| Reminders |
TUESDAY, MAY 15 IS AN EARLY 3:00PM DISMISSAL DUE TO AN ALL-SCHOOL FACULTY MEETING.
THURSDAY, MAY 17 IS STEP UP TO KINDERGARTEN FOR E4 STUDENTS
FRIDAY, MAY 18 IS AN EARLY 1:00PM DISMISSAL FOR ALL STUDENTS DUE TO EREV SHAVUOT.
Please check the Lost and Found
table and coat rack outside the Elementary School office if you are looking for a missing item.
For the boys: Every day during davening, we say the bracha for tzitzit, so please make sure your son wears some or keeps in his backpack a pair of tzitzit and a kippah.
If you have any recyclable materials, please send them in for our classes to use. Examples are:
-Paper towel/toilet paper rolls
-Paint color samples
-Scraps of contact paper, wallpaper, or cloth
-Small pieces of tile
-Any other crafty loose parts!
Please send in dress-up clothes, especially authentic doctor clothes and supplies. Thank you!
Whether you are a parent, alumni or faculty member, your Maimo Moments are welcomed and appreciated.
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How To Subscribe to the Calendar
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For step-by-step instructions for subscribing to the Maimonides Early Childhood Center calendar on your mobile device or computer,
CLICK HERE.
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From Robin Meyerowitz
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Dear Parents,
It was another wonderful week of sunshine and play in the ECC! This week Morah Alexa Pollack took over for Morah Mimi's maternity leave, and the students have adapted very well. We also welcomed a new student in our 4-year-old Tigers class, Alice Furchtgott, who recently moved to Brookline from Cambridge and will be joining us next year in kindergarten. I'm sure you will join us in welcoming her to the Maimonides family.
Just a few reminders:
- On Tuesday, March 15, we have an early 3:00 p.m. dismissal due to an all-school faculty meeting.
- On Thursday, March 17, we will have a Step Up to Kindergarten program from 8:30 - 9:30 a.m. for our 4-year-old classes.
- On Friday, March 18, we have another early dismissal, at 1:00 p.m., for Erev Shavuot.
Shabbat Shalom
,
Robin
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Dvar Torah
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by Rabbi David Saltzman
וְאִם לֹא־יִגָּאֵל עַד־מְלֹאת לוֹ שָׁנָה תְמִימָה וְקָם הַבַּיִת אֲשֶׁר־בָּעִיר אֲשֶׁר־לא [לוֹ] חֹמָה לַצְּמִיתֻת לַקֹּנֶה אֹתוֹ לְדֹרֹתָיו לֹא יֵצֵא בַּיֹּבֵל׃
If it is not redeemed before a full year has elapsed, the house in the walled city shall pass to the purchaser beyond reclaim throughout the ages; it shall not be released in the jubilee.
In this pasuk from this week's parsha, there is a difference between the way a word is read and the way it is written. The phrase
אֲשֶׁר־לא חֹמָה
(that does not have a wall) is written with an
א
, but is interpreted as if written with a
ו
, as in
אֲשֶׁר־לוֹ חֹמָה
(that it has a wall). What can we learn from these two possibilities?
The Rav explains that Yerushalayim lost its kedusha after the first exile, but was reconsecrated with the return of Ezra. That kedusha lasts until today.
Additionally, there is a second source of sanctity which only applies to Yerushalayim. This is known as kedushat mechitzot, the sanctity of the walls. Based on Rambam, the Rav suggests that since the city was once surrounded by a wall, even though the wall was destroyed, the kedusha from it remains even today. This is because walls around a city provide an extra level of security. This extra layer of security translates into an increased level of kedusha, as the people inside it are free to serve G-d without worry. This is hinted at in our pasuk. Even if the city does not have a wall -
אֲשֶׁר־לא חֹמָה
- the sanctity within the city from when the wall existed -
אֲשֶׁר־לוֹ חֹמָה
- still remains. The sense of security that a Jew feels must not be broken even when the wall no longer exists.
The Jewish nation has constantly yearned for the day that we would return to Yerushalayim. Our desire to connect to the kedusha within the city, even when the walls were breached, was never severed. After the Six-Day War our dreams were realized as we triumphantly returned and were embraced in the special kedusha that envelops Yerushalayim. Demonstrate your hakarat hatov for this miraculous event this coming Sunday by celebrating Yom Yerushalayim. Then on Monday, watch the U.S. Embassy move to Yerushalayim and finally actualize Yerushalayim as the capital of Israel.
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Thoughts of the Rav
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by Rabbi David Saltzman
כִּסֵּ֣א כָב֔וֹד מָר֖וֹם מֵֽרִאשׁ֑וֹן מְק֖וֹם מִקְדָּשֵֽׁנוּ:
As a Throne of Glory, exalted from the beginning, so is the place of our Sanctuary.
(Yirmiyahu 16:12 - from the haftara)
The Rav explains that our right to claim Israel and Yerushalayim rest on one concept - kedusha. Maintaining that the land and Yerushalayim are ordinary real estate undermines our rights to the land.
The question is asked: Can kedusha and churban (destruction) co-exist? It would seem that these are opposite extremes, and kedusha would evaporate in the face of ruin.
The Rav claims that there is a second approach, which holds that kedusha tolerates churban. That G-d can dwell not only in a magnificent Temple, but also on Mount Zion, which has become desolate; foxes prowl over it
(Lamentations 5:18).
The proof is found in the pasuk cited above. There is a dual image portrayed regarding the Beit HaMikdash. The
כִּסֵּ֣א כָב֔וֹד מָר֖וֹם
is the Beit HaMikdash above, the spiritual representation of the physical Beit HaMikdash below. The enemy can destroy and annihilate everything below, but as long as there is still a Beit HaMikdash above, he cannot affect its sanctity. And as long as
מְק֖וֹם מִקְדָּשֵֽׁנוּ
- the place of our sanctuary - exists, G-d's presence rests not only above, but also below.
Yom Yerushalayim sameach
!
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2-Year-Old Class Newsletter
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Dear Parents,
Last Friday, we really enjoyed
Yom Orchim
(Visitors' Day)! The Thursday before, we made apple pies for our visitors, which we were happy to enjoy together with them when they arrived. We really loved meeting the special people in your children's lives.
We continue to count the steps of the
Omer
, and we all sat around a magical "bonfire" with the three- and four-year-olds for
Lag BaOmer
on the 33rd day.
On Monday, Morah Mimi's husband, Rabbi Ben Houben, came into our classroom to talk to the children about the Torah and the special writing inside of it. He is a
sofer
, and he showed us how a lot of the letters in the Torah had crowns on them. We had fun trying to make our own Torah letters.
The children have been enjoying taking care of baby dolls and playing in the outdoor sandbox now that the weather is warm. We have started composting in our classroom, and are really enjoying saving our leftovers from snack and lunch so we can turn them into soil to plant in next year.
We hope you enjoy this week's photos!
Cutting up the apples for the pies at this table, while the other table was busy making the pie dough.
One very proud and happy grandma at Yom Orchim!
Parents and grandparents enjoyed our Shabbat party on Yom Orchim.
Camels, bears and lions all become babies in our room.
Pretending to be a Torah with Rabbi Ben.
Using our own painted footprints to count the steps of the Omer.
Here's the Lag BaOmer "bonfire," built by our own Morah Tzipi!
Mixing up the compost in the play yard.
The sandbox is a great place to dig, fill, cooperate, and imagine.
Cleaning wood chips off the slide?
Playing with shadows and colors on a beautiful Wednesday morning.
Thank you, Yom Orchim visitors, for making last Friday such a beautiful day!
Shabbat Shalom
,
Morot
Tzipi and Laura
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3-Year-Old Class Newsletter
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Dear Parents,
We have been busy talking about and getting ready for
Shavuot
. On Monday, Morah Mimi's husband, Rabbi Ben Houben, who is a
sofer
, came in to talk to our class about how a Torah is written. He showed us how a
sofer
uses parchment paper with a special quill pen. The children looked at a piece of parchment and saw how beautiful the writing in the Torah is. They noticed how some of the letters had a crown on top. Rabbi Ben talked about how Moshe Rabbeinu was given the Torah on
Har
Sinai. The children made pictures of what they thought
Har
Sinai looked like. Then Rabbi Ben put a
shin
sticker on top of each of their
Har
Sinai pictures, and added a sticker of the first letter of their Hebrew name.
On Tuesday, the children used chisel markers and parchment-like paper to practice writing Hebrew letters like a
sofer
does. Some of them were able to write letters in their Hebrew name!
We've been counting the
Omer
each day when we
daven
, and the children can't wait until we reach 49! We have been singing and acting out the "I Am A Mountain" song, which shows how Hashem chose
Har
Sinai because it was a humble mountain and didn't boast about how great it was.
On Wednesday, Amy Freedman from Gateways came in to do a Social Thinking lesson with us. She discussed with us how where we are and what we are doing means that certain things are expected. Then she challenged us by asking about how to be flexible in situtations when the unexpected happens. She used phrases like "Oh, that was unexpected" and "We should shift our thinking and be flexible" in order to give the students a framework for thinking about how to react in various situations.
Each of the children also made a Mother's Day gift for their amazing mothers. They were very excited to make it, and can't wait to give it to you. We hope you enjoy using it and have a wonderful Mother's Day.
Note: We have many fun toys in our classroom. We kindly request that no toys are brought in from home. Sometimes at this age, it's hard for the children to share something that is special to them. Thank you for your consideration.
Shabbat Shalom
,
Morot Leisa, Shayna, and Sara
Outside time was a blast this week!
We couldn't get enough of the gorgeous weather!
During exploration time, the block area was a busy place.
There were creations popping up everywhere!
During provocation time, the children enjoyed using our easel.
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Each painting came out individual and unique.
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The children continue to work on the compost.
Amy Freedman came to talk to us more about our flexible thinking. The students sat beautifully, watching and listening to her.
Morah Linda sang songs with us about Mother's Day and Shavuot. Here we are being mountains, so very tall.
Morah Mimi's husband, Rabbi Ben Houben, came in to talk to us about how a Sefer Torah is written. He showed the children how to write their Hebrew names.
The kids got a chance to practice writing with special markers.
The markers made lines like those from a quill that a sofer might use for a Sefer Torah.
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4-Year-Old Class Newsletter
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Dear Parents,
We had another week of beautiful spring outside in the playground! We are checking the flowers that we planted in our garden every day to see how they are opening. We have a lot of fun when we are outside playing all together, putting into practice everything we have learned about friendship in these past few weeks.
We have been very busy learning about
Shavuot
and
Yom Yerushalayim
. We made our own
Kotel
in class, and learned about why the
Kotel
is really important to us.
On Monday, we had a very special visit. Morah Mimi's husband, Rabbi Ben Houben, who is a
sofer
, came to visit us! He taught us about the importance of the letters and their crowns. Then we wrote crowns on the first letters of our Hebrew names. When we were finished, we took the first letters of the names of everyone in the class, and used them to create a new name for our class: "
Gan Shema Yisrael
."
We had the opportunity to observe all the letters in our real little class Torah with magnifying glasses, and then we made our own Torah art project. It was really exciting!
On Wednesday, Amy Freedman from Gateways came in to do a Social Thinking lesson with us. She discussed with us how where we are and what we are doing means that certain things are expected. Then she challenged us by asking about how to be flexible in situtations when the unexpected happens. She used phrases like "Oh, that was unexpected" and "We should shift our thinking and be flexible" in order to give the students a framework for thinking about how to react in various situations.
Our
Shabbat
party this week was really fun! Thank you to our Shabbat Abba, Shuvael, for the delicious Shabbat party treat and challah. We sang all the songs we know, said the
brachot
, and ate a lot of
challah
.
Shabbat Shalom
,
Morot Mimi, Nechi, Chera, Marggie, and Alexa
We made an art project using wheat, and talked about the agricultural season of Sefirat HaOmer between Pesach and Shavuot.
We also made pictures of fruits and vegetables to learn about bikurim.
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Using the white board to get ready for Mother's Day
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We love it when Amy comes to our class and talks with us about thoughts and social skills.
We had a very special visit from Morah Mimi's husband, Rabbi Ben, a real sofer, who taught us about the art of writing the Torah letters
Each student got to use special calligraphy markers to make the first letter of their Hebrew name
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We learned about how to make the crowns on some of the letters. |
We investigated our own class Torah scroll with magnifying glasses.
We made our own
sifrei Torah!
Everyone wrote something that they were thankful for in their scroll.
For
Yom Yerushalayim, we made pictures of the city!
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Social Time!
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There's so much going on here at Maimo! Be sure to check out our social media to get the inside scoop (with lots of great photos) on happenings at school.
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See what's happening in other divisions
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 Lots of wonderful things are happening at Maimonides School!
If you'd like to take a peek at what's happening in the other divisions, click to visit the Elementary School, Middle School, or Upper School newsletter pages.
If you would like to contact a specific school office, please use these emails:
[email protected]
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