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The Jim Joseph Foundation Pardes Educators Alumni Support Project Newsletter November 2010 Kislev 5771
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Dear Hevre,
This
newsletter follows on the heels of a very successful retreat which was
attended by forty-six of our alumni (representing all nine cohorts). See
below for a fuller report.
At
this point, all but one of our newest teachers has had a site visit,
and so have most of our second year teachers. As schools get underway
following the hectic and sporadic holiday schedule, we have a good deal
to share. Please look through the newsletter carefully to read about new
initiatives, educational resources, "food for thought", dates to save
and personal updates.
Please
contact us if you would like any help with curriculum, classroom
management, dealing with professional relationships or any other issues
that might arise for you in your teaching or with other
responsibilities.
Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving and Chanuka Sameach. 
Kol tuv,
Susan, Amanda, Debra
Pardes Educators Alumni Support Project staff: Dr. Susan Wall, Amanda Pogany, M.A., Debra Weiner-Solomont, MSW The Pardes Educators Alumni Support Project is funded by a generous grant from the Jim Joseph Foundation.
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Dvar Torah - Stef Jadd Susnow (Cohort 8) |
Stef is in her second year of teaching at the Chicagoland Jewish High School, Deerfield, IL
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Thanksgiving is just moments away and while I am tempted to make a drash on 'hodu' and 'hoda'ah', I will so refrain. Instead, I would like to draw our attention to another holiday just around the bend, Chanukah. Returning to the States last year after three years in Israel, I was almost surprised as I rediscovered the age old tension between Chanukah
and Christmas. The December Dilemma penetrates shopping malls, grocery
stores, coffee shops and even my classroom. A number of my students with
Christian family members often report to me that Christmas is one of
their favorite holidays, even if they don't celebrate it in their own
homes. For many of them it is like Thanksgiving, but with presents!
Family comes together in good spirit, food is consumed, songs are sung.
It feels like a typical chag, with the added element of consumerism.
Click here to read the entire dvar torah.
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PEP Alumni Fall Retreat Draws 46 Pardes Alumni
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The
first joint conference of Pardes and DeLet alumni was held at the
Pearlstone Retreat Center in Reisterstown, MD with forty-six of our
alumni in attendance. The day before the retreat brought a good deal of
rain to the area, but the weather smiled on the actual retreat and the
fall foliage was truly amazing - for those who made it outdoors!
The
conference had a similar format to past retreats, with workshops,
sharing sessions, time for reflection, Torah lishma, and a "Pardes"
Shabbat with all that entails. Many alumni contributed to the success of
the conference by either serving on a planning committee, presenting an
innovative strategy, giving a workshop, facilitating sessions, or
taking on ritual or other responsibilities.
David
Bernstein, Zvi Hirschfield, Judy Markose and Susan Wall came from
Israel to teach and spend time with our alumni. Amanda Pogany, the new
Associate Director of the Alumni Support Project was instrumental in
planning the retreat, and through workshops and individual meetings was
able to share her expertise with many veteran and novice teachers.
It
was most gratifying to have Marc Baker, Cohort 1, deliver the plenary
address and lead a number of sessions for administrators. In the
plenary, Marc spoke about two very different models of teaching that we
find in our tradition. Click here
to see the power-point of his address. The questions he raised helped
to frame other sessions and gave the participants much to think about
regarding their own teaching.
The
addition of the DeLeT alumni expanded the pool of experience, and their
staff and senior alumni led a number of thought-provoking sessions. The
foundation was laid for some important new relationships and
networking.
We
have started to process the written and oral feedback and appreciate
your honest and insightful comments as we begin to plan for next year's
program. The Conference website, which includes handouts from the various sessions, is still available for your perusal.
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Education Corner by Amanda Pogany
| Anchor Activities
"In this class, we are never finished. Learning is a process that never en ds." Carol Ann Tomlinson Anchor
Activities are designed for students to work on once their class work
is completed. The intention is to maximize instructional time and deal
with the challenge of different students completing their work at
different times. Anchor activities are intended to review or extend
learning of the subject matter, not to be busy-work. Activities may be
designed for students to complete on their own or in small groups. The
goal is to have students move independently to the next task. Ideally,
you can set up an area for anchor activities in your classroom that
students know how to use. It is intended as low prep DI (differentiated
instruction) strategy. Try to stock your anchor activity center with a
series of ongoing projects, so that you don't have to work on it
regularly. You
may choose to assign particular students to specific tasks or allow
them to choose, when appropriate. All tasks should be relevant to the
concepts being developed in class, but some may be more complex than
others; there are times when students need the opportunity to do
something that is low-stress and less demanding. For resources and other ideas click here.
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Focus on Ariel Wolgel (Cohort 7)
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Ariel
is in her second year of teaching at the Hillel Day School, Farmington
Hills, MI. She lives in Southfield, MI with her husband, Aron Wolgel
(Cohort 8).
The
sound of 5th and 6th grade voices surrounded me as we began the
2009-2010 school year together with the Pledge of Allegiance and the bracha of 'la'asok b'divrei Torah'.
I couldn't help but get a little emotional at that moment. It was a
moment of new beginnings, and a return home of sorts. After years of
preparing to be a teacher, learning educational theories, and teaching
model lessons - the time had now come to begin my career as Jewish
Educator. I spent thirteen years of my life as a student at a community
day school only to return to the "other side of the desk."
I
looked at the students around the room and felt a variety of emotions.
Some were excited to reunite with their friends, others were sad that
the summer was now officially over. Several students sat nervously in
their seats - clearly anxious to receive their schedules and meet their
new teachers. As I examined the crowd I wondered which faces matched the
names on my class rosters. I was excited to meet these students as
individuals and to understand the dynamics of each grade as a whole.
Click here to read more.
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From the Field: An Easy Tool for Differentiation
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During
our visits to schools, we have observed various teaching strategies
worth sharing. Following is a tool Stephen Belsky (Cohort 4) used with
his eighth grade students at Akiva Hebrew Day School, Southfield, MI.
Stephen
wanted his students to translate a list of words that would appear in
the upcoming section of a text. He wrote the words out so that each
student received a copy of the list. Students were given about a minute
to fill in as many words as they knew and could translate within the
time limit. At the end of the time, they passed their papers on to
someone else and the process was repeated. Students were allowed to
correct their colleagues' work. This was repeated three times, with the
sheet eventually going back to the first person who filled it out.
The
advantage of this activity was that every student contributed what they
knew. No one finished too quickly and no one was left lagging behind,
as they each contributed what they could to every sheet they were given.
Those who knew less, benefited from the knowledge of their classmates
in a way that no one was embarrassed. Stephen went over the list with
them to make sure that each left with a correct sheet.
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Summer Curriculum Workshop 2011 |
We
invite all our graduates of Cohorts 8 and 9 (and any others who are
entering their second or third years in the classroom) to join us for
this summer's Curriculum Workshop to be held in Jerusalem from July
17-August 2, 2011 (17 Tammuz-2 Av, 5771). Others in their first few
years of teaching who were unable to take advantage of a SCW previously,
may apply to join this session. There are a limited number of spots for
participants this summer, so please respond in a timely fashion to our
request to know if you are planning to join us.
For
those who attended last summer we will not be providing core workshops
for all, but will return to our prior model with more time available to
work with mentors on one's own goals and a choice of all workshops.
Each participant will be responsible for presenting a curricular outline
for at least one course.
If
you have a colleague in your school whom you would want to recommend
for the 2011 Summer Curriculum Workshop, let us know. We will only be
taking in a handful of non-Pardes graduates.
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Update on The Tefillah Project |
We
have sixteen experienced PEP graduates who have made the commitment to
be part of the Tefillah Action Research Project for this year. Each
participant will be introducing a change in the format, content, or
goals of some aspect of their school's tefillah, followed by
research on the impact of that initiative. Those participating in the
project are assigned to small groups that will 'meet' monthly via
phone/web conferencing to share the progress of their research.
We hope to learn more about what could improve our schools' tefillah curriculum and share the findings both within our Pardes network and with colleagues in the day school field.
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PEP News
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This
semester, PEP has added two stimulating new lab components to its
repertoire: first-year students are spending Wednesday mornings
observing at local Israeli schools (The Efrata School, Midrashiyat
Hartman for Girls, and the Tehilla School), while second-year students
are given the opportunity to flex their teaching muscles at the Young Judaea Year Course.
Regarding
school observations, Daniel Weinreb, Cohort 11, says: "It's been great
to get exposure to class time outside of the Pardes environment and to
see the application of different teaching practices that we are studying
in our pedagogy courses. I've been lucky enough to be in the classroom
of a master teacher who demonstrates how to effectively manage a
classroom and create a positive learning atmosphere, to the benefit of
all students."
Featured next month, the first ever PEP-run Yom Iyun at Pardes! And for now, admissions are open for Cohort 12. Have you given a PEP talk lately? Please take a few minutes and send us a name of someone you think could be a great future Jewish educator.
Todah rabbah!
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Alumni Support Project Evaluation
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Drs. Ezra Kopelowitz and Stephen Markowitz have been interviewing a sampling of our ninety-nine
alumni to learn more about the experiences of new teachers and the
needs of both our novice and more veteran alumni. We hope that those of
you who have been contacted will be willing to honestly share your
journeys and insights so as to both inform our work in the alumni
support project and to add to the understanding of the broader field for
the Jim Joseph Foundation. Please respond in a timely fashion.
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Educational Publications, Resources and Opportunities
| While enjoying Turkey with family and friends read this fascinating article by Michael Broyde entitled: Is Thanksgiving Kosher?
Mark Smilovitz's latest podcast focuses on Hebrew reading practice.
If you teach a class that involves reading classic Jewish texts, who
does the reading? Do all of your students get the practice they need?
Mark Smilovitz describes five ways to hear your students read so you can
help them improve.
SJED Lesson Stimulus Contest! (SMart Board Jewish Educational Database)Day
schools and supplemental schools and teachers working in Jewish
education are eligible to win SMARTBoards, a trip to Israel, gift
certificates, personality appearances and many other exciting prizes.
Prizes will be awarded for the submission of qualified SMARTBoard
lessons. For more information please contact Marci Karoll
Mofet Institute is offering a number of online Education workshops which are free of charge. Click here for details. Beit Hatefusot.
The Museum of the Jewish People, located on the campus of Tel Aviv
University, is launching a new project entitled, My Family Story. This
family heritage project is geared toward 6th-8th graders in North
America. Click here to learn more about the project.
Yeshiva University-Institute for University School Partnership has a webinar on Lessons for Chanuka and Asarah B'Tevet. Click here for more information.
Thanks to Michal Cahlon for the following: The Jewish Women's Archive's Living the Legacy curriculum, about Jew in the Civil Rights movement, is now live and on their site. It includes detailed lesson plans and lots of primary sources.
Gemara Berura, is a (computer-assisted) skills-based approach to teaching Talmud (Mishna
and Gemara). It allows teachers to focus not only on the contents of
the piece of Talmud at hand, but to expose their students to the inner
methodology of Talmudic reasoning. You can download the Pilot Hascholas Gemara curriculum prototype student workbook on Tfillas Hashachar. CoL TaL AM-Community
of Learners is offering a series of webinars facilitated by Tal AM
staff regarding their elementary school Hebrew and Heritage curriculum. Click here for more information.
Click here for a site that offers free technology for teachers.
From Sarah Hendel Zollman (Cohort 7): Uri LiTzedek is sponsoring a Jewish Educators mission to Haiti. Interested applicants should send their resumes and a ½ page letter of interest to info@utzedek.org
Many of you have been enjoying the Spertus College E-Library and the Lookstein Center e-Community. The Feinberg E-Collection contains the full-text of nearly 16,000 books and 25,000 articles in the area of Jewish studies. Please be in touch with Debra for the user-name and password for both of these resources. Check the website for additional educational resources.
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Alumni Updates
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Professional News:
Lisa Bodziner (Cohort 7) received
a Jewish Pedagogic Award for Educators, for the second year in a row,
at the Back to School Night at the San Diego Jewish Academy. Jenn Adler (Cohort 7) is one of the honorees at the Jewish Educators Assembly Conference to be held in January, 2011. Jenn will be recognized for her teaching in Jewish Education. Personal News:
Mazal tov to:
Jenn Adler (Cohort 7) upon her recent engagement to Michael Laytin.
Miriam Shamberg Gross (Cohort 7) and her husband, Rabbi Jonathan Gross, on the birth of a daughter, Raya Liba.
Sarah Hendel (Cohort 8) on her recent marriage to Avi Zollman. Mordechai Rackover (Cohort 3) and his wife, Nechama Lea, on the birth of a son, Yeshayahu Natan Meir.
Jamie Salter (Cohort 5) and his wife, Cindy Nathanson (Summer '07, '05-'06) on the birth of a son, Noam Binyamin. Jen Truboff (Cohort 6) and husband Zach (Pardes '04-'06) on the birth of a son, Elihai Shatil. Mazal tov to big brother, Nahum. Andy Shapiro Katz (Cohort 2) and his wife, Emily (Faculty, summer '06), on the birth of a son, Eitan Yishai. Correction: Sarah Levy (Cohort 8) and Benny Levy (Cohort 7) on the birth of a son, Itai. We are sorry if we missed something. Please help us by sending in your news!

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Pardes
Institute of Jewish Studies | POB 8575 | Jerusalem, Israel 91084 |
American Pardes Foundation | 5 West 37th Street, Suite 802, New York |
NY | 10018
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