Maimonides Community

BH. Iyar

12, 5779 / May 17, 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 7:55 Shabbat Ends: produced by Rabbi Mendel Rubin & students in the TNT (Torah ‘n Technology) Program 9:03 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

THANK YOU MORAH DANIELLE Morah Danielle Cohen’s last day in our Nursery classroom was last week, her students made her a giant card wishing her luck as she graduates UAlbany this weekend. We are very grateful for all that she brought to our Nursery classroom and wish her much success ahead!

POLLYWOGS Mrs. Mattice’s classroom is very excited to welcome some very tiny pollywogs (tadpoles) who will grow into froglets & frogs in an aquarium inside their classroom. They will get to witness the fascinating steps of metamorphoses as they mature and change.

This MC Newsletter is dedicated in honor of the three Bat-Mitzvahs:

Odelia, Chaiki & Devorah Leah Their celebrations are all coming up this month!

DON’T THINK “SMALBANY!”

This week, the Community Foundation STAGES OF PLANT GROWTH (which has Along with planting seeds and nurturing their awarded growth, Nursery class also learned about the Maimonides stages of the plant, putting these 4 stages in the funding via the right order sequence and coloring them in.

Bender Science Fund and other funds) honored local philanthropists and angel FLORAL investors Chet and Karen Opalka (our THEME students have been to the Opalka Gallery at Speaking of Sage). Chet got the biggest crowd reaction plants, flowers will when he downplayed the “Smalbany” attitude be the big theme and insisted (with a humorous twist!) that we of our Basi L’Gani realize the many blessings and opportunities that we have here locally and we should Lag B’Omer involve & invest ourselves in them!

Parade (5/23) float this year.

Morah Rivi & her TRIPLE BAT-MITZVAH GIRLS art students are It so happens that 3 of the 6th grade girls have making giant their Bat-Mitzvahs in the same month on or flowers and around Lag B’Omer! Mazal Tov to these fine butterflies using young women Odelia, Chaiki and Devorah painted paper and Leah, wishing much continued Nachas to their DIGITAL MISHNA POWERPOINT papier-mache. All families! Their celebration parties are each These 3rd graders are animating 2,000 year old are welcome to texts with translation, illustration & animation about one week apart from another, so our the parade on using Powerpoint slides. It makes the words middle school girls and community get a lot of Thursday 5/23! come alive and makes Mishna class fun! celebrations this month. Mazal Tov!

SCHOOL PICTURE DAY

RELEVANT TALMUD QUESTION 100 WORD STORY CONTEST

School Picture Day will be on Wednesday, May 22nd. Please have kids dress accordingly.

Individual student photos, group class pictures and one large school picture will be taken. Parents can purchase digital or print formats of their children’s photos via: carasmaticdesign.com/schoolpics/

It was so beautiful out on Thursday, so Max asked if the 6th grade Talmud class could be outside in the W.O.W. Learning Center. So out they went to learn in the fresh air, with warm sun, wide open to the world. The WOW is open with half-walls on all sides but covered with a roof, so Mendel L. asked “Suppose this deck had a Schach roof, would this be a Kosher Sukkah?”

Guess what! The Talmud they were learning (reviewing, actually) addresses this very issue: Do the walls of a Sukkah also have to provide shade or not? The Rabbis say they do not have to provide shade but minority opinion Rabbi Yoshiya says that they do… It was a really good feeling to learn the issue inside of that circumstance!

PIZZA & SUSHI SIYUM

THE KANSAS NEBRASKA ACT

6th grade social-studies with Ms. 2nd graders enjoyed a make-your-own Sushi Ramsay learned about the political and Pizza Siyum with Morah Devorah Leah for struggles leading up to the civil war, finishing Parshat Noach. In the meantime they whether new states should be free are well into Parsha Lech Lecha and getting states or slave states, and how this better with Chumash skills as they go! act and the fights about it led to a violent situation known as Bleeding Kansas.

REMEMBER THE COMPOST!

FIERY DOTS IN NURSERY Instead of using paintbrushes, they made Lag B’Omer fires by dipping marker tops in red and yellow paint, and discovered how red and yellow color mixtures make orange!

IF EVERY ANIMAL...

Our students like to keep adding to the pile (remember: no citrus or onions, no dairy or meat or plastic) and keep adding moist newspaper strips and churning the pile. It seems to be working, the worms and bugs are working hard at it! Now that other recycling methods have recently become more complicated (see latest news articles about China refusing many forms of recycled materials and much of it sadly now ending up in the trash) it is exciting to be able to witness good recycling from food trash to compost right on our school grounds! They are also very excited to use water from the rain barrels.

And there are some plants now growing inside the greenhouse. We hope to plant more soon.

Any student in 2nd grade thru HS is eligible to submit a 100-word story (exactly 100 words, not more, not less) about a catastrophe, can be submitted to a national contest. Speak to Mr. Conley for more details.

REVOLUTIONARY WAR QUOTE 4th graders worked in teams to make posters of favorite Revolutionary War quotes they learned in history class with Mrs. Maher.

HEALTH & WELLNESS WALKS The weather was so nice and crisp out in between the rains, that our 2nd graders and 6th graders were both out on walks near school this morning (Friday) when we encountered classes from School 19—New Scotland Public Elementary out on “health and wellness day” walks accompanied by Albany Police on horse and bicycle. We were having a wellness walk without even knowing it!

JOINING OUR PARADE BY CAR Vans and cars will add to our Lag B’Omer Parade (Thursday morning, May 23rd) and may be helpful with transporting some of our younger children. In addition, you can decorate your vehicle with words and designs for Lag B’Omer in general and our floral Basi L’Gani theme in particular. Window paint, cut -cup candle-lighting magnets for side lettering, streamers, whatever works! Stay tuned for specific parade route (we may take a different route this year) and other details.

… ate the same food, lived in the same types of places, had the same types of defenses, THE SECOND PASSOVER there would not be the diversity of animal life, The lesser-known and far fewer animals would survive. 5th grade biblical holiday ABOUT “LIFE ON A RANCH” science learned about biodiversity, how it known as “Pesach Is the name of a story that first graders read works and why it is so important. It also is a Sheini” the 2nd with Mrs. Mattice, good life lesson on how we all benefit from Passover for those and then they wrote the differences between people as well, and who missed the and illustrated these how it takes all kinds of people with different first Pesach will be this Sunday (one month pieces (hanging on skills, talents & styles to make a healthy group. since the first Pesach). Just in time, Rabbi their classroom door) Shmuly’s 3rd and 4th grade Mishna classes based on what they THE SHOT HEARD learned about this holiday in the Gemorah. read. Their writing ROUND THE WORLD Even though we no longer have a paschal lamb has been improving is an expression describing the nowadays we can still learn a lot from this as the year goes on, holiday about second chances shot heard at Concord which they are doing very and “it is never too late!” set off the Revolutionary War. nicely! Keep it up!

NEW CARTOON BOOK SAMPLE

THE GRASS IS EVEN GREENER! Last week we reported on the green grass growing in cups inside the Nursery classroom but this week it’s growing even taller and a lot greener than before!

The producers of a new Jewish cartoon publication titled “Marshmallow” sent one free edition per school family as a sample to see if this is 50 VERBS TAKE A WALK something our Morah Devorah’s 1st graders took a Siyum families would like walk down to Ridgefield Park to celebrate to subscribe to. learning 50 Hebrew verbs! Taking a walk and Whether you enjoying a playground and park is choose to subscribe quite fitting for learning verbs. or not, for now enjoy this free edition! Not a school program, this is just sent as a courtesy 8TH GRADE GRADUATION to our school families. Happy Reading!

A few notes: The annual dinner Journal is also our school’s yearbook. Each student prepares a LAG B’OMER ART & CAPTIONS page of their youthful pictures, and family and Second graders friends can place ads in their honor. Our 8th did a beautiful job grade boys returned from their graduation trip illustrating Lag last week and our 8th grade girls are headed to B’Omer scenes, their graduation trip this coming week. Each including R’ graduate will prepare a speech for the evening Shimon Bar of graduation, June 19th.

Yochai and his son in the cave, AT HOME & AWAY and the bonfires Chasynthesis class looked at that are traditional on this holiday. Each the famous verse in Shema of their illustrations about Torah being with us both at home and on the road, an discussed the strengths of each are accompanied by way to connect with Torah, especially before Hebrew sentences that explain it. They 8th grade heads out on their trip. MIC— Maimonides Integrated Connections is did six such pictures key, and also explains a seemingly and captions. strange Mishna in Avot.

CHALK IT UP TO THE ROCKS As part of a weathering experiment, Mrs. Maher’s students first banged around some chalk inside a jar with rocks and saw a lot of the chalk turn to powder, but then they did the same experiment again but this time added some water to the jar and shook it up for the same amount of time, but this time the MARK TWAIN’S JUMPING FROG chalk eroded much faster. This demonstrates HS English is reading the 1865 short story by the role of water in erosion.

Mark Twain titled “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” which was this YEAR-END TALMUD REVIEW celebrated author’s first commercial success.

6th and 8th grade Talmud classes are both Pictured above they are “reading” this story gearing up for a grand review (and later final) using a different method by listening to an on all of the Talmud they learned this year. illustrated audio-book of the story, trying to 6th grade learned 12 Sugyot in the first pick up on inflection, hearing how it is told. chapter of tractate Sukkah, 8th grade learned 6 (longer) Sugyot in Hamakfid, Bava Metziah. NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH It is neat to be able to line-up different issues Whose truth resonates with you most in this (mostly) on related subjects and see how they book? Mr. Conley’s 8th grade English class do/don’t tie together & how a comprehensive wrote thematic essays on which character they birds-eye view gives them a “sided” with as they read this fictional story by broader, richer, better picture of Avi, using quotes and details from the story to the Talmudic issues overall. support their perspective.

MORE HISTORY REVIEW Global History is big news in the High School right now, as they review many different ways for the history regents. Wouldn’t you consider all of historical study a “review” of sorts?

TWO YETZERS OR TWO SOULS? HS Chasynthesis learned how the “two souls” approach differs from the Talmudic “Yetzer Tov vs. Yetzer Hora” and how that perspective connects with another class where they learned about the Omer offering being of barley (Talmudically considered animal feed).

NOTE THESE SCHOOL DATES More info on page 4.

5/22: Picture Day at School.

5/27: No School—Memorial Day. Deadline for Dinner Journal/Yearbook Ads. Thanks!

6/4: Annual Maimonides Dinner Event.

6/8: Erev Shavuot—No School. School resumes 6/11 at 9:30am, davening at school.

6/19: Moving Up Day AM, last day of school, with evening 8th grade Graduation.

at Maimonides and in the Community 5/18: SHABBOS EMOR

via: carasmaticdesign.com/schoolpics/

Some of this week’s Torah reading will be familiar from the festival readings.

5/23: HEBREW ACADEMY AWARDS

5/18: WOMENS SHIUR THIS WEEK

6-9pm at Beth Emeth, annual awards dinner of Bet Shraga Hebrew Academy honoring Wendy Phaff, Sarah Kay & Michelle Ostrelich (featured speaker).

This week’s shiur will be given by Dini Gordon at her home, 29 Glenwood Street 4:45pm on Shabbos

5/23: LAG B’OMER

5/19: PESACH SHEINI

It’s on Wed night into Thursday this year.

The 2nd Pesach is one month from the first, and is  A Pre-Lag-B’Omer event at Saratoga Chabad at 5pm on Tuesday, 5/21. Call 518-526-0773. symbolic of second chances. It is customary to eat a little Matzah on this day. Sometimes our school has  University Heights Chabad Firepit on eve of Lag B’Omer, Wednesday night after 8pm for a Pesach Sheini Breakfast or Lunch with Matzah graduate students and young professionals. and shmears but it falls on Sunday this year.  School Parade on Thursday morning. Stay tuned for parade route and details. Families and 5/19: UNION TORAH DEDICATION friends are welcome to join us!

11am at the Nott Memorial of Union College, dedicated by Irwin Krasnow & Robin Laveman in honor of Sara Covelli ‘18. This date is both Pesach 5/27: MEMORIAL DAY No School. Enjoy the extended weekend.

Sheini (the 2nd Passover) and also the Sunday of Union College’s ReUnion Weekend.

5/27: DINNER JOURNAL DEADLINE

5/19: WINTER RAPTOR FEST See eagles, owls, hawks, and all kinds of raptors at this annual event at the Washington County Fairgrounds in Greenwich NY. $12 admission for ages 13 and up, $6 ages 7-12 and under 6 is free.

More info at: www.winterraptorfest.com

Please have your ads/greetings etc for the school’s annual Maimonides dinner journal/yearbook submitted by this date so it can be designed and printed in time for the dinner.

Amanda Gurock, dedicated parents, an invested school family with broad, lively communal vision and involvement. The dinner will also recognize our school’s first 5-year Yahadus curriculum completion & our students achievements, recognized nationally. This dinner will also be a communal remembrance for R’ Moshe Losice who recently passed away after a lifetime of local leadership and dedication. The dinner invites have been mailed, the journal deadline is May 27th. If you have questions or would like more info, call the school office 518-453-9363 or Raizy at 518-7727299. THANKS for your support (via journal ads, in person attendance etc) of this important school fundraiser and annual communal event.

6/2: YOM YERUSHALAYIM + SIYUM CBAJ’s Tanach collective Siyum celebration. Those

5/19: WATERFORD CANAL FEST

5/30: CBAJ INSTALLATION DINNER who took study chapters should finish by this date.

FOR RABBI ROY FELDMAN 6/9-10: SHAVUOT HOLIDAY RSVP for honorary committee, dinner RSVPs or

10am-6pm at the Waterford Harbor Visitors Center and Lock E-2 Park with marine exhibits, boat rides, a fishing contest for the kids, cars, boats, petting zoo and more—all at no charge.

journal ads online at: cbaj.org/dinner This dinner is the formal installation ceremonies of Rabbi Roy Feldman as CBAJ Rabbi. Rabbi Haskel Lookstein of NYC will be the featured speaker.

Shabbat goes straight into Shavuot’s Sunday and Monday for a “3 Day YomTov”. No school on Friday 6/8 and late 9:30am start on Tuesday 6/11.

5/19: HEALTH FAIR AT SAA-JCC

5/31: RIDING GOLAN’S HISTORY

Moving-Up Day ceremonies (& end of school) in the morning with 8th grade graduation ceremonies in the evening of the same day. HS students have a Regents testing schedule of their own.

Albany JCC is having a free health fair open to Federation’s Breakfast Series featured community adults & senior adults in the community, 10:30am- member Ed Rosen sharing his experiences and 2pm including thing like massages and haircuts. knowledge of the Golan: 7:30-9am at Federation.

RSVPs appreciated for food arrangements.

5/20: JNF BREAKFAST AT MARRIOT 7:30pm at Albany Marriot on Wolf Road with a Kosher Breakfast. Speaker is Tania Pons Allon, a designer & farmer who works in research development of the Arava Regional Council, a part of JNF’s Blueprint Negev campaign to make the region habitable for the next generation of Israelis.

RSVP at jnf.org/capitalregionbreakfast

5/22: SCHOOL PICTURE DAY Picture Day at school! NOTE CHANGE TO WED 5/22. (This will allow 8th graders to return from trip). Dress kids nicely that Wednesday May 22nd.

Class pictures and individual photos will be taken of all students. Parents can purchase their children’s photos (either digital or print format)

6/2: ISRAEL PARADE BUS TRIP Jewish Federation is chartering a bus down to the Celebrate Israel Parade. $30pp includes bus ride, tshirt. Bus leaves 7:30am from Federation. RSVP your seat by May 12th. Info? Marci at: 518-7837800 x239 or mgalinkin@jewishfedny.org.

6/19: MOVE UP & GRADUATION

6/23: FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE WALK 11am-1pm at Tawasentha Park in Guilderland.

6/30: BATTLE OF THE BBQS 2.0 Teams now assembling for the 2nd Battle of the BBQ’s to benefit the Shalom Food Pantry, to be held 2-5pm at Bethlehem Chabad.

6/2: WILDLIFE FESTIVAL @WILTON 7/8-8/15: CAMP GAN ISRAEL DATES

11am-3pm, Wildlife Festival at the Wilton Wildlife Now is a good time to find out more about what Preserve. Animals, crafts, fire tower, pond science Gan Izzy has in store, and to register for day-camp & more, enter at Camp Saratoga Parking Lot #1. this summer, kids ages 3-10. One tidbit: This year’s preschool division counselor is Simcha Cadaner, a 6/4: MAIMONIDES DINNER Jewish Montessori teacher in Brooklyn. More info This year’s Maimonides Dinner “The whole world contact Morah DL Mathless: 518-698-1836 is a (very narrow) bridge!” will honor Josh &

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!”