Hillel students got a surprise visit from actor and author Henry Winkler on Tuesday morning. Mr. Winkler said he was in the bottom 3% academically (thanks to dyslexia only diagnosed in adulthood). His parents nicknamed him 'dumb dog.' He told the students that it is wonderful if they are good students, but it isn't necessary to be a successful adult. "Just find out what you are great at and then do that thing. And you are ALL great at something."

Mr. Winkler has a series of 17 books about a 4th grader, Hank Zipzer: The World's Greatest Underachiever. He read a couple of selections from his novels, then answered many questions from the kids, ranging from if he really jumped a shark (nope - stuntman) to who his favourite actor is (Ron Howard).

Rabbi Simes' 8th grade class put together a Rosh Hoshanah broadcast that Racheli, Dayna and Nathan presented over the loudspeaker (right). The rest of the 8th graders went to each classroom to teach the students a song, do an activity with them and give them apple cake and treats. Below, Allec works with the kids from grade 3.

As was mentioned during the Curriculum Evening, Mrs. Waxman has been teaching the 5th graders a class in study skills. So far, she has been helping them evaluate their learning styles, finding out whether they are visual, auditory or kinesthetic/tactile learners.

Finding out more about how how they learn will not only help students emphasize their strengths, but teach them how to compensate for their weaknesses. Look forward to your 5th grader bringing home information about this and even showing you how to find out what type of learner you are.

Below, Gregory, Gabriel, Joshua and Madelyn brainstorm about how different types of learners learn information.