Miracles! Miracles!
Who doesn’t want miracles to happen to them?
How can we even dream of expecting a miracle happening to/for us?
The Lubavitcher Rebbe is quoted as saying “if we want Hashem to do something for us against nature, we must also act against our nature”!
We see this concept in the miracle of Chanuka. A group of five men,Kohanim, people that were accustomed to serving in the Bais Hamikdosh- the Holy Temple, stand up to an entire Syrian-greek army of thousands of soldiers for the purpose of being able to serve Hashem properly, to be able to keep the Torah, with all the Mitzvos.
Hashem says “you acted out of your nature, I will make miracles for you that counter nature”.
Similarly, we find with Yosef Hatzadik. He is tempted daily, by Potifar’s wife, for a full year, yet he goes against nature and his natural desires and does not give in.
Hashem rewards Yosef by changing his status. In one quick moment he is elevated from a slave in a jail to becoming the viceroy [second to the king of Egypt, the largest and most powerful country at that time]!
All of us would love to have a miracle-something special happen to/for us that we know won’t happen “naturally”, but if we are willing to go out of our nature, to serve Hashem, we can look forward to Him [hashem] possibly, changing nature for us.
Chodesh Tov
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Yaakov kuritsky
Message from Dr. Uzhansky
וקבעו שמונת ימי חנוכה אלו, להודות ולהלל לשמך הגדול
And they established these eight days of Chanukah to express thanks and praise to Your great Name.
It seems that the Chachamim were telling us that the essence of Chanukah is to recognize all that Hashem did (and does) for us and to praise and thank Him. We know this is not for His benefit but rather for ours. Praising and thanking Hashem brings us closer to Him, which is the ultimate purpose of all the mitzvos.
Dear SIHA family especially to my dear students,
Thank you for giving me a reason to smile on this last night of Chanukah. The world may be caught in a vertex of chaos but tonight the little simple candles flickering gives me great comfort. The beauty of their light is just an external reminder of the light found within each of us always striving to go up, give warmth, and illuminate our uniqueness to the world around us. Children exude that light more so with their purity and profound potential. We, lucky to be in the world of education and as parents, can celebrate Chanukah, seeing that shine 365/24/7. Those neshamot are the gifts that keep on giving! ????
Chag Chanukah Sameach!!!
Morah Chana
Thank you to the PTA and all the SIHA Parents for being phenomenal this holiday season!
This was a week of fun and excitement for every SIHA student. We celebrated Chanuka with activities and play, culminating in the incredible Traveling Tykes Carnival in the middle of the week! Between the bounce-castle, the train, the slide, the cotton candy and the music, the students had a magical time!
2020 has been a trying year. Thank you, again, for making the end of the year amazing and memorable. The students will remember and appreciate your incredible dedication to making their childhoods special.
P.S. From all the staff, thank you very much for your amazing gifts this Chanukah season. We really appreciate them!
Judaics
Kindergarten and First Grade
We had such a great week in Kindergarten and First Grade Judaics we did a lot of fun Channukah activities, come check it out!
On Monday, we made our very own doughnuts! Chocolate icing, vanilla icing, and sprinkles, we sure got sticky!! We also made our very own “finding Hashem” diaries where we are writing or drawing things to thank Hashem for, and places where we saw Hashem helping us. For example, Morah was running late to an appointment and when she came there was a parking space right in front of the building! Hashem had made that parking space open special for Morah! On Tuesday, we had the traveling tykes carnival! On Wednesday, we had a fun chanukah party and made our scratch off dreidels! On Thursday we had zoom school! and watched a fun Chanukah video. We also learnt about making the right choices! We read a special Danny, power to choose, story where we read and made the right choices , the choices Hashem would want, for Danny. We know Hashem is always watching us and knows everything we do and think and that we try to do our best. We spoke about how even if we make mistakes Hashem always loves us, no matter what, and we can try again next time. On Friday, we made our very own dreidel pinatas!
Second Grade
We had an exciting week of Chanukah beginning on Monday with reviewing our Chanukah booklets, our reading skills and icing our donuts with either chocolate or vanilla icing and colorful sprinkles. You can be sure we all enjoyed our snack on Monday. Tuesday was a blast participating in the Traveling Tykes carnival. Wednesday we read about Chana and her 7 sons in Hebrew. I was impressed how beautifully the children were able to read and understand the sentences in English. We also did a special Chanukah arts and crafts project and enjoyed special goodies in honor of the holiday. Thursday our snow day we zoomed away reviewing this weeks Parsha Mekaitz. We see how humble Yosef was. When he was called to interpret Pharaoh’s dream Yosef said “ the ability to interpret the dream was given only by Hashem,it is not due to my credit. We learn from Yosef to be humble and not brag or show off our talents. A special thanks to Miss Dershowitz for all her hard work in coordinating the outstanding projects and activities everyone enjoyed for Chanukah. Shabbat Shalom!
Third Grade
What a magical week we had this week of Chanukah! Each day was filled with fun and educational activities. We learnt so much about the importance and spiritual power of the Chanukah Holiday. we played dreidel and made sure to put the Chanukah gelt we received from our teacher in the Tzedaka. We prayed extra for all who need and added the Hallel prayer as well each day of Chanukah.
We ended up the week making a Dreidel piñata filled up with candies in honor of Chanukah and Shabbat!
Some students sent pictures of themselves lighting the Menorah in their home. We can see the Chanukah lights shining through their eyes!
Thank you to Ms Dershowitz who made this special Holiday even more special.
Enjoy the pictures.
Shabbat Shalom
Mrs Ivry
5th and 6th Grade Girls
Dear parents.
Thank God, we had an amazing week! We had a great time in honor of Chanukah.
On Monday, we learned all about the Halachot/laws of Chanukah and all of the girls drew out the Chanukah story in our Chanukah booklet. Then, we set up the desk for Chanukah donut decorating and had a great time decorating and eating donuts in honor of Chanukah!
On Tuesday, we learned about how Hashem created such an amazing world with all different kinds of delicious foods. Just like I wouldn’t just steal Mia’s water bottle or Sofia’s lunch box without permission, I’ve got to ask permission from Hashem before I eat His food. That’s why we make a beracha/blessing before we eat. We are recognizing that this food is from Hashem and we’re praising and thanking Him for it. Now that we’ve done that, we can eat because now God gave it to us.
We had a great berachot party, with all different foods, so we can make each beracha. We had grape juice box drinks for Hagafen. We had chocolate buns for Mezonot. We had apples for Haeitz and pickles for Haadamah. We had wowzers (taffies) for Shehakol. (We did not do Hamotzi – bread.)
We all had a great time at the carnival, going on rides and racing moonwalks!
On Wednesday, we learned about the people who lived during the time of Chanukah who gave up their lives for Hashem, keeping Torah and Mitzvot despite Antiochus’s decrees to kill all the Jews who kept Torah and Mitzvot.
We learned about the Kohein Elazar, who refused to eat pork which the Greek soldiers were forcing him to eat. Then, they told him that he should at least pretend to eat it in front of all the Jews. He said – no way! He did not look for excuses, but fought for The Name of Hashem!
The Greek soldiers murdered him in front of all the Jews!
We learned about Chana who had seven very special sons – the youngest, only two. Antiochus brought them all into his chamber with their mother and forced each one of them to bow down before an idol or to be killed. Every single one of them refused!! They gave up their lives for Hashem! Chana watched all her seven sons being murdered in front of her eyes, and was happy they chose to give up their lives for Hashem. Then, she passed away from the pain of watching all her sons being killed. A voice called out from the heavens, “the mother of these sons is happy.” In heaven, she had the greatest reward imaginable and was happy.
We spoke about what we can all do to give up for Hashem, although no one is asking us to give up our lives for Hashem during these days.
Then, we had a great time at our Chanukah party and learned a fun Chanukah song.
On Thursday, we learned about Yehudis, a Jewish woman, who managed to kill Elipurni, a great Greek general! We watched a great Chanukah video, with lots of amazing Chanukah stories.
On Friday, we spoke about how to fight the Greek values and stand strong with Jewish values. We also learned the Parsha, Parshat Miketz.
Happy Chanukah!
Best,
Miss Dershowitz
5th and 6th Grade Boys
This week was educational and delicious!
Every day we learned more about Chanukah, which helped the Boys gain a deeper appreciation for the Holiday.
We lit Menorahs, ate donuts, and celebrated the fact that despite persecution throughout the ages, we are still here and proud of our Jewish Heritage.
Happy Chanukah!
7th and 8th Grade Boys
This week, the 7th and 8th grade boys enjoyed a Chanukah party, as well as decorating [and eating] our very own doughnuts.
Each day of Chanuka, we lit the Menorah in our classroom and said the Brachos [without Hashem’s name]. We learned more about Chanuka and we contrasted the troubles that we had in the time of the Greek rulership, and the celebration, when the Chashmonaim were victorious over the Greeks vs the troubles we had in the time of the Persians, Haman etc, and the celebration when Mordechai and Esther were victorious.
This week on zoom the boys were challenged by Rabbi Kuritsky with a Gmara in P’sachim that discussed the Halacha regarding a situation where one is forced to benefit from something forbidden and chooses to enjoy.
Elementary School
Kindergarten
This week kindergarten learned to read and spell many words with the TH sound. Using the writing skill they learned about how to write a predictable book they wrote all about what they like to do on Chanukah. They also made a menorah. In Math they learned so many facts this week I can’t even keep up with the class! They just keep asking for more! I love their enthusiasm for learning how to add and subtract. We played two different types of dreidel games to practice adding and subtracting. It is in their red folder if you want them to teach you how to play. In social studies they finished sharing their family trees. They really loved getting to share all about their family and they were very proud of themselves. In science they learned all about solids and what makes an object solid. I am very proud of the class for how well they did for their first time on zoom. They were very focused and they all participated and tried their best!
Happy birthday to Alexander, Emanuella, and Ilan!
Second Grade
The second-graders had a very exciting week! They learned all about the Statue of Liberty and did an amazing job acting out a play about the day the statue was unveiled. In math, the students finished up their unit on measurement and have been hard at work solving the trickiest of word problems. In ELA, they have been working on present-tense and past-tense verbs. On Tuesday, they had a blast at the carnival!
Third Grade
This week third grade students practiced modifying nouns into their plural forms. They not only were able to use the rules we had learned previously but are now able to identify and modify plural nouns into their irregular forms. Students also wrote and revised their positivity poems, creating wonderful pieces. In Social Studies, students continued to learn how climate and geography affects people and their decisions on where they live. In Computer class, they learned how to fortify their passwords to better secure their information and privacy.
Miss Sasha
Fourth Grade
4A
This week in math we reviewed unit on fractions and are ready to take the test next week.
In ELA we identified linking verbs and irregular verbs. Wrote persuasive writing activities and started our new class chapter book Walk Two Moons.
In Social Studies we discussed land and climate of the South.
4B
4B had a wild and crazy week! We had fun Chanukah events including decorating donuts, and going in a bouncy house and on a train ride courtesy of The Traveling Tykes! We also had a snow zoom day! In ELA, we learned about verbs, and how to make our verbs agree with our subjects when writing. In math we started learning about fractions. In social studies we talked about the 3 branches of government and what each one consists of.
Fifth Grade
Greetings and salutations!
This week in 5th grade has been pretty busy despite the holiday festivities.
In grammar, the 5th grade learned about the tricky perfect tenses. They continued to practice throughout the week and I am confident that the class will do quite well on their quiz next week.
In writing, the class practiced finding key details in stories and using them to summarize the plot of a story. This skill will surely come in handy for their upcoming independent reading book project! The class also wrote amazing positivity Haikus!
In reading, the class continued to read Holes. We discussed and analyzed the actions of the characters. We also began tying in the details of the parallel stories within the book and how they connect to what is going on with Stanley in the present.
In math, the students practiced multiplying fractions as well as multiplying mixed numbers. I am happy to say that the students seem very comfortable with multiplying fractions and mixed numbers alike!
Lastly, in Social Studies, the students continued their journey through South America. They learned about some of the amazing creatures that inhabit our neighbor to the south. The students also learned about the people that once lived there and about people that live there presently.
This week, I would like to commend Sophie Dym for her diligent work!
Middle School
Middle School ELA
6th Grade
Sixth Graders had a great week! In reading, we completed our novel study of The Lightning Thief! We discussed plot and climax, and wrote beautiful paragraphs. In grammar, students practiced identifying subjects and predicates in a variety of sentences. In writing, we learned about summarizing fictional texts, and wrote beautiful summaries of short stories, We also wrote wonderful haiku poems about our theme of the month: being positive.
7th Grade
Seventh graders had a busy week! We continued our novel study of Milkweed, and discussed setting. In Grammar, students learned about different types of sentences based on structure. They practiced identifying simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences. In writing, we discussed and wrote about the author’s tone, and how word choice helps us identify it. Students also wrote haiku poems!
8th Grade
Eighth graders had a good week! We continued our novel study of The Giver, and discussed character motivations. In grammar, students learned about different types of phrases. This week, we practiced identifying and writing with prepositional and appositive phrases. In writing, we discussed connotation and denotation of a word, and how word choice can change a story. Students also wrote haikus!
Middle School Math
6th finished the module on fraction operations. We have been working on challenging word problems.
7th has been working on geometry. We used kinetic sand to visualize the cross section of 3D figures. THey also learned about complementary and supplementary angles. I want to congratulate Lana Medik for diligently working on triangle contradictions.
8th started chapter two on algebraic properties. We worked on challenging word problems and will be learning how to solve liberal equations.
Ms. Ilanit enjoyed her snow day yesterday and 7th grade has a new classmate Shmuly.
Middle School Social Studies
6th grade continued to learn about the majesty of Ancient Egypt by covering the final two major periods in its native history: the Middle and New Kingdoms. The students learned about the literature, building projects, and religion of the country, as well as a number of the great kings of those eras.
7th grade learned about the document that allowed the Constitution to be ratified and go into effect: the Bill of Rights. Consisting of the first ten amendments to the new national government, this piece of legislation secures the basic rights of American citizens, including the freedoms of speech and religion, the right to own a firearm, and the guarantee of a trial by jury.
8th grade covered the political career of Theodore Roosevelt. Becoming America’s youngest chief executive after the assassination of President Mckinley in 1901, Roosevelt is now infamous as the “Trust Buster” and creator of the country’s system of national parks.
Middle School Science
7th grade has been diligently working through a unit on the Scientific Method. During this unit students are learning how to investigate like a scientist. Answering bigger questions and creating hypotheses to help investigate to find answers. Students learned how to identify independent and dependent variables and graph their findings.
8th grade has completed biochemical processes. During this time students learned the importance and inter-relatedness between cellular respiration and photosynthesis and how the reactants and products are necessary for each to function properly. They investigated how to make effective sourdough starters and the role that bacteria has in the fermentation process. They also completed a yeast respiration lab wherein they were able to see evidence of CO2 being released by the size of the balloon at the end of the experiment.
In this week’s Parsha, the tragic story of M’cheras Yosef is told. Besides being intrinsically horrific, the after effects are perhaps even more appalling.
[The Asara Harigei malchus- the Roman’s murdering of ten great innocent Torah scholars, generations later, is attributed to this chronicle]
The story basically is; the 10 [brothers besides Binyamin] Shevatim decide that Yosef is Chayav Meesa, to be sentenced to death, based on some of his actions.
Reuvein, the Bchor, first born son,decides to “push off” carrying out this sentence by having Yosef deposited in a pit [Rashi explains that in truth, Reuvein’s intention was to save him completely].
After Reuvein leaves, to spend time with his father, the brothers encounter a passing caravan of Arabs, Yehuda speaks up and says “why should we spill blood, let’s sell him instead as a slave”.
They do sell Yosef to the Arabs.
The Posuk states a seemingly unnecessary statement “the Arabs were carrying beautiful smelling perfumes”.
Why does the Torah deem this statement necessary?
Rashi explains that this was an unusual “load” for these Arabs, as they usually would transport and sell neft, foul smelling freight. Hashem arranged this so that the Tzadik, Yosef would not have to bear the foul smelling neft.
The question is; at the end of the day, Yosef was sold as a slave, and he would be a slave for the next 13 years! Who cares that he was transported with spices versus neft?
We can ask a similar question about the holiday of Chanuka.
We are all excited about the upcoming holiday. We were told by our Rabbis thousands of years ago to celebrate every year for 8 days!
The question is; if we study the era in history preceding Chanuka and after Chanuka, we find really hard and difficult times for us Jews!
Why the celebration, it was only for a short period of time that we enjoyed tranquility?
I heard a beautiful answer from my Rabbi in Lakewood, Rabbi Moshe Chaim Kahan shlita, that can answer both questions.
It is true that Yosef was being sold and transported as a slave, but the fact that the Arabs were carrying beautiful smelling perfumes and spices v.s. foul smelling neft, that was the norm for Arabs to transport, was a clear message to Yosef from Hashem. Hashem was telling him “I am with you”!
Hashem shone a light on Yosef in his time of darkness.
The same is true for Chanuka, although times were turbulent for us Jews prior to the events of the Greeks and the Chashmonaim, and they were turbulent and troublesome after the winning of the war against the Greeks, but since Hashem shined His light on us,
His message was clear “I am with you”!
That is plenty of reason for celebration!
Each of us in our own lives have gone through, or may be going through a “dark period”, but if we look, we will see the “light that Hashem is shining” on us.
An excursion:
I recently broke my patella [knee cap] while bike riding in Ohio this summer. This was a pretty dark period, for me. I meritted to see the “light that Hashem made shine” upon me, nevertheless. For example;
Within 60 seconds of falling on the bike trail, a registered nurse came and offered me help.
I was not with my family,as I had taken a group of “special adults” on an excursion.
How was I to get home back to New Jersey?
Hashem arranged that my chavrusa [learning partner] came to Ohio by plane for the same weekend with his wife and children. He [and his wife!] agreed to drive my van home with me and the special adults. {an 8 hour ride!}.
The list goes on and on…
May we all merit to see the “light of Hashem” shine on us, whether in dark times or in pleasant times, and may we merit seeing the coming of Moshiach and the “light” of redemption speedily in our days!
Shabbat Shalom
Happy Chanuka
Rabbi Kuritsky
Special Announcement! Chanukah is here!
A great big thank you to the SIHA PTA for organizing an amazing week for the SIHA students! So many fun surprises are in store: Menorah making, Chanukah sale, gelt, Dreidels, projects, Sufganiot decorating, party, piñata making and the biggest of them all The Traveling Tykes Carnival is coming to us!!! Please look forward to it!
Judaics
Kindergarten and First Grade
We had a great week in Kindergarten and First Grade Judaics! Our kindergarteners have learnt the letter kaf and enda kaf! We have a special song for these letters and can make our fingers into their shapes! In First Grade we have begun a new nekuda, shva! We are getting very good at reading three letter words in hebrew! This week we continued to learn about Channukah! We learnt how the weak Macabim won the war against the Greeks. We learnt how after the Jewish people cleaned up the Bet Hamikdash they could not find the special pure oil to light the menorah. Finally they found one jar, that was only supposed to last for one night. Hashem made a big miracle and the oil lasted for eight nights! In honor of Chanukah we decorated our very own menorahs, we can’t wait to use them at home!
Happy Channukah and Shabbat Shalom!
Morah Kaplan
Second Grade
We had a busy week getting through all the preparations for Chanukah. We hope all mothers in 2nd grade will enjoy the Chanukah Gift we made
especially for you and will think of us when you light the Shabbat candles. We are sure you are all enjoying the custom made Chanukah mat, menorah and all the other goodies we brought home to honor this wonderful festival. This week we still managed to practice our reading skills, learn about Chanukah and complete the weekly Parsha. In this weeks Parsha we discussed how the brothers were jealous of Yosef and how he was sold as a slave, worked for Potiphar and was thrown into jail where he interpreted the dreams which the butler and baker were
troubled by.
Have a Happy Chanukah and Shabbat Shalom.
Morah Spiegel
Third Grade
What a fun filled and interesting week we had in third grade. We continued learning all about Chanukah. We were so inspired and empowered by the stories of Chana and her 7 sons and Yehudit who prayed and bravely carried out her plan to kill the wicked general.
We learned how, when, where and why we light the Menorah on Chanukah and a lot more.
Thanks to PTA and Ms Dershowitz, we made the most beautiful menorah that we can use to light each night of Chanukah. We made sure our Menorah is Kosher as we lined our candle holders in a straight line and made sure to place the shamash on a different level.
We also practiced singing the special blessings and Chanukah songs.
We are so excited to celebrate this very special holiday!
Happy Chanukah and Shabbat Shalom!
Mrs Ivry
Fourth Grade
4A
We so enjoyed hearing all about the history of Chanukah! The story came alive with the fill- in-the- blank books that we follow along with. Menorah making hit the spot even though they accidentally got sent home unwrapped.
Happy Chanukah!
Morah Toba
4B
We spent a lot of this week preparing for Chanukah. The children learned the Chanuka Story as well as some Halachos (Laws) of Chanuka!
Have a happy and enjoyable Chanuka!
Morah Bistriz
Love, Morah Bistritz
Judaics – Middle School
5th and 6th Grade Girls
Dear parents.
Wow, we had an amazing week.
We learned all about Chanukah. The Greeks were trying to force the Jews to assimilate to the Greek culture. Antiochus, their wicked king, decreed laws preventing the Jews from keeping Torah and Mitzvot. No keeping Shabbat, no keeping Kashrut, no learning Torah, no giving a Brit Milah. Any Jews caught breaking any of these laws was killed!
Lots of Jews went to hide in caves to learn Torah. They would learn with their Sefarim (Torah books), while there was a watchman at the door making sure that no Greek soldiers were coming. Whenever they saw a Greek soldier coming, the watchmen would quickly notify the people, who would then take out their dreidels and start to play. When the Greek soldiers walked in, hoping to find some torah-learning Jews to kill – the Jews were all playing dreidel!
In our classroom, we appointed watchmen to notify us when the Greeks were coming. We also appointed 2 students as Greek soldiers – who came marching into our classroom to kill whoever was learning Torah. The watchmen quickly notified everyone and the girls immediately took out their dreidels and began to play. We had a great time acting this out!
We painted and made beautiful glass cube Menorahs this week. Every girl did a great job and the Menorahs came out stunning!
We all wrapped our Chanukah lighting Brachot/songs card and candles beautifully and came home with a beautiful package (our students packed them for the whole school!!) with a dreidel and instructions, the Menorah contest and The Chanukah Post – Siha’s Chanukah Newspaper.
All the girls worked to say the blessing/beracha of Asher Yatzar after they went to the bathroom, thanking Hashem for the wisdom in our bodies and that we’re alive.
Our weekly Halacha – Jewish Law – raffle winner is Gabby Fishman! Great job, Gabby We had a great time going to 7-11 to get a Slurpee.
Happy Chanukah!
Have a great weekend!
Best,
Miss Dershowitz
5th and 6th Grade Boys
This week in Tefila we began giving a more in depth look into the Shemona Esrai.
We explained how the only one we can truly rely on is Hashem and how the prayer for healing (Refaeinu) has taken on more meaning during corona.
We also got into the Chanukah mode by Building our own Menoras and discussing some of the concepts of the Holiday. Stay tuned!
Rabbi Levy
7th and 8th Grade Girls
Our zoom ride this week was successful and enjoyable. We prepared our minds and hearts for this very meaningful week of light-styled festivities that are coming up. We learnt all about the true, deep meaning of light. Rabbi Charlie Harary spoke beautifully on this topic! We also learnt how to make the perfect Latkes, yummm.
Happy Chanukah!!
Morah Toba
7th and 8th Grade Boys
7th and 8th grade boys faced a real life challenge this week, quarantining at home and schooling on zoom!
It was really nice to see the boys, albeit on zoom and have their participation. This week, we took a 50+ question test on Chanukah facts. The boys scored well. We learned many points on this week’s Parsha, Parshas Vayeishev.
We also made our very own wooden Menorah. We painted, glued and put pieces together.
Rabbi Kuritsky
Elementary School
Kindergarten
This week kindergarten finished writing their first books! They did such an amazing job. They are very excited to read their books to the class. They also learned about Impolite Theo who makes the TH sound. They listened to read alouds all about Chanukah and made dreidel people. In math they used toys and number lines to help them understand the concept of adding 1 more and subtracting 1 less using mental math. They also had so much fun measuring the height of things using non standard tools. In science they learned how to describe the physical properties of different objects and they went on a scavenger hunt to find wood, metal, and plastic items. In social studies they made a family glyph. They made such beautiful family trees. They began sharing their family trees with the class and they loved getting to tell us all about their family.
Ms. Syetta
First Grade
Our first graders are really learning a lot. In addition to learning about the genres of Fantasy and Reality, the first grade has been solving number puzzles and subtraction equations. It is amazing to see how well they understand the relationship between numbers
Also, in celebration of Chanukah the first grade wrote paragraphs describing in detail their love for the season. They love lighting the menorah and eating the latkes. They were especially excited to design their own dreidel patterns! You may see them proudly displayed this week in our first grade classroom.
Mrs. Adams
Third Grade
This week in Math, third graders continued to develop their mental math skills to solve addition and subtraction equations and word problems with multiple steps. They were also introduced to the rainbow method to solve problems with three digits and practiced creating and interpreting bar models. In Russian, students have been fervently discovering more and more vocabulary words. This week we concentrated on the vowel /Aa/ vocabulary words. In Grammar, students continued to learn about methods to modify singular nouns into their plural forms. As of now, they have mastered adding -s, -es, and -ies (and understanding why) and are excited to try working with irregular plural nouns next week. In Social Studies, students began to discuss climate (vs. weather) and how it effects our lives.
Miss Sasha
Second Grade
The second grade had a great week! In ELA, the students took a grammar test on nouns and learned all about present tense verbs. In math, the second-graders began a unit on measurement. They’ve been estimating and measuring the lengths of just about everything in the classroom. In social studies, the students learned how to read a timeline and created one of their own! On Wednesday, they had a blast shopping at the Chanukah Sale. The second-graders wish everyone a happy Chanukah!
Ms. Bronstein
Fourth Grade
4A
This week in math we changed mixed numbers to improper fractions, expressed fractions in simplest form, changed improper fractions to mixed numbers, added and subtracted fractions.
And ELA we worked on present tense verbs, identified main and helping verbs and worked on persuasive writing. We completed our first chapter book Inside Out and Back Again.
In Social Studies this week we reviewed and took a test on chapter four Living In The East.
Mrs. Shats
4B
4B had a fun week! Chanukah is upon us! We went down to the beautiful Chanukah sale that the PTA prepared for SIHA. It was truly bigger and better than ever before! The children bought toys, candy, and other trinkets. Many of them bought gifts for people as well! It was so nice to see my students being so selfless and using their money to buy gifts for their parents, classmates, and teachers as well! Happy Chanukah!
Mr. F
Fifth Grade
This week, the fifth graders practiced identifying verb tenses in grammar. In writing, we practiced finding themes in poems and writing about theme. In reading, we continued our novel study of Holes. We also continued working on our independent reading book project. In math, we finished off our unit on adding and subtracting fractions. In Social Studies, we continued our unit on geography of South America. Ms. Tatic would like to commend Charles Grego for being an amazing student!
Ms. Tatic
Middle School
Middle School ELA
6th Grade
Sixth graders had a great week! We spent the week reviewing. We went over different types of sentences, different ways to begin a sentence, and independent and dependent clauses. We also had a classwide Kahoot challenge. Oren Bilik got the highest score! Go Oren! After we wrapped up our unit on sentence variety, and had a grammar unit test. Everyone did great! In reading, we continued our novel study of The Lightning Thief.
7th grade
Seventh graders had a busy week! In grammar, we reviewed independent and dependent clauses, as well as three different sentence structures. Students wrote beautiful paragraphs. In writing, we wrapped up our unit on key details and themes in Literature. Mrs. Hazen would like to commend Ariella Shindelman for her wonderful writing!
In reading, we continued our novel study of Milkweed.
8th grade
Eighth graders had a good week! In grammar, we reviewed independent and dependent clauses, as well as four different sentence structures. Students put their skills to test with a grammar-themed Kahoot! Josh Osher got the highest score! Good job Josh!
In writing, students practiced identifying theme and key supporting details in literature. We also continued our novel study of The Giver.
Middle School Math
6th
We started the unit on number operations. We’re using the LCM and GCF to do operations with fractions.
7th
We started our unit on Geometry. This week we focused on scale drawing and finding the area. We will be going into geometric construction next week.
8th
We reviewed radical operations and exponent rules. The class did radicals beyond square root and cube root. They completed advanced problems with radicals.
Middle School Social Studies
6th grade continued to learn about arguably the greatest civilization in antiquity, Ancient Egypt. Students this week learned about the “Age of the Pyramid Builders” and the various Egyptian scripts used in society. The mysteries of the Rosetta Stone were also discussed. Students then practiced what they learned in class.
7th grade learned about the second, and current, government of the United States of America, the Constitution. All seven articles of the document were explored, including the requirements for each major federal position and the powers of each branch.
8th grade continued to explore the Gilded Age by learning about the impacts of the Industrial Revolution. Immigraton and urbanization were two significant topics examined over the course of the week.
In this week’s Parsha, we find an extremely interesting phenomenon. The Torah [which is usually very concise] mentions the passing of Rivka, our matriarch’s nursemaid.Her name is Devorah. Why is this such a special phenomenon? Out of the four matriarchs themselves, the Torah only mentions the passing of one, Rachel!
Why does the Torah find it so important to mention the passing of Devorah?
The only true “Torah home”, the only true Jewish home at that time was the home of Yitzchak and Rivka. Yaakov, our patriarch spent his whole life there [63 years]. Yaakov only left that “Torah Jewish fortress” because his life was in danger [Asov wanted to kill him].
He was very reluctant, nevertheless, because he was concerned about his “spiritual safety”. Rivka assured him that as soon as it was safe to return, she would send for him and restore his spiritual loss that he may have accrued during the time away, especially at the home of Lavan, “non spiritual”, trickster and thief.
Explains Rav Dov Weinberger, the only “method” of accomplishing the above would be by sending a long standing member of that “spiritual fortress” which was the home of Yitzchak and Rivka. Therefore, Rivka sent Devorah, her nursemaid, to fetch Yaakov.
To answer our question “why the Torah deemed it so important to mention Devorah’s passing, and why send such an elderly person [she was 133 years old!]
Rivka knew that the only person who could possibly contain the correct spiritual ideals and values, would be someone that spent so many years in the true “spiritual fortress” , the home of Yitzchak and Rivka.
This is why Rivka “needed” to send Devorah who was 133 years old, for this mission! This is why the Torah deemed it so important to mention her name, even though the Torah did not even mention the passing of THREE Matriarchs!
We all know that in previous generations there were true Torah Jewish Spiritual fortresses i.e. in Europe. Many of us have merited to see grandparents from “the old country”/at least pictures of them and their way of life. It is so important for us to visit with these people, if we can, if they still exist. If we don’t have them with us, then we atleast need to study their behavior and their beliefs to preserve our pure heritage.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Kuritsky
Curriculum coordinator Judaic Studies
Special Announcement
A great, big SIHA Congratulations to all our amazing Students of the Month!
Kindergarten – Shlomo Groys
First Grade – Max Ryzhikov
Second Grade – Sophia Volfson
Third Grade – Leah Yakobzon
4-A – isabelle Sandler
4-B – Ariana Guz
Fifth Grade – Idan Koldin
Middle School, General Studies – Lana Mednik
Middle School, Judaics – Tyler Nieves
Enjoy our latest SIHA Weekly Podcast, hosted by Lana Mednik!
Judaics
Kindergarten and First Grade
We had a great week in Kindergarten Judaics. We learnt about the tiny letter yud! We had fun playing does this start with a yud game! In First Grade Judaics we finished learning the nekuda segol. The students are doing such a great job practicing their reading! We are even up to reading 3 letter words!
This week we started to learn about Channukah! We discussed how Antiochus and the Greeks were very focused on being strong soldiers, while we as Jews know that the most important thing to focus on is Torah and Mitzvot! Even though Antiochus did not let the Jews keep Torah and Mitzvot the Jews did not listen. They used dreidels to trick the Greek soldiers into thinking they were playing games and not learning Torah. We discussed how a group of Jewish people were very upset at the laws Antiochus was making. They were also very upset because Antiochus put a pig in the Bet Hamikdash. These Jews got so angry that they got together to fight against the strong Greek army. These Jews were called the Maccabim. Their motto was Mi L’Hashem Eilai, if you are for Hashem join. These Maccabim felt that as proud Jews they were going to stand up and fight for Hashem’s honor even if they might not win, even if it is hard. We did a special project where we made our very own soldier in Hashem’s army hats. On the hat we made a shield where we wrote our name – “I am a proud Jew and I do what is right.” Then we drew two pictures of us doing the right thing, doing what Hashem wants, even if it’s hard, in two other shields on the hat. Some examples were, listening to our mommy right away and sharing our toys. We can’t wait to finish learning about Channukah and to bring all our projects home.
Shabbat Shalom!
Morah Kaplan
Second Grade
The week zoomed by as 2nd graders eagerly prepared for Chanukah. We are learning the story of Chanukah and practicing our reading skills at the same time. This week we added the blessings of the Torah to our daily prayers. We discussed Shprintzy who came from another country and never tasted a sweet lollipop. When she first saw the lollipop she thought you stick it in your hair or ear, then she thought you eat it with the wrapper;only when she discovered the wrapper must be removed in order to taste the sweet lollipop did she see how sweet and tasty it was. The more a person studies,toils and listens to Torah classes the more appreciation and love is developed for our precious Torah which G-d gifted to the Jewish nation. In this weeks Parsha we discussed how our forefather Yaakov went back and crossed back to the other side of the river as he forgot some small insignificant jars. The Torah which is our guidebook for life relates this episode to teach us not to be wasteful. Many students related that when their clothes become too small they give them away to family,friends or poor people. If they have extra food they put it back to either give to one of their siblings or save for another day. All the 2nd grades have exceptional character traits. This week Amit did not have a green crayon to color the vowels on his worksheet with. Gal immediately handed him her crayon to use. In another episode, some papers and books fell off the desk and the students sitting close by quickly picked everything up. We are so proud of the 2nd graders.
Shabbat Shalom!
Morah Spiegel
Third Grade
Third grade was so happy to be back in school this week. We were able to finish the full story of Chanukah. The students learnt in detail the struggles of the Jews during the time of the Greek empire. They learnt the heart wrenching but inspiring story of Chana and her 7 sons as well as the heroic stories of Yehudit and Yochanan who tricked very important and powerful generals of the Greek army and killed them. They both made sure to daven to Hashem before executing their plan. THey understand now the greatness of the miracle of Chanukah.
They are also fluent on their Chanukah spelling words in Hebrew.
In Parsha, we learnt the importance to Daven to Hashem before we try to execute a plan, no matter what it is, from Yaakov who was preparing to meet his angry brother eisav. We also learnt that Yaakov fought against Eisav’s angel and won and received a new name: Israel. One of the students shared that his grandfather who has a birthday this week is named Israel, just like Yaakov in this week’s Parsha.
Shabbat Shalom
Mrs Ivry
Fourth Grade
We are so excited to learn all about the multi-sensational history of Chanukah!!
Our Parshah class took an exciting twist too, as we learn all about how Eisav tried to kill his twin brother, our forefather, Yaakov. We learn from Yaakov to cry out to Hashem in prayer and ask him to help us when we feel afraid. On the topic of prayer, btw, our daily Shachrit is truly beautiful, we are so careful to conduct ourselves in a way that is befitting a meeting with the King of all kings, Hashem. We review thoughts about our infinite value, how it is ours and no one and nothing can take it away, on a daily basis.( I believe that truly comprehending this concept can save us from a lot of suffering!) I’d like to thank all my generous, thoughtful girls for the home-made bridal décor and genuine Mazal Tov cards and pictures that they’ve been showering me with. My refrigerator at home looks truly fit for the bride. Have a wonderful Shabbat and thank you again for sharing your precious treasures with me!
Morah Toba
7th and 8th Grade Girls
Did you know that our class invented a game? Jewish Mafia. It is similar to the widely known game, Mafia, however we pick a setting form a time period in our history and apply it to the game. It gets us giggling and having lots of fun as we depict each scene and make it come alive. We got into a great habit of partnering up and reading together, to practice our Hebrew reading. We began to discuss the history of Chanukah. We sat wide eyed as we heard Yaffa Bereket and myself say over the famous story of Chana’s 7 sons. They were burnt one by one, by the infamous king, Antiyochet for refusing to forsake the holy Torah.
Chana watched all this, brokenhearted yet supportive of her sons decisions to make this very bold statement. This story is only one example of many that took place in this time period of the second Beit Hamikdash when Antiyochet gained control of Israel and tried to conform the Jews to forsake Hashem’s law.
We learnt that there is a very special place up in heaven saved for people who die “Al Kiddush Hashem” – for the sake of Hashem’s glory. We know how lucky we are that we can practice Judaism today freely, with no fear of getting prosecuted because of it!
Have a wonderful Shabbat!
Morah Toba
7th and 8th Grade Boys
Seventh and Eighth grade boys learned about intricate and detailed laws of brachos i.e. in a “cholent” aka “chamim” , we learned that depending on whether there were small pieces mixed together or there were large pieces , and one only can eat one item from the cholent at a time, the “Halacha” regarding the Bracha will change. If there is barley in the cholent and the cholent is made up of small pieces of meat and potatoes, the Bracha will be M’zonos. The more prominent Bracha, as put by Amiel/Michael. If there are large pieces of meat, we will say Shehakol on the meat, and if there are large pieces of potatoes, we will say Ha’adama on the potatoes [besides, of course the M’zonos on the barley]. We also discussed that there will actually be a different Bracha made on Kellog’s brand corn flakes versus a “knock off ” brand . Kellog’ stakes corn and flattens it and toasts it , therefore the Bracha is “Ha’adama”, other brands , crush the corn into cornmeal [causing it to lose its Ha’adama status], and then “create” a flake. The Bracha then becomes Shehakol.
We continued our study in the laws of “saving a life”.
We studied the Parsha of course.
Rabbi Kuritsky
Elementary School
Kindergarten
This week kindergarten has been working hard on their writing skills and almost the entire class can now independently write sentences! They also listened to many different types of stories and made insightful predictions about what they thought would happen next in the story. They are becoming so good at our spelling game that they keep getting a tie and both teams win. In math they began learning to add and subtract using objects, number lines, and mental math. They are doing an amazing job adding and subtracting by 1. In science they learned all about the sun. They were given a problem to solve and they worked in groups to figure out how they can create a type of shade to protect their doll from the sun. They came up with some very interesting and functional creations. In social studies they learned the definition of family and what makes everyone’s family different. Congratulations to Shlomo Groys on being our student of the month.
First Grade
This week our first graders shared about their family traditions. Students were so proud to tell about the celebration of Chanukah. Students expressed their excitement for the songs, the gifts, and all of the treats Chanukah brings. Some were most grateful for lighting the menorah and being with family.
Mrs. Adams
Second Grade
The second-graders had a very busy week! On Monday, we celebrated Ryan Yakobzon’s birthday. Happy birthday Ryan! This week in ELA, students have been continuing to read their trade book Charlotte’s Web. They also have been learning all about nouns and action verbs. In math, students have been hard at work reviewing addition and subtraction with renaming to prepare for their unit test. In social studies, they have been discussing culture and learned about how to conduct an interview. Our student of the Month is Sophia Volfson. Way to go, Sophia!
In Science, students worked so hard on their “Land Habitat” projects. Ms. Belli is so proud of their amazing work.
Ms. Bronstein
Third Grade
This week grade 3 was introduced to persuasive writing. They began to put a list of items they may ask for as their Hanukkah gifts. Trick is, now they have to come up with valid reason that would persuade their parents to consider some of their requests. We also began a very passionate discussion about whether or not they believe homework should be assigned during the break. Students also worked on identifying and modifying nouns from singular to plural form. In math, students continued to practice solving addition equations both vertically and horizontally. They are now focusing of being able to choose the most efficient method to first simplify and then solve the equations. In Social Studies, students expanded their landform list to include multiple water-based formations such as rivers and lakes as well as added more land- based formations such as volcanoes and islands. We had a very exciting discussion about the formations of islands and how (the path of) magma travels to burst out as lava in the most unexpected places such as in oceans (which was very shocking to the kids).
In science, students learned all about Animals and their adaptations. Drawing was illustrated to describe the life cycle of different animals. Excellent job 3rd graders on their Test!!
Miss Sasha
Fourth Grade
4A
This week in math we continued to work on fractions. Adding and subtracting like fractions and fractions from a whole. Changed improper fractions to mixed numbers and completed word problems with fractions.
In ELA we started a unit on verbs and persuasive writing. Identified action verbs and verb tense, subject – verb agreement. We also completed a few persuasive writing activities.
In Social Studies, we started chapter 4 living in the East. We discussed the distinctive heritage of New England and the Mid- Atlantic states and their state governments.
In Science, students incorporated the lessons into their drawing representing different ecosystems.
4B
4B had a bit of a stressful week this week. After a relaxing Thanksgiving break, we came back to a full week that included a Grammar quiz and test, and a social studies test! But 4B is resilient! I am confident that we did very well on all quizzes and tests. In other news, we have a new student of the month. Due to academic excellence, excellent behavior, and consistent completion of HW and other assignments, I am proud to announce that the student of the month in 4B is Ariana Guz! Congratulations Ariana!
In Science, students incorporated the lessons into their drawing representing different ecosystems.
Fifth Grade
The fifth grade had a busy week. In grammar the students learned about action verbs and direct objects. In writing the students practiced finding themes in a story or a drama. And in reading, we started our new novel, Holes by Louis Sachar.
In Math, students practiced adding, subtracting, and multiplying fractions. There is an upcoming unit test next week. I think the class will well on it!
In Social Studies the students started learning about the continent of South America. They are currently learning about the many and varied geographical features of our neighbor to the south.
In science, students performed a Mini-Lab to dissect a bean seed in order to identify all of the parts of an embryonic plant and describe it in their drawing and discussions.
This week, Ms. Tatic would like to commend her remote students- Ziva, Idan, and Alec for working so hard despite the many challenges that remote learning brings to the table.
Middle School
Middle School ELA
6th Grade had a great week!
In grammar, we learned about different ways to combine sentences. Students practiced making compound subjects, compound verbs, and compound sentences. They also revised paragraphs to create greater sentence fluency. In writing, we wrote about character motivations and attitudes. Students wrote beautiful paragraphs! We also continued our novel study of “The Lightning Thief” by Rick Riordan. Mrs. Hazen would really like to commend Etai for being a great student and writing a beautiful paragraph!
7th grade had a busy week! In grammar, we learned about different ways to begin a sentence. We revised paragraphs to create greater sentence variety and fluency. In Writing, students reviewed summarizing fictional texts. We also wrote a wonderful characterization journal. We continued our study of Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli. Mrs. Hazen would like to commend Leam for being a diligent student!
8th grade had a great week! In grammar, we reviewed independent and dependent clauses. Students also learned about different types of subordinate clauses and how to use them in their writing. In writing, students reviewed elements of story and wrote beautiful paragraphs incorporating those elements. We also continued our novel study of The Giver by Lois Lowry. Students wrote a beautiful journal about the setting of our novel
Middle School Math
All math classes have a unit/chapter test on 12/7.
6th finished their unit on numbers. We will be starting number operations tuesday.
7th honors worked on solving literal equations. They also finished their unit on expressions, equations, and inequalities.
7th review the unit and they are getting ready for the next unit, Geometry!
8th
8th honors and regular finished up the chapter on algebraic properties. Next chapter will be algebraic equations.
Middle School Science
In science, Ms. Belli’s students learned and understood the Earth’s Changing Surface. Students described the differences between mechanical and chemical weathering and were able as well to give examples of each of them.
In science, Ms. Belli’s students studied:”Earth: Water Planet”; the importance of water on Earth and fresh water sources as being either surface or underground water.
Middle School Social Studies
This week, 6th grade began the journey of learning about the greatest civilization of the ancient world: Egypt. Students reviewed a timeline of Egyptian history, and learned about the key to Egypt’s power, the River Nile, as well as the period that historians term “Dynasty 0.”
7th grade discussed the very first government of the United States of America, the Articles of Confederation. Both the positives and the negatives of the first republic that the world had seen since the days of Ancient Rome were examined, as well as the fallout of that system.
8th grade also journeyed through a fundamental period in World and American history, the dawn of industrialization. The pre-Industrial Revolution age was discussed, followed by the first and second periods of industrialization. Famous American inventors, such as Thomas Edison, and their creations were also looked at.
Jewish History
7th grade learned some valuable lessons on what it means to be the Chosen people, what is anti-semitism and what is our birthright as the Jewish people as we explored the life and times of Yaakov Avinu.
8th grade began to learn the background of the Chanuka miracle as we develop a true understanding of what really happened.
In this week’s Parsha, the “twins” Yaakov and Asov, are born.
Yaakov is described in the Torah as “Ish tam yoshaiva ohalim” [a perfect man who sits in tents].
Asov is described as “yodeia tzayid, ish sade” [knows how to hunt, a man of the field].
What is the Torah telling us?
The Torah is telling that Yaakov sat in tents [tents in those days were the buildings] where people studied. People who wanted instruction from; parents, teachers, elders. Yaakov was “ish tam” [a man who wanted and strived for perfection.]
The only way to obtain perfection is to study from our Torah instructors who have the “mesora” the tradition, the Jewish Ideology, passed down from Hashem G-d Himself to Moshe at Har Sinai.
This was what Yaakov strived for!
Asov, on the other hand, is described as Ish Sade, a man of the field.
Asov wanted to go out to hunt and sport.
Asov wanted and needed instant gratification.
Asov was not even interested in looking in the pot of red lentil soup to see what was inside.
As the Pasuk says “give me some of the “RED RED ” [stuff] that was cooking.
All that he cared about was that it looked RED . He didn’t even care enough to look inside to see what was in the “red stuff”.
Let us learn from Yaakov the importance of striving for perfection. The need for instruction from elders, from Torah teachers and their guidance.
Let us not learn from Asov. Let us not look for instant gratification.
Shabbat Shalom
Good Shabbos
Rabbi Kuritsky Judaic Studies Curriculum Coordinator
Special Announcement
Programming news:
The theme of this month is Electricity. We are all trying to work on being positive and spreading light to others. Did you ever notice that when someone is happy and positive, it can be similar to a fire and spread to all those around him? Let’s be those kinds of people and spread joy and positivity to others!
All the students had a great time when we came into every classroom on Tuesday, Rosh Chodesh Kislev, to celebrate the new month and introduce the new theme. Every student received a glow-in-the-dark ball to represent electricity and spreading light to others and chocolate coins in honor of Kislev, the month of Chanukah.
Looking forward to another wonderful week!
Ms. Dershowitz
Please enjoy another edition of our weekly podcast!
Special Feature!
Tyler Nieves and Noah Gerber sat down with Rabbi Kuritsky to talk to him about his experience at SIHA.
Tyler and Noah: How did your first week go? Rabbi Kuritsky: It was very exciting!
Tyler and Noah: What topics are you planning to teach? Rabbi Kuritsky: Gemera, Halacha, and Parsha
Tyler and Noah: What do you like doing on your free time? Rabbi Kuritsky: Bike Riding.
Tyler and Noah: What is your favorite color? Rabbi Kuritsky: Brown.
Tyler and Noah: What’s your take on online learning? Rabbi Kuritsky: It’s difficult and a far cry from a live class setting
Judaics
Kindergarten and First Grade Judaics
We had a great week in Kindergarten Judaics. We are getting very strong with the letter Chet. A Chet is a table with Challah on top, we all know how to cheer! In First Grade Judaics we began to learn how to read three letter words using the nekudot we know. We are very excited to begin a new nekuda next week! This week we learnt about the bracha of mezonot. We made mezonot magnets and enjoyed tasting mezonot pretzels and cookies! This week we continued our Hakarat Hatov unit and saying thank you. We discussed how much we need to thank our parents and we made beautiful thank you cards for them too!
Shabbat Shalom!
Morah Kaplan
Second Grade
We had another productive week in 2nd grade Judaics. We completed our unit on Shabbat with a grand Shabbat Celebration on Friday. We are practicing our reading skills daily and loved learning this week’s Parsha Toldot. We know that Asov, the twin brother of Yaakov who loved to hunt was very careful with the mitzvah of honoring parents. Then we discussed different ways of honoring parents in class. Tuesday we celebrated Rosh Chodesh Kislev. The class knows Chanukah begins the 25th day of Kislev, we can’t wait!! Then we received special Rosh Chodesh stickers,had a raffle and enjoyed a small box of raisins.
Shabbat Shalom!
Mrs. Spiegel
Third Grade
The 3rd graders have adjusted so beautifully to zoom learning. We have made great progress in our reading skills learning to separate Hebrew words by syllables. We also mastered all the nekudot, we can name them, spell them, draw them and of course read them too!
In dikduk we started making short sentences using vocabulary words and prefixes. It was really cool to be able to put together what we’ve learnt so far.
We also watched a Chanukah video about the Chanukah history and story and can’t wait to see the end!!
Shabbat shalom
Mrs Ivry
Fourth Grade
What another wonderful week we had here on 4B island! Our kriah flash cards collection is growing as we keep matching all the letters with new Nekudot/vowels. Then we enjoyed the Parsha tales of Yaakov, our forefather and his evil twin brother, Asov. Our Brachot on food are being practiced with extra vigor, as we are now somewhat familiar with the translations of a lot of the words. We spoke all about the concept of doing a Mitzvah with intent, with “a fire in our heart”. One student admitted that she/he doesn’t feel much of a fire, to which her/his friend responded , “Don’t worry, I’ll give you some fire!”. What would we do without our supportive friends? There’s such a beautiful, spiritually healthy attitude of growth around here!
Morah Toba Safran
5th and 6th Grade Girls
Dear parents.
We had an amazing week!
We continued on in Chumash Shemot, learning about the new Pharaoh in Egypt, who was extremely worried about the Jews taking over his land. The Jewish people were having six babies at a time and they filled the land! So Pharaoh was trying to think of a plan to stop the Jews from becoming too powerful, by making them all into slaves! We will learn more about this next week.
This week in our weekly class on Jewish law, we learned about the Mitzvah of Netilat Yadayim (hand washing). Every morning after we wake up and say Modeh Ani, thanking Hashem for giving us another day of life, we wash our hands 6 times – 3 times on each hand [this is to remove the impurity from our hands for the wonderful and holy work that every one of us has to do each day] The holy work that we do is doing Mitzvot like helping others, taking care of our families, Davening/praying, giving love and care to those around us, keeping Jewish laws, learning Torah etc.
The winner of our weekly Halacha raffle was….. ZIVA IUNGER!!!!
Her prize was to come with me during school to 7-11 to get a slurpee! I really enjoyed spending time with Ziva and I’m looking forward to going to 7-11 with next week’s winner.
The Middah (character refinement) that we focused on this week was Chessed [Kindness and helping others, even when it inconveniences us]. Every time the girls do an act of Chessed, they fill out a card and move the piece on our game board. A very exciting celebration is coming up if the girls keep up the acts of kindness!
We learned about the Parsha this week – Parshat Toldot. It talks about the birth of Yaakov (Jacob) and Asov – the twin sons of Yitzchak (Isaac) and Rivka (Rebecca.)
On Friday, we made Challah. Every girl shaped 2 Challot for Shabbat because of the Mitzvah to make the blessing of Hamotzi on two breads. That’s called Lechem Mishnah (double bread) and it’s because in the desert, the Jewish people received their food portion of Manna double on Friday, so they don’t travel to get it on Shabbat.
Have a great Shabbat and a great weekend!
All the best,
Miss Dershowitz
7th and 8th Grade Girls
Our week began with an exciting Rosh Chodesh Kislev splash! To celebrate the start of our new month, we had a small Rosh Chodesh Kislev party in our classroom. Our Chumash lessons are still going strong, we are exploring the miraculous survival of Moshe Rabeineu as a baby. It is with great excitement that we began our Moshlei Halashon program. This program is designed to give us awareness as to how to speak to each other in a way that builds and doesn’t demolish. Powerful stories and insights, as well as great incentive programs, and of course our theme song will keep us growing and thriving in this crucial area.
Shabbat shalom,
Morah Toba Safran
7th and 8th Grade Boys
Seventh and Eighth Grade Judaic Studies News
We are very happy to share that some of 8th graders have a new specialized learning program with Rabbi Levy.
The 7th and 8th graders began davening [praying] in our shul [with social distance].
This past week in Rabbi Kuritsky’s class, we learned “Hilchos Loshon Hara”.
We began an exciting new topic “Lo Taamod al dam reicha” literally, “do not stand on your friend’s blood”. This means do not stand by and let your friend die, when you can save him/her.
The questions we began discussing were: “How far does this go? Even at risk to your own life? Even when there is a monetary loss to the saviour?”
We began learning about Chanukah.
We learned about “basar shenisalem min haayin” [meat that was hidden from the eye]
Elementary School
Kindergarten
This week kindergarten learned the AW and the OW sound. They practiced reading and writing many different words with those sounds. They became spacemen and spacewomen as they practiced putting spaces in between their words when writing their sentences. In math they reviewed for their math test by making pattern necklaces, playing pattern games, and going on pattern scavenger hunts. In science they learned all about the difference between weather and climate. In social studies they learned what it means to be thankful and they made a fun art and writing project all about what they would like to eat on Thanksgiving.
First Grade
This week in first grade we learned more about maps. Students were excited to learn about different geographical terms like plains, mountains, rivers, and lakes. Students began adding and subtracting two-digit numbers in Math. Our first graders made 3-D pumpkins to remind us of the fall season.
Finally, students submitted Thankful Posters depicting what they are most thankful for. In these trying times, it is wonderful that our first graders understand the importance of being grateful for all of life’s blessings.
Mrs. Adams
Second Grade
This week in ELA, the second graders did a lot of works with nouns. They learned the rules for making nouns plural and how to write possessive nouns. In math, the students used keywords to figure out whether they had to add or subtract to answer word problems. In social studies, the second graders had some great discussions about culture, customs, and traditions. The second grade had not one, but two spelling bees. The winners were Michael Groys and Sophia Volfson. Way to go Michael and Sophia!
-Ms. Bronstein
Third Grade
This week grade 3 students continued their exploration of the seven continents and the five oceans. They learned more about the water formations and some of the major features of the earth we inhabit. During math, students practice solving addition equations using mental math strategies such as number bonding. During the grammar lessons, students practiced identifying and labeling nouns within sentences. This week we also began to work more with computer features. Students were able to learn about digital citizenship and responsibilities. They have now also started a program to improve their tying skills.
Miss Sasha
Fourth Grade
This week in math we reviewed for unit 2 test, The Four Operations of Whole Numbers. We solved many multistep and complex word problems.
In ELA we completed writing a compare and contrast essay. Continued to work on reading comprehension by reading passages and answering multiple choice and short answer questions.
In Social Studies we completed chapter 3 Exploring the East and competed the chapter test.
4B had another exciting week! This week we were movie stars! We recorded a video showing the importance of inclusion and getting along with others. Each class is creating a video, and a winner will be chosen. Our young movie stars are hopeful that they will win the contest, but are proud of their performance regardless of who wins. In other, less exciting news, we are learning how to do long division in Math. In ELA, with the help of our wonderful Mrs. Rosskamm, we learned how to write a “TIQA” paragraph. We also had a great conversation in Social Studies about the firsts explorers who came to America, and why Native Americans were called Indians. The children were also fascinated to learn that people used to think the earth was flat. It was a very interesting class discussion!
Fifth Grade
The fifth grade had a great week! In grammar, we learned about possessive singular and plural nouns and practiced combining sentences to make our writing flow better. We also practiced writing proper emails. In writing the students practiced comparing and contrasting settings and events and how they affect a story. This was wonderful practice for our upcoming essay! In reading the 5th grade finished their second novel of the year! I’m very excited that the class is making such progress! In math, students practiced adding and subtracting like and unlike fractions. And finally, in Social Studies, the students rounded off their unit on North America.
Middle School
Middle School ELA
6th grade
Sixth graders had a good week! In Grammar, we learned about simple, compound, and complex sentences. We also continued our novel study of ‘The Lightning Thief’. In writing, we learned how elements of story relate to each other in order to create meaning. Students did an amazing job on their quiz! Mrs. Hazen would really like to commend Etai for being a good reader!
7th grade
Seventh graders had a great week! In grammar, we learned how to revise paragraphs to avoid series of too short, or too long sentences. We also concluded our novel study of Great Gilly Hopkins and are starting our next novel unit! Students wrote a great journal entry about Gilly!
In writing, we started making inferences from fiction texts, and we practiced extended response questions. Students did a great job! Mrs. Hazen would like to commend Ariella for having the highest grade in our extended response practice!
8th grade
Eighth graders had a wonderful week! In grammar, we learned how to revise paragraphs to create sentence variety. Students also reviewed for their vocabulary test and did a very good job! In writing, we reviewed elements of story and wrote paragraphs making inferences from fiction texts. We also continued our novel study of ‘Watsons go to Birmingham – 1963’! Mrs. Hazen would like to commend Taylor for being a great writer.
Middle School Math
6th
6th finished module 2 on factors and multiples. we will be going into rational numbers next week.
7th
7th are almost done with module 2 on inequalities. They learned how to represent the answer to inequalities on a number line and using interval notation. 8th
8th is finishing roots, radicals, and exponents.
Middle School Social studies
6th grade learned about the Ghana Empire this week: the rise of the state, the governmental structure, its natural resources and trade routes, and eventually, its decline.
7th grade took the important journey through the 1760s and 70s. The period from the Seven Years’ War until the American Revolution is one of the most crucial in the history of our republic and the class learned about the colonial fears and their responses during these decades.
8th grade played the Impeachment of a President game and completed its biography assignment. All of the students present participated very well during the three debate sessions and added their views to those of the historical actors that they portrayed.
Jewish History
7th grade spent this week working on their Wisdom of Creation project. They did an absolutely beautiful job. We put the completed project up in the hallway and it looks beautiful. I am very proud of them.
8th grade is moving on to the time of the second Beis HaMikdash
In this week’s Parsha, we find, Avraham ready to help find a wife for his son Yitzchok.
He sends his trusty servant Eliezer on this mission
Eliezer is described in the Torah as “Moishel b’chal asher lo” [ruling, in charge in all that is his].
Eliezer was given to be a proxy of ALL of Avraham’s money [which he had a tremendous amount of], all of his sheep, all of his cattle etc.
Avraham trusted him fully. Avraham was not worried in the slightest about his monetary possessions that were in Eliezer’s hands.
But, when it came to finding a wife for Yitzchok, the future of the Jewish nation, the continuity of all that Avraham worked for his whole life, he made sure that , before Eliezer was trusted in this mission, Eliezer;
A swore in the name of G-d
B the girl had to have certain pedigree
C she had to only come from a certain family
D she had to have the finest Middos
even though whatever Eliezer did was not binding.
We glean from this that to Avraham aveenu, our patriarch, spirituality , was way more important than physicality.
A story is told with Reb Yisroel Salanter, a great mussar personality.
The story goes as follows;
A town needed a shoichet [ritual slaughterer] to obtain kosher produce and fowl. A man presented himself as one. He was asked “are you fluent in the halachos [laws]”, to which he answered “yes”.
“Do you have experience”? He answered “yes”.
He was trusted for the position and hired.
He , the shochet then asked to borrow a hundred rubles [their currency]. NO ONE would lend him the $$$.
Let us all learn from our Patriarch Avraham, to keep our priorities in proper order.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Kuritsky
Judaic Studies Curriculum Coordinator
Special Announcement from the Judaics Programming Department:
Our upcoming theme for the month of Kislev is…. Electricity. That is the next step of our building process with the theme of Siha is our Home. Looking forward to coming into all the classrooms on Tuesday to give out the monthly prize and introduce next month’s contest.
Please enjoy a new edition of our weekly Podcast!
Kindergarten and First Grade Judaics
We had a terrific week in Kindergarten and First Grade Judaics! This week we learnt about the bracha of hamotzi. We know that hamotzi is made on bread types of foods like bagels and challah. We had so much fun making hamotzi-man magnets that we can’t wait to stick on our fridge at home! This week’s parsha is parshas Chayei Sara. We learnt how when Sara was alive there were 3 miracles. 1, there was a cloud of Hashem’s Holiness on her tent 2. The candles stayed lit from Friday to Friday, 3. Her dough/bread stayed fresh for the whole week. When Sara died these miracles stopped. In this week’s parsha Eliezer finds a wife for Yitzchok, Rivka. When Rivka came into the tent these three miracles came back. Thus, in connection to the miracle of the candles staying lit from Friday to Friday we made a parsha project of Shabbat Candlesticks and Shabbat Brachot Cards. We are so excited to bring them home so that our families can use them. Shabbat Shalom!
Second Grade Judaics
We had a busy week in 2nd grade learning all about the beauty of the special gift we cherish every Friday night as we celebrate Shabbat. We are learning the difference between the loud shva; shva-na and the sleeping shva; shva-noch. We learned about the trait of Chesed from our matriarch Rivka. When Eliezer came with 10 camels, Rivka demonstrated this trait of Chesed by not only giving water to Eliezer,but to all his camels as well. A very large ,time consuming undertaking for a young girl. We discussed different types of Chesed we do by helping around the house and the Chesed of all the devoted parents of the P.T.A. who volunteer their precious time without pay to help our school.
Shabbat Shalom,
Morah Spiegel
Third Grade Judaics
Believe it or not but this week we started talking about Chanukah. Students are excited to welcome this very happy and delightful Holiday and are eager to learn more about the History of chanukah. AS an introduction, we read the book Pini the Pitcher which tells the story of Chanukah in the eye of the small oil pitcher, teaching us many important details about the Beth Hamikdash and the struggles that went into restoring it after the Jews won the war against the Greeks.
We also continue with our Kriah skills, going over all the exception rules.
In Dikduk we already started building short sentences using our vocabulary and prefixes knowledge.
In Parsha, the story gets better each week. This week, we lived through the passing of Sarah and the marriage of her son Ytzchak to Rivka. What an interesting date they had! Be sure to ask your child about it at the Shabbat table!
Shabbat Shalom,
Mrs Ivry
Fourth Grade Judaics
This week we focused on review of the alef bet and the sounds that it makes. Each “OT” (letter) This week alef through dalet was taught with different modalities. songs, stories, and hints to help us remember the name, formation, and sound of each one. We even learned a Midda that starts or is connected to the OT . Example: Alef we sang a song for Emet. Gimmel we leaned about gam zu ltova – Everything Hashem does is good even if we don’t see it.
We leaned in detail the story of Parshat Chayei Sara, and how special Rivka Imeinu was that she not only offered Eliezer water to drink but also to his 10 camels.
We learned the 3 Brachot that were always found in Sara Imeinu and Rivka Imeinu’s tent.
One of them was that the challa dough remained fresh from week to week. This week we sent home Little challa rolls in conjunction with the above!
Tzizit Honorable Mention:
Izzy
Adiel
The following came after class,and gave up a little of their own recess to put on a (brand new) pair of Tzizit and make the Bracha! WOW!
Oren
Yehoushu
Ethan
Lenny
4B:
What a week we had again, here at the best place on earth, 4B. We are excited about our new subject: Brachot on food, yay! We are going through the 6 Brachot that we say before we eat, and analyzing their english translations. The overall kriah level in the class is picking up at lightning speed, by the way! Ofcourse, the highlight of everyone’s week is our blast of Shabbat spirit that we get on Fridays by singing songs and hearing stories and insights about Shabbat as we collect our Shabbat treat!
Middle School Judaics
5th and 6th grade girls
We had a wonderful week, thank God! We continued on with Chumash Shemot. We learned about Yachid, (singular, male) Yechida, (singular, female) Rabim, (plural, male) and Rabot (plural, female) – the four different kinds of hebrew words.
On Monday, we enjoyed playing in the gym for our half-hour Chumash period. The girls had earned it when they did a beautiful job in the Parsha skits for Parshat Lech Lecha. We had a great time!
We enjoyed learning the Halacha of Modeh Ani in our class on Jewish law (Halacha). The first thing we do when we wake up in the morning is – say Modeh Ani! We’re thanking Hashem for giving us another day of life. He gave us back our Neshama (soul) because he believes in us! We have so much potential to be great, to grow and to impact the world in our own way. So Hashem gave us life because He believes in our greatness and what we can accomplish today!
We learned a really fun Modeh Ani song. Ask the girls to sing it – it’s great!
Every morning that the girls say Modeh Ani, they fill out a card and place it in the envelope of our Halacha raffle. The weekly winner will receive a slurpee.
The girls asked intelligent and interesting questions during Q&A (Questions and Answers).
We learned about the weekly Parsha, Parshat Chayei Sarah. Sarah died and Avrohom Avinu sent Eliezer to look for a new wife for Yitzchok. Rivka offered to bring water to Eliezer and his 10 camels – what a hard job! Eliezer knew this kind girl was a match for Yitzchok. Mazel tov!
We see the Middah of Chesed in Rivka. That’s the Middah that we focused on this week in our Middot scrapbook and campaign. Chessed – looking out for others, helping others in need, not focusing on ourselves but what we can do for others. Let’s keep it up!
Have a great Shabbat and weekend!
Best regards,
Miss Dershowitz
5th and 6th grade Boys
What a great week! Davening was out of the park with the boys learning the first Beracha of the Amida. We also had our end of term mishna test.
Shabbat Shalom.
7th and 8th grade Girls:
Thank you Hashem for yet another wonderful week here in 7/8th grade! Our class got into the most special habit of verbalizing our acceptance of Hashem’s will even when things seem to not be going our way. We got into this because we were inspired by our forefather Avraham , who accepted all kinds of agonizing tests from Hashem,including the order to slaughter his son, with complete and total, 100 percent, solid, absolute: acceptance! It’s clear that we have his DNA, judging by how well we can and do internalize this vital concept.
We play our “I accept” song daily these days, before we start class
7th and 8th grade boys:
This week the 7th and 8th grades began, an introduction to, maseches Brachos. This is a Major Milestone!
Brachos is the first masechta in all of “Shas” [Sheesha Sidrei Mishna and Talmud, the Oral law].
We practiced putting on our Tefilin the “proper way”. We are learning about the Mitzva of Tefilin, as well.
Rabbi Kuritsky worked on putting up M’zuzos with some of the boys.
CHOLENT [a mixture] a major food icon in our rich Jewish heritage.
Rabbi Kuritsky came prepared with a cholent pot [crock pot] beans, barley,potatoes, MEAT, spices and utensils.
The Boys really enjoyed preparing this delicious meal.
Additionally:
We are very happy that the 7th and 8th grade boys have begun Davening Mincha with a Minyan daily. This was arranged by Rabbi Kuritsky and the staff. We are joined daily by Rabbi Uzhansky, Rabbi Levy, Rabbi Kuritsky and Mr. Kaufman. We are extremely proud of how will the boys behave and how sincerely they pray.
In Rabbi Kuritsky’s Judaics class, we have studied Parsha ‘Guard your tongue’ (laws of forbidden speech) and have heard inspiring stories from Rabbi Kuritsky.
The boys took their first Parsha test on Parsha Vayeira and did very well.
Elementary School
Kindergarten
This week the kindergarten students became pirates as they learned all about the ar sound. They picked their topic for their pattern books that they began to write and illustrate this week. They have a lot of great ideas and cannot wait to create their first book. In math they are becoming experts at making and labeling patterns. They did a lot of cutting and gluing to make patterns, played pattern games, and even painted their own pattern. In science they learned all about different types of severe weather and how to stay safe. They learned about tornadoes and they made a tornado in a bottle. Then they learned about blizzards and they made snow. In social studies we finished sharing our all about me books. We played a fun game to see how we all have some things in common with each other. We also talked about how even if we have differences we can still be friends and our differences are what make us unique. They also worked on trying to memorize their phone number and address.
First Grade
This week our first graders studied many things. We learned how to make inferences in Reading. We write a narrative about how we play outside. In Science we continue to discover characteristics of living and nonliving things.
This week the first graders made a project for Veterans Day. We learned that in Veteran’s Day we acknowledge those who serve in our nation’s military. Our first graders chose to honor them with autographs of the United States flag. I think these two-sided drawings are a great way to say “Thank you for your service!”
Second Grade
This week in ELA, the second graders have been comparing and contrasting different versions of stories. They have been having some really great discussions about why point of view is important. In math, the second graders have been hard at work adding and subtracting with renaming. In social studies, they learned about weather and climate. They also did an amazing job at acting out a play about how a weather forecast helped a family prepare for a snow storm. Thursday, November 12th was Lielle Garber’s birthday. Happy birthday Lielle!
In Science, Students learned the life cycle of plants and animals. During the science/art lesson 2nd graders drew amazing pictures of “Butterfly Life Cycle”.
Third Grade
This week 3rd grade students continued their geography lessons. They explored landforms and the resources they offer to both animals and humans. In Math class, they began to learn about mental math. In the weeks to come they will work on developing multiple methods to simplify equations and solve them more efficiently. In Grammar lessons, students were working on writing compound sentences using the conjunction and. They also practiced identifying nouns. During Russian lessons, students presented the poem they have worked hard on deciphering and learning. They all did a fantastic job!
In Science, Students learned and compared incomplete and complete metamorphosis using a venn diagram.
Miss Sasha
Fourth Grade
4A
This week in math we started to work on multiplication by two digits. And solved multistep words problems.
In ELA we are working on different writing that compares assignments. Identifying and forming plural possessive nouns, combining nouns, and abbreviations.
In Social Studies we are reading, discussing and answering questions about the resources, economy and people of the East.
In Science, 4th graders displayed beautiful work labeling the parts of a flower during science class.
4B
This week 4B learned some tricks and techniques for doing mental math. I challenged the students to answer addition problems with numbers in the thousands without writing anything down, and they only had 15 seconds to give their answers. Every student was able to give a correct answer within the 15 seconds provided, on the first try! In ELA we learned how to identify singular and plural nouns, and how to differentiate between common and proper nouns. We are also working on a video showing the importance of inclusion.
In Science, 4th graders displayed beautiful work labeling the parts of a flower during science class.
Fifth Grade
The 5th grade had a busy week. In ELA the 5th grade reviewed nouns and capitalization rules. They did a unit review of vocabulary for their Vocabulary Quiz at the end of the week.
In writing they practiced comparing and contrasting characters in a drama. The 5th graders had a blast reading the skits! In reading, we continued reading our class novel and began comparing Pippi to Jeffery “Maniac” Magee in preparation for our Compare and Contrast Essay.
In math the class spent the week reviewing for their Unit 2 test. I think everyone will do well!
Lastly in Social Studies the students continued to learn about North America. They finished their notes on Mexico and started taking notes on Central America. They practiced their map skills by filling in maps of Canada and Mexico.
In science, 5tth graders performed a mini-lab: “Celery experiment”. During the experiment observations students understood that a plant’s stem supports the plant and provides a pathway for water to move up the plant. A lab worksheet was provided to students to describe and conclude the experiment.
This week, Ms. Tatic would like to commend Alec Rudnin for his amazing work ethic!
Middle School
Middle School ELA
6th Grade
Sixth graders had an eventful week! In reading, the students are greatly enjoying The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. We are currently in the middle of a novel study unit, and we discussed characterization and foreshadowing. In grammar, students learned about independent and dependent clauses. Students also reviewed making inferences, and made some great inferences from fictional texts.
7th Grade
Seventh graders had a busy week! In reading, we wrapped up our novel study of Great Gilly Hopkins. Students wrote some beautiful journals. In grammar, students reviewed types of sentences, and in writing, we discussed the relationships between different story elements in fiction. Students wrote paragraphs examining the relationship of the setting to the conflict, plot, and characters of a story.
8th Grade
Eighth graders had a good week! In reading, we continued our novel study of Watsons go to Birmingham-1963. Students discussed characterization and wrote beautiful journals. In grammar, students reviewed for their unit test. Everyone did a phenomenal job!
Middle School Math
6th:
Started their unit on numbers. We completed module 1 on integers and are beginning module 2 on factors and multiples.
6th:
Started their unit on expression and equations. We completed module 1 which included algebraic expressions, one step equations with rational coefficients , writing two step equations, and solving two-step equations.
8th:
Started chapter 1 on elements of algebra. We completed lessons 1.1 to 1.4 on writing and translating algebraic expressions, equations, and inequalities. We are working on identifying and understanding algebraic properties.
Middle School Science
7th Graders are truly behaving like scientists! Students analyzed their experimental setup, read through the situation and created an investigative question along with a hypothesis to test their prediction. Students are investigating “which coin will hold the most drops of water”. Along with their investigation, students will be creating their own experiment and identifying steps necessary to explain the procedures to carry out their investigation, they will identify and list their materials. Great job to all of the 7th graders especially Yisroel, he is doing fantastic in class great job Yisroel, keep up the great work.
8th Graders are learning the importance of proteins. Proteins are the instructions of all biochemical processes that take place within our body. Students are learning how these proteins are made, how they function and what causes them to denature. They are analyzing how our body obtains the nutrients from these molecules and what steps our body needs to take so we can obtain what we need to carry out life processes.
6th graders learned about the earthquakes, as well as its epicenter and focus. Students explained the relationship between earthquakes and faults, the occurrence of earthquakes according to elastic rebound theory, described where (in a Plate Tectonic sense) different types of earthquakes are generated.
Middle School Social Studies
6th grade learned about the Persian Empire this week, including the founder of the Achaemenid Dynasty, Cyrus the Great, and his son-in-law, Darius the Great, who oversaw arguably the greatest empire in the ancient world.
7th grade continued its journey on the road towards creating America by discussing the original English colonies at Roanoke, James Town, and Plymouth. All of the students were interested in what happened to the “lost colony,” a mystery which has confounded historians since the 1590s
8th grade was introduced to the Reacting to the Past series and given their roles for the Impeachment of a President game. All of the students were tasked with doing research on their character in preparation for writing a biography essay and playing the game in earnest.
Jewish History
Seventh Grade moved on to learn about Yitzchok Avinu and how his life parallel’s our history.
8th grade had some fantastic discussions this week about various relevant topics. We all enjoyed them, especially me! We also concluded our study of the Jews under Babaloniayn rule and are moving on to the Perisan and Median exile.
