Thanks to our Just Imagine Grant, Schechter Boston was able to update our labs by adding 7 digtial microscopes!

The microscopes have become a resource that greatly strengthens our curriculum. They actually help us to use our prep and assessment time more efficently! They are easier for students and instructors to use than our older compound models. Additionally, they allow students to take pictures of thier lab work and submit them with their labs, helping them to better demonstrate thier understanding and lab skills. 

When applying for a Just Imagine Grant, we wanted to request funding for a project that would provide us with lab tools that would support teachers and students not only this year, but for years to come. We are very excited to conintuing using our microscopes and finding more places in the curriculum where they can be used. Additionally, we would love to add a few more to our lab, which would allow students more time with the tool.

Through this grant, I was able to attend the Atrium School Summer Institute. I attended the middle school strand, which focussed on fostering student collaboration in the classroom. The institute lasted for 3 days in July 2022 and the Just Imagine grant paid my attendance fee. During this professional development, I worked with other middle school math teachers and gained many resources to use with my students. As the only math teacher at my school, I always appreciate the opportunity to meet with and collaborate with math teachers from other schools. Over these three days, I participated in sessions both with other middle school math teachers and with teachers from other grades and subjects. We participated in various problem-solving activities, both in the student role and the teacher role, and discussed guidelines for activities that foster student collaboration.

In addition to specific activities and procedures that I took away from this professional development opportunity, one of my favorite things that I have incorporated into my classroom are vertical white boards for group work. At the beginning of the school year, my school purchased reusable Wipebook whiteboard sheets for me to use in my classroom. My students have loved more opportunities to work together and continued to gain skills necessary for productive collaboration throughout the year. Using the whiteboards, I have found that students are less hesitant to get started on a task knowing that they can easily correct any mistakes. Having the whiteboard sheets around the classroom also provides an opportunity for students to easily see the work of other groups and share their strategies for problem solving.

The engineering design process has become a fundamental component of our approach in the Atid Middle school. In addition, our students create “Be The Change” projects where they identify a component of our school they seek to improve and build/create the necessary changes. This has included new interactive construction for recess time, step stools for access, and furniture. 

Our curriculum has now opened to include design challenges and use of the equipment in every class. 

Our grant money was used to purchase a variety of different supplies to enhance the dramatic play experience of our class.  We purchased dress up costumes, felt story board pieces of Tanach/holiday, Jewish play figures, and toy ritual objects and foods.  These were purchased at a variety of online retails Amazon and some Jewish stores.  Once the research was done for purchasing, the preparation time was minimal as we added the objects into play or lessons as needed to enhance the learning environment.  Some were part of centers such as in our house area for Chanukah we put in a menorah, Pesach there was a seder plate and matzah.  When the children learned about the parsha or holidays the teachers used props such as a Pharaoh's hat or crowns to bring the lesson to life.  Before Sukkos we had a pop-up sukkah and plush lulav and esrog set. The children practiced what they had learned in school and were about to do on the holiday with their family.  For some parshas, when relevant we had a tent or a costume of the Kohen Gadol.  The children loved the various objects which enhanced our classroom this year.  They are excited when each new item is introduced.  The children ask for the "menchies" to come out wherever there are blocks so they can add people to their play. They make their own weddings and other life cycle events they are familiar with.  The dramatic play supplies we received through the Just Imagine grant helped to enhance our students' experience this year and we look forward to continuing to use them for the years to come.

Over the course of the year, students have been exploring measurement and learning about its scientific importance. This exploration has ranged from using low tech measuring devices to higher tech  sensors that can measure things that can’t otherwise be matured, or even seen: carbon dioxide and oxygen concentrations in the air for example, as well as speed and sound. We used Pasco sensors, and the software allowed students to graph results over time, and compare multiple variables. The sensors are being used in a number of 3rd, 4th and 5th grade units, including examining the connection between burning fossil fuels and global climate change, and energy transformations. They have also been used by the middle school, including working with speed and acceleration graphs.

For the wind power unit, we purchased simple generators, hubs and spokes to allow students to build their own small wind turbines (Vernier Scientific). Students began with research into types of wind generators, and then set out in teams to design their own. We used volt meters to test output at different wind speeds, and students are using an iterative process to test their designs, identify variables that can be changed, modify their design and re-test to see the impact on electrical output.

We anticipate this versatile lab equipment will be useful for many years, and will be incorporated into many different areas of investigation. 

Josh Meyer worked with Grades K-1 students in the fall on a Creation of the World (בראש׳ת), or Genesis project, in which our youngest artists turned chaos into beauty. The children were given a variety of materials to toss onto a large and sticky roll of plastic wrap. With free rein, the students were fully engaged and energized, and were awed by their creation. The end product measures 1’ x 6’, and was displayed in a hallway outside the lower school before being moved to a wall outside the Head of School’s office. Our students were amazed to learn that while planning and care are important traits, sometimes, beautiful creations come out of “chaos” and impulsivity. Noni Armony worked with Grades 1, 7, & 8 over several weeks on paper making and ceramics project in advance of our celebrations of the “Holiday of the Trees, or Tu B’shvat”  (טו בשבט) and Hanukkah (חנוכה). For Tu B’shvat, 8th Graders used the paper to make artistic renditions of trees. For Hanukkah, the 7th Graders made menorahs out of clay while the 1st Graders used the paper they made to make a menorah (חנוכיה) to be displayed at our all-school Hanukkah celebration. The students especially loved the paper making project, and expressed awe at the process. Carol Krentzman worked with Grades 2, 3, & 6 on a gorgeous colored glass mosaic of a challah. The mosaic project took three weeks to complete, and absorbed our artists from the beginning. It required planning, placing and rearranging the colored glass, and a healthy dose of patience. This project also incorporated a portion of the blessing over bread (המוציא לחם מן הארץ) “the one who brings forth bread from the earth”. Today, this large mosaic challah hangs prominently on the wall of our cafeteria (חדר אוכל). Shirah Rubin worked with Grades 4 & 5 over several weeks on a ceramic butterfly (פרפרים) project inspired by the Monarch butterfly. Students learned about Monarch butterflies and their importance to the ecosystem and that they’re now endangered species. They studied the wing patterns of these butterflies and then created their own wing designs and made their own butterflies out of ceramics. The butterflies were then attached to fishing lines and suspended from the ceiling in our Mercaz (center) of the school, just outside the Siffriyah (library).

In their math classes, students learned about collecting data, charting the data through graphing, and interpreting the data. These same students, in their science class, put on the bluetooth heart monitors and collected data on their heart rates before engaging in exercise. Then, these students went outside and engaged in various exercises – jump ropes, box jumps, etc. They again collected data while doing the various exercises, and again following completion of these exercises. 

In their science classes, the students took all the data that they collected – before, during, and after exercising. Tasked with graphing their heart rates, we then talked about terms such as graph spikes (What were you doing when your heart rate spiked? What does it mean for your heart when your heart rate spikes? What other organs are affected by these spikes?). Other terms we explored were outliers (Were there any outliers in our class? Why do you think they were outliers?), median vs mean values, and more.

During this unit, our students dealt with technical challenges (such as what to do if the heart monitor failed to register one’s heart rate because the student’s wrist was too small), and finding a solution (moving the monitor to the upper arm). Our budding scientists problem solved through creativity

We are so thankful to the Beker Foundation for approving our grant, without which we could not have brought these lessons to fruition. These lessons beautifully brought to life the real world impact of wellness – good sleep habits, healthy eating, and exercise. Our students were excited by these lessons, and were very engaged in comparing their data with each other. We look forward to Just Imagine other ways to pair our teaching with real life experiences! Thank you for this grant opportunity.

The students explore and learn about the world around them by reading a variety of culturally relevant and diverse texts that are strategically placed into thematic units to help students build a deeper understanding of an idea or concept. There are two main goals of the Kindergarten reading program: to instill a love of reading within all students by introducing engaging texts and authors and helping students discover the different purposes for reading, and to help students understand the world around them—particularly how the changing seasons influence weather, animals, and plants.

The Kindergartener's at Maimo have engaged in rich conversation, used high level vocabulary, made connections between reading and writing and have had the opportunity to build a diverse background of knowledge that will follow them for years to come.

 

This cart not only acts as a mobile storage unit holding everything from pencils to stencils, but also acts as a mobile classroom where I can write on my board lessons of the day or where students can access art books during down time.  We have two separate buildings at SHAS, but having this cart allows our back building (housing NPK-1st grade) to access the same curriculum and materials the older students have as well.  It has given our students a sense of ownership over their art and how they create by having the ability to access materials in an efficient way. It helps me as a teacher not have to run back and forth if I leave things behind because everything comes with me in my cart, it has helped me become more efficient as a teacher.  Since we share our space the cart keeps everything tucked away in a corner where it is not a distraction or hindrance to other teachers or community members. 

We have fully enjoyed working from theArt Cart this year and look forward to finding new ways to help students utilize the materials inside next year! 

Prek - Second grade. 

We greatly appreciate the Beker Foundation for enabling us to go on four school field trips. We combined both of our Just Imagine Grants which allowed us to go on four wonderful field trips.  

The field trips the students attended were the Matzah Factory, New England Aquarium, SouthWick Zoo and Tower Hill Botanic Gardens. Students enjoyed participating in hands-on activities that allowed them to touch  animals and explore their environments. It's hard to put into words how enriching it was to watch  students experience what they are learning about in the classroom live.   We believe all of the knowledge they gained from these hands-on experiences will follow them for years. 

Every child has a puppet, and we use these puppets during Hebrew lessons in order to motivate the kids to speak more in Hebrew . . . AND IT WORKS! Enabling the students to speak through these puppets drops barriers such as shyness. Our students' Hebrew proficiency has blossomed. Thank you, Beker Foundation!

Over the course of the year, 6th - 8th grade students learned how to use motors, created models of our solar system and applied laws of physics to cars they built. One of their favorite activities was using the motion sensors and matching their position and velocity to a given graph using the Pasco software. 

Students have greatly enjoyed using the hot plates to combine mixtures and make careful observations about their solutions. For many students, this is their first time performing chemistry based experiments, and the new set of graduated cylinders, beakers and test tubes make them feel like real chemists! 

These new tools will be useful for the future as we continue to build our middle school curriculum.