FRI., APR 7- WED., APR 19PESACH BREAK

THURS., APR 20SCHOOL RESUMES

TUES., MAY 2GR 1 CHUMASH PARTY,

11AM-12PM

MON., MAY 15LAG B’OMER FIELD DAY

MON., MAY 22VICTORIA DAY

NO SCHOOL

WED., MAY 31 - THURS., JUNE 1

SHAVUOT BREAK

FRI., JUNE 2SCHOOL RESUMES

LATE AM START 9:15

TUES., JUNE 13MOVING UP

GRADUATION CEREMONY

B”H

10735 144 St., Edmonton, AB T5N 3L1 Phone: 780.451.1848 Fax: 780.451.2254 menorahacademy.org ~ office@menorahacademy.org

THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 2017

VOLUME 5 ISSUE 8

Biology 20: The Nutrient CycleIn Biology 20, we have been studying nutrient cycling in the biosphere, and one of the cycles we explored is the carbon-oxygen cycle. To get a deeper sense of this, we designed and conducted our own experiments with the goal of determining plant carbon dioxide production levels. While not all of the experiments were successful, we discussed how that is part of the scientific process, as not every experiment works. Next, scientists analyze their experiments to determine why they failed, or even if they were successful, what could be improved for future experiments. Thus, we applied this process to our experiments as well. We gained a deeper understanding of the scientific process and a great learning experience!

Biology 30: The Sensory SystemIn Biology 30, we have been studying the sensory system, exploring the structure of our sensory organs and how they function. To reinforce our study of the eye, we dissected some sheep eyes to see the structures for ourselves! The most surprising things we discovered are that the humors (fluids) in the eye are quite gooey, and that the retina is bright blue at the back. A great time was had by all!

Menorah Students Visit Jewish Senior Centre

Recently our Pre-K, Kindergarten, and Grade One students visited and entertained at the Jewish Senior Centre. Wearing our crowns, designed by Morah Daniella, they sang cheerful Purim tunes with motions and actions. Afterwards, they were able to circulate and meet some of the seniors and hand them a mishloach manos package that they had coloured. Inside were hamantaschen that each class had baked especially for them! A great time was had by all and we hope to return again!

PAGE 2 MENORAH HIGHLIGHTS VOLUME 5 ISSUE 8 THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 2017

The Grade 3 students concluded their Hearing and Sound unit by constructing a soundproof box. The students were given a 15 minute timer, and materials, and as a group worked to see who could silence the alarm, or make it the most quiet. We had so much fun putting our knowledge of Hearing and Sound into this hands on activity.

Ms. Mitchell's Grade 6/7 girls gave remarkable speeches on their math assignment, "Balancing a Cheque Book,” last week. First, the girls were given random careers and had to balance their cheque book according to their career assignment salaries. As the girls quickly learned, paying bills, buying groceries, mortgage payments/rent, fuel for the car, etc. adds up quickly and leaves little room for clothes and entertainment. Each student then had to write a speech about their job, how much education was needed, how many hours in a day/week was needed, and a job description. Another fun math project the girls had was based on area, perimeter and volume. They created dream bedrooms and had to factor in the costs of materials based on their floor plan. They built 3D models based on their findings. Great job, girls!

Math Assignment: Balancing a cheque book

Parsha quiz with a twistAs a special activity for Parshas Vayikra, which deals with korbanos (sacrifices), Rabbi White's Grade 6-7 Boys took their weekly Parsha quiz with an added twist. They had to take the quiz mirroring the 4 steps of the way the zrikas ha'dam (sprinkling of the blood from the korban) was offered. First, they 'shechted' the Parsha Sheet (by picking it up in the front of the classroom); then they 'caught the answer' - i.e. found the correct answer for their question; they then 'brought the answer' back to their desks; and finally - they 'sprinkled the answer' onto their quiz papers. The back and forth trek from the front desk to their own desks, was definitely up there as far as physical fitness achievements while taking a test - second only to neck strengthening accomplished while banging one's head on the desk multiple times...

Grade 4/5 Boys enjoyed a Mike & Ike’s fractions lesson in Ms. Mitchell’s class last week. Fractions are delicious!

Students in Grade 4/5 are currently studying Classroom Chemistry. As a part of their learning, the girls made 'slime'. This concoction consists of white glue,water, borax and food colouring. Students are learning about mixtures, solutions, chemical reactions, as well as reversible and irreversible changes. We had a fun morning creating this slime mixture, and learned a lot about viscosity and chemical reactions!

THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 2017 MENORAH HIGHLIGHTS VOLUME 5 ISSUE 8 PAGE 3

Electrifying Lesson Grade 4/5 boys had an electrifying month! We are concluding our unit on electricity, and what better way than to connect all our batteries, light bulbs, and switches, to create a massive circuit! What a shocking experience!

The Grade 3 ' s we re honoured to host their parents in our classroom for their Quadrilateral City Speeches. After being asked to construct a city out of only quadrilaterals, that also contained certain parameters, they gave a speech about their city trying to persuade others to choose their design. It was a wonderful morning, and we are so appreciative of everyone who was able to show up and support us in ending our geometry unit.

Our Grade 8-11 Boys were engaged in their Gemara lesson last week with Rabbi Mandel, then Rabbi Sass. Lengthly discussions took place throughout the morning between the boys and their Rebbes.

PAGE 4 MENORAH HIGHLIGHTS VOLUME 5 ISSUE 8 THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 2017

This month Grade 4/5 Boys kept practicing how to write a great p a r a g r a p h . T h e y w r o t e p a r a g r a p h s t o d e s c r i b e themselves, which we then typed up ( with Mr. Brodie's help!) and turned into word clouds!

Pre-K and Kindergarten teamed up to have an amazing practice model seder. A surprise guest, “Eliyahu Hanavi” showed up under a tallis which was really Rabbi Sass coming to join. The students were very excited as this model seder put everyone in the Pesach mood and let them apply all their learning!

Model Seder with Pre-K and Kindergarten

THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 2017 MENORAH HIGHLIGHTS VOLUME 5 ISSUE 8 PAGE 5

withMRS. LEE

Inspired by the line and shape language used in Philippe Lengendre's drawing books, our Grade Three students drew woodland creatures. They converted their drawings into patterns and then banners. The banners are hand stitched, individually and with partners. Creativity abounds in this group.

Using Ralph Masiello's approach to using line and shapes to draw robots, our Grade 2 students did a series of drawings. The favorite of each was developed into a painting, using folk art acrylic paints, permanent marker and canvas. Mrs. Lee marveled at the personalities evident in the robots.

Following a study of J.R. Tolkein’s, ‘The Hobbit,’ in ELA, the boys painted silhouettes in tints of black with Paynes Grey on coat racks. Dragons were added in permanent markers. The pegs and hangers were attached. The boys drew on each other's strengths to make the project a success.

“Bear Sees Color,” by Karma Wilson, inspired our nursery artists to print, using tempera paint, with scrubbers, flowers and bubble wrap. Bears were painted mixing brown, white, and yellow. The project came together with a few flowers attached on top.

PAGE 6 MENORAH HIGHLIGHTS VOLUME 5 ISSUE 8 THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 2017

DNA: Bio 30 ExperimentIn our third unit of Biology 30, we have been studying DNA. We learned that to diagnose genetic disorders, scientists can make a karyotype (photo of all of a person's genes arranged in homologous pairs from largest to smallest). To demonstrate how this works, we made our own k a r y o t y p e s and diagnosed them. Then we discussed t he gene t i c conditions we had found. A w o n d e r f u l e x p e r i e n c e was had by all!

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THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 2017 MENORAH HIGHLIGHTS VOLUME 5 ISSUE 8 PAGE 7

Mrs. White and Mrs. Lee took the Grade One students on a treasure hunt for creatures at the Edmonton Valley Zoo. Armed with the pictures of their quest, sketch pads and p e n c i l s , t h e s t u d e n t s observed, drew and enjoyed. Our special guest was Mrs. Lee's daughter, Lucy.

Bringing Gemara to life with the Grade 6/7 BoysRabbi White's Gemara class has recently put on a few short plays that help bring the Gemara to life. The acting roles were assigned at random, but Divine Providence intervened to have Landon cast perfectly as a palm tree swaying in the wind, and Avi as the lost donkey. Moshe Yehuda and Michael managed to secure the witness roles for both showings, and Dudy was a near-spitting image of the Talmudic sage, Raba.

PAGE 8 MENORAH HIGHLIGHTS VOLUME 5 ISSUE 8 THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 2017

Q: Why do we have an Haggadah at Passover?A: So we can Seder right words.

After these exciting words were screamed throughout the building, there was a bit of confusion, as most of the school thought it was a fire drill, and started stampeding for the doors. It took a while to convince all that it was simply Grade 3 celebrating their completion of Parshas Mikeitz. When all the confetti was swept up, the class (gently) reminded their Rebbe that a celebratory trip was in order.

With Pesach baring down on the group, if a Siyum would happen, it would have to be now, and fast. A quick perusal of weather.com showed that the temperature would be hovering around 40 degrees, perfect for a park outing, if not a bit warm. A longer perusal discovered that this readout was Fahrenheit, and it was actually a bit cold. But with a "they don't call us the Frosen Chosen for nothing," this band of warriors decided to brave the elements.

After a trip to Bliss Baked Goods for the obligatory donuts (some attempted the Bliss fight song for a free cookie, and somehow slipped into "It's a Small World") we headed to the park. With a single minded determination to let the entire city know about our celebration, "Chazzak Chazzak Venischazek" became our rallying cry every time we saw a human being.

Some donuts, chips, and soda, and it was off to the playground equipment. Much thanks to Yossi Blachman for sponsoring a cacophony of candy for the group. Mazel Tov to Zecharya and Efraim for coming in first and second on the monkey bar race. Medal of courage to Liora for discovering the most bizarre way of climbing a slide this author has ever seen.

Finally, some bits of wisdom we came away with. 1) Rain boots in theory would allow one to stomp in a puddle of mud, but don't offer much in the way of protection when one slips in that puddle. 2) Bleach is a completely ineffective way of removing copious amounts of mud from navy pants. 3) No matter how many times a group of Grade 3 kids beg to drive a bulldozer, the answer is invariably "no.” 4) No matter how many flavours, kids will opt for the "soda mix.” 5) Despite all those toddler warnings, some kids will kick a soccer ball into the street so they could go chase it. 6) Any roof on any piece of playground equipment, no matter how high, is a powerful magnet that inexorably draws kids to sit upon it. 7) This class is an absolute joy.

CHAZZAK CHAZZAK VENISCHAZEK!!!