Dear Parents,

First grade had an amazing week back to school from winter break! During our first week back, we launched our exciting writing curriculum and began to write independent journal entries every morning. We are all so excited and proud to be writers! We will continue our writing unit with writing workshops in which we will grow as independent writers and learn to write to various audiences, in various styles, with multiple purposes, to use grammar appropriately, and to write with details.
Additionally, we began to have independent math game centers in our classroom, which is going very well. We will continue this and will continue to learn more RightStart math games to reinforce our learning and practice and strengthen math concepts.
In Judaic class, we continued working on our davening with Morah Sima, and continued our Biur Tefillah unit on the morning Brachos and understanding the Halachos of Brachos on our foods. We will be having a Brachos party; stay tuned for details!

Have a great weekend and Shabbat Shalom!
Morah Sofia, Morah Chaya, and Morah Sima

REVIEW QUESTIONS
1) What should you do if you want to spell something you don't know how to?
2) How do you play addition war?
3) What is your favorite food? What Bracha do you make on it?

Dear Parents,

In Chumash class, the older boys started using their Chumash workbook in class, learning Sharashim and writing down the Hebrew and the English word, besides for the daily question on the screen, which is an opportunity to learn additional things in Judaism (Yediyos Klolioys).
The younger boys started learning from Chumash Beraishis and writing down the words with translations ("Teitch") and are doing an excellent job.
We learned about Yud Shvat, the day the Rebbe became the Rebbe of the Jewish people, by watching a video about Bosi Lgani, the first message of the Rebbe about the mission of the Jewish people in our generation - bringing Hashem back into the world with the coming of Moshiach. The boys learned how the number 7 is special, the 7th day is Shabbos, Moshe Rabbeinu was the seventh Tzadik who got us the Torah, and our generation with the Rebbe is the seventh generation of Chabad Rebbe's paving the way for the coming of Moshiach.
We also learned the Parsha, about how when the Jews were faced with the sea in front of them, and the Egyptians behind them, were divided in four camps of opinions how to respond, until the sea miraculously split with all the miracles that entailed. We say in Davening "Vayosha Hashem" every day about the Jews finally breathing a sigh of relief when seeing the Egyptians dead on the shore.
On Friday, we heard about this special Shabbos, called Shabbos Shirah, and about the special "Mon" or manna G-d gave the Jewish people in the desert and the extra portion for Shabbos, and the birds who helped, giving rise to the custom of feeding the birds this Erev Shabbos.
In regards to boys sharing "elevator stories," they heard a story about how a Jew is never "stuck" Hashem puts us where we need to be, and that there's always something we can do to strengthen Torah and Mitzvos in any situation.
The boys are also learning the importance of always trying to be better and working on ourselves.
How precious each of your children are!

Have a good Shabbos,
Rabbi Shimon

REVIEW QUESTIONS
1) What is special about number 7?
2) What were the four camps of Jews saying by the sea (in the parsha)?
3) Why did the Rebbe say he doesn't know what "Stuck" means?
4) What happened on Yud Shvat?

Hello From Room 12!

This past week the boys took part in an exciting, well-received engineering challenge. The boys worked in groups and as teammates to find their own solutions to an engineering task!
The “Ping Pong Pickup Challenge” tasked the boys with creating a device that could retrieve a ping pong ball at a distance and bring it to a starting point. The task had stringent limits on the materials which could be used, including the amount and size of the materials. Using only up to 30 sheets of copy or construction paper, 10 two-inch paperclips, 10 meters of thread or string, Masking or painter tape -no wider than 1 inch, and scissors and a ruler on the design phase, the boys went to work.
It was an impressive spirit of cooperation, encouragement, and teamwork put into action. The boys used their own creativity and discussion to come up with very different ways to address the task. It was also “cool” to see the boys gain an appreciation for the concept of “trial and error testing”, “refinement,” and “iteration”.
With stage one of the project now completed, the boys will bring a round of new perspectives and information to complete their final device next week!

Have a great weekend!
Mr. B

REVIEW QUESTIONS
1) What does "trial and error" mean?
2) How can engineers improve on their "designs?"
3) Do engineering problems allow for multiple solutions?

Dear Parents,

This week in Language Arts, the girls learned about the vowel teams -ai and -ay and practiced spelling and reading words with these letters. They also learned about how words can come together to form new compound words. They continued practicing parts of speech with a review of nouns and an in-depth lesson on adjectives.
In math, one group reviewed multiplication and began learning area and perimeter. Another group worked on addition with numbers in the thousands and practiced adding 3 numbers at a time. During science, we continued our biology unit on the human body! We focused on the skeletal, muscular, and nervous systems and the importance of their functions in the body. The girls added new components to an ongoing project they will complete with this unit.

Have a great Shabbat and weekend!
Morah Liz

REVIEW QUESTIONS
1) Why is our skeletal system important?
2) How can we keep our bones healthy?
3) Why is our muscular system important? What does it help our body do?
4) What are some examples of muscles and bones in our body?

What an amazing week!

After a strong start and some extra reminders about proper behavior and class expectations, Baruch Hashem, we closed the week super strong! We started a new initiative in class every day. The girls, as a school family, are responsible for setting the table before lunch, then cleaning and sweeping up after each meal. It is lovely to see how very accountable they are.
This week we celebrated Yud Shvat. In honor of the Rebbe becoming our leader, We had a nice Farbrengen, watched a beautiful video, and, of course, had some nosh.
The girls are flying through hey Chumash. Besides reading it and focusing on pronouncing it correctly, the girls are writing down and memorizing the shorashim of all the important words. Well done, cookies, amazing work this week!

Have an amazing Shabbos,
Morah Yehudis

REVIEW QUESTIONS
1) What does it mean to be a school family?
2) What did you learn in Chumash this week?
3) What lesson did you learn about Yud Shvat?

Dear Parents:
Welcome back! I hope you all had a safe and lovely winter break.
My name is Morah Felicia, and I am delighted to be your child's 4/5 general studies teacher for the second half of the school year! This will be my 11th year teaching, and I am looking forward to an exciting and fun-filled year. I believe positive attitudes, pride in one's achievements, and an acceptance of differences are all essential elements for a successful and enjoyable school year.
This week we learned:

• Welcome back! Class rules, expectations, and getting to know each other.
• English Language Arts: Logic of English Spelling Analysis Unit 1 & Unit 2 Writing: Daily Journal Prompts
• Math: Placement Test and/or subtraction review using an abacus
• Character Education for the month of February is: Respect
• * Read Aloud: Do Unto Otters by Laurie Keller *
• Students will be able to identify characteristics that model a respectable student.
• Introduced upcoming project for Black History Month

It has been a pleasure getting to know each and every one of your children this past week! From the fashionistas to the artists, the introverts to the extroverts, they all seem incredibly excited for a fresh start and are filled with radiating energy.
I am eager to work together with you in order to make your child's school year unforgettably enriching. With that being said, I believe communication is key: should you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out to me; the best way to contact me will be via email: feliciajohn@pardesdayschool.org. or through Whatsapp.
Looking forward to meeting you all and have a lovely weekend!

Kind regards and have a great weekend!
M. Felicia

REVIEW QUESTIONS
1) Why is spelling an important component in reading and writing?
2) Who has served as an inspiration in your life? Why?
3) What role does respect play in your relationships with family and friends?

Dear Parents:
This week we finished and started reviewing Perek 23 in Parshas Chayei Sarah. They did a fantastic job reading, translating, and understanding the perek as a whole.
IY"H there will be a small siyum on Wednesday. If you would like to sponsor a nosh, please let me know. : )
We continued learning in Navi about Yehoshua becoming the new leader of the Jewish nation and conquering Yericho. In Biur Tefillah, we started to learn abut the tefillah of Asher Yatzar. As we are learning it inside, we are also learning how amazing our body is and what an amazing job Hashem did with it! : )

Have a great Shabbos!
Morah Yehudis

REVIEW QUESTIONS
1) What did you learn in Chumash this week?
2) How did Yehoshua conquer Yericho?
3) What can you think Hashem for in connection with Asher Yotzar?

Dear Parents,
After a week off from school, students went into a review of spelling, grammar, and arithmetic lessons from prior classes. Students are beginning to understand how the use of prefixes and suffixes helps us to pronounce words and understand their meaning.
Students are studying spelling rules to help them sound out words when they are not spelled phonetically. Each lesson in Logic of English helps students to become better readers and writers.
We continue to challenge ourselves in math with basic operations.Students are learning the vocabulary they need to solve mathematical equations.
Please verbally quiz your child on basic multiplication and division.

Have a great weekend,
Miss T

REVIEW QUESTIONS
1) How was the Chronicles of Narnia movie, different, or the same as, the book?
2) What are two words that have the letters -gh but sound different in each word?
3) How did Ruby Bridges show bravery?

Dear Parents,
Coming back with new and rejuvenated energy from winter break was exciting.
We began a new chapter, perek, a new story in Chumash this week about Avraham sending his loyal servant Eliezer, to find a wife for his son, Yitzchak.
We also learned about the Mitzvah of "Echod" that Hashem is one with everything.
We also learned about the Special day of Yud Shvat. We learned about the history and events that transpired that day and how our Rebbe became Rebbe. We had a beautiful Farbrangen and learned the Maamer of Basi Legani.
In Rabbi Druin's Mishnah class, the boys finished the first Perek of Sukkah and are excited to keep learning with their Chavrusas.

Wishing you a Good Shabbos!
Rabbi Motty

REVIEW QUESTIONS
1) Where did Avaraham tell Eliezer NOT to go? (Chumash)
2) What is the source of the Mitzvah of Echod? (Taryag Mitzvos)
3) What are the two things that happened on Yud Shvat?