Schechter Shavua: January 10, 2022

Deciphering Clues in Hebrew Boosts Teamwork and Vocabulary

What better way to celebrate Yom Ha Ivrit (Hebrew Day) than a massive treasure hunt on the day before winter break… entirely in Hebrew?! Under the guidance and creativity of Roni Noyman, one of our middle school Hebrew teachers, students split into three teams. The groups were given clues that used a variety of puzzles; since the directions were entirely in Hebrew, the more fluent Hebrew-speakers demonstrated valuable assistance to their peers who were less familiar with the vocabulary. 

In order to discover where to go, students completed a puzzle or mystery; they were then instructed to complete a task in order to obtain the next clue. Some clues used gematria(aleph =1, bet = 2, yud= 10, kaf = 20); others were written with “atbash ” (aleph is taf, continuing in the reverse numeric order); another puzzle asked students to substitute one letter backwards (bet is really aleph), a task that relies upon their knowledge of the order of the aleph-bet. A different type of puzzle relied on students’ reading skills: in the Beit Tefilah, students were instructed to open book of Numbers, chapter 8, verse 2, then read the passage. Upon reading that the passage referred to the menorah, students had to find the menorah in the Beit where the next clue was hidden!

The group tasks required to get the next clue were fun: together, each group needed to sing "Hatikvah," dance an Israeli dance, sing a song in Hebrew that they all know, and say the Jewish months in order and provide examples of which holidays are celebrated in each month. 

The first team to finish found a treasure in the library and opened it with excitement. Showing their core value of lev tov, students from the winning team shared the prize with all the teams.

Click HERE to see more pictures of the Hebrew Language fun!

How do you say Brrrr in Hebrew?

As we all prepare to bundle up for fun outdoor winter activities, the students in Parparim and Tsiporim(K-1) are ramping up their relevant Hebrew vocabulary! You can expand your Hebrew vocabulary, too! What do you wear during winter? 
 
I am wearing - Ani Luvesh- אני לובש  (for a boy)
I am wearing - Ani Luveshet - אני לובשת (for a girl)
Winter hat - Kovah - כובע
A Coat - Meil- מעיל
Gloves - Kfafut- כפפות
Boots - Magafaim- מגפיים
A Scarf  - Tzeif- צעיף
 

Modeling Plate Tectonics

Bogrimstudents (grade 8) built physical models of different types of plate boundaries to demonstrate their understanding of the mechanism for plate tectonics and how it leads to the features and events associated with different plate boundary types. They also wrote a description of their models.

Click HERE to hear one of our students explain subduction, magma, plates, and more.