Little Scientists

Yesterday, our Kindergarteners conducted yet another science experiment with Mrs. Gilbert!  They learned all about the relationship between water and wood by squeezing droplets of water onto a wooden block.  They became pros at using the scientific words, "absorb" and "dissolve".  What will they conjure up next...?!

Shabbaton Highlights!

This week in Moreh Moshe's Head of School Message, we get to hear from HAMC students and their reflections on this year's Shabbaton.

Enjoy!

Kindergarten Shabbat Program

This morning Morah Edna's Kindergarten class celebrated Shabbat with a very special family program.  The students first impressed their parents with a performance of their favorite Shabbat songs. Then, both students and parents worked as a team on two Shabbat projects; challah baking and challah-tray decorating.  The students loved coloring in the Hebrew word "Shabbat" on the challah tray and especially enjoyed rolling the sticky challah dough with their hands and rolling pins. They couldn't wait to take the challah home and eat it at Shabbat dinner tonight! Finally, the students lit the Shabbat candles, recited Kiddush, and said Ha Motzi on the challah in preparation for Shabbat.  Overall, it was a wonderful program and put everyone in the Shabbat spirit!

ECC Science with Mrs. Gilbert

Yesterday our little scientists explored the effects of carbonation on still objects.  They placed raisins in a beaker of seltzer and watched in amazement as the raisins slowly rose to the surface of the water. Last class they did the same experiment, but with regular water and the raisins just sunk to the bottom of the beaker. Seeing the contrast between the two experiments was, in their words, "so awesome" for our ECC-ers!

A Rosh Chodesh Celebration

This morning we celebrated Rosh Chodesh, the new Hebrew month of Sh’vat, with a special prayer service and festive breakfast.  We also honored those students who had their Bar/Bat Mitzvahs over the past month by calling them up to the Torah and listening to each student speak about his/her Torah portion.  After Tefilah, we were lucky enough to get a special surprise from both the HAMC Performing Arts Club and the HAMC Choir.  The Performing Arts club did a creative rendition of “The Lorax” and the choir sang a classic Israeli medley and Joni Mitchell’s, “Yellow Taxi”. The audience (especially the staff!) couldn’t help but sing along and clap to the catchy rhythm.  The morning culminated in a delicious bagel breakfast and an excitement for the new month. Tu B’shvat is coming….!!

1st Graders Get Snowy in the Art Room

Yesterday our 1st grade class smocked up and created some colorful paintings of snowmen.  Mrs. Knapp taught the students the concept of artistic "perspective", having the students paint only a close-up version of the snowmen.  See photos below of our artists hard at work!

Shabbaton 2012!

Even with the arrival of  2012's first snow, this years Shabbaton was a huge success! Our 5th-8th graders had a blast spending the night in school and celebrating Shabbat together.

Here were some of our favorite highlights!

• Bringing in Shabbat with spirited singing led by Moreh Moshe
• Beautiful Kabbalat Shabbat service
• Delicious Shabbat dinner
• Staying up late bonding with our classmates
• Playing in the SNOW!
• Home cooked food from Morah Nurit and Mrs. Bacharach
• Challenging teambuilding games
• Creating our own culinary creations in a heated Iron Chef competition
• Using our teamwork skills in an awesome Apache Relay
• Hanging out with Lior and Noga
• Havdallah ceremony with our parents

And so much more!

There was a real sense of community and family reflected from the Shabbaton that the students created on their own.  The students were filled with so much spirit and excitement throughout the entire Shabbaton and really had an unforgettable weekend.  We can't wait for next year!

A big thanks to Moreh Moshe, Mrs. Bacharach, Morah Nurit, Ms. Gates, Jaclyn, Lior and Noga for putting the Shabbaton together and making sure everyone had a great time throughout the weekend!

Check out photos below of before Shabbat (candle lighting) and after shabbat (Havdallah).

A Day in the Life of an ECC-er

Princesses. Baking. Singing. Coloring... just a regular day for our adorable ECC-ers.  Yesterday, when we visited  the ECC2 classroom, the students were adorned in princess costumes and smiling ear to ear as they used their imaginations to "play pretend". Others were at a work station playing with some baking tools and others were learning all about shapes through an art project.  ECC2 was even lucky enough to get a visit from Mrs. Granik...and boy were they excited! We can't help but smile when we walk into that classroom of so many adorable little HAMC-ers....

7th Grade Explores Science of Spores

Yesterday in the science lab, Mrs. Wynn taught the 7th grade all about fungus reproduction.  The students built their own fruiting bodies and spores using cotton balls, balloons, straws, and modeling clay.  The students simulated the actual reproduction process by popping their inflated balloons and observing as the spores (cotton balls) emerged. They conducted this experiment both with and without the wind from a fan.  Check out photos below to see our HAMC scientists in action!

Staying After School is Cool!

After a hard days work, what better way to reward ourselves than sticking around for some awesome after-school clubs that HAMC offers! Yesterday after school, the dismissal bell rang at 3:30, but the school was still hopping well into the evening.  In a corner classroom our Kindergarteners were rocking their Zumba moves with our very own, Mrs. Parnass, Zumba instructor.  In the gym, the HAMC volleyball team was warming up for their big game.  In Moti's office, the electronic club was building circuits and experimenting with electricity.  In the Kitchen, our adorable ECC-ers were cooking up a storm! 

Check out the photos below to get an inside look at our students enjoying all of these amazing clubs!


     

HAMC Embraces "Teaching Excellence"

What is "Teaching Excellence"?

The MetroWest community and private donors are investing $1 million dollars in the professional development of teachers to further enhance the academic excellence of the MetroWest Jewish day schools.

Our teachers at HAMC have already begun taking full advantage of this program, traveling all over the country to attend seminars and workshops. Some of the areas of professional development include, curricular enhancement, educational technology, fine arts, and math and science enrichment. We are thrilled to already see the efforts of our teachers trickling into the classroom setting, accompanied by enthusiastic responses from our students. We cannot wait to see what lies ahead for our teachers and students as we embark on a four year quest to "achieve excellence".

See video below of HAMC Administration and Teaching Excellence Coordinators discussing plans for implementing professional development tools in both general and Judaic studies.

 

iPad Initiative

HAMC has welcomed the iPad into the classroom as we embark on our "iPad Initiative".  Our students and teachers are really enjoying using the educational "apps" that the iPad offers for both General and Judaic studies.  For HAMC, this initiative is a part of the "Teaching Excellence" program, the Metro West community's  $1 million dollar investment in the professional development of teachers to further enhance the academic excellence of the MetroWest Jewish day schools.


Check out photos below of our students loving their iPads in the classroom!

Conserving Water with Lior and Noga

Today during lunch, we learned all about the sparse water situation in Israel and the importance of conserving water everywhere.  Our Rishonim, Lior and Noga, explained to us that in Israel, EVERYONE puts in the effort to save water because Israel is such a dry country; even the Kineret is drying up!  Whether it’s taking shorter showers or never leaving the faucet running, there are lots of ways that we all can help in the effort to conserve water. To top the lesson off, Lior and Noga ran a game where 4 students from different grades had to compete to see who could drink the most water in a short period of time.  The crowd was roaring as they cheered each other on and the students had a blast!

Head of School Message 01.06.12

Take a tour of "Noah's Ark" with Moreh Moshe and the 3rd grade class!

Enjoy and Shabbat Shalom!