometz. This year Erev Pesach comes on Shabbat, when we are obligated to eat bread.
What shall we do?
Our homes are clean?
As Tali put it “if one crumb falls it is all over?!”
Great thinking Tali!
The answer is; 1 eat carefully on a table cloth and throw the crumbs outside. The Rabbi said we can rely on birds and insects to take care of the crumbs that are outside but in our property. 2 collect the crumbs and flush them down the t….

7th 8th grade boys
We discussed in detail, and wrote about each section of the Haggadah.
We discussed different Minhagim customs regarding Kiddush, i.e. standing or sitting when reciting Kiddush. Maror, Gary Shamay says his family eats onions. Rabbi Kuritsky’s family eats Romaine lettuce. Some use horseradish.
Each boy took home a beautiful “father and son” Haggadah with each boy’s name printed in Hebrew.

Model Seder
On Tuesday, we had a model Seder in school with all boys present [some watched on zoom, although we couldn’t share the food with them].
We had EVERYTHING that we needed for a real seder. We had wine [grape juice], real round hand made Matzo [provided by Rabbi Kuritsky, for the whole school] , Charoset, celery for karpas, horseradish for maror, chocolate leaves [kosher for Passover] for the meal Shulchan Orech], Afikomen [without bargaining for prizes.
The four questions
Questions asked during our model seder;
1 Can we drink the wine [grape juice]?
2 When can we eat the matzo?
3 When can we eat the celery dipped in salt water?
4 Can we have doubles of EVERYTHING
5 [yeah 5, why not?] Do we really have to eat the maror?
6 Can we drink a few more cups of wine [grape juice]
[disclaimer, not all questions were really asked, but they definitely were implied].
The boys were terrific. We had a great time.

Each boy is coming home with a “Pesach challenge”. Parents signature required . The challenge is to;clean properly, do the Pesach Mitzvot properly and to pray daily. Each Boy who brings back the chart, properly filled out and signed by a parent will be rewarded after Pesach vacation.

One of our favorite dogs who will decide whether something is חמץ or not

Boys practicing and praying beautifully. שי הצדיק Shai Koldin proudly wearing his ציצית Tzitzit.

Model Seder. Boys enjoying the first cup of wine (really grape juice) קדש right after שי ניסים קולג’ים Shai said קידוש Kiddush beautifully.

Boys enjoying the כורך sandwich of מצה ומרור the Matzoh and maror (dipped in חרוסת charoset)

Doron Eliyahu דורון אליהו Glickman saying קידוש Kiddush at our modelסדר Seder