| Reminders |
TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, IS AN EARLY 3:00PM DISMISSAL DUE TO A FACULTY MEETING.
Please check the Lost and Found table and coat rack outside the Elementary School office if you are looking for a missing item.
For the boys: Every day during davening we say the bracha for tzitzit, please make sure your son wears or keeps in his backpack a pair of tzitzit and a kippah.
If you have any recyclable materials, please send them in for our classes to use. Examples are:
-Paper towel/toilet paper rolls
-Paint color samples
-Scraps of contact paper, wallpaper, or cloth
-Small pieces of tile
-Any other crafty loose parts!
Please send in dress-up clothes, especially authentic doctor clothes and supplies. Thank you!
Whether you are a parent, alumni or faculty member, your Maimo Moments are welcomed and appreciated.
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How To Subscribe to the Calendar
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For step-by-step instructions for subscribing to the Maimonides Early Childhood Center calendar on your mobile device or computer, CLICK HERE. |
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From Robin Meyerowitz
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Dear Parents,
This week's Wacky Wednesday was so much fun! The students got to make and sell ice cream. They had fun learning about literacy, math, money, and responsibility. It is so exciting to watch your children grow and learn.
Our next Wacky Wednesday is February 1. We are going to have rocket ships take us to outer space. If you have any materials that could help us with this, please feel free to label it with your child's name and send it in.
Please remember that next Tuesday is a 3:00 p.m. early dismissal due to a faculty meeting.
Thank you!
Shabbat Shalom,
Robin
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Dvar Torah - The Power of Arvut
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by Rabbi David Saltzman
We concluded Parashat Bereshit with a feeling of arvut permeating the brothers. Past deeds have been forgiven and there is a sense of togetherness and responsibility for one another as life and slavery in Egypt looms. As mentioned last week, arvut will protect and save the Jewish people while they are enslaved in Egypt. There are a number of examples of this phenomenon in Parashat Shemot, setting the tone for Jewish survival.
The first time arvut comes into play is in the first perek, when the midwives are commanded by Pharoah to kill the baby boys. Not only did they did not listen to Pharoah, but they even helped keep the babies alive. The pasuk explains that the reason they had a sense of responsibility to save the boys and put their own lives on the line was because they feared G-d. This awe of Hashem was something that connected them to all the Jewish people (all Jewish people have this awe of Hashem) and instilled in them the desire to be responsible for the lives of others, even at the risk of their own lives.
The second person to use arvut to save another Jew is Moshe. Moshe ventures out to witness what is happening to his brothers and he beholds a Mitzri whipping a Jewish slave. Feeling a deep connection to the beaten Jewish slave, and out of a sense of responsibility to him, Moshe risks his life and smites the aggressor.
Later in the parasha, Moshe asks Pharoah to allow the Jewish people to leave Egypt. Pharoah demurs, refuses to provide straw, and upholds the brick quota. The Egyptian taskmasters are relentless in pursuit of fulfilling the number of bricks to be produced, and pressure the Jewish officers to beat the Jewish slaves so they will work harder. Rashi explains that the Jewish officers, in a complete act of arvut, refused to beat the Jewish slaves and instead were flogged by the Egyptian officers for not meeting the required amount of bricks.
The midwives, Moshe, and the Jewish officers all demonstrated arvut - responsibility - and in each case risked their safety, security, and lives for the sake of another member of the Jewish people.
It is interesting to note that because of their selfless acts of arvut, all three were rewarded with leadership. According to Rashi, the midwives were rewarded with being the matriarchs of future Jewish kings and the Kohanim. The officers merited to become the Sanhedren and have the spirit of G-d rest upon them. And finally, Moshe became... Moshe Rabanu, the greatest leader of the Jewish people.
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Thoughts of the Rav - Eternal Community
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by Rabbi David Saltzman
Rabbi Soloveitchik writes that while Moshe was gazing upon the burning bush, he made two observations. One was that the bush was indestructible. It was אֵינֶנּוּ אֻכָּל- not being consumed. The second miracle was that the fire didn't spread.
The Rav translates מַדּוּעַ לֹא יִבְעַר הַסְּנֶה as: Why did the bush not catch fire? There was a fire in the middle, but the exterior did not catch fire at all!!
He answers that there were two messages for Moshe from this miraculous mareh. The first was to teach Moshe that the covenantal community is indestructible. No matter how difficult circumstances are, and no matter how great the suffering, the covenantal community will never terminate.
The second miracle was that the external personality of a Jew, and even their deeds, are not indicative. Sometimes there is a conflict between the external personality and the inner personality. In spite of the cold, thorny, and scratchy demeanor on the outside, deep down in the center of the heart there is warmth, sensitivity, and love.
For these reasons, a Jew should never be expelled or considered lost to the community.
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2-Year-Old Class Newsletter
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Dear Parents,
Last Thursday, Miss DiOrio did a beautiful project with us using colorful fabric, jewels, and glue. She also read us the wonderful book Tar Beach. Because it was Morah Tanya's birthday, we made her a card, celebrated with the whole preschool, and ate from a delicious fruit platter.
Last Friday our Shabbat Ima was Noa Pinsky. It was fun to have her Abba and Ima join us. Thank you! This Tuesday we started planning for our Wacky Wednesday Ice Cream Party. We made delicious vanilla ice cream and invited some of our friends from the fifth grade to join us. We even made our own whipped cream, and giant paper ice cream cones to help decorate our room. What a wonderful time we had eating our own homemade ice cream and singing Hebrew songs about glidah (ice cream) with friends.
We are also continuing to make and play instruments. The possibilities are endless! On Thursday, Morah Tzipi's theatrical rendition of Parashat Shemot captivated the students. Using many different props, she told us of how King Pharaoh was not kind to the Jewish people. He made them slaves, and made them work to build cities for him. Yocheved, a Jewish mommy, had baby Moshe, and kept him hidden from the Mitzrim so they would not take him away. Then she hid him in a basket in the river, where his sister Miriam was watching him through the bushes. Pharaoh's daughter came to the river to wash, saw baby Moshe, and took him into the palace. Moshe grew up in the palace, and began to see that the Jewish people were doing very hard work. We will hear more about the story next week!
Enjoy this week's photos and Shabbat Shalom,
Morah Tzipi and Morah Laura
This is our beautiful table during Miss DiOrio's Art class last Thursday.
Here's Naomi, Julia, and Ellie looking at the siddur during our Shabbat party.
Baruch, Noa, and Ellie working together to fix our old coat rack.
Last Friday's Shabbat Ima, Noa.
 Baruch and Hayim love banging on the drums, creating rhythms and movements to the music in their minds. 
Noam stacks up our squishy, colorful ice cream flavors.
Here we are waiting for our ice cream party to begin. The whipped cream is already on the table
 Here we are with some big kids who joined us at our ice cream party.
 And some more, so much fun!
We should do this more often.
Elhanan made ice cream using stones and shells.
 Avishai used blue to paint his picture.
 Morah Tzipi shows us how Miriam watched baby Moshe through the bushes.
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3-Year-Old Class Newsletter
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Dear Parents,
The students were so excited this week for our first Wacky Wednesday! We made an ice cream shop in our classroom. We started getting ready on Tuesday, when the students measured, poured, and stirred the ingredients to make homemade ice cream. Then we put the canister of ingredients into the ice cream maker, added ice and salt, and waited for everything to freeze. Every ice cream shop has a name, so, after many great suggestions, the students voted on a name for ours, which was "Ice Cream Person."
The students did a great job getting ready for our customers. They made signs with the store name, which we then hung up in our room. The students also decorated hats to wear, complete with "sprinkles." We even moved some furniture around so we had a "storefront." Then the customers came. We invited Mr. Naty Katz, Rabbi David Saltzman, Aldaberto and Benny (two of our favorite custodians), and the special needs volunteers who deliver the hot lunches to our class each day. We also learned about real money, using real quarters in our store. We sold our ice cream for 25 cents. The students took turns working at our store. They handed out and collected the money, asked the customers if they wanted vanilla or chocolate chip ice cream, scooped the ice cream into a cone or a bowl, and added the toppings: whipped cream, sprinkles, chocolate chips, and maraschino cherries. Once all of our customers were served, the students enjoyed eating some ice cream with their friends. It was a really fun day!
For Parshat Shemot, we talked about how the new Pharaoh who came into power wasn't nice. He thought that there were too many Jewish people, and was afraid that someday they would be more powerful than he was. Pharaoh therefore made them slaves, and made them build pyramids and cities for him. He also said that all the Jewish baby boys should be thrown into the Nile River. Yocheved, a Jewish mommy, had a baby boy named Moshe. She hid him away for three months, and then put him in a teyvah in the river to save him. Pharaoh's daughter, Batya, found Moshe and brought him to the palace, arranging for Yocheved to feed him. Moshe grew up in the palace. The students enjoyed acting out the parsha, pretending to be Pharaoh, baby Moshe, Yocheved, and Batya. The students worked hard to make their own baskets for baby Moshe out of all different sorts of materials. We also learned the song "Where Is Baby Moshe" during our circle time.
Parsha Questions: -
Was the new Pharaoh nice to the Jewish people? (No)
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Who were the slaves who built pyramids and cities for Pharaoh? (The Jewish people)
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What did Pharaoh say should happen to the Jewish baby boys? (They should be thrown in the river)
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Who found Moshe in the river? (Batya)
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Who raised Moshe in Pharaoh's palace? (Yocheved)
We are continuing our transportation unit. Please send in a picture of the vehicle in which you typically bring your child to school. Thank you!
Shabbat Shalom,
Morot Leisa, Shayna, Tanya, and Marggie
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| First, we gathered up all of the ingredients for the ice cream.
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|  | Then we added milk...
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| ...and lemon juice, plus a few more ingredients, to make our ice cream.
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| We made signs and invitations to our ice cream parlor
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| | When our guests came, we gave them each a quarter to buy ice cream |
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| Then, while some of us took the payments, others took orders, scooped ice cream, and added toppings!
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| Our customers were eager for their homemade treat!
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| Then we served each other!
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| | The next morning, at Provocations... |
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| | ...we made baskets out of different materials, like the one Yocheved made for baby Moshe! |
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| This helped us learn about Parashat Shemot in a hands-on way!
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4-Year-Old Class Newsletter
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Dear Parents,
Although this has been a short week, it has been an extremely busy week! When we came in on Tuesday, the room had been rearranged and there was a strange new machine on the table. It turned out to be an ice cream machine, and the room was set up to be an ice cream parlor! We then decided on a name for our store - The Superheroes Ice Cream Shop - and decorated it with English and Hebrew signs bearing the store's name and pictures the students made. We also made hats to show that we were servers at the shop.
We made three flavors of ice cream: vanilla, chocolate, and Oreo cookie. We discussed what toppings we wanted to have in the store, and gave Morah Robin a list to get for us. We made invitations for the kindergarteners, the office staff, and the janitorial staff, and handed them out Tuesday afternoon.
On Wacky Wednesday, we made menus and put the finishing touches on our store. We took turns serving the ice cream we had made, and working the cash register when our customers came. We gave everyone real money to pay for their ice cream - one dollar for the ice cream and twenty-five cents for toppings. We had a great time, and ended the store by enjoying some of the ice cream ourselves.
But the fun didn't end there! On Friday, we celebrated Shira and Yehuda Slater's birthdays! A magician came to perform for us and we had two cakes! Thank you, Yehuda and Shira, for the yummy birthday and Shabbat party treats!
Finally, this week we started the second book of the Torah and learned about Parashat Shemot. We learned that in this week's parsha, after Yosef and his brothers passed away, a new Pharaoh became king and he didn't remember what good things Yosef had done. He did see that there were a lot of Jewish people, and decided to put them to work making pyramids. When Bnei Yisrael started to get upset because of the hard work, Pharaoh decided that all the baby boys born to Bnei Yisrael were to be taken away, so that there would be no strong young men to fight him. One Jewish mommy, though, hid her little boy. She put him in a basket and set him in the River Nile to keep him safe. Can you guess who it was?
Here are some more questions (and answers) to share at your Shabbat table: -
Who was the mother who put her baby in the basket? (Yocheved)
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Who found the baby? (The daughter of Pharaoh)
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Who was watching the baby in the tall grass to make sure he was okay? (His sister Miriam)
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What was the baby's name? (Moshe)
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When he grew up, why did Moshe run away? (Because he hit an Egyptian)
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How does Hashem come to Moshe? (In a burning bush)
Shabbat Shalom!
Morot Irit, Mimi, and Chava
We made two flavors of ice cream: vanilla and chocolate.
We mixed the ingredients and then added ice to cool it.
Then we decided to make another flavor, so we voted. The options were Oreo cookie, strawberry, and raspberry. The students decided on Oreo cookie flavor.
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| We needed a name for our shop, so we had a meeting. The students brainstormed 9 names. We voted, and the name "Superheroes Ice Cream Shop" got the most votes.
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We prepared special crowns that had the name of the shop, and our own names.
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| The students made signs and decorations for the shop.
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They also made menus with the flavors of the ice cream, the toppings, and the cost of each one ($1 for ice cream, 25c for toppings).
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| | On Wacky Wednesday morning, the students played both the servers and the customers! |
Some of us even made ice cream shops out of blocks.
The students wrote invitations to the custodians, the office staff, the school nurse, and the kindergarten! Everyone was very excited when they arrived.
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| When the kindergarten came, we were delighted to serve them! Everything went smoothly at our grand opening.
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Our cashiers did great with handling the real dollar bills and quarters we gave our customers to use.
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We had two groups of students who "worked" in the shop. In each group we had one student who was the greeter and gave real money to the customers. Some students worked on the register...
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...two students served the ice cream, two students served the toppings, and one student asked the customers if they wanted a cone, a bowl, or a cup.
When all of our customers were served, we served each other!
Putting the money in the register
Scooping ice cream for our friends!
Everyone enjoying ice cream together!
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See what's happening in 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:
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