20 Nov ופרוש עלינו סכת שלומך

Our thoughts and prayers turned to Paris this week, in the wake of the the tragic events of last Friday. The terror unleashed on innocent people left us speechless. At a time when there are no words that feel adequate we turned to Jewish tradition to find a response. At Schechter Manhattan in grades 4-8 we paused in tefilah on Monday for a moment of reflection and prayer for peace.  Students in the 4-5 grade minyan sang oseh shalom and in the middle school minyan we asked God to “spread over us a canopy of peace”.

Even as we responded through liturgy, we also made sure that our students were in a safe environment, where they can express their concerns and be reassured. Our teachers were prepared to respond in developmentally appropriate and supportive ways to the questions and comments that children raised about what they had heard of the attacks. If your child(ren) raise(s) questions at home and you feel like you might need some additional resources when discussing these complicated issues, you might consider reading this blog post with recommendations compiled from many reputable sources.

Last Sunday we gathered on campus in partnership with Mechon Hadar, Beit Rabban Day School and  the larger Jewish community of the Upper West Side and around the world for the Global Day of Jewish Learning.  We joined together to learn, make music, and do chesed all under the banner of Love. The theme of the day was love and Schechter Manhattan was filled with children and adults studying about the importance of love within Jewish tradition. In the context of world events, the day of Jewish learning reminded me of the words of Martin Luther King Jr, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” When we joined thousands of Jews around the world and focused our thoughts on love I believe that we helped to drive out hate.  May our study and prayers help us to reach a time when God’s canopy of peace spreads throughout the world.

Benjamin Mann


Author’s Chair

THIS WEEK WE ARE FEATURING WORK BY SOME OF OUR STUDENTS IN KITAH ALEPHKITAH GIMEL, AND KITAH HEH.

 

Kitah Aleph considered what to do about how dangerous 10th Avenue used to be, way back in 1850 (before the High Line was built). The students created tools that would make the street safer and then wrote about their ideas.

 

This is a tool that will help keep 10th Avenue safe:
A spicr. A prsin tos in the spicr movs aot of the wey. (A speaker A person talks in the speaker moves out of the way.)
–Pemberley

 

This is a tool that will help keep 10th Avenue safe:
Hasu and crsu on go d levls. (horse and cars go on different levels)
–Michaela

 

This is a tool that will help keep 10th Avenue safe:
Because ti flls the holes (because it fills the holes)
–Liat

 

This is a tool that will help keep 10th Avenue safe:
The traks on one side and the rode on the othr. (the tracks on one side and the road on the other)
Lelya

 

 

Kitah Gimel wrote pieces based on things we imagine, remember, observe or wonder about.

 

My First Day of School

I played and ate and made new friends
and I thought to myself, “This never ends!”
I was so excited the whole day long
and inside I sang a song!
I drew a messy picture
and don’t be mean
but it might not be the best you have ever seen
For lunch I had PB and J
and pirate booty too.
I also had a juice box
and I think I said, “This isn’t for you”
I tried to talk to people
but I was just too shy
and when the teacher was mean I began to cry.
The worksheets were really easy
and they weren’t too hard
and when I saw the doorman
I felt like he was the castle guard.
My first day of school was really fun
and when the day ended, I was sad that it was done!

—Sarah C.

 

Field Day

All of the gesher groups were sitting near the field waiting for the coach to finish setting up.  When the coaches finished the groups walked onto the field to listen to the instructions for the first event.  I was feeling excited because we were about to play some games that are more fun than gym.  I don’t remember most of the events because there were so many, just that I had a really good time.  I do remember the last event which was tug of war, my favorite game. Each class plays against another class.  It is so fun! After that we got to eat lunch and went back to school to finish like a normal day.

—Ari W.

 

Flying

Have you ever wondered if you wondered if you could fly, because you can! One day I was flying up in the air.  There was not one cloud in the sky.  I decided to fly around.  I was flapping my wings and having fun when I heard my mom calling me in for lunch. I flew down to eat my lunch.  I had a peanut butter sandwich.  When I was done I was still hungry so I decided to find something else to eat.  I found some more bread and I ate it. When I was done I went back up in the sky.  When I got up, a flock of birds were coming my way.  They hit me! I fell all the way back to earth.  I promised my mom I would never fly again.  The next day I woke up to a screaming noise.  I went outside and saw a bird carrying a kid by the neck.  I needed to save him.  I flew up and saved him.  I decided after that rescue I would never fly again.

–Maya F.

 

Kitah Heh submitted some recent works in Hebrew.

 

ברוכים הבאים למסיבה

איפה?

זה בריברסיד פרק

103 זה ברחוב

זה בשדה גדול

אוכל: שוקו חם, מרשמלו, קצפת

מה עושים:מזחלות, כדור רגל אמריקי בשל

Jared–

,שלום חבר

יש לי מסיבה בבית שלי! הבית שלי ברחוב 67 ו3 שתירה. רק את(ה) מוזמן! מסיבה שלי   ביום רביעי   ב3:30– 7:30.

יש לי סוכריות וסודה וגם פיצה. אנחנו משחקים עם התיכופ חזיר שלי. גם אנחנו משחקים עם אקדח מים.

שלום,

לב

נב: את(ה) צריך ללכת למסיבה שלי כי יש לי תיכפ חזיר שלי.

אני גם יש מוסיקה רוק במסיבה שלי.

 Oliver—

.יש בבית שתיח צבע כחול

.זה שולחן

.בבית יש ארבעה כסות

.אמא שלי בבית

אמאין שבת בכסא

Alon—

יש לי כלב בבית.  השם  של הכלב חזי. חזי גר בחדר אמא ואבא

יש שולחן וכיסאות בבית. אני יושב על הכיסא

לאָמָנוּת יש לי טשים, עפרונות, מִספָּרַיִם ודבק

יש לי מחשב. אני משחק על מחשב

בבית יש טֵלֶוִיזִיָה. אני צפות חץ

Sammy—