Attention, budding Picassos: You have just one week to submit an entry for the Dec. 4 Art Show, so get busy! 

 

Students from any grade may submit artwork to be shown as long as they do the work themselves without the help of an adult. All two-dimensional art must be matted on a piece of black construction paper.  Three-dimensional pieces must be submitted in a box, such as a shoe box.

 

You can turn in your work any day before Nov. 13 from 8:45-9 a.m. and from 3:15-3:30 p.m. Be sure to include a registration form.

 

Opening night will take place at 6:30 p.m., Dec. 4 in the gym. 

 

Parents who would like to help with evening's logistics, provide refreshments, or play background music should contact art teacher Miriam Cutelis.  

Getting to Know

Ms. Friedman

New third-grade teacher Orly Friedman is not one to shy away from challenges, be it on a mountain top, in the slums of India, or in the classroom. Born in Jerusalem, where her Pulitzer-Prize-winning father, Tom Friedman, was a The New York Times correspondent, she grew up in Bethesda and spent summers working and studying abroad in France, Venice, India, and Sri Lanka. She graduated from Yale and this year completed a Masters Degree in Education in Early Childhood Development. Here, she tells us about her latest adventure - at Murch.
 
So, why teaching?
After majoring in Urban Studies - a self-created major that allowed me to combine my interests in architecture and design with politics and history - I became a teacher at two DCPS schools through Teach for America. I believe equality of opportunity begins with equality in education, and this principle is so fundamental to the American dream that it seemed urban education was the most worthwhile, fascinatingly complex, and timely field I could work in post-college. I also spent time teaching at a school in India called Shanti Bhavan, which is a boarding school for untouchables and truly a one-of-a-kind institution. 
 
What has been your greatest challenge as a teacher? Every day there are new challenges, new situations, and new decisions to make, which is why the profession is so fascinating. Teaching is one of a few jobs that it is impossible to be bored at, even for a minute. 
 
How do you keep the kids from being bored?
In our class we have a theme around mountains. Our class goal is to reach the top of Mt. Everest, which we will do by walking around the Murch block 20 times, which is about the height of Mt. Everest (29,029 ft.). However, we only walk around the block when, as a class, we reach one of the goals set by the students at the beginning of the year. For example, a goal is earning over a 90% average on a math unit test. So far we've "climbed" 6,000 feet.
 
What are your other goals for the class?
It's important to me to have non-academic goals for students as well. One is to create curious individuals and I foster this by having a "Good Question" wall in the back of the classroom where students can ask anything they want that's not directly related to what we're learning. Every week a student is responsible for bringing the questions home and coming back with answers (if possible). The students have come up with amazing questions
 
Such as?
Oh, let's see..."What was the capital of Poland before 1575?" "How many craters are on the moon?" "Who discovered prime numbers?" "Why do we celebrate birthdays?" "How many atoms are in the air?" "Is there another world and, if there is, are we aliens?"
 
Wow. What enhancements or curriculum would you like to see at Murch?  I'm interested in working more with the Expeditionary Learning model for social studies and science, which allows class interests to dictate interdisciplinary units. 
 
Outside of school, what are your interests? 
My passion is skiing, and I also enjoy cycling. I grew up playing the violin and played in a college orchestra. I am passionate about all things Indian and enjoy taking Bollywood dance classes when I get the chance. My goal for the spring is to learn Hindi. I also have been working on an online clothing venture. 
 
Please finish this sentence: "If I weren't a teacher,

I'd be a...."

...a ski bum!
-- Donna LaPorte Scharpf
 

 

On October 27, all of the 4th grade classes went to the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian. We walked, and took the Metro. When we got there we split up. My group went to the 4th and 3rd floors. We saw small movies about Native American myths. Most of them were about how constellations and the earth were made.

I liked the movie about an old man and woman and how they formed the world. Some of the ideas the Indians had seemed strange, because we had just finished studying geography and geology in school. For example, some of the Indians thought that the world was flat with elephants and turtles holding it up.

Next we went to a section on the Inuit, and saw how the modern-day Inuit uses a special machine to ice fish. That was cool. 

 

We also went to an Resource Center where some of us learned to weave and some of us sent picture e-mails to each other. We saw spearheads, dolls, an Indian made out of baseball mitts, and even woven cell-phone holders. One of the groups found a library with with books about specific tribes. These books can help them do their Indian projects.
-- Ana S. Kiknadze, 4th grade

 
Class Posters

Say Their Peace

The winners of the annual peace poster competition are Ms. Schafer's class for the pre-k through second grade division and Ms. Levy's class for the third through fifth grade division. The prize is the same for both: an ice cream party.
 
Ms. Schafer's second-graders created a poster that has "We Love Peace and Peace Loves Us" surrounded by colorful peace symbols. The poster by Ms. Levy's fifth-grade class features "Peace From Earth" on a drawing of our planet and is framed with boxes describing what peace means to each student. 
 
"We think it is important for everybody to think about peace and what it means to them," says school counselor Lauren Miller, adding that when the contest was first started several years ago, "the peer mediators wanted to stress to the student body that peace is an important part of the school."
-- Adelaide Kaiser, third grade
 

 Calling All Singers, 2nd Grade and Up
 
The Murch Choir continues to meet on Mondays at 8 a.m. in the music room with Ms. Smith. In December, the group will sing at the Art Show and go caroling at a nursing home. Please come add your voice! To be added to the choir mailing list, contact Lisa Kaestner.

 
Gift-Wrap Orders Ready for Pick Up
 
We had about 100 students participate in our Sally Foster fundraiser and sold over $10,000 in goods! The merchandise is ready to be delivered, so please pick up your order in the gym on Friday, Nov. 6 and Monday, Nov. 9. They are sorted by classroom, and don't forget to pick up your child's prizes.
Even if you had online orders only, you need to stop by to get the prize package. Thanks for your support.
-- Chris Mahoney, Sally Foster chair