BH. Shvat
12, 5779 / Jan 18, 2019
ב“ה
Community Newsletter of the Maimonides Hebrew Day School of the Capital District Candle-Lighting: 404 Partridge Street Albany NY 12208 (518) 453-9363/3434 www.maimonidesschool.org 4:32 Shabbos Ends: produced by Rabbi Mendel Rubin & students in the TNT (Torah ‘n Technology) Program 5:37 Maimonides is accredited by the NYS Board of Regents & is a beneficiary of UJF-NENY
maimonidesschool@gmail.com
MAIMONIDES 404 Partridge Street Albany NY 12208
3D PRINTED MEZUZAH COVER This week in the Makerspace student made a special Mezuzah cover with the Legacy logo using the 3D Printer. It came out great! Of course, the parchment scroll inside can’t be 3D printed as it must be hand-written by a scribe. Students (pictured above) assisted with affixing the Mezuzah to the nearest entrance door closest to the Makerspace. The doors of the Makerspace itself are a little more complicated as they are unusual doors and we will soon know the exact best spot to place another Legacy Learning Labs Mezuzah there.
Feel Better Morah Rochel!
Wishing Morah Rochel a speedy recovery. She’s been out all week and students say they never remember Morah Rochel missing so much school. It’s been a rough few weeks for a lot of our kids and families. Everyone keep well!
TAMBOURINE MAKING Nursery students really enjoyed making their own tambourines as the women used for Miriam’s Song at the Splitting of the Sea.
SHABBAT SHIRA TO SHIRA We joined a global video greeting from schools around the world wishing a Shabbat Shira (a way this Shabbat is called) Shalom to Shira (her first name) & her husband Amichai IshRan of Israel, who recently survived a terror shooting that took the life of their baby. May they have good news and happiness ahead!
MAGNETIC MOON ROCKS This week students in STEAM class learned more about the Israeli lunar mission. One of their big experiments has to do with why some rocks on the moon have a magnetic field while other moon rocks don’t.
STORM WINDS Mrs. Maher’s students swirled clear water in a clear bowl and once it was turning they added just a drop of food coloring and saw how the coloring swirled around in wider and wider circles until all the water turned blu-ish but with stronger blues near its center. This was a visual simulation of hurricane winds. One feature of the snowstorm this weekend is strong winds (thankfully not a hurricane!)
SHABBOS SHIRA BIRD-FEEDERS Several classes made their own bird-feeders to hang out before Shabbos, as per the Maharal’s custom to appreciate the birds on Shabbos Shira for singing (chirping!) along with the Jewish people at the crossing of the sea. 3rd graders (above) found pine-cones to use as a base, Kindergarten (on left) shaped their bird-seed (with some other ingredients) into cakes using cookie-cutters. We hope the birds enjoy their Shabbos Shira treats!
YUD-SHVAT JELLYBELLYS Jacob did a great job dividing up the Jelly-Bellys into cups, organizing the cups into a grape cluster shape! Why Jelly Bellys? 2 reasons: (1) Ahavat Yisrael ought to be for Jews of all flavors! (2) Rebbe’s style of Torah teaching blends flavors & layers, paradoxes and styles into a sweet concoction!
AHAVAT YISRAEL WITH STORIES, SONG & LONG LICORICE Also on Yud (10th of Shevat) younger classes had a nice farbrengen with Morah Devorah Leah & Morah Dini about ways to increase our love of our fellow, which is a big theme of both Rebbes of this day (Rebbe Yosef Yitzchak who passed away on the 10th of Shevat 1950, & Rebbe Menachem Mendel who became the Lubavitcher Rebbe on this day). They used long licorice to draw or spell the theme in their own creative ways.
BURGANIN & CHALLENGE Grades 5+ saw “Challenge” a video about not resting on our laurels, always striving higher and to do more, push our limits and broaden our horizons. This connected with a teaching our 6th grade boys learned from Talmud’s Sukkah’s juxtaposition of “Burganin” watchmen huts to a “house less than 4X4”: it’s not about size but how much we fulfill our design and potential.
TU BISHVAT TREE STRING ART If you heard a lot of banging at school this week that’s because of the string art project. Each board needs many small nails hammered in a tree shape to wrap the yarn around it, green yarn for the leafy top and brown yarn for the sturdy trunk.
MINUTE- VARIABLES PROJECT TO-WIN-IT 6th grade math is learning about independent Mrs. Maher’s class is learning BARTHOLOMEW’S 500 HATS all about Mrs. Mattice’s 1st graders read Dr. Seuss’ book weather, and “The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins” and the very then made these hats as a follow-up activity. important role that wind plays in changing the weather. In this game students had to blow up a balloon and release the air so that they HEBREW LETTER COOKIES knock off all Morah Devorah’s eager Kita Alef (1st grade) the cups off students are rolling and shaping Hebrew letter their desk using only wind-power from the cookies to spell parts of the prayers for their balloon—all in under one minute! Siddur Party celebration this coming Tuesday. This a beloved and much anticipated annual SOUP-OF-THE-WEEK IS BACK tradition at our school. Parents & family are very welcome to attend & celebrate with them! Parent volunteers, please contact R. Wildman.
and dependent variables so Ms. Coffey assigned them a project to each create a presentation with a table of data, plotted out as a chart, and spelled out as an equation.
JANE GOODALL POSTERS Mrs. Maher and the 5th graders read about Jane Goodall’s animal research (she studied chimpanzees for 45 years!) and how personally invested and caring she was of the animals she lived and worked with. The 5th graders made posters of some of the “rules” based on her style. The one pictured above by Tzipora illustrates “Give a Critter a Name” because that way you will treat it differently.
BETTER TOGETHER ESSAYS
FAREWELL MRS. M…
FIRST TIME AT MAIMONIDES!
Some of our students already got started on these essays or at least have an idea going. Now is a good time to get into it! The subject is can be anything related to seniors especially in regard to interacting with them and learning from them. Ask Rabbi Yossi for more info.
Our middle & High School English teacher Mrs. Monica Mitsakas-Rock has taken a position in a public high school and today is her last day. In addition to literature, she also helped our school as an able sports coach at recess time. We wish her well in her new position, will miss her at Maimonides, and look forward to a new English teacher soon.
Our current 8th graders are the first class at Maimonides to complete all five books of the Yahadus curriculum, and they did so today with Rabbi Caras, learning the 613th Mitzvah after 5 years of studying the 613 Mitzvot with details and 3 tough Chidon tests each year. They were so excited about this major accomplishment!
ROBOT WRITING In this case, it was 2nd grade students writing about the robots. They each drew a robot doing something and then wrote a story beneath it to describe that picture. There’s imagination, illustration and writing at work!
HOODWINKED LESSONS 8th graders are watching this animated film in English class as it shows different perspectives and various points of view—an important life skill beyond English class. The film is an imagined investigation with flashbacks of Little Red Riding Hood’s story.
MORE THAN ONE WAY TO MAKE A KAF LETTER This Nursery student made a Hebrew Kaf letter using pegs on a board. Beyond pencils, the goal is to see it everywhere!
GROWING BORAX CRYSTALS Mrs. Mattice’s first graders are growing borax crystals—one day at a time. They started off with eggshells as a base, dipped and re-dipped in a solution. They are eager to monitor and observe the changes.
FIRST CHAPTER OF SHMOT Rabbi Mathless’ 6th grade class just finished 1st chapter of Shmot with Rashi, just as HS Girls are doing a commentary project on the same chapter. HS Girls are creating threads of each biblical commentary (Ibn Ezra, Sforno, Keli Yakar, Ohr HaChaim, Baal HaTurim, Rashi, of course) to see how interpretations of individual verses are linked & interconnected in an overall understanding of the chapter.
FINDING THE MANNA (PARSHA)
SPLIT THE WATER WITH WIND
Morah Rivka spread cotton all over Nursery and her students ran about to gather it up. Like the Manna, an in-between type of substance: tangible & elusive at the same time!
Torah describes the Sea Splitting when a strong wind blew. Nursery students tried to do IMPORTANT COMPOST RULES it by blowing through straws in a pan of water. It will take warmer weather for it to turn into dirt, but we started filling our new compost EXPONENTIAL GROWTH bins with food & paper scraps. Remember, HS Math has been learning logarithms NO plastic, metal or anything but food and to calculate exponents at the same time as they paper goes into the compost bin. We need had a Tu Bishvat class on a seed’s exponential 50% “green” (includes fruit peels, leftover growth once it turns into a tree & bears fruit. bread, vegetable pieces) 50% “brown” (that’s brown leaves, shredded newspaper or paper FOREIGN IMPERIALISM scraps). Please careful that we not leave any 8th grade history now in Japan, India, Africa.. scraps outside the compost bin. Thanks!
MUCH BETTER TOGETHER This week’s “Better Together” visit brought dried fruit packages to seniors with nice cheer for Tu Bishvat. Three men put on Tefillin with the boys and the girls put up a Mezuzah on an apartment! Lots of Mitzvot in one day’s visit!
at Maimonides and in the Community 1/19: BESHALACH, SHIRA! Maharal’s custom is to put out food for the birds (before) Shabbos. Torah reading has “Az Yashir” song at the sea, which is why its also called “The Shabbat of Song (Shira)”. Haftorah is Devorah’s Song from the book of Judges. It’s going to be a very cold Shabbos, and it will get snowy towards the end of it. Minyan help is much appreciated!
syrup facility including Some 6th graders @MaimonideSchool in #AlbanyNY join @WorldJewishCong in freshly made in #WeRemember the #Holocaust. Note the אנו זוכריםin Hebrew hanging on the front of your eyes wall just behind them. Thanks @JewishFedNENY for sharing this campaign with us. maple-syrupshaved-ice-taffy. 7152 Amsterdam Rd in Glenville. Call for info. 3pm on Friday, plus 1pm starts their 3-day weekend used book sale.
1/21: TU BISHVAT BREAKFAST
1/19: FAREWELL AVI RYDNERMAN
Fruity breakfast and “New Year for Trees” program at school. New for this year, look for an outdoor Congratulations to Avi on his new job and many thanks for all he’s contributed to and enriched our classroom nature activity for Tu Bishvat using our community. He’s sponsoring this Shabbos Kiddush new outdoor WOW Discovery & Learning Center. at Shomray Torah (Shteeble) and we all wish him 1/21: MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY much success and happiness ahead. We will have school on Monday. Local memorial events include one at the Empire State Plaza 10am1/19: MUSICAL MELAVA MALKA At the start of the snow, Jewish Womens Circle at 11:30am, a MLK community watercolor mural the Semels 220 Hansen Ave at 7:15pm. Questions: project at the Arbor Hill Library branch until 6pm. Text or call CB at 646-545-1228.
1/21: ALBANY INSTITUTE FREE
1/19: RABBI REISMAN NAVI CLASS Sat nights Navi class live from Brooklyn at the CBAJ Media Center at 7:30pm.
1/19: P.C.L. AT CBAJ SAT NIGHT Parent-Child-Learning at 6pm this Sat Night at CBAJ after Havdalah. Pizza dinner and Tu Bishvat themed learning.
1/19-20: “THE SAMUEL PROJECT” 7:15pm-10pm at the Schenectady JCC Film Festival. Contact the JCC for more info and cost. This PG-13 film tells the story of a outcast teenage art student discovering his isolated grandfather’s past. The same film will also be screened at the Schenectady JCC on Sunday afternoon at 2pm.
1/19: YMCA FAMILY FUN NIGHT 6-8pm (just after Shabbos) free and open to the public, includes pickle-ball, ping-pong, and arts & crafts for kids at the Guilderland YMCA, 250 Winding Brook Drive, off Western past Rt. 155.
1/20: (INDOOR) GREENMARKET Year ’round farmer & crafts market at Proctor’s Theater Arcade, 10am-2pm every Sunday.
1/20: END OF SNOW FARBRENGEN Shteeble Mincha at 4:40pm, Maariv follows with a Tu Bishvat themed Farbrengen after Maariv at approx 5:15pm. Nice way to get out after the snow!
1/13-2/24: SUGAR ON SNOW 1-3pm every Sunday from Jan 13th to Feb 24th, Riverside Maple Farms offers tours of their maple
The museum closes at 5pm, but Maimonides dismissal at 3:30pm can still give you a good hour. Back on display are Joan Steiner’s clever look-alike miniatures. Kids love them! Take a second look…
1/21: BETH ISRAEL LUNCHEON 11:30am Sisterhood Luncheon at Beth Israel in Schenectady. $18pp. Presentations by Niskayuna Fire Dept on smoke-detectors, CPR, First-Aid etc. Call Sandy: 518-374-3335
1/21: SUPER BLOOD WOLF MOON
1/30: HOME TEAM ISRAEL FILM “Heading Home: A Tale of Team Israel” is a film about Israel’s unlikely baseball team, its players, and their “Mensch on the Bentsch” screened by Daughters of Sarah at the Jewish Federation, 7pm.
2/6: THIRD CHIDON TEST The 3rd of 3 Chidon tests will be on Wednesday, Feb 6th, the 1st of Adar I. Keep on studying!
2/8: A NIGHT AT THE MAGIC CLUB CBAJ hosts Ben Cohen for Friday Night dinner & entertainment of magic, comedy and mentalism. RSVP at cbaj.org by February 1st at the latest.
2/17: JEWISH DATA GUILDERLAND Rabbi Laber will be presenting his extensive “Jewish Data” research database with tools and interesting examples of the many things that can be learned from gravestones and public records, 2pm at the Guilderland Public Library.
2/22: FED SCHOLARSHIPS DUE
A unique moon eclipse expected this Sunday night, we’ll probably miss it if its too cloudy or snowy. MiSci Schenectady is having a $16pp viewing party 9pm-2am. Call 518-382-7890x259 for info.
Don’t wait until the last minute! The Jewish Federation camp scholarship applications are due mid-February. Forms are available at the school office (you will need a school letter, too) or online at the JewishFedNY.org website.
1/21: KITA ALEF SIDDUR PARTY
3/3: SPA FOR THE BODY & SOUL
Annual tradition with Morah Devorah as first 1-4pm joint communal event at Shabbos House. graders present their knowledge of the daily prayers Featured presenter is the dynamic, humorous and and receive their own Siddur. Parents welcome! meaningful Miriam Lipsker of Emory University Chabad in Atlanta, Georgia. She will be speaking on relationships. Stay tuned for updates & details. 1/23: THE WEEKLY WED SPECIAL To pre-order the weekly Wednesday prepared dinner special at Kosher Price Chopper, email 3/10: J-FED’S SUPER SUNDAY JohnPiccolo@pricechopper.com to be added to the Call-a-thon reaching out to Capital Region area weekly email list with menu, pricing & other info. donors to support the Jewish Federation and its local beneficiaries (including the Maimonides School) and its overseas and Israel partners for the 1/25: FRIDAY OFF, NO SCHOOL Jewish community. Maimonides parents are asked Enjoy Friday off and an extended weekend! to kindly volunteer a shift for this effort.
1/25: CRAFTERNOON/BOOK SALE The Clifton Park Library has a 1-hour crafternoon for kids 4 and up with an adult to create art out of paper, buttons, foam, feathers, pipe cleaners etc 2-
4/7: FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE GALA Stay tuned for info. To be held at the Elks Lodge in Albany.
MAIMONIDES SCHOOL & COMMUNITY (Nursery / Elementary / High School) 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 JF-NENY Beneficiary “A Beautiful Blend: Torah & Worldly Experience!”