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Month: January 2016

Search for the Essence of Life

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“We went on a search for the essence of life.” What is that? you may ask. . .

The second graders have the answer to this fundamental question! They found it in a place you have been many times.  It may be green; it may be orange. It may be red; it may be purple. It may grow on a tree; it may grow in the ground; it may even grow on a vine. These fearless explorers stepped on our JCDSRI magic school bus, took a seat and headed out to the . . . EASTSIDE MARKETPLACE!

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Once there, they began their mission to collect fruits of the trees and vegetables of the earth. The other shoppers may have wondered, “What is this beautiful language the children are speaking?” We answered in one voice. It is an ancient language; it is a modern language. It is the language of our people, the Jewish people. It’s the Hebrew language! We returned to school filled with the bounty of our mission, satisfied and eager to come together to enjoy a taste of the upcoming spring. This is just one of the ways that we celebrated TuB’Shevat at JCDSRI!

LehitrIMG_1637IMG_1639aot, Rotem and Rhonda

Science News – Balance & Motion

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Second grade students are learning a great deal by observing and comparing how objects balance, spin and roll. Observing, communicating, and comparing are all important thinking processes that we are using during our investigations of these objects and systems. Students are having a blast building their own spinners, zoomers, and twirlers.

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Building Up

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At the Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island, the designers are small in size, but they can still build tall. Lately, it seems that our ceilings are too low because… well, our structures are reaching too high!

Our prototypes aren’t the only things being built up. Our confidence, cooperation, collaboration, empathy, optimism, and experimental mindsets are also growing, built upon a solid foundation of joy and excitement.

Children in kindergarten and first grade met a new friend named Harry. Harry wants to have the best view of the design lab, but there’s one problem… he is afraid of heights! We are working on empathizing with Harry and helping to create the perfect perch for him. We discussed how HIMG_6501arry probably feels scared, sad, and uncomfortable when he is in a bad spot.

With a bag full of simple and recycled materials, we created the perfect perch for Harry. We made sure that the perch was stable, not too high up, and comfortable.

In second grade, students heard the story, Jack and the Beanstalk. We wondered, “how might we build a beanstalk as high as possible, using only straws, wooden skewers, and tape?” The main focus of this particular lesson is that constraints drive creativity. This means that with limited resources, we must be extremely creative!

When class is over and it’s time to go to recess, children often ask, “Can we stay in and keep building?”

A Whale of a Time

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Fourth Graders just completed an in depth study on whales! Students learned a bit about several species of whales, and then each of them chose one to research and present to IMG_3642their peers and families. Using online and print sources, these students became experts on their chosen whales!

To really bring our study to life, we decided to create scale models of these creatures and hang them in our classroom. After measuring out the true length of each whale, students used division to create a scale by which they would design and create their models. Their research helped them decide which features to highlight and include as they created their pieces in art class.

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Their whales will hang in our classroom for the next several weeks as we begin thinking about why so many whales are now endangered. This question has led us to a study of the history of whaling in New England, and we are continuing to learn under the shadows of these majestic mammals.

Lizards, and Snakes, and Turtles, Oh My!

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This past Friday, we had a special visit from Bwana Iguana, thanks to the generosity of Alan Shawn Feinstein.  It was an exciting and educational experience for our class.  We had a lot of fun seeing, holding, and petting many different reptiles.  The class favorite was the blue tongue skink who could dance when we sang, “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.”  Of course, a few students were selected to show the lizard how to dance properly.  We also learned a lot.  I myself never knew the king snake was called that because he eats other snakes, such as rattlesnakes.  Another new fact we learned was that the box turtle is one of the only turtles to completely close itself into its shell, like a box.  Hence the name, box turtle! Thank you, Alan Shawn Feinstein, for a wonderful hands-on learning experience that will be remembered for a lifetime.

Tu B’Shvat

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tu bshvatWe are in the month of Shvat and we count the days till the New Year of the Trees. A beautiful and festive wall display about the holiday and trees in the school lobby is a joint effort of several teachers and classes. The fifth grade students’ contribution is of beautiful drawings of trees and people planting trees. These drawings are the students’ interpretations of citations from the bible that relate to trees, and they are also the lyrics of the song we learn for this holiday, “כי תבואו אל הארץ” Ki Tavou El HaAretz.

Invent ourselves every time

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Part of my job as Lashon teacher is to teach my kids the holiday songs; it’s a good way to do something fresh and unusual, and also music is the easiest way to connect everybody. Come on, who doesn’t love music, right??

So this week we are practicing on Tu b’eshvat – but this time I wanted to do something even more fun than just sing it, soooooo I acted like a conductor in a concert – and they loved it. They even asked me if they could take their turn and be the conductors – and so they did. I have to admit it is so much fun to learn a song that way. See you for our next “concert!”

Pre-K in Music!

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Lately our Pre K students have been exploring and learning about a lot of different music and instruments. Last week, we learned about the orchestra and all of the different musicians and instruments that are used in it. We watched a video of an orchestra performing and talked about how all the musicians follow the conductor, which helps them to perform as a group. Later we practiced playing as a group and following a conductor using some hand drums!

Blooming in PreK

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In honor of Tu’Bishvat (“the birthday of the trees”), we planted an amaryllis plant in our classroom. One of the many exciting things about an amaryllis is how fast it grows; we can actually observe the bulb’s growth from day to day. While caring for our amaryllis plant, we are practicing measuring, close observation, scientific documentation, number sense, and making predictions and comparing them to observable results.

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We are having a wonderful time preparing for Tu’Bishvat in other ways, as well. While it is still winter in Providence, we know that spring is arriving in Israel and that some trees are beginning to bloom. Inspired, we are transforming our classroom into a colorful and flower-filled forest by creating beautiful and glittery flowers and trees to decorate our walls and ceiling.

 

Partnership & Peace with ISRI

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MLKtapeOn Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, students and families from JCDSRI and the Islamic School of RI (ISRI) gathered together to create a tape art mural to promote peace. In addition, the students collected puzzle and activity books for children at Hasbro Children’s Hospital. For video coverage of this wonderful event, visit ABC6 or WPRI. 

In February 2015, when ISRI was vandalized with hateful, anti-Islamic messages, students from JCDSRI made cards to show solidarity and support for their Muslim peers. Head of School Adam Tilove hand delivered the messages to ISRI’s Head of School Abdelnasser Hussein, and a friendship was born.

This year, with financial support from the Rhode Island Foundation, the two schools are building a partnership in the form of a 12-week theater program for their 5th graders, facilitated by the Center for Dynamic Learning. In addition, several whole school activities are planned, including the recent community building day on Martin Luther King Day organized by the two schools’ Parent Associations.

Mr. Tilove understands that, in the wake of terrorism in Israel and Paris, many people are nervous IMG_3260about such a partnership. He states that, among other things, “I believe in my partner Abdelnasser Hussein and the lovely people I have met from ISRI. I believe in people’s innate goodness and kindness, and I will not let evil acts poison my faith in humanity. Further, I believe that living in peace and mutual respect with one’s neighbors is not an option, but a mandate from Heaven: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ is a command from God, not a qualified suggestion.”

ISRI’s Mr. Hussein is confident that cooperation and understanding will combat misconceptions and hatred. He says, “I believe religion and freedom of speech are the preliminary common grounds which will lead us to unity as citizens of the United States. We can present ourselves as role models for tolerance.”