Around the Community
The Jewish Home | MAY 5, 2022
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Yeshiva Darchei Torah seventh grader Ahron Weiss receiving a gift from Rav Yaakov Bender, Rosh HaYeshiva, upon his completion of Maseches Tamid for the 101st time! Ahron is a son of Rav Nechemia Weiss, a rebbi in the Yeshiva, and a grandson of Rav Moshe Meir Weiss
YOSS’s social worker, Mrs. Eherenfeld, taught the third grade how to utilize their expressive language skills through an interactive game
Technology at HANC ECC
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HALB’s eighth grade girls and boys each went to Ellis Island last week. They saw the path taken by their ancestors and learned about the struggles of new immigrants that arrived in the United States. It was a fun and informative trip for all the students
reparing children for the technological world in which they are growing up has begun early in HANC’s Early Childhood Center in West Hempstead. Under the leadership of Naomi Fredman, HANC’s Director of Educational Technology, a pilot program has been introduced to help the students use critical thinking skills to understand the coding process. After launching the program with the Nursery Bet classes earlier in the school year, the Nursery Aleph classes have begun their formal introduction into the world of coding. Utilizing the Botley robot, winner of many awards including the 2019 Innovative Toy of the Year, the children are learning to code in an easy, friendly, screen-free way. The Botley robot comes complete with an interactive coding playset, object detection, and even a programmable 45 degree turn. The children test their coding skills with the help of screen-free coding challenges like coding Botley to solve a maze or navigate an obstacle course. Utilizing a hand-held device with operational buttons that can move Botley in six different directions, the children can code the robot to move 150 steps and turn at multiple angles, to create more advanced sequences. Using their imagination, the robot can even transform itself into a train, a police car, a dinosaur – the possibilities are endless. “This is an entirely new means for children to use their creativity and minds while engaging in state-of-the-art technology,” states Trudy Rubinstein, ECC Director. “As we observed all of the gains
that our Pre-K children made, we knew that the time was right to share this with our youngest learners.” The children have been fascinated by this little robot and approach each session with curiosity and excitement. While it seems like a fun activity to them, they are actually building critical skills that will prepare them for future success in the realm of technology. They can’t wait for Botley to return to their classroom to see what it can do next. HANC wishes to thank Ms. Fredman for introducing this fabulous program, which has enlightened a whole new world for a new generation of children.
