December 18, 2015
6 Teves 5776
Volume 19, Issue 14
Dates to Remember:
 T 12/22 – Asara B’Teves
– 1PM dismissal
 F 12/25 – NO BUS
SERVICE
nd
 S 12/27 – 2 Grade
Chumash Play
 F 1/1 – NO BUS
SERVICE
In the Bnos Malka Family
☺ Mazel Tov to Mrs.
Rachel Feldman on the
birth of a baby girl!
Camp Keshet Early
Bird Special!
Register by
January 15th and
pay only $1,600
for a full summer!
A savings of $250!
Candle Lighting 4:11

Rabbi Michael Weichselbaum
Menahel
In
this
week’s
‫פרשה‬,
the
confrontation between ‫ יהודה‬and ‫יוסף‬
comes to a head. ‫ יהודה‬is furious. ‫יוסף‬
has obviously been picking on the ‫שבטים‬
for no reason. Worse than that, they have
been tricked into bringing ‫ בנימן‬down to
Egypt where ‫ יוסף‬now intends to enslave
him. ‫ יהודה‬is also panicking. In a last
ditch effort to get ‫ יוסף‬to change his
mind, he recounts the entire story. ‫יהודה‬
says, “It started when you began asking
us questions for no reason at all. We
answered you honestly but one thing led
to another and you told us that we may
not see your face unless we return with
our younger brother. We went home and
related the story to our father. Later, our
father told us to go back to Egypt to
purchase more food.” Rav Moshe
Feinstein, ‫ זצ''ל‬raises the point that this
request by ‫ יעקב אבינו‬appears to frame
him as a simpleton. Doesn’t ‫ יעקב‬know
that when the Viceroy tells you not to
return without something, you do so
under penalty of death? It seems that
‫ יעקב אבינו‬has no common sense.
Rav Moshe explains that ‫יעקב איש תם‬
could not believe that such evil could
exist in the world. Who would be cruel
enough to deny an entire family food just
because of a petty gripe? Wasn’t it
obvious to all that ‫ יוסף‬himself did not
actually believe that the brothers were
spies? ‫ יעקב‬was positive that no human
being would turn away a starving family.
‫’יהודה‬s message was that in ‫ מצרים‬there
do indeed exist such people. What was
true in the time of the ‫ אבות‬continues to
be true in our time.
Rav Moshe points out that we should
sometimes be as naive as ‫ יעקב‬and believe
that people are innately good. He points
out that sometimes a few individuals may
be driven to participate in a difficult
mitzva such as building a yeshiva (the
actual example that Rav Moshe uses)
even though they will encounter
obstacles which may cause them to lose
heart. Never give up! Rav Moshe states
that support will be there because the
community certainly understands the
Shabbos Ends 5:20 
need to help. They will be there for you in
order to give ‫ כבוד‬to the ‫תורה‬. I know that
Rav Moshe is correct.
Class Milestones
Pre-1a – Mrs. Rachel Chait
“Open on top Tes” was the new letter
of the week. Though most of the “t”
sounding words we knew started with a
tuf, we did brainstorm some words for our
milon. Taba’at (ring), tipah (drop), Teves,
Tatty. Tuv Ha’boreh, nature, was the new
concept we discussed in conjunction with
tes and enjoyed easel painting to portray
Hashem’s colorful world. Appreciating
Hashem’s beautiful world needs to be part
of our daily thoughts. This hashkofa has
been a springboard to our “hachana
l’tefilla” where we are mindful of the many
chassadim Hashem bestows upon us daily.
Parshas Va’yigash was a very
emotional one as Yosef reveals himself to
his brothers. We can’t imagine how
difficult it was for the brothers to inform
Yaakov about Yosef and of his powerful
position in Mitzrayim. It was interesting to
hear how Serach was the one to break the
news to her grandfather. Here is an
example of the therapeutic power of
music. After hearing the details of this
parsha, we understand why Yosef is
referred to as Yosef Hatzaddik and
understand the incredible greatness of
Yaakov Avinu.
Good Shabbos!
2nd Grade – Ms. Yocheved Landesman
The second graders did an excellent
job on their animal book reports. We
learned so many new and interesting facts
about animals and enjoyed seeing the
creative puppets the girls made. We
recorded information we learned from the
reports. I was so pleased with how
respectfully the girls listened to each
other’s reports.
We have started to learn how to
regroup in addition. We are building upon
our knowledge of tens and ones to master
this new concept. The girls are applying
strategies we have learned to help solve
challenging word problems. It is so great
to see the girls take pride in how much
they have learned this year.
Chanukah was an exciting time for us all. The girls are
writing all about their Chanukah experiences. The students
challenged themselves to write as many details as they could.
We brainstormed, wrote rough drafts, edited our work, and
wrote final copies. We have also been learning all about the
many uses of the comma. I look forward to seeing the girls
include commas in their writing from now on.
Our classroom train continues to race around the room!
The girls are reading so many fun and exciting books. I have
been beyond thrilled to have the girls challenge themselves to
read on a higher level. Keep it up!
Class 4 – Mrs. Beverly Fruchter
Matt was very brave and determined to free Attean's dog
from a trap. Class 4 wrote an excellent paragraph using
detailed examples to show just how brave he was. We are
noticing that Matt and Attean's relationship is changing. They
seem to be enjoying each other's company and they are
engaging in many activities together.
Speaking of doing things together, we learned that the
Iroquois Native Americans had a good idea. They decided to
help each other instead of constantly being at war and
fighting. So the Iroquois tribes came together and formed a
confederacy. Did you know that the prefix 'co' means
'together'? You can be sure that they COoperated with each
other too! We're also learning COmpatible numbers in math.
Can you take an educated guess what the definition of these
numbers might be?
We are learning about nonfiction text features, such as
title, subtitle, caption and sidebar. These features help us to
preview nonfiction information such as articles, and help us
to better understand what we will be reading. After answering
some important text questions, Class 4 takes that information
and they turn themselves into informative "reporters" of the
news! Have a wonderful Shabbos!
 – Mrs. Sarah Leibowitz
It was a pleasure to host kitta hey at my home on
Chanukah! A good time was had by all with fun games and
yummy food. After a week of no homework, color war, and
our Chanukah break, we are now back in the swing of
learning. We are discovering so many wonderful lessons for
our lives from perek beis in Sefer Shemos. We see how
Amram was a true chacham when he listened to his little
daughter Miriam’s advice. We learned from Yocheved how
important it is for parents to protect their children from
outside negative influences, and from Bas Paraoh that if we
really want something, Hash-m will help us to accomplish
our goals. Our shorashim list keeps growing as we learn more
Chumash. In Dikduk, the girls are pros at recognizing
whether a shva is to be pronounced (shva nah), or not (shva
nach). Our yedios are growing as we continue to learn the
significance of the numbers five through eight in Yahadus.
The girls continue to display a true love of learning. Have a
wonderful Shabbos!
5th & 6th Grade Math – Ms. Yocheved Weiner
5th Grade - If the prefix "deci" means ten, then why is
December the twelfth month and not the tenth? This
question was pondered by the fifth graders as they began
their unit on decimals. They looked at the place value of
decimals, how to write decimals in different forms and how to
add and subtract decimals. After looking at the addition and
subtraction of decimals, the students will continue on to study
decimal multiplication. The students will learn how to multiply
decimals using both models and the standard algorithms. They
will learn that multiplying decimals isn't so different from
multiplying whole numbers, but the important part is where
you place the decimal point. One little point makes a huge
difference. Just ask the Spanish navy about the time when they
misplaced the decimal point while building submarines.
6th Grade - The 6th graders are busy learning about
fractions. They looked at how to add, subtract and multiply
fractions and mixed numbers. The students then turned to
division of fractions using several types of models and the
standard algorithm to build their understanding of what
division of fractions really means. They also are applying their
knowledge of fraction operations to create and solve
problems. The students will then go on to learn decimal
operations. They will use estimation and fraction operations to
determine if their answers are reasonable when adding,
subtracting, multiplying, and dividing decimals. Have a great
Shabbos!
7th & 8th Grade Science – Mrs. Leah Atlas
7th Grade - Can two parents with brown eyes have a child
with blue eyes? If you ask the 7th graders they will tell you yes,
and can even explain the genetics of how that is possible! We
started a new chapter on genetics and learned how Gregor
Mendel was the first person to correctly explain how traits are
passed from parents to offspring and therefore is known as
the “Father of Genetics”. Mendel did his experiments on pea
plants, but what he concluded from his results can be applied
to people as well! After learning basic Mendelian genetics, we
learned how genes inherited from your parents will determine
what blood type you have. Did you know that if a mother has
AB blood then it is impossible for any of her children to have
O blood?
8th Grade - The 8th graders are learning how to be
shadchanim! It’s not what you think…. they aren’t setting up
people - they are setting up ATOMS! Did you know that
atoms “feel sad” if they are alone. According to the octet rule,
atoms need eight electrons in their outermost shell to be
complete and “feel happy”. If an atom’s outermost shell is
incomplete and has less than eight elections it will be sad.
What do sad atoms do? A sad atom bonds with another sad
atom and then both become happy! Atoms can do this by
giving and receiving electrons, forming an ionic bond or
sharing electrons and forming a covalent bond. However, as
the 8th graders know, not any combination of atoms will
work. That is where their expertise and “atom shadchans”
comes in! Have a wonderful Shabbos!
BUS FORMS
A bus authorization form was sent
home this week.
This form must be returned to the
school office by early next week.
We thank you in advance for your
cooperation.