fbpx

Abraham as role model

Now, more than ever, our world seems divided and discourse is often hurtful and irresponsible. Within this climate, our school, and the timeless values we practice, are more essential than ever. In this week’s Torah portion, Vayera, Abraham models for us how to welcome guests and treat weary visitors.

Our fourth grade students closely studied this text and drew relevant lessons for how we treat visitors and newcomers today. Using Abraham as a role model, our students translated his ancient customs into more modern practice. Welcoming visitors into our school is a skill we use all the time as guests often spend time with us. One of our class “jobs’ is the Greeter who is the person responsible for welcoming a visitor to class, inquiring who they are and letting them know what’s taking place.

Introducing TikkunXDesign

What is TikkunXDesign? TikkunXDesign explores the interplay between Jewish values, the 21st Century skills of Design Thinking, and the subjects of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math). The concept of tikkun olam stems from the Jewish obligation that we engage in “repairing the world.” We know that despite the challenges before us, we have the resources, support, desire, and duty to work on making the world a better place.

Our goal is that the design projects we do through TikkunXDesign be purpose driven and reflect the values of our school. While tinkering is always fun, we don’t want to teach our students to simply create more “stuff” to be put in the world. That’s why we emphasize “process” at JCDSRI — particularly the skills of design thinking — which focus on building our capacities and capabilities to solve real-world problems.

This unique program, dubbed TikkunXDesign, plays a vital role in our students’ learning and will continue to shape our school’s culture as we welcome Tiferet Rose, who joined our faculty this year to direct and expand our TikkunXDesign program.

Tiferet says she is honored to be the new TikkunXDesign (Design Lab) teacher, to be working with an amazing staff, as well as to be learning with – and from – such wonderful, curious children! Tiferet has a MS in Science Education and an MPS in Environmental Interpretation, has experience in both formal and informal education, is excited to expand her knowledge base and experience into teaching Design Thinking.

 

Emphasizing process over product: This fall, TikkunXDesign classes will focus on developing the five healthy mindsets of Design Thinking: Optimistic, Collaborative, Empathetic, Visceral, and Experimental. Each grade – PreK through 5th – will work on one major project throughout the year, delving deeply into our challenge, learning as much as we can about it, and then generating ideas, experimenting and prototyping possible solutions.

So far we are off to a wonderful start!

Exploring the solar system

Second grade students are beginning to explore the solar system in an exciting interdisciplinary unit spanning science, reading and writing, art, 21st century tech skills and even Judaic studies. In addition to learning about the objects, planets and structure of our solar system, each student will research a particular planet in greater depth. At the same time, the class will examine the Jewish calendar — a lunar calendar — and study the phases of the moon.

Students will show their learning by creating posters and 3-D representations of their planets. To celebrate their hard work, parents and the rest of the school will be invited to a culminating celestial showcase!

 

Creating a Loving Community of Learners

A few weeks ago, I awoke to find my inbox overflowing with emails from colleagues around the country. They were all sharing a letter, written by John Allman, the Head of Trinity School in NYC, to his families. What struck me about his letter – and the subsequent article about him in The New York Times – was not his fierce critique of cultural norms (including a troublesome focus on consumerism, an increasing sense of entitlement, and a weakening of social connections) – but his reliance on Jewish values and vocabulary in his search for a solution.

Echoing the teachings of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks (a British philosopher and theologian), who in turn uses the language of generations of Jewish scholars and students, Allman described the kind of school community he seeks to build — one which sounds remarkably like the one we have at the Jewish Community Day School of RI (JCDSRI). Rejecting a transactional model in which priority is given to the exchange of fees for “educational skills and credentials,” he longs to build covenantal relationships in which “we educate our students so that they leave us with a commitment not just to advance their own educational interests, but also serve the common good and to give generously to others for the rest of their lives.”

Allman acknowledges that his vision of a “covenantal relationship” is a uniquely Jewish one. Its origins are found in the relationship between God and Israel – one that is built on a sense of obligation, interdependence, and loyalty. As Allman suggests – and we know to be true at JCDSRI – this model can serve as a paradigm for human relationships in which respect, mutuality, and compassion are foundational.

Allman’s letter – and the resulting dialogue – highlights the value of Jewish education and its capacity to inspire us to be more ethical, more empathic, and more committed to our communities. I personally feel blessed to be leading an exceptional organization in which covenantal relationships are a natural outgrowth of our school’s identity. Unlike Allman, we don’t need to search for external models for how to create a loving community; at JCDSRI we have – in Rabbi Sacks words – “a shared destiny and an acceptance of responsibility to and for one another . . . What matters is that we build something none of us could make alone.”

As JCDSRI prepares to celebrate its 40th anniversary next year, I feel grateful for all those who have helped in constructing and maintaining this exceptional community. May we continue to find value in Jewish education – in all its forms – in the years to come.

What makes each of us unique

In second grade we’ve spent the first few weeks of school talking about what makes each of us unique. After spending some time learning about one another, we read The Thing About Georgie. This extraordinary book sparked many amazing conversations about the qualities that make each of us special as well as all of our unique challenges. We discussed the characters in the book who find themselves in difficult situations and made connections to back to ourselves. Our conversations provided opportunities for deep thinking about everyone’s needs for love and acceptance.

Purposeful Play at JCDSRI

Purposeful Play is a new 7-week program of open exploration through our senses with music, art and play!

Join us for Purposeful Play with Ruth Horton, an early childhood educator with over 30 years of experience working with children and families.

Each class is a unique experience so children and caregivers can attend one or all seven.

Cost is $15 per class or you can sign up for all seven for a discounted price of $90.

Classes are Wednesdays from 10:00 – 11:00 am at the Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island.

Classes run from November 1 through December 20 (no class the week of Thanksgiving -Nov. 22)

To register or for more information, contact Naomi at (401) 751-2470 or email here.

Our Sukkah is a call for empathy

In 5th grade, we studied rabbinic interpretations of Sukkot. We focused on Rashbam’s interpretation. The Rashbam suggests that Sukkot is a warning against security and affluence. We discussed how most people do not get to choose to sleep outside. We also thought about what it means that it’s a choice for us to sleep outside in temporary housing.

Our conversation about Sukkot in light of homelessness and refugees led to a call for empathy. We discussed how the freedom to choose to sleep outside made us responsible for acting on the empathy that we gain from the experience. As a class, we researched organizations that respond to this responsibility — organizations that serve homeless and refugee populations. After the research, students selected which organization to invite as their guest.

Jonah and the Big Fish in Legos

Story sequencing is an important skill that helps emerging readers develop comprehension. Sequencing also helps students develop problem-solving and organizational skills. In first grade we practiced sequencing using the story of Jonah and the Big Fish (The book of Jonah is traditionally read in synagogue on Yom Kippur).

The best part was that our students practiced their sequencing skills through Legos. After drawing and mapping out the scenes from the story they created sets with their favorite story-telling medium! Enjoy these Lego-highlights of the story:

Jonah boards a boat to sail for Tarshish. Suddenly there is a terrible storm. The sailors don’t know what to do.

Built by Jake

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jonah realizes that God is punishing the whole ship because of his mistake. He tells the sailors to throw him overboard.

Built by Sasha

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jonah is swallowed by a Big Fish.

Built by Eli

 

 

 

 

 

Inside the belly of the fish, Jonah prays to God for 3 days and 3 nights.

Built by Asher

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Big Fish spits up Jonah onto the shore of Nineveh.

Built by Eli

 

 

 

 

 

Jonah warns the people of Nineveh to change their ways or face the consequences. The people of Nineveh take the warning to heart and stop their wicked behaviours. God forgives the people of Nineveh.

Built by Sidney

 

 

 

 

Jonah is angry that God forgave them. “It’s not fair!” he cries

Built by Maya

 

 

 

 

 

Jonah is furious and leaves the city. He sits under a shady tree. He is grateful for the shade. Suddenly a worm comes and eats all of the leaves. Jonah is hot and angry again. God asks Jonah why he is more upset about the tree then he was for the 120,000 people of Nineveh.  

Built by Ruben

 

Compassion Games

Our kindergarten students are buddies with 4th graders and are doing a very special project this year. Along with playing, exploring and learning with our buddies, we are also joining the “Compassion Games” with them!

The compassion games are a way to spread love and kindness through small, simple acts of compassion, or join a global team and “compete” in compassionate events. The first thing we did was to show our love for the earth by going outside with our buddies and picking up trash around the school. The next week, we worked with our buddies to create “paper plate awards” to anyone in the school that who we felt deserved an award for being kind.

One group gave an award to a fifth grader for empathy, another gave an award to their sibling for playing with them and two groups gave awards to Peter for being a good builder and great card player! We presented the awards at morning assembly on Wednesday and it went very well. We are going to continue the Compassion Games by taking turns challenging our buddies to weekly acts of compassion.

“Non-traditional” homework in third grade

Why do we give “non-traditional” homework in third grade? 

Our goal is to make sure that student learning outside of school is enriching and that our students have opportunities to pursue their own interests. We think that homework should allow students to deepen their understanding as they delve into subjects that are of interest to them.

What is “non-traditional” homework?

Our “non-traditional” homework works on a four-week cycle.

  • Week one: students choose a topic that interests them. Sometimes these are connected to a specific theme for the class and sometimes the choice is entirely up to the student with teacher guidance.
  • Week two: students gather resources and do research. Students present at least five facts that they’ve learned and learn how to create a bibliography with proper citations.
  • Week three: students work on physical presentations of their subject in the form of a poster board, a video, a powerpoint, a 3-d model or a demonstration.
  • Week four: students practice and then deliver their presentations to their class. this is a time for students to share their new knowledge with the rest of the class, which has practiced being an engaged audience. Being an engaged audience means that peers may ask questions and give feedback to the presenter.

Here are some examples: