February 20, 2009 Shevat 26, 5769Dear MJCDS Parents, We, Ms.Oskin and HaMorah Meisha, were extremely lucky this week. Both of us at some time during the week were able to continue our own learning. Ms. Oskin went to the CAJE Midwest Experience. She went on a "sacred experience tour" and also viewed the new Milwaukee Jewish Museum. Unfortunately, we are too far away to take that field trip, however, if you are ever so inclined please do so as both you and your child(ren) will enjoy. It gives a wonderful time line that shares both a universal perspective as well as a local Milwaukee hometown perspective. HaMorah Meisha, while in Newark, learned more about our Hebrew Tal Am Program. She learned more about differentiation of learning and how the program's basic scope and sequence grows. (This shares with others the content of learning as well as the timeline for it both per year as well as through the years.) Another major shared presentation revolved around the type of language instruction. Hebrew for our students is neither a first or second language or a foreign language. It is a heritage and communicative language. What is the difference? One's mother tongue/father tongue is the language the child is born into. A first or second language is what is learned and also spoken at home. A foreign language is one that is learned in school with a certain body of vocabulary that relates to the present and is not necessarily supported by the environment. Our study of Hebrew is language acquisition for both religious and cultural reasons as well as everyday language acquisition. It is a critical component of who we are as Jews and is taught with that in mind. Now more specifically in General Studies students learned about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln as we celebrated Presidentsí Day. While these presidents' pictures are on the quarter and penny respectively, recognition for all is not yet fluid. Thus, counting and skip-counting is being carried over to counting money. We also discussed the importance of going to the dentist. While February is Dental Health Month, we also we don't want to be like George Washington and have almost all fake teeth. Additionally, students are anxiously counting toward our 100th day of school. Please assist your child(ren) to bring a collection totaling 100 pieces to school on that day. Reading, comprehension, and writing skills have been strengthening as well as sight vocabulary growing. It has been wonderful hearing about the studentsí reading at home. Please continue to encourage this! Each student wrote narratives and poems which she proudly presented orally in front of the class. With a focus on the rainforest, students learned about its four layers and began researching for their own rainforest animal reports which they will also be able to present. During Hebrew and Judaic studies students continued learning vocabulary reinforcing their learning various Hebrew letters and vowels. Following the Ten Commandments in last weekís parasha, they learned about additional laws in this weekís parasha. They continued learning about laws that dealt with themselves as well as with others. Adam l' atzmi v adam l' havaro. In art, students made further self-portraits including more details and experimenting with various medium. Reminder: Please have children come to school on time. Please send in an art smock if you have not done so already in addition to an extra set of clothing that your child(ren) can change into as needed! Please SEND IN SHOE BOXES! We need this for a special activity. Until next timeÖ have a sweet Shabbat. Kol tuv, Meisha and Jodi |