May 2015 – Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island

Buggy about Bug Books! K. White, librarian

June 13, 2015May 30, 2015 by Naomi Stein

Swat! Scratch! The bugs are back! We are featuring our great collection of fiction and nonfiction insect/spider books. This week, PreK was “oohing” and “aahing” over the delightful lift-up counting books:

In library class, we read the funny and thoughtful book The Very Ugly Bug by Pichon. The “ugly” bug does not look like other bugs and would like to until he discovers how special his body is. The story made us think about: What is beauty? What is ugly? What does it mean to be different? After the story the children had fun making and naming their own bugs.

Animals in PreK!

May 27, 2015 by akatzman

Chrystal, our MET intern, has brought such exciting learning experiences to our classroom. She has been interested in animals for many years and offered to help us learn more about them. First, she interviewed us to find out what we know about caring for animals and what might we want to know. She then read us many different books about animals (including some about helping animals, wild animals, and different kinds of pets). Finally, last Friday, Chrystal brought her two dogs, Channel and Jacob, to our school.

After reviewing how to treat animals with care and respect, we were given the opportunity to practice greeting dogs safely . . .

. . . how to hold them properly . . .

. . . and how to walk them with a leash gently!

Chrystal has offered us multiple opportunities to learn about animals and their care. She invited the Director of Humane Education at the RISPCA, Lorna Steele, to visit our classroom this morning. The RISPCA (Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) is 145 years old and the third oldest humane society in the United States! Lorna brought with her Dafne, her beautiful angora rabbit.

Before meeting Dafne, Lorna first explained that while some animals can care for themselves (“wild animals”) and make their own homes, many animals depend on human beings to stay healthy and safe. She works at a “shelter;” an organization that takes care of animals who do not have a home or who are not cared for properly by their owners.

Lorna then read to us Nico and Lolo: Kindness Shared Between a Boy and a Dog. This wonderful book reinforced for us the importance of treating all living things with hesed (kindness). “I learned we should take care of animals,” said Shira. “We should take care of dogs who need our help!” exclaimed Leo.

After reading the book, we were finally able to pet two year old Dafne. “She looks like snow!” observed Millie. “And she feels fluffier than I thought!” said Adrian. “I see her nose!” exclaimed Asher. “And it’s moving a lot.”

Nathan observed that “The bunny has such long ears!” Lorna explained that bunnies hear very well – and also are sensitive to vibrations. And we also learned that when bunnies get really hot, they release the heat through their ears (and they get very pink!)

We thank Lorna for sharing her bunny, her expertise, and her gentle and warm spirit with us this morning. And a special thanks to Crystal for planning and leading this special learning project!

First Grade hosts “Kindergarten Buddies”

May 26, 2015 by Sarah Shay-Davidson

The roller coaster ride of May and June has commenced!

As the end of the year draws to a close, the Kindergarteners were matched up with our First graders for “Reading Buddies”. Every Friday, from now until the end of the year, K will come for a visit to our classroom which will give them a chance to taste a bit of First grade magic .

There have been so many moments which I have dubbed “Teacher’s Gold” in my past blog entries but this past Friday was the gem stone moment. The First graders were thrilled to be the older buddy and took their responsibilities very, very seriously. Each First grader was assigned a Kindergartener and given some suggestions as to what books might interest them. In preparation for their visit, they gathered books from our extensive library and decided where they wanted to sit with their buddies.

Ready, Set, Read!

I am in awe of my students and how much they have progressed this year both in their reading skills and their maturity in a multi-age environment!

Each student showed patience, gave encouragement and support to their buddies. We the teachers could not stop smiling!

Next week, it will be the First graders’s turn to “step up” to 2nd grade. We are busy preparing for our visit to 2nd grade in Writer’s Workshop and in Math by writing The 2nd grade teacher friendly letters about themselves and writing a “Math About Me” book. They will be presenting their work to her during our visit and have time to visit and experience a taste of what an incredible year they will have next year. (Sigh…..I am going to miss them so!)

Stay tuned for our 2nd Grade visit next week!

Free as a Bird……

May 25, 2015 by jdavis

“When you are your own voice….”
― Lity Munche

Above is a picture of our freedom quilt that is hanging outside of our classroom. Each student wrote an original and personal saying that began with “Freedom is……” Come check out this beautiful quilt (made out of paper) that students put so much thought into creating.

During the past two weeks we:

learned about the word “freedom”
discussed what freedom means in our country, our school, in life, being true to oneself etc.
grappled in deep discussions about “freedom of expression”
read “Talking Walls”
continued reading School Story and Pippi Longstocking
discussed our read-aloud The Reverend
continued typing our autobiographies and putting our last finishing touches on the photo album to publish
practiced the last few pages of our cursive book
learned about fractions and how to multiply and divide them

To be “free” in the recess yard….what are your dreams?

It was so wonderful meeting all our special visitors. Thank you for joining in on our math games, geometric creations, building challenges, and tricky brain teasers. Math is so much fun in the third grade!

The third and fourth graders have been knee deep in the Rocks and Landforms science unit. We conducted an experiment with different types of rocks and vinegar to figure out the damage to the environment from acid rain. The children discovered that certain rocks were affected more than others. We also ventured around our own schoolyard to experiment with different soil and various types of rocks. They had to categorize the rocks by shape, color, size, and texture. Next week we will conduct tests on soil in stream tables as we examine deposition and we will find out how to detect the hardness of a rock or mineral using the Mohs scale of mineral hardness.

We have our Read-A-Thon this Friday!!!! We are so excited! This week we will continue to carry out our prototypes from a few weeks ago and begin building our “reading palace”. We have so many great things planned for this special day of celebrating literacy. I am so happy to announce that our theme for the day is “Saving the Animals” and our charity is Animals with Challenges and Disabilities.

Reminders:

Bring in pictures for Autobiography
Read-a-Thon Friday (start packing)
No spelling test this Friday
Bugsy and Gizmo need sitters for the summer…..let me know that you are interested in taking care of them for part of the summer 🙂

Have a great week!

Mrs. Davis

Rounding the Corner to June!

May 25, 2015 by mkranowitz

I hope you all enjoyed a lovely Memorial Day with your family and friends. We also Celebrated Shavuot this weekend. As we continue to plug through the ABC countdown, please make sure to refer to it each morning to make sure your child has what he/she needs for the day. I have so many fabulous pictures to share from May. We can start with Special Visitor’s Day. It was such a pleasure to have family from nearby and faraway join us for the morning of math stations. The classroom was buzzing with excitement, collaboration and hard work.

The third and fourth graders have been knee deep in the Rocks and Landforms science unit. We conducted an experiment with different types of rocks and vinegar to figure out the damage to the environment from acid rain. The children discovered that certain rocks were affected more than others. We also ventured around our own schoolyard to experiment with different soil and various types of rocks. They had to categorize the rocks by shape, color, size and texture. Next week we will conduct tests on soil in stream tables as we examine deposition and we will find out how to detect the hardness of a rock or mineral using the Mohs scale of mineral hardness.

We have spent many of our mornings together in open circle. We talked about the fourth graders hopes and dreams for fifth grade and they all wrote five paragraph essays to Mrs. Woods about next year.We discussed ways to be kind and support one another inside and outside the classroom. We also held many discussions about redesigning recess at JCDS. I asked them the following question:

“What would the perfect recess look like to you?”

In math we are finishing up the geometry unit as we discuss the area and perimeter of many different shapes. We will be wrapping up the year with symmetry and measurement. I was so impressed with the final Newbery Award book reports and presentations. The students all had to design their own project to accompany the written report. Their personalities and creativity shined through!

Dates for your calendar:

June 11th=Beatle Torah

June 15th=field Day

June 17th=Graduation and early dismissal

Jodd’s Post about Poetry

May 22, 2015 by Naomi Stein

One of Jodd's Favorite Books of Poetry — One of Jodd’s Favorite Books of Poetry

This week we were immersed in poetry. Each night we have been reading poetry and sharing a special poem that we liked with our class. I have read from many great poets about the sea, a woodpecker, God and more. In class we have learned about Haiku, couplets, and many literary devices. Do you know how many there are? Even more than the amount of fingers I have! I think that poetry is very important, but it can take time. Each word helps to make a whole. Not to be confused with a hole. A simple word can be the essence of a poem. The sun, a shirt, anything! Even more than the amount of my fingers and toes combined! Poetry can be hard sometimes, but everyone has a poet inside. I didn’t see myself as a poet when we started this unit. Now, I have written many poems that, in my opinion, are good. Very good! I bet you could do one too. Maybe I’ll try.

Words are so important,

for words tell stories.

And without stories,

there is no joy.

In words.

I like that one too. I hope you like it. I can write more. Although, I’m running out of letters. Before I end it I will say. Poems are awe….. Wait, I can’t run out of letters.

Butterflies, Field Trip and Reader’s Theater

May 21, 2015May 19, 2015 by Naomi Stein

We have had a busy, exciting couple of weeks in second grade and we are not slowing down until the last day of school. We have been spending a lot of time learning about animal life cycles, through observing our classroom butterflies and also through studying individual animals. Students are currently working on an animal research project which they will showcase at the Author’s Tea. Second graders are learning how to research using books and the internet and they practiced being observational scientists by observing their animal at the zoo. Check out the pics from our awesome field trip!

(Our live butterflies!)

In addition, students are developing a deeper understanding of the life cycle of the butterfly through practicing a reader’s theater about it. They cannot wait to share this reader’s theater with you at the Author’s Tea!

In math, we have been learning about fractions. Specifically we are learning how to identify, compare, and add fractions. Stay tuned for the students’ fraction monsters, coming in May 2015 to the second grade hallway.

Jewish Community Day School of RI Annual Meeting

May 22, 2015May 19, 2015 by Naomi Stein

Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island Annual Meeting

Wednesday, June 3, 2015 / 16 Sivan 5775 / 7:00 pm

Temple Emanu-El’s Bohnen Vestry

99 Taft Avenue / Providence, RI

Installation of the 2015-2016 JCDSRI Board of Trustees’ Officers and Board Members

Program includes:

Presentation of the Charles Samdperil Award

Kol Ha’Kavod to our JCDSRI employees, including:

Vicky Dziok’s 25th anniversary with JCDSRI

Heartfelt thanks and appreciation to Karolyn White as she retires after 22 years of service.

Kol Ha’Kavod to our JCDSRI volunteers.

Kol Ha’Kavod to our graduates and their families. / Welcome to this year’s new families!

Kol Ha’Kavod to our Board members who will be finishing their terms this spring:

Gloria Feibish, Daniel Gamm, Marisa Garber, Hope Hirsch, Jay Rosenstein and David Rosler

JEWISH COMMUNITY DAY SCHOOL OF RI

PROPOSED SLATE OF OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS FOR 2015-2016

OFFICERS

PRESIDENT………………………………………………Deborah Skolnick Einhorn

VICE-PRESIDENT………………………………………Rochelle Rosen

TREASURER…………………………………………….Rachel Friedberg

SECRETARY…………………………………………… .Lizzie Pollock

PAST PRESIDENT…..…………………………………..Laurence Kotler-Berkowitz

DIRECTORS

One-Year Term to 2016

Barry Dolinger

Ian Gonsher

Roii Raz

Two-Year Term to 2017

Sheila Alexander

Stephen Gamm

Three-Year Term to 2018

Aaron Horowitz

Robert Landau

Rashmi Licht

Mara Ostro

Sally Rotenberg

Completing Terms in 2015:

Gloria Feibish Dan Gamm Marisa Garber Hope Hirsch

Jay Rosenstein David Rosler

Parent-Appointed Representative-to 2016:

Sharon Sock

Spring Has Sprung

May 18, 2015 by ikapach

We’ve had a fun and busy several weeks in kindergarten!

We have been learning a great deal about Israel and dreaming of its beautiful beaches. We “traveled” to Yam Hamelach (The Dead Sea), and learned through experiment why we float.

After working so hard preparing for Zimriyah and Special Visitors Day, we needed a short vacation. Since we can’t travel all the way to Israel, we traveled to Conimicut Beach in Warwick.

At the beach we found buried treasure, observed different animals who call the beach home, and played in the sand.

We had the chance to play on a different playground after a picnic lunch outdoors.

And even have rest time.

A very Special Friends and Family Day in First Grade

May 18, 2015 by Sarah Shay-Davidson

There was so much joy, love and fun to be had on Special Friends and family day. Work stations were set up and the students and their guests worked together to complete each one.

Center #1-

Students picked book from a huge collection of books about families or friendships then discussed and wrote an answer together to “What can you do to be a good family member or friend?”

Center #2-

Our guests helped the students make “Mom ROCKS” for Mother’s day out of beach stones, gems and pastels.

Center #3-

Students painted their rocks to give them an extra special shiny appearance and made Mothers’s day cards.

Center #4-

Students worked together to draw a Special Friends and Family Tree and their hands to create the leaves of the tree.

All of the work came together on our Bulletin board. Come check it out!

What a blessing it was to have our guests visit.