Kindergarten

General Studies – Ms. Rusakov

In math we will:

• Practice reading and recording three digit numbers.
• Practice solving addition and subtraction problems with and without the help of manipulatives.
• Play memory games to memorize the names of the 3-D shapes and their properties. Shapes will include the cube, sphere, cylinder, pyramid, cone, and prism.

In language arts we will:

• Continue creating our own stories during Writing Workshop. Our focus this month will be on learning how to create non-fiction books and how to organize all the information in the web.

• Continue to read books independently during Reading Workshop time. Children will practice choosing books that are not too easy and not too hard — but just right for them!
• Continue reading books in small guided groups, in order to learn and practice more strategies for decoding and sounding out words.
• Practice writing a few sentences in a row with the correct mechanics, such as remembering to use capital letters, ending marks, and spaces between words.

In social studies we will continue working on researching pictures, information, and facts about our chosen countries. All the information we find will be assembled in that country’s report.

In science we will:

• Talk about spring and summer in nature.
• Watch our plants grow and develop. This year we planted radishes, chives, summer squash, and garden beans, and now we are going to record the data in our plant journals. The kids are really enjoying this!

Looking Ahead…

• Please check the calendar for upcoming events and show and tells.
• Our swimming unit will be on May 9-10 and 23-24. Please make your child bring a towel and a bathing suit on these days.
• Art Adventures field trip is on May 16. You are welcome to join us.
• Please remember to come on June 7 for Open Portfolio Day at 8:15-8:45. Your child is going to share with you his/her best projects that we saved from the very beginning of the year.
• School is closed on May 28.
• Last day of school is June 8. Early dismissal at 11:30AM.

Hebrew – Ms. Taragan

The kindergartners and their families gathered for a special Shabbat program on Friday, April 20. The kindergartners and their families designed their own unique hallah covers, made Shabbat candles, and created Kiddush cups. Later, the families gathered in the auditorium for a delicious Shabbat dinner. The kindergartners made their own hallot for this special occasion earlier in the day. Blessings over the candles, wine, netilat yadayim, and hamotzi were recited by the students. The parents then blessed their children. Students and families sang Hebrew songs and later partook in Israeli dancing. The evening concluded with the students leading the Birkat Hamazon. Celebrating Shabbat at the Heilicher Minneapolis Jewish Day School with our families was truly a unique experience!

In honor of Yom HaAztma’ut, we learned many new songs. They were:

• Kahol V’lavan

• Eretz Zavat Halav U’dvash
• Eretz Yisrael Sheli
• Im Tirzu Ain Zu Agada
• Am Yisrael Chai

The kindergartners enjoyed singing songs and dancing Israeli dances for the all-school Yom HaAztma’ut program and during our special Kindergarten Yom HaAztma’ut celebration.

Each day, the students count the Omer during our Hebrew lessons. During Hebrew, the children played a Hebrew game called “Climbing Mt. Sinai”. This Hebrew board game has forty-nine spaces which correspond to the forty-nine days of the counting of the Omer. The students were divided into two teams. Each team enjoyed counting in Hebrew as they “climbed Mt. Sinai”.

At the end of the year, the kindergartners will hear the delightful story “An Apartment for Rent” by Leah Goldberg. The students will also perform this story as a puppet show and will view the Hebrew video. This delightful Hebrew story tells of various animals living in an apartment building. One of the animals moves out and a new tenant comes to live in the building. Many different animals visit the apartment, but it is the dove that decides to reside in the building. The story lends itself to a class discussion on the importance of creating a respectful, loving, and caring community.

The kindergartners love studying the weekly parasha and illustrating their Torah books. We continue to learn more and more prayers from our siddurim. The students especially love singing Adom Olam to various melodies. At the end of the year, the kindergartners will be honored at divisional t’filah with an aliyah before the Torah is read. In addition, on Friday, May 25 the kindergartners will be honored by reciting the brahot at the all-school Kabbalat Shabbat.

It has been a very busy time in kindergarten. Your children have learned so much. I am so proud of their accomplishments!

Art – Ms. Orkin

What we have been doing in kindergarten…

• Passover matza/afikomen covers
• 3-D Paper animals from the books Paper Jungle and Paper Ocean by Sally and Stewart Walton
• MIA Art Adventures final two art pieces

“Pacific” Tz’daka Box by artist Tony Berlant, made in 1998 on display in the MIA Jewish Art Collection

Chinese Ceremonial Gateway, made in 1728 of handcrafted ceramic tile.

Art Adventures Art Project

Chinese Doorway with photo collage decoration

Field trip to the Minneapolis Art Institute “Let’s Celebrate Life”

• Wednesday, May 16 , 10 – 11 a.m. (Mrs. Rusakov’s class)
• Thursday, May 17, 10 – 11 a.m. (Ms. Kryzkwa’s class)
• Bus leaves at 9:30 a.m. and returns at 11:30 a.m.
• We need 6 parents/grandparents to help chaperone from each class
• Please RSVP to aorkin@hmjds.org

Upcoming projects…

• Class thematic alphabet picture book
• Landscape drawing from observation outside
• Sidewalk chalk murals

Music – Mr. Shaw

This newsletter will coincide with the Kindergarten classes having just presented Children Around the World on May 2. We had a lot of fun learning songs that showcased an extensive cultural repertoire. Our dancing shoes took us many places. Mrs. Rusakov’s class danced to an Irish tune called The Rakes of Mallow and Ms. Krzykwa’s room performed a Serbian dance from Yugoslavia called Plješkavac Kolo. It was fun to have Mrs. Taragan showcase songs from the Hebrew curriculum as well. The entire Kindergarten team and I are very appreciative of the parents’ hard work in helping the children rehearse speaking parts, finding costumes, and providing the delicious refreshments following the program. Now that the big show is over for the year, students will create a reflection about it for their portfolios. In the remaining weeks of school the children will be formally assessed in several music content areas. Many pedagogic approaches were incorporated in the teaching of music for the program and this allowed us to never leave the music curriculum while building our skill set.

Concepts and Understandings Highlighted in Music Lessons

• Responding interpretively to music using movement.
• Moving/dancing to a varied repertoire of instrumental music.
• Developing directional awareness.
• Attending to and focusing on instructions.
• Refining rehearsal and performance techniques.
• Responding to literature.
• Developing the competency to perform music through modeling.
• Keeping a steady beat while playing.
• Understanding music in the context of cultural heritage.

Physical Education – Mr. Lindquist

Greetings Kindergarten Parents,

Spring is a very busy time of year at HMJDS for Kindergartners, as we are observing the sixth-fourth birthday of Israel (Yom HaAtzma’ut), Children Around The World (CATW), Art Adventures and Fitness Week. Fasten your seatbelts; it will be a fast ride to summer!

What’s Going On?

Ms. Krzykwa’s class had a great time swimming with Heather Moor and myself. I discovered that the students are great swimmers! Many children learned how to perform a standing dive from the deck. Others greatly improved their breath control, which means they can now place their face in the water and hold their breath for five to ten seconds. Once this was achieved we added flutter kicking and arm strokes.

During CATW and Art Adventures week there will be no swimming.

Ms. Rusakov’s class will swim on:

• Wednesday 5/9
• Thursday 5/10
• Wednesday 5/23
• Thursday 5/24

What’s Next?

Earlier in the school year we learned and practiced soccer skills playing modified games. This spring we will be using those same skills playing soccer, but we will move closer to using official rules and teaching the different positions. We will finish the school year playing modified softball using a six inch “softie” dodge ball. Judging from what I see at recess, these children will have that ball flying!

Technology – Ms. Olson

Country Research in Full Swing!

Kindergarteners will be in the lab a great deal this month creating pages for their largest project of the year, Children Around the World. The internet provides us with so much information about other parts of our world. It is amazing that only a short time ago one had to know someone who traveled to one of these far away lands or catch a glimpse in a National Geographic Magazine to see pictures of these places. Now the world is at our fingertips and your child is able to “travel” around the world by just taking a short walk to the HMJDS computer lab.

This month, we will explore our chosen countries in pictures. We will be using our discerning eye to find a good picture that meets our needs and learn to copy and paste it into Microsoft Word. We will capture our countries in a digital feast for the eyes. Students will find pictures of people, native clothing, food, landmarks and more giving each student a good idea of what it might be like if he or she might be there!

General Studies – Ms. Rusakov

Math

We will:

• Practice solving addition and subtraction problems.
• Learn the names of solid (3-D) shapes, like cube, cylinder, prism, sphere, and pyramid. We will discuss their properties and where they can be found in real life.
• Practice using tally marks for easy counting.
• Play games to trade coins.
• Continue counting by twos to 50.

Language Arts

We will:

• Continue to work on writing and illustrating our own books during Writing Workshop. This month we will focus on learning how to edit and improve our stories with help from a peer.
• Continue to read books independently during Reading Workshop time. If your child brings home a book in a book bag, please make sure to listen to him or her reading, and then send the book back to school the next day.
• Continue reading books in small guided groups to learn and practice more strategies to decode and sound out words.
• Practice writing sentences with the correct mechanics, such as remembering capital letters, ending marks, and spaces between the words.

Social Studies

We will:

• Start doing projects about our chosen countries. Some projects will be done in the classroom, while others will be done in the technology lab.
• “Travel” to Kenya and Israel. We will learn about the traditions, people, and culture of these countries.
• Celebrate Yom HaAtzma’ut (Israeli Independence Day) with special activities for all the kindergarteners.

Science

We will:

• Discuss spring and its signs in nature.
• Learn about the lifecycles of animals.
• Plant seeds and watch them germinate. We will record all the changes in our plant journal.

Looking Ahead…

• Please check the calendar for upcoming events and show and tells.
• Kindergarten Family Shabbat Dinner is on April 20 at 5:30 PM. Please come!
• Pesah Break is April 6 – April 13.
• Please encourage your child to read books on RazKids. Reading skills improve tremendously with practice!
• Children Around the World Performance is on Wednesday, May 2. Dress rehearsal is on May 1. Please bring your child’s costume on May 1.

Hebrew – Ms. Taragan

It was wonderful meeting with you during conferences and sharing the recordings of your child speaking Hebrew. After conferences, I emailed each family the recordings for you to enjoy at home. I first recorded your child in the beginning of October and then recorded your child in the beginning of March. It is truly a joy hearing how much your child’s Hebrew vocabulary has grown throughout the year!

The kindergartners’ visit to the Shalom Home during VOICE week was a highlight for all who participated in this event. The kindergartners sang and danced for the residents of the Shalom Home, the Roitenberg Family Assisted Living Residence and Knollwood Place. The kindergartners concluded the performance by doing a partner dance with the senior citizens and later giving them crepe-paper flowers and greeting cards. The following thank you was sent by the Director of Volunteer Services of the Ackerberg Campus: “As it did last year when the kids came, it brought tears to my eyes. They are so amazing and brought such joy to the residents”. It is truly a priceless experience for all.

The kindergartners have been very busy learning the story of Pesah and the songs and blessings from the haggadah. The students enjoy singing:

• Simha Raba
• Ma Nishtana
• Avadeem Hayenu

• Dayenu
• Eliyahu Hanavee
• Ehad Me Yodea

The students enjoyed participating in the Living Legacy Program- the Matzah Factory conducted by Rabbi Grossbaum. The kindergartners also performed Bedikat Hametz (looking for hametz) in the classroom. The students did a great job looking for the hametz using a candle, a spoon and a feather.

The kindergartners continue to learn more of the prayers from the Shaharit service. They have begun the Book of Vayikra (Leviticus) after learning about the Mishkan (Tabernacle), the priestly clothing and the sacrificial utensils in the Book of Shemot (Exodus).

Every day the kindergartners will be reciting the blessing for the “Counting of the Omer” after they return from Pesah vacation. They will conclude the “Counting of the Omer” on Shavuot.

I would like to conclude by wishing you and your families a wonderful Pesah “Hag Kasher V’Sameah”.

Art – Ms. Orkin

What we have been doing in art…

Purim Masks and African Mask Making using tag board, oil pastel, feathers, glitter glue, sequins and yarn.

Spring Portfolio Drawings

Students focused on lettering as an art form, as well as drawing diverse flowers.

Art Adventures- Let’s Celebrate Life!

• Native American Lakota Dress, 1890’s.
• Hindu Shiva Navaraja-The Lord of Dance and Creation and Destruction Cycle-1000 CE
• Project-Beaded Bracelets with a pattern.

Upcoming Projects

Our final two pieces from the Art Adventures Program’s- Let’s Celebrate Life! Series

California Artist Tony Berlant’s Tzedaka Box made in 1988 out of metal, plywood and steel.

Chinese ceremonial gate made in 1728 of hand-carved tile.

We’ll also be making

• Painted matza/afikomen cover
• 3-D paper animals and their habitat
• Thematic alphabet class book

Important Upcoming Date!!!

Minneapolis Institute of the Arts Field Trip Wednesday is May 16 and Thursday May 17. Parent permission slips will be emailed home. The specific tour time will be on the slip. Students need written permission to go on the field trip. We encourage parents to meet us at the Institute of Arts ten minutes before the field trip if they wish to help chaperone. Please RSVP to Aimee Orkin if you can come help chaperone our tour.

Special thanks to the Sharon Lerner Visual Arts Fund, donated by the Posada and Lerner Families, for funding this amazing experience!

Library – Ms. Oskow

The library buzzed with excited students at the Scholastic Book Fair March 25-30. We earned more than $2,200 in profit for the HMJDS library budget. In addition, we took $1250 worth of books directly from the Fair for students’ immediate use, and earned $400 in book vouchers for more materials to order to complement classroom materials. Students are already excitedly checking out new books. People also donated books directly from the book sale to the classrooms or library.

A big thank you to the Book Fair Chairs, Beth Jasco, Ellen Berkelhamer, and Micki Litton, for all of your hard work!

And thank you to all of the great volunteers:

Judy Finkelstein, Gail Freedman, Michelle Gendlin, Alyssa Golob, Diane Greenberger, Michael Keller, Wendy Khabie, Becky Madigan, Melissa Mark, Emer O’Connor-Keller, Mark Roth, Laura Schmieg, Heidi Schneider, Beckie Skelton, Lisa Villalta, Kim Kotzen Wear, Lauren Weiser, and Dana Beth Weisman.

And student volunteers:

Talia H., Daniel H., Felicia & Haley J., Liang J., Avia K.-R., Chyna L.-L., Isaac M., Talia N., Ora R., Emmy S., and Zachariah W.S.

Teachers and Students Win Prizes in Book Fair Drawing

Two Grand Prize winners won $25 in Book Fair merchandise for the student, and $25 for his or her teacher to pick out books for the classroom: Sammie W. and Ms. Dorman/Schochet, Josh M. and Ms. Norton. Twenty-two other students in grades K-8 won posters. Students entered another drawing by creating a poster about a favorite book on a pineapple-shaped paper. Sydney W. won $25 worth of books from the Fair in that contest.

Hunger Games Mockingjay Pin Raffle

A limited-edition Hunger Games trilogy boxed set at the Book Fair contained a hotly desired Mockingjay pin. Mr. Gawronski and Mr. Portnoe were kind enough to buy boxed sets, keep the books, and donate their pins back for a raffle. Winners of the pins and a Hunger Games poster were pulled on Thursday, April 5.

Thank you to everyone who bought books, donated books or pins, or entered the Mockingjay raffle! Your purchases will enable us to buy many new books to enhance curriculum and aid students’ love of reading, as well as help us to update the library with electronic resources for the 21st Century.

Music – Mr. Shaw

Children Around the World Performance

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 at 2:00 PM in the Auditorium

As I shared with many of you at conferences, the students continue to prepare for the Children Around the World program, which will be our primary focus this month. The students are showing a great deal of confidence and pride when practicing for the May program. We have added a lot of songs to our cultural repertoire. The songs include World Wide Hello, Taking a Trip Around the World, Mi Chacra, Frére Jacques, Shake the Papaya Down, Calypso, Kookaburra, You’re a Grand Old Flag, and Bento Uri. These songs originate from such places as the United States, Argentina, Spain, France, the Caribbean, Australia, and Japan. The students are becoming very competent performers and are doing a great job preparing for the May program. Final preparations will be under way when we return from Pesah break. We will have several school rehearsals before we put on the big show for parents, grandparents, and friends on May 2.

Concepts and Understandings Highlighted in Music Lessons

• Respond interpretively to music using movement.
• Move/dance to a varied repertoire of instrumental music.
• Develop directional awareness. Attend and focus.
• Respond to literature.
• Use solfege (Curwen) hands signals to indicate melodic direction.
• Develop the competency to perform music through modeling.
• Keep a steady beat while playing.
• Music in context of cultural heritage.
• Describe contrasts in music using words: fast/slow

Physical Education – Mr. Lindquist

Greetings Kindergarten Parents,

I hope you are planning a fun-filled Pesah break and are ready to finish out the school year with a variety of wonderful events that includes Fitness Week and swimming!

What’s Going On?

We had a great time in our volleyball unit using balloons to help us learn how to eye-track and strike moving objects. We will be using those skills to strike a pitched ball later in our spring softball unit, which will be the last activity of the year.

Kindergarten Swimming

It’s that time of year again, when your kindergartner gets to go swimming. Each class will have four swims from 12:50-2:00 PM during their regular gym times. We are fortunate to have Heather Moor, a JCC swimming instructor, working with us again this year. We will be working on skills ranging from learning breath control to performing standing dives in the deep end.

Please mark these dates on your calendar:

Ms. Krzykwa’s class will swim on Wednesday, April 18; Thursday, April 20; Wednesday, April 25; and Thursday, April 26.

Ms. Rusakov’s class will swim on Wednesday, May 9; Thursday, May 10; Wednesday, May 23; and Thursday, May 24.

Please look for a permission slip coming home soon that will remind you of the dates, as well as what you’ll need to bring. Please e-mail me with any questions or concerns you may have.

Technology – Ms. Olson

Taking a look Inside

Kindergartners continue to work on the computers in their classrooms and hopefully at home. We are again connecting in class curriculum with technology by working on a SMARTnotebook program about the human body. This helps students better understand the science curriculum while also helping them improve the technology skills that we want them proficient in by the time they leave kindergarten.

In the next month or two, we will be working on books for Children Around the World. More information about this unit will be coming to you soon. Students will be using several software programs including Microsoft Word, Microsoft Publisher, Microsoft Excel and the internet. If you have these programs at home you can take a look at them with your child and start, especially with Microsoft Word working with the program for some brief exposure. You will be amazed at what these students can produce!

General Studies – Ms. Rusakov

In math we will:

• Continue to practice to count by twos to 20 and 50.
• Play games to tell time to the hour.
• Learn about addition and subtraction; what the words mean and how to solve problems with the use of manipulatives.
• Learn months of the year in the right order by singing a song.
• Play games to trade 100 cents for a one dollar bill.
• Count down from 20 to zero.

In language arts we will:

• Continue to work on writing and illustrating our own books during Writing Workshop. Our focus this month will be on adding interesting details and adjectives to our stories.
• Continue to have Reading Workshop almost every day. During these 5-10 minutes students will be reading books for beginning readers independently. The goal is for them to learn how to choose a book that is neither too hard nor too easy. If your child brings home a book, please make sure to listen to him or her read, and then send it back to school the next day.
• Continue reading books in small guided groups to learn and practice more strategies to decode and sound out words.

In social studies we will:

• Talk about different kinds of doctors and their important jobs in the community. We will even have two presentations by real doctors.
• Talk about tikkun olam (repairing the world), including the importance of giving tz’dakah and donating our own time to help others.
• Participate in acts of kindness during VOICE week.

In science we will:

• Continue learning about important organs in our body and their functions. As a conclusion to this study we will assemble “bodies” with major organs made out of candies and other fun materials.

Looking Ahead…

• Please check the calendar for upcoming events and show and tells.
• VOICE Night is on March 13th at 7 p.m. Please come with your child to participate in the special volunteering activities.
• Parent Conferences will be held on March 28 and 29. There will be an early dismissal at 11:30 on both days.
• Please encourage your child to read books on RazKids. Reading skills improve tremendously with practice!

Hebrew – Ms. Taragan

The joyful month of Adar is here! The excitement was contagious with Purim in the air. The kindergartners made mishloah manot (Purim treats), raashanim (groggers) and dressed up for the all-school Purim celebration on Thursday, March 8th (14th of Adar). This fun-filled day began with the megilla reading, a Purim fashion show, a Purim schpiel and lots of singing and dancing. The kindergartners’ favorite Purim songs were: Hakova Sheli, Ani Purim, Ahat Shtayim Shalosh, Letzan Katan Nehmad, Letzan Katan Mestovav B’Maagal, Me Shenihnas Adar and Hag Purim.

The kindergartners are looking forward to singing and dancing at the Shalom Home on Monday, March 12 for the residents from the Roitenberg Family Assisted Living Residence, the Shalom Home and Knollwood Place. The joy that the kindergartners bring the residents is evident from the moment the children arrive to the moment they leave. The mitzvot of honoring the elderly Mipnei seva takum (getting up for an elderly person) and Al taazvenei b’ate zeknae (Don’t abandon a person when they are elderly) are deeply ingrained in Judaism. I am immensely proud of the kindergartners’ yearly visit to the Roitenberg Family Assisted Living Residence, the Shalom Home, and Knollwood Place and how the kindergartners demonstrate the mitzvot of honoring the elderly. Parents are welcome to join the kindergartners on this special field trip!

The kindergartners are continuing to learn additional blessings from Birkat Hashahar. We discuss how grateful we are to God Asher natan l’sehvi bina l’havhin ben yom u’ven laila (enables his creatures to distinguish between night and day), Sheasni b’tzalmo (made me in His image), Sheasani Yisrael (made me a Jew), Sheasani ben/bat horein (made me free) and Pokeah Ivrim (gives sight to the blind). The kindergartners bring examples of these blessings from their personal lives.

The kindergartners love studying the weekly parasha. In parashat Mishpatim, we learned that Moses sets rules before the Israelites. The kindergartners also decided to generate their own rules; rules in class, rules at recess and rules at home. In parashiyot Terumah, Tetzaveh, Ki Tissa, Vayahel, Pekudey, and Vayikra the kindergartners will be discussing the Mishkan (the Tabernacle) where the Israelites could bring sacrifices and feel God’s presence. We will compare the Mishkan to the synagogue today, the Head Kohein to the rabbi today and sacrifices to prayers today.

I will again be recording your child speaking Hebrew. I look forward to sharing these recordings with you during conferences on March 28 and 29. I am very proud of the kindergartners’ accomplishments!

Art – Ms. Orkin

Kindergarteners completed painted winter trees at sunset.

They developed these new skills:

• Blending colors with water and paint to create a sunset
• Creating multiple vertical trees with branches
• Painting a snow scene with white acrylic paint

Students also drew, cut out, and decorated tag board Purim masks with oil pastel crayons, sequins, feathers, and yarn.

Upcoming projects:

We are in the midst of our third installment of the Minneapolis Institute of Art’s Art Adventures curriculum on the theme “Let’s Celebrate Life!”

Students looked at:

A Lakota Native American women’s dress from 1880 and an Indian sculpture of Shiva Nataraja from the late 10th century.

Our project will be a beading mosaic picture of Native American Indian design.

Our Passover project will be a painted afikomen napkin for the middle matza to be hidden in.

Happy upcoming holidays!!

Ms. Orkin

Library – Ms. Oskow

HMJDS Scholastic Book Fair March 25-30!!

Books available for preschool through adults at Scholastic’s discounted prices. 25% of money collected goes to the library.

Book Fair Hours:

Sunday, March 25 - 9:00 AM-1:00 PM

Monday, March 26 - 8:00 AM-7:15 PM – HMJDS Class Preview Day

Tuesday, March 27 - 8:00 AM-7:15 PM – HMJDS Class Preview Day

Wednesday, Mar. 28 - 8:00 AM-8:00 PM – HMJDS Conferences PM

Thursday, March 29 - 8:00 AM-7:15 PM – HMJDS Conferences PM

Friday, March 30 - 8:00 AM-4:00 PM

Student Preview Days

Each HMJDS class visits the Book Fair Monday, March 26 or Tuesday, March 27. Students write a Wish List of books and may buy books.

Teacher Wish Lists

Teachers post Wish Lists and families can buy books or Gift Certificates to dedicate for classrooms, specialists, or the library.

Contests to Win Free Books

Parents or adult relatives can enter their students in a drawing anytime they stop by the Book Fair together through Thursday, March 29 (once per student). On Thursday, March 29, two students’ names will be drawn to win $25 worth of books—and a winning student’s teacher also chooses $25 worth of books! Students’ names are drawn for other prizes, too.

Additional drawing: for students who design posters celebrating their favorite book to decorate the library. Posterboard available from Ms. Oskow. Posters due by March 22.

Visit the Book Fair Online

http://bookfairs.scholastic.com/homepage/hmjds

The Online Book Fair:

• allows your child to send wish lists, and invite family and friends to participate in the Book Fair
• offers an expanded book selection – books for all ages, even adult titles
• is available for an extended time: Monday, March 19 to Sunday, April 8.

Volunteers Needed For Book Fair

• Set up the Book Fair on Friday, March 23
• Tear down the Book Fair on Monday, April 2
• Staff the Book Fair during open hours

Please contact Book Fair Chairs Micki Litton, Beth Jasco or Ellen Berkelhamer – or sign up on the sheet that will be posted outside the library.

Music – Mr. Shaw

We have started our preparation for the Children Around the World program and will continue to work on the following songs: World Wide Hello, Frére Jacques, Bento Uri, Calypso, Shake the Papaya Down, and Kookaburra. It is my goal to introduce the songs for the program over the next few months so the students will be well prepared for the May program. Mi Chacra, and You’re a Grand Old Flag are two new songs that we will be learning soon. Many of these songs originate from such places as the United States, Argentina, Spain, France, the Caribbean, Australia, and Japan. I will also be incorporating stories into these units and will read the children books that give them a little background about the different countries. The books may include Hello World, One Leaf Rides the Wind, and Wombat Stew. When we come back from break in March we will start working on some songs for Purim as well. We should have a lot of fun working on songs such as Hag Purim, Ani Purim, and Mishenihnas Adar.

Featured Concepts and Understandings in Music Class Lessons:

• Respond interpretively to music using visual art and movement.
• Respond to literature.
• Use solfege (Curwen) hands signals to indicate melodic direction.
• Develop the competency to perform music through modeling.
• Keep a steady beat while playing and singing.
• Music in context of cultural heritage.

Physical Education – Mr. Lindquist

Greetings Kindergarten Parents,

Welcome back! I hope everyone had a meaningful Sh’vat. In my classes we recognized Tu b’sh’vat by incorporating the holiday theme into our lesson plan. We also celebrated the 100th day of school with a special lesson with every activity centered around 100.

What’s Going On?

Your kindergartner just finished their rope jumping unit and is now participating in gymnastics. This year we will be using the balance beam, vault and the handstand spotter.

In the beginning the balance beam height will be 30 inches. It will be raised six to twelve inches during the course of the unit. Students will be introduced to different balance beam challenges to create two to three different skills in their balance beam routine. This includes the dismount onto the crash mat while landing on their feet without dropping to their knees.

In vaulting, students will learn the proper approach to the spring board, hurdle onto two feet and either tuck or straddle over the 24 inch vault.

This year your kindergartner will have the opportunity to participate in the swimming unit. This is typically right after the Children Around the World performance. Look for more information in the next newsletter.

Please be aware that Fitness Week is penciled in for the week of May 21, so look for volunteering opportunities!

Technology – Ms. Olson

How Do I Find GREAT Websites For My Kindergartener?

Have no fear… HMJDS is here! It just so happens that at school your child uses our custom Portaportal website to find safe and age level appropriate websites that are also interesting, educational and fun! If you don’t already have the HMJDS Portaportal set up on your home computer, please follow these instructions:

• Go to www.portaportal.com
• Along the right side you will see a field in a box labeled Guest Access. Click in the box and type hmjds.
• Once hmjds is typed, click visit.

It’s that simple and now your child will be able to access all of the websites that we work on in school and even try out some others… You may even want to sneak into the grade one list to try something new out.

The HMJDS Portaportal site is updated periodically when a new website comes to our attention that we feel is important to share with students. If you know of a site that you feel we should know about and possibly add to the Portaportal, please contact me and I will consider it for addition to our Portaportal.

General Studies – Ms. Rusakov

In math we will:

• Practice counting by twos to 20 and 50.
• Play games and take surveys to use tally marks.
• Celebrate Day 100 with many special math activities that require us to count to 100 in different ways.
• Learn about time and different clocks. We will also talk about the hour and minute hand and how to tell time to the hour.
• Play games to recognize all the coins and remember their values.

In language arts we will:

• Write and illustrate our own books during Writing Workshop. We will work on developing a story using the model of beginning, middle and end.
• Start Reading Workshop. Students will be reading books for beginning readers independently for 5-10 minutes. Each time the child will read a book first to him/herself, next to a friend and a teacher. Then the book will be sent home so they can read it one more time to their parents. Please make sure your child brings the book back to school the next day!
• Learn a new poem called “100 Is a Lot!”
• Continue to read books in small groups to learn more strategies to decode and sound out words.
• Practice writing whole sentences using the sounding out method. The goal will be making spaces between the words and using ending punctuation marks consistently.

In social studies we will:

• Celebrate President’s Day by learning about the first presidents and a president’s work.
• Talk about doctors and their important job in the communities.

In science we will:

• Learn about signs of winter and discuss the lives of birds and animals during the winter in Minnesota.
• Talk about teeth and dental health.
• Learn about all major parts of the body, including organs and their functions. We will read books, conduct experiments and make a few projects.

Looking Ahead…

• Please check the calendar for upcoming events and show and tells.
• Mid-Winter break is February 27 – March 2.
• Parent-teacher conferences are on March 28-29.

Hebrew – Ms. Taragan

The kindergartners enjoyed performing the skit Saba Eliezer V’Hagezer (Grandfather Eliezer and the Carrot) for their families at Kabbalat Shabbat. The gigantic carrot was successfully pulled out of the ground with the combined help from Saba Eliezer, Savta Elisheva, Avigial, Kelev (dog), Hatul (cat) and Ahbar (mouse). Kol Hakavod to all the kindergartners for a great job!

We read the book Hannahle v’Simlat Hashabbat (Hannah and the Shabbat Dress). The students enjoyed performing this story in a Hebrew puppet show. Each student is trying to emulate Hannah by doing mitzvot.

The kindergartners enjoyed celebrating Tu B’Shevat (The Holiday of the Trees) on the 15th day of Shevat. They learned songs for the holiday and had a unique Tu B’Shevat sedar.

The kindergartners began the unit on clothing. I brought to class a huge tote bag filled with clothes. The students loved learning the Hebrew names for all the clothes and playing Hebrew games with the new words. Examples of the vocabulary are:

Hultzah aruka – Long sleeve shirt

Hultzah ketzara – Short sleeve shirt

Mechnasayim arukim – Long pants

Mechnasayim ketzarim – Short pants

Miel – Jacket/Coat

Simla Dress

Hatzait – Skirt

Garbayim – Socks

Naalai-sport – Sport shoes

Naalai-shabbat – Shabbat shoes

Naalai-bayit – Slippers

Kova – Hat

Magafayim – Boots

Tzief – Scarf

Sandalim – Sandals

The students will also learn the correct verbs for each article of clothing. For example: Ani lovesh Miel (“I am wearing a coat”), Ani noel naalai-bayit (“I am wearing slippers”), Ani gorev garbayim (“I am wearing socks”).

We are continuing to learn more prayers in the Shaharit (morning) service. The kindergartners are learning additional blessings to Birkot Hashahar. The kindergartners enjoy sharing in class what they are grateful for in their lives. They then apply the blessings in their lives to what is recited in Birkat Hashahar.

The students learned from the book of Shemot (Exodus) in parshiyot Vaera, Bo and Beshallah about the Israelites lives in Egypt and how the Israelites left Egypt (Yesiat Mitzrayim. The students discussed how they celebrate Pesah with their families and the meaning “from slavery to freedom”.

General Studies – Rusakov

In Math we will . . .

• Learn about nickels and their values.
• Practice counting by fives to 100.
• Play pawn wars in chess.
• Continue practicing writing one and two digit numbers correctly and neatly.
• Learn how to work with a calculator to help with counting. We’ll also work on entering and reading two digit numbers.
• Play games to remember some shapes, such as the rectangle, trapezoid, and hexagon.

In Language Arts we will . . .

• Sound out real and nonsense words made from three to four letters, like dig-gid.
• Learn about vowels. We’ll play The Vowel Game to memorize the vowels and different ways of reading them. We will also sing a song to have fun with different vowels.
• Learn and practice using a few reading strategies for beginning readers, such as reading pictures, reading a first and last sound, and sounding out short words.
• Start reading books for beginning readers in small groups. After reading each book, students will have a chance to bring their book home to read to everybody in the house. Please remember to send this book back to school the next day because other children will be waiting for their turn to read this book.
• Work on labeling pictures in the stories that children create during the Writing Workshop time. Students will learn to label by sounding words out.

In Social Studies we will . . .

• Talk about different maps. We will learn about the map of the USA and mark the states that children have visited.
• Make a map of Minnesota with important landmarks on it.
• Make maps of our rooms and maps of our hearts. Children will learn to label each object on their maps using the sounding out method.
• Look at and compare passports of different countries, make our own passports and suitcases, and get ready to “travel” around the world in January.
• Say The Pledge of Allegiance every morning to show our pride in and loyalty to our country.
• Learn the story of Hanukkah and talk about its symbols and celebration.

Looking Ahead…

• Our Hanukkah Program will be at Adath Jeshurun Congregation on December 20 at 6:30pm. Practice will be on December 19. Please drop your child at Adath at 8:00 a.m. on the day of practice.
• Please make sure that your child’s snow gear is at school when snow is on the ground. We go outside everyday! Sleds will be provided by school.
• Winter Break will start on December 21.
• We will be sending rest things and extra clothes home to be washed over the break. Please send it back on Tuesday, January 3 when school resumes.
• Literacy Curriculum Night is coming up on January 9 at 7:00 p.m. Please come to listen about our Language Arts curriculum. We will be talking about the ways we teach your child to read and write, as well as our expectations for the year.
• Please check the calendar for upcoming dates and events.

Hebrew – Taragan

We have been very busy during our Hebrew lessons. The students enjoyed hearing the story Sefat Hasemanim Shel Noa (Noa’s Secret Sign). Each day Noa had a different hairdo to correspond to the day of the week. We decided to “adopt” Noa’s creative way of learning the days of the week too. Every day the students (and teacher) had a special hairdo. (On Monday the students came to school with two pony tails, two braids, two barrettes, two clips, two kippot etc… On Tuesday the students had three pony tails….On Wednesday four pony tails etc… On Thursday five pony tails etc…and on Friday six pony tails etc…) The students were extremely creative with hairdos and all the students now know the days of the week. Thank you so much for helping with your child’s special hair-do each morning.

Our new unit is Hanukkah! Hasivivon Hamedaber(the talking dreidel) greeted the students at school. The students enjoyed speaking Hebrew to this unique dreidel. We will be learning the brachot over the hanukiyah (menorah) and many Hanukkah songs. I showed the kindergartners sivivonim (dreidels) from both Israel and from the diaspora. The kindergartners enjoyed comparing the sivivonim. The letters on the dreidel from Israel are Nun, Gimel, Hey and Peh for “Nes Gadol Haya Po.” (“A great miracle happened here”) while the letters on the dreidel from the diaspora are Nun, Gimel, Hey and Shin for “Nes Gadol Haya Sham.” (“A great miracle happened there”). A favorite kindergarten Hanukkah song is Banu Hosheh L’Garesh(We have come to drive out the darkness). Thank you so much for sending two flashlights and a hanukiyah to school for our Hanukkah unit.

The kindergartners love studying Torah and hearing about the various parshiyot. We have now added to our Torah discussions Haye Sarah, Toldot, Vayetzei, Vayishlach and Vayeshev. The students love role-playing the various parshiyot with costumes and props.

In addition to the Shema, Modeh/Modah Ani and Ma Tovu, the kindergartners are also learning the Birkot Hashahar in our siddurim. After the students know the prayers, they illustrate the pages in their siddurim. Their drawings reflect their personal interpretations of each prayer. The class discussions add depth to their understanding of these prayers.

The annual lower-school Hanukkah program is on Tuesday, December 20 at the Adath Jeshurun Synagogue. The kindergartners are looking forward to participating in this exciting yearly school event.

I would like to conclude this newsletter by wishing you and your families a Happy Hanukkah. Hag Urim Sameah.

Barbara Taragan

Art – Orkin

What we have been working on….

Sculpting Clay hanukkiot

• Students learned clay comes from the Earth near the water’s edge
• Students learned to roll balls using the palm of their hands
• Students carved, created textures, and printed shapes with cookie cutters
• Students will soon glaze with bright colors, then visit the kiln to help load for firing

Upcoming units will be

• Texture crayon rubbings
• Shapes – We’ll make a People-Shape collages.
• Portfolio review and sharing

Physical Education – Lindquist

Greetings Kindergarten Parents,

I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving. It really is a wonderful holiday that bonds family around the dinner table and reminds us how fortunate we truly are.

What’s Next?

We’re just finishing up our basketball unit, during which your kindergartner learned and improved their ball handling skills. Our next unit will be floor hockey, which is the first of our striking units.

In kindergarten we use Pillow Polo paddle sticks for striking a special Nerf Ball. For many children who are 5-6 years old, this may be their first experience at striking a moving object. We begin with demonstrating how to grip the stick with separated hands. Before we play the regulation game, students learn how to direct the ball through an obstacle course. They will also participate in a variety of drills and modified games such as “Clean out the Backyard,” which is a game they played during our throwing unit. When we begin playing games, students will improve their agility and aerobic fitness by reacting and moving quickly in all different directions in relationship to the ball. Pillow Polo also is a great cooperative group game that teaches teamwork and improves hand-eye coordination. Who knows, this may be the first step in you becoming a hockey parent down the road, like me!

Library – Oskow

In December, kindergarten library classes learn about:

• Hanukkah books
• New easy reading and picture books

Some suggestions:

• Like a Maccabee by Raymond A. Zwerin and Audrey Friedman Marcus
• Judah Who Always said “No!” by Harriet K. Feder
• Sammy Spider’s First Hanukkah by Sylvia A. Rouss
• Hanukkah Lights, Hanukkah Nights by Leslie Kimmelman
• Dinosaur On Hanukkah by Diane Levin Rauchwerger
• The Ziz and the Hanukkah Miracle
• Maccabee! The Story of Hanukkah
• Mrs. Greenberg’s Messy Hanukkah by Linda Glaser
• Our Eight Nights of Hanukkah by Michael J. Rosen
• Grandma’s Latkes by Malka Drucker
• The Runaway Latkes by Leslie Kimmelman

Thank you to all of the grandparents and special people who bought books to donate to our library on Simhat Dor L’Dor!

Music – Shaw

Students in kindergarten will spend lot of time in December preparing for Hanukkah by singing many of the traditional songs. This will assist in preparation for the holiday and the school program at Adath Jeshurun Congregation. It will be so much fun when we sing with our parents and family members at the end of the Hanukkah program with these traditional favorites. The songs the students will learn may include: Hanukkah, Maoz Tzur, Hanukkah, O Hanukkah, Ner Li, S’vivon, and I Have a Little Dreidel. Performing these songs correlate with National Music Standard #9 – Understanding music in relationship to history and culture. Kindergarten students will also have an assessment on their ability to play a steady beat and improvise a drum pattern to the song Marching Maccabees. The children will continue to read rhythms, and they will be introduced to basic rhythms using standard notation. These short rhythmic phrases include quarter notes, eighth notes, and the quarter rest. We will also enjoy a new movement song, Rock ‘n’ Roll Ner Li and will be discussing the difference between marches, rock styles, and lullabies.

Featured Concepts and Understandings in Music Class Lessons:

• Echo-sing short phrases.
• Freely explore vocal ranges.
• Use solfege (Curwen) hands signals to indicate melodic direction.
• Improvise sounds using contrast: loud/soft, fast/slow, and high/low.
• Begin to read visual symbols that indicate rhythm (standard notation).
• Respond interpretively to music using movement.

Technology – Olson

More Tools To Use At Home

Kindergarteners are doing amazing things on the computer in school which gives them some very strong skills that they can use outside of school. There are more tools that you will now find on the Kindergarten Portaportal. The work they do in school in math and reading can be reinforced using the programs on the Portaportal. Please see previous technology newsletters found below, for information about how to access the Portaportal from home.

In December, we will continue to work on technology skills including mouse skills; moving the mouse, clicking, and using the right click feature. Various programs will be used in class to hone these skills, including KidPix drawing program in which students will expand their use of the many tools available to them. Using a variety of tools allows students to understand what computer programs can do for the user.

Kindergarten Alef News – Rusakov

Math

• We will: Practice counting up to 100 from any given number, and counting down 15-0.
• Practice writing some one-digit numbers and teen-numbers on lined paper.
• Play games to recognize numbers 11-19 and differentiate them from other two-digit numbers.
• Sort objects by different categories and learn how to build graphs.
• Have chess class on Thursdays, 2:30-3:00 with Mr. Brown!

Language Arts

• We will: Play games to match pictures to the first letters of the corresponding words.
• Start weekly handwriting lessons to learn how to form upper and lower letters correctly.
• Learn about syllables and we will count syllables in words.
• Start sounding out words (separate them into sounds) on paper.
• Start memorizing sight words. Every time you see a small index card with a few words on it placed in your child’s BEE Binder, check if your son/daughter remembers those words. It is very important to recognize sight words automatically!
• Launch a Writing Workshop this month. During this period of time (once or twice a week) students will be authors and will write and illustrate their own stories.

Social Studies

• We will: Talk about Pilgrims and how they came to America.
• Learn about lives and culture of Native Americans: where they lived, different styles of homes, lifestyle and food. We will also learn some of the symbols that Native Americans used to communicate. We will create messages using those symbols.
• Have a Popcorn Day and we will learn about history of popcorn.
• We will talk about the celebration of Thanksgiving.
• Discuss our classroom community and the privileges and responsibilities that come with being a part of it.

Science

• We will: Continue talking about autumn and its signs, and will learn about migration and hibernation.
• Learn some facts about bears and wild turkeys and their life cycles.
• Experiment with objects to see what floats and what sinks.

Looking Ahead…

• Simhat Dor L’Dor Bet is on 11/22 at 1:40pm.
• Please check carefully the homework section in the BEE Binders for monthly homework sheet, daily homework in the pocket, and also for the new index cards with sight words. We are working on recognizing these words in any text. Many words come with special songs or motions. Check if your child remembers them.
• There is no school on November 22-25.
• Please consult the monthly Calendar for events and show and tells.

Hebrew

We have been very busy in Kindergarten Hebrew. The kindergartners continue to bring a variety of fruits and vegetables for their Hebrew morning snack. Their Hebrew vocabulary continues to grow each day! They enjoy describing in Hebrew what they are eating. They also enjoy asking and answering one another in Hebrew what they would like to drink. The kindergartners can correctly recite the appropriate blessing for the food that they are eating. Each day a different student leads the class in the blessings before the snack and a Hebrew game. They are doing a great job! Kol Hakavod!

Gami Hagamal and her babies have begun visiting the kindergartners’ homes. Thank you so much for hosting the camels and writing a short story about the adventures of the camels with your child. Each kindergartner will have the opportunity to host the camels during the year!

The students love playing Shimon Omer. The students take turns being Shimon and enjoy trying to “quiz” their classmates in this game. Please encourage your child to play Shimon Omer at home.

We began the color unit integrating many Hebrew games with this fun unit. The kindergartners heard the story Maaseh B’Hamesha Balonim (The Tale of Five Balloons) by Miriam Rot. All the students participated in a Hebrew puppet show and later saw the Hebrew video of this popular Israeli story.

The students will soon be learning the days of the week in Hebrew and reading the book Sefat Hasemanim Shel Noa (Noa’s Secret Signs) by Nira Harel. This delightful Hebrew book tells how Noa learns the names of the days of the week in Hebrew. She devises a creative solution to remember each day. On Sunday, the first day of the week, Noa has one braid in her hair. On Monday, the second day of the week, Noa has two braids in her hair. On Tuesday, the third day of the week, Noa has three braids in her hair. She continues to have a special “hair-do” to represent each day of the week. All the boys and girls in kindergarten will be coming to school with braids, pony tails, barrettes, kippot, clips, color, and spikes representing each day of the week. Thank you so much to all the parents for helping your child with his/her creative hair-do.

The days of the week are:

• Sunday – Yom Rishon
• Monday – Yom Shani
• Tuesday – Yom Shleshe
• Wednesday – Yom Riveei
• Thursday – Yom Hameshe
• Friday – Yom Sheshe
• Saturday – Yom Shabbat

The month of Tishrei is over and we are now in the month of Heshvan. Heshvan is referred to as Mar Heshvan because there are no Jewish holidays in this month. The students love studying Torah, talking about the weekly parasha and illustrating their Torah books. We have discussed Bereshit, Noah, Lech Lecha, Vayera, and Hayei Sarah. We also talked about the concept of Hahnassat Orhim (the mitzvah of welcoming of guests). The kindergartners gave wonderful examples from their lives of how they fulfill this mitzvah.

In our siddurim, the students are reciting the prayers the Shema, Ma Tovu, Modeh/Modah Ani and Bircot Hashahar. After the kindergartners learn the prayers, they then illustrate the pages in their siddur which reflects their personal interpretations of each prayer. The class discussions add depth to the understanding of these prayers.

It was a pleasure meeting you at conferences and sharing with you the recordings of your child. I am very proud of the kindergartners’ accomplishments and I look forward to a wonderful year of learning together.

Barbara

Art

Noah’s Ark watercolor crayon resist

To enhance their studies of Parshat Noah, students illustrated the story. First they looked at different illustrators’ styles of telling the story. They discovered that each artist and writer has their own voice and style, even when they are telling the same story.

Kindergartners learned how to draw animals using shapes. They drew the story of Noah’s ark with crayons, then painted the details with fine lined brushes and the water and sky with large brushes.

Upcoming units are:

• Introduction to paintbrush use
• Color mixing from primary to secondary colors
• Painting expressively to music
• Introduction to clay-making (sculpting a Hanukkiah)
• Painting with glaze on clay

Library

November is National Jewish Book Month!

Kindergartners read Jewish books this month, both in and out of library class, in celebration of National Jewish Book Month.

Students may make a poster celebrating a Jewish book and bring it into the HMJDS library by November 9 to decorate for Book Month.

• Student’s first and last name
• Student’s grade and first letter of homeroom teacher’s name (e.g. K-R for Kindergarten-Rusakov)
• Title and author of the book
• Colorful picture–student’s own best effort illustrating something from the story
• Any medium, such as crayons, oil pastels, markers, paint, collage

Look for the posters on library walls by mid-November!

Simhat Dor L’Dor Book Sale – Donations to the Library

On Simhat Dor L’Dor Bet, Tuesday, November 22—the day before Thanksgiving Break—from 1:30-3:30, books are available for purchase to donate to our library collection. Students whose grandparent, parent or other special person donates abook are given first opportunity to check the book out of the library. Thank you to the families who bought books for donation on Simhat Dor L’Dor Alef!

Happy Reading and Creating!—Cathi Oskow, HMJDS Librarian

Music

To assist us in developing the concept of pitch (the highness or lowness of tones) we will use the Curwen hand signals to learn new songs. This is part of the Kodály method. The Kodály method uses a different hand signal to represent each tone of the scale (do, re, mi, etc.). This reinforces the concept of melodic direction. Children are fascinated by sound and melodic percussion barred instruments enable us to play as an ensemble during class. By playing the Orff instruments, which composer Carl Orff developed in the 1920s, children will see, as well as hear pitch relationships. They learn by observation a very important principle of sound: larger instruments produce lower sounds and smaller instruments produce higher sounds. Students will adapt the story Mortimer by Robert Munsch to understand several music concepts that include pitch (high and low) and rhythms (long and short). Next we will be learning some new songs, which may include: “The Seasons,” “Time to Change the Clock,” “Teddy Bear,” and “Rain, Rain Please Go Away.”

Featured Concepts and Understandings in Music Class Lessons:

• Echo-sing short phrases
• Freely explore vocal ranges
• Use solfege (Curwen) hands signals to indicate melodic direction
• Improvise sounds to dramatize and respond to literature
• Improvise sounds using contrast: loud/soft, fast/slow, and high/low
• Begin to read visual symbols that indicate steady beat
• Begin to read visual symbols that indicate rhythm (modified notation)

Physical Education

It’s good to be back to our routine with a five day school week again. I enjoyed talking with you at Fall Conferences and discussing your child’s performance in gym. I always receive keen insight from parents that gives me new ideas to help aid in your child’s motor development, in addition to making gym class a fun and challenging experience.

What’s Next?

We just finished our throwing unit where we participated in various cooperative games, as well as individual activities. The goal of this unit was to get your kindergartner to consistently throw with their favorite hand while placing their opposite foot forward.

Our next unit will be our highly anticipated Basketball Unit, in which we learn ball control skills. We begin with dribbling appropriately sized basketballs. We start out with a certain number of dribbles and try to add even more with our favorite hand. Later we try to use our other hand and perform dribbling patterns. For example, they may do a three set dribble with their favorite hand and one with their other hand. Dribbling patterns get more challenging as we progress. Some of the dribbling challenges may include starting out standing, then touching one knee to the floor, then going back to a standing position while maintaining their dribble.

Eye-tracking and catching is also introduced with emphasis placed on catching using only their hands. My goal is to not let the basketball hit their chest or touch their forearms. I hope your kids are looking forward to this unit as much as I am!

Technology

Kindergarten Computer Skills Abound!

Kindergarteners are showing amazing skill on the computer this year. They are taking to the mouse and keyboard skills very impressively. This month students will continue to work in the classroom as well as in the Technology Lab. One of the tools that we will continue to use more is our school Portaportal. The Portaportal is basically like a favorites menu on the internet that HMJDS teacher’s populate with tried, true and TESTED tools appropriate for their classes. The wonderful thing about it is that we can share those tools with students to access at home.

To access the HMJDS portaportal on the internet, go to www.portaportal.com and enter the Guest Name: hmjds. Our school Portaportal has grade level appropriate, teacher approved and recommended safe websites for your child to work on and explore. Simply click on the items listed under Kindergarten and you will find websites that will engage your child in learning that will complement what they are doing in class. New sites will be added as new skills are taught in class.

It was wonderful seeing so many of you at conferences, if you were unable to visit with me or have further questions, please feel free to email me, jolson@hmjds.org, at any time.

Kindergarten Alef – Leah Rusakov

Math

• We will learn counting by 10s to 100.
• We will practice counting up to 50 and down 15-0. Counting down is not easy!
• We will start practicing writing numerals on lined paper.
• Kids will learn to sort various objects by color, size, and other attributes.
• We will practice creating and continuing different patterns. We also will learn to name them using the letters A, B, and C. Our first patterns will be AB, ABC, AABB, etc. Please help your child to identify patterns around them.
• We will learn about symmetry in nature and make projects to create symmetrical shapes and pictures.
• We will play games to recognize numbers 0-15.

Language Arts

• We will play games to match upper and lower case letters.
• We will read books and play games to identify rhyming words. Please keep practicing finding rhyming words with your child at home when you read books or play games together.
• We will learn how and when to use periods, exclamation points, and question marks. We will count words and sentences in the morning message each day.
• We will continue to learn the names of all the letters and sounds with the help of songs, hand motions, and games.

Social Studies

• We will talk about what it takes to be a friend, what it means to be kind to each other, and how to take care of each other.
• We will participate in the P.A.C.E.R workshop to learn about visible and hidden disabilities, and talk about including everybody and being helpful to each other.

Science

• We will visit the Westwood Hills Nature Center on October 11 and learn how flowers turn into fruit by being pollinated, and how to make apple cider. Please print and sign the permission form for your child. Feel free to join us on this trip.
• We will talk about signs of fall in nature and the general order of seasons. We’ll do projects with leaves.
• Will have a workshop with a nurse about germs and the importance of washing hands, as well as covering your mouth and nose when sneezing and coughing.
• Will start a big unit about paper. In October children will learn about different kinds of paper, and how paper is made. We also will conduct a few easy experiments with paper.

New in the classroom

If you prefer that your child does not use plastic cups at school during snack and lunch times, please feel free to send a water bottle instead. We will keep water bottles in a designated place in the classroom away from papers and binders. Your children will be responsible for keeping their bottle closed tightly, and bringing it home every day for cleaning and refilling. We will continue to provide plastic cups in both our classroom and in the dining room for water or milk for children who do not bring their own water bottle to class.

Looking Ahead…

• Please help your child hear and listen to the sounds in spoken words. It will be very helpful in both writing and reading later.
• Please make sure your child has appropriate clothes for walking our Tashlikh Walk on October 4.
• Simhat Dor L’Dor Alef is on 10/12.
• Parent – Teacher Conferences are on October 26-27. You received a sign up slip in your most recent Newswire!
• Teddy Bear Day is October 31. Please make sure your child brings his/her favorite teddy bear to school on that day.
• Please check our Calendar for the themes of Show & Tells. It comes every Tuesday!

Hadashot (News)

We have been very busy in our first month in Kindergarten Hebrew and Judaica. I want to thank you so much for sending a wide variety of fruits and vegetables for your children’s Hebrew snack. Their Hebrew vocabulary is continuing to grow each day. The kindergartners can correctly recite the appropriate blessing for the food that they are eating. They enjoy describing in Hebrew what they are eating each day. Each day a different student leads the class in the blessings before the snack and a Hebrew game. They are doing a great job! Kol hakavod!

“Gami Hagamal” and her babies will soon be visiting the kindergartners’ homes. Thank you so much for hosting the camels and writing a short story about the adventures of the camels with your child. Each kindergartner will have the opportunity to host the camels during the year!

Hebrew

The students love playing “Shimon Omer” (Simon Says) in Hebrew. The students take turns being “Shimon” and enjoy trying to “quiz” their classmates in this game. Please encourage your child to play “Shimon Omer” at home.

New vocabulary words are:

• Head – Rosh
• Shoulders – Ktafayim
• Eyes – Einayim
• Ears – Oznayim
• Stomach – Beten
• Back – Gav
• Nose – Af
• Heart – Lev
• Legs – Raglayim
• Mouth – Peh
• Body – Goof

We will soon begin the color unit integrating many Hebrew games with this fun unit. The kindergartners will hear the story Maaseh B’Hamesha Balonim (The Tale of Five Balloons) by Miriam Roth. All the students will participate in a Hebrew puppet show and later see the Hebrew video of this popular Israeli story.

Siddurim (Prayer Books)

In our siddurim, the students are learning the prayers “Modeh/Modah Ani” and “Shema”. After the kindergartners learn the prayers, they illustrate the pages in their siddurim. The illustrations reflect their personal interpretation of each prayer. The class discussions add depth to their understanding of these prayers.

To begin our Torah studies the kindergartners visited the HMJDS Beit Knesset. Being in the synagogue added a sense of “kedusha” (spirituality) for the students. Each week, the students will be studying the weekly “parsha”. We will discuss in depth the “parshiyot” and also perform skits for many of the weekly portions. The students will also illustrate their individual Torah books which will reflect their thoughts on each parsha.

We are looking forward to observing and celebrating the holidays in the month of Tishrei. We learned many songs for Rosh Hashanah and each student made two small round “challot” to take home for the New Year. We also participated in the “Living Legacy Rosh Hashanah Program” with Rabbi Grossbaum and made a class shofar.

It was a sincere pleasure meeting you at “Back to School Night.” I look forward to meeting you during conferences on October 26th and October 27th and sharing with you your child’s success in Hebrew.

Your children are enthusiastic learners. It is a pleasure having them in my class.

Shanah Tova U’Metuka!

Barbara

Welcome to Art Class!

It has been an exciting beginning in our art classroom. I am so happy to see you and your children back at school! Also, welcome to all our new HMJDS families! The new students add a refreshing and fun change to our classes. This year all of my classes will be in art studio A and Ms. Thor’s classes will be in art studio B.

Reminder: If you haven’t already, please send a labeled paint shirt to keep in your child’s locker!

If you need to contact me you can leave a voicemail message at; 952 381 3500 EX. 3469 or email me at; aorkin@hmjds.org

Family Art Opportunities This Month

• The Minneapolis Art Institute-www.artsmia.org
• Look for Target Family Days monthly on Sundays.
• The Walker Art Center – Free First Saturdays at www.walkerart.org

Thank you to art room coordinators Lauren Weiser and Lisa Sweet for helping to organize our art room volunteers! Thank you to all our art room volunteers for making classes run smoothly and giving extra attention to students!

Ms. Orkin’s Kindergarten Art News

• safe and respectful use of art supplies
• sharing space and materials

The first few weeks we. . .

• Decorated art portfolios, to collect and store our artwork
• Drew ourselves and what we like to do
• Explored varieties of lines
• Learned how lines make shapes
• Drew the basic straight line shapes and curved lines shapes
• Drew our homes using basic shapes

Coming up in October:

• Drawing exercise designed by art educator Mona Brookes learning to combine lines and shapes
• Learning art vocabulary words like horizontal, vertical, diagonal, arc and dot
• Shaped sponge printing to decorate Sukkot prayers
• Watercolor-crayon resist drawing and painting for Noah’s Ark story
• Learn how to draw animals using basic shape

Kindergarten Physical Education

Welcome to HMJDS Kindergarten Physical Education. For those of you who are new to the school my name is Kelly Lindquist, also known as Mr. L. I am very excited to be working with your child this year!

What do we do in Kindergarten Physical Education?

We start out the school year learning and improving loco-motor movements such as hopping, sliding, galloping and skipping. We’ve already participated in many games and activities using these types of movements. During a typical class we usually do some of our warm-ups at the brick wall. The next time you’re on your way in to school try to perform one or two of our warm-up exercises with your Kindergartner. I must warn you, though, that we’re already up to 18 seconds with the wall sit! I also like to incorporate running backwards into our gym warm -ups. It’s a great activity for improving kinetic balance.

What’s Next?

In addition to learning and improving loco-motor movements we have begun ball skills in cooperative games that work on eye-tracking and hand-eye coordination. Judging from what I’ve seen so far it looks like it’s going to be a fun year in the gym!

The Library Page for Kindergarten – Librarian Cathi Oskow

Skoob the Shelf Elf is our library mascot. I read a book about him to the kindergarten students.

• The library is a quiet place for reading and studying.
• Use placeholders when looking for books, so you can put the book back in the correct place if you don’t want to check it out.
• Return checked-out books within two weeks—by your next library class–so that other students have the chance to read them, too.

Skoob also teaches the children how to take good care of their library books:

• At home, find a special place to keep library books safe from pets and young siblings, and where you can find the books when it is time to return them.
• Keep books dry, read them with clean hands, and keep food and drinks away from them.
• Turn pages carefully from the corner so they don’t rip.
• Use a bookmark or piece of paper to mark your spot.

Ask your kindergartener about Skoob’s song, “The Booky-Looky!”

Kindergarteners learn the parts of a book, and about authors and illustrators.

Each week we discuss the sounds a particular letter makes and go over books by authors whose names start with that letter:

• “A,” as in Aliki, and Harry Allard (Miss Nelson is Missing).
• “B,” as in Jan Brett, Graeme Base, and Ludwig Bemelmans (Madeline).
• “C,” as in Nancy Carlson and Eric Carle.

Each kindergarten student comes to library class on Tuesday, once every two weeks.

The week for each class is listed below. Please take note, so the night before you can ask your child if he or she has books to return. October 11 is a Week 1; October 18 is a Week 2.

• Ms. Rusakov’s class has library on Tuesdays, Week 1.

Kindergarten Music – David A. Shaw

The students started the year working on distinguishing the differences between a singing, speaking, calling and whispering voice. We will continue to work on this concept as we apply our singing voice to new songs. The Kindergarten classes are learning the songs “Tapuhim Ud’vash,” “A Rosh Hashanah Wish,” “Swim Faster Jonah,” and “Get on the Ark,” to help celebrate the Jewish Holidays. Soon we will be working on “Build a Sukkah” and “To Be a Torah” by Rabbi Joe Black. We will enjoy singing these songs that have connections to Judaic Studies.

To develop the concept of pitch (the highness of lowness of tones) we sing echo songs such as: “Good Afternoon to You,” “I Like School,” and “Never Stop Trying.” In the next few weeks we will be learning some new songs, which may include: “The Seasons,” “Time to Change the Clock,” “Teddy Bear,” and “Rain, Rain Please Go Away.” The students are also about to start learning how to read modified notation for quarter and eighth notes in addition to the quarter rest.

Featured Concepts and Understandings in Music Class Lessons:

• Echo-sing short phrases.
• Freely explore vocal ranges.
• Improvise sounds to dramatize and respond to literature.
• Improvise sounds using contrast: loud/soft, fast/slow, and high/low.
• Begin to read visual symbols that indicate steady beat.
• Begin to read visual symbols that indicate rhythm (modified notation).
• Respond interpretively to music using movement.

Juli Olson – Technology

But I already know how to use the computer!

Kindergarteners come into the technology lab with all of the confidence in the world! They might be surprised how we use computers at school and how it differs from the experiences they have had at home.

In the next month we will be learning primarily about a program called KidPix. KidPix (Memorize that name folks… it makes a great Hanukkah gift!) is a drawing program that we use at school that allows students to draw, paint, write and even stamp pictures and more. We will be learning about many of the different tools that KidPix offers us to help us draw and create projects. We’ll be making number books, practicing making patterns and more to connect with the classroom curriculum and practice our mouse skills and tool selection. Students will soon feel comfortable using KidPix in the classroom to create more open ended projects.

We will also be starting some typing practice in the coming weeks. We’ll practice typing names with proper capitalization and spacing. Once we have done this in class, it is a great thing for your child to practice at home. Making capital letters using the shift key can sometimes be tricky as can making only one space after each word. Once your child is proficient typing his or her name, the possibilities of things to type will be endless! Enjoy!