February 5, 2015

Shevat 16, 5775

NEWSFLASH!

Tickets on Sale Now...

for our 70th Anniversary Concert starring William Close & The Earth Harp Collective! You will not want to miss this unique experience which, in William Close's own words, "combines music, architecture, and sculpture to create new musical experiences."

Click Here to Learn About William Close and

This Unique Musical Experience

Click Here to Purchase Tickets

March 15, 2015

The Forum Auditorium

Good Things Happen Every Week

at The Silver Academy

Rachel Zilbering

Assistant Principal

Did you know that February is Jewish Disability Awareness Month? Well until this week, neither did I.

The Silver Academy follows best practices and promotes "inclusion" which means accommodating special needs students in our mainstream classes. Unlike many other private schools, we pride ourselves on working with parents, students and other professionals to follow IEP's to the best of our abilities. We believe that diversity makes us stronger as a learning community and that anyone desiring a Jewish education should receive one.

I will be continuing this theme throughout the month, but I encourage you to start reading from bloggers and authors who are experts in this field.

Please "Like" Jewish Disability Awareness Month on Facebook and take a look at the attached article which explains the history of the month.

Click Here for Article

D'var Torah

Nachum Chasan, Head of School

[email protected]

זכור את יום השבת לקדשו

CANDLE LIGHTING - 5:11 PM

HAVDALAH - 6:15 PM

SHABBAT PARSHAT YITRO - EXODUS 18:1 - 20:23

סיכום - Summary

In the desert, Moses was joined by his father-in-law (חתן) Jethro.
Jethro brings Ziporah, the wife (אשת) of Moses, and their children to the Israelite camp.
Jethro suggests to Moses that the burden of leadership is too much for one man to bear.
He advises Moses to choose people with whom to share the leadership.
Moses listens to Jethro and appoints captains to help the Israelites settle disputes.
Moses and the Israelites camp at Mount Sinai.
Moses ascends the mountain and G-d speaks to him, giving him the Ten Commandments (עשרת הדברות).

HEBREW WORDS OF THE WEEK

חתן -- Hatan - Father-in-law

אשת - Ashet - wife

עשרת הדברות -- Esserat Ha Diberot - The Ten

Commandments

SHABBAT SHALOM שבת שלום -

Nachum Chasan

Head of School

Inside the Classroom

6th Grade Judaics

Mr. Ellis Rosenberg

Can you believe that it's Tu B'Shvat this week, also known as the New Year of the Trees? Looking out the window at the snow, makes it hard to imagine that we are thinking about planting trees. Since saplings are not available locally at this time of year, the sixth grade class planted lima beans to give us a "taste" of the planting for Tu B'Shvat. We learned that what we celebrate now as the New Year of the Trees was, in days of yore, actually a tax collection deadline.

Another holiday project completed by sixth grade was decorating Tzedakah (charity) boxes on Martin Luther King, Jr., day. Many of these boxes were donated to other classrooms here at school as an incentive to increase our giving of charity to those less fortunate. The sixth grade will be choosing the recipients of our giving.

Back in the Jewish History classroom, we've been studying some of the similarities and differences between Ashkenazic and Sefardic Jews, and how some of these differences came about. For example, in many Sefardic synagogues, the entire prayer service is recited aloud, in contrast to the Ashkenaic services. What does this have to do with whether the Christians or Muslims were in control? Ask your sixth grader!

Middle School Science Fair

Mrs. Susan Gaughan

The hard work of four months came to fruition on January 22, at our annual Silver Academy Science Fair. Old Man Winter tried to cancel our science fair but we fought back and held it the following evening! Our seventh and eighth grade students have been working like real scientists as they work their way through the scientific method while completing a science fair project. Each student learned valuable skills as they performed research, formed a hypothesis, planned and carried out an experiment, collected and analyzed their data, and lastly formed a conclusion. Three students received first place awards for their projects, Batsheva Gewirtz, Nina Brodsky, and Dalia Shvartsman. These students will go on and enter their projects in the Capital Area Science and Engineering Fair in March. In addition, Asher Weinstock, Sam Welks, Anthony McVey, Noah Meeder, and Brian Reback received second places for their science fair projects. We are so proud of their accomplishments!

	Nina Brodsky Does the color of a candle affect its burn rate?
Batsheva Gewirtz Is the bounce of a tennis ball affected by its temperature?
	Anthony McVey Out of these five materials: deer suede, wool, silk, fleece and budget blackout, which would be the most effective at insulating?
Noah Meeder Does the amount of magnets affect how far a magnet is propelled across a thin line?
	Brian Reback Will the head of a Nerf dart affect the range of the dart?
Dalia Shvartsman How does gravity impact the growth of radish seeds?
	Asher Weinstock How does the temperature of a wire affect its conductivity?
Sam Welks What is the lightest material that best protects an infant's head from several injuries?

7th-8th Grade Trip to Israel

This spring our 7th and 8th grade classes will travel to Israel! (They are so excited!) Please consider helping us fund our trip by participating in one or more of these fundraisers.

Buy a Chai notefor $18 and we will hand deliver your prayers to the Western Wall in Israel. Click here to download your Chai note

Online Donation Fund - Please consider donating to help defray the cost of $4,000 per student. Click Here to Donate

School Notes and Reminders

Team Spirit Day is tomorrow!

Friday, Feb 6

Wear your favorite team jersey or colors! Show your spirit for your favorite football, baseball, soccer, or basketball team! Student Council will be awarding prizes!

Silver Academy Sabbath at Chisuk Emuna

Saturday, Feb 7th

Silver Academy students who are the children of Chisuk Emuna Congregation members and friends will lead parts of the Shabbat morning service and participate along with their parents in special Shabbat programs. During a light luncheon following services, Mrs. Sally Jo Bronner, Kindergarten Judaics teacher, will teach about 10 Hebrew words every person should know. Mrs. Rachel Zilbering, Assistant Principal of the Silver Academy, will be there to meet members of the congregation, and Mrs. Emily Freeburn, a Silver Academy alumna, will lead Junior Congregation.

The luncheon following services is generously sponsored by Silver Academy families, and also marks the 10th anniversary of the yahrtzeit of Holly Engelman's mother, Phyllis Engelman, z'l.