What’s happening in JLC! 3rd – 7th grade

A word from Morah Marita, the 3rd-7th grade teacher:

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We are off to a wonderful start in JLC this year! For our older students, last year was a leisurely journey after wisdom. This year is a voracious search. Our students explore Torah, Holidays, Prayer and History. Students have experimented with different projects and settled in as their intellectual curiosity is sparked.

We are in the midst of creating a companion canvas for our Torah display. This canvas is an illustrated version of the Haftorah portions. Our B’nai Mitzvot children are invested in this because they feel ownership of “their” haftorot and younger students are inspired to join the endeavor. Several other students are working on the creation of a mandala which displays all of the Torah readings and Haftorah reading as well as the Hebrew months with which they are associated this year organized in concentric circles and decorated with contemporary art by Jewish artists. This is an ongoing, long term project which brings students back to drawing board.

IMG_0112Other students have created an interactive dictionary with biblical Hebrew words and phrases. A number of students have enjoyed designing their own Sukkot in photos of architecturally award winning modern homes. Our Do – It -Yourself Adventure series describing tipping points in Jewish history has inspired various projects. Several students have started converting the story of the Expulsion from Spain into a board game. Others are designing a Monopoly game using the streets of Jerusalem and historical events as the organizing principle. Another ongoing project is the development of a timeline of Jewish history. This timeline will be illustrated and coordinated with other timelines as a source of comparison of their critical paths. With great excitement some students are constructing a cardboard prototype of 97 Orchid Street in NYC. This project is supported by historical photos and blueprints of the actual building. We will discuss immigration patterns, the historicity of street names, employment experiences, and the social implications of gentrification.

IMG_0147Some of our projects are weekday experiences; other projects are Shabbat friendly. All of our students have embraced our Shabbat world. Attendance has been excellent. Shabbat has become a time to enjoy time and each other. We can think ahead as to what have done during the past week and what we will do going forward. Sometimes, we just enjoy the day. A highlight of Shabbat has also been our time learning about Shabbat rituals and prayers with Morah Lily. We look forward to showing off our new skills in Hinei Mah Tov with you!

 

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