ECC Weekly Newsletter 
September 23, 2016 - 20 Elul 5776
Parashat Ki Tavo


 
ECC Highlights
Robin's Message
Dvar Torah
Thoughts of the Rav
New Parent Event
2-Year-Old Class Newsletter
3-Year-Old Class Newsletter
4-Year-Old Class Newsletter
PTA Schach Sale
2016-17 Calendars
Vehicle Policies
Yom Chesed
Handbook Online
Maimo on Instagram
ES, MS, and US Newsletters
Check us out on Facebook
Reminders
TUESDAY, 9/27/16, IS A 3:00 PM DISMISSAL. THERE WILL BE NO EXTENDED DAY.
We will be at the carpool line for pickup beginning at 2:45 PM.


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, please make sure your son wears 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.
How To Subscribe to the Calendar
For step-by-step instructions for subscribing to the Maimonides Early Childhood Center calendar on your mobile device or computer, CLICK HERE.
Find Maimonides On:
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From Robin Meyerowitz
Dear Parents,

What an exciting second full week of school! Thank you so much to those parents who were able to attend our Curriculum Experience Night. We had a great time sharing some of what we do during the day with our curious, enthusiastic students! We hope you enjoyed the slideshow that we showed at Curriculum Experience Night and sent out in an e-mail.

A few reminders:
  • Next Tuesday is a 3:00pm dismissal. Any students who are signed up for Extended Day, or need to stay until 5:45pm, are welcome to stay with Morah Julie. Please let us know if you need to sign your child up for Extended Day.
  • Please remember that we are a nut-free facility, and even food that has traces of nuts or is made in a facility that processes nuts cannot be brought to school.
  • We have a box of 5.2-fl-oz. bottles of Enfamil infant formula to offer to anyone who can use it. It is for newborns through 3 months, and it is OU-D, milk-based with iron. Please let me know if you would like to take it.
Shabbat Shalom!

Robin

Dvar Torah - Make Someone Happy
by Rabbi David Saltzman

The parasha begins with a command to travel to Yerushalayim and bring one's first fruits to be presented to G-d. This is the mitzvah of bikurim. Upon presentation of their fruit, one needs to recite a paragraph giving thanks and praise to G-d. This recitation begins with a short history - going back to Yaakov's descent to Egypt, the ensuing slavery, and our redemption from Pharoah's decrees - and concludes with our settling in the Land of Israel. After reciting this text, the presenter offers his fruit and bows to G-d. Following the service, the Torah immediately says the following:
וְשָׂמַחְתָּ בְכָל הַטּוֹב אֲשֶׁר נָתַן לְךָ יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ וּלְבֵיתֶךָ אַתָּה וְהַלֵּוִי וְהַגֵּר אֲשֶׁר בְּקִרְבֶּךָ:
Then, you shall rejoice with all the good that the L-rd, your G-d, has granted you and your household you, the Levite, and the stranger who is among you.
 
What exactly is the command in this verse? What is one actually supposed to do with all the "good" in order to rejoice?
 
Rashi interprets this to mean that one only reads this paragraph during the time of harvesting, from Shavuot until Sukkot. If one brings the offering after Sukkot, since one is not as happy when the harvest is over, they should not recite this paragraph.
 
Ibn Ezra has a different interpretation of this verse. He writes that:
וטעם אתה והלוי והגר - שאתה חייב לשמחם בפרי אדמתך.
The presenter has an obligation to share the bounty with the Levi and the convert.

The Levi and the convert probably do not have a large portion of land or an abundance of fruit. The tribe of Levi did not receive a portion of land with all the other tribes, and a convert does not have an inheritance of land passed to him from previous generations. In the spirit of arvut, taking responsibility and being connected to all Jews, we are responsible for sharing our good fortune so others can share in our joy.
 
Looking slightly deeper, it's interesting to notice that only the tribe of Levi and the convert are singled out as the demographics that need to be made happy. Perhaps it is because the Levi and the convert did not really experience the excitement and celebration of the Exodus. The tribe of Levi was not enslaved, and the convert was not Jewish at that point in history. The person presenting the offering needs to be conscious of the fact that there are some people of the Jewish nation who, because of a particular circumstance, are not experiencing the same level of joy as everyone else. Because of arvut - the idea that we are responsible for one another, even for each other's feelings - we need to bring those people into our celebrations and make them happy.

Thoughts of the Rav: Devekut, Continued 
by Rabbi Dov Huff

Last week we discussed that halacha is a tool that allows us to proactively cleave to Hashem, rather than a contemplative, actionless approach to spirituality. Our ideal is not the individual in solitude, disengaging from the world, but an active community revolving around the halacha
 
The Rav zt"l, in his essay "The Community," describes this community as a singular autonomous entity. Not as "an assembly of people who work together but... a living whole." 
 
For this reason, we are all responsible for one another. Not only does this relationship help us cleave to Hashem, but it also connects us to one another.
 
Next week, we are going to roll out our theme of the year to our students. It is the theme of arvut - responsibility towards one another. As the Rav writes in his essay, "once I have recognized the thou and invited him to join the commnunity, I ipso facto assumed responsibility for the thou. Recognition is identical with commitment." This is the message of arvut
 
New Parent Event Tomorrow Night 
All parents who are new to Maimonides this year are invited to enjoy An Evening of Wine, Cheese, and Dessert tomorrow night, Saturday, September 24, from 8:30 - 10:00 p.m. at the home of Debra and Eitan Milgram.  For more information or to RSVP contact Chantal Lawrence, Director of Admissions, at clawrence@maimonides.org
 
2-Year-Old Class Newsletter
Dear Parents,

As this second newsletter hits the presses, we continue to come together as a cohesive group. Friendships are beginning to blossom as we get to know each other better. We are loving our specialists, who come in during the week.

Morah Dayse comes to us on Mondays after nap, bringing her wonderful bag of beautiful instruments that we get to play, and then we move and sing and laugh together.

On Tuesday mornings, Morah Linda plays her keyboard and sings us lovely songs with puppets and props.
 
On Wednesday afternoon, Morah Hadassah does Yoga with us. This week in Yoga, the class had an under-the-sea theme. We went under the sea in many different types of boats while listening to under-the-sea music.
 
Some of our favorite things are drawing and painting, eating, singing, listening to music, and dancing. We also love going to the gym to play with hula hoops and balls.
 
We went for a walk on Thursday. We looked up at the blue sky, listened to the birds singing, and picked up acorns off the ground.

We have started davening in the classroom, and are having a great time using music and songs to help us remember the tefillot.

We had a wonderful Shabbat Party this week. The students enjoyed their challah and grape juice and Morah Tzipi's wonderful songs and tefillot.

Please enjoy the photos below, which will show you some of the things we've been doing.
 
Shabbat Shalom,
Morah Laura,  Morah Tzipi, and Morah Marggie

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Making mud cakes is one of our favorite things to do!
 
Peekaboo! Building with magnatiles helps us learn about magnets and building!
   
A firefighter who eats his fire dog!
 
   
Let's play animals and farm together!
 
    
We love having a slide in our room!
 
      
We each have our own journal to draw in!  
 
     
Putting pegs in the peg board, making birthday cakes!
 
      
Morah Linda shows us how to blow the shofar!
 
 
      Rabbi Saltzman blows the shofar for us on the playground!
 
     
 Cooking with soil, the best! 

     
 Helping our friends feel better! 

      
What is this? How does it feel?

     
Getting ready for Rosh Hashanah!
3-Year-Old Class Newsletter 
 
Dear Parents,

We introduced Rosh Hashanah to the students this week. We talked about how it is the Jewish New Year, when we say " Shanah Tova Umetukah," wishing each other a good and sweet new year . During Cooking, the students measured, poured, and mixed the ingredients to make honey cake. We could smell it baking while we were playing on the playground, and we especially enjoyed eating it at snack the next day.
 
We started talking about some of the customs for Rosh Hashanah, such as eating challahs that are round rather than braided. We read the book How the Rosh Hashanah Challah Became Round . To reinforce the round shape, we went on a circle hunt around our classroom. The students each found something in our room that was a circle and brought it back to the rug to share with the class. They also made circle pictures using cardboard tubes and multi-colored inkpads to create beautiful works of art.
 
Apples are a big part of Rosh Hashanah. We dip apples in honey and eat many other foods with apples. This week, the students did lots of activities using apples. During provocations, we cut open apples and used magnifying glasses to examine the insides, including the seeds. The students also estimated how many seeds were in one apple. We discovered that there were twelve seeds in our red apple. During snack, we did a taste test to see who liked red apples and who liked green apples. We then graphed the results. The winner was... red! During ma'agal , we sang "Dip the Apple in the Honey" and read the book Ten Apples Up On Top . As you can see, we are getting excited about Rosh Hashanah!
 
We want to thank Rabbi Saltzman for blowing the shofar for us. He came into our classroom Monday morning and even came out to the playground on Tuesday to blow the shofar during Early Morning Drop-Off.

On Thursday, Morah Shayna's daughter, Temi, who is a Maimo fifth grader, came into our class and showed us the shofar she made at the Shofar Factory earlier this month. Each student had a chance to help finish the shofar by smoothing it with sandpaper.
 
Just a few reminders:
  • Please make sure your son comes to school with a kippah and tzitzit. He can either wear them or you can send them in his backpack. Let us know if you want us to keep them in his cubby.
  • The ECC is a nut-free school. Please make sure your child's lunch does not contain anything with nuts, including foods that may contain traces of nuts.
  • On Wednesday and Thursday the hot lunch meals are meat. These days, it is O.K. to send your child with a meat lunch. On Monday, Tuesday, and Friday please send a dairy or pareve lunch. Also if you send your child meat, please indicate that the lunch is meat. You can put a note in the lunchbox or use a labeled container. This way, your child will be seated at the meat table.
  • If you have not already done so, please send in a a change of clothes for both fall and winter, a family picture, rain boots, and a smock. All items must be labeled with the student's name.
 
Shabbat Shalom,
Morot Leisa, Shayna, and Tanya
 
 
Jonah, Liat, Liam, Amelie, and Gavriella having fun digging together outside.
 
Ari, Simcha, and Batsheva using the ink pads to make circle pictures!


  
Liat, Avital, Amelie, Yuval, and Ella having some laughs in the gym!

Charlie, Yuval, and Ari having some important conversations! 

Ari, Yuval, Ezra A., and Sam exploring at the light table during our morning provocation time.

Dov, Leah, and Ezra A. quietly working together to trace during rest time.

Ayelet, Josh, and Hillel enjoying some quiet play together.
Leo, Ezra H., and Dov working on their patterns during provocations time!
 
Rabbi Saltzman blowing the shofar for us!

Avital, Charlie, Yosef, and Liam enjoying shofar blowing by Rabbi Saltzman.
 4-Year-Old Class Newsletter

Dear Parents,
 
Just the second full week of school and we have been very busy! It was really great to see and work with all the parents who came to the Curriculum Experience Night. We hope those of you who were unable to come on Tuesday night are able to enjoy the slideshow sent out earlier this week.

This week, we have been learning a lot about how we can experience Rosh Hashanah with all of our senses. We heard Rabbi Saltzman blow the shofar every morning, looked at apples in order to make pictures of apples, and smelled the honey cake we made in Cooking. We got to feel different objects in the mystery box, and we even tasted a pomegranate.
 
We also tasted different kinds of apples to figure out which ones we liked the best.

This week, we not only did Science with Morah Laura, but we did some experiments with Morah Irit as well. We made apple seeds dance in a jar with vinegar, and we observed what happened to apples when we put them in different solutions: milk, vinegar, baking soda, and lemon juice.

With Morah Laura, we learned about water molecules and density. We learned that in water molecules, there are spaces that allow objects to sink. But if we add salt to the water, it becomes denser, making objects float better.

In Music this week, we learned about the three sounds of the shofar. Morah Linda, the music teacher, taught us how to blow into the shofar, and then we all got to try blowing the real shofar she brought in! It was really hard to make a sound with the shofar!

In Art class with Ms. DiOrio, we worked on the covers of our portfolios. The projects we make in Art class will be collected in the portfolios for us to take home at the end of the year.

Thank you to Naftali, our Shabbat Abba, for bringing in a yummy treat for our Shabbat party.

Shabbat Shalom!
Morot Mimi, Irit, and Chava
 
Naava checks which apple turned brown
    
What do you see? - Yehuda S. drawing an apple with markers and crayons.
   
Ezra L., Nessim, and Harel making apples from loose parts.
       
Shira and Yehuda R. using paint to draw an apple.
 

Eli and Jacob using apples to make prints, and making some handprints too! 
 
Avigayil and Lior making apple pies from green playdough.
 

Rabbi Saltzman blows the shofar for us!


Yehuda R., Naomi, Yonathan and Avigayil playing with water beads on the light table! (Thank you to Noémie's family for the beads!)
 

Yonathan, Shira, Noémie, Lior, Esther, and Eli doing a science experiment: making apple seeds dance!
 
 
Naftali mixing the apple seeds with baking soda!

Ezra A. giving Dalia a turn to smell the vinegar. Ezra L. already smelled it :)

Shalhevet smelling the vinegar :). Adir and Dalia are curious to see her reaction!

Jonathan is smelling the lemon juice in the second science experiment we had: "How Can You Prevent Apple Slices from Turning Brown?" We used cups with water, lemon juice, vinegar, milk, baking soda, and one cup of just air.
 
Morah: "I have ½ tablespoon and I need 1 tablespoon. What should I do?"
Ezra A.: "Two halves."
 
Morah: "What is the difference between the water and the lemon juice?"
Yehuda S.: "The water is white and the lemon juice is yellow."
Shira: "The water is clear."
Yonathan: "It's shiny." (Pointing to the water)
 
Morah: "What is the difference between the cup with vinegar and the cup with water?"
Naomi: "They look the same because they are both clear."

Aviya blows the shofar during Music class with Morah Linda!
 
PTA Schach Sale
Order fresh-cut cedar s'chach for your Sukkah from the Maimonides School PTA!  For details and to place an order, click here.

Printable and Electronic Calendars Online
 
The printable school calendar for this year is now online at The electronic calendar for 2016-17 is also online.  You can visit maimonidescalendar.org/calendar  throughout the year for the most up-to-date information on everything that's happening, both throughout the school and in each individual division.

The online calendar can be customized to show only the divisions and events you wish to see. See maimonidescalendar.org/calendar-instructions for more detailed information on how to use the calendar.

In addition, you will be able to subscribe so that school events and alerts will appear on your personal calendar.  More information will follow soon.

Vehicle Policies and Procedures
Please see  this link for current information on the school's parking policies, as well as updated drop-off and pick-up procedures.

Volunteer for Yom Chesed
Yom Chesed is December 4 -- would you like to get involved?

Our third  Yom  Chesed is scheduled for Sunday morning, December 4, 2016Yom  Chesed is an all-ages community service initiative for our entire Maimonides community.  Our past  Yom  Chesed events have each involved over 500 participants helping a broad range of community organizations. 

Registration will begin later in the fall, but in the meantime, we are looking for volunteers to help with this event. Even if you can't attend  Yom  Chesed, we would love your help prior to the event with planning and coordinating activities, shopping for supplies, or making phone calls. 
 
If you are interested in volunteering, please contact one of our parent coordinators --  Risa Gewurz,   rzgewurz@gmail.comStef Mishkin, stefmish@msn.com, or Alissa Muzin, alissamuzin@gmail.com  -- to learn how to get involved.

Handbook Online
The Parent/Student Handbook is now on the Maimo website!   Read it online here. 

Username is: maimoparents
 
Password is: horim

Follow Maimo on Instagram

We're expanding our social media network! Please follow us on Instagram at @Maimobrookline. If you're new to our community, note that we're also on Facebook (Maimonides School, Maimonides Early Childhood Center) and Twitter (@kolrambam). You'll find all the latest news and activities from school posted on our social media outlets.

See what's happening in other divisions
Lots of wonderful things are happening at Maimonides School!

If you'd like to take a peek at the other divisions' newsletters, please click here.

If you would like to contact a specific school office, please use these emails:

Check us out on Facebook

Let's be friends...on Facebook!

Fans of our Maimonides School Facebook page get an insider's view of all that's going on at Maimo, with the latest photos taken in the classrooms, on the playgrounds, and all around the Brener and Saval campuses. If you'd like to be in the know,  just   click here   t o "like" us on Facebook.