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Bais Yaakov פרשת כיof Ateres תשא תשע"“דThe Weekly Newsletter

Dear Ateres Parents, With the Holy Neshama, the spark of life inside spiritual ambitions, we emerge victorious as פרשת וישב תשע"ט .us, it is no wonder. That spark is, in the words the Maccabim of old Yosef Hatzaddik models for us how we are to of our Holy books, a “cheilek Eloka mi’maal” a live, survive and thrive in the Golus. Although There are no coincidences in life. It is not by an piece of the essence of Hashem. Elsewhere in sold as a slave, disconnected from his home accidental sense of fate that we witnessed a Chazal, that spark is called a ner, a and abandoned by his family, Yosef Chanukah challenge this very Erev Chanukah flame. The teaches that remains true to his values. week. Our Ateres community was reminded of Hashem declares; “Neri Indeed, he remains a tzaddik. the power of Anti-Semitism and hate which b’yadcha, nercha b’yadi” — From where did Yosef draw lingers not so far below the surface in the My flame (the spark of his strength? Why didn't he community which surrounds us. It is the same G-dliness in the neshama) is give up? Why didn't he just hatred and bitterness which motivated the in your hand—your flame run away? Greeks to persecute the Jews bayamim (your personal soul) is in My ha’heim and is, sadly, still here, bazman hazeh. The answer is simple and hand. The message is that we Our victory will be the same. profound. animate our connection to Indeed, we are focused, committed and Chazal tell us that Yosef was known for Hashem through safeguarding our undeterred in our spiritual mission and iyH we his bitachon. In fact, the posuk “ashrei hagever observance and maintaining our fidelity to are looking forward to moving forward with asher sam Hashem mivtacho,” is said to be a . Mitzvos, middos tovos and maasim our purchase and move to Nanuet, as well. description of Yosef. The text of the posuk tovim blend together to keep our soul warm, They couldn’t destroy us then and V’chai Bahem teaches us a powerful lesson: happiness animated and happy! they won’t stop us now. But we (ashrei) and bitachon go together. In fact they This is the essence of the must remain and act as the (39:2) are a powerful pair. Without bitachon it is ...Vayihi Hashem es Yosef upcoming Yom Tov of Yidden Hashem expects us be. impossible to be truly happy. Interestingly, Chanukah which epitomizes May we be blessed with the Despite being sold to the Egyptians and some of the latest secular research conducted Jewish commitment and pursuit at Oxford University purports that “Humans kind of Siyata diShmaya Yosef being thrown to the dungeons, Yosef of religious freedom. It is truly a Hatzaddik enjoyed in MItzrayim are naturally predisposed to believe in G-d.” festival of light—the light of our neshama. remains blessed with Hashem staying Ignoring that need for a connection to Hashem and that the Maccabim had over the Greeks As such, our path towards victory in the battle and be motzei chein b’einei Elokim v’adam. with him and granting him chein in all YIsborach creates a lacking that is painful, against religious persecution starts with our Best wishes for a lovely his endeavors. Why? The Das Zekainim lonely and so very far from happy. Bereft of own ”mi laHashem eilay” bitachon, the same Shabbos and a chag Urim MiBaalei Tosfos teach us that Yosef’s spirituality people can feel something is sense of bitachon which inspired Yosef. When sameach. missing and happiness becomes unattainable. we make a Kiddush Hashem, when we stand extraordinary Siyata Dishmaya was How true. proud and when we remain undeterred in our Rabbi Aaron Fink, Dean rooted in his own Yiras Shamayim. Yosef always lived with a v’chai bahem model, hat a busy week we all had at Ateres; place over the three days of Chanukah. Stay palpable! And, they are so happy to be learning no matter the circumstance. He never we can almost imagine the Chanukah tuned... about Chanuka - especially some new facts that W left Hashem, so Hashem never left him! candles shining, smell the latkes and dreidels Our Limudei Kodesh staff met on Wednesday to they never knew before! spinning... The classrooms are vibrant with discuss how we will be integrating music as part Wishing everyone a wonderful shabbos and a Chanukah learning, echoing with songs and of our Chanukah programs as well. We then lichtige chanuka! decorated with various crafts in different stages shared ideas and best practices on classroom of completion as our Talmidos eagerly methods such as transitioning between This week Kitah Gimmel experienced the true anticipate the upcoming Chag! subjects and brainstormed how to instill meaning of what achdus and noasei b'ol Rigorous learning in our core Limudei Kodesh increased Hakaros Hatov in our students. chavero really means. The girls are preparing a subjects is still a primary focus; students in We are looking forward to an exciting week of beautiful dance for Chanuka, and practiced You are as many classes have successfully Chanukah, packed with , fun activities and every recess so nicely. One day one of the completed Chumash, Navi and Lashon tests this meaningful learning! dancers was sad because she did not have a Close to Hashem week. We are so proud of their diligent work Reminder: As per the flyers we sent home, partner — everyone stopped dancing and did and of the efforts they invest in their studies! we are participating in a Chai Lifeline Toy Drive not continue until they found a partner for her! As you choose On the safety front, we had another successful and encourage you to send a new toy with your The girls are also working on a Chanuka project. security drill, BH. Students are following daughter. What a beautiful opportunity It is hoped that everyone will enjoy the special to be directions and procedures and ensuring a it is to help bring joy and light to children who present the girls have prepared for their smooth drill. We also had a Rockland County need it so much! parents. Pedestrian safety presentation. The program Wishing you a Chanukah filled with warmth, The girls are also preparing beautiful divrei included a power point and video presentation light and much nachas from your wonderful torah to share at the time of hadlakas neros. as well as hands-on activities to teach daughters! Enjoy and have much nachas.. very strict with Moshe when he said something pedestrian, bicycle, bus and parking lot safety. Please make sure to continue reviewing even slightly negative about Klal Yisrael. This We thank the County for preparing and The preschool is very excited for their shorashim with your daughter ,because in the concept was made clear with a cute skit put on presenting such an important and informational Chanukah performance on Tuesday. They have near future we'll be going "fishing"once more. by Sara Rivka Ben-Arbon and Leah Gittel program for our students. been practicing brachos, song, dance, and dramatic play acting out the Chanukah story. Herman; the dressed up like a kallah and her In the context of professional development, our They are especially anxious to show their Kita daled demonstrated in class how to light mother. When soda was spilled on the mothers General Studies staff met on Tuesday to discuss special Chanukah light show to parents and the menorah the correct way with a real black gown it was barely noticeable but when it our upcoming cross-curricular initiative on the friends. With flashlights in hand they have menorah! They remembered so well from last was spilled on the kallah’s white gown, it was so topic of music. This exciting program will take been enjoying the momentum building up to year, which side we light from, and which glaring. This is how the small avairos of tzadikim the Festival of Lights!! candle we light first. The girls know the song are viewed since they are so pure. Kitah Aleph is really soaring high in their kriah about Mattisyahu and his 5 sons so well!! In other news, Kitah Hei has begun learning NSHEI CORNER lessons. They have mastered kamatz are In chumash, we learnt how far a person goes to Shiras Devorah with much enthusiasm! They

practicing patach and have already been do teshuva. One of the reasons why Revuain have caught on extremely quickly and Mrs. Liff

introduced to tzeirei. The idea that in Hebrew wasn’t by the selling of Yosef was because he is so proud of them! Kol hakavod!

each object is either zachar or nikeivah is a was busy with sackcloth and fasting for what he Chanukah is fast approaching and Kitah vav is We hope everyone had a good week. Thank you so much to concept that is constantly being reviewed and did wrong with his father’s bed. preparing full force! They began by learning all the families who participated to help make our Chanukah the girls are catching on. With Chanukah on the campaign a success. Our teachers do so much for our girls, This week we had 2 presentations by 2 groups about the true nature of the Yevanim. As way, we have been reviewing the story, the and is it so special to be able to express our appreciation. of girls: Chana Simcha and Tzippy made a mature young women they are learning these halachos, learning sight words and of course Nshei had an exciting week collecting prizes for our upcoming beautiful poster with a story about pokeach concepts on more sophisticated level. They brunch. We cannot wait for everyone to see the amazing preparing our beautiful projects so that they ivrim. Blima Sury and Meira made a stunning analyzed the culture of the Greeks. We tried to goodies! Sponsorship and volunteer opportunities are still are ready on time. available. To sponsor a prize, be log in to ateres.org and sign poster about ‘shelo asani aved’, with a skit understand why the Torah calls this outwardly up through the Give and Get portal or Kitah Beis had a fantastic week of learning! including Rochel Rubin! These presentations beautiful and sophisticated culture Choshech- email [email protected]. They are flying along in their Choveret Chumash really help us understand what the brachos that Darkness. Morah Sender was so impressed by The brunch is scheduled to take place iy"H December 30. We the thoughts the class shared. The class need help with the following items: booklets. They are so excited to be almost done we daven every morning are about! Can’t wait the 2nd Choveret and getting ready for our 3rd explained that a culture that focuses only on Set up Motzei Shabbos for a fun Chanukah week filled with special Set up Sunday morning when they will begin Parshas Lech Lecha! Stay events! the exterior is in fact one of Darkness. On the Clean up after brunch tuned! other side, life of Torah, which focuses on the Baking cupcakes This week they also continued working on vav Neshama, the internal, is light. The girls learned Salads Kitah Hei has been busy preparing for Chanuka. the Tefilah of Al Hanisim. They were Cut up fruits hahipuch - the magical spinning vav! They had a They have compiled beautiful booklets full of encouraged to think about the personal nissim If you would like to volunteer to prepare food or help with lot of fun when different girls came up and Divrei Torah and fascinating stories, one for brunch setup/cleanup please demonstrated how a vav hahipuch impacts a that everyone experiences in their lives and email [email protected]. each night of Chanuka! The students are so word - especially when it spun away! that we have to be grateful to Hashem for all Have a wonderful Shabbos! excited to share all that they have learned with He does for us. Morah Sender is so grateful for Kitah Beis enjoyed working on Chanukah drip Ateres Nshei their families. In Chumash, Kitah Hei has begun this amazing week in Kitah Vav! mats - the creativity and excitement was Chany Silverman, Sarina Kurtz, Aliza Mytelka perek daled. They discussed how Hashem was Have a great Shabbos! Mrs. Sarah Salvay, Principal  Mrs. Chava Devorah Kahn, Asst. Principal  Mrs. Kayla Stimmel, Junior High Mrs. Kahn Kvels A Peek into the Week “Mishlei” Parenting Proverbs

It sure was a busy week! Besides for our regular schedule, each class By: Mrs. Sarah Salvay attended a presentation given by the Department of Health on pedestrian safety. The girls reviewed street, bus, and outdoor play Chinuch insights inspired by Mishlei safety. We are eagerly anticipating and preparing for chanukah! Stay As we are approaching Chanukah and "tuned!" will soon be enjoying the glow of our Chanukah dreidels can be turned into many STEM activities! Have your Menorahs, it is an opportune time to daughters try to build dreidels out of different materials. See whi can build a dreidel from household items that can spin for a long time. Hold contemplate what brings light to a dreidel spinning contest with regular dreidels- on what surface will our lives. dreidels spin for longer? Can the dreidel be coated with something to The Ohr HaChayim HaKadosh, in his commentary on a spin for longer? Is there any way to spin a dreidel that guarantees a pasuk in Parshas Achrei Mos, conveys a profound lesson on gimmel win? Have fun and enjoy! this topic. 6th Grade presentation for Binyan current event articles The week always seems to fly by infirst grade especially when we learn "Es mishpatay ta'asu v'es chukosay tishmeru laleches using hands on activities. In Science, the girls began an exciting unit on bahem, ani Hashem Elokeichem", "My ordinances you shall “The Five Senses”. We began this unit learning about the sense of touch fulfill and My statues you shall observe, to walk by them, I and smell. We read a few informative books as well as some fun am Hashem your Elokim", (Vayikra 18,4). activities. We learned that our skin is the main organ of the sense of touch. The nerve endings in the skin can detect pressure, pain, and What does "walking by them" signify? temperature. If you put your hand in a box to search around for "Laleches bahem", elucidates the Ohr Hachayim, means to something, you can tell when you've found it by feeling the pressure of the object. Your sense of touch allows you to tell the difference walk by the light of Torah and Mitzvos. He then quotes a between rough and smooth, soft and hard, and wet and dry. It is pasuk from Mishlei (6:23) "ki ner v'Torah ohr", interesting to see just how well your sense of touch works. First grade "For a commandment is a candle and the Torah is light", as was put to the test. We all took turns putting our hands into a bag and well as a pasuk from Tehilim (119:105) "ner leragli feeling what was inside. Some of the girls were hesitant due to other devarecha, v'ohr linsivasi", "Your word is like a candle to girl’s reactions but in the end they were brave. We were very clever and knew straight away what everything was (an orange was round and my footstep, and a light to my path". smooth, pasta was sticky and mushy, and water was cold and wet)! For Both these verses contain the words "Ohr", "light", and our sense of smell, we had to close our eyes and use our nose to guess "Ner", "candle. each smell. Some yummy smells includes cinnamon, chocolate, and 3rd Grade with their Chanuka projects lemon and then some not so pleasant such as garlic and sour pickles. What is the distinction between "ohr" and "ner"? I’m not sure who had more fun the girls or Mrs. Wingate. We are "Ohr", says the Ohr HaChayim is a broad light; it helps looking forward to next week, learning about the senses of taste, sight people see from a distance and guides their general path. and hearing. The "ner", however, provides a smaller, more focused light; Second graders enjoyed reading about all the different jobs firefighters do. They learned how to identify the main idea of an article. Then they it allows us to see details from up close. It penetrates the wrote details to support the main idea. It was so interesting to read tiniest of cracks, shining light into obscure crevasses. about how firemen rescue animals. The students saw a picture of an Torah and Mitzvos are both. They inform and illuminate the iguana that was rescued from a fire. After our discussion pertaining to big and the small, the far-reaching, broad strokes of our the article, the children developed a true appreciation for the job a firefighter does.Mrs. Baron taught the students how to compose a lives and the subtle nuances of everyday living. friendly letter. The letters were written to express thanks for all of the There are times when what we need is the powerful beam ways firemen rush to help our community. They will bring smiles to of light that will allow us the perspective and clarity needed those who read them. What a convenient opportunity we had to deliver these letters. Baila Moskovit’s uncle is a fireman. He will assure to make a choice with consequential implications. This that the firemen in his department get to read these beautiful letters. obviously applies to some of our major Chinuch decisions as In math we reviewed the less than, greater than and equal to symbols. parents, when we look to Torah as "Ohr"- as the guiding Students compared numbers p to 100 using these symbols. They used beacon that will direct those decisions. number lines to establish whether a given number was just before, between, or just after. And then, there are countless times when we look for Fourth Grade with the Chanuka bulletin they made Third grade had a great week! The girls have been hard at work on illumination in the intricate details of life, in the nooks and studying their multiplication and division facts. As a review the girls crannies of the mundane. That is when we seek inspiration paired up to play multiplication tic tac toe, they had such a great time! from the laser precision of candlelight, "ner leragli For more practiceMrs. Feldman gave the girls a fortune teller with devarecha". What should my next step be? What should my some of the hardest multiplication facts. The class really enjoyed the next word be? How should I address my child's need? What activity. A few weeks ago the class read a Scholastic News about volcanoes. They were fascinated and had so many questions. They were tone should I use? In a busy day, how will I prioritize my so eager to learn more. This week, Mrs. Feldman gave the girls a reading time? comprehension on volcanos that answered many of their questions. We might not always feel that the answers come readily- Congratulations to Elky Worch on reaching the first reading milestone of five books! Congratulations to Talya Altheim, Devorah Leah Goldberger but when we are asking those questions, when the source and Gabriella Mytelka on reaching the second reading milestone of ten of light that we are seeking is the truest of lights, the Ohr books! and Ner of Torah and Mitzvos, we are already on the right Fourth graders are eager readers. This week Mrs. Paley’s class read THE path. "Laleches bahem". CRICKET IN TIMES SQUARE from our literary book. It was a fun story Of all the gifts that we can give our children this Chanukah, about the bond between a cricket, a mouse, and a cat living in Times Square. Then the class worked on summarizing informational texts. 5th Grade acting out a mashal they learned in Chumash what a magnificent gift it is for them to experience how all First, the class read about the HISTORY OF THE TOOTHBRUSH and they of life can be filtered through the prism of Toras Chayim! couldn’t believe that the first toothbrush was actually made from the frayed ends of twigs. Then, the class completed a chart by identifying three key As we sit in the warmth of the Chanukah candles details that supported the main idea of the text. This information was used to write a summary of the article. Our next article was HAIR TODAY, GONE surrounded by our families, TOMORROW, the history of hair styles from the 1700s. Some of these hairpieces towered three feet about a woman’s head. The class decided that today’s styles are so much better. may we treasure how our Our fourth graders are so creative! After completing the written part of their book report, the girls worked on part 2, creating a book box that depicts a lives are enhanced by the scene or setting from their book. The results were AMAZING. Batsheva Schneid’s book box, from HARRY POTTER, had a large movable hand which glow of Torah and express to actually wrote. The girls loved presenting their book boxes to the class and every girl did a wonderful job. Thank you, parents, for helping your our children how proud we daughter with their project. are of the light they radiate Happy Chanukah to all from Mrs. Paley and our wonderful fourth graders! through their growth as they This week in Mr. Kanrich’s fifth grade class students drew diagrams of the human skeleton and learned about bones, ligaments and tendons. walk by the Ohr of Torah and This week the sixth graders started off the week with each set or partners presenting to the class their brunch dish items that they bought at stop and Mitzvos. shop the previous week. The budget was $30 and all the groups came up with delicious recipes!! To celebrate, we ended with a delicious ice cream brunch of our own! Each day we are conquering harder multiplication patterns with decimals and the girls are constantly improving! We finally finished the short story “The Gift of Maggie”! In social studies-we learnt some new vocabulary words connected to Greece including “Peninsula”-a pointing ... We read all about Alexander the great and how he connects into the Chanukah story! The girls flew through some grammer rules and the sheets the were given to do on them:) And let’s not forget about the amazing presentations that each girl gave on the Binyan Magazine! Each girl chose an article to present to the class and the creativity was incredible to see!! The discussions that followed each current events kept the class alert and informed! Have a great shabbos!

This week in Mr. Kanrich’s 7th grade math class students honed This week Miss Mulivor’s class began working on a few new their skills by translating word problems into algebraic projects. We prepared four beautiful posters displaying the four equations isolating a single variable. conditions of tefillah that we learn from Moshe Rabbeinu. We are also working on a small tefillah project in connection to From the desk of Mrs. Kayla Stimmel This week in Mr. Kanrich’s 8th grade math class students continued with their study of word problems and also learned birchas hashachar. We are so proud of 7th grade for their how to clear a denominator in a polynomial equation. creative work and enthusiasm! These days leading up to Chanukah are exciting and hectic! The Mrs. Stern’s 7th grade class is learning about different ways to Mrs. Moller's seventh grade Navi class finished perek Daled. As girls have been picking songs for choirs, working on dance grab their readers’ attention. They are learning how to a review the girls wrote a newsletter complete with two articles moves, planning games and brainstorming a lot of new and incorporate sensory details in their essays to paint a vivid image of events, pictures with captions from the perek, and an creative ideas. A couple of girls went to bake with Mrs. Stern for their reader. The 8th grade is working on their descriptive obituary. on Thursday and had an amazing time! Looking forward to next essays in which they are describing a person in their lives. Mrs. Moller's eighth grade Navi class finished perek gimmel. As week! Many girls chose to write about grandparents as well as siblings a review the girls wrote The Tournament of Ten has begun! Our seventh and eighth and friends. a newsletter complete grade enrichment program kicked off this week with round one Miss Wilheim’s chumash class has been exploring fascinating with a birth focused on the first dibrah, Anochi Hashem - Belief in Hashem. ethical dilemmas this week! We enjoyed adorable skits announcement and The participants received their textbooks as well as special performed by our very own classmates, and discussed their articles of news and folders containing their first task sheet and are very excited to connection to the mitzvah of “lo tignov”. We ended the week pictures. The girls are get to work delving into this fundamental dibrah. Mrs. with the important topic of “sheva yipol vekam.” After a very creative and have Eisenstein can’t wait to see all of the creative and interesting brief dikduk lesson in which we learned about the two ways we learned alot! presentations that will be presented over the next two weeks. can use a “vav” the girls shared their experiences of leaping forward and growing even stronger after failure. 200 Summit Park Road ∙ New Hempstead, NY 10977 ∙ tel. 845-368-2200 ∙ fax 845-368-2210 ∙ [email protected]