Grade 7 visited with the Kindergarten students as part of the K-7 Buddy Program. This was the first visit and each student met their buddies, and then worked together to create decorations for the Heschel sukkah.

Middle School students conducted a lab to find the relationship between the number of spaghetti strands making a bridge and the number of marbles that the bridge can support. By collecting data the students were able predict the number of masses that could be supported by a bridge made of strands of pasta.

 

Shana tova! We had a short week of school as we entered the new year of 5779. This week we have focused on communal acts of kindness. On Wednesday the eighth graders spent a full period decorating the nooks, lockers, and lunch tables of the sixth and seventh grade students. They also circulated "pay it forward" cards that asked a student to do a friendly act, and then pass the card to a specific student in another grade. Meanwhile, our Judaic Studies teachers decorated our halls with kindness-themed posters with the tagline "Lashon Hatovah"--meaning "good words" (but say it fast and you'll hear the Rosh HaShanah pun). This week we also practiced our first fire drill of the year. Our students' were extremely cooperative and quiet exiting the building and counting off.

This week we also celebrated the in-school Bar Mitzvah of Jamie Covit. Mazel tov to Jamie and his family!

Please note the following calendar items:

Monday, September 17 - Students interested in participating in the Middle School musical should meet with Anna during lunch; Back to School Night is 6:00-8:00 p.m. All parents are encouraged to attend. We start PROMPTLY at 6:00 p.m., so please arrive at 5:40 p.m. so that you have time to get to your first class punctually.

Thursday, September 20 - Soccer, volleyball, cross-country practice after-school

Friday, September 21 - Seventh grade Parent Coffee, 8:00 a.m. in the Middle School dining hall

Click here to view next week's student schedules.

Shabbat Shalom and Gmar Chatimah Tovah!

Lori Skopp
Middle School Head

For days and days of summer we planned and planned. The first day of school seemed like a distant idea--a day filled with hundreds of moving pieces and parts--but a day that would once again fill our empty hallways with students! Like many of the students and many other teachers, I slept fitfully last Monday night, the excitement and anticipation of the school year ahead occupying my thoughts. But then Tuesday came and it all came together; and *we* all came together as well. It was an incredible first week of school, and I am so grateful to the amazing Middle School faculty and staff for their hours of planning and the effort they put into making every minute of this first week meaningful and powerful.

This week our sixth graders learned how to be middle school students. They learned how to navigate our hallways, respond to bells, organize binders, read schedules, and use their time wisely during lunch and recess. On Thursday the sixth grade participated in a day of community-building activities, "Yom Sababa" (Awesome Day), a program designed to bring the class together and to integrate a large cohort of new students into the grade.

Seventh and eighth grade students delved quickly into the academic program. In seventh grade, students studied the geography of mountains and the holidays of the month of Tishrei. In eighth grade, students began examining the American Declaration of Independence.

On Friday, the entire Heschel School came together for Opening Day/Rosh HaShanah assemblies. Eighth graders attended an assembly honoring kindergartners and high school seniors, while our sixth and seventh graders attended an assembly marking transitions between divisions of the school. At this second assembly, the seventh graders presented the sixth graders with a school bell of their own composition (a 17-second MP3 that we will put into our bell system). The bell represents freedom, as well as the responsibilities of middle school students.

This week we also celebrated the Bar Mitzvah of Leo Feingold and the Bat Mitzvah of Noa Glezer.Mazel tov to Leo, Noa, and their families!

Please note the following calendar items:

Monday, September 10 - Rosh HaShanah - NO SCHOOL

Tuesday, September 11 - Rosh HaShanah - NO SCHOOL

Wednesday, September 12 - Tzom Gedalia (Fast Day)

Thursday, September 13 - Soccer, volleyball, cross-country practice after school

Friday, September 14 - Sixth grade parent coffee, 8:00 a.m. in the Middle School Dining Hall

 

Click here to view next week's student schedules:

 

Shabbat Shalom and Shana Tova!

Lori