First Grade Enrichment Clusters - SAR Academy · Indian Jewelry Rubies, sapphires, emeralds, diamonds, pearls, gold, platinum, silver . . . Do you love sparkly things on your fingers,

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First Grade

Enrichment Clusters

Catalog Offerings Spring 2014

SAR’s Schoolw

ide

Enrichment Pro

gram

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SAR’s Schoolwide Enrichment Program

Table of Contents

Welcome To Our Enrichment Program ............... 3

How Can I Help My Child Choose? .................... 5

Multiple Intelligences .......................................... 7

Enrichment Cluster Offerings ............................ 11

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Dear Parents,

With excitement we announce our Enrichment

Cluster Program for First Grade beginning on April 9th.

This broad enrichment initiative reflects our deep

commitment to enabling each student to discover and

take pride in the gifts and talents with which she or he

is endowed.

Your child will explore an area of interest, talent,

or passion in depth, in a small group, with a facilitator

who also shares this interest. Enrichment Clusters are

organized around major disciplines, interdisciplinary

themes, or cross disciplinary topics. They are built on

inquiry and advanced content and methodology, which

allow students to secure and then apply new skills to

real-world issues that are personally meaningful. The

challenging learning pursued is in consonance with the

project-based learning approach, and as such has a

driving question (which accompanies each cluster

description) that “drives” the exploration. These

explorations are grounded in the production of a

product, performance, or service for an authentic

audience.

Our program is also modeled after the

Schoolwide Enrichment Model designed by educational

researcher, Dr. Joseph Renzulli, who is renowned for


“Every child should have the chance to be excep-

tional without exception.” ~Dr. Joseph Renzulli

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championing a broader conception of giftedness. En-

richment Clusters are a delivery vehicle for dissemi-

nating enrichment pedagogy to every student and is

founded on the belief that everyone has the potential

to demonstrate gifted behavior. Our ultimate goal is

to help children develop their interests and talents

and understand how they can share their gifts with

the world.

We are excited to send along our Enrichment

Cluster Brochure for you and your child to together

consider their talents and interests. Then please fill

out the Student Selection Form to indicate his or her

choices among the offerings by Friday, March 21st.

Please feel free to be in touch with Sharon

Marson at [email protected] or at 718-548-

1717 x1212 with any questions.

Enjoy!

Rabbi Binyamin Krauss

Principal

Sharon Marson

Coordinator of Schoolwide Enrichment

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How Can I Help My Child Choose?

To help your child explore his or her interests

and strengths, you may want to consider the

accompanying list of Multiple Intelligences. Along with

each multiple intelligence description is a numeric list of

the Enrichment Clusters in which that intelligence is

engaged. There is also a Venn Diagram on the next

page to guide your child in making selections among

the offerings.

We are asking that each child select 3

enrichment learning opportunities in which he or

she is interested.

Please fill out the online Student Selection

Form for each of your children in Grade 1 by

Friday, March 21st.

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Use this Venn Diagram as a tool to consider

your child’s talents, strengths, and

interests:

Talent Interest

What did you discover?

_______________________________________________

_______________________________________________

_______________________________________________

_______________________________________________

_______________________________________________

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Multiple Intelligences

Linguistic Intelligence (Word Smart)

Using language, spoken or written, to make connec-

tions and derive meaning.

You may like to read, play word games, tell stories, dis-

cuss ideas, or learn foreign languages.

See Enrichment Clusters: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 13,

14, 15

Logical-Mathematical Intelligence (Logic Smart)

Using numbers and reasoning to make sense of infor-

mation.

You may like to play chess, decipher strategy games,

brainteasers, or logic puzzles.

See Enrichment Clusters: 1, 4, 10, 13, 15, 16

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Spatial Intelligence (Picture Smart)

Using mental pictures to learn and remember

information.

You may like puzzles, mazes, creating art, or building

models.

See Enrichment Clusters: 1, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11,

13, 14, 15, 16

Kinesthetic Intelligence (Body Smart)

Using movement to express thoughts and ideas.

You may like physical activity, sports, dance, role-

playing, acting, or hands-on activities including building

things.

See Enrichment Clusters: 1, 2, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13,

14, 16

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Interpersonal Intelligence (People Smart)

Understanding and caring about relationships and

people and their moods and feelings.

You may like group games, working cooperatively in a

group, or have the ability to motivate people and

communicate well with them.

See Enrichment Clusters: 2, 3, 8, 12, 15, 16

Intrapersonal Intelligence (Self Smart)

Using thought and reflection to understand information.

You may like to be alone, are self-motivated, enjoy

your independence, and know yourself very well.

See Enrichment Clusters: 3, 5, 6, 9, 14

Naturalist Intelligence (Nature/Science Smart)

Understanding natural patterns and cycles to explain

how things work in nature and science.

You may like to learn about nature, enjoy being

outside, or appreciate the environment.

See Enrichment Clusters: 3, 4, 6, 7

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Musical Intelligence (Music Smart)

Using rhythm, musical patterns, tones, sounds, or

melody to understand information.

You may like to sing, play an instrument, compose

songs, remember songs, or are sensitive to noises or

sounds, and typically have strong language skills.

See Enrichment clusters: 12

Existential Intelligence (Religious Smart) Some proponents of multiple intelligence theory proposed spiritual or religious intelligence as a possible additional type. It certainly reflects our learning community and environment. You may like to learn Torah, think about G-d, pursue dedication to mitzvot, consider the workings of the universe, and make connections between Torah and life.

See Enrichment Clusters: 6, 7, 8

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Enrichment Cluster Offerings . . .

Welcome to our Enrichment Cluster Program!

Have fun selecting among the offerings!

1. K’NEXploration Laboratory

Have you ever wondered: How does that work? In

K’nexplorations, we will investigate simple machines.

Using the fun K’nex toy system of colorful rods and

connectors, young explorers will play to discover how

machines use force and distance to save us time and

energy. We will build models of levers, wheels and

axles, fixed pulleys, movable pulleys, inclined planes,

and, time permitting, gears. As we build in our

K’nexploration Laboratory, we will “k’nect” our ideas

with examples of real-life machines that use our simple

machines. Join us for an eye-opening look at the world

of simple machines.

Facilitator: Yehuda Najman

Yehuda Najman teaches 8th grade science here, at the

Academy. He enjoys noticing the simple machines all

around us, like nutcrackers, nail clippers, see-saws,

and scissors.

Multiple Intelligences: Mathematical-Logical,

Spatial, Kinesthetic

Driving Question: How do machines work?

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2. Improv 101 Ensemble!

Do you love to act, imagine, make believe? Through

Improv games and our own creativity develop and

practice basic performance skills such as acting,

improvisation, eye contact, public speaking, memory,

and poise. Consider: How do we stand in front of an

audience? How can we create characters and create a

scene? How do actors learn to interact with one

another on stage? Develop Improv skills as you master

techniques like: “Zip Zap Zop”, “World’s Worst Doctor”,

“Can you lift a gigantic rock?”, and more! We’ll have fun

and be creative as we laugh out loud with this

Enrichment Cluster’s improvisational fun!

Facilitator: Morah Davida Fried

Davida Fried is completing a Masters in Jewish

Education at Azrieli Graduate School. She has a

background in acting and directing and has worked as

a drama teacher at the JCC of Boston Summer Camp.

She looks forward to sharing her love of drama and

acting with her students!

Multiple Intelligences: Kinesthetic, Interpersonal,

Linguistic

Driving Question: What are the acting and

improvisational skills needed in order to put on a

show?

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3. Jewel of the Crown: An Exploration of Indian Jewelry Rubies, sapphires, emeralds, diamonds, pearls, gold, platinum, silver . . . Do you love sparkly things on your fingers, ears, arms, and toes? Come join us in exploring Indian jewelry and making discoveries about the precious gems and metals that have made it the love of kings, queens, and brides. We will learn about jewelry from various regions in India. We’ll try our hand at making our own jewelry creations. We will also explore our own family’s jewelry box and tell stories about the special things we find there. Come join us and share your interest in Indian culture and your flair for design and sparkle!

Facilitators: Soo Greenfield & Sharmilla Klestzick

Both Morah Soo & Morah Sharmilla were born in India and share a love of the Indian culture. They have been teaching at SAR Academy for many years, and love to impart knowledge of their birth country to their students. They are particularly interested in the role jewelry plays in our families.

Multiple Intelligences: Linguistic, Naturalist, Intrapersonal, Interpersonal Driving Question: How can jewelry connect us with our family history and stories of our heritage?

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4. Food For Thought!

Thinking about a delicious and nutritious snack that first graders can enjoy? How can we make healthy eating a fun and creative experience? Perhaps you would like to explore kids’ cookbooks and design a healthy recipe of your own. Do you think you can make a pancake that includes every food group? Let’s explore together and discover how to understand food labels in order to develop a healthy approach toward snacking. Find out how creative we can be and how much fun we can have with food! Join “Food For Thought” and have a delicious time!

Facilitator: Morah Lisi Mandel

Lisi is a General Studies teacher with post-graduate

work in education and a master’s degree from NYU.

She is excited to share her love for nutrition (and

healthy snacks!) with children.

Multiple Intelligences: Linguistic, Logical-

Mathematical, Naturalist

Driving Question: How can we think creatively and

flexibly to make a healthy snack product that first

graders will love?

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5. iBook Publishing, Inc.: Photographs &

Memories*

Tell your personal story in a creative way! Do you have

photographs of a time or place or of people that you

love? Would you like to create a photo book of a

favorite part of your life? Then you will enjoy an on-line

publishing program, “Book Creator,” to turn your

favorite memories into a custom-made book! Explore

various ways to arrange your photographs in a unique

layout and design and add some text. Come preserve

and publish in iBook Publishing!

Facilitators: Alana Gelnick & Keren Ginzberg

Morah Alana, Reading Specialist, looks to capture special moments in her life. She found designing photo books makes her memories come alive again & again. Morah Keren loves to travel with her family. She enjoys capturing those precious moments in photos and then keeping them alive with a photo journal. She can’t wait to share this experience with first grade students!

Multiple Intelligences: Spatial, Linguistic,

Intrapersonal

*25-35 personal photographs related to a theme are

required. Photos need to be brought in digitally on

a USB flash drive to the first session.

Driving Question: How can pictures tell a story?

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6. Wave Hill “En Plein Air” Painting

Would you like to work like a fine artist does and paint

using a palette and your own canvas? Then roll up your

sleeves and come explore the world around us and

truly appreciate its wonders. Discover the beauty of

Wave Hill and creatively interpret what your eyes see.

In this calm and inspiring environment you will develop

your composition and your design while noticing what

you didn’t before. Come to “En Plein Air “ Painting and

experience the freedom in expressing yourself

artistically; there are no mistakes!

Facilitators: Miriam Blackstein & Daniela Lehmann

Miriam Blackstein takes great interest in her

surroundings, especially when spending a year in

Israel. She is excited for children to paint what they see

in the wonderful world G-d has painted around them!

Daniela can’t wait to feel the warmth of spring & what

better way to celebrate Spring’s arrival than by painting

outdoors in the beautiful surroundings of Wave Hill.

She is excited to share her experience and knowledge

of painting and nature with the first grade students.

Multiple Intelligences: Linguistic, Spatial,

Naturalist, Intrapersonal, Existential

Driving Question: How can we as artists deepen

our appreciation for Hashem’s creations?

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7. Get In The Swim Of Things Institute!

Do you love to swim? Do you look forward to summer

when you can jump in the pool? Now you don’t have to

wait until school is out! Get out your bathing suit and

take a dive into this Enrichment Cluster. Explore pool

safety, the importance of learning to swim, and what

makes an Olympic swimmer like Michael Phelps so

phenomenal. Visit the Riverdale Y’s pool to practice

swimming techniques. We will also consider: Why is it

so important to learn how to swim? Why does the

Torah say a father has to teach his child to swim? How

can you help other people when you are in a pool?

Come explore swimming both in and out of the water!

Facilitators: Morah Aliza Ainsberg & Ken Gleason

Aliza is a certified pool operator and lifeguard. She

works at the Scarsdale Pool as a pool manager during

the summers and has loved teaching swim lessons for

over nine years.

Mr. Gleason is a former Division I baseball player at

Manhattan College and current basketball and baseball

coach on the high school level. He looks forward to

sharing his love of all things sports with our students.

Multiple Intelligences: Kinesthetic, Naturalist,

Existential

Driving Question: What’s important for a 1st grader

to know about swimming and why is it so important

that even the Torah says a parent must teach their

child to swim?

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8. Shoelace Chesed: In Another Person’s Shoes Sneakers, shoes, even boots, rainbow-colored, hot purple, lime green, black and white . . . shoelaces, like people, of all kinds. What is their history? How are they made? In what different ways can you tie them? How many different ways can you use shoelaces and how are shoelaces like a necklace? Do you know what the little plastic tip on the end of shoelaces is called? Perhaps you would also like to visit elderly people and help them tie their shoelaces or learn a new fun way to lace them. Maybe you would like to design a pair of shoelaces to give to chayalim in Israel or to give to children who benefit from Chai Lifeline. Come make discoveries at “Shoelace Chesed,” show caring for another person, and bring a smile to their day with your new knowledge and creation.

Facilitator: Jodi Sheinman Morah Jodi has been teaching first grade for 14 years.

She has tied thousands of shoelaces and enjoys

teaching the children how to do it independently. In

doing chesed the kids will learn to feel for others while

enjoying doing mitzvot as well.

Multiple Intelligences: Linguistic, Spatial,

Kinesthetic, Interpersonal, Existential

Driving Question: How can learning about

shoelaces help us understand what it is like to be

in another person’s shoes?

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9. ArtLaB: Graphic Design Company

Be creative with an iPad and hands-on approach to exploring art with Mrs. Schloss’ graphic design prompts and MoMA’s Art Lab app. This Enrichment Cluster will explore how artists use shape and line in art through creative explorations of MoMA’s collection. Use the Art Lab’s app to create a sound composition, a shape landscape, collaborate on a group drawing, design individual masterpieces, and more. Play with shapes, lines, and colors on the iPad, “draw” with scissors, and explore the works of Henri Matisse, Elizabeth Murray, Jean (Hans) Arp, Jim Lambie, Brice Marden, and other

inspiring artists. Come to ArtLab and make

compositions come alive!

Facilitator: Debby Schloss

Debby Schloss, a veteran SAR faculty member will be

combining her love of art and computers in “ArtLab” When Debby isn’t at SAR Academy, she loves spending family time trekking around Manhattan or tiyuling around Israel.

Multiple Intelligences: Spatial, Intrapersonal

Driving Question: How can we as digital and hands-on artists transform the way we look at and create

art in the 21st Century?

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10. Brainteasers Society

Do you like to eat "esgg sgeg gegs gsge" for breakfast? Do you like to N A E L C your room? Let's stretch our brains as we explore, solve, and create brainteasers! What makes puzzles challenging and challenges puzzling? The answers to brainteasers are not always easy to see at first. We will look closely at math and language-based puzzles to find clues that will help us reach solutions!

Facilitator: Shira Irwin

Shira Irwin is completing a Masters in General and

Special Education at Bank Street College. She has

fond memories of spending Shabbat meals and long

car rides playing math and word games with her family.

Multiple Intelligences: Linguistic, Logical-

Mathematical, Spatial

Driving Question: Can we discover what makes brainteasers fun and interesting, and use that information to create brainteasers for our fellow

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11. Ceramics Institute: Clay First

Did you know that one of the first human inventions

were clay vessels? Do you know where clay comes

from? Have you ever wondered how stone age men

were able to carry food and liquids back to their caves?

What is a vessel? How did Ancient Greeks, Egyptians,

and Israelites light their homes and temples? In this

cluster we will explore where clay is found and how it is

made. We will also squish it, shape it, and bang it, just

so, to create different types of clay vessels that are

both functional and decorative.

Faciliatators: Morah Chani Jaskoll & Morah Renata

Cohen

Chani, a professional artist, has been SAR’s art

teacher for many years. She has studied ceramics and

is currently working in a Ceramics Studio creating

many different kinds of hand-built vessels.

Renata is an artist, a scientist, and an innovator. She

taught biology for many years and now works with all

the SAR Specialty Teachers with students in grades 1-

5.

Multiple Intelligences: Spatial, Kinesthetic

Driving Question: How can clay be used to create a

vessel that holds liquids or solids and that can be

used by a first grader?

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12. Hands-On! Drumming, Percussion, and

Rhythm Ensemble

Do you enjoy music and feeling the beat? Here’s a

hands-on exploration of everything rhythm. Discover

jembes (African drums), drum set, mallet percussions,

egg shakers, tambourines, piano, and marimbas.

Explore recorded examples of percussion groups from

Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. Discover

the history of percussion instruments and instruments

from these three different continents, and more!

Become a composer of an original musical piece.

Facilitators: David Glazer and Chazan Shim

Craimer

David has an MA in Ed Administration and is certified in

Experiential Jewish Ed. He studied at Jerusalem

School of Cantorial Art & Music & is a Baal Tefillah &

Musical Director at Camp Moshava. He enjoys singing,

keyboard, guitar, harmonica, & learning the bagpipes.

Shim Craimer, chazan at the RJC, studied music at the

Royal Academy of Music. He performs with many well

known orchestras at concerts and events and regularly

performs internationally and is a recording artist.

Multiple Intelligences: Musical, Interpersonal,

Kinesthetic

Driving Question: How can percussion instruments

from around the world be used to create a new and

interesting musical composition?

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13. How Did You Do That? Reading For

Construction Consortium

Did you ever wish you could create drawings, origami,

and 3D constructions, but felt you just couldn’t?

Creating a prefabricated project is easy when you have

good directions. What makes some directions good

and others not? In this Enrichment Cluster you will

explore iPad apps that allow you to create origami and

drawings. You will evaluate and recommend the

easiest ones to follow. Later on, we may build a Lego

kit and maybe a piece of furniture, evaluating directions

for ease of use. Perhaps we will write our own

directions. Either way, we will investigate the quality of

different directions and learn that we can construct

almost anything with good instructions.

Facilitator: Rivka Heisler

Rivka is Technology Integrator at SAR Academy. Her 4

children’s many constructions turned her into a Lego

whiz. She prides herself on her ability to build

prefabricated furniture to create anything that has

directions, even if she can't draw a straight line!

Multiple Intelligences: Linguistic, Spatial, Logical-

Mathematical, Kinesthetic

Driving Question: How can good directions help

kids facilitate creativity and build and construct

things?

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14. SNAPSHOT Studio

Imagine seeing something so beautiful or interesting or funny you want everyone else to see and know about it too. Get ready to grab a iPad and become an SAR photojournalist! Learn to photograph like a pro and explore the history of photojournalism. During one special session you will visit Wave Hill to focus on nature photography. Use tricks to get the best possible ipad pictures. Welcome a guest speaker and professional photojournalist to your cluster. Join Write/Click Photojournalism Group to explore topics of interest, photograph them, write accompanying captions, and publish your work.

Facilitator: Rina Altman

Rina is part of our 1st grade team. She is an assistant

teacher for part of the day and is also working with

small groups of children on an ipad program. She has

studied Art History and Psychology and is now a

student at Bank Street. She’s excited to share her

passion for taking pictures with her first grade students.

Multiple Intelligences: Kinesthetic, Spatial,

Linguistic, Intrapersonal

Driving Question: How can we as photojournalists

notice the happenings in our community and

communicate what we discover?

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15. Game Design Inc: Israel Connect: From

Early Israel to 21st Century iPad Hebrew

Games

What makes a game very popular? What goes into

creating a game people want to play again and again?

Which games have been popular through the ages in

Eretz Yisrael? Let’s use Hebrew vocabulary and

phrases to play! Then, apply your knowledge and with

members in your cluster, design the next slam-dunk

original Connect-To-Israel game using 21st Century

technology. Come up with your own rules and share

your game with others, maybe even publish it on Haiku!

Facilitator: Gaby Zevi & Miriam Friedman

Morah Gaby is a 1st Grade Hebrew Teacher who loves

to have fun playing games, especially with children,

any chance she gets.

Morah Miriam has been teaching Judaic Studies for the

past 4 years & more recently is supporting students in

reading & writing Hebrew & learning the language. She

loves using games in encouraging learning.

Multiple Intelligences: Spatial, Interpersonal,

Linguistic, Logical-Mathematical

Driving Question: How can we as game designers

create a Hebrew game that is appropriately

challenging for kids our age?

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16. Have A Ball Institute!

Which ball bounces higher: a small ball or a large ball?

Which ball can your throw farther: a tennis ball or

baseball? If we roll a ball on the carpet how far might it

roll? What about on other surfaces? Did you ever

examine the surface of footballs, basketballs, or soccer

balls? How do they compare to one another? Can balls

be used to paint? Can you create a ball using a variety

of materials. What is the relationship between a ball

and a hoop? What is the circumference of a marble?

How does it compare to the size of the earth? Balls,

balls, balls. Let’s play ball and have a ball!

Facilitator: Morah Jessica Nusbaum

Morah Jessica is a School Psychologist intern who

works primarily with Grades 1 and 2. She loves sports

and was the co-captain of her High School soccer

team. Morah Jessica also loves playing basketball and

football and is looking forward to sharing her love of

sports with our students.

Multiple Intelligences: Logical-Mathematical,

Spatial, Kinesthetic, Interpersonal

Driving Question: Given what we discover about

balls, what conclusions can we make about the

qualities of balls to create a ball demonstration for

SAR children?

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Student Selection Form For Enrichment Clusters

We are asking the children to consider with you

the 3 Enrichment Clusters they are most interested in

attending. In reading through our selections with your

child, please guide him or her in recognizing how he/

she might be interested in several different clusters.

For example, if your child is “Logic Smart” then

“KNEXplorations Laboratory,” “Brainteasers Society,”

or “Reading For Construction,” might be exciting cluster

selections. Or, if their interest lies in the interpersonal

arena (People Smart) then he or she might enjoy

exploring: “Improv 101 Ensemble,” “Game Design, Inc.”

or “Shoelace Chesed”.

It is also OK to explore new disciplines when it is

compelling for your child.

Please make 3 selections on the

online form by Friday, March 21st.

Every student is guaranteed a place in one of his or

her three selections. Students will receive their

cluster registration prior to the first session.

If you have any questions, please contact Sharon

Marson, our Schoolwide Enrichment Program

Coordinator, at [email protected] or 718-548-

1717 x 1212.

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“Every child should have the

chance to be exceptional

without exception.”

~Dr. Joseph Renzulli

29

Phone: 718-548-1717

Fax: 718-601-0082

SAR Academy

655 West 254th Street

Riverdale, N.Y. 10471

SAR’s Schoolw

ide

Enrichment Pro

gram

Documents

First Grade Enrichment Clusters - SAR Academy · Indian Jewelry Rubies, sapphires, emeralds, diamonds, pearls, gold, platinum, silver . . . Do you love sparkly things on your fingers,