Wednesday's Weekly Window
FEBRUARY 8, 2023I had the honor of calling out food items for today's Brachos Bee. K-5 students cheered on the 3rd through 5th-grade classroom winners as they showed their knowledge of Hilchos Brachos. Judges sat at a side table checking answers as contestants walked up to the center-stage mic to name the "before" and "after" brachos. There were certainly tense moments during the silent thinking. But, overall, it was an incredible experience for both the observers, the participants, the judges, and me. Congratulations to this year's winners: Rivka Graiser and Naftali Schwarzmer!
JANUARY 25, 2023
Walking through the main floor by this time in the year is like stepping into a Children's Art Museum, as our students' masterpieces brighten up the hallway. Strolling through today something different caught my eye: the misspelled word in the picture above - SELebration. Intrigued, I took a step closer to read the strips. These beautiful messages written during 3G Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) class ("say bye or good afternoon when you leave your classroom"; "when you disagree with someone say, 'I have a different answer'") show how much thought our students put into caring for each person in our community!
JANUARY 18, 2023I stepped into Rabbi Oratz's 8th grade class today as he ran to observe another teacher in action. He handed me no plans, just said, "they are beginning a review of the gemarah in their chavrusas or small groups". I was blown away as they organized themselves, opened up their gemarah and notes, and began learning together. It was exciting to see their enthusiasm for what could be difficult learning. As they seemed fine working independently, I peeked into the 6th grade class across the hall, and they were doing the same thing! How exhilarating to see so much textual learning bringing the Torah alive within TDSA's walls.
JANUARY 11, 2023A scrumptious bowl of berries is one way to describe the scene in this 2nd grade math class. Pictured here are the Striving Strawberries who are working with their teacher on how to break apart large numbers to make addition problems easier to solve. Behind the camera are the Creative Cranberries, Brilliant Blueberries, and Radiant Raspberries! Each of those groups were actively engaged in a math activity. One group worked on an I-pad to solve addition problems. One group took numbered-rollercoasters and added up each car. Another group used digital number lines and graphs to help with complex addition. Whatever the flavor, math tasted sweet to these students!
JANUARY 4, 2023Rabbi Berenbaum has been a guest lecturer during the 8th grade, Humanities class Holocaust unit. I walked into this session while he explained the congestion of the camps by showing how their size and the size of Toco Hill is the same, yet thousands of more people were crammed into the same small area. I could feel the deep thoughts and contemplation of each of the boys as they took this all in.
DECEMBER 21, 2022It was hard to choose just one picture this week. The Festival of Lights has been shining bright throughout the school. I smell the scents of frying latkes and donuts wafting through the hallways. I see the creative Chanukah Menorahs displayed proudly. I hear the inspirational stories, the sounds of Hallel, and the joy of song. I feel the vibrations of dancing students and booming speakers. What a week! In the end, I chose the Dreidel Drey. Older elementary students spread out on the gym floor to lead Dreidel games with the younger classmen. An activity filled with simcha and middos!
DECEMBER 14, 2022Parent and Pathologist, Dr. Ari Leifer, explains the images of human cells 7th grade boys viewed during science today. He brought slides that had cells from the liver, stomach, small intestine, esophagus, and more! The students were fascinated with the different shapes evident in each type of cell as they rotated through the microscope stations. Thank you, Dr. Leifer!
DECEMBER 7, 2022From Process to Product: I walked into the art room today and saw first-grade girls expressing their creativity by designing their own, unique Menorah candle. They choose their design and colors. They used their friends to help make decisions and get support. Little did I know that later in the day I would pass full Menorahs on the window. It turns out, this was a collaborative project in which each student made one candle for the 55 menorahs that will be placed around the school this year!
Wednesday, August 23, 2023
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Reconnecting After The Summer
I walked outside today to observe 1st and 2nd grade recess. It was great catching these girls clamoring into the TDSA Treehouse to rekindle friendships!
