Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
D espite the snow which resulted in a shorter school week, our students
accomplished so much, Baruch HaShem! Learning about Chanukah is under way, as well as the continuous building of kriyah and other important skills. Although we were on a break during Rosh Chodesh Kislev, we made sure to usher in this special month with joy and ruach! Our assembly,
on the theme of “Betach alav, v’hu ya’aseh” focused on how we are to do our best, and then trust in HaShem that He will do the rest! We are inspired by the Chashmonaim who went out to battle despite being outnumbered, and HaShem delivered “rabim b’yad me’atim”. Likewise, they searched for oil and chose to light the Menorah with the little bit of oil that they found; as we all know HaShem made it burn for eight days. Students reflected on the application of this important lesson and wrote their examples on the beautiful new bulletin board.
We were privileged to have a wonderful presentation by Kitah Vav. The skit, dance, story and original song brought the Kislev theme to life. Our elementary “seniors” truly outdid themselves! Toda Rabah to Miss Sender for facilitating such a great performance!
Thank you to the N’shei for the plush donuts that our students are really enjoying!
And now for a peek into our classrooms.....
It was another wonderful week in the Ateres Preschool. As we continue in our Explode the Code, we explored the letter S. So it was only appropriate that the week started off with a snow day! We continued the week by drawing Silly pictures and a classroom Scavenger hunt. We also began a new unit on the five senses. The first sense we are discussing is the sense of touch. Everyone loved how Morah Ahuva brought in shaving cream and everyone got to feel it’s creamy texture. We especially enjoyed spreading it all over the tables and getting to practice our handwriting in the cream.
It’s hard to believe we are already up to the letter Tes in Alef Beis. We made a “tabaos” a ring project for our Alef Beis binder. We also learned a song about Birchas Cohanim and a Tallis. It’s amazing how much we were able to pack into this
unexpectedly short week. Have a great Shabbos!
Kol Hakavod Kitah Aleph! For finishing their introduction and beginning practice of all the script letters of the Aleph Beis! The girls will soon be able to begin their Ksiv Nachon workbooks to help improve their writing performance. Being able to write in Hebrew opens up the door to so many great opportunities of learning. They also have been introduced to the Nikudah Patach. As they make the sound they imagine a huge bright shining sun, open up their arms into a straight line (like a Patach), imagine feeling that warm embrace, and say...."Ahhhh"! Learning can be so much fun!
Coming back after a nice long vacation, and plenty of snow on the ground, Kitah Daled got full swing back into learning. We are just about completing Perek Bais in Navi, looking forward to getting started on another page in our beautiful Navi scrapbooks. This week we had our monthly “ticket prize store” where the girls were able to cash in their hard earned tickets for a prize! Looking forward to another week of excitement and learning!
This week, Kitah Hei took their learning to new levels by creating their beautiful and impressive “shlosha osos” projects. Working in groups, the girls decorated posters depicting each of the three signs that Hashem gave Moshe to use as proof to bnei yisroel that he was the true manhig. Each picture was accompanied by a thorough explanation of each sign as well as it’s deeper meaning. It was incredible to see how the students worked as unified teams and utilized their amazing creativity to succeed in this project. We are looking forward to seeingthe posters presented next week.
In Navi, the class completed perek daled! They learned about the special neviah, Devorah and how we can learn from her. The girls were captivated by the courageous story of Yael and how she
singlehandedly defeated Sisra. Learning Navi is always exciting in kitah hei!
Wishing you all a wonderful shabbos!
Although it has been such a short week much was accomplished in Kitah Vav. Last week we finished the whole section of Sidurah D’pas if the 39 Melachos that we are not allowed to do on Shabbos. The last Melacha was Ofeh, baking, so our class baked a chocolate cake in a crockpot. This week Kitah Vav had a test on all of those Melachos and the Talmidos demonstrated their excellent understanding and knowledge of the Halachos. We are looking forward to a restful Shabbos when we can put all that we’ve learned into practice.
Have a lovely Shabbos!
ד“פרשת כי תשא תשע" The Weekly Newsletter of Ateres Bais Yaakov ד"בס
Yisrael B’tach Ba’Hashem!
As we celebrate year 19 — our B’tach
celebration is punctuated with various
lessons and messages designed to uplift
and inspire our sense of security,
confidence and trust in
Hashem Yisborach.
“Vayisa Yaakov Raglav”
(29:1)
Yaakov dreams of the angels
climbing and descending the ladder.
During this vision, Hashem
Yisborach tells Yaakov that He will
be watching over him during his
time at Lavan’s house.
Yaakov awoke and feels so
reassured and confident in
Hashem’s promise of safekeeping
that he literally jumped to his feet to
start the journey to his uncle
Lavan’s home.
We, too, have received many
promises from Ribbono Shel Olam.
If we just do our part He will do His.
Hashem’s promise is a guarantee.
NSHEI CORNER
Nshei is busy preparing for our upcoming
Mother Daughter Brunch! The brunch will
iy"H take place Sunday January 5 at
Congregation Shaarey Israel, 18 Montebello
Road. Pre admission is at 10 AM, with the
program scheduled to begin at 10:30. We
cannot wait to see your GLOWING faces
there (you see where we're going with this)!
We are still looking for prize donations for
the brunch raffle. Remember that any
donation of $250 or more will not only fulfill
your Give and Get obligation, but will also
entitle you to 20 free raffle tickets! Any prize
or service worth that amount is also
eligible. Please email [email protected] for
more information.
If you would like to volunteer to help with set
up or cleanup, please email
Have a wonderful Shabbos!
Following Yosef’s birth, Yaakov asks Lavan
to release him so that he can return home.
The mifarshim wonder, why now? What
specifically happened that made Yaakov feel
ready to return to Eretz Yisrael? Chazal
explain that Yosef provided the antidote to
Eisav. With Yosef born, Yaakov felt confident
in his return home even if it meant battling
with Eisav along the way. Indeed, it will be in
the hands of Yosef’s progeny that our golus
will come to an end as we transition from
Moshiach ben Yosef to Moshiach ben Dovid.
What is the essence of the strength of Yosef
from which we can draw the tools and
inspiration to survive our present status in
golus Edom (Eisav)? One answer can be
found by understanding the very source of
the zechus that enabled a Yosef to enter the
world.
We are taught that after a lengthy, painful
wait, “Vayizkor Elokim es Rachel”— that
Hashem Yisborach remembered Rachel, and
she was finally blessed with a child. She
named him Yosef. Chazal wonder what it
was that Hashem “remembered.”
Rashi explains that Hashem, kivayachol,
remembered that Rachel shared her secret
code with Leah, so that Leah would not be
embarrassed when Lavan switched her for
Rachel on the eve of her wedding. Rachel
put her own needs aside; she placed the
dignity of her sister over all. It must
therefore be that this middah of
selflessness is the source of
our potential to emerge
from our current golus
to the promise of the
grandeur of geulah.
Indeed Yosef and all
he represents as the
satano shel Eisav—the
antidote to Eisav, is
conceived as the result and the
prize of his mother’s selflessness. He is the
product of her self sacrifice and refusal to
cause shame or embarrassment to another.
It is only through this selfless attitude that
Eisav, the epitome of selfishness and self-
centeredness, can be overcome.
It is Eisav’s selfish “I’m number one” attitude
that is at the very root of sinas chinam, the
middah which brought about the churban. It
is an attitude which can only be remedied by
our learning to share, give and respect our
fellow Jew. In so doing, Yosef Hatzaddik
developed into one of the most selfless (and
successful) leaders of all time as he saved
the entire world from starvation. It was this
refined character that enabled Yosef to
model for us how to raise a Yiddishe family
despite the pain, anguish and
darkness of golus.
Indeed, Rachel’s legacy
was Yosef’s prize. And
it is ours to treasure
as well. Especially in
the age of the “Selfie”
we must vigilantly
internalize her maxim.
We must constantly remind
ourselves that the more we give to
others, the more we really end up with for
ourselves.
A yid must be selfless!
If we follow this model we can find the
strength to vanquish the Eisav both within
and without. And, we can merit the geulah
haasidah introduced with the victory of
Moshiach ben Yosef, a process of Tikkun
Olam and culminating with the coronation
of Mashiach ben
David ...b’karov!
Rabbi Aaron J. Fink
Mrs. Sarah Salvay, Principal Mrs. Chava Devorah Kahn, Asst. Principal Mrs. Elky Wachsler, Junior High
פרשת ויצא תש"פ
בה'בטח ישראל בטח
והנה הנההה ה ה ה ה
עהךה ה ה
200 Summit Park Road ∙ New Hempstead, NY 10977 ∙ tel. 845-368-2200 ∙ fax 845-368-2210 ∙ [email protected]
Our "We're Wild about Reading" program is off to a great start! Our students are reading and bringing in book reports/ reading logs! This exciting program was kicked off with an enthralling animal show. The girls couldn’t contain their excitement as the presenter from Outragehiss Pets showed them the different animals and taught them about each one. They got to pet every one- even a 12- foot snake!!
Happy Reading!
It’s always exciting to reach yet another milestone in first grade. We have completed our first “Explode the Code” workbook. This workbook has helped us master different phonics skills. The girls really enjoy these workbooks and were so excited to get their second one. The First grade girls were very excited to get their journals. We discussed how wonderful it will be to see the transformation of their writing skills as the year progresses. For their first entry, the girls wrote sentences about things they like. They learned to begin each sentence with the word “I” instead of using their names. They drew beautiful pictures to go with each sentence. It was a challenging task sounding out words on their own and writing complete sentences but the girls were very enthusiastic. They are already looking forward to next week’s journal assignment.
Second grade is learning so many interesting things! The girls are able to do solid pages of double digit arithmetic with 100% accuracy. We will next forge ahead and learn double digit subtraction.
We are focusing on geography in social studies. The continent we are researching now is Asia. It’s awesome learning so many interesting facts about different continents. This week we learned that the highest mountain in the world, Mount Everest, is in Asia. Orangutans live in Borneo and Sumatra, the rain forests of Asia. Mrs. Baron read a special selection about these apes that resemble man. In fact, orangutan is an Indonesian word and means person of the forest. After seeing some great pictures of these hairy animals, the girls chose shades of orange and brown, and began coloring orangutans for our next bulletin classroom display. We made a circular venn diagram comparing similarities and differences of orangutans to humans.
Third grade has been hard at work on division these past two weeks. We had a great time using winkies to help visualize division equations and their relationship to multiplication equations. The class has also been continuing to read The Chocolate Touch and are loving the book! In Social Studies we began our unit on immigration. The girls are fascinated by the topic and can’t wait to learn more!
After completing many pre-reading activities, including a KWL chart and a Venn diagram comparing a one room school house to Ateres, Mrs. Paley’s fourth graders started reading THE SECRET SCHOOL by Avi. The story takes place in Colorado in the 1920s and is about a young girl’s determination to complete high school and become a teacher. Mrs. Paley knows the girls will enjoy the book while learning many independent reading skills.
Congratulations to Gitty Einhorn, Baila Moskovits, and Ahuva Schonfeld for earning 223, 217, and 213 bonus spelling points respectively this marking period. What an amazing job! The fourth graders would also like to congratulate Daniella Berkowitz, Baila Moskovits, Gabriella Mytelka, Charna Kivelevitz, and Talya Altheim for reading 92, 33,33, 24,and 20 books respectively in conjunction with our Hooked on Books supplementary reading program. What a wonderful job! Mrs. Paley can’t wait to see the results next term!
Fifth grade rhymed our way through this week as we learned all about different types of poems. From a haiku to a sonnet we discovered our inner poet and got to write our very own poems. Miss Galandauer was so impressed with some of the amazing things that the girls wrote. To give each person the opportunity to showcase her poetry writing talent Miss Galandauer announced that the class would be having our very own poetry reading. We turned our classroom into a coffee shop and with some fun props like a mike and some delicious hot chocolate; every girl got to read her favorite poem that she had written this week. Finally the class voted on their favorite poems and the winner got a very special prize. We can’t wait till next week!
Sixth grade had a really exciting learning activity! We learned about how compounds are classified as acids or bases, and the girls brought in all different liquids to test. When the litmus paper changed colors, they labeled the item as acidic or basic. The students are getting better at finding the theme or central idea of a passage as they read. In math we learned about negative numbers and connected that to BCE from ancient history. We've accomplished a lot.
Our talented G.O. heads, Meira Salvay and Yocheved Katz, prepared an exciting and delicious activity in honor of Rosh Chodesh Kislev. The game involved teamwork, creativity, and fun. Each of the teams was given donuts with many toppings and was challenged to decorate their donuts in the most creative way. The girls had so much fun coming up with adorable ways to decorate their donuts. Congratulations to our contest winners who decorated their donuts to look like s’mores, and to our runner-ups who creatively designed Elmo and Oscar donuts!
In Mrs. Kahn’s class, 7th graders have been learning about the judicial branch of the United States government. It was interesting to hear a short bio of the
three women justices. 8th grade students have begun their exploration of the Wild West. They learned about the lives of the miners and their communities as well as the interesting history of the Levi’s Jeans Company.
After learning all about minerals, rocks and mining in their earth science class, our junior high students enjoyed a fun and fascinating trip with Mrs. Eisenstein to the Sterling Hill Mining Museum in Ogdensburg, NJ. They toured an actual mine and got a feel for what life is like for miners. The girls were amazed at the collection of fluorescent minerals native to the area. They did a rock discovery activity where they collected samples of basalt, garnet, coal, marble, slate and sandstone. Thank you to Mrs. Steinmetz who accompanied the girls on this exciting trip!
Mrs. Goldin’s seventh grade practiced solving various kinds of equations. Eighth grade continued working with different kinds of functions.
By: Mrs. Sarah Salvay
Chinuch insights inspired by Mishlei
Have you ever been completely
immersed in an activity to the point
where you became oblivious to your
surroundings, and that time slipped
by, unnoticed? Whether gardening, cooking, playing an
instrument or a game of chess, jogging, hiking, or
spending time on a work or house project, when we
are living in the moment and utterly absorbed in the
present activity, we may well be in what psychologists
call the “flow state”.
“Darsha tzemer u’fishtim v’taas b’cheifetz kape’ha”,
“She seeks wool and flax and she works it with the will
of her hands” (Mishlei 31,13).
The Metzudos David picks up on the intriguing
expression “b’cheifetz kape’ha”, “the will or desire of
her hands”. Obviously, hands don’t have their intrinsic
desire. What it signifies, according to the Metzudos, is
that the Eishes Chayil is so engaged
in her task, that it’s as if her
hands were moving by their
own volition, engrossed as
she is in her action. Far from
it being drudgery or
mechanical, she becomes one
with her craft, enveloped in the
experience.
Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi, describes flow as “…being
completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The
ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and
thought follows inevitably from the previous one...
Your whole being is involved, and you’re using your
skills to the utmost.”
You might ask, why does it matter whether or not we
reach a state of flow?
Csíkszentmihályi, a leading expert on flow and positive
psychology, explains how this state benefits our
wellbeing. Flow is connected to subjective happiness
and satisfaction with life. It is also linked with greater
motivation and productivity at school and in the work
place. It allows us to stretch and learn new skills, and
to push our creativity, endurance and concentration
beyond our preconceived limits.
“Va’taas b’cheifetz ka’peha”; when we are fully
engaged in an activity, feeling the surge of wellbeing
that comes from enjoying honing a skill, it boosts the
quality of our existence. That in of itself can benefit our
parenting by energizing us in a meaningful way.
Additionally, when our children see us wholesomely
attending to a task or experience, it can inspire them to
do the same.
We live in a world where the rhythm of daily life is
riddled with interruptions and
where the unnatural distractions
of technology lead to
fragmented experiences.
Let’s guide our children towards
activities that draw out their
creative spirit, nurture their talents,
and stretch their abilities. Let’s give them the time and
space, away from disruptions, and encourage them to
focus their attention and build mental stamina,
allowing them to delight in the moment at hand
“b’cheifetz”, with the joy and passion that come from
optimal experiences.
A Word from Mrs.Wachsler:
Mrs. Kahn Kvels A Peek into the Week “Mishlei” Parenting Proverbs
The girls enjoyed a snowman building contest as part of Gym class
Preschool wearing veils for this Parshas Vayeitzei
Rosh Chodesh Kislev Assembly
Animal show breakout for “the wild about reading” program
