ECC Weekly Newsletter 
March 10, 2017 - Adar 12 5777
Parashat Tetzaveh
ECC Highlights
Robin's Message
Dvar Torah
Thoughts of the Rav
2-Year-Old Class Newsletter
3-Year-Old Class Newsletter
4-Year-Old Class Newsletter
Parent-Teacher Conference Sign-Up
Yom Orchim
Help Write a Torah
Parent Volunteers
ES, MS, and US Newsletters
Reminders
TUESDAY, MARCH 14, IS AN EARLY 12:00PM DISMISSAL DUE TO PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15 THERE IS NO SCHOOL DUE TO PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES.

FRIDAY, MARCH 17 IS THE FIRST 2:30PM DISMISSAL.

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.
How To Subscribe to the Calendar
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
Dear Parents,

Purim is in the air. Our entire school has been decorated by the shlichot (Israeli ambassadors) Chemdat and Moria. Our classrooms have been beautifully decorated by the teachers and students. Purim is a fun and exciting time. We hope you enjoy the delicious mishloach manot that the students put together for you.

On Monday, the celebration continues with Shushan Purim. Please dress your children in costume. You may bring an extra set of clothes if you think they will want to change during the day.

We are lucky enough to be included in the Elementary School's Purim carnival. We can't wait to go! Each child will come home with one prize from the carnival.

We also are fortunate that Mr. Benji Hain, our resident storyteller, will come to our classrooms dressed as Mordechai to reenact the Purim story. All in all, it promises to be an exciting celebration!

If you have not yet signed up for Parent-Teacher Conferences, please contact us. We look forward to greeting you and to sharing the wonderful growth and experiences your children have been having this year.

On Tuesday, March 14, we will have a noon dismissal for all students. Conferences will take place that afternoon.

Wednesday, March 15 there will be no school. Conferences will be held from 2:00pm - 8:00pm.

Friday, March 17 is our first long Friday. Dismissal will be at 2:30 p.m. The children will be in our classrooms, ready to leave, at 2:15 p.m. if you would like to pick them up earlier.

Shabbat Shalom,

Robin

Dvar Torah - From Heart to Heart
by Rabbi David Saltzman
   
וְנָשָׂא אַהֲרֹן אֶת שְׁמוֹת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּחשֶׁן הַמִּשְׁפָּט עַל לִבּוֹ בְּבֹאוֹ אֶל הַקֹּדֶשׁ לְזִכָּרֹן לִפְנֵי ה' תָּמִיד:
Thus shall Aharon carry the names of the sons of Israel in the choshen of judgment over his heart when he enters the Holy, as a remembrance before the Lord at all times.
 
The kohen is obligated to wear the choshen on his heart so it will serve as a remembrance before G-d. What exactly does it cause G-d to remember, and how? Also, is there something significant about placing it on his heart?
 
To understand why Aharon merited wearing the choshen, one needs to go back to Parashat Shemot, when Aharon was first mentioned during G-d's conversation with Moshe. For seven days, G-d was encouraging Moshe to lead the Jews out of Egypt, but Moshe would not acquiesce. He asked that someone else go in his stead. After that week, G-d angrily told Moshe that He would accommodate his request by sending Moshe's brother Aharon to accompany him to Egypt and be his spokesman. G-d also informed Moshe not to worry about being the younger brother in a position of prominence over his older brother, because as Aharon was approaching:
וְגַם הִנֵּה הוּא יֹצֵא לִקְרָאתֶךָ וְרָאֲךָ וְשָׂמַח בְּלִבּוֹ:
and behold, he is coming forth toward you, and when he sees you, he will rejoice in his heart.
 
Because of this pure and complete joy which Aharon felt for his younger brother, Rashi explains that Aharon merited
וראך ושמח בלבו. לֹא כְשֶׁאַתָּה סָבוּר, שֶׁיְּהֵא מַקְפִּיד עָלֶיךָ שֶׁאַתָּה עוֹלֶה לִגְדֻלָּה; וּמִשָּׁם זָכָה אַהֲרֹן לַעֲדִי הַחֹשֶׁן הַנָּתוּן עַל הַלֵּב (שבת קל"ט):
AND WHEN HE SEES YOU, HE WILL BE GLAD IN HIS HEART - not as you believe, that he will be angry with you became you have attained a high position. In consequence of this, Aharon was privileged to wear the ornament of the breastplate which was placed over his heart.
 
Rashi teaches us that because of Aharon's true rejoicing for his brother's ascension, and for his being chosen for this important historical task, he merited to wear the choshen - placed, not coincidentally, עַל לִבּוֹ, on his heart. How is wearing the choshen a reward for this act?
 
On a deeper level, the choshen had a number of functions. The Netziv writes that the concept of זכרון means that the choshen served the purpose of bringing ישועה - salvation. Aharon's responsibility was לתבוע עלבונן של ישראל, שנצרך בכל שעה ובכל רגע - to pray for and protect the Jewish people from their humiliating sins each and every moment, which brought pardon from G-d.
 
When Aharon heard that Moshe was going to redeem the people from slavery, he was able to control his own emotions and demonstrate profound arvut and humility towards his brother, who was going to bring ישועה - salvation - to the nation. Therefore, Aharon was rewarded with his own opportunity to bring redemption to the people every day and at every moment through the choshen. Through his heartfelt simcha and strength of character, Aharon merited to continue to bring salvation to the people through the choshen placed on his heart. One act of arvut towards his brother allowed Aharon to perform constant arvut on behalf of the entire people.
 
Thoughts of the Rav - History and Humility  
by Rabbi David Saltzman
 
In Days of Deliverance, the Rav explains that to lead a courageous life means to lead a sacrificial life. Sacrifice means that one is ready to leave the stage of history after playing the part assigned to him or her and vanish into oblivion.
 
This is what G-d requires of man - anonymity and humility. G-d hates glamour, fame, and external glitter. He loves the actor who appears on stage for a short while, plays his or her part humbly, and disappears immediately without receiving applause. Man stands in the limelight as long as he is the Messiah, the anointed one, consecrated to the covenantal community. The moment he is done, he disappears from sight.
 
What does the Megillah tell us about Esther and Mordechai before and after the Haman episode? Nothing! The Megillah refers us to the history books of Media and Persia. Only the activities during this short period of time are memorialized, and the rest is enveloped in mystery. We learn the message of humility from the Megillah itself.

2-Year-Old Class Newsletter
Dear Parents,

Purim has begun in our classroom! We are loving our costumes, masks, jewelry, graggers, and beautiful palaces made from colorful material.
 
This week, we mixed papier maché to make our mishloach manot baskets. On Monday and Tuesday, when our bowls had finished drying, we enjoyed painting them and had a lot of fun. Then we filled them up with goodies so we could bring them home to share with our families. 
 
On Tuesday, the two lovely shlichot (Israeli school ambassadors) from the Elementary School came in and sang songs with us to celebrate Morah Tzipi's birthday. 
 
On Wednesday, we went for a walk around the block, and visited the Maimo Upper School. We also made delicious hamentashen.

On Thursday we listened to Morah Tzipi's fascinating retelling of the Purim story, in her signature, animated storytelling style. Then we got to improvise the story, imagining during our own playtime.

Naomi was the proud Shabbat Ima last Friday, and was thrilled to have her Abba and Ima join us. We also had a fun tea party on the rug on Friday! 
 
On Monday, we will go to a Purim carnival in that teachers and children from the Elementary School have set up. Students are encouraged to come to school in costume on Monday!

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Purim Sameach,

Morah Laura and Morah Tzipi

 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Mixing the papier mache for our
mishloach manot packages!
 
A very happy Naomi was our Shabbat Ima last Friday!
 
 
 
It's tea party time, made with real decaffeinated tea!
 
 
     
 
Here we are painting our dried papier mache mishloach manot dishes.
 
 
 
 
   
 
Ellie came to the rescue, helping Noa, who got a little stuck.
 
 
 
 
    
 
Playing games with Morah Dayse. "I throw the ball to Julia, she throws it back to me." 
   
 
Look at our decorations for Purim!
 
 
 
Ellen tries to take a selfie with Baruch
 
 
 
Purim is so much fun, we wanted to put on a show in our palace!
 

 
Peek-a-boo! Do you like our fancy glasses?
 
 
 
 
Morah Tzipi's birthday, celebrated by the lovely shlichot.
 
 
This was a fun game. "Run and grab a vegetable, tell us what it is, then share them."
 
 
Playing a singing game with Morah Linda in Music class  
 
The mossy wall is one of our favorite spots on our neighborhood walks.
 
 
Visiting the Upper School on Wednesday. This is Mike Rosenberg and Ellen Pulda's office.  
3-Year-Old Class Newsletter 
 
Dear Parents,

The students have been very busy and excited about getting ready for Purim. This week the students learned the whole story of Megillat Esther. They loved watching as we drew pictures to represent different people in the story. All the students got to act out the story in costumes. We even practiced making noise when we heard "Haman" and then being quiet when it was time to listen to more of the story. The students even got a chance to look at a real Megillat Esther scroll.

The students each chose an instrument to be their gragger, and then played a fun game all together. The morot tried to stump the students by reading out different names other than Haman's, to see if the students would make noise, but they couldn't be fooled.

During the week, we focused on sounds, and the sounds the children will hear on Purim. They used sound shakers to try to find the matching sounds. They also used different-sized containers made of plastic and metal to make drum music. It was fun for the students to see that, even if two containers were both metal, they sounded different because they were different sizes. The students also decorated the outsides of their ra'ashanim (graggers), and filled them with rice. They were super excited when a teacher read out names from the Megillah and they got to shake the ra'ashanim they had made themselves when they heard Haman's name.

On Tuesday afternoon during Cooking, the students made hamantaschen dough. On Wednesday morning everyone was super excited to make their hamantaschen. The students took their dough and flattened it into a circle. They added fillings - strawberry preserves, raspberry preserves, or chocolate chips - then pinched their dough into a triangle. We baked our hamantaschen, then enjoyed them the next day at snack.

Wednesday morning, the students each chose a container for their personal mishloach manot package, and then decorated it with markers and stickers. On Thursday, they filled their containers with one of the hamantaschen they had made, a juice box, cheese crackers, raisins, and Hershey kisses. The students discussed among themselves and the morot to whom they wanted to give their mishloach manot.

For Parshat Titzaveh, we talked about how Hashem commanded Moshe to sew special clothes for the kohanim who served Hashem in the Mishkan. We described the clothes that the kohanim wore. The michnasayim were white pants. The kesoness was a white shirt made of expensive fabric. The avneit was a decorated belt. The mitznefes was a turban-like hat. The me'il was a coat without sleeves that was open on the sides. The choshen had twelve expensive stones that had the names of the twelve tribes engraved on them. The students saw what each article of clothing looked like.

Purim Questions:
  1. Who was King Achashverosh's first wife? (Vashti)
  2. Why did Achashverosh make Vashti leave the castle? (Because she wouldn't come and dance at a party he threw)
  3. Whom did Achashverosh choose as his next queen? (Esther)
  4. What did Haman want all the Jews to do? (Bow down to him)
  5. Who said he would not bow down? (Mordechai)
  6. What did Esther tell King Achasverosh that was a secret? (That she was Jewish)
  7. Did King Achashverosh want the Jewish people to be O.K.? (Yes)

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Purim Sameach,

Morot Leisa, Shayna, Tanya, and Marggie
 


 
Joshy, Charlie, Liat, Ezra H., and Simcha liked picking from the different containers to chose their personal mishloach manot package.
 
 
 
 
The students enjoyed outside time, getting and giving wagon rides!

 
 
 
 
When the children learned the story of Megillat Esther, they got to look at a real Megillah. Dov, Gavriella, Leo, Leah, Ella, Sheva, Yosef, and Simcha had a great time choosing instruments to use as graggers and practicing making noise for Haman.
 
 

 
 
Leah, Ayelet, and Yosef had a great time dressing up this week for Purim.
 
 
 
 

Yosef, Ari, and Joshy were busy decorating their mishloach manot to bring home.





Ayelet, Hillel, Jonah, and Charlie loved choosing materials to put on their mishloach manot.



Ari, Ayelet, Charlie, Ezra H., and Yosef had a fun time acting out the Purim story for their friends.





Josh, Liat, Gavriella, Ella, Liam, Avital, Ayelet, and Yosef loved dressing up as superheroes this week. 
 



During exploration time, Ezra A., Ayelet, Gavriella, and Avital explored the sounds that different objects can make.




Ella, Leah, Liat and Gavriella worked their dough to make hamantaschen.




Liam, Avital, Amelie, Josh, Ari, and Ezra H., loved smooshing their dough into balls for hamantaschen.
 
 

Leo, Sheva, Charlie, Dov, Liam, Avital, and Josh rolled their dough out, and then chose what filling to put in before they shaped it. 


 

Jonah, Sam, Leo and Batsheva love to feel the dough and shape it out.
 
 
 

Simcha and Yosef pushed down on the dough to get it ready to shape.



 
Ayelet and Yuval were proud of the dough they had flattened out themselves.
4-Year-Old Class Newsletter

Dear Parents,

This week we have been very busy getting ready for Purim! We read the story of how Queen Esther and Mordechai saved the Jewish people from the wicked Haman. We turned the loft into King Achashverosh's palace. Then we acted out the story, each of us dressing up as a different character and really living the story. Our morot took photos of us doing this, and we have turned the pictures into our own Megillah to read on Purim.

We made and decorated containers for our personal mishloach manot packages. We even baked delicious hamantaschen, filling them ourselves with raspberry preserves, strawberry preserves, or chocolate chips. It was fun learning how to make triangles out of circles, even if they didn't all keep their shape while baking.

We learned that there are four special mitzvot of Purim and they all start with the Hebrew letter מ (mem). The mitzvot are: 1) Hearing the Megillah, 2) Giving matanot l'evyonim, money to the poor, 3) Bringing mishloach manot, gifts of food, to friends and 4) Eating a mishteh, a big celebratory meal.

We also learned a fun song for Purim about Haman's hat in English and in Hebrew.

We had so much fun joining the rest of the school for the special dress-up days this week. We thought that superhero dress-up day was perfect for our class of Superheroes! One of the best parts of that day was hearing one of the children say, "Queen Esther is a superhero, because she saved the Jewish people."

Thank you to Shabbat Ima Esther for the yummy hamantaschen and to Lior, our Shabbat Abba, for the yummy challah!

Shabbat Shalom!

Happy Purim!

!חג שמח
 
Morot Mimi, Irit, and Sara
 
 

We acted out Megilat Purim starting with the feast that king אחשוורוש, Yonathan, hosted.
 
 
Acting out the moment when Esther (played by our own Esther!) was picked to be Queen. 
  
 
 
  

All the Jews were celebrating after Esther saved them!



 
We made mishloach manot for Purim.
 
 
 
 

We offered the students containers, round bowls, and paper bags.




The students could decorate with markers, tissue paper, and tape. 
 
 


We made אוזני המן (hamantaschen) for the mishloach manot.



 
The students could choose fillings for their אוזני המן.
 
 
 
 
 
 
They chose between chocolate chips, strawberry jam, or raspberry jam.
 
 
 
 

We even had our own personal rolling pins to roll out our dough.



 
We all got our faces painted for Purim! 
 
 

 
In Art class, we had a drawing center that Naava, Noemie, and Naftali liked.
 
 


We had a beading center in which Adir, Nessim and Yonathan made bracelets and necklaces.
Parent-Teacher Conferences Next Week 

Spring Parent-Teacher Conferences for the Early Childhood Center, Elementary School, and Middle School (the Upper School does not have spring conferences) will be taking place:
  • Tuesday, March 14 - noon dismissal, conferences 2:00 - 8:00 p.m.
  • Wednesday, March 15 - no school; ES/MS conferences 11:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m., ECC conferences 2:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Getting Ready for Yom Orchim
As we prepare to send out invitations for Yom Orchim (Visitors' Day) - which will take place on Friday, May 19th - we want to be sure your loved ones receive all the details so they can mark it on their calendars. If you have not yet provided us with contact information for your child's grandparents or special visitors (or if you have any questions), please contact Ellen Pulda, epulda@maimonides.org or at 617-232-4452 x423.  


 
Help Write a Torah
As you may have heard, there is a beautiful and inspiring initiative underway, a joint initiative of The Afikim Foundation and Israel's Ministry for Diaspora Affairs, to write a Global Unity Sefer Torah celebrating the 50th Anniversary of a Reunited Jerusalem. 
Jews everywhere can inscribe letters in the Torah, NOT with money, but with simple acts of chesed, everyday kindnesses that 
positively impact the lives of others. To see more information about
this global initiative, please watch this 1-minute video!
 
Since groups may reserve blocks of letters, we've taken the opportunity to reserve 1000 letters for our Maimonides family.  Let's complete the Maimonides block in the Global Unity Torah and inspire goodness in the world in honor of Jerusalem! The custom link for our school's block can be accessed by clicking here. You may reserve letters for yourself and/or your entire family as a group. (All blue letters are available.) It only takes a minute. 
 
A digital file containing the names of everyone who participated and their acts of chesed will remain permanently with the Torah, which will be dedicated in Jerusalem on May 24, Yom Yerushalayim. (There will also be a drawing for 3 round-trip tickets to attend the dedication!) 
 
Please challenge yourself to commit and record at least 3 acts of kindness by May 24 - actions that are manageable and within your reach. There is no chesed too small!  
 
Visit jerusalem50.org for more information, or go directly to our block here.
 
Looking for Parent Volunteers 
The PTA is looking for new parent volunteers to help us with some wonderful programs.  Volunteering and being a part of PTA programs is an easy way to get involved with the school.  It also helps to impress upon your children the importance of community engagement.  Please help us ensure that these programs continue by signing up today!

The Elementary School Book Fair
The school book fair is once again being held on the same day as the Elementary School science fair,  Tuesday, March 28!  We are looking for some volunteers to manage the setup and sale of the books that day.  Sophia Zilber, who has run the book fair in the past, will coordinate just about everything leading up to that day.  Please sign up as soon as possible so we can confirm with our vendor that we will have a book fair again this year!

Teacher Appreciation Week/Purim
We are looking for two coordinators and a few additional volunteers to run this wonderful week to show the teachers how much we appreciate them.

The responsibilities are:
  • Organize a breakfast for the teachers in the ECC/Elementary and Middle/Upper Schools.
  • Organize a lunch for the teachers in the ECC/Elementary and Middle/Upper Schools.  
  • Assemble Misloach Manot packages for the faculty and staff.  (All the items will be preordered and delivered to the school.)
  • For the ECC/Elementary faculty lunch, recruit a handful of volunteers to help supervise the students during lunch.
  • For the Middle/Upper School faculty lunch, recruit a few volunteers to help set up the lunch.

Spring Sunday Soccer
We are looking for two people who are interested in running Sunday Soccer.  This is a very popular activity for kids in the springtime.

The responsibilities are:
  • Recruit volunteer coaches.
  • Send out reminders and registration information for the parents through the school.
  • A lot of the work is done through email.

We really need your help and would love to have your involvement. Guidance and support will be available and offered for all volunteers who run a project. Your children and the school will appreciate it!

Thank you in advance for your support!

To volunteer or for more information, please contact Claudine Grossman at claudine@aboutface.com
 
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: