KOL ECHAD | Weekly Newsletter 
March 24, 2022
Art at Kadima!
By Jennie Winderlich, Art Teacher


Squeak, creak, swish, and a swash can be heard down the hallway as the "art-cart" approaches. Teaching art on a cart, a first in the nine years of teaching at Kadima, was full of new adventures. It has become quite the art piece full of pom-poms, jewels, and creative quotes to help inspire young minds. During the warmer months I can also be seen wearing rainbow sneakers, funny glasses, and a tutu just to remind our kids to be creative and have fun with art.
Kindergarten
Kindergartners learned about shapes, lines, and form. They have used new techniques like collage and overlapping to create some incredible pieces. We learned about the artist Joan Miro, which helped us discover the use of primary and secondary colors. The students used the style of Miro to create a 2-D painting, as well as a piece of sculpture. 
First Grade
Students explored a current pop artist, Takashi Murakami, and created colorful drawings inspired by his flowers. We also created a recycled 3-D piece of artwork inspired by the abstract artist, Thomas Berding. Using his playful lines and bold colors, we created our own version using iPad boxes and acrylic sheets. We used markers, colored pencils, and oil pastels, allowing each student the ability to explore various art mediums, adding an explosion of color and lines to their artwork.
Second Grade
A hustle and bustle is often heard throughout the second grade classrooms as they are creating, cutting, gluing, and laughing. Students created folk art inspired by the artist Heather Galler. We used her style of incorporating patterns and bright colors to create a cup full of hot cocoa. As a high point of this project, the students were able to enjoy an actual cup of hot cocoa, which was great “research” work on a cold winter day.
Third Grade
Students learned about the Jewish artist Marc Chagall and are in the process of creating their own version of stained glass using two different techniques. We also explored the concept of using perspective into artwork. We added a Judaica piece as a main object of focus and used lines to transform the artwork into a dynamite piece full of perspective. 
Fourth Grade
Students have been busy experimenting with charcoals, graphite pencils, and oil pastels. They created a huge drawing, inspired by the sculptures of Jeff Koons. They used shadow to create a realistic look to their balloons. Hold onto these art pieces because they are full of life and exhibit the illusion of floating away. 
Fifth Grade
Students learned about Surrealist art, specifically the artist Rene Magritte. We integrated the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah into our artwork and created a fun painting. Our young artists also learned the steps involved in creating paper mâché. They designed a sculpture based on a social studies unit they were studying, incorporating an emotion into their artwork.  
Middle School Elective
Students are currently working on a beautiful mural for Kadima's courtyard area. I encourage you to check out the progress after the Passover break. Throughout the year, we have worked on large-scale paintings that showcased some of the emotions we have all experienced, some highs and some lows, of the last year. Students also created unique pieces of furniture inspired by their interest. These students have become artists using themselves as inspiration!
Throughout the year, each class created artwork inspired by master artists, contemporary artists, as well as their own creativity. They learned about new artists and new techniques. I try to encourage each student to explore new art mediums, such as incorporating paints with collage or using oil pastels on wood. Each lesson has guidelines to follow, but I encourage these budding artists to create artwork that is different from their peers'. I see art as an opportunity to explore, grow, and experiment.  

Shabbat shalom,

Jennie Winderlich
Art Teacher
Important Dates

Wednesday, March 30

  • Ms. Schecter's 2nd Grade Exhibition

Thursday, March 31

  • Ms. Murphy's 2nd Grade Exhibition

Wednesday, April 6

  • 1st Grade Exhibition


*For the full school-year calendar, please click HERE.
Thank You!
Thank you to our wonderful parents who volunteered at the Purim carnival last week. A huge thank you to Danielle Keisari and Margaret Sinai, PTO co-presidents, for all their hard work. Also, a special thank you to our K-8 Director, Anthea Canes, for all her hard work and preparation that went into making our Purim carnival a great success.
KidToPros Summer Camp

Kadima is excited to announce that KidzToPros will be hosting a summer camp on our campus for students in elementary and middle school.

Kadima families can save $100 if they sign up by March 31.

Click here or on the flyer to register!
Alumni Feature
Hannah Lawnik, formerly Teitelbaum
(Class of 2005)

After graduating from Kadima in 2005 as the tap-dancing student council president, Hannah went on to graduate from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo with a B.S. in Kinesiology and minor in Psychology. While studying, she joined the triathlon team to train for her very first triathlon. Fourteen triathlons and two national competitions later, she knew that her life and career had to be outdoors, dynamic, and active. Hannah landed her dream job as a guide at Backroads Active Travel, leading luxury active and hiking excursions around the world. Her favorite trips include Austrian Alps hiking and biking in Israel. It was on a fateful afternoon on a company trip in Mallorca, Spain, when she met her husband, Andrzej (pronounced Anjay, who is from Warsaw). They fell in love on the bike ride and continued to explore the world together as they skied in the Swiss Alps, biked 200 miles across New England, and led numerous Israel trips together. They got engaged on a hiking trip in Austria and planned to get married in April 2020.

Due to the COVID outbreak, their nomadic and international lifestyle came to a screeching halt. They felt blessed to get married in a small backyard wedding instead and have been planting their roots in Los Angeles. Hannah continues to work for Backroads as a sales manager and gets to lead trips every so often. Triathlons are still a passion, and she utilized the lockdown as an opportunity to train for Ironman Coeur d'Alene. Recently, she launched her own side-business called Hanjay Cafe (Hannah + Anjay), a pop-up coffee cart that serves the biking and hiking community of Los Angeles.
Top 10 Conversation Starters: Parashat Sh'mini
By Dr. Steven Lorch

#10 - At the beginning of the parashah, Moshe calls Aharon, his sons, and the elders, but then he goes on to speak just to Aharon (Vayikra 9, 1-2). Why does he call Aharon's sons and the elders if he's only going to speak to Aharon? Or does he speak to the others even though the Torah mentions only that he spoke to Aharon? If so, why does it only say that he spoke to Aharon?

#9 -The first sacrifice Aharon is instructed to bring in the newly dedicated Mishkan is a calf (9, 2). Many of the commentators point out that this calf is brought to atone for the Golden Calf that Aharon made. But there's a well-known principle that אין קטיגור נעשה סניגור (the prosecutor can't become the defender), which explains, for example, why Aharon can't wear his usual golden garments on Yom Kippur. Why doesn't that principle apply here?

#8 - On the eighth day of the dedication ceremony of the Mishkan, two of Aharon's sons, Nadav and Avihu, bring a "strange fire (אש זרה)" and are killed (10, 1). What does this mean? What was it about the fire, or how they brought it, that made it strange?

#7 - The manner of Nadav and Avihu's death is described (10, 2) as follows: "Fire came forth from God and consumed them (ותצא אש מלפני ה' ותאכל אותם)." What actually killed them - God, or a fire? Explain.

#6 - After Nadav and Avihu die, their father Aharon is silent (10, 3). Why? Is he too shocked? Too sad? Too angry? Or does he agree with the punishment?

#5 - Nadav's and Avihu's mother Elisheva isn't even mentioned. How does she react? Is she silent too? If so, is she silent for the same reason Aharon is? Why isn't she mentioned? Is it because she is somehow even more silent than Aharon?

#4 - After Nadav and Avihu die, their surviving brothers, Elazar and Itamar, don't eat the portion of the sacrifice meant for the kohanim, and Moshe criticizes them for doing the wrong thing. But then Aharon points out that, as mourners, they are not allowed to eat sacrifices until after the burial (10, 16-20). Why could Moshe, who usually gets everything right, not remember this law?

#3 -  When presenting the kashrut rules for mammals, the Torah mentions four animals that lack one of the two requirements of kosher species (chewing their cuds and split hooves): camel, rabbit, hare, and pig (11, 4-7). Why does it go into detail about these four rather than just state the general rule, that any animal that lacks either of these two characteristics isn't kosher?

#2 - In describing the four non-kosher mammals, in each case the Torah first mentions the one characteristic it has that is kosher, and then the characteristic that isn't kosher. Why doesn't it mention them in the opposite order? Isn't the non-kosher characteristic the main point?

#1 - The explanation given for the laws of kashrut is "והייתם קדושים כי קדוש אני - be holy because I am holy" (11, 44). How does this work? Is holiness a physical quality? A spiritual quality? Both? How does the physical act of eating make you either holy or unholy?
Kadima Day School
Evenhaim Family Campus
7011 Shoup Avenue | West Hills | CA | 91307
818.346.0849
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