Day schools begin new semester

Phoenix Hebrew Academy

The kindergarten class reads "Flat Stanley" by Jeff Brown. As the story goes, Stanley became flat when a bulletin board fell on him, and he went to California through the mail. The children made their own "Flat Stanleys" and sent them to friends and family all over the world, asking that they send back a picture of "Stanley" at a famous place near their home along with what the weather is like where they live.

The kindergarten also received their first "Kamatz Patach" book, after practicing and mastering letters with vowels.

The first-graders made a volcano in their study of Earth. They had fun watching the lava come out of it. They also had two policemen come to the class to talk about the importance of safety. This is part of the officer-friendly program sponsored by the Phoenix Police Department.

Second grade began a science unit on the human body. They hung colorful skeletons on the bulletin boards. The class is learning the proper names of bones, and they also did experiments in static electricity and optical illusion. Rubbing balloons on their hair and watching their hair stand on end, looking through a glass of water and seeing a penny disappear were just a few of the experiments done by the class.

In the sixth grade, students started building a model mishkan, or tabernacle, in class. The models are based on what they learned in Chumash class in Parsha Trumah.

The fourth grade is gearing up for three comprehensive word tests of the 288 most reccurring words in the Chumash. Three final tests will be given. All students scoring 260 or more will be treated to lunch and receive a prize and certificate.

Children in second-eighth grades are participating in a Parshathon, which is a special project combining Torah study with Chessed. It is a project of Chai Lifeline. The children received Parshathon booklets and have been asked to gather sponsors to help raise money for the many important activities of Chai Lifeline. Questions about parsha will be asked by the teachers to demonstrate the children's knowledge.

Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky, the Rosh Hayeshiva of the Philadelphia Talmudical Academy, visited and spoke with the children of Phoenix Hebrew Academy. The HaRav Hagain offered encouragement and words of bracha to the students.

The King David School

The eighth grade celebrated an author's day with Nora Burba Trulsson, a free-lance travel, lifestyle and design writer and editor of Sources and Design.

Third grade Judaic teacher Gitty Blotner invited parents to attend the parsha production on Jan. 13.

Two horses and their owners visited the campus in a "first touch" experience for first-graders, part of the nationwide "Black Stallion" literacy project on Jan. 18.

On Jan. 23, prospective families were invited to an open house where they toured the new campus and learned about the 2005-2006 school year and curriculum.

The student council is holding a fund-raiser, The Copper Silver War. Proceeds will go to benefit victims of the tsunami in Southeast Asia.

Students at all grade levels prepared projects and a tree-planting ceremony for the Tu B'Shevat holiday.

At the end of January, the sixth grade will go on a field trip to the Pueblo Grande Museum and have the opportunity to participate in an archeological dig.

Seventh- and eighth-graders met with students from the Jess Schwartz Jewish Community High School to learn about the high school experience.

Upcoming events at KDS include the annual Spelling Bee, Science Fair and the first-grade siddur ceremony.

East Valley JCC Day School

The East Valley JCC Day School students returned from winter break ready to learn. The first- and second-graders have started to participate in Tefillah. Many of the second-graders are reading the prayers in Hebrew by themselves.

The third- and fourth-graders have been discussing Tu B'Shevat and took a field trip to the Desert Botanical Gardens to celebrate the holiday. The fifth- and sixth-graders are reading Hebrew fluently and lead the younger students in morning prayers as well as Shabbat services. The entire school took part in a Tu B'Shevat seder, which has become a meaningful tradition in our school.

Pardes Jewish Day School

Several special events have taken place over the last two weeks. Students in both the middle school and elementary division participated in a bake sale for tsunami relief. The bake sale, which was arranged by the Student Council, raised more than $400. The money will go to the Union for Reform Judaism Relief Fund.

Middle school students performed community service by making peanut butter and fluff sandwiches. The sandwiches were given to St.Vincent de Paul. The fourth- and fifth-graders went to Dreamy Draw to clean the trails and plant, in conjunction with Tu B'Shevat.

The elementary students had a Tu B'Shevat seder, led by Judaic studies teacher Brad May. Children sampled a variety of fruits and learned the appropriate blessings.

The Temple Solel preschool students were invited to join the Pardes kindergarten classes at the Temple Beth Israel campus. The children celebrated Shabbat and planted seeds for Tu B'Shevat.

The fourth grade is in the midst of an intensive unit of study on Arizona. An Arizona Science Center representative was invited to the school to teach them about rocks, including those commonly found in the state. The students also took a field trip to The New Times to learn about printing and publishing. The students will be creating magazines about Arizona as a final project.

Children in grades 5-8 enjoyed a production of "Dreams in the Golden Country." This play was presented by the Arizona Jewish Theatre Company.

Congratulations to eighth-grader Michael Silverman for winning the school Spelling Bee. Eighth-grade students Michael Silverman, Jacob Schaffert and David Campbell are competing in the National Engineers Future City competition. Their project is on display at Central Phoenix Library.

Jess Schwartz Jewish Community High School

The second semester started off by taking the entire school to Arizona on the Rocks for a field trip on Jan. 24. Faculty and students participated in team building exercises centered on rock climbing. "It was a blast," said headmaster Dr. Janice Johnson, "and a great way to bring us all back together after the stress of finals."

The school has started its very own acoustic guitar club sponsored by teacher Mahlon Coop. The club meets Wednesday afternoons, and is open to any and all students interested in learning or developing guitar skills.Teacher Eliana Lipsky performed during a morning meeting with her alumni a capella group from Boston University, Kol Echad, BU's only Jewish choir.

The ninth-grade class studied the history, components, and details of the Tabernacle in their Judaic class. Then they participated in drawing an exact replica with proportional measurements in Sharon Walker's math class, and used many different supplies including balsa wood, clay and foam board to successfully complete this project with art teacher Dr. Judith Brandstadter. The project is on display in the school's art room.

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