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In honor of Earth Day, which was this week, the kindergarten students made signs about keeping our school grounds clean to hang around the school. They "cleaned" the playground of trash as well, doing their part to keep our planet clean and healthy. They also experienced recycling in action as they made their own recycled paper!

You could hear a pin drop at MSG's Yom Ha-atzmaut Chidon. The audience was silent and waited with bated breath as their class representatives answered question after question about the State of Israel. The representatives were chosen based on how they scored on a preliminary test that had been administered a few weeks back. In the lead-up to the chidon, the girls studied hard and were able to answer almost any question thrown at them! From peace treaties, to olympic gold medalists and astronauts, our students rattled off dates, events, and names with practiced ease. The rest of the students were incredibly proud of their classmates and listened respectfully as they answered the questions. Later in the day, the Middle School Boys celebrated Israel with a rousing field day, with games of "Kadur-Sal (soccer)" and an IDF style boot camp and obstacle course! Kol-Hakavod to all our class representatives for all the work they put in for the Chidon and an especial thanks to our incomparable ivrit team, Morah Beatrice Maimon and Mrs. Helen Altman, for helping our students prepare, and organizing and running the chidon! Also, thank you to our amazing Shinshinim, Inbar and Andy for all your assistance!

In honor of Yom Ha'atzmaut, our middle school girls arranged an amazing Israel-themed carnival for the younger students. The students were able to take a tour around the State of Israel without leaving the TDSA Gym! From making sand art in "Eilat," enjoying traditional jewish treats like lemonana and shoko be'sakit, to visiting the "Kosel" and leaving a note, the students celebrated the rich history and vibrancy of the State of Israel on the occasion of Israel's 78th birthday! TDSA would like to extend a massive Thank You to our amazing Ivrit Teachers, Morah Beatrice Maimon and Morah Helen Altman and our Shinshinim, Inbar and Andy for all the work they did arranging and organizing this amazing carnival!

It was a charged atmosphere on Tuesday night as TDSA's gym filled with parents, students, and siblings gathered for a lively Math Bingo game led by Greg Tang, creator of Greg Tang Math. Students had a fabulous time demonstrating their understanding of mathematical concepts, and the roar that filled the room each time someone achieved “bingo” was tremendous. For parents, it was a valuable opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the concepts behind Greg Tang Math. The evening was both enjoyable and a reminder that math can be a blast!

Torah Day School of Atlanta is proud to use the Greg Tang Math curriculum. In recent years, students have benefited from its focus on number sense and deep mathematical understanding. This week was especially exciting for both staff and students, as Greg Tang himself visited TDSA. Teachers welcomed the opportunity to receive additional training in strategies to further strengthen their instruction, while students were thrilled to have him visit their classrooms and lead engaging math lessons. Learning directly from the creator of their program was a memorable experience, and his dynamic teaching style ensured that everyone, teacher and student alike, had a fantastic time.

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!