Students in History learned an overview of 19th century America, between the Jefferson and Lincoln presidencies. We focused on Native American movement and struggle, while also observing the advancements of canals and railroads into the West, including the California Gold Rush. We ended the week studying the causes of the Civil War: from abolitionists to Stowe to Dred Scott to Lincoln. 

In Language Arts, students began writing their short stories. We also started reading Kate Chopin’s ‘A Story of An Hour.’ They have their first summative assessment, which checks whether or not they have been understanding what we have been learning and whether or not they can apply their learning to a new story. So far so good!

In Civics, students received a list of political ‘opinions’ (in one sentence statements) and were asked to label them as “typically” right leaning or left leaning. Students were invited to also offer and support their own views, but that was optional. Discussion covered about ⅓ of the statements so far, always from multiple perspectives.

In Judaics, we worked on our second mishnah and already color-coded it. We are definitely making progress. Translating, interpreting, and color-coding are getting easier.

This week in Art, the students finished creating their gargoyles/ grotesques.

Last week was history week in Music, and they learned about the  Democratic Republic of the Congo. Our mimi award winner was Lital. This week was instrument week, and we did drum circles to understand how to build rhythms and stay within a time signature! Our mimi award winner was Tamar!