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Kindergarten learned a very important site word this week, the word "I." They also learned that no matter where the word I is in any sentence it will always be capitalized. To celebrate their new site word, the students made "I Crowns" with capital "I". The crown also reminds our students that "I am a Very Important Person!"

Morah Bracha's 1st grade students are hard at work strengthening their Hebrew vocabulary. They made their own flash-cards by gluing pictures of common hebrew nouns on one side of an index card and then writing how to say the word in Hebrew on the other side. Once their flash cards were complete they practiced the new words they learned together. As the year progresses, they will add more and more flash cards to their collection and grow their Hebrew language skills along the way!

Mrs. Smyth's fifth grade girls are completing a fascinating STEAM Challenge. It started when the students approached Mrs. Smyth and asked if they could create a recycled city. The students are working collaboratively through the engineering and city planning process. They're starting by asking what they need to build in their city and what city systems they need to create to keep their city running efficiently. We can't wait to see how this project progresses!

Right before Sukkos vacation, the TDSA students who consistently practiced their Kriah at home over the summer were treated to a cool and yummy treat! They received a delicious ice cream party sponsored by the Rubin family in memory of בתיה גיטל בת משה אהרן ז"ל. Keep up the good work guys and keep practicing your Kriah!

In art class, a lovely cactus garden is taking shape. Our fifth graders are constructing cactuses out of carboard, rocks and paint. Each cactus is unique and fabulously creative and we can't wait to see the cactuses on display in TDSA's hallways!

Ms. Bradberry's fourth grade students deepened their understanding of narrative structure. They learned all about the 'plot mountain' and how writers build tension and momentum throughout a story. Using the plot from The Book No One Wants To Read, the students mapped the exposition, rising action, climax and resolution of the story to reinforce their new understanding of narrative structure.

The mood was somber throughout the school as we remembered the fallen Israeli soldiers of the IDF and victims of terrorist attacks. Boys and girls in the Middle school participated in a Yom HaZikaron ceremony that explained the meaning of the day, recited prayers for the z'chus of the fallen and their families, a bracha for the current soldiers, and tehilim for all of Klal Yisroel. Mrs. Kalnitz shared stories about Capt. Dekel Swissa, a valiant young man from Bar Giora who served as a Captain in the Golani Brigade,13th Battalion, and was killed at the Paga outpost on October 7 while saving his platoon. Dekel was TDSA's Shinshin in 2018 and lived with the Kalnitz family during his stay in Atlanta.
The lower school visited a display in the lobby depicting a timeline of the wars since the State of Israel's inception. Tomorrow, the mood swings as we celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut as a TDSA community.

How do you know the agenda for the day? You read it, of course! I walked into this Kindergarten class as they were learning the day's plan through a reading activity. This boy was asked to find a blended sound of "ST" within the letter about their major activity. Can you find it? He did!

Escape rooms involve critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration; all excellent skills to build in an academic experience. 8th grade Humanities is learning about the Cold War. Throughout the hallway and the classroom, small groups of girls were intensely focused on escaping from the communist, East side of the Berlin Wall to the West side of Germany during this escape-room-style learning activity. In this picture, the group is using Google Translate to understand German documents to help them on their journey. It was amazing to see these girls engaged in such a creative and valuable way while learning!

8G invited me to view their Ivrit presentations today. Working in pairs, they thought of rooms that served a useful purpose. Then they wrote about these rooms in Hebrew and put it on a slide show or poster. Each group presented their project entirely in Hebrew! It was amazing to see their pride, creativity, and skill

These 5th grade boys didn't even notice me walk into the classroom - they were so intensely engaged in this group discussion. Mrs. Bendicoff split the class into sections, some worked independently while this group shared their thoughts in a literature circle format on the the historical fiction book: "If I lived at the Time of the Signing of the Constitution". They came up with some insightful ideas!

"Which two arctic animals will never meet?" This is the question a kindergarten girl asked me as I observed them making polar bears, arctic hares, walruses, snow foxes, and the like. Each table featured a slew of arts and crafts supplies for the excited girls to create their cold-climate animals they learned all about during science. The answer - which I was proud to get correct - is penguins and Polar Bears. Each is native to a different pole of the globe (North and South). Ask a Kindergartener which lives where!