Maimonides Elementary School
ES Update
  
   January 23, 2015 - 3 Shevat 5775 - Parashat Bo
ES Highlights
Welcome
Dvar Torah
Cold Weather Reminder
Lost and Found
Next Principals Coffee
2nd Grade Report
Winter ES Music Concert
Living Room Learning 2/10
Volunteers Wanted
Online Directory
MS and US Newsletters
Maimonides LinkedIn Group
Check us out on Facebook
ES Calendar

Tue., Jan 27th
ES Winter Concert

Tue., Jan 27th
Geography Bee
3 p.m.

Wed., Jan 28th
3rd Grade
Principals' Coffee

Wed., Feb 4th
Tu BeShevat Programs

Wed., Feb 4th
4th Grade
Principals' Coffee

Thu., Feb 5th
4th Grade
BSO Trip

Wed., Feb 11th
5th Grade
Principals' Coffee


As always, please see the Kol Rambam Weekly for the all-school calendar, events and PTA notes.
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Welcome!
Dear Parents,

We hope you had a great week. Please read below for updates on our recent activities and announcements of upcoming news.  
 
Get Pumped for this Dvar Torah
Immediately following the plague of darkness, the Torah informs us that Hashem requested from Moshe to:

ב: דַּבֶּר נָא בְּאָזְנֵי הָעָם וְיִשְׁאֲלוּ אִישׁ מֵאֵת רֵעֵהוּ וְאִשָּׁה מֵאֵת רְעוּתָהּ כְּלֵי כֶסֶף וּכְלֵי זָהָב

Please, speak into the ears of the people, and let them borrow, each man from his friend and each woman from her friend, silver vessels and golden vessels.

 

And this would happen because:

ג: וַיִּתֵּן יְהֹוָה אֶת חֵן הָעָם בְּעֵינֵי מִצְרָיִם גַּם הָאִישׁ משֶׁה גָּדוֹל מְאֹד בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם בְּעֵינֵי עַבְדֵי פַרְעֹה וּבְעֵינֵי הָעָם:

So the L-rd gave the people favor in the Egyptians' eyes; also the man Moses was highly esteemed in the eyes of Pharaoh's servants and in the eyes of the people.

 

Hold on a minute. Back that up. Look closely at the pasuk. Moshe was held in high esteem by the Egyptians? Let's see if we are understanding this correctly. Moshe -- who brought death and destruction to the Mitzrim, constantly threatened the Egyptians with a mass Exodus of all their slaves, and predicted the subjugation of their king to the Almighty -- was גָּדוֹל מְאֹד in the eyes of the Egyptians?  Any other individual would be charged with treason and exiled (or worse!).

 

The Chizkuni explains that these two pesukim are connected.

האיש משה גדול מאד הוא נתינת טעם לניצול מצרים כמו נתינת חן העם

והיו ישראל מוציאים ממצריים הרבה שנותנים להם בשביל כבודו של משה.

The reason the Mitzrim were so willing to give their property to the Jews was because through the giving they were demonstrating honor that they had to Moshe.

 

What did Moshe do that he was seen in such high regard by the people he was promising to destroy? And why now? Did anything happen recently that would have led the Mitzrim to feel this way at this time?

 

Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch has an amazing idea connecting this event with the previous plague of darkness. During that plague, the Mitzrim were unable to see and move. The time was ripe for the Jews to exact vengeance on their oppressors by going through the households of the Mitzrim and taking all their belongings. The Medrish explains that the Jews did go through their homes and located all the items of value for future identification. The Mitzrim heard the ex-slaves rummaging through their residences, but could not do anything about it. They assumed the worst: that Bnei Yisrael were emptying their homes. Imagine their surprise when the plague was over and every single item was still in its place. Not one item was taken!

 

Upon realizing the respect the Jewish people had for the indefensible Mitzrim during the Makka, they understood the greatness of the leader of such an honorable nation. For that, Moshe was seen as  גָּדוֹל מְאֹד. As a result of Moshe and the people showing honor to the Mitzrim, Moshe received that honor back when the Mitzrim gave those same items to the Jews out of respect for Moshe.

 

Questions:

  1. Who saw Moshe as a great person and is missing from the pasuk? Why do you think this is so?
  2. Can you find a word in pasuk ב that hints at the "new" relationship between Mitzri and Jew? Based on Rabbi Hirsch, why do you think that is so?  

 

Important Cold Weather Reminder

    

Although the New England cold winter weather has arrived, we continue to enjoy outdoor recess unless the temperature is below 20 degrees. Students should be reminded that they must bring warm winter coats, hats (or hoods), and gloves to school each day. They are required to bring these out to recess with them, but may take off layers as they warm up when playing outdoor recess games. Students will not be permitted to stay indoors during recess.

 

Lost and Found Update
Students have been doing a great job checking the lost and found table and retrieving their belongings.   Parents have also been labeling more items, which is greatly appreciated.  Even with the recent cold snap, no one has lost a jacket.  Please check the photo, taken this morning, to see if you recognize anything that is yours.


Principals' Coffee for 3rd  Grade on Wednesday, January 28

 

  

 

The next Principals' Coffee will be for 3rd grade parents and will take place Wednesday, January 28th from 8:00-8:45 a.m. in the Art Room on the first floor.   

 

Principals' Coffees will take place for parents of students at each grade level on Wednesday mornings in January and February. The coffees are an opportunity for parents to talk with the principals, ask questions, give input, and learn more about different aspects of Maimonides students' life and learning at a particular grade level.  Parking will be available in the Saval lot.

 

More upcoming dates:

  • Wednesday, February 4, from 8:00-8:45 a.m. (4th Grade)
  • Wednesday, February 11, from 8:00-8:45 a.m. (5th Grade)

We look forward to seeing you there!
 
2nd Grade Principals' Coffee Report

The Principals' Coffee for second grade parents took place this past Wednesday morning. Allison Longo and Jeremy Arcus-Goldberg shared the many wonderful uses of technology in second grade.

  

Both the General Studies (GS) and Limudei Kodesh (LK) grade 2 classrooms are equipped with interactive smartboards, and with electronic colored markers that students and teachers use to interact with the smartboards.   

 

In LK the teachers create games and activities that enhance the Ivrit program so students can match and manipulate vocabulary and pictures, as well as create sentences in a very engaging manner.  Tal Am is also in the midst of creating a digital personalized learning program, which will begin in second grade, that will utilize smartboards and iPads and include virtual worlds where students will be able to collaborate and interact with other students using Tal Am in Jewish schools all over the country and the world.

 

In GS, the second graders are about to begin their science unit on LEGO robotics.  As a class, they will use the smartboard to write programs for their LEGO robots and then work in groups (with the help of laptops) to design individual programs, and then build and control their robots.

 

The smartboard is also used to show brief pertinent educational videos (a website called BrainPop is particularly useful for this), bring up specific maps for social studies, and run quick and engaging "brain breaks" found on a website called GoNoodle.  Mathematics applications are frequently used on the smartboard as well, and the ability for students to interact with and manipulate figures, numbers, and diagrams using the electronic pens is an added educational bonus.

 

In addition, iPads are available for all students in grade 2. These are used both for the Dreambox math program and for improve reading fluency, with the students videotaping themselves reading and then replaying the videos for immediate feedback. The students also take pictures from books or magazines using the iPad and then write descriptions of the pictures.  They did this for Martin Luther King Jr. Day in order to highlight and teach one another about key figures in the Civil Rights movement.

 

Some class time is set aside each week for students to engage with the Dreambox program, but it is intended mainly for home use. FASTTMath will once again be required for home use starting in February, and the Lexia reading program is available for specific students whose parents have been notified. These online programs have the benefit of providing teachers with data on student performance and progress, which enables them to address gaps in student learning and skill mastery, as well as provide extension work for those who need it.

  

As a rule, we suggest that second graders engage with the online programs at home for 15 minutes, five days a week. If your child wants to work for longer on Lexia or Dreambox, he/she may do so. 

 

If any parents who were unable to attend the Principals' Coffee have questions or concerns they would like to raise, they are welcome to contact Rabbi Saltzman or Reena Slovin at any time.


Winter ES Music Concert January 27

maimo music

  

The Maimonides Music Department presents

the Maimonides Winter Music Program

featuring performances by:

  • The Maimonides Elementary School Band
  • The Maimonides Elementary School Chorus 
  • Special Performance with Combined Band & Chorus

Tuesday, January 27th, 2015

4:00 - 4:30 P.M. in the Brener Gym

 

All students and families are welcome!

 

Parking will be available in the Saval yard.

 

Questions? Please e-mail Mr. Malkin at [email protected] 

or Ms. Moy at [email protected]  

 

Upcoming Living Room Learning in Newton on February 10
Living Room Learning
Join Upper School teacher Karyn Spero on
Tuesday, February 10, from 7:45-9:00 p.m. for a Torah conversation focusing on Moshe's eventful first year as the newly-appointed leader of Bnei Yisrael, following the exodus from Egypt. The topic will be: "From Staff to Calf: Moshe's Leadership in Sefer Shemot."  This discussion will be hosted by
Rachel and Ernest Mandel, 195 Mill Street in Newton.

 

Ms. Spero explains, "Once again we will engage the text and each other, this time through an in-depth study of Moshe's leadership from the splitting of the Red Sea to the Sin of the Golden Calf. We will explore the beginning of his journey down the path towards his destiny as he transforms into the paradigmatic navi, ambassador of G-d, and defender of the Jewish people."

 

Volunteers Wanted
We are currently looking for adults who would be interested in spending an hour or so a week working with students who speak Hebrew fluently and could use some extra time practicing their English. If you are interested in volunteering your time, please contact LaShanta

Online Access to Directory
We know many of you are eager to connect with each other! The Maimonides School 2014-15 Directory has now been distributed.  Parents can also access the directory online via MyBackpack.  

In order to locate family or classmate contact information, follow these steps:
  1. Log into My Backpack
  2. To find a single family, search by last name in the Directory box
  3. To generate an entire grade list, click on "Advanced Search Options" and follow these steps:
    • Click on the "Search for Student" tab
    • Select the grade you want and click on "Search"
    • Click on "Detail" to see email address information         
    • IMPORTANT - in order to return to the entire grade list, do NOT hit the browser back button. Instead, click on the "Back to Search Student/Parent" button, found above the student name (at top left)
See What's Happening in the Other Divisions
Lots of wonderful things are happening at Maimonides School!

If you'd like to take a peek at the other divisions' newsletters, please click here.

If you would like to contact a specific school office, please use these emails:

Maimonides LinkedIn Group

Maimonides School is rapidly expanding the LinkedIn group called Maimonides School Community. The far-reaching connections through LinkedIn can not only enhance professional opportunities but also serve as a resource for new ideas and conversations.

 

The link to join is 

http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Maimonides-School-Community-6537785/about .

 

Check us out on Facebook!

Let's be friends... on Facebook! 
 
Fans of our Maimonides School Facebook page get an insider's view of all that's going on at Maimo, with the latest photos taken in the classrooms, on the playgrounds, and all around the Brener and Saval campuses. If you'd like to be in the know, just click here to "like" us on Facebook.

 
!שבת שלום
Rabbi, Reena, and the Maimonides ES Faculty