PANCAKES AND PRAYER
Welcome back to JQuest,! We have an exciting year ahead of us in Shira, and I am so very glad that you are all in my class! It was wonderful seeing so many new faces in our classroom this year, and welcoming back all of you who are returning 6th graders. We kicked off the year with a family pancake breakfast, where we all schmoozed and noshed before heading to class. (Parents, we hope you enjoyed your "Mussar and Middot" lesson with Rabbi Greninger!)
Our family tefillah in the sanctuary was jam-packed and filled with music! What a great way to start the year!
GETTING TO KNOW YOU
In class, we got to know each other a bit by playing a "Treasure Hunt" game, in which the students asked each other questions about their musical interests, hobbies, and Jewish experiences. It was fun to see how many of us played the same instrument or had the same favorite musical artist or song. (Hamilton is clearly a big hit this year!)
FINDING OUR RHYTHM
Shira held our first "drum circle" activity, using our own bodies as percussion instruments. (It's amazing how many ways you can make noise with your hands, feet, tummy or legs!) When we return for our weekday sessions, we will explore the various percussion instruments in our classroom, and the students will have the opportunity to learn how to use the djembe, dubek and tambourine. I even learned that I have a couple of real drummers in class who will certainly be able to help the rest of us with our rhythm!
WHAT'S MY NOTE?
We also began our Symphony Quilt project by asking ourselves, "What's My Note?" You see, each of us has our own "note," a unique way that we are. That "note" affects how we interact with others, and how we see the world. When we explore what makes us who we are, we can better get along with others who are different than us. In order to create a safe, cooperative classroom environment, we will be exploring how each of us can contribute to the class in a positive, productive way.
Today, we laid the groundwork for what will become a paper "quilt" that represents each of the students in the class by filling out a questionnaire about ourselves. In our introductory activity, we broke down NOTE into an acronym that stands for:
NATURE (What is your personality? What are your character traits)
OVATION (What have you done that deserves a standing ovation? What are your accomplishments?)
TALENT (What are you good at?)
EXPRESSION (How do you express your Jewishness? Through music? Food? Traditions?)
On Tuesday and Wednesday, each of the students will use their questionnaire to create a quilt square depicting their individual NOTE.
A PREVIEW OF WHAT'S TO COME...
Unfortunately, the TV connection wasn't working for us today, so I didn't have a chance to show everyone the previous Shira Music Videos. Therefore, I've added them here. We only do these music videos every other year, and they are a lot of fun! The Shiraniks will pick a song, write the lyrics, sing, act and produce the video. Look for more information on the videos in the spring, when we begin production.
2016
2014
Thanks to all the parents who shared our experiences today, and thanks to our wonderful TA's! I know it's going to be an awesome year!! Shiraniks, I'll see you all on Tuesday and Wednesday, when we will work on our NOTEs for the Symphony Quilt, cook some honey cake and learn some High Holiday music! Shavua Tov!
- Erin
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