HAMC Science Fair 2012!

Live from the HAMC Science Fair...it's Moreh Moshe's Head of School Message!

Follow us on a tour of the HAMC Science Fair as our middle school students and science teacher, Mrs. Wynn walk us through some of the incredible science projects that were created this year. 
 

Live from the HAMC Art Room...

And "Youth Arts Month" continues...

Check out Moreh Moshe's Weekly Message live from the art room with Mrs. Knapp and our 7th grade artists...

"Rak Shalom" at HAMC

This morning we had the privilege of hearing a concert from University of Maryland's amazing Jewish A Cappella group, "Rak Shalom".  As an a cappella group, this group of talented college students do not use any instruments in their performances; they only use their voice and body to make music. They sang an eclectic mix of Jewish/Israeli pop songs, like "Zodiac",  to English radio songs, like "Just Haven't Met You Yet".  The students especially enjoyed a "beatbox" training session where they learned how to make percussive sounds with their mouths (just like a real drum!).  Everyone, students and staff alike, were singing along, clapping to the beat, and really enjoyed this unique performance.

For more info about Rak Shalom, look them up on Facebook or you can visit their website at:
http://www.rakshalom.com/

March Heatwave!

75 degrees in March may be crazy, but it sure is awesome for outdoor recess! This week, our students have been going outside every day, taking in the sun and enjoying the summer preview.  Take a look at our 6th graders playing a heated game of kickball on the field!

Do You Know the Matzah Man?

Pesach is around the corner and we are already preparing for it here at the HAMC! This week, a Rabbi from a local Matzah factory came to our school and converted our gym into a matzah kitchen.  Our ECC through 1st graders mixed the dough with flour and and water, flattened out the dough with rolling pins, and sang lots of Pesach songs to "help" the matzah bake properly :)  Adorned in little chef hats, our little ones became matzah experts!

Orange ya glad we have our Rishonim...

This week Lior and Noga taught the 1st-3rd graders all they had to know about the delicious fruits and vegetables of Israel, with a special focus on oranges, or "tapuzim" in Hebrew.  They watched some funny Israeli commercials for orange juice and then had a blast creating their very own "moody" oranges using real oranges, markers, and string. Take a look below at their crazy creations!

Eyes of the Wild

What do a chinchilla, tortoise, skunk, and wallaby all have in common?They were all hanging out in the HAMC auditorium this past Monday! 
Special guest and science educator of "Eyes of the Wild", Travis Gale, gave our lower grades a special presentation on wildlife animals.  The ECC through 1st grade students had the experience of "imitating" a chinchilla, petting a skunk, and witnessing a baby wallaby stick its adorable head out of its mother's pouch.  Travis was a wonderfully animated teacher and our students were interested in every word he had to say, causing them to ask dozens of questions about the lives of these furry friends.  We learned that skunk "gas" is not green, tortoise shell's are stronger than an elephant's foot, and skunks dance to defend themselves :)

Do you have any questions about these animals? Ask your kids; they can probably tell you the answers!

The Arts at HAMC

March is "Youth Arts Month"! This week's Head of School Message is in honor of the incredible arts program at the Academy. Check out our talented 4th graders singing a little preview of the upcoming Yom Ha Zikaron ceremony.
 

ECC Tennis Stars

Check out these photos of the ECC playing tennis with Mrs. Albers during gym class!

Kindergarten Woodcutters

Mrs. Gilbert's Kindergarten science class continues to learn about the evolution of wood.  They finished the lesson on natural wood (from trees) and are now experimenting with man-made wood, like particle board.  This week they used saw dust and a special kind of glue to create their own particle board.  What's up next?? The secret behind where paper comes from... Stay tuned!

Teddy Bears Galore

Our little Ecc'ers celebrated "Teddy Bear Day" today! They have been learning that as spring approaches, the bears are beginning to come out of hibernation.  So, they brought their own bears out of hibernation :)  Each student introduced his/her own bear to the rest of the class (the bear's names, it's colors, where it lives) and cuddled the bears close while Mrs. Levine read them the story of "Corduroy Bear" and taught the class a special teddy bear song.  Our adorable ECC'ers love their teddies!

Happy Pi Day!

Yesterday, March 14th (3/14 reflecting the decimal 3.14), we celebrated "Pi Day" in the HAMC.  We commemorated the mathematical constant with another type of "pie"; delicious pie eating and pie-eating contests ensued throughout the day.  In math class, our students also discussed the significance of "Pi", performed some Pi math problems, and ate even more pie.  Who knew math could be so tasty!

Moreh Moshe's Purim Message

Follow Moreh Moshe through the halls of the academy to see some of our Purim day highlights come to life; the most creative costumes, the awesome Purim carnival, and more!

Pajama Day!

And the Spirit Week fun continues with Pajama Day!  Everyone loves this coziest day of the school year.

HAMC Purim Party!

"Mi she nichnas adar marbim b'simcha"
"When the month of Adar arrives we should increase our joy"
Well, the joy was definitely increased in the HAMC yesterday in celebration of Purim! Both students and staff came to school in amazing costumes with singing and laughter filling the hallways all day long.  The morning began with a spirited Megillah reading from the 8th grade class where we heard the story of Purim. Afterwards, the whole school enjoyed a Purim carnival with a variety of fun stations including a disco room, relay races, an "HAMC Spa", pie eating contest, a haunted classroom and so much more!  The special day also included a costume contest, a nursery school costume parade, funny "la-la" songs, and culminated in a school-wide dance party to Purim songs.  Overall, it was an amazing fun-filled day!

Congratulations to Gabi Neibart, Maya Zairi, and Isabella Kolodny on winning the HAMC contest for BEST COSTUME!! They made great "Smurfs"! (see photos below)

The Craziest Hats in Town!

As part of the HAMC Purim Spirit Week, on Wednesday we celebrated "Crazy Hat Day".  Both students and teachers spent the school day adorned in the wackiest hats we've ever seen!  But, these hats were only a preview for the crazy costumes that came the next day...

Trip to the Jewish Children's Museum

This week our 4th and 5th graders took a field trip to the Jewish Children's Museum in Brooklyn.  The incredible museum is overflowing with hands-on exhibits, focusing on Jewish holidays, biblical history and the land of Israel, all bringing Jewish culture and history to life.  From being contestants in a game of Jewish Jeopardy to crawling through a "life-sized" challah, our students loved this museum experience and had great stories to share when they returned to school!

Little Shop of Shushan!

Congratulations to the 8th Grade class on their incredible performance of "Little Shop of Shushan"! They did a stellar job singing, acting, and putting in an amazing effort and energy over the past couple of months. All of their hard work really paid off.  Special thanks to theater director (and HAMC alum :) ), Dee Dee Katchen for directing the play and pulling it all together.

DVD's of the play are available for purchase and a flyer is being sent home with more information.

Enjoy the photos of our 8th grade actors and actresses!

Alumni Social

On Monday evening, before the 8th grade Purim play, HAMC alumni from the classes of '11, '10 and '09 hung out at the academy after school.  They ate pizza, reconnected with their old teachers and reminisced about their great times spent at the HAMC.  Afterwards everyone went to the Purim play together and supported their younger classmates.  We can't believe that pretty soon those 8th graders on stage will be joining the HAMC alumni circle!

100 Days and Counting!

On Friday, March 2nd, the Kindergarten and 1st grade celebrated the 100th day of school.  They gathered in the auditorium and had a blast participating in six different creative movement activities, all done in units of 100.  How many times can you jump rope in 100 seconds? Can you keep a hula-hoop up for 100 seconds?  The celebration culminated with a popcorn story that ended with a delicious popcorn snack. Everyone had a blast to the 100th degree!

Moreh Moshe's Head of School Message 03.02.12

We know you've missed it....
Moreh Moshe's Head of School Message!

Young women from Israel who are training to become teachers, visited the HAMC to learn all about our school and how Hebrew is implemented into the curriculum. 

Let's just say they were impressed :)

Read Across America Day!

Since the beginning of January, our students have taken a pledge of reading and embarked on the “Read Across America” journey, led by school librarian, Mrs. Sulkin.  With pages of books representing miles, the students had to“travel” all over the country, starting from the Empire State Building in NYC and ending at the Hollywood sign in Hollywood, CA.  Students in every grade have been reading as many books as possible, attempting to reach the goal of 2, 970 miles (pages)!! 

Yesterday, in celebration of “Read Across of America”, the entire HAMC took part in a school-wide DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) session.  For twenty minutes, every student in the school took a seat in the long hallway with a book in hand, sitting in silence and enjoying the simple pleasure of reading. Following the DEAR session, an ice cream social was held in celebration of the many “miles” our students have traveled. 

For more information on the Dr. Suess, “Read Across America” program, click below:http://www.readacrossamerica.org/

Purim Puppets

It turns out puppeteering is the best way to retell the Purim story! Our 1st and 2nd grader's eyes were glued to the stage as Rabbi Rosenblum used life-like puppets to tell the tale of Purim.  From Haman's funny accent to Achashverosh's hilarious hiccups, the kids were rolling on the floor with laughter and booing with all their strength at any utterance of Haman's name.  They can't wait to hear the actual story from the Megillah next week!

Tis the Season for Humantashen

Our 1st graders got messy in the Kitchen this morning making delicious homemade Humantashen. The incredible aroma filled the hallways of the HAMC, getting everyone pumped for Purim next week!

Post what creative costumes your children are dressing up as!