March 18, 2015
27 Adar 5775

Pardes Jewish Day School provides a rigorous, experiential education grounded in Jewish history, culture and values. This monthly newsletter highlights examples of classroom learning designed to meet and exceed state and national standards. Our students are well prepared for entry to the finest high schools and colleges and serve in a multitude of leadership roles.
In This Issue


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Upcoming Events

 


29 Adar
Friday, March 20
Yom Sport Field Day (gr. K-3)
NOON DISMISSAL



29 Adar
Friday, March 20
After School Parent-Teacher conferences (gr. 3-8)



2 Nisan
Sunday, March 22
Pardes Gala
5:00 PM



3 Nisan
Monday, March 23
After School Parent Teacher conferences (gr. 3-8)



6-7 Nisan
Thursday-Friday,
March 26-27
Lake Pleasant Field Trip (gr. 4)



7 Nisan
Friday, March 27
Tanakh Ceremony
(gr. 3)
8:45 AM



7 Nisan
Friday, March 27
Mesa Arts Center Field Trip (gr. 7-8)



10 Nisan
Monday, March 30
Lunch at Luci's Healthy Marketplace
11:30 AM



10-11 Nisan
Monday-Tuesday, March 30-31
Once Upon a Middle School Musical Showcase
7:15 PM 
(reception at 6:30)



11 Nisan
Tuesday, March 31
8th Grade Parent DC Meeting



11 Nisan
Tuesday, March 31
Kindergarten Seder
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT:  
Remi and Jesse Edwards


 

Remi and Jesse Edwards, members of the class of 2011, are both Pardes "Lifers" having attended Pardes from kindergarten through eighth grade. Now seniors at Phoenix Country Day School (PCDS), both girls still share a great appreciation for the education and experiences they received at Pardes.

 

Remi Edwards

 

After graduating from Pardes, Remi entered PCDS as a high school freshman. Since her freshman year, she has taken four AP classes: AP Biology, AP US History, AP Spanish, and AP English. In addition to her AP courses, she's taken all honors courses as well. She also created her own independent study in forensic science.

 

As far as extra-curricular activities, she's been on the Women's Varsity Soccer team since her freshman year and has earned several accolades. In addition to soccer, Remi is also one of two class agents on the Alumni Board and one of ten students selected to work as a Freshman Year Initiative counselor to help aid freshmen through their first year in high school.

 

"I had a very smooth transition from Pardes to high school both academically and socially. Pardes emphasized kehillah (community) and close knit relationships. I believe that my ability to be close with my small class at Pardes allowed me to really open my shell in high school and meet new people. Academically, the transition was great as well. My high school is an extremely challenging school as far as academics. I would say that I was much better prepared than many of my classmates when I stepped into PCDS. The academics, social aspects, and Jewish values allowed for me to truly succeed in high school," she said.

 

Remi was accepted early decision to Claremont McKenna College in California. It is a small, liberal arts college with an acceptance rate of 12%. Remi was also recruited to play Varsity Soccer at Claremont McKenna.

 

When reflecting on her years spent at Pardes and the overall impact the school has had on her life, she has many thoughts to share. "Pardes has done everything for me! I'm not just trying to make the school sound good. Pardes has made me who I am. I am a hard working student because of Pardes. I am a good friend because of Pardes. I am dedicated to anything I do because that's what Pardes taught me. I am determined and I have dreams and aspirations because of Pardes. Yes, Pardes has great academics! But, above anything else, Pardes has taught me how to be a great person and that is something that is truly unparalleled," explained Remi.   


 

Jesse Edwards

 

Like her sister, Jesse also entered PCDS as a high school freshman. Jesse has chosen to place an emphasis on international studies with her coursework. During her time at PCDS, she has chosen to take classes such as International Relations, World History and several foreign languages. She is currently taking AP Spanish, French III and an independent study in Hebrew. "Since Hebrew and Spanish were both offered and required at Pardes, I think this instilled my love of languages and influenced me to continue my studies in high school," Jesse explained.

 

Jesse is involved in several activities outside of her academic studies. She plays club soccer ('97 Girls Blackhawks Burke) as well on the Varsity Soccer Team at PCDS and has received many awards. Additionally, Jesse enjoys volunteering in the community at organizations such as Liberty Wildlife Animal Rescue and Tranquility Trails. At school, Jesse is part of many groups, including the Jewish Cultural Club, Soccer Club and Diversity Club, Tie-Dye club, Disney Club, and Art Club.

 

"The transition from Pardes to high school was easy because there wasn't really a culture shock. Obviously high school is different from middle school, but I felt very prepared for high school after graduating from Pardes. What I really valued from Pardes, and still do, is how it helped to build me as a person. For part of my life, I grew up at Pardes, and I sincerely think that it instilled values in me that I have carried and will continue to carry with me. It focuses on making good kids, and not just through Judaism, but through classroom discussions as eighth graders, through team-building trips in fifth grade, and through group activities emphasizing sharing in kindergarten. I love Pardes and am proud to be a Lifer," Jesse shared when reflecting on her time at Pardes and the transition to high school.

 

This fall, Jesse will be attending Scripps College. It is a small liberal arts school in Southern California and is part of a five-school consortium with Claremont McKenna College, Pitzer College, Pomona College, and Harvey Mudd College. It is a very selective school with 27% of applicants being admitted. Jesse will be playing on the Women's Varsity Soccer team at Scripps.

NJHS WELCOMES NEWEST MEMBERS

Mazal Tov to the newest members of our National Junior Honor Society chapter, who were inducted at a ceremony yesterday: 

 

Paige Bressler

Reann Bressler

Joseph Campanelli-Blanco

Ethan Cohen

Jack Ginsberg

Berkeley Lock

David Machbitz

Ethan Rosenfeld

Stav Zonshine

 

The National Honor Society (NHS) and National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) are the nation's premier organizations established to recognize outstanding high school and middle level students. NHS and NJHS serve to honor students who have demonstrated excellence in the areas of scholarship, leadership, service, character and citizenship.

 

At Pardes, the current application guidelines are that seventh and eighth grade students are eligible to apply to join NJHS if their grade point average for their core classes (math, science, social studies and language arts) has remained at an 89.5 or above based on the average of the six preceding quarters. Eligible students are invited to apply by writing an essay describing their achievements in the five areas previously mentioned. Applications are reviewed by a faculty council.

CELEBRATING PI DAY IN MIDDLE SCHOOL

Pi Day of the century occurred this past Saturday 3-14-15 at 9:26 and 53 seconds. In honor of Pi Day the middle school students together with Ms. Hanover's fourth grade math class celebrated Pi in several stations, which varied by grade level on Friday.

 

The stations included the following:

  • All students solved for Pi by measuring several round objects, as well as their diameters, and then dividing each circumference by the related diameter to come as close to 3.14159 as they could
  • Fourth, Fifth, Seventh and Eighth graders took on the challenge of writing a story based on the word length in relation to Pi. The first word was three letters long, the second was one letter long, the third was four letters long, and so on. (It's very tricky to do!)
  • Eighth graders celebrated with technology as they searched the school for circular objects to photograph with their phones
  • Fourth, Fifth and Sixth graders made a paper chain representing the digits in Pi
  • The Fourth through Seventh graders enjoyed Pi Storytime and a round snack as they were read various books in the Sir Cumference and the Knights of the First Round Table series.

A great time was had by all. The students learned about Pi, explored Pi, read about Pi, wrote with Pi, and created Pi art. There were Pi jokes galore, too! What do you get when you take the circumference of a pumpkin and divide it by it's diameter? You get pumpkin pi! 

L'DOR V'DOR: KINDERGARTEN AND EIGHTH GRADE

Math:

 

Mrs. Burckhardt's eighth grade Pre-Algebra students recently began a unit on data and statistics. In an effort to incorporate real-world numbers that students could use to manipulate, she looked into the opportunity to do a joint lesson with Morah Lauren's kindergarteners, who had been learning about measurement and tools used for measuring.

 

The eighth graders showed the kindergarteners how to use a ruler to measure items in inches and centimeters. Then they had them practice measuring objects to the nearest inch and centimeter. They had the kindergarteners estimate how long an object was, then measure it. Then they had them guess how far they could jump.The 8th graders marked off their jumps and helped the kindergarteners use measuring tapes to measure the jumps. The 8th graders recorded the data.

 

The next step will be for the 8th graders to use what they've learned about data and statistics to analyze the data. They will find the mean, median, mode, range, outliers, mean absolute deviation, 1st quartile, 3rd quartile, and inter-quartile range. They will create a line plot and box-and-whiskers plot to display the data.

 

This lesson was enjoyable and educational for both the kindergarteners and the eighth graders. The kindergarteners had the opportunity to strengthen their measuring skills and the eighth graders were able to gather real-world, interesting data with which to use for their data analysis.

 

Hebrew:


Students in Morah Yehudit and Morah Dina's eighth grade Hebrew classes have been learning about animals as part of their curriculum. Students recently wrote and illustrated their own Hebrew children's book about an animal of their choice. The books had to be at least six pages with a minimum of two lines per page and had to include a picture or drawing on each page. Morah Yehudit's class read their books to Morah Nicole's kindergarten class and Morah's Dina's class read to Morah Lauren's kindergarten class. It was a wonderful opportunity for the kindergarteners to hear the Hebrew being read and translated as well as to identify Hebrew letters they recognized in the story books.

MEET THE PTECHS

It's no secret that technology plays an important role in 21st century learning. For this reason, Pardes decided to use the knowledge of the next generation to help the Pardes community. PTech is an organization founded by 8th grade students and modeled after Apple's Genius Bar. PTechs are always there to help the teachers, parents, and students of Pardes with any technological problems that arise with their devices. PTech is made up of ten eighth graders: Marcy Sterling, Jagat Khalsa, Maddy Roth, Ethan Weisman, Brad Gordon, Maya Kogan, Mattan Sayada, Emma Dabill, Noah Silver, and Eliava Birdt and expects to add seventh graders who will take over the positions next year.


Being a member of PTech requires dedication and the desire to be educated about technology. PTech members train teachers in many different aspects of technology, including Apple TVs, the SMART Projectors, the school-owned laptops and printers. Pardes has a BYOD (bring your own device) program and middle schoolers are asked to bring a laptop to school on a daily basis. In addition providing technical support to teachers, PTech members assist students with their personally owned devices. The Pardes community is excited to have the benefit of the PTech members on campus.

THIRD THROUGH EIGHTH GRADE REPORT CARDS 

Parents of third through eighth graders: If you are scheduled to attend Parent/Teacher Conferences on either Friday, March 20 or Monday, March 23, you will receive your child(ren)'s report card(s) at the conferences. If you are not attending conferences, your child(ren)'s report card(s) will be mailed home.

Zero Hour
Problem of the Month
On the most recent Division M Mathematical Olympiads, students in Grades 6-8 were given 7 minutes to solve the following problem; many did so successfully.  

  

  
Are you as talented as our Pardes Mathletes? See if you are able to solve the problem. Please respond by noon on Friday with your answer to Bethany Spector at bspector@pardesschool.org . Those who answer the problem correctly will be acknowledged in the April issue of Academics in Action.


Mazal Tov to the following people, who successfully answered last month's Math problem:

Susan Finks
Jen Mason
Rabbi Tracee Rosen