BH. THURS
Community Newsletter of the Maimonides Hebrew Day School of the Capital District 404 Partridge Street Albany NY 12208 (518) 453-9363/3434 www.maimonidesschool.org
produced by Rabbi Mendel & students in the TNT (Torah ‘n Technology) Program Maimonides is accredited by the NYS Board of Regents & is a beneficiary of UJF-NENY
maimonidesschool@gmail.com
Adar II 25, 5771 / March 31, 2011
Candle-Lighting:
7:02 Shabbos Ends:
8:04
TWIN BABY MAZAL TOVS Dr. Paul and Rachel Rapaport celebrate a double Simcha on the birth of twin girls who were named Chana Breina and Leah Shira for their grandmother who recently passed away and other close family relatives.
THOUSANDS OF JUMPS … by students in a recent fundraiser for Leizer Galperin (age 6, recovering from major burns). If you were a Jump-a-Thon sponsor, please be in touch with your student-jumper or forward the monies to the school office. Checks can be payable to “Galperin Family”. If the jumpcounts exceeded your expectations, you can still pay per jump but you can cap your donations as needed. Thanks for supporting this Chesed project, which students did all on their own!
This newsletter is sponsored in memory of a dear friend & wonderful person
Stanley Burmil of Clifton Park who passed away this week by Rabbi Yossi & Leah Rubin of Clifton Park Chabad
FAMILIES COMING TO TOWN Do you know the Lanthanides? Have you met Nursery and Kindergarten quickly mixed flour the Borons or the Halogens? Did you hear of and water, kneaded it into dough, rolled it out the Carbons? OK, they don’t live in Albany… thin, made holes and baked it although some may be moving to town with new nano-technology research and chip-fab in “Nathan’s Kitchen” at development as they are “families of elements” Maimonides. While not Kosher for Passover, they came on the Periodic Table, and the subject of a science test in 7th grade this week. out pretty flat, crispy and somewhat Matzah-like. The USING THE OU PESACH GUIDE Kindergarteners are also pictured holding their Bedikas Rabbi Mirsky brought in OU Pesach Guides Chametz Kits (which they put for practical Halacha learning, including an interesting article on how to deal with (and if) together and decorated dishwashers and microwaves for Pesach. themselves) check out the Hebrew lettering not bad for Kindergarten! Many more Pesach MAIMONIDES projects are in the pipeline, they’ll be coming 404 Partridge Street home with lots to share at the Seders…
HANDS-ON MATZAH
Albany NY 12208
SALE OF CHAMETZ & MATZAH As traditional every year, Rabbi Rubin (4825781 or 423-4103) arranges for the sale of Chametz, and for Shmurah-Matzah.
PRICE CHOPPER PESACH DEPT Price Chopper Colonie already switched over a lot of product to Passover items before Purim. Check it out, they are still fully stocked, and there are some new products this year.
BABY GIRL FEDERMAN Rochel (Chanowitz) & Benny Federman had a baby girl Chaya Mushka. Rochel learned in Maimonides when the Chanowitz’s lived in Albany and Benny owns 1saleaday.com which was a sponsor of our school’s raffle-auction.
MAZEL TOV KUDANS The Kudans are celebrating this Shabbos the Ufruf of their cousin Leibel Kudan of Florida, and on Tuesday his wedding to Shaina Baumgarten of Crown Heights. Mazal Tov!
UNIQUE JAM FROM VERMONT
NATURAL DISASTERS
Dovid Fried owns Elmore Roots Nursery, near Montpelier Vermont. Noah L. reports that Dovid makes really delicious jam, (it’s certified organic, and Kosher - even for Passover - under the supervision of Rabbi Yitzchak Raskin of Burlington VT) with unique flavors hardly anyone else makes, like Crab-Apple, PearHoney and even Rhubarb Ginger. The Levins have a lot of cases at home. They will sell jars for Dovid (because his jam is not yet sold in this area) and transfer the money to him. He also grows and sells wonderful hardy shrubs and fruit-trees: www.elmoreroots.com (The Levins might be able to deliver).
4th graders in Mrs. Tate’s Science Enrichment class worked in teams in the computer lab to research facts and find photos of different types of natural disasters (earthquakes, lightning storms, tornadoes and floods) and made powerpoints based on what they found.
SINGING PESACH SONGS At the end of morning Tefilah, the boys class now sings a different Pesach-related song each day, as we look forward to the holiday. So far they sang V’hee Sheamda, the Kadesh-Urchatz sequence (2 tunes), Az-Yashir & MiMizrayim!
SAMSON SOURCE OF A SONG 5/6 graders were excited to discover that the “Zachraini, Chazkeini - Remember Me, Strengthen Me… this one time!” song sung by Dedi and contemporary Jewish singers comes from Shimshon’s (Samson) last prayer between Philistine pillars (Judges 16:28). They learned Rashi’s interpretation of “Remember me…” means that Shimshon said: although he judged the Jews for 20 years, he never asked anyone to even carry a stick for him, he did not abuse his power for even a small personal privilege.
DAVID, ISHBOSHET & MICKEY
7th graders learned of the two opportunist murderers who beheaded Saul’s son and shortMrs. Mulder’s English students have each been time successor Ishboshet, thinking that would writing summaries (with some illustration) of earn them favor with the new King David, who each chapter of the book they’re reading in instead ordered them killed for their act of class, which are now collected into mini-books, murder. That same day they took a walk and the students are now working on the around the block and saw a headless Mickey covers - artistically or on the computer. Her Mouse in the 5/6 grade students recently finished “Mrs. trash, and Frisby and the Rats of N.I.M.H.” while her 7th thought it graders are now completing their works on was an “The Giver.” The covers also are supposed to interesting feature a teaser question about the story that coincidence. will “draw readers in” to find out more…
BOOK-COVERS: NIMH & GIVER ELI’S VT BAR-MITZVAH WKND Mazal Tov to Eli and his family! Some Albany families and his student-friends went up to Burlington to celebrate his Bar-Mitzvah weekend (after his aliyah at Maimonides last Thursday). Most stayed at the Courtyard by Marriot in downtown Burlington (which is pretty and full of life, much like Saratoga’s Broadway area) and walked up the hill to the Chabad House at University of Vermont where services were held. All the delicious meals were by local caterer “Kosher Vermont”. It was a beautiful, joyous Shabbos with opportunity for those from Burlington (and surrounding areas including Montpelier and Starksboro) and Albany to get to know each other and celebrate together. The Levins hired a (recently engaged) very sweet yeshiva bochur from Boston be a counselor for the boys who had a great time. We also have warm regards from a Vermont girl who is pen-pal/chatfriends with two girls from Maimonides. On Sunday there was a brunch at the ECHO Science/Children’s museum at the Lake Champlain waterfront where families & kids enjoyed the exhibits & activities. Some extended their trip to stop at the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory Tour, the Church Street Pedestrian Mall (which is very elegant, walkingfriendly, with old-fashioned feel… but surprisingly one of those small street doors opens up into a hidden full-size Macy’s - you would never have guessed it from the outside), Shelburne Farms and the free (temporary) Ferry to NY where the new bridge is being constructed at Crowne Point crossing.
PYTHAGOREAN SNAIL IN MATH PLEASE VOTE FOR L’CHAIM L’chaim is the UAlbany student group that works closely with Shabbos House since 1996. Go to www.bit.ly/lchaimunite to watch their video posted in the UAlbany Unite contest, and contribute-vote by clicking on the “click here to support” and checking off “L’CHAIM” with your donation of $5, $10 or $20 etc. The monies go directly to the L’chaim budget (for holiday meals & events at Shabbos House), and each vote (i.e. earmarked contribution) is an opportunity to highlight the value and importance of Jewish campus life.
Last week’s MC wrote about the 16 1/2 right angles of a Pythagorean snail (based on the Pythagorean theorem about triangles) which students then filled in artistically, here are two versions of their art form.
ART AND ARTISTS Some middle school art students are now researching the style of a particular artist and trying to do a piece of artwork in that style, or his/her interpretation of that artists type of work. The artists they chose range from Van Gogh (a Dutch painter from the 1800’s) to Mary Azarian (who still does woodcut prints today in Vermont).
IN GEAR AT THE SCIENCE FAIR Shmuel Dovid and Mendel V. of 4th grade represented Maimonides at the recent Joseph Henry Regional Science Fair at the College of St. Rose. Thanks to Mrs. Ballard for working with them on their project and taking them to the Fair. It was a long wait on Friday until the judges came around to look at their exhibit about “Gear Ratios”. As Shmuel Dovid says, “Gears are wheels that have teeth, and these teeth coordinate with each other. If the gear on the left has 16 teeth, and the one on the right has 32 teeth, the left gear must go around twice for each complete cycle of the right gear.” They got the idea from some gears they were playing with in an advanced Lego set, and from the K’nex car-building activities they did with Mrs. Ballard in Science Enrichment.
MISHLEI’S WISE AND FOOLISH HS are learning Proverbs with Morah Raizy, this week they worked in pairs to come up with some visual expressions of Mishlei (Proverbs) Chapter 10 which contrasts the wise and the foolish in various expressions.
HS VOLUNTEERS AT RONALD On Wednesday evening this week the HS girls spent a few hours doing laundry, cleaning-up, baking cakes, setting up rooms for families at the Ronald McDonald Hospitality House on South Lake Ave. They were touched and inspired by the stories of mothers with high-risk pregnancies, children with very serious illness, and were happy to play a small part in providing small comforting touches to families facing major medical challenges.
CHUMASH SHEMOS B4 PESACH 5/6/7 & HS (!) are all learning or recently learned Chumash relating to the enslavement in Egypt or the Exodus from there, in time to enter the Pesach holiday with that learning accompanying and enriching them.
HELICOPTER JUMP-ROPE
rope around close to ground level, all the others stand around in a circle within the rope’s spinning reach but jump over it as it comes by, but if it hits you - you’re out.
2011 MHDS DINNER HONOREES
Mrs. Linda Spivack of CT will be awarded the Dr. Morton Berger (her father’s) Memorial Award which was established after his STICKY-NOTE STICKERS ADD UP untimely passing in 1988 and is awarded each Mrs. Maher has a folder with sticky notes year since in his memory. A “Baruch Shenasan inside that has the name of each of her 4th Torah” Award will be given to Mr. Bruce graders. Each time you do your homework, she Lorence in recognition of the Torah he gave to puts a small sticker on the sticky-note. After 20 our school last year, and the 2nd “Traveling stickers you earn an educational prize (like a Torah” he will be dedicating this summer. sand-art kit, division cards, a bug catcher, a Since 2004, Maimonides highlighted and recorder and many other things). honored a spectrum of deserving individuals on a shared theme, this year’s “People of the Book” honors local Jewish authors, namely: TIMED MATH TESTS Dr. Jeffrey Berman, Miriam Biskin, Rabbi 7 minutes is all you get in Mrs. Maher’s class Herbert Bomzer, Dr. Bob Herman, Sylvie to solve a slew of math problems correctly. If you succeed, you move on to the next level (in Kantorovitz, Jackie Morse-Kessler, Joseph this case division). Student keep getting better. Krausman, Lyn Miller-Lachmann, Linda Elovitz Marshall, Marlene Newman, BJ Rosenfeld, and Dr. Suzanne Vroman. We also will be honoring posthumously, Vera Propp and Hy Rosen, of blessed memory who past away in recent months. Many thanks to all who nominated these worthy honorees, and to all who are and will be working on the annual dinner, which is a memorable communal event and important school fundraiser each year.
IT STARTS WITH A HOW FAR IS A BOW-SHOT? COUPLE OF BLOCKS 3rd graders learned in the story of Hagar and
Construction was a big theme in the Passover story, and it’s also a big part of the imagination and activity of some of our Nursery and Kindergarten students. Let them learn to be “builders” and not “destroyers” and to take pride in their storied accomplishments, one block at a time, with determination and patience.
ANOREXIA BOOK DISCUSSION Jackie Morse-Kessler is a local young-adult fiction writer who addresses real-life themes like anorexia and eating disorders in her books. She came in to speak with the HS girls about her book. Jackie is also a Maimonides honoree for this year’s “People of the Book”.
SNOW DAY OR NO SNOW DAY
Pesach is coming soon! See page 4 for HS A new game has become popular with 2-4 offers of car-washes, school lunches etc. Please grade girls during recess. One person spins the email orders: bnoschayaprograms@gmail.com
Yishmael (Parshas Vayera) that she moved 2 “bowshots” away because she didn’t want to see Yishmael in that sorry state… Calev was curious, “how far is a bowshot?” (the distance that an arrow can travel from a bow). So he designed his own (make-believe) bow and arrow, and brought it to class to demonstrate. The actual distance may not be accurate, but his hands-on involvement is right on target!
ROLLING BOOKSHELF WANTED There’s a rolling bookshelf usually parked in the big back upstairs room at school, and lately we’ve noticed kids browsing the shelves and borrowing books from there on their own. Looks like it might be time to make it a little more official, with a check-out log, more shelving (we need rolling shelves for space flexibility) and a few more Jewish books that would appeal to our young readers (mostly between ages 8 and 14). APPS students offered to set-it up a little, and do occasional reviews of books for the “MC” newsletter. APPS students are headed to Joe Adler’s “Book Maven” used Jewish bookstore next week Thursday, maybe we’ll find some good reads there…
FIRST TOSEFOS FOR SEVENTH 7th grade is now in Sukkah 7b, and learning their first Tosefos commentary.. see next week!
at Maimonides and in the Community 4/2: PARSHAT HACHODESH The last of 4 special Torah Readings. Rabbi Rubin is putting together a Kiddush at Shomray Torah of foods with the phonetic sound “NEW” for HaChodesh, which is about the new moon.
4/2: GARDEN EMUNAH CLASS 4pm at 359C Hackett Blvd for women. Rotating locations/presenters etc begins after Pesach.
4/2: LATER RABBI REISMAN CLASS Due to the later Sat Nights, Rabbi Reisman’s class will now be shown at CBAJ at 9:30pm.
4/3: ANNUAL SIYUM HARAMBAM Albany Kollel joins daily Rambam students from around the world in completing the Mishna Torah at a Sunday BreakfaStudy following the Daf Yomi at Shomray Torah. This is a day before Reb Moshe Rubin’s yartzeit & dedicated in his memory.
4/3: FOOD FESTIVAL AT GATES Gates of Heaven annual Jewish Food Festival, 124pm. Adults $15pp, kids free. Call 374-8173.
4/3: WARSAW GHETTO OF LEGO
4/10: RUMMAGE POSTPONED The sale will not be able to be on the 10th as planned, look for a later date. The school can’t store rummage sale items for an extended period, so please do not bring them to school at this time.
4/10: HS PRE-PESACH CARWASH Starts 11am. It’s back, and improved! Inside-out cleaning by HS Girls in time for Pesach. They’ll be more efficient if you “order” your car-wash ahead by emailing: bnoschayaprograms@gmail.com. Also there’ll be a Chametz bake-sale and a JGU program for girls. $7 car-outside, $10 car-inside.
A WALK DOWN NEW SCOTLAND Spring in the air highlights the benefits of being a school in a neighborhood! Rabbi Mendel took APPS students on a walk to Sage College to visit their library, and on the way met Officer Lorin, the new beat-officer for the area, and Sgt Davis who remembers us from Lag B’omer Parades. We were on TV (Fox News) that night in their report on the new “community policing”. We stopped in
4/11&12: IN-SCHOOL LUNCHES HS Girls will be prepare lunches for sale at school on Monday & Wednesday before Pesach. Menu includes Pasta, Pizza-Pitas, veggie soup, drink & dessert etc. Cost is $4 per child; pre-orders are very helpful: bnoschayaprograms@gmail.com
to see Michael “Moshe” the Shoemaker (Dixon’s) and Mr. Green the tailor (corner Quail) who was impressed that our students knew what a thimble
4/12: CHAMETZ DINNER NIGHT Great for Pre-Pesach, get of the house come to “Nathan’s Kitchen” at Maimonides to enjoy breads, pastas, and hot dishes without messing up your own kitchen. $7pp or $25 max per family.
Using 60,000 Lego blocks, architect Stephen W. Schwartz will lead students and families in building a Warsaw Ghetto replica at Beth Emeth 1:15pm to 4/18: SIYUM BECHORIM 3:30pm. $25 per family of four, $5pp thereafter, There’ll be a First-born Siyum by Rabbi Simon and no kids under 5. RSVP to: 432-1392. after 8am Shachris at Shomray Torah.
4/3: HEAL IT, REPEAL IT, LEAVE IT? 4/18: CHAMETZ BURNING
What to do about the health-care bill? Attorney 10:40-11:40am at Maimonides, annual tradition… Mordecai Bienstock, a health-care law and policy expert will speak on this important & controversial 4/18-21: PESACH AT A HOTEL issue at a Federation Joint Society event at Agudat $299pp for 4-day package at Greenbush Comfort Achim in Schenectady, 7:15pm. $22 at the door. Suites (fitness center, swimming, trails) with the Labers. Call Nechama at 727-9581. Meals prepared 4/3: SOMETHING FROM NOTHING by Birchhill Caterers and Mrs. Laber. Seders-only Rescheduled for just before Shavuot. Stay tuned!! options are available, or other communal Seders are available throughout the region (Saratoga 4/4: WOMENS BET-MEDRASH Chabad 526-0773; Delmar Chabad 439-8280 etc) 8pm at Maimonides, this class will be the second and many families are happy to have guests. on the mitzvah of Mikvah. Call 495-0779 for more info or email: midrash4women@gmail.com 4/24: CHOL HAMOED FUN Saratoga Chabad will host an activity morning 4/5: ROSH CHODESH NISSAN 10:30am-12:30pm (before the start of the 2nd days 8am Minyan at Maimonides (Torah, Hallel etc…) of YomTov). For info call Rabbi Abba 526-0773.
4/5: HOLOCAUST COOKBOOK
5/24: MAIMONIDES DINNER
7:30pm at Shenendehowa Community Center (6 Clifton Common Court in Clifton Park, off Vischer Ferry Rd near Rt 146). Suggested $10pp, autographed cookbooks are extra. Joanna Caras of the “Holocaust Survivor Cookbook” will share amazing backgrounds to the recipes from survivors.
The annual Maimonides Dinner (now over 20 consecutive years!) will be on Tuesday, May 24th. Berger Memorial Award: Linda Spivack; Baruch Shenasan Torah Award: Bruce Lorence; and this year’s “People of the Book” highlights a spectrum of local Jewish authors. See list on page 3.
MAIMONIDES SCHOOL (Nursery / Elementary / High School) & COMMUNITY 404 Partridge Street Albany NY 12208 (518) 453-9363/3434 maimonidesschool@gmail.com Founded in 1980, Maimonides is chartered by the NYS Board of Regents and is a UJF-NENY Beneficiary
was. He asked them if they knew some Yiddish. The students couldn't get over his working rotary phone, and that he’s been using the same sewing machine for 55 years! (Who has machines that last that long?) They also sang an ad jingle to the State Farm agent on the corner. At Sage, the librarian took us on a tour (pictured here sitting in Art Library Room), she explained the difference between public
libraries’ Dewey decimal system and academic (college) libraries’ Library of Congress system. She said that Sage (and many others) are transitioning to digital more & more as time goes on, nowadays it’s more about computer database & resource subscriptions than actual books. Rabbi Mendel pointed out similar-looking sets of books on a specific topic, kind of like a set of Rambam, Mishna or Talmud that we are used to seeing at home or in shul. They stopped off at Stewart’s on the way back to school for chips and drinks.