Science Update!

As we've been reviewing key science concepts, we've stopped to concentrate on Magnetism. The students were particularly enamored with the experiments you can do with Magnets!

Here are some points we discussed and you can review with your child:

• The closer in distance the object is, the greater the force of attraction
• There are two "poles" - the North seeking, and South seeking poles
• The earth is like a great big magnet, because it contains large amounts of iron
• A magnet has an invisible magnetic field surrounding it
• Two north "poles" will repel each other, as will two south "poles". Only a "north" and "south" will attract
• Not all metals will be attracted to magnets; only metals containing large amounts of iron, for example, steel (not aluminum foil, not nickles or pennies
• Magnets are key components for compasses - the "north seeking" pole will always point north
• Magnetite is a mineral that contains large amounts of iron (the greatest amount of naturally-occurring iron), and was used in compasses to help sailors find their way

We tried a cool experiment that allows you to see the "invisible" field around the magnet. We cut steel wool into fine, powdery pieces, and placed them in a jar with oil. We held a strong bar magnet to the outside of the jar, and -wow!- got to see how the steel particles are attracted in a rounded formation.

Try it at home!

REMINDER: WALK-A-THON TOMORROW

Just a quick reminder that our school walk-a-thon along the boardwalk will be tomorrow. If you have not already done so, please be sure to send in your child's walk-a-thon sponsor sheet and the money pledged. Remember, the money earned goes to our long-awaited play-yard! 

We look forward to an invigorating walk and a chance to see the U.S. marines at Coney Island as part of Fleet Week when we're done. There are air and water demonstrations planned - we'll see how our schedule works out. They'll  have  helicopters at the beach and the students will hopefully get to talk to and interact with the crew, sit on the helicopters, etc. It should be a great way to wrap-up the walk-a-thon!

You can visit this link for more info on fleet week.
http://gonyc.about.com/od/holidays/p/fleetweek.htm

Cubic Measurements

We've been discussing the difference between linear measurements, measurements of area, and measurements of volume. We reviewed the units of measurement for volume: cubic meters, cubic centimeters, cubic feet, etc. We did hands-on work to prove our assumption that there are 1,000 cubic cm in a base-ten large cube. We also used meter sticks and yarn to visualize the volume (space it takes up) of a cubic meter. We were surprised to find out just how large it was, and how many of us could fit inside!

A Health Month Yummy Snack!

A great big thank you to Alice's mom, Morah Irena, for coming to make a colorful fruit salad with us! We learned that to get a balanced, healthy mix of fruits you should look for the colors of the rainbow! We had red apples, oranges, yellow bananas, green apples and blueberries! Thank you very much for the delicious snack!

A Health Month Visitor!

A great big thank you to Noah's dad, a pharmacist, for coming to discuss health as it relates to pharmacy. The students were fascinated and asked great questions. We discussed the difference between prescription and other medication, and the importance of only taking medicine under the guidance of a parent and or doctor. Some of us also wanted to know how pharmacists can read doctor's script...as well as why so many pharmacies (which are supposed to keep you healthy) sell chips in the other half of the store... ;-) We really enjoyed the visit!

Geometric Solids and Frames

We've been studying about Geometric Solids this week, and we each made our own rectangular prism frame. We've been solving and creating our own riddles such as "I am a polyhedron, I have 6 faces, all rectangles, and 8 vertices. What am I? A rectangular prism!"
Try some at home for fun and review!

Social Studies Report - Please Read

Dear Parents,

Please be sure to read the note attached to your child's Social Studies homework tonight. The children are required to do part of the research at home - with parental supervision, being that this is Internet based. I wrote very clear directions as to which websites to visit and what information to be pursued, and where. Questions 1-5 (in Part 1) should be done tonight. I modeled for them each step today at the computer so they should be familiar with these questions and websites.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

This portion of the work is collecting information (research) and we will discuss the presentation the following week.

Health Month & Juice Sale - please read

In the spirit of Health Month at Mazel, 4th-5th Grade will have the opportunity to purchase freshly-squeezed veggie juices this Wednesday. Please send in $5 with your child by Tuesday.
Thank you!

We are also looking for health care professionals to come share some tips on health & hygiene as well as fitness with the children. If you, or an adult you know would be willing to share with us, please let us know - we would greatly appreciate it! Much thanks!

Mazel Tov Morah Ariella!

Dear Parents,

Morah Ariella requests that you R.S.V.P. for her wedding via email at ariella.paim@gmail.com

Please specify if you will attend for the Chuppah, Dinner, or both.

ThankYou!