Commemorating Kristallnacht Through the Arts

“Kristallnacht”, also referred to as the “Night of Broken Glass”, was a series of attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria in November,1938.  Students in the HAMC art elective commemorated the 73rd anniversary of Kristallnacht through artistic expression, covering tiles with historic photographs and newspaper clips recounting the event and adorning them with pieces of broken glass. These works of art are being displayed in our hallway and are a reminder of the shattering effect that Kristallnacht had on  European Jewery.

Kindergarteners Come to their Senses

Today our Kindergarteners learned about the human “senses” of touch and feel through some festive arts and crafts projects. The first project taught the students about their sense of “touch” and what different things feel like on our hands. The students had fun painting their hands and using their handprints to create the turkey feathers on their Thanksgiving turkey pictures. The students loved the feeling of the paint on their hands and also enjoyed getting their hands messy! The second art project that the class worked on was making homemade maracas using paper plates, some “noisy” items, and colorful tissue paper decorations. The students had a blast shaking their maracas and hearing the rhythmic music they were creating.

Go Geography travels to the Ukraine!

What excitement we had to share with each other on our trip to the  Ukraine. The children learned how to map their way on the globe from US to the Ukraine, how to say hello in both Ukrainian and Russian (both languages are widely spoken in Ukraine), and even how seals have become an endangered animal because of the water pollution in the Ukraine.  They answered questions about how to improve the quality of our Eco-system so the seals can survive. The children also learned about horses, cows, foxes, bears.

The children loved the Ukrainian costumes and toys like the stacking dolls (matreshka), beautifully painted boxes, and scarves.  They also played with the wooden animal toys that Ukrainian children would play with and listened to children's folk music.

Sports in the Ukraine are much like sports in  the United States, e.g. soccer and tennis. Badminton is also popular. As a hands on experience, boys practiced badminton in the gym while the girls created friendship cards to send to the children in the Ukraine. We have amazing artists who even decorated the envelopes!  

The 8th graders prepared a special space program for children to learn about the first man in space, Ukrainian (at that time Former Soviet Union), Yuri Gagarin. The students filled out Space Travel Cards and buckled up for a trip to outer space. The kids were treated to an actual space launch with the help of technology –smartBoard. Each student drew their favorite planet and received a space medal for being such a wonderful space traveler.

All the kids snacked on organic treats and talked about their exciting travels into space and beyond!

It was wonderful to see children's faces being so excited about learning.

Special thanks to HAMC students, Charlotte Schreiber, Sarah Bacharach and Josh Trif for their help with Go Geography. Thank you also to Liz Fenton and Lorena Sperber who helped Julia Benz with the class.

HAMC Fall Fever!

From pumpkin projects to autumnal attire, the HAMC hallways were overflowing with the fall spirit this week!

Today our students dressed in the rich autumnal colors of orange, red, and brown and some even came in full feather headpieces, taking on the Thanksgiving spirit!

Earlier in the week, our ECC had a special unit on the Hebrew word for the color "orange"..."Katom!" The morning involved science, cooking, and art! First, all of the students sat in a circle and got to pick out special "katom" items from a special bag. Then they moved to the "magic table" where they became scientists as they watched red dye and yellow dye magically turn into orange dye! Last, but not least, our very own Chef Wolf impressively cut open a big "katom" pumpkin and our students got to see and feel what the inside of a fresh pumpkin looks and feels like. Then, as a class, the students decorated the outside of the pumpkin with markers and crayons. Who knew learning about the color orange could be so much fun!

The HAMC AlphaBots!

The HAMC First Lego League Robotics team, the AlphaBots, is hard at work on this year's 'Food Factor' challenge. The team has to design and program their robot to perform 14 food-safety tasks - all in under five minutes! The team built everything - including the wooden table that 'challenge mat' sits on'. The AlphaBot team consists of Ben Pincus, Coby Schneider, Lielle Lev, and Jesse Kellar and is coached by HAMC parent, Stacey Kellar.

8th Grade Enjoys "To Kill a Mockingbird"

The 8th grade students enjoyed seeing the play To Kill A Mockingbird at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey at Drew University…and so did the chaperones! It was a wonderful play that the students really enjoyed.  After the performance, we stayed for the “talk-back” with the actors and director. The girls were even able to get a photo with the male actors, Jem and Dill. The play was the perfect culminating activity for our study of the novel and a wonderful way for us to show our support for the arts!

The “Rishonim Program” brings Israel to HAMC every Wednesday!

We are so lucky to have our new “Rishonim” (young emissaries from Israel), Lior and Noga, at HAMC this year!  Lior and Noga are two young Israelis who will be teaching the students about Israel through fun activities and interactive lessons.  On Wednesday, Lior and Noga introduced the HAMC students to two important aspects of Israeli culture; the Israeli “shuk” (market) and the “Kibbutz”. In the morning, the 2^nd grade classroom was transformed into an Israeli “shuk”, where the students had the opportunity to “buy and sell” a variety of fresh foods and then enjoy the food afterwards. The students really experienced the “hustle-bustle” and excitement that one feels when entering an Israeli shuk!

Later in the day, during lunch and recess, the auditorium was transformed into an Israeli Kibbutz with an English and Hebrew sign posted on the door saying, “Welcome to Kibbutz HAMC!”  The students ate their lunches on special blue trays that people who live on a Kibbutz eat on in their communal “Chadar Ochel”, or cafeteria.  Everyone’s favorite part of the afternoon was dancing the Israeli “horah” to old Israeli music. Everyone joined hands and danced in a big circle. We can’t wait to see what Israeli activities Noga and Lior are planning for next Wednesday!