Year in Review: Straight from the Students

In Jewish tradition, we come together at the culmination of a unit of study to celebrate the learning, recognize the accomplishment, and affirm our commitment to keep going! When we finish a section of Jewish study, we host a festive gathering, a Siyum. Usually, the person or people who have studied the unit share some words of Torah based on their learning and recite the "Hadran." Reflecting on the recently concluded 5785 school year, we have much to recognize and celebrate. With the incredible hard work of our administration, board members, lay leadership, and staff, we celebrated our last day of our first year in a permanent home!

We asked all K-8 students to reflect on their learning this year. I invite you all to enjoy the inspiration and nachas by reading student reflections on this school year (in their own five to fourteen-year-old words), which are copied verbatim at the end of this message. As a Beit Rabban educator and parent, these responses definitely affirm my commitment to keep going!

הֲדְרָן עֲלָךְ בית רבן וְהֲדְרָךְ עֲלָן

דַּעְתָּן עֲלָךְ תלמידי בית רבן וְדַעְתָּךְ עֲלָן

לָא נִתֽנְשֵׁי מִינָךְ קהילת בית רבן וְלֹא תִתְנְשֵׁי מִינָן

We will return to you, Beit Rabban Day School, and you will return to us.

Our minds are on you, dear Beit Rabban students, and your mind is on us.

We will not forget you, dear Beit Rabban Community, and you will not forget us.

It has been an honor to be part of your children's lives this year, and we look forward to welcoming them back next year with open arms!

Love,

Stephanie

What new skill did you learn this year that makes you feel proud?

Gan (Preschool):

• I did played.

• Playing with my friends.

• They let me do the jobs!

• I learned Hebrew.

• Better building with blocks and circus skills.

• I learned how to use the hot glue gun.

• Act like Pharaoh in Egypt.

Kevutzot (K-4)

• Now I know the Aleph Bet!

• Literacy!

• I learned more Hebrew.

• Art - learning how to be good at drawing.

• Learning that the “e e” can just make the E sound.

• Learning hebrew script letters and how to read.

• I learned how to do better math than last year

• Writing paragraphs.

• Counting by 25s .

• Reading Torah in front of a big crowd at the Torah Reading Ceremony.

• Reading Torah and researching Italy.

• Double-checking math problems.

• Multiplication, division, and everything with Yael.

• I'm proud that I can translate things in Chumash.

• Learning to write English script.

• Fractions

• A new skill that I feel proud of is learning script with Ilana.

• Got better at writing.

• Completed Hebrew test.

• Hung out with the community (Apples to Apples).

• Learned Navi (the language from Avatar).

• Using a protractor.

• Typing faster on the computer.

• Spelling better.

Chativah (5-8)

• Typing

• Long division

• Finishing fractions

• Harder math and typing are new skills that I feel proud of, especially measuring angles with a protractor.

• I learned to speak English.

• I learned how to calculate the area and perimeter of composite shapes.

• I learned how to be a better writer.

• One skill that I learned this year that I feel proud of is learning how to find the area and perimeter of a square, a rectangle, and a triangle.

• Reading Mishnah.

• How to do percentages.

• I learned how to navigate a Chromebook.

• Socializing.

• I feel proud of my Hebrew skills because I learned so much.

• A new skill that I learned this year that makes me feel proud is learning how to type pretty well without looking.

• One new skill I learned this year was how to multiply, add, subtract, and divide fractions and decimals.

• I learned how to solve equations with variables using PEMDAS. This makes me feel proud because I know it can be challenging and complicated.

• I learn how to solve algebraic equations with variables using PEMDAS.

• Algebra

• I learned to speak more fluently in Hebrew.

• I learned how to identify different parts of the body.

• I learned a lot about ancient Greece

• Algebra and how to determine variables

• I learned math, and I'm proud of it because it was hard.

• I learned how to write an essay.

• Game Design.

• I learned how to manage a small business and keep inventory.

• I learned a lot about the Constitution.

• How to make tsunamis with plastic and how to do math with jello.

• I learned how to write an open letter.

• A new skill I learned this year is to play ultimate frisbee.

• Solving an equation.

• A new skill I've learned that I'm proud of is not leaving long-term assignments until the last minute.

• I learned how to format writing better, and I'm proud of that.

• Time management

• Coding

• I learned how to advocate for a cause and how to make change.

• Turning in assignments on time and talking to a teacher if I need help.

• Planning

• One new skill that I have learned this year is identifying and naming the books of the Torah.

• Although I might not always use this skill because at times it can be difficult, I learned how to use time productively: how to balance between work, people, and free time.

What subject did you learn this year that you really enjoyed and why?

Gan (Preschool)

• I love to play with Orli and make jungle jacks. And sit in Yaara's lap and see the pictures.

• Playing on the roof.

• I did painting.

• Space, Tora, and Tfila.

• Hashem because I like Hashem.

• Playing with motorcycles.

• Learning about the chagim.

• Sippurei Torah!

Kevutzot (K-4)

• Math- because I really love math.

• Parasha. I liked hearing all the different people that showed up while the story was going.

• Hebrew - because part of it was playing games.

• Hebrew. Because Hebrew has a lot of parts to it to remember, and I really feel it’s a skill.

• I love math. I love that we got to add two-digit numbers.

• Explorations, because in every explorations we learned about stuff that I really liked.

• Handwriting - because I got to go with Yael with a friend and with an iPad.

• Art because I love doing it, and I love painting.

• Music because it makes me feel happy.

• Reading because I get to sound out and guess spelling.

• I enjoyed learning Math because I enjoyed multiplying problems.

• Chumash because it made me feel at home.

• Hebrew, because I really felt that I was learning something helpful for my future

• Explorations! Because we got to do our puzzles and "how-to" books.

• Explorations - Native American studies.

• Writing - I like to write stories.

• I really enjoyed learning about the Haudenosaunee confederacy because we made longhouses and dolls. It was super fun!

• I liked learning about the Native Americans because they have so many stories, and their structures are impressive.

• Explorations final projects because I thought that they were fun and interesting.

• Math because I'm fast at it, and Chumash because now I know more Chumash now.

• Hebrew because we learned fun things, and did some things that were challenging

• Math because it comes naturally to me.

• I really enjoyed explorations this year because of all of the projects and typing that we have done, and it was really fun.

• Navi because we learned Sefer Yehoshua and it was really fun,

• This year I really enjoyed math because we learned so many new things.

• I enjoyed art and Chumash; they were fun. I enjoyed explorations, because the Colonial era landmarks project was very fun, and I learned a lot about the Colonial era ( especially The Bowne House ).

Chativah (5-8)

• Humanities in general. I really liked our unit on ancient Greece. I enjoyed it because I really liked the Greek drama festival.

• I really enjoyed math because I really like math in general and I especially liked it this year.

• Science because we never had that class before

• I really enjoyed study skills because it gave me a time to catch up on my work.

• I really enjoyed science because I learned so much about the human body and space.

• I enjoyed science because I learned a lot about the human body. I also wrote an 11-paragraph report about skin.

• A subject that I learned this year that I really enjoyed is Humanities because we did a lot of fun projects like making illuminated manuscripts, and we watched two movies. The movies were The Last Unicorn and I forgot the name of the other movie.

• I really enjoyed humanities because of all the interactive projects.

• One subject I really enjoyed this year was humanities because I like history.

• I really enjoyed TnT (Tanakh and Toshba) this year. I enjoyed TnT because I contributed more in class, which helped me to be more engaged and excited about class. Also, since I understood what was going on in class, it was easier for me to follow along and enjoy the activity.

• I enjoyed Tanakh and Toshba because I learned about a lot of interesting stories, and I translated them.

• TNT, it was so fun because I learned different characters in the Tanach in full detail.

• I really enjoyed Humanities this year because I really liked the curriculum this year, and I really think that Meggie taught them very well

• Science, because the Ilanot human body system book is fun to make.

• Humanities because I loved learning all that ancient history and it fascinates me.

• I really enjoyed TnT this year because I really liked doing the GOs (Graphic Organizers) and all the other things we did. I also liked learning Shmuel Aleph.

• I really enjoyed math this year because it was fun.

• Humanities because we learned about current events

• I enjoyed learning about electromagnetism because it was very hands-on.

• Science because it helped me learn so much about all the different types of science, and believe things I would not have believed before.

• I really enjoyed math because I liked the challenge in the AOPS math.

• A subject that I enjoyed learning this year was Trufot Savta. I enjoyed learning about trufot savta because there was so much variety.

• I enjoyed learning about changing equations because it was fun to move the numbers around.

• I really enjoyed learning Tanach this year because it was a new format, and I enjoyed that new format. (The GOs).

• I enjoyed math this year because I learned challenging concepts.

• Math, because I get to be challenged constantly.

• I enjoyed humanities class, because a lot of time we talk about the books we read and the books were great so it was interesting sharing our ideas on them.

• I enjoyed humanities because of the readings we did

• Humanities because I found all of our units very interesting, specifically our Holocaust unit.

• I thoroughly enjoyed humanities class this year, because it was extremely interesting when we specifically learned about WWI and WWII.

• I enjoyed the books we read and how we connected them to real-world issues.

• I enjoyed Humanities. Especially when we had the opportunity to simply study and answer questions. I found it was easier for me to learn when studying by myself, and it was helpful when we had time in class to do just that.

Did you learn anything new about yourself this year, either because you changed or because you never realized it before?

Gan (Preschool)

• I love to do that Mama.

• I like to share with my friends

• We love to infinity and beyond.

• About my body.

• I didn’t know I could do like using warm glue guns.

• I learned that bumblebees are also honey bees.

Kevutzot (K-4)

• That I could make new friends.

• That now I know what’s 100+100.

• No matter what people call you, you’re still what you are. If people call you a boy and you’re actually a girl, it’s not true. You’re still what you are.

• Yes - I learned about my eardrum, I never knew that before - also about your blind spot in your eye. I also learned I’m good at drawing and playing games.

• I learned that I am a good learner and that I am ready for second grade. I never realized how good a learner I am.

• I found out that I'm good at reading and writing

• That I can read !

• I realized that I grew up more this year and got older and more mature.

• I didn't know that I could be brave at the Torah Reading Ceremony.

• That I can do hard things and challenge myself.

• I learned that I can do something fast, but I don't need to rush through it all.

• I learned that I know more stuff than I realized, like math and Hebrew.

• I started making good friends in other grades.

• That I can make friends in a new school.

• I don't like Taylor Swift anymore.

• I like history.

• I learned that I can play baseball good.

• That I can also think in words, not only in pictures.

• I don't think I have learned anything specific about myself, but I have learned a lot of things just in general.

• I realized that I can type really well and fast.

• I don't think so.

• I learned that I am a good writer

• Yes, I learned that I like writing (a lot), especially writing the precept each morning ( My favorite precepts were: A day in the life of ______ ).

Chativah (5-8)

• I learned I really like performing.

• That I love math.

• I can normally get the hang of things faster than I realize.

• I learned that I'm an upstander because I stood up for some of my friends.

• I learned that I don't need to speak the same language as another person to communicate.

• I learned this year that I actually like TnT and like learning about Judaic studies. I haven't really realized this before.

• I am better at writing than I thought. Also, I like doing big projects.

• I learned that I was a really good baker and liked to bake.

• I learned that I'm able to lead tefillah without stress or stage fright.

• I love Greece and Greek myths

• I learned that sometimes it's very hard to complete an assignment, and all I need to do is ask for help.

• I learned that I really like potatoes.

• I learned that I am a good businessman and that I can be very persuasive.

• I learned that I really enjoy writing poetry.

• Yes, I realized I can write legibly.

• I learned that I need to smile more, especially in pictures.

• I learned this year that I am good at making quizlets.

• I learned that I enjoy using Canva.

• I learned that I struggle a lot to sit for 40 minutes straight when I'm just listening to a teacher talk for most of the class.

• I’m really good at time management.

• I learned how to be more encouraging through my roles on the Frisbee team and in Sports Club.

• I realized that I can write speeches by myself and that I can do the challenge ring work, even if I'm anxious about it, I can still do it.

• Capstones showed me that I could do an assignment that big.

• I think I learned more about time management because of how the capstone worked and between high school admissions.

• One thing that I learned about myself this year is that I am a hard worker. I always try to put my best foot forward through my work, although sometimes it can be difficult.

• I learned more about what is helpful for my learning and how to be productive. I think I've matured in being able to ask for help and knowing what I want or need.

What did you learn about our Beit Rabban community or the world this year?

Gan (Preschool)

• I do tefillah.

• I love my teachers/I learned about Passover, we eat Matza.

• Hashem’s love.

• I can go to my friend's house to play.

• I learned that Beit Rabban loves Israel just like I do.

• There’s Shabbat b’yachad. We sing songs and watch the slideshow.

• You can’t throw trash on the ground because animals can eat it and get sick.

• At home, I learned there is a war in Israel, so I can’t go to Israel in the summer.

Kevutzot (K-4)

• People in the whole world speak different languages, and also, people don’t know all the numbers because they go on forever and ever and ever and ever.

• BR community - that we have a lot of fun there. World - that if you put beans in a cabinet but let it have everything, the only thing that's gone is the sun, then it still grows.

• There are many people in the Beit rabban community that I can think of right now.

• I learned how to be part of a larger school community.

• I learned about the atmosphere.

• I learned that we have an end of year ceremony and that Beit Rabban is an awesome school.

• That it’s fun

• I learned about the desert biome in Explorations.

• This community is helpful, kind, and welcoming

• Everybody has different cultures and different ways of celebrating, and nobody's culture is funny.

• The people are really nice. About the world-that people are very different.

• That the world is a terrible place. Just kidding.

• Sometimes we get to vote on the whole school project topic!

• I learned that Beit Rabban is always having fun, it's silly, especially Sarah dancing day. THIS SCHOOL IS THE BEST IN THE WHOLE WORLD!

• About Israel, because of the war and social problems.

• That Israel needs peace.

• I learned about all the fighting in the world.

• I learned that people act different on the first day of school.

• I learned a lot about middle school this year.

• I learned that the world is more in danger than I thought.

• Lots of things !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! specifically art

• I learned about World War 2 and how it killed a lot of people ( especially Jews).

Chativah (5-8)

• We really, really, REALLY care about LGBTQ+ people.

• I learned that the Beit Rabban community is a very supportive community.

• We have to do a lot of work.

• I learned a lot about the war with Israel and Hamas.

• That most people are extroverts in the Beit Rabban community.

• I learned that sometimes schools are not a good fit, and it's nice to switch around until you find one that is.

• I learned that the world changes, and sometimes you just need to go with it.

• I learned that the chativah is like one big class,and in earlier grades, people treat each class as a separate community.

• I learned that Beit rabban is a really kind and caring school and has really nice teachers😉.

• I learned that the Beit Rabban community supports everyone, no matter what, and supports the hostages.

• Beit Rabban likes to care for their community, and one way I can help with that is through Sheirut (community service class).

• I learned that learning in this school is really fun.

• Thanks to BR, I know way more about Judaism.

• Israel might have been in Uganda.

• I learned that teachers are helpful. :)

• I learned that the deepest place on earth is the Mariana Trench.

• I learned that it is a cruel and unjust world.

• Some people only treat you well when you give them something.

• I learned that the world is a lot more hectic and crazy than it seems.

• I learned that Beit Rabban is so accepting, and I really appreciate being part of the community.

• I learned how many things need to be done to operate a school in sherut.

• I learned that people treat older kids differently.

• I learned that the world is full of misinformation.

• I learned that there a lot more people than it seems in the BRDS community mostly through seeing how many letters we had to write in sherut.

• We value our community’s safety a lot.

• Iran has the potential to make nuclear weaponry very scary.

• I learned that everybody has their own thoughts and opinions on topics, but that does not change anything; we are all still people and in a community.

• I learned in DC that even when you try your hardest at something, it still might not make the effect that you wanted in this world.

• I learned much more about how the world works in Stephanie's Sherut class.

• This year, I learned how loving and caring the Beit Rabban community truly is. Their support, especially when I was in Florida, especially came through.

• I learned that our community is so special. I know no other like it. Being small makes us close and easily comfortable with each other. I am so appreciative that I had to opportunity to be a part of this community and am excited for those who are part of this community or whoever will be in it.