Maimonides Community

BH.

Adar 29, 5775 / March 20, 2015

Candle-Lighting: Community Newsletter of the Maimonides Hebrew Day School of the Capital District 6:49 404 Partridge Street Albany NY 12208 (518) 453-9363/3434 www.maimonidesschool.org Shabbos Ends: produced by Rabbi Mendel & students in the TNT (Torah ‘n Technology) Program 7:50 Maimonides is accredited by the NYS Board of Regents & is a beneficiary of UJF-NENY

maimonidesschool@gmail.com

NEW MATH/SCIENCE TEACHER

WHY THE LITTLE “a”?

After many years teaching Math and Science at Maimonides, Dr. Madhavi Sahay had to leave mid-year due to personal reasons. We will miss her (and her many hands-on experiments and passion and knowledge of science) very much.

We are very happy to welcome Mr. McFeeran as our new science teacher, who has an applied and engaging approach to science class.

Did you notice our MC masthead is different this week? That’s because the first word in the first verse of this week’s Torah Parsha Vayikra has a small Aleph at the end of the word. There’s a lot of significance to that small Aleph, and life lessons learned about Moshe’s humility. And like our school, it may be small but its sure makes a big difference!

THE NEW (OLD) COPIER Our big copier breathed its last, despite valiant efforts to resuscitate it by the service folks at Metroland Business Machines. Being a multiage, creative & flexible, dual-curriculum school with lots of differentiated individualized learning, this machine (which also links to our computers as a printer) is an important and well-used office resource. We invested in a new/old (but “low mileage”) copier with a service agreement & hope to get good use of it.

KICKED OUT OF SCHOOL In addition to the copier purchase, recent unexpected school costs included extensive pest control work to remove squirrels from the attic and sealing work to keep them out. Yes, they can be cute and industrious but they are best to watch outdoors and can be quite destructive indoors. These unexpected but necessary costs cause additional strain on the school budget, so we are thankful for all the on-time tuition payments and communal support. Thanks to a school board member for generously contributing $1,000 toward this cost.

PLEASE HELP GET LEG-CYCLE $4,000 left to be raised from the original $17,000 goal to purchase a LegCycle RT300 rehabilitation bicycle for daily ongoing home use so young M. can regain function in his legs after paralysis last year.

Amazingly, thanks to his medical team, miraculously indeed, and thanks to much therapy and dedication, he has begun to stand and walk to some extent and his medical team encourages home use of this machine to take advantage of these remarkable advances.

Contribute online: gofundme.com/na4pwk

This MC Newsletter is sponsored in honor of the birth of our great-granddaughter

Revaya Karni Gross

by Michael and Sylvia Solomon

NURSERY MODEL SEDER Pesach learning is in full swing, this Thursday they had a model Seder in their classroom complete with silver-looking Kiddush cups (below left) and a Matzah and Maror lettuce sandwich (above left).

Morah Rivka also took pictures to be featured in their own personalized Haggadahs.

MY VERY OWN HAGGADAH Morah Devorah’s first graders made many beautiful Pesach projects (see a few more inside this MC Newsletter). Some students pictured above with their Haggadot which they are personalizing page by page, as the Mishna/ Haggadah itself encourages: “as if we ourselves left Egypt.” Pesach needs to be personalized!

ADVICE FOR RECHAVAM $7 SHMITAH TREES PLEASE Thanks to all who sent in $7 per family along with vote on what type of fruit tree we should purchase. Please choose your choice of tree when you send in the $7 ASAP!  Olive Tree  Grape Vine  Pomegranate  Fig Tree  Date Palm  Citrus Tree

MAIMONIDES 404 Partridge Street Albany NY 12208

HS Girls learned in Navi with Morah Dini how King Rechavam sought advice from younger and older people. Turns out the advice from the older people was much better advice. Just in time for the “Better Together” essays they are writing about what we learn, or appreciate about connecting with older people.

SEDER SIGNS Pun intended: The itemized list of the Seder steps are called “Simanei HaSeder” which also means Seder Signs (as in sign-language).

Morah Aviva knows that young children love songs choreographed with hand motions that tell the story. Mrs. Lori Calka, Certified American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreter, taught our Kindergarten and first grade students the order of the Seder in ASL. Pictured above they are learning the signlanguage for “break the middle Matzah”.

Thank you Morah Lori! She will be back on Tuesday to teach 10 Plagues in sign-language.

MORE SEDER PROJECTS ^

GREAT DEPRESSION LETTERS

Morah Devorah’s first graders also made these Seder placemats illustrating the Seder’s 15 Steps, and they are laminated for practical, actual use at the Pesach Seder table. Note the Pesach bulletin boards behind them as well!

3rd & 4th learned about the drastic change in people’s lives going from the Roaring 20’s to the era of the Great Depression in the 1930’s.

Students each put themselves in the shoes of a person suffering during that period and wrote an imaginary letter to a friend, the President, etc. about how difficult the situation was.

DOGSONG & THE TALMUD

In the book “Dogsong” by Gary Paulsen, read ADAR SONGS AND DANCING now by 7th graders in Mrs. Crawford’s class, 2nd Marking period ended last Russel, an Eskimo boy, feels as if The boys davening group Friday, report cards are being his sled and his dogs are deeply has been singing a different completed this week and will be connected to him, almost as if they lively Jewish song at the end distributed on Monday. are a personal extension of himself. of the morning prayers A Judaic teacher pointed out the everyday in the month of connection to the Talmudic stories Adar (when we increase in joy), and got up to A HINT IS LIKE LINT dance together for many of those days.

7th grade Pitgam class learned this quote from of Reb Pinchas ben Yair’s donkey and the story of the Cow that kept Shabbos.

Nesanel was great at coming up with songs!

Mishlei/Proverbs: “Tehn LaChocham vYechkam Ohd!” Give a hint to the MATH IN FOURTH & SEVENTH wise and they grow wiser from it. Goldie K. came up Part of the Common Core initiative is to introduce advanced concepts in a basic form with this line: “A Hint is like Lint!” because you can in younger grades so it is more familiar and is a body of knowledge that continues to be built either just throw out the upon. This week it so happens that siblings in dryer lint and do nothing with it (as most people do with lint) or you can use it to start a 4th and 7th came home with similar work on fire and make something huge out of it. Same converting fractions to decimals & percentages is with a hint, some people miss it, and don’t and they were able to assist each other! value it, and don’t do anything about the hint.

But the wise can do a lot with a little hint…

EROSION IN SCIENCE 6th graders shared their science studies on KINDERGARTENS GOLDILOCKS A JOINT erosion, a destructive process which breaks down materials and moves them on.

There are Each students illustrated a different part of the EFFORT different types, but so far they liked the river story, and wrote a sentence captioning their These two best.

The speed of flowing water affects the illustration. The TNT student photographer students are heaviness of the sediment the river will pick captured a happy moment with them holding working up and move along down-river.

Once a river up their picture pages. together hits the ocean, the speed slows, the heaviest looking up a POWERPOINTS, DIORAMAS ETC definition. sediment falls, creating a delta. They learned about the role gravity plays, and how erosion Mrs. Maher’s 5th grade students each made a Are you presentation about a Revolutionary War hero, wondering happens deep down on the ocean floor, too! using different formats. They all made a essay what the into a small book form with an illustrated sneaker is doing sitting up on the desk? This is JEFFERSON AND MONROE 6th and 7th grade had a test on Jefferson’s cover, some also did timelines, Powerpoints, not an ordinary sneaker (though it may fool presidency and is now onto President James and one student designed a GoAnimate clip, you by its looks) its her pencil bag! Don’t Monroe, Florida, and the Monroe Doctrine. and there’s also one Paul Revere diorama. judge a pencil bag by its cover…

RE: REPORT CARDS

PESACH CLEANING TIPS

BIG NATE IN CLASS BY HIMSELF Mrs. Maher has been reading a funny book to her 5th graders during afternoon snack time called “Big Nate - in a class by himself.” Nate tries everything possible to get out of school, not do his work, and miss tests and still not end up in summer school. They don’t know the end yet, stay tuned…

THE YAKNAHAZ ORDER Nine Talmudical opinions on the YomTov Kiddush and Shabbos Havdalah Combo, this year at the 2nd Seder. Rabbi Shmuly’s 5/6 and 7th grade Talmud classes are learning it now, using a blank chart and filling it in with all the different opinions and reasons. And they’re putting it into Powerpoint format, too!

PESACH TERMINOLOGY Morah Dini gave her 5th grade students 45 Pesach terms in English and they had to find the Hebrew terms for it choosing from an accompanying Hebrew sheet.

TIMELY CHUMASH STUDIES Our Chumash classes do not correspond to the calendar, but its always exciting when the text matches an upcoming holiday. We had three reports of this happening this week:  HS Chumash is learning the holiday Torah reading, including Pesach, in Parsha Re’ah.  6th grade Chumash with Rabbi Yossi is now learning about the Plague of the Firstborn and the beginning of the Exodus.  7th grade is now learning Parshat Naso about the offerings of the leaders of the tribes… and guess what: this began on the first day of Nissan, which is this very Shabbos, and continues for the first 12 days in Nissan. Some have the custom to recite that leaders offering from Parshat Naso (which is also the Chanukah reading) on each successive day of Nissan for 12 days.

And of course, regardless of the calendar, Torah is always relevant and timely!

NACHOS NACHAS Morah Dini’s 4th graders finished Vayishlach in Chumash and for their Siyum they made Nachos in “”Nathan’s Kitchen” to celebrate.

Morah Dini explained that it’s a Mexican treat and all the Kosher Pizza shops in Los Angeles also serve Nachos, but Reb Itche calls them “Nachas” which is Yiddish for pride and joy!

Most students in 7th grade through HS submitted their “Better Together” essays for the contest. They shared personal experiences, insights, or ideas about connecting with seniors whether through the Better Together program or otherwise. We hope to share the winners and updates on the essays next week.

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KEEP OUT CHAMETZ: The best rules is to keep all food out of bedrooms (maybe all year) but at least after Purim when Pesach cleaning begins. As you get closer it is best to narrow down the places you will have food mess, so it is more contained. And crumbly food or things that roll about like Cheerios? Gotta be extra careful with that!

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TOOLS AND CLEANSERS: The fanciest tools are nowhere near as good as good ‘ol elbow grease (which means hard work). But some tools or machines (like a vacuum that has a wand to access hard to reach areas) can make it much easier. Now that its springtime (almost) opening a window and letting a breeze air out a room is also a free way to freshen everything up.

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INNER CHAMETZ: We’re mostly busy with getting rid of actual Chametz, like bread and cereals, cookies and pretzels… but there’s also inner Chametz, and we can’t forget about that either. Adding thoughtful personal moments (and relaxing ones, too) to the hectic physical search for Chametz, make the whole experience more meaningful and memorable.

BETTER TWO THAN ONE In keeping with the “Better Together” theme and in honor of Reb Moshe Rubin’s yartzeit, Rabbi Rubin learned with the boys a selection of Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) Chapter 4 where it says: “Two are better than one…” for Reb Moshe was always eager to share with others, a vurt or story, he was a “people’s Chassid”.

WELCOME BACK (FOR NOW) Chaya L. and Mushky R. are arrived late last night from a year of study in Israel. They will be here for Passover break, and returning to Tzfat Israel for the rest of the school year after the holiday. They have so many stories, photos, teachings, and experiences to share… and they make us very proud! A Maimonides Albany education is indeed something to be proud of, and they are!

KIDS WITH TAMBOURINES AND HEADGEAR

What’s the main part of a lion? His mane, of course!

A pig and a chicken were walking down the street and saw a “Bacon & Eggs” sign at a diner. The chicken was so upset! “Look what they do to my eggs,” she said in anguish, “they break them, beat them, scramble them! Ugh!” The pig told the chicken: “From you they want a donation, but from me they want a commitment!” (a great lesson for the sacrifice messages in this week’s Parsha Vayikra).

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ENJOY IT: It isn’t easy but there are ways to make it fun. Some families turn it into a game or contest, but even playing music and working together as a team makes the chores more enjoyable. Clear bagless vacuum cleaners have the neat advantage of instant gratification, seeing the effects of your work. Also, almost everyone enjoys the good feeling of having a really clean and fresh room. It can be very rewarding.

BETTER TOGETHER ESSAYS

What would you call a merger of FedEx and UPS? Fed-Up!

What’s the best car to drive on Pesach? A Nissan.

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STEP BY STEP: Start as early as you can.

De-cluttering first helps. Do one room at a time. Sorting helps a lot. Once things are in piles organized by type, its much easier to see what can be thrown out, what can go into storage or what needs to kept handy.

FIRST GRADE GRAPHING

Nursery kids each dressed up with ancient headgear and held tambourines getting into the spirit of the Jews crossing the Sea. This “Az Yashir” poster has each student’s photo cut out as they hold their tambourines!

First graders did a whole unit on graphing! We had some photos of their work in last week’s “MC” but they’ve done so much more since.

The 2 polls pictured are: (r) favorite zoo RELATIONSHIPS, MARRIAGE? animals and (l) coolest robot, and their individual math sheets based on the graphs are Yes, Rabbi Mendel’s class this week with HS Boys and with HS Girls used this very hanging alongside the big chart graphs. important life-subject as an analogy.

at Maimonides and in the Community 3/20-21: SHABBOS ROSHCHODESH Friday Erev Pesach 4/3: No School thru end of Pesach. See Erev Pesach schedule below.

This Shabbos begins the new Hebrew month of Nissan, 1st Seder is 2 weeks away on Friday Night! Monday 4/13: School resumes at 8am.

3/21: TRIPLE TORAH SHABBOS We begin Chumash Vayikra, read the (4th of 4) special reading of HaChodesh and also Rosh Chodesh! The Costas are making a Triple Torah Kiddush at Shomray Torah in honor of the triple.

3/21: RABBI REISMAN SHIUR Sat Nights 7:30pm at CBAJ Luchins Media Center with Rabbi Y. Reisman, televised from Brooklyn. Rabbi Frand’s class Thurs 9pm.

3/22: MAPLE SUGARING IN B&B

4/3: EREV PESACH 8am Minyan at Maimonides followed by Firstborn Siyum by Rabbi Nachman Simon on Yevamos, the recent tractate studied by Daf Yomi.

Communal Chametz burning outside the school will be later that morning. We finish eating Chametz by 10:50am & burn it by 11:50am.

4/3-4: COMMUNAL SEDERS CBAJ (489-5819) and Bethlehem Chabad (8667658) are hosting each hosting communal Seders on the first night, Shabbos House (438-4227), Union Chabad (496-0779) and Saratoga Chabad (526-0773) are hosting communal Seders on both nights. Call ahead for info & RSVP.

It’s maple-sugaring season! at Mountain Winds Farm, 12 Williamson Rd, Berne, NY or at Kent’s Sugarhouse 2529 Plank Road in Berlin NY. See process first-hand, with farm and woodland tours.

4/8: PASSOVER FUN DAY Call ahead for info. Check Kashrut before Saratoga Chabad is once again hosting a fun day tasting/purchasing any products. on Pesach, this year on Wed of Chol HaMoed.

3/22: BAR-ZOHAR AT JEWISH-FED Program includes carnival booths, a performing Michael Bar-Zohar is a former member of Knesset juggler and balloon artistry, plus a delicious and best-selling author of a book on the Mossad. Kosher for Passover meal. $36 suggested per family, $10pp. Questions? 526-0773.

He is speaking for Federations Joint Society at Agudat Achim 7:15pm. This event has been sold out!

3/23: WOMENS BET MEDRASH Mrs. Nechama Laber will lead the study and discussion on Yocheved and Miriam, timely this time of year as Passover approaches. 8pm at Maimonides, all levels of learning are welcome.

-- DATE TBA: FARBRENGEN A Pre-Passover Farbrengen in honor of the Rebbe’s Yud-Aleph Nissan birthday (not on that date) with guest Rabbi Dovid Dubov of Princeton NJ is being scheduled and will be announced shortly. It is open to all men and women and children who’d appreciate it. Stay tuned!!

-- AND CHAMTEZ NIGHT PRIOR… HS Girls will have a “get out of the house and eat some hot Chametz night” (food for sale) in late afternoon prior to Farbrengen, so people can come for both events, either/or that same night.

4/19: JCC PILLARS 15 HONORS M. LOSICE & CARL BLOOMBERG Reb Moshe Losice, well-respected in our community, is one of JCC’s Pillars event awardees this year, along with Mr. Carl Bloomberg, a past recipient of the Dr. Morton Berger Memorial Award. Info? contact Sidney Albert Albany JCC.

5/7: LAG B’OMER

“EXHIBIT A” AT THE NYS SENATE The OU and other Jewish political advocacy groups from NYC were up in Albany to lobby for certain support for Yeshiva education, and needed “Exhibit A” students who study Jewish and General Studies subjects and don’t live 100+ miles away. Our boys were an excellent exhibit because they represented the fact that Yeshivot are not limited to NYC’s 5 Boroughs but are present throughout NYS. The boys got to sit in very comfortable seats in a very ornate room before rushing back to General Studies classes.

They’re pictured here with Senator Simcha Felder and Senator Martin Golden.

SALE OF CHAMETZ FORMS, MAOS CHITIM AND SHMURAH MATZAH All the above pre-Pesach items are available with Rabbi Rubin, please call 423-4103 or email him at: RRalbany@gmail.com, or most of these can also be arranged through your local Rabbi.

Pesach is around the corner now, and coming very soon! Don’t delay…

On a Thursday this year after several years of Sundays. Look for the return of the Maimonides daytime Parade & also a special communal event being planned for late afternoon. Stay tuned!

6/1: MAIMONIDES DINNER Stay tuned for info!

CAMP GAN ISRAEL UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT FOR THIS YEAR

Morah Devorah Leah Mathless will be the new Camp Gan Israel Rabbi Lehrfield’s CBAJ Shabbat Hagadol learning director for this year, efforts are now will be on how this teaches good Jewish values… underway to bring talented, capable and dedicated staff and add some 4/1-13 PESACH SCHOOL SCHED. new exciting programming. Contact Wed 4/1 & Thurs 4/2: General Studies only, 8am- Devorah Leah if you have questions, stay tuned 11:30. Morning begins with Davening at school. for more info, registration forms coming soon.

3/28: STEALING AFIKOMAN

MAIMONIDES SCHOOL & COMMUNITY (Nursery / Elementary / High School) 404 Partridge Street Albany NY 12208 (518) 453-9363/3434 maimonidesschool@gmail.com Founded in 1980, Maimonides is chartered by the NYS Board of Regents and is a JF-NENY Beneficiary “A Beautiful Blend: Torah & Worldly Experience!”