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What better way for children to develop math, science, literacy, and fine motor skills than through exploring Winter! The children at HALB’s Lev Chana have been immersed in a multi-sensory exploration of winter, the season they are experiencing right now. At Lev Chana we know that children learn best through hands-on activities and by being given many opportunities to explore a topic.

December was Tenth Grade Takeover Month at MTA, with tons of special activities and events just for sophomores, including Let’s Make A Deal, a late night in yeshivah event, and so much more! The month culminated with an amazing trip to Anchor Paintball & Golf Center on Tuesday, December 29. Sophomores had a great time bonding with friends and rebbeim while playing golf, paintball, and sports. The entire grade enjoyed the special opportunities they were offered throughout the month and look forward to more exciting events.

Mazal tov to SKA 12^th Grader Priva Halpert, who has been named a top 300 scholar in the 80^th Regeneron Science Talent Search, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious science and mathematics competition for high school seniors. The scholars were selected out of 1,760 applications from 611 American and international high schools. They were chosen based on their exceptional research skills, commitment to academics, innovative thinking, and promise as scientists.

While January 1 was a day off for the IVDU LI students, the staff went “back to school” for a day of professional development with Dr. Rebeka Gutkind, curriculum coach at IVDU. The workshop title was definitely an unassuming one: “Reading Comprehension in the Classroom: Understanding what it’s all about,” but proved to be a lot more than the proverbial reading workshop. Rookie assistants and veteran teachers alike were challenged to re-approach their whole mindset to teaching reading comprehension. Because many language processing techniques occur simultaneously during reading, Dr. Gutkind first focused on how to be a diagnostic teacher and do a proper task analysis to determine where the child’s skills deficits are occurring. Dr. Gutkind then introduced a model of literacy that applies to learners at every stage of development. Reading comprehension for students at the early stages of exposure helps take the written word which can be highly abstract and teaches kids to visualize and verbalize what they are reading to learn the nuances of language across all subjects. The presentation was well grounded in theory and was based on the five cognitive processes that occur when reading. Drawing upon her decades of experience, real case studies and fun texts, the presentation proved to be highly engaging and enriching.

MTA’s immersive Ivrit curriculum fosters a love for Israel and enables talmidim to enhance their Hebrew language skills through creative and interactive learning experiences. Spearheaded by award-winning educator Morah Liora Haibi, the program enables talmidim to explore Israeli culture, increase their use of the Hebrew language, and strengthen their love for Israel. Morah Haibi’s innovative programming includes visits from IDF soldiers who share their experiences with talmidim in conversational Ivrit, playing fun Hebrew games to reinforce lessons learned in class, and project-based learning that promotes teamwork.

Last week, Metivta Tiferet Torah in Kew Gardens held a special Asarah B’Teves program for its talmidim. The rosh yeshivah, Rabbi Nir Aminov, opened the program with a moving description of the plight and tenacity of our brethren who lived through the Holocaust and their fierce commitment to Torah u’mitzvos. His presentation was followed by a specially-produced video about the heroes of the Holocaust, which was produced by Torah Umesorah.