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In Kitah K, the students are learning all about the 39 Melachos (39 acts we can't do on Shabbos) and they just got hands on experience with the Melacha of דש - squeezing. The students squeezed oranges to make juice and saw first hand how squeezing a fruit can make something new, so that they know what to do on Shabbos. We can't wait to see which Melacha they're going to learn next!

In STEAM class, 1B has been learning about butterflies. Butterflies are very beautiful, with wonderful colors and patterns on their wings, but the boys in 1B learned that their colors and patterns aren't random. They can serve as camouflage or a warning to predators. Butterfly colors and patterns may mimic other poisonous butterflies and even have pretend owl eyes to scare off predator. After learning all of this, the boys took time designing their own butterflies and creating cards for special people in their lives.

This past week in enrichment, the fourth grade boys completed a bridge building challenge. Using only 20 popsicle sticks, 20 inches of tape, 48 inches of string and 6 rubber bands, they needed to construct a bridge with span of 10 inches and capable of holding a can of soda for 30 seconds. The boys used the engineering skills they've been honing all year in developing their bridge designs. Three out of the four designs they created were successful in holding the can of soda for 30 seconds. Great work guys!

The students of Torah Day School had the distinct honor of welcoming Rabbi Herschel Schachter this past Friday. He addressed the middle school boys and girls separately, sharing meaningful words with each group. Our delightful Kitah K students also joined in greeting our distinguished guest. The kindergarteners created a special book in honor of Rabbi Schachter and his wife, adding a personal touch to the visit. They sang and danced for him, and each child had the opportunity to shake his hand and wish him a good Shabbos. It was a tremendous kavod for our students to meet and learn from Rabbi Schachter—an experience that will remain a cherished memory for years to come.

Buy pizza for your child's lunch every week through TDSA's PTA!

In honor of Earth Day, which was this week, the kindergarten students made signs about keeping our school grounds clean to hang around the school. They "cleaned" the playground of trash as well, doing their part to keep our planet clean and healthy. They also experienced recycling in action as they made their own recycled paper!

The mood was somber throughout the school as we remembered the fallen Israeli soldiers of the IDF and victims of terrorist attacks. Boys and girls in the Middle school participated in a Yom HaZikaron ceremony that explained the meaning of the day, recited prayers for the z'chus of the fallen and their families, a bracha for the current soldiers, and tehilim for all of Klal Yisroel. Mrs. Kalnitz shared stories about Capt. Dekel Swissa, a valiant young man from Bar Giora who served as a Captain in the Golani Brigade,13th Battalion, and was killed at the Paga outpost on October 7 while saving his platoon. Dekel was TDSA's Shinshin in 2018 and lived with the Kalnitz family during his stay in Atlanta.
The lower school visited a display in the lobby depicting a timeline of the wars since the State of Israel's inception. Tomorrow, the mood swings as we celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut as a TDSA community.

How do you know the agenda for the day? You read it, of course! I walked into this Kindergarten class as they were learning the day's plan through a reading activity. This boy was asked to find a blended sound of "ST" within the letter about their major activity. Can you find it? He did!

Escape rooms involve critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration; all excellent skills to build in an academic experience. 8th grade Humanities is learning about the Cold War. Throughout the hallway and the classroom, small groups of girls were intensely focused on escaping from the communist, East side of the Berlin Wall to the West side of Germany during this escape-room-style learning activity. In this picture, the group is using Google Translate to understand German documents to help them on their journey. It was amazing to see these girls engaged in such a creative and valuable way while learning!

8G invited me to view their Ivrit presentations today. Working in pairs, they thought of rooms that served a useful purpose. Then they wrote about these rooms in Hebrew and put it on a slide show or poster. Each group presented their project entirely in Hebrew! It was amazing to see their pride, creativity, and skill

These 5th grade boys didn't even notice me walk into the classroom - they were so intensely engaged in this group discussion. Mrs. Bendicoff split the class into sections, some worked independently while this group shared their thoughts in a literature circle format on the the historical fiction book: "If I lived at the Time of the Signing of the Constitution". They came up with some insightful ideas!

"Which two arctic animals will never meet?" This is the question a kindergarten girl asked me as I observed them making polar bears, arctic hares, walruses, snow foxes, and the like. Each table featured a slew of arts and crafts supplies for the excited girls to create their cold-climate animals they learned all about during science. The answer - which I was proud to get correct - is penguins and Polar Bears. Each is native to a different pole of the globe (North and South). Ask a Kindergartener which lives where!