Hillel Hadashot 31 Nadolny Sachs Pr. 613-722-0020 www.hillelacademy.ca September 29, 2010 Volume 3, Issue 72 In this issue ... - Important Notes. - Special Interest Learning Program. - Sukkah decorating. - La Fleche Caves. - Grade 5 digests. - Looking for ... Coming Up ... - Terry Fox Run, Thurs, Oct 7. - Thanksgiving, Mon, Oct 11, no school. From the Administration We have another short week, but we are cramming lots of activities in, as you will see if you look below - field trips, class projects, photo day and lots of learning about the holidays.  Still, we are looking forward to October and our regular school routine. We are organizing all our clubs, to begin in mid-October. Our soccer coaches have been holding try-outs, have chosen their teams and are looking forward to starting their games with other schools. The students are also already hard at work with Morah Ruthie and Shannon on the Chanukkah celebration for this year. Next week, we are holding our Terry Fox Run on Thursday, October 7. We are looking forward to this event, where the entire school - ADK to grade 12 - will be running to raise funds for cancer research. We are expecting it to be a lot of fun, and there will even be prizes for the speediest runners. That day will be our dress-down day, so please make sure your children come ready to run outside, and with their loonie or toonie to donate. And if there are any parents who would like to help us out along the course of the run, we really need some volunteers! Please contact Ellie if you have some time to help us on Thursday. Chag sameach! Some Important Notes The SJCC has a variety of after-school programs starting soon. They also provide a walk-over service from the school for students signed up for a program. From after-care for little kids to cartooning, dance, sports, cooking, swimming lessons and more, you can learn about their programs on their website or contact Gail Lieff at 613-798-9818, ext 303. Don't worry if your child missed Photo Day today. There will be a retake day on Wednesday, November 3. Our first Dress-Down Day will be on October 7, the day of the Terry Fox Run. Please send in those loonies and toonies to be donated to cancer research. The Special Interest Learning Program (S.I.L. Program) Hillel Academy is thrilled to introduce a pilot program for gifted learners that will begin mid-October. The Special Interest Learning program is a new initiative that will encourage gifted students from grades 2-6 to research and explore topics of interest, and then design and carry out a project related to that topic. Ms. Gordon will be facilitating these small-group learning sessions once a week and can't wait to see what topics are selected.  We will be sure to update everyone regularly so you can see how this pilot program is taking off! Above, Ben beats the hoshannot on the ground five times for Hoshannah Rabbah. Hoshannah Rabbah is the final day of Sukkot, and the ritual is to ensure plentiful rain for the coming year. So far, it looks like it is working for Ottawa! Above, the grade 2 students learn about sukkot during their turn in the sukkah at the SJCC. Below, Sacha and Samuel from ADK have fun learning how to properly shake the lulav and etrog. Above, the students in grades 7 and 8 visited La Fleche Caves this week, exploring caves and trying out zip-lining. They also participated in team-building and leadership exercises.  Grade 5 Learns About Digestion Grade 5 had lots of fun this week with a hands-on demonstration of how digestion works in the human body. They mushed up crackers and bananas in a plastic bag (the stomach), then squeezed it into a stocking (the small intestine). The permeable stocking allowed the 'nutrients' to come out while the solid 'waste' passed through to the large intestine (styrofoam cup) and then out the exit at the bottom of the cup. Below, Jonah and Noah have more fun squeezing the mixture through the stocking than Bailey (right) appears to have had! Above, Amira smiles for picture day. Looking for ... Volunteers to help us with our Terry Fox Run on Thursday, October 7. Please contact Ellie if you have some time on Thursday morning. Thank you very much to the families who donated camera cases. We have all we need now! Morah Ruthie is looking for any materials she can use for arts and crafts - old cards, left-over fabric or yarn. If you have something interesting you think she might like, please let her know.