|
|
This week, Mirowitiz 8th graders have revisited history. They’ve reclaimed history. They’ve commemorated history. And they’ve made history!
|
|
|---|
|
How so? They climbed through Hezekiah’s tunnels — constructed by King David in 701 BCE — splashing in the tunnels’ waters so they could understand how they were a lifeline to the besieged city of Jerusalem. |
|
|
|
|
They reclaimed history — in the form of pottery, coins and other artifacts — as they sifted through rubble from a stairwell leading up to the Temple.
|
|
|
|
|
They commemorated history on Yom Hashoah, standing with all Israelis in solemn reflection at the sound of an air raid siren. |
|
|---|
|
And they made history as the first class to travel to Israel in three years, bringing back a signature experience of our Middle School program. |
|
|
|
|
What makes this trip so extraordinary? It follows three trimester-long courses on Israel’s history, one during each middle school year. Our students travel with 8th graders from similar day schools in Memphis and Virginia. |
|
|---|
|
They visit important historical sites, solidifying years of learning. They engage in tikkun, packing meals for the food insecure. They interact with Israeli teens from our partner region in Yokneam Megiddo, and spend time with former shinshinim and classmates who have moved back to Israel. They experience the poignancy of an Israeli Yom Hazikaron (Israeli Memorial Day) juxtaposed with an exuberant Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israeli Independence Day). |
|
|---|
|
The two weeks they spend in Israel help them create connections that will impact their future as Jewish leaders. Through meals of falafel and hummus, hikes up Masada and into Ein Avdat, Torah services at the Kotel and interactions with Israeli peers, they develop a solid foundation. |
|
|
|
|
They connect with each other and with every generation before them. They become leaders who can engage confidently in the challenging discussions about Israel that await them during their college years.
They revisit, reclaim, commemorate and make history. You can follow their journey here.
Cheryl
|
|
|---|
|
April 25-May 11: 8th grade Israel trip
May 1: Mirowitz Gala (at World's Fair Pavilion in Forest Park)
May 4: Yom HaZikaron
May 5: Yom Ha'atzmaut
May 19: Lag B'omer
May 26: 8th Grade Graduation
May 27: Last Day of School
|
|
|---|
|
|
I know you will be as excited as I am to know that Casey Stallings, our speech and language pathologist, will be with us full-time next year. She will continue in her current role, and add the title "Safranit" (librarian) when Fran Milsk retires this summer. Casey is fulfilling a dream she has had since fourth grade to be a librarian!
Casey is beloved among students and staff, and we know we will all benefit from her added time and responsibilites at Mirowitz.
|
|
|---|
|
|
• Learn from a beekeeper how bees impact the environment • Move and buzz in a (parachute) beehive
• Engineer a pollinator
• Enjoy bee stories with PJ Library
Free book and explorer kit to the first 50 busy bees to RSVP!
|
|
|---|
|
Please order all May meals online by Monday.
|
|
|---|
|
Plus...check out Chef AJ's Israeli corn schnitzel recipe here. (The Jewish Light saw his post on Facebook and published the recipe last week.) |
|
|
|
|
Next week is all about Israel...at school and in the community.
Yom Hazikaron (Memorial Day): Wednesday, May 4
We will honor the lives lost building and defending the State of Israel. Children should wear a white shirt. Parents are invited to join us for a ceremony at 8:40 at the flagpole. Please also send your child to school with flowers for a memorial display.
|
|
|---|
|
Join the community-wide events to remember fallen soldiers:
• Yom Hazikaron: Tuesday, May 3 at 7 p.m. at the JCC, Creve Coeur. The ceremony will be in both English and Hebrew. Learn more here.
|
|
|
|
|
Yom Ha'atzmaut (Independence Day): Thursday, May 5
We will celebrate the birth of our Jewish nation. Children should dress in blue and white. Parents are invited to join us in the North parking lot at 3:15 for Israeli dancing. |
|
|---|
|
At the Community Celebration @ 5:30 p.m., Mirowitz students will perform Israeli folk dances. Join us at the JCC. The event also includes inflatables, food, live music and more! Please RSVP here. |
|
|
|
|
After a week off of baseball, our elementary baseball teams will all be back in action this Sunday in league play. |
|
|---|
|
Mirowitz teams are off to a fantastic start. The 1st grade, 2nd/3rd grade and 4th/5th grade are all undefeated in the early going. Our 5th-7th graders will be in action on Monday at Whitfield. Last Monday, our boys struggled a bit offensively, and fell to Whitfield, 7-3. |
|
|
|
|
Sometimes you just need to see things for yourself! Our fifth graders know that after spending a day in Springfield, Illinois. The trip culminated a unit on Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. The young historians will share their memories. |
|
|---|
|
Tuesday, we went to the city where Abraham Lincoln began his political career. We first went to Lincoln's tomb, which has his head in bronze. The nose is shiny because everyone rubs it for good luck! We rubbed it, too! |
|
|
|
|
At the Lincoln Museum, we got to see actual items that Lincoln used, like his top hat and cane. To see real things that he used makes you see him as a real person and made us relate to him. |
|
|---|
|
We also saw a model of the White House and of Lincoln's boyhood log cabin, a cool hologram movie and the original copy of the Gettysburg Address. |
|
|
|
|
In the museum, there were some exhibits about slavery. These were kind of difficult to see. |
|
|
|
|
It made us realize how far we have come as a society. At Mirowitz, we always talk about how ALL humans are created in God's image.
Lincoln's home was our next stop. It was quite fancy and the wallpaper was so detailed. We saw some of Tad, Robert, Willie and Eddie's toys: chess, checkers, marbles and a view master, which was their version of technology. |
|
|---|
|
They also had chamber pots under their beds. (Did you know they used corn cobs for toilet paper? Ewwww!) We also touched the same banister that was used by President Lincoln. It's hard to believe that Robert sold that house for $1. |
|
|
|
|
We feel like we can relate to Abraham Lincoln and to his time in history. That's what is so cool about Social Studies and this unit in particular. We get to learn about what happened in the past so we can try to be better today. |
|
|---|
|
Next week is Teacher Appreciation Week, and we have lots of fun in store! We are so grateful that so many parents have reached out to help! If you have not but would like to, please contact us or write a comment on the PTO facebook page.
We need EVERYONE's help on Wednesday May 4. Please have your children (and you can do it too!) write notes of appreciation to their teachers and bring flowers to Mirowitz!
You can pick them from your yard or buy them at Trader Joe's. PTO volunteers will make bouquets from the flowers for each member of the faculty and staff. (One flower from each child should be set by the flagpole in memory of fallen IDF soldiers for Yom HaZikaron. The others will go to teachers in appreciation.)
Tuesday, May 10, a Coffee Culture truck will come to Mirowitz from 7:15-9:15 a.m. Parents are invited to hang out, and to purchase a drink or pastry to enjoy! We just ask that we let the teachers get theirs first so they can get to class on time.
We are looking forward to a great week.
Lauren, Jacque and Alana
|
|
|---|
|
Please join us as we celebrate the graduation of our 8th Grade Class.
Thursday, May 26th, 2022 at 4:30 p.m.
in front of the school (outdoors)
Following the ceremony, join us for a reception, hosted by the 7th grade parents, in the Pardes Planting Garden (near the chicken coop).
|
|
|---|
|
Each year, at the culmination of the 5th grade body systems unit, Arleen and Dr. Phillip Korenblatt present Mirowitz 5th graders with a biology book called "How We Work." |
|
|
|
|
We hope that our children grow up to be like them - people who love learning and make a difference. |
|
|---|
|
|
Our hearts are with our Mirowitz families who have relatives in Ukraine, and who have already suffered losses. Our concern for the Jews in Ukraine, in Russia, and all over the world continues to rise as we are brought back to darker times of war and division.
May God who makes peace in the heavens bring peace upon us, upon all Israel and all the world.
Mirowitz joins the Jewish Federations of North America in the urgent work of rescue and relief. |
|
In Honor of
Max B.
“Happy 7th Birthday to Max! We love you & we’re so proud of you!”
Love, Adam, Melissa, Lila, & Jonah
In Honor of
Sallie Glaser
“Happy birthday Morah Sallie! You are an amazing teacher!”
From, Lind
|
|
|---|
|
|
|
Today, your children had a chance to celebrate our 5, 10 and 15 year teachers at Kabbalat Shabbat. Check out the video montage highlingting Lee'at Koertel (5 years), Fran Milsk (5 years), AJ Moll (10 years) and Betti Blumoff (15 years) below. |
|
|---|
|
We also invited our gala honorees to Kabbalat Shabbat so our students could meet their role models. We cannot wait to celebrate the Stiffman/Maayan Families, and Randee and Myron Jacobs this Sunday! |
|
|---|
|
One of the biggest things I took from Mirowitz was a work ethic that helped me through high school.
Noah Sentnor
I have been able to use the Jewish text study skills I learned at Mirowitz in other classes that require critical thinking like English and History.
Hanan Nathan-Slarskey
|
|
|---|
|
|
Fourth graders are learning how rainscaping — landscaping that reduces storm water runoff — protects our school prairie from erosion. Tuesday, they got their hands dirty — literally — installing new plants in our rain garden. |
|
|---|
|
Throughout the day Thursday, in age-appropriate ways, we remembered the six million Jews who died in the Holocaust. Even our youngest students learned about “memory candles” and grappled with the idea that while we cannot change the past, we can change the future. It is our intention to prepare our students to be teens who feel a responsibility toward combating bias and hate. |
|
|---|
|
We are so proud of Mirowitz 6th grader Noam Buch whose article about the impotance of sleep was published in the Jewish Light. |
|
|---|
|
PTO is providing and Israeli lunch to all Mirowitz students next Thursday in celebration of Yom Ha'atzmaut. There is no cost to parents.
The menu consists of: falafel, pita, Israeli salad, hummus, chips, and fruit. All food allergy questions should be directed to Chef A.J.
|
|
|---|
|
to Omri, Noam and Leah who read Torah in the Middle School. |
|
|---|
|
to
The Pittman Family
Sherrie, Ronald and Anthony on the loss of Sherri's father.
May his memory be a blessing. |
|
|---|
|
So glad you are enjoying our pop up play dates and Shabbat Shmoozes! We love raising the Ruach with you!
Let's celebrate our reunion after Pesach
Monday, March 25
3:30-4:30
Mirowitz Playground
PTO will provide a snack.
If you'd like to join our Ruach Committee, let Carly know!
|
|
|---|
|
Join other Mirowitz parents for a discussion about the delightful fiction book, Anxious People.
May 5 @ 7:30
at Michelle Rosch's house
Email Michelle to RSVP, and she'll send you her address. Or text her:
314-482-8557
Buy the book here
or at a local bookshop. |
|
|---|
|
Vaad Chesed donated all the toys and games we collected during Purim — valued at more than $1,000 — to the Ronald McDonald House this week. They will be distributed to its 3 St. Louis facilities. |
|
|---|
|
Thanks Jennifer Goldberg, Elyse Picker, Jeffrey Abraham and Jackson Salasky for helping us serve lunch this week.
If you are able, please sign up to volunteer by logging onto the Mirowitz App on your computer here.
(While you're serving, take a selfie with your child. Send it to us and we'll post it here.) |
|
|---|
|
Alice Handelman
Deborah Zorensky
The Mirowitz family prays for their speedy and complete recovery. |
|
|---|
|
The JCC production of Willy Wonka includes quite a few Mirowitz students in the cast. We are so proud of:
Avra Arnow
Ari Conner
Dasha Duncan
Maya Kushnir
Gracie Lieb
Michaela Moll |
|
|---|
|
Our Parent In Heaven, Rock and Redeemer of Israel, bless the State of Israel, the start of the flowering of our redemption. Shield it with Your love. Spread over it the shelter of Your peace, Guide its leaders and advisors with Your light and Your truth. Establish for them Your good counsel. Strengthen the hands of the defenders of our Holy Land. Cause them to inherit, our God, deliverance. Place the crown of victory upon them. Give the land peace and everlasting joy to its inhabitants. |
|
|---|
|
|
|
|---|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|  |
|
|
|
|
