stories of the week:
the power of poetry
April is National Poetry Month, and our first graders are immersing themselves in the genre! From Shel Silverstein to Jack Prelutsky, students have been listening to poems, and collecting what they’ve noticed on their “poet-tree,” including lines of varying lengths, repetition, rhyming, and the strong sense of feeling that a poem can evoke.
Of course, they aren’t learning about poetry in a vacuum -- they are also writing poetry, opening their minds and their hearts as they develop their craft, and sharing their work with their peers. When they read to one another, they emphasize line breaks, “discovering the power poets have in directing a way a poem should sound when it is read aloud,” said teacher Jodi Tepper.
As students prepare for their First Grade Poetry Slam at the end of May, “we have many more powerful lessons to share,” Mrs. Tepper said.
In the meantime, here’s a preview, as read by first grader Sailor Schostak:
from prototype to pitch, students build skills for shark tank
By Noah Freedland and Rafi Pinals, Sixth Grade
Shark Tank is a time for the sixth graders to let loose their creativity. Our big question was “How might you create a product or service that is demanded by consumers, and improves the quality of life?”
Many of us had some ideas that didn’t improve the quality of life, but after empathizing with our main consumers, we learned what we had to do. This experience really helped us learn the whole process of starting a company.
While some of us got deals and some of us didn’t on Monday night, the process is what counted. We all learned something, whether it was how to assemble wires, how to 3D design for the 3D printer, how to write a pitch, communicate effectively, collaborate, apply economics concepts to real life, and many other skills.
We learned that we need to make multiple prototypes, and that sometimes your product will not turn out as planned, but we just kept on working, and persevered until we got the product we wanted. It felt really good when we finally presented to the judges, who noticed how much time and effort we put into our product/service.
students make personal reminders to keep close to mitzvot
Following their learning about the Biblical command to tie tzizit, sixth graders are continuing to find visible ways to remind themselves of the Jewish imperative to live and behave ethically, in keeping with Jewish values. This week in the MakerSpace, they created tangible objects that fit the bill. Harrison Hunger, for example, strung a stopwatch on a chain. “It symbolizes that it is never too late -- and never the wrong time -- to do the right thing,” he said.
Fireside Chat Introduces Core Beliefs of A Responsive Classroom
What better way to live our school motto, Mind and Soul, Better Together, than with dedicated social emotional learning. Social emotional learning is the process through which children (and adults) understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.
While Hillel staff offer numerous social emotional learning opportunities already, we are fortunate to have the opportunity to formally train all of our teachers in social emotional learning. This August, teachers will receive professional development training using an approach called Responsive Classroom. This evidence-based approach to teaching focuses on engaging academics, positive community, effective management, and developmental awareness. By adopting a mindset that each child responds positively to an environment in which they feel known, and valued, we can empower students to meet expectations and to behave so that classroom goals can be met with success.
Responsive Classroom methods include interactive modeling and teaching core competencies such as empathy, cooperation, and assertiveness; creating a “time and space” place in a learning studio where a child can regroup while still being part of the action; and enhancing the advisor-student relationship for students in 5-8 as part of our advisory program for middle schoolers.
“We really want the advisor to have a holistic understanding of each student in their group, and for the child to feel that their advisor is their ‘go-to person’ in the building,” said Barbara Applebaum, Assistant Principal, who will focus on the 5-8 learning communities next year.
You will see a shift in language that parents can also use at home. Kim Love, school social worker, said, “Instead of saying ‘I need you to do this,’ where the emphasis is on what the teacher needs, educators will use direct language. The language will reinforce, remind or redirect, and will convey faith in the child’s abilities and intentions. Using this language supports students in taking action not out of fear of consequence, but because they know it’s the right thing to do. The expectation will be clear. You’ll notice quickly how a shift in language leads to a shift in behavior.”
Join us for our last fireside chat of the year on Monday, May 6, at 8:15 a.m. on “A Day in the Life of A Writer at Hillel.”
healthy & humane: we make it easy to join Hillel's Meat buying club
Did you know that Hillel’s KOL meat buying club gives you greater access to higher-welfare kosher meat that is 100% grass-fed, humanely raised on farms, and ethically produced. This is the meat we’re using in our lunch program at Hillel, sourced from our friends at Kol Foods, supported by Hazon Detroit, and offered free of shipping thanks to Hillel’s generosity.
You can order beef, chicken, turkey, lamb, fish, duck, bone broths, beef/turkey bacons, sausages, and more. Plus, all beef, lamb, and poultry are certified kosher for Passover year-round under Star K certification. And there is no minimum order.
To take part in the buying club, visit www.kolfoods.com, add the items you want to your cart, and select the “Hillel Day School Buying Club” option on the second page of the checkout process. Order by Sunday, April 7th, and your order will be available for pickup in the Hillel lobby after school on Friday, April 12. Plus, for orders placed by Sunday, you will receive a special 20% discount, thanks to the generosity of Hazon and its supporters. Simply input the code "HazonDet20" in the “Coupon Discount” box at the bottom of the first page of the check-out process.
send off students to Israel with tzionut and tzedakah!
On Wednesday, April 17, we will assemble for the Israel Send-Off Assembly at 2:10 p.m. All parents are invited to attend. This is a wonderful Hillel tradition at which time we give the eighth graders tzedakah to take with them on behalf of our community. It is customary to give mitzvah gelt, or good deed money, to a person making a journey.
This year, the eighth graders, following their Campaign for A Cause focusing on Detroit area organizations, chose to support a non-profit in Israel, as well. Lehativ helps families break the cycle of poverty and gain economic security.
Each time any student brings 50 cents between now and April 17, he or she will be entered for a chance to win prizes from Israel. All donations will be given to Lehativ when the students arrive in Israel and spend a day volunteering there.
more news 4U
ECC Family Camp: We have a few openings for May 3 - May 5 at Tamarack Camps. The registration form is here. We will fill these spots on a first come/first served basis. Please bring the completed form, and a check for full payment, to Cathy Fridson in the Main Office. Thank you!
Soulful Judaism: Our students incorporate Ayeka into their daily routines at Hillel; now your family can incorporate Ayeka into your Pesach seder, with a Hagaddah to inspire and engage you at your table. Contact shira@ayeka.org.il for pricing information and to receive yours in time for the first seder on Friday, April 19.
Volunteer: Take a break from Pesach preparation on Friday, April 12 at Bookstock! For more information, contact Lisa Keller. Remember, together we DO MORE!
The April lunch menu is here. (Enjoy chametz while you can!)
Advancement News
let's celebrate!
Celebrate our Annual Gala honorees by placing an ad in the Shulman Scholarship Journal distributed to all who attend the gala. This year's Dream Maker Award recipients are Joy and Allan Nachman, and our Rabbi Jacob E. Segal z"l Award honorees are Reneé and Craig Erlich. This year, we will also recognize our outgoing Head of School, Steve Freedman, for 16 years of service, and name him an Honorary Alumnus of Hillel Day School. We hope you will join us at the gala on Sunday, June 2. www.hillelday.org/shulmanjournal
pave the way to Hillel's future!
To help fund our ECC expansion, you are invited to leave a permanent mark at the school by purchasing a brick for a special pathway to be installed in front of the school. Honor a student, graduate, and/or family member by customizing a brick. Inscribe these decorative bricks as a gift for a favorite teacher or staff member. Help them become a permanent legacy of Hillel.
Bricks come in several sizes. All purchases and/or donations are tax deductible. Purchase a brick and/or learn more here, or contact Hillel’s Advancement Office at (248) 851-6950 by June 1, 2019.
annual fund update
Many thanks to all who have given to the Annual Fund this week:
Dvar Torah: parashat tazria
For surface-level maladies, there is one pathway to healing. But for maladies that run deeper than skin, there is another. In this week’s Torah portion, Tazria, we get a graphic introduction to supranatural Biblical disease. Reading through, most of us cringe at the graphic descriptions of the scales and the oozing, but even worse, perhaps, is the solution that our text presents:
As for the person with a leprous affection...he shall call out, “Unclean! Unclean!” (Lev 13:45)
As parents, teachers, caretakers, and friends, how could we possibly think this is a good idea, to bring shame upon our loved ones by forcing them to publicly admit their suffering?
And yet, what spiritual malady is the result of just one person’s character? We live in a world of deep spiritual distress, where violence and hatred are the norm, and depression and anxiety are part of the air we breathe. The maladies that affect us on a soul and spirit level are not our unique fault. Each of us is just one person in a deeply connected world, so we can be sure that the spiritual ills that live in us are truly collective in nature. And if the ills are collective, so too must be the healing:
Fear not. R. Yochanan said to an afflicted woman, “Announce your trouble to your friends so that they may offer prayers for mercy to be given to you. For it was taught: ‘And the afflicted person shall cry, “Unclean, unclean” (Lev. 13:45),’ she must announce her trouble to the public so that they may pray for mercy to be given to her.” R. Joseph stated: “Such an incident once occurred at Pumbeditha and the woman was cured.” (Babylonian Talmud, Nidah 66a)
When we are in pain, we can be sure that others feel that pain, too. And to keep suffering inside, to keep it to ourselves, is doing us, our loved ones, and this world a disservice. As uncomfortable as it may be, family and friends are there to help us heal, so the next time we’re feeling down, or overwhelmed, or even overcome with a profound malady of spirit, let us trust in the power of collective healing for a transformed self and a more healed and holy world.
Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Nate DeGroot, Part-time Hillel Rabbi & Assoc. Director, Program & Spiritual Director, Hazon Detroit
