8th Grade English- Mrs. Sarah Blum

Mrs. Blum's 8th grade English classes had the privilege of having Mr. Dimbert, Director of Education Technology here at Yeshivat Noam, join us for a class. Mr. Dimbert came to help us learn how to determine if a website is credible and a reliable source of information. Our classes are writing formal persuasive essays on a myriad of topics in which part of the assignment is to support each argument with a fact or statistic from a reliable website. Through discussion, we learned that when looking at a website, we need to consider many things. For example, one needs to determine who is the author and what is his purpose, when was the article posted, what information is mentioned, and the site's domain, to name a few. Mr. Dimbert then directed us to a website about a tree octopus in the Pacific Northwest that we analyzed thoroughly. We determined it was a "hoax," and we all got a good laugh... It was a lesson that we will remember every time we look at a website for information...

Yeshivat Noam Open House Video 2014

The Locker Problem: Collaborative Problem Solving- 6th Grade Math - Ms. Aliza Chanales

The Locker Problem: Collaborative Problem Solving

Imagine a school with thirty students, each with one locker. The lockers are arranged neatly in a row down one hallway.  One day, the students are bored. The first student walks down the hall and opens every locker. The second student walks down after her and open ever other locker. The third student walks by and stops at every third locker. If the locker is open, he closes it; if it is closed he opens it. The fourth student does the same with every fourth locker, and so on and so on, until every student has passed. When all 30 students are done, which lockers will be open? What if their were 100 students and 100 lockers? 1000?

Students were tasked to solve this problem and chart their solutions, as well as any patterns they noticed.  This problem (one of my favorites) asks kids to come up with an organized way of solving a somewhat tedious problem. By pushing them past the original 30 lockers, though, students quickly realize that they cannot rely simply on a good system; they have to notice patterns, figure out the properties of different numbers, and use all their little wonderings and thinking along the way to extend the solution.  In the process of doing this, students collaboratively uncover truths about factors, multiples, prime numbers, square numbers, odds, evens, and much more.  It lays the groundwork for our unit that begins to introduce students to number theory and the concept of proof in math.  

The students were so immersed in the work, that they spent two full days solving it and teasing out every possible pattern.  One student liked the experience so much, he came over on day three and asked, "Can we do another problem where you have to figure out the answer, but really there's no answer, there's just a lot of cool things?" 

Is Air Matter? 6th Grade Science - Ms. Aliza Chanales

Is Air Matter? 

We often think of the air around as "nothing." After all, when a cup is just filled with air, we call it empty. We can move around in air without it getting in the way. We can't see air!! This past week, rather than have me stand up and try to "prove" to students that air is made of matter, I put the ball in their court: The sixth graders were challenged to convince themselves and others that what seems like nothing is actually something. At this point, students already understood that anything made of matter has volume (takes up space) and mass (made of atoms, weighs something). But air??  They broke up into teams, looking to come up with the most different ways of demonstrating this counter-intuitive idea.  

With lots of bottles, balloons, and straws, students collectively came up with dozens of ways to support the claim that air is made of matter. Some of our favorites included these two fun tricks: 

1) Take a cup and stuff a paper towel inside.  Then turn the cup upside down, straight down, until it is fully submerged in a bucket of water.  Lift the cup straight up and notice that the paper towel is completely dry!

2) Put a balloon into the neck of the bottle so that the opening is covered. Try blowing the balloon up.  It is impossible! (Unless you poke a hole in the bottle so that the air currently occupying the space can escape.) Try something similar with an inflated balloon.  Put it on top of an "empty" bottle and the balloon won't deflate, even though it is open. 

The best part of this learning was that students not only successfully convinced themselves that air is made of matter, but they also started asking deep questions about air pressure and compressibility - concepts we will return to during our study of the gas laws and weather.  

8th Grade English - Mrs. Sarah Blum

Last week, Mrs. Blum's 8th grade English classes read and analyzed the poem "Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes.  After a few close readings, we looked at we call "golden lines:" these are lines that catch our attention for one reason or another.  This helped us identify the metaphor and figure out what the poem is about.  We talked about the speaker of the poem (not the poet, of course) and whom he/she is addressing.  We noticed that the line, "Life for me ain't been no crystal stair" repeated itself twice in the poem, once at the beginning and once at the end.  This repetition signified importance and the poem's theme and message.  We compared these "bookends" to the two inverted "nuns" that appear in Sefer Bamidbar.  At first, the students connected this theme to the African American experience.  Upon further analysis, we discussed that this theme is timeless and can be applied to the Jewish experience in history as well to our lives today.  This poem helped us realize that poetry is accessible and filled with beautiful language.

Celebrating Sukkot Together!

Students enjoyed quality time with their classmates and teachers over Sukkot.  

6G- Was hosted by Mrs. Kurtz with Mrs. Solomon

6B- Was hosted by Rabbi Pomper and Rabbi Kurtz

7G- Was hosted by Mrs. Solomon and Rabbi Motechin

7B- Was hosted by Rabbi Sharbat and Rabbi Motechin

8G - Was hosted by Mrs. Troodler, Mrs. Shapiro, and Ms. Sehgal

8B- Was hosted by Rabbi Kessel, Rabbi Beitler, and Rabbi Minchenberg

Thank you to the over 100 students who participated as well as to their wonderful teachers who went above and beyond in hosting their students.  

7G Navi with Morah Shira Greenspan

The past month has been jam packed with so many holidays. We barely had time to reflect and internalize the messages and inspiration of the chagim. But through insightful and meaningful reflection, the girls of the seventh grade composed meaningful divrei Torah of their very own to share with their families on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.

As luck would have it, the perakim we started off learning this year (Shmuel Aleph 1-2) served as the very haftarah for the first day of Rosh Hashana. Rather than share a dvar Torah from the teacher or from another external source, each girl chose a pasuk that was especially meaningful for her and connected that idea to a greater theme within her own life. Many girls chose to connect the theme of Chana turning to Hashem asking for a son to the tefillot we each shared this summer as we begged Hashem to return the three boys in Israel safely home. Whether the answer to our bakashot is yes or no, we know that Hashem hears every tefilla we send his way.

In the days leading up to Yom Kippur we looked at the pervasive symbolism of the number forty throughout Judaism in areas such as Tanach and Halacha. By comparing these many examples, each student hypothesized what she felt the number signifies and formulated divrei Torah supported by the various examples we had learned about. These divrei Torah were shared at the students' respective seudot hamafseket before Yom Kippur- the culminating fortieth day of the teshuva process we began with Rosh Chodesh Elul. It is also on Yom Kippur, after a second round of forty days and nights on Har Sinai that Moshe Rabbeinu came down a second time with the Luchot HaBrit, signifying that, indeed, Hashem had forgiven us for the sin of the Egel HaZahav.

The feedback from the students was remarkable. They expressed how empowered the felt to be able to relate to the Torah so personally and support their own ideas through exegetical thinking (though this was not their word of choice). One girl shared, "One of the examples I used in my [Yom Kippur] dvar Torah was that we got the Torah after Moshe was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights. That got me thinking that Hashem really gave the Torah to everyone- to rabbis, to wise people, to girls, to boys, to adults, to kids... to everyone. Hashem gave the Torah just as much to me as he did to, like, Yonah or David HaMelech. When I wrote my dvar Torah, and especially when I shared it, I really felt that- like that the Torah is mine and I'm responsible to make it meaningful and understandable for me."

6B2 Halacha with Morah Shira Greenspan

The boys of 6B2 have saved the day- and not just any day... Yom Kippur! After learning the halachot of the mitzvah d'rabanan of Me'ah Brachot B'Yom (the rabbinic obligation to say at least one-hundred blessings a day), the students recognized that since so many of our daily blessings are food related, reaching the goal of one-hundred brachot would not come easily over the course of a 25 hour fast. The students were further troubled by the idea that since the goal of this special mitzvah (as related by the Rambam) is to fill our days with constant recognition of Hashem, how can we not do this on the holiest of days?

To help resolve the challenge, the heroic students of 6B2 stepped in to save the day. They each created a cinnamon stick b'samim packet with the appropriate bracha to share with their families and community members on Yom Kippur. By sharing the bsamim on multiple occasions over the yom tov, the boys not only brought their brachot count closer to one-hundred, but helped others achieve this as well. At their respective Seudot Hamafseket, each student raised the challenge of achieving this mitzvah on Yom Kippur and assured their families that they would be their to save the day. Jeremy,  as seen below, was especially SUPER in showing his family how committed he was to help them achieve this mitzvah. Kol hakavod, 6B2!

6G Tefilla with Ms. Senders and Morah Shira Greenspan

Tefilla can sometimes be a challenging part of our day. One of the most frustrating challenges that 6G has faced this year has been ripped and missing pages in their siddurim. Rather than replace the siddurim, the girls took on a tremendous initiative to repair and restore their siddurim. This has proven to not only make their own tefillot less challenging, it has empowered other students of the Middle School to daven with beautifully restored siddurim. 

We are so impressed and inspired by the midot that the 6th grade girls have exhibited in taking the time and the effort to help these siddurim regain their tefilla potential rather than dismiss them as defective. We hope that 6G's example inspires others to see the potential of objects and people and to make the time and effort to help them achieve it.

7G Halacha - Morah Batya Schwartz

We had a great start to the new year learning about Sukkot. Sukkot came to life with our Mini sukkah project.  The girls had a fun time creating their own decorations. Our goal is that the halachot we learn in class gets put into action with enthusiasm. May we be zoche to sit in the Sukkah with Moshiach.  חג כשר ושמח

8th Graders Sell Snacks at Mishmar and Hold Bake Sale for Fundraising

Student Leadership Opportunities for 8th Grade!

Mrs. Aliza Weinberg -8G Tanach

Holiday learning is abuzz in 8G1. Our first unit focuses on ויקרא פרק כג, a perek that outlines the Jewish calendar. After analyzing the text through chevruta style learning, we have spent the past few weeks delving into all the interesting aspects of this perek. Do you know what a מקרא קודש really means? What's the difference between שבת  and other מועדים? What is a יום שבתון?  Why do we have to add leap years? How is שבועות the holiday that is also known as חג הביכורים? What are the חמישה ענייום of יום הכיפורים? What are the two main reasons for sitting in a sukkah on  סוכות? What is the difference between the lunar calendar and the solar calendar? These are just a few of the questions and issues we have covered. We also learned and discussed many important moral lessons related to the holidays, or as we call them, מוסר השכל.

 As you get ready for the next holiday, ask your daughter what the following phrase means and how we can make sure to apply it to this chag: יום טוב חציו לד' וחציו לכם. 

חג כשר ושמח!

Mrs. Ricki Kurtz - 6th Grade English

"Today my brother and I rode our bikes my bike is new when we got to the bike path I got a flat tire I didn’t realize it until my bike became so hard to pedal that I could barely move my legs my brother had to go back home for help."

What do we, as teachers, do when we receive paragraphs that look like this? We have grammar podcasts!!

The sixth grade students have been enjoying receiving their Monday night grammar podcasts that each week has a different focus. They already spent two weeks learning about capitalizing appropriately and are now working on complete sentences. After they watch the podcast they either complete grammar work on noredink.com

or have different worksheets to do to practice the new skill.

Here are links to the videos we have had so far: https://www.movenote.com/v/jCVVhNZOqxxzX

 

,
https://www.movenote.com/v/A2qupN8ja-wFJ

 

,
https://www.movenote.com/v/EWeswqcJT_pi0

 

Looking forward to watching our students' writing flourish!

8th Graders Build Sukkahs for Fundraising

Teachers as Learners - Summer Professional Development 2014

“Great teachers help create great students. In fact, research shows that an inspiring and informed teacher is the most important school-related factor influencing student achievement.” (://www.edutopia.org/teacher-development-introduction).

Many of our teachers opted to spend their summer “vacation” developing and refining their teaching by participating in professional development.  Below are some of the highlights:

Mrs. Sari Sheinfeld and Ms. Deena Bloom- 6-8 grade math

Creative University and School Partnership Professional Resources in Science and Math - 2 weeks (70 hours)

Yeshivat Noam was able to participate in a grant to fund improvement of mathematics education which is in alignment with the Common Core through this three- year program. There is a different strand focus each year and Mathematical Practices will permeate throughout the year. Year-1 addresses algebraic thinking, numbers and operations, ratios and proportional relationships. This year's institute addressed algebraic reasoning, including the role of variable in equations, inequalities, linear equations, systems of equations and their application in real life scenarios. The elements of the summer institute included teachers as learners; content-driven sessions in which the facilitators modelled pedagogical approaches through content; and reflections and debriefings about learner and teacher experiences. Actual activities involved teachers exploring the content, justifying mathematical thinking, asking questions of each other, and doing hands-on, content-driven activities. Towards the end of the summer institute, teachers developed an action plan that will help them investigate a particular content area and pedagogical practice. These action plans will become the basis of the academic year support and will be embedded in the follow-up workshop sessions, coaching, and online collaborations.

Having the opportunity to take time out during the summer gives teachers a great opportunity to reflect, learn and prepare for new and exciting initiatives and explorations. This years summer institute not only provided us with a plethora of materials and tools, but gave us the opportunity to create, present, tweak project based experiences for our students for the upcoming year. Spoiler Alert: we are going to have an amazing time with systems of equations this year!

Mrs. Miriam Shteingart - 7th Grade Science -

Smart Board Training - 2 days

The goal of the Smart Board training course was to teach teachers how to use the many SMART software tools in order to create incredible interactive lessons for students. With technology advancing every single second, it is important to stay up to date with any new programs that can help us to be better teachers and engage our students. This course went from helping us brush up on the basics through learning how to make page recordings, animate objects and much more.

I hope to use this training to help me create an interactive Periodic Table that will be tailored to the needs of my students in my science classes.

Mrs. Barbara Sehgal - 8th Grade Science

Summer Sandbox - 3 Days

The Summer sandbox was a three day conference that focused on bringing project based learning and game based learning into the classroom. In Project-based learning, students work both independently and in small collaborative groups, researching and exploring real-world problems and challenges. This format allows for the student to acquire a deeper knowledge of the subject material than can be acquired through traditional textbook reading.

Game based learning allows heightened motivation and new forms of engagement through meaningful play and experimentation. This part of the conference was led by Barry Josephs, Associate Director For Digital Learning, Youth Initiatives, at the American Museum of Natural History. His goal was to show us that we can learn a lot while playing games. He handed out a set of cards called "Dung deck" and with in 3 minutes I knew and have retained, more information about Dung, than I ever knew existed (much to my families chagrin!)

Science naturally lends itself to Project based learning. This year I hope to incorporate more opportunities for students to apply their knowledge to real world situations, making their lab time more relevant and rewarding. With a few new games and card tricks I hope it will be a recipe for success!

Ms. Tamara Senders - 7th Grade Social Studies

First Year Teaching (Secondary Grades) - Success from the Start - One month

The goal of the First Year Teaching seminar was to provide strategies, resources, and support for new teachers in the classroom. Through online videos, testimonials, articles, and techniques offered by real, experienced teachers, participants were guided in how to organize their classrooms, incorporate innovative strategies in their lessons, and interact with students in a way that makes learning more engaging and enjoyable. Participants also learned how to manage participation and behavior in a way that promotes growth on both a personal and group level.

I am excited to use the organizational and management techniques I learned in this course to create a more engaging learning space for my students. I am now more mindful of how simple things like my room set-up and the policies and procedures that I put in place can go a long way towards helping my students feel comfortable and grow successful in their learning environment. For example, I am planning to implement a "classroom code" that I will build together with my students. Together as a class we will come up with different policies we believe we should adopt to help improve our learning environment. Through doing this, I hope to create a culture of mutual responsibility where students will be encouraged to maintain the environment that they have helped build, thus encouraging more positive behavior and participation.

Morah Yehudit Liebb- 6-8 Grade Ivrit Coordinator

Israel Teachable Moments- 7 days

The goal is to create a meaningful partnerships between our school and a school in Israel.

Our students will get a pen -pal in Israel that they can E mail or write letters and learn about the life of an Israeli children using Ivrit to communicate.Also , my Israeli partner and I will share ideas and curriculum that we can teach both my class and her class and than the children can express and share their learning on SKYP.  

Mrs. Ricki Kurtz- 6th Grade English

Morah Shira Greenspan - 6-8 Grade Judaic Studies

Rabbi Jeremy Hellman - 6 and 8th grade Social Studies

Morah Tammy Rand - 6-8 Grade Ivrit

Facing History and Ourselves- 1 week

The premise of Facing History is to make a more informed, sensitive, and tolerant society. Through this PD, we were exposed to many different techniques and tools to help accomplish this wonderful mission. The group of educators who attended this conference consisted of both affiliated and non-affiliated Jews, and it was so inspiring to witness the change that our group went through over the course of this week. By the end of the week, this very diverse group of educators were able to learn to be tolerant of each other and really respect our differences.

Mrs. Ricki Kurtz- In addition to a Holocaust unit at the end of the year, I hope to employ some of the wonderful teaching strategies that were modeled during this conference. Stay tuned for an awesome year!

Rabbi Jeremy Hellman - I am very excited to incorporate new ways of understanding Jewish resistance during the war into our discussions about the Shoah.

Ms. Aliza Chanales - 6th Grade Team Leader, 6th Grade Math and Science

Summer Sandbox- 3 days

This summer, I planned, facilitated, and participated in a 3 day get together of Jewish educators interested in exploring creativity, play, and passion in their classrooms. Throughout the "Sandbox," I engaged in several workshops aimed to help rethink the way learning is happening. The workshops balanced big dreaming (What kind of school would you create if you had endless money and space?) with the very practical (How do I use rubrics to assess learning in a project based learning unit?). It was nice to hear what others across the country are doing, to share my own experiences, and to explore new ways of engaging students in deep, meaningful, memorable learning.  

I look forward to using some of the tools we explored to help students create more and to give them more "voice and choice" in what we do and how we do it. I aim to create learning experiences that are not merely fun or interesting, but truly engaging. For more information about my Sandbox experience, check out these videos: http://ideaschoolsnetwork.com/videos/

Mrs. Rena Lehman - 6-8 Grade Math

What is New in Notebook 2014 - 3 days

I gained experience with the new features of SMART Notebook 2014, specifically the GeoGebra math software. In addition, I picked up many valuable tips and ideas to make my lessons more interactive and engaging.

I have already created many SMART lessons using the Lesson Activity Toolkit and Activity Builder, and hope to further enhance my lessons.

Rabbi Jeremy Hellman- 6th and 8th Grade Social Studies

The Forum for Dialogue Amongst the Nations - 1 week in Poland

For a week, 12 teachers from across the United States traveled throughout Poland to gain a better understanding of Polish-Jewish relations of the past and present. We went to innovative museums, met with influential leaders, and looked at historical documents. Teachers gained a better appreciation for the Polish narrative of WWII and how Poland has moved forward in their relations with the Jewish people.

The fact that I can tell my students that I touched the Arbet Macht Frei sign will show the students that places like Auschwitz really do exist and the Holocaust really did happen.

6th Grade - Better Together- First Visit To Daughter's of Miriam

This year students in Grade 6 are participating in Better Together, an exciting inter- generational visitation program with Daughters of Miriam in Clifton, NJ.  We have received a generous grant from Legacy Heritage Fund to support this important  opportunity for our students, and we hope that this program will be enjoyable and beneficial  for both the students and the seniors. Students had their first visit yesterday.  They participated with their senior partners in completing the first month of their calendar art project related to the holidays as well as sang songs related to the chagim with the seniors. They were beyond impressive in their middot and active involvement, many of the Senior partners commented on this.     We look forward to a wonderful year of learning and enacting the mitzvah of hiddur p'nai zaken - honoring our elders.

Rabbi Rubin- HS Interview Workshop with 8th Grade

Rabbi Rubin, Principal of Kushner High School, presented and conducted a workshop for 8th grade students on interviewing.  This is in preparation for their high school interviews. Students learned and practiced skills such as: making a good first impression, articulating your thoughts, expecting and preparing to answer follow up questions etc.