Mah Chadash: What we can learn from an inauguration

The lights came on after the seventh grade watched the inauguration in Mr. Armstrong’s Language Arts classroom. Their teacher had written tallies on the board next to books of the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. Amos had two, Micah had one and Isaiah, three. “That was a Christian minister giving the invocation, but look how many references I caught to the Tanakh.” It was an extension of their Shakespeare unit, in which they have noted biblical references, as well references to Greek mythology.

I walked into first grade to see this image of Vice President Kamala Harris with the shadow of Ruby Bridges on the smart board.

Even at age 7, the students could understand the impact of Ruby, whose story they had studied in preparation for MLK Day. (Ruby had to be escorted by U.S. Marshalls to her all-white elementary school in 1960.) In each class, Mirowitz teachers were finding profound ways to connect the momentous inauguration with the learning that they are facilitating in other subjects.

We chose not show the inauguration live. Whenever there is the potential for language or events that are not appropriate for children, we don’t show live television. Our teachers waited until Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning, knowing that the proceedings had transpired without violence.

Teachers showed videos of swearing in ceremonies and discussed what it means to take an oath on a Bible. They addressed how we show respect to classmates who have varying political opinions, and how voting is personal and private. They talked about leadership skills and the commitment to our country that it takes to be a president. They discussed the impact of the speeches and music and, yes, poetry.

Teachers throughout the grade levels have ignited a renewed interest in poetry after teaching about the inaugural poet, Amanda Gorman.

Fourth graders are engaging in Socratic Dialogue to discuss the intention of the poet's word choice. Other grades have written their own poems, inspired by the young poet.

Learning about the inauguration at Mirowitz is more than just exposure to historical ritual. Teachers challenge students to go deep, to engage their higher order thinking, and to enact our core values in the way they treat one another. May the future of our country and of our Mirowitz community be one of civility, success and unity.

שבת שלום,

Cheryl

January 26: Hebrew Class with Gilad (see below)

January 28: Tu Bishvat

January 31: Application Deadline for new students

February 11: Date Night with your Grand Kids

February 12: Professional Development - No School

February 14: First Lego League Robotics Tournament

February 15: Presidents Day - No School

February 19: Last Early Release Friday

February 25: Erev Purim / Feast of Esther

February 26: Purim

March 18: Parent Conferences (noon dismissal)

March 19: Parent Conferences - No School

March 26 - April 4: Passover Break - No School

April 14: Yom HaZikaron (Israeli Memorial Day)

April 15: Yom Ha'atzmaut (Israeli Independence Day)

April 26: Professional Development Day - No School

April 30: Lag B'omer

May 2: Mirowitz Gala

May 17-18: Shavuot - No School

May 27: 8th grade graduation

May 28: Last Day of School

It was so nice to see so many parents yesterday!

We believe in full transparency with our parent surveys, and wanted you to know how aligned your experience is with other Mirowitz families. It thrills us that most of you ARE aligned in feeling that Mirowitz is meeting your high expectations this year. An extraordinary 97 percent of you feel very satisfied or satisfied with how this year is going. That is extraordinary, and even unusual for private schools. (That said, we don't want even one family to feel disappointed, and will work to resolve any situation that does not fulfill our promise to you.)

But...arg! We meant to record the whole lunch meeting...yet remembered 5 minutes into the presentation. If you missed it, you can catch the last 30 minutes below.

Watch here.

We had a sold out crowd (75 cars and more than 150 children) for our MLK day Drive Thru for pre-schoolers, and now everyone's talking about the amazing morning they had singing with Reb Scott, participating in social action projects, watching a Tu B'shvat skit about bulding a better future, doing yoga, learning Hebrew words...and (we're NOT just saying this!)...the most spectacular group of adult and tween volunteers!

Mirowitz alum Moriah Lotsoff put together this video of the morning.

Watch here.

See photos here.

Want to practice your Hebrew? Gilad is offering Hebrew lessons to adults who want to freshen up their ability to speak and understand Hebrew. He'll kick it off THIS TUESDAY (January 26) at 8:30 p.m.

Each session, participants will talk about the news from Israel or a dilemma that has occured recently. Let Gilad know if you'd like to participate.

RSVP Here

Research shows that the arts activate the brain and make academic learning even more effective. That is one of the reasons we are so committed to carving out time each week for art, music and drama.

Mrs. Burack has a gift of bringing out the artistry, imagination and creativity that is inside every child. Her bulletin boards include explanations of the goals of the project: experimentation with color mixing, creating landscapes, multi-media, understanding 5 line directions and grids, shapes and textures, just to name a few.

Art instruction may happen in the art room, but Mrs. Burack's lessons are integrated into other subjects as well. In Judaics class, your child often creates artistic representations of a text, leading to further analysis and connection.

Students create biomes in a box, illustrate science observations and create game boards. A Middle School Math in Art elective challenges students to create scale drawings incorporating area and perimeter on scale.

Morah Betti's drama lessons build leadership, self-awareness and self-expression. Your children develop poise in front of an audience. They learn empathy as they portray characters in a play and patience as they wait for their cues

Her music classes teach skills that come to a crescendo when your children join Dr. Mark's band in fourth grade.

They learn to read, enhance their fine-motor skills and understand the true meaning of teamwork. This year (to keep students safe), Dr. Mark’s students are composing their own tunes using computer music production software.

And just like art, music and drama extend into the classroom. Teachers use music to solidify content like the 50 states, presidents, the periodic table and multiplication facts. Students engage in bibliodrama, playing the role of biblical figures to understand them more deeply.

We are committed to doing more than simply preparing students for success on standardized tests. In bringing out the artist, the musician and the actor in our students, we are preparing them for success in life.

I can't believe this is my last year as a Mirowitz parent. I think I'm in denial. The school has given our family more than I can ever express.

Jennifer Baer

Mirowitz Mom

If you know someone who is interested in Mirowitz, encourage them to begin the application process now!

Thank you for sharing with prospective families all the reasons they cannot possibly make a better choice than Mirowitz.

Applications are online here.

The re-enrollment process will begin after the financial aid committee has completed its work next week. That means:

1. Watch your mail the first week of February for an envelope containing re-enrollment materials.

2. If you are planning on applying for tuition assistance do so NOW! The financial aid deadline for returning students for the 2021-22 school year is January 17th. (See application details above.)

If you have additional questions, read answers to Frequently Asked Questions or contact Mary .

Mirowitz has provided a superior education, and in retrospect, if we knew this when our son was in elementary school, we would have moved him here earlier. Middle school has been wonderful.

Middle School Dad