2nd Graders have spent the second half of the year reading and discussing books together. Once a week we meet in small groups to discuss the book, Keena Ford and The Second Grade Mix-Up. Our objective for Lit Circles is to guide our students in small heterogeneous groups in reading different genres of books critically, listening to others' opinions and commenting constructively. We also hope it will help students gain exposure to different subjects, promote a love of reading and to discuss books thoughtfully and respectfully.
Since the beginning of school, our wonderful first graders have put on their scientific hats and have been having a blast learning about the natural environment that surrounds us. This includes learning about sound and light, air and weather, and most recently plants and insects. We have been studying observing the general features of plants and insects as well as their life cycles. Most recently, this unit of inquiry culminated in the raising and release of Painted Lady butterflies!
The 6th Graders had a reading party. Not really a “party” in the traditional sense (there were no cookies orcake), but rather a celebration of writers, their craft, and the product of their labor. We had the party a couple of months ago in 6th grade Language Arts classes to celebrate students’ written mimics of Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street. The novel is stylistically unusual, with short chapters made up of poetic prose. Each chapter is a vignette about an aspect of the author’s Mexican-American life in 1960s Chicago, though technically the novel is considered fiction. The students were charged with mimicking one of her chapters, using the literary elements learned in class–such as simile, metaphor, personification, rhythm, and rhyme–while writing about their life experiences. The pieces are as varied as the students themselves, and their final products are nothing short of literary. They demonstrate an ability to create tone and imagery, conjuring a vivid understanding of not only what is being described, but the writer's connection to it. Their works were the delicacies served as our party’s fare.
In 6th grade, Hebrew students explore a unit focused on time and schedules. This unit builds their Hebrew vocabulary and grammar and offers a meaningful comparison between daily life in Israel and America. One key difference they examine is Israel’s use of the 24-hour clock system, learning to convert between the two formats. Additionally, students discuss how the Israeli work and school week begins on Sunday, with most students attending school for five and a half days.
Long ago, at the beginning of this school year, the concept of number bonds came up during our kindergarten Back to School Night. “What do you know about number bonds?” we asked the parents. Parents responded: “Number whats?”. It’s taken a while, but kindergarteners are now deep into discovering how to make and manipulate numbers in ways that are new (and possibly confusing) to many adults.
The Seventh Grade Retreat is a kickoff to our Tzedek Project. The students began the day diving deep into an ancient Jewish text that provides guidance on how to prioritize our giving. Students wrestled with the questions of – is it more important to give locally or globally? Is it more important to help with short-term solutions or long-term solutions?
4th graders all over California spend the school year learning about the beloved state in which they reside. Some may have been born in California, have multi-generational Californian families, or have moved here from another place that they once called home. Though these students all have different connections to California, most recognize that this is a place that they know and love. Throughout the school year 4th graders examine what makes California a desirable place to live, how California became the powerhouse state that it is today, and dive deeply into its multilayered history. This is no different for our students at Brandeis!
Before the winter break, the 8th graders concluded their study of the Revolutionary War and the Declaration of Independence. Together, we examined the Enlightenment ideals that shaped the thoughts of key Revolutionary figures such as John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Central to these discussions was the philosophy of John Locke, who argued that all individuals possess “natural rights,” including life, liberty, and property. Jefferson famously echoed this idea in the Declaration, replacing “property” with “the pursuit of happiness.”
Today, the 8-2 Language Arts Class proud of their work, showed off their completed projects. Before the break, the class studied William Golding's The Lord of the Flies, dissecting the writing style, character development, the social contract and its interaction with human nature. Along the way, they also learned how to write literary essays. With those analytical tools in hand, the students were ready for a creative challenge that brought their learning to life.
After countless days of being rained out in December, middle school PE is starting off the new year with a continuation of our flag football unit. Did you know that flag football is one of the fastest-growing sports in the country? It has gained so much popularity that several states including California have added it into their high school and college sports programs.
We so happy to be able to bring you the moving story and the sumptuous music of Oliver! Based on the Dicken’s classic Victorian novel, Oliver Twist, Oliver! is darker than most family musicals - mixing joy and heartbreak as casually as life so often does - but it touches us more than most family musicals.
by Jonathan Ferris, Judaic Studies & Hebrew Teacher, Kindergarten
At our all-school Simchat Torah gathering, the eighth graders helped to hold our Torah fully open for all to see. One 8th grader chanted the last lines of the Torah and another the first few lines; “in the beginning (beresheet)…” Capturing on Kindergarten enthusiasm about this big scroll displayed before them (and their enthusiasm about seeing their beloved 8th grade chaverim) we went up to the beit midrash (our house of prayer) to get a closer look at the Torah.
Here in 5th grade, we’ve had a busy month. 5th graders have been turning in work to complete their first quarter of middle school, preparing for their first ever conferences…and learning all about the election. While they do have favorites in the lower school election, the majority of our focus has been on the US Election taking place tomorrow, as of when I’m writing this.
Our talented 8th graders have just completed an exciting and creative assignment: a lip sync video challenge! Each student was assigned a very popular Argentinian song to lip sync called “Corazón” (heart) giving them the perfect opportunity to showcase their creativity, confidence, and unique flair. This engaging project turned out to be a highlight for the students, combining both fun and learning in a memorable way.
Since we are in October, we have entered into our Throwing Unit beginning with underhand throwing. Our main learning targets include controlling their fine and gross motor skills through underhand throwing and accuracy and distance in throwing. In order to reach our targets, a proper underhand throwing technique was taught to the students in three simple steps: 1) STEP (step with opposite foot), 2) TICK (swing throwing arm behind to 6:00), 3) TOCK (swing throwing arm in an underhand motion to 3:00).
Your participation in The Brandeis Fund makes a meaningful difference in every student's journey, which is why we're striving for 100% family participation this year.
by Sandra Menachem, 1st & 2nd Grade Judaic Studies Teacher
Our first graders embarked on a exploration of what makes a space or time sacred. Through the lens of Philemon Sturges’ book, Sacred Places, they discovered some of the world’s most revered spaces, which helped them connect to the idea that sacredness can be found in many forms.
In our Jewish studies class, the students learned that sacredness is not limited to specific times or places but can be deeply personal. They illustrated their own sacred spaces—whether it’s a cherished spot like a grandmother's home or a special moment spent in their parents' arms. Each drawing represents their unique personal connection to sacredness.
Like many of you, I am sure, I spent last weekend reading the terrible news about the six hostages killed, and especially Hersh Goldberg-Polin: our own, a Bay Area boy, who became a kind of avatar for the indiscriminate horror of October 7th. I watched videos of Israelis surging into the streets, the shock and fury, the helplessness of individual parents and loved ones trying with all the might in their small bodies to array themselves against the disinterested, disembodied state. I watched Rachel, Hersh’s mother, courageously stand in front of the world as she has over and over for eleven months and put her pain into words. One section of her eulogy really caught my ear:
With the end of the year finally upon us, our 7th and 8th-grade photographers were excited to take their culminating trip to the San Francisco Zoo. The students have spent half a year in their photography elective learning deep technical skills with their SLR cameras.
This time of year lends itself to gatherings and celebrations, and here at Brandeis celebrations have been aplenty the past few weeks. Most recently, on Wednesday, December 13, students and parents gathered in the gym to celebrate Hanukkah together, listening to the famous Klezmania Band, lighting candles, and participating in a latke competition. Our entire school also participated in the National Believe Campaign, writing holiday cards that are matched 1 card for $1 by Macy's; our students wrote 4,060 cards!
In lower school CREATE classes, students combined their study of rotary motion with their enthusiasm for Hannukah to design and build wooden dreidels. They spent three weeks engaged in in prototyping, testing, revising, and decorating their dreidels. Second graders partook in an annual tradition of making oil for the hanukkiah...
As part of their science curriculum, seventh graders are investigating the decompisiton of vegetable scraps in different soil types: sand, soil, and water. “In seventh grade science,” teacher Sarah Freilich explains, “students are learning how the world works, specifically that materials cycle through organisms and the environment.” Students brought in vegetable scraps, which they divided up into three separate bags. Each day they observe changes in their vegetable material and bags, noting the condensation, temperature, and, “of course, the disgustingness,” adds Ms. Freilich...
As the culmination of their semester-long science unit on the solar system, fifth graders presented to their peers about an object in the solar system. Objects ranged from the eight planets and Ceres (a dwarf planet), to the Earth’s moon and Titan (a moon of Saturn). “Each presentation incorporated gravity, weight, and time, which were three major themes in our space unit,” explains resident teacher Jay Woofter...
During their Judaic studies class, fourth graders learn about Israel and Israeli culture. Recently, they have been researching and presenting about Israeli start-ups and inventions featured on the website Israel21c.org, which shares technology, health, environment, travel, and culture news from Israel. “This project gives students an opportunity to see the diversity of innovations that are coming out of Israel and the influence they make, not just in Israel but worldwide,” says teacher Liron Lahav...
Every Monday, middle school students gather in grade-level groups to participate in a unique musical tefillah led by Bay Area musicians. “Ruach (spirit), relevance, and community are the emphasis for this year’s weekly middle school tefillah,” explains Director of Jewish Learning Debby Arzt-Mor. “Each tefillah introduces students to new melodies and renditions based on the style of that leader—Lior Ben Hur, Isaac Zones, and Jonathan Ferris—while also building on the students' existing knowledge of traditional prayers...
In fourth grade Hebrew, teacher Mira Peretz uses many different activities to help her students with language acquisition. “As a supplement to our Chaverim B’Ivrit curriculum, I incorporate songs, games, and conversation into my teaching to help students get comfortable with the language and learn the vocabulary,” Ms. Peretz says. Students also work together to create sentences using words written on index cards...
Using the knowledge they have gained in learning about the founding of the United States, eighth graders are currently preparing to participate in a simulation of the Dred Scott v. Sandford case heard by the Supreme Court in 1857. “Students have been assigned roles as witnesses, lawyers, and Supreme Court justices,” says teacher Neal Biskar, “and will reenact the trial focusing on the two legal issues of the case...
In their Judaic studies class, eighth graders recently completed a project that tasked them with exploring various issues as they relate to Judaism. Working in chevruta—a Talmudic practice of studying in pairs—students researched topics from birth, death, marriage, and the after-life to sexism, racism, and homosexuality. “The idea was to give students a basic understanding of Jewis lifecycles, talk about current issues, and explore the different ways Judaism might see them,” explains teacher Jennifer Baumer...
Today, our school community joined together for the first annual Justice Louis Brandeis Day, a day for our students to learn about the life and legacy of Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, learn about civic institutions in the United States, and explore questions of ethical leadership and radical empathy. “A few things came together to make this day happen,” explains Head of School Dr. Dan Glass. “After last year’s election, we really began to think about the idea of radical empathy and how important it is for a democracy. Democracy is predicated on the idea that different perspectives are valuable and important.” In addition to thinking about radical empathy..."
We want to extend a warm thanks to the Brandeis community for supporting our school with donations to the Brandeis Fund on #GivingTuesday. We received 26 gifts for a grand total of $11,800 contributions in just this one day! Donations made to the Brandeis Fund are crucial in ensuring that our school can continue to provide innovative curriculum, outstanding teachers, and purpose-driven leading technology tools—all essential in supporting our students as they journey toward Becoming Brandeis.
If you missed #GivingTuesday, you can still make your gift to The Brandeis Fund online now at give.sfbrandeis.org.
On Tuesday, November 21, Brandeis welcomed over 150 grandparents and special friends to campus for our annual Grandparents and Special Friends Day. The day was filled with intergenerational learning, Thanksgiving celebrations, and student performances. After listening to our lower school and middle school bands welcome them with music at the front entrance, guests made their way to the gym where Head of School Dr. Dan Glass spoke about spiritual learning at Brandeis, an adaption of a presentation he delivered at the Collaborative for Spiritual Development at Columbia University...
To prepare for their first cumulative chapter test of middle school, sixth graders are playing math games that help them synthesize multiple skills and competencies. “Many of the problems in this test require students to go beyond the algorithms and rules that they have learned so far and demonstrate their conceptual understanding," explains teacher Cam Yuen-Shore. "These open-ended games are a great way to naturally differentiate a classroom activity. If students are at different levels of readiness for a concept or skill, they can both participate in a well-designed game..."
As the culmination of their fall studies on Thanksgiving, both first grade classes prepared a special performance for their parents, grandparents, and siblings. “In social studies this year, we engaged in understanding the origins of the holiday of Thanksgiving,” says teacher Nicole Schoentag. “We looked at the story of the Wampanoag and the settlers and asking the questions ‘Why did these two very different groups of people choose to act peacefully toward each other?’ and ‘Why did the Wampanoag decide to help the settlers?’” Adds teacher Barbara Eisenhauer, “Our Thanksgiving unit introduced the first graders to many of the misconceptions about the first Thanksgiving...
For the fifth consecutive year, eighth graders had the opportunity to spend their day in court as part of the San Francisco Day in Court program. This year, however, was different because students had the chance to see a criminal case in action, rather than a civil case. “We saw a few cases and the most interesting one was a robbery case in which the defense was questioning a psychiatrist to establish whether the defendant had a manic disorder that rendered it impossible for him to understand that he did something wrong,” says teacher Neal Biskar...
Second graders have been learning about Thanksgiving and immigration, with a focus on on the Pilgrims and native Americans during this period in United States history. “In order to make this material real and give students the opportunity to put history in perspective,” explains Ms. Klein, “we are creating a class timeline.” Each student is given a period in time to create an illustration...
As part of their studies of the book of Exodus, fourth graders have been experiencing what it was like for the Jews who received the Torah on Mt. Sinai and wandered the desert, which is called Ma’amad Har Sinai. Through listening to audio—the shofar blowing, thunder, and dramatic music—and hearing the reading of the story, students are learning what it felt like for those Jews. After these experiences, they wrote in their empathy journals about how it felt to go up to Mt. Sinai...
In math, fourth graders have been working through multiple-digit multiplication problems. In learning to solve these complex problems, fourth graders are practicing using multiple strategies that will help them calculate the answer: partial product, model, distributive property, and algorithm. Groups of three or four students worked together to solve a complex word problem using at least three (and were challenged to use all four) of the strategies to calculate the answers...
Since she was eight years old, Brandeis sixth grade student Pearl W. has been participating in the Brandeis after-school Enrichment Poetry Club, taught by Pulitzer-nominated poet and teacher Diane Frank. Now, after years of dedication to her poetry writing, Pearl is a published poet. Her collection of poems, What the Wind Taught Me, debuted on Amazon last week. The book was published by Blue Light Press and has been on the Amazon bestseller list for the past week...
As part of the Ulpan Or curriculum in sixth grade Hebrew, students learn the language by immersing themselves in current events in Israel. Each week, students read through select Israeli news articles—about everything from fashion to food to pop culture—summarize the articles, and then discuss a series of questions...
For their unit on memory and neuroscience, sixth graders are completing a series of labs that provide them with the opportunity “to use what they have learned about neurons and the anatomy of the brain to infer what helps people remember things better, how to perform a skill, and how to learn information,” says teacher Lindsay Mackintosh. In the first lab, students deduced that existing neural pathways make it easier to learn a skill, which reinforces the idea that it is easier to learn a skill if it is connected to something that already exists in one’s memory...
After learning about memoirs and reading the memoir This Boy’s Life by Tobias Wolff, eighth graders took on the task of writing a piece about their own life in memoir form. Students wrote about everything from their passion for sports to family trips, to important teachers and coaches in their lives. “One of the throughlines for eighth grade language arts asks the question, ‘How do we tell the truth of our lives?’” explains teacher David Jefferies...
Lower school students are finishing up the first unit in their yearlong exploration of motion and movement in CREATE. “We’ve been exploring linear motion, and our big project asks students to create a four-wheeled vehicle that can roll straight; go a long distance; and, of course, look fabulous,” explains maker educator Sandee Bisson...
Kindergarteners hopped on a bus last week and headed to the Marin farmer’s market, where they saw their classroom lessons come to life. “Kindergarteners have been learning about trees and trees that bear fruit,” explains teacher Emma Larson. “This led conversations about nutrition and the food groups.” When the students arrived, they were greeted by a farmer who spoke with them about seasonal and healthy foods...
Last Friday, fourth graders traveled to Point Reyes, where they explored both Kulo Loklo—a recreated Miwok village—and the San Andreas fault line. Fourth graders have been immersed in a yearlong study of California history, and are learning about the cultures, communities, and daily lives of the Native Californians...
In the third chapter of the seventh grade math curriculum, students learn how to find percentages and about the difference between simple and compound interest. Then, seventh graders are challenged to "purchase a home" by calculating the down payment, amount of interest paid on a 30-year home loan, and monthly payments for a home, based on the purchase price. “Students love this lesson,” says teacher Ali Frank..
After learning about primary and secondary colors, and conducting experiments using watercolor, mixed colors, and painted papers, kindergarteners are now using color and lines to create their own relief sculptures. “Students were shown an image of Frank Stella’s relief sculptures and we discussed what types of lines he used,” says art teacher Cathy Withrington. Inspired by Frank Stella...
The Brandeis Mentoring Program, now in its second year, colorfully kicked off last Friday afternoon. Students in fifth through eighth grade (mentors) are paired up with students in kindergarten through fourth grade and together they participate in activities and games. Friday’s activities centered around chalk (stop by the blue top or the playground, and you’ll see our students’ works of art) and was the idea of...
This semester, ballet dancing is being offered as a new elective in the middle school arts elective block. Taught by Simi Hoze, students in this class are learning the fundamentals of classical ballet: using the barre, dancing in the center, and moving their bodies. “I wanted to offer this class to our middle school students because dance offers a way for students to use their bodies to express their feelings, ideas, and movements,” says Ms. Hoze...
For the past two months in writer’s workshop, kindergarteners have been writing stories about the real world. Now that their stories are complete, students spent time yesterday morning putting their books together, either as stapled booklets or as taped-together scrolls. “The kindergarteners are making it matter by doing the real work that real writers, authors, and illustrators do,” says teacher Emma Larson...
To assess their understanding of the math material, fifth graders participated last week in a scavenger hunt that took them all over the Brandeis campus—from Ms. Rinn’s office to the bluetop. The students were asked to decipher a code (seen here) that would reveal a quote. To do so, students needed to “unlock keypads by applying strategies they’ve learned to find a number’s prime factors, find hidden words in dictionaries using their knowledge of place value, and calculate the lowest common multiples and greatest common factors...
In language classes, “students learn better when they feel they can communicate in real situations, rather than in contexts that are not meaningful to them,” explains Spanish teacher Concha Grande. Because of this, eighth grade students in Ms. Grande’s class are each getting the opportunity to act as principal for a day. Each student presents to the student body the new rules for the school and explains about what is and is not allowed, based on the real needs of the students...
The first graders’ study of mealworms provides an excellent opportunity to integrate STEAM: science, technology, engineering, art, and math. Students began this unit in the BUILD space with a design thinking project: They asked questions to determine what mealworms need in their habitat, then drew their designs, learned the constraints of the project (they needed to use wood), and built prototypes out of construction paper. Once the prototypes were complete, first graders used saws, drills, screws, nails, and glue to build their final product...
The seventh grade science curriculum centers around the idea of interconnectedness, so throughout the year students will be exploring the relationship between function and structure. As a pre-lab to introduce students to the concept of osmosis (a critical concept when learning about the cell membrane) and as an introduction to using various lab materials, seventh graders were tasked with completing the Gummy Bear Osmosis Lab...
In Sara Goldrath’s second grade class, every Tuesday is Tinker Tuesday, when students spend time taking on a tinkering challenge and thinking like innovators and inventors. “I was inspired to do Tinker Tuesdays in my classroom each week because of our CREATE and BUILD spaces,” says Ms. Goldrath. Each week, students are challenged with a task that gives them the opportunity to plan, build, and redesign...
In the fifth grade Chaverim B’Ivrit curriculum, students read a story in Hebrew about a girl who is having a birthday. The story teaches students how to write an invitation and plan a birthday party, all using Hebrew vocabulary, grammar, and verbs. Students also read about the girl’s father baking her a birthday cake and are now bringing this learning to life...
On Friday, September 29, Brandeis students joined together to spearhead two events to raise money for hurricane relief efforts. Students and families baked and donated dozens upon dozens of baked goods that were sold in a bake sale Friday morning. In total, the bake sale raised over $2,000. The funds will be used to purchase wishlist items of schools in Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Florida...
There is a new curriculum in middle school P.E. this year, focused on broadening students’ skills in participating in and strategizing about team sports. “Students will participate in different sports in a variety of ways,” explains teacher Sam Dossick. “They will have the opportunity to play the sport as well as take on different leadership roles, including head coach, assistant coach, and team manager.” The idea behind this new curriculum is that these roles will give students perspective on what goes into running and managing a team..
This week, third graders have been introduced to computer science. Students are using resources provided by Code.org—a non-profit launched in 2013 that is dedicated to expanding access to computer science—and Scratch, a project of the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab. “The study of computer science is invaluable,” says Leo Stern, technology integration specialist...
On Monday, first graders participated in a shofar workshop led by Rabbi Gedalia Potash of Chabad of Noe Valley. This workshop helps to enhance the students’ knowledge and understanding of Rosh Hashanah. Before sanding and varnishing their own shofarot to take home, students listened attentively to Rabbi Potash, who taught the students about animal horns and about the mitzvah (commandment) of hearing the shofar on Rosh Hashanah...
The fourth grade has begun research as part of their California Birds Research Project, a project in which each student selects a bird native to California and does extensive research on that bird. “They will research, make a mind map, and write about their bird,” explains teacher Kate Callan. “Each student will also make a model of their bird out of papier mâché, which will be hung in our class.” Through this project, the students learn key research skills: what makes websites credible and how to recognize reputable sources...
The Brandeis Youth Mentoring Board officially launched this fall as part of the Brandeis mentorship program that began in the fall of 2016. This youth board consists of students in fifth through eighth grades who, says Dean of Student Life Sharona Israeli-Roth, “want to support and make a difference in the mentorship program by actively helping to create mentoring activities and serving as leaders to the rest of our student-mentors.” This Brandeis Youth Mentoring Board will work to make the mentorship program meaningful for the entire student community...
In the sixth grade, students read Lois Lowry’s book The Giver, a novel about memory, as well various essays about how the mind works. This unit “supports our work with the Institute for Social and Emotional Learning by encouraging students to work metacognitively as they build study strategies,” says teacher Isaac Jacobs. In class yesterday, students read Daniel Schacter's introduction to The Science of Emotion...
Throughout the week, kindergarteners engage in mindfulness and yoga. “It’s a way for students to become aware of their body and to help them with self-control as they transition from home to school,” says teacher Lisa Hawley. Walk into a class during mindfulness and you’ll see students practicing their breathing...
Seventh graders have recently begun learning about the rise of the Roman Republic. In an experiential exercise, students assumed the roles of patricians and plebeians “to learn how the struggle between these two groups led to a more democratic government in the Roman Republic,” says social studies teacher Allison Stine...
Things got a little messy this week in second grade as students participated in two activities—one with shaving cream and the other with chalk—designed to help them learn how to write Hebrew letters in cursive script. “Teaching a new skill needs to be done thoughtfully and creatively,” explains teacher Orit Solomon, “and needs to reach learners with different learning styles..."
The 7th grade Judaic studies curriculum focuses on two major projects: JCAT (Jewish Court of All Time) and the Tzedek Program. Both of these projects center on partnered work, and learning to work in pairs and small groups is critical to the students’ success. To begin to develop skills working in partnership, this week 7th graders worked in chevruta (pairs), reading and writing about chevruta...
To set the tone for the year, the fifth grade spent time this week putting together a grade-wide agreement. On Tuesday, the students brainstormed a list of ways that they want their classroom to look and feel, as well as a list of things they will need in order to feel successful. To build on that, mixed-grade groups of 10 worked together to narrow down and categorize the list into 4–5 categories. After presenting their ideas to the rest of the grade, the teachers reviewed and created the Fifth Grade Classroom Agreement, which will be signed by all fifth graders...
Kindergarteners have begun their first Judaic studies unit of the year, learning all about the synagogue. “It is important to give the students an introduction to Jewish life and help them connect with their community and heritage,” says teacher Elana Lahav. To bring this unit to life, students visited Beth Israel Judea next door to take a tour and “see with their own eyes the many things they have already learned in the classroom..."
Following the first-day-of-school welcome celebration, 8th graders loaded onto a bus and headed to Camp Newman for the middle school retreat. The programming for the first day of the retreat for the 8th grade was geared toward asking them to be reflective of their years at Brandeis. The following day both the 6th graders and 7th graders joined their older peers, as the camp became a community of middle schoolers. For the first time ever, Battle of the Advisories kicked off at the retreat (in the past it has been only the final Friday of the year), with teams creating chants and songs for their teams...
After two years of research, the Brandeis Teacher Residency Program has officially launched with the start of the 2017–18 school year. This program allows new and experienced teachers to develop their teaching skills under the guidance of lead teachers. Residents grow their practices through hands-on experience in the classroom, guided by goal-oriented mentorship from their lead teachers...
Our incoming class of 2026 and their families shared an afternoon together on campus this past weekend, getting to know one another while enjoying the great weather, games, singing, and especially an ice cream treat...Welcome to Brandeis!
Students and families streamed under the welcoming balloon canopy on Tuesday to ring in the start of the new school year. After an exciting and welcoming assembly on the blue top, highlighted by singing and shofar sounding, students proceeded to classrooms...
Over the summer, 21 educators from Jewish schools around the country—from Atlanta, to Portland, to Los Angeles—are participating in the second annual Ethical Creativity Institute (ECI) hosted by The Brandeis School of San Francisco. The ECI is a professional development program aimed at connecting design thinking, innovation, and Jewish ethics, while encouraging cross-pollination among a range of Jewish educators. “The goal of this week is to introduce people to the maker spaces—CREATE and BUILD—here at Brandeis, and provide them with the pedagogical backgrounds and tools so they can use them in their classrooms and in their practice as teachers,” explains Brandeis Head of School Dr. Dan Glass...
Hannah Safford, ’05, was recently named one of the “Top 30 Thinkers Under 30” by Pacific Standard magazine for her extraordinary work in the creation of environmentally sustainable policies. Just 25 years old, Safford has already served as a fellow in the White House Office of Science and Technology, where she worked on key climate change policies and initiatives as well as global water issues. Safford is changing the way environmental policy is approached by rethinking the old models of “linear” based processes and replacing them with more sustainable solutions...
Today's graduation and aliyah was both a joyful and a tear-filled celebration. The Class of 2017 was addressed by Head of School Dr. Dan Glass, Director of Middle School Dr. Sivan Tarle, Board Chair Russell Cohen, and Rabbi Danny Gottlieb of Congregation Beth Israel Judea. Middle school math teacher and advisor Ali Frank (the class's chosen faculty speaker) reflected on the qualities of this graduating class...
On Friday, June 9, 200 members of our families and faculty school community gathered in the gym for the first-ever Kabbalat Shabbat evening celebrated by The Brandeis School of San Francisco. “The evening was enjoyed by all,” said Director of Jewish Learning Debby Artz-Mor, “and has inspired us to plan for more frequent low-key community Shabbat dinners at school, for a variety of class groupings...
All semester, first graders in Ms. Nicole Schoentag’s class have learned what it means to be a changemaker—someone who sees a problem in the community and has the courage to take action to make a change—and they have created projects that exemplify the values of being a changemaker. Last week, the class visited Heron Head Park, a trip inspired by one student’s project proposal that noted that it is important for the class to visit a local beach and remove trash...
Last Friday, Barbara Eisenhauer’s first grade class performed in front of family, friends, and teachers The Three Nanny Goat Opera. The story of The Three Nanny Goat Opera follows three goats who want to travel to the other side of the bridge for new grass to eat and must come face-to-face with trolls who live under the bridge. This was the culminating activity of the class’s three-month opera study...
On Monday, faculty and staff joined together to celebrate the year and honor those faculty and staff members who have completed milestone years. Mazel tov to David Jefferies (36 years), Jonathan Ferris (18 years), Ali Frank (10 years), and Sandra Menachem (10 years)!
On Friday, June 9, our kindergarten students regaled their proud families with a performance of songs in both Hebrew and English. Kindergarten teachers spoke of the work the students completed this year and the meaning of this celebration; said teacher Elana Lahav...
Two weeks ago the eighth graders led their first grade "buddies" down the aisle of Beth Israel Judea to conduct their first community tefillah. Today, the first graders again walked the same aisle hand in hand with the eighth graders, who were about to lead the assembled Brandeis community in tefillah for the last time. Poised and confident, the class of 2017 opened the tefillah by sharing the theme for the morning: journeys...
Throughout the year, volunteers make it matter by sharing their time and resources with The Brandeis School of San Francisco in ways that support our students and make a positive impact on the school. Our community came together on Tuesday night at Foreign Cinema for the Annual Board, Community, and Parent Association VolunteerCelebration to acknowledge and celebrate the many volunteers who have helped throughout the year...
On Monday, Brandeis hosted our 3rd annual Made with Code Day, “which encourages students to be more curious about learning computer science,” says Leo Stern, technology integration specialist. “The STEM program at Brandeis continues to go through a major upgrade and now all of our students are taught computer science with the aid of the programs Code.org and Scratch, and by working with robots.” Made with Code Day is part of Google’s annual employee community service program GoogleServe...
The sixth graders in Paul Rogers' math classes are currently finishing up the year studying geometry—literally meaning "earth measure"—and, as Mr. Rogers says, “What better way than to actually get out on the earth do some measuring!” Students traveled last Friday to the Hyde Street Pier and hopped aboard the scow schooner Alma to sail in the San Francisco Bay...
The 1st annual Brandeis Track and Field Day took place on Friday, May 26. The entire school community convened at Parkside Square & Bob Cheney Park for a morning of fun games, sports, and activities. Students in kindergarten through eighth grade participated in a series of age-appropriate stations, everything from banana tag, bean bag relay race, and limbo for the younger students to the 100-yard dash, tug of war, and the one-mile run for the older students...
Brandeis athletics celebrated another highly successful year, as athletes, parents, and coaches gathered last night to honor and commend the accomplishments of our Brandeis athletes...
At the close of each school year at Brandeis comes a "Shehecheyanu moment"—when the first graders lead tefillah for the first time and receive their siddurim (hand-decorated prayer books) from their parents. This special tefillah is attended by kindergarten through eighth grade students, along with first grade parents and their guests. Students—who one at a time spoke in front of the community—demonstrated strong public speaking and presentation skills, skills that will continue to be honed throughout their years at Brandeis...
Second grade students are currently engaged in a science unit about biomes: large, naturally-occurring communities of flora and fauna occupying a major habitat (for example, forest or tundra). “This topic allows our students to integrate their learning about plants, animals, food chains, adaptations, climate and weather, and geography,” explains teacher Rachel Klein...
This past weekend, Brandeis participated in the Bay Area Maker Faire—“part science fair, part county fair, and part something new,” as described on their website. Maker Faire is a gathering of tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators, tinkerers, engineers, artists, and students and we were there showing off our work from the CREATE+BUILD spaces...
After finishing the regular season undefeated, the Brandeis girls' 5B Lions basketball team advanced to the tournament finals game, playing against a team they defeated by just 5 points earlier in the season. With tremendous team defense and ball movement, Brandeis defeated St. Anne by a final score of 20-9.
Math teacher Ali Frank's eighth grade students have created some interesting “couples” in their classroom: think Superman and the Queen of Hearts and Yoda and Jessica Rabbit. Applying what they’ve learned about polynomials to the world of genetics, students created polynomial Punnett squares of four genetically-linked characteristics and explored the math behind genetics...
At Tuesday morning’s Tzedek tefillah, the seventh grade announced the recipients of this year’s Tzedek Fund grants. Representatives from the recipient nonprofit organizations (NPOs) were on hand to receive the checks and thank the students. Representatives of NPOs—ranging from child abuse prevention to wildlife protection, to help for the homeless of San Francisco and the refugees around the world—were universal in their admiration for the students’ deep knowledge of their organizations, expressing their awe of the astute questions asked by the seventh graders who interviewed them...
In commemoration of Harvey Milk Day, on Monday morning middle school students and faculty participated in Brandeis's 4th annual Harvey Milk Memorial Tefillah. Gene Goldstein-Plesser of the Jewish LGBT organization Keshet joined and shared with our students Harvey Milk's impact on the LGBT community, and also discussed Milk's identities as both a gay man and a Jew...
On Monday, May 22, middle school students shared with their family and friends projects they have been working on all year. It was a fun night featuring food trucks and many visual and performing arts. The new mural on display in the media resource center, created by both the middle school mural elective and all students and faculty, was officially presented...
It was all smiles yesterday as the Brandeis fourth grade and lower and middle school choruses joined together with Brandeis Marin to sing the national anthem before the Giants vs. Dodgers game at AT&T Park. Students applied the essential skills they have learned about preparation and discipline to confidently perform in front of the enormous crowd there to cheer on the Giants...
Celebrating the culmination of their lower school careers, the fifth grade led their families and third and fourth grades in beautiful tefillah (prayer) service this morning. The students introduced each prayer and shared their personal kavanah (intention) about the prayer. Led by Judaic studies teacher and guitarist Jonathan Ferris, the fifth graders led their families and peers in singing each of the prayers, some using familiar, traditional tunes, and others using new, modern tunes...
Throughout the year kindergarten through fourth grade students have been meeting regularly with their fifth-through-eighth-grade mentors as part of our new Brandeis Mentorship Program. Yesterday was "Mentee Give Back Day," in which the lower school mentees took the lead during their buddy time together. Some classes chose to play educational games with their mentors, others wrote poetry together, and others worked together on school projects (eighth graders worked with their fourth grade buddies on their bridge projects)...
Throughout the year in the Hebrew and Judaic studies classes, kindergarteners learn the aleph-bet. As part of their learning, each student creates an aleph-bet book, which includes a page dedicated to each letter and a Hebrew word that uses that letter (for example, the word ani—meaning "I"—represents the letter aleph, so each student drew a picture of him- or herself). “In addition, the students have many opportunities to explore the letters through a variety of sensory activities, such as building letters from Lego, using Play-Doh, and writing them in sand,” says teacher Irit Daly...
Since returning from their Israel trip, the eighth graders have been engaged in reflecting on and writing about the experience. Their writing will be published in a beautiful photo journal that each graduate receives, and will be on display during Middle School Showcase Night on Monday, May 22...
When the eighth graders begin high school, we can rest assured they will be prepared when it comes to knowing their U.S. history. This week students spent time parsing the Twentieth through Twenty-seventh Amendments of the U.S.; in groups, eighth graders worked to summarize the main points of each amendment...
This week first graders have learned how to write a haiku, the last type of poem in their Writer’s Workshop poetry unit. “Haiku is a great form to use with first graders,” says teacher Nicole Schoentag, “because they learn about syllables in Fundations, our phonics program. Haiku allows students to use what they have learned about syllables in a more creative, abstract way..."
Fifth graders traveled to NatureBridge in Sausalito at the end of last week for a challenging, rewarding, and fun outdoor education trip to culminate their year of learning. Students spent their time both outdoors and indoors engaging in hands-on experiences. They went on hikes, visited the Point Bonita Lighthouse, and explored the ecology in the area. For their indoor activities, fifth graders participated in a plankton lab where they looked at plankton through microscopes, and they got to hold mollusks from the indoor tide pool...
The outdoors became the classroom for the sixth grade class as they spent three days last week at Westminster Camp and Conference Center in Occidental. Surrounded by abundant wildlife and diverse habitat, students participated in activities designed to give them the opportunity to explore and gain an understanding of their connection to one another and the natural world. “We looked at the ecosystem in Dutch Bill Creek,” says teacher and trip chaperone Gin Saepharn...
This morning the second graders led a community celebration at Beth Israel Judea for their families and first through fourth grades. The program elaborated a social and emotional learning theme that integrated many aspects of the curriculum in the exploration of what it means to be a mensch—a Yiddish word whose connotation means “a person of integrity and honor.”
For the past several months, in both general and Judaic studies, the students have identified the qualities requisite to becoming a mensch, both in historic times and in current daily life...
If jet lag was an issue for any of the 8th grade players on the boys' varsity volleyball team, no one in the gym could tell. In the first round of the Bay Area Interscholastic Athletic League (BAIAL) playoffs, our #3-seeded Lions defeated #2-seeded San Francisco Day School "in an absolute thriller!" exclaims Athletics Director Corrie Mizusawa...
Fourth graders spent last Wednesday to Friday in a three-day simulation of the gold rush in "1855 Hangtown" (conveniently transplanted to Camp Tawonga), where they engaged in the everyday experiences of miners, merchants, teachers, and children of the 1850s...
Each year sixth graders undertake an ambitious language arts project called the "I-Search." Students choose a subject they're curious about, find experts to interview, and spend weeks on investigation. They then produce detailed research papers and visual or digital models, which they showcase at a "Share Faire," where guests roam the exhibits and the student researchers expatiate on their chosen topics...
Practicing their newly acquired vocabulary, seventh grade students in Spanish 1 stood up in front of their classmates yesterday and described the clothes they were wearing and how much the items cost. “This part of the curriculum focuses on llevar, to wear, and cuanto cuesta, how much,” explains teacher Julieta Zuniga...
Teacher Simi Hoze is always looking for opportunities to integrate the Hebrew language with other subject matters and with relevant topics for her third grade students. This week, the class is learning about friendships, including the vocabulary and verbs about friendships. The students have been learning how to talk about friendship in Hebrew and why it is important to create and sustain friendships. This lesson ties nicely into the Brandeis core value of chesed, kindness...
Over the course of the year, the fifth grade has been learning about the Israelites, from leaving slavery until they are outside the land of Canaan. As the culmination of their learning, each class is creating a large interactive map of Israel, “more like an exhibit,” explains teacher Jonathan Ferris. Four 4 foot by 6 foot panels will be put together to create the base of the map; students are using the CREATE space to build the other elements of their map...
Blue and white abounded on Tuesday as we celebrated Yom HaAtzmaut—Israel’s Independence Day—with a wide variety of celebrations. The morning began with a schoolwide assembly, with 7th graders leading songs, Israel Consul General Andy David sharing about the organization Omer's Butterflies , and a video of our 8th graders celebrating Yom HaAtzmaut in Israel (click here to see video)...
Kindergarteners have embarked on a project integrating science, literature, and art in the study of sunflowers. In science, the students have been studying the life cycles of trees, plants, and flowers. They recently made a sunflower life cycle book. Yesterday the students used acrylics on canvas to paint sunflowers, exploring Impressionist painting techniques. Through reading Camille and the Sunflowers by Laurence Anholt, they learned about the life and paintings of the most famous sunflower painter of them all, Vincent van Gogh...
As part of their unit on ancient China, sixth graders are learning about three different religions and philosophies—Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism—that were essential to the development of stable government, which ultimately led to the formation of several empires including the Shang, Qi, and Han dynasties...
Gustav Klimt is the inspiration behind the current kindergarten art project.. “We began the project by looking at pattern,” says teacher Cathy Withrington. “We discussed five of Gustav Klimt’s paintings and noticed his use of pattern and gold leaf, and that he liked painting portraits.” The kindergarteners then began their own project: drawing portraits of the class pet (stuffed animal), Lemon the Snake...
Last year, Dr. Dan Glass participated in the Irving Rabin Community Building Mission to Israel, a pilot program of the Jewish Federation in partnership with Varda Rabin. On Thursday, April 20, Brandeis had the opportunity to host directors of Israeli community centers in a similar, albeit reverse model, of the trip that Dr. Glass took...
Coinciding with the celebration of Yom HaAtzmaut on May 2, second graders are learning about Israel and the importance of the country to the history of the Jewish people. Students were introduced to Jewish history, in which they learned about the Jews living in Europe during World War II. They also learned about Theodor Herzl (considered to be the visionary of the State of the Israel and one of the founders of modern Zionism)...
Sixth grade science students have been preparing formal, scientific lab reports and posters to communicate the results of their yearlong study of seasonal changes in our diverse local ecosystems. The posters will be presented in scientific meeting format on May 22 at Showcase Night.
For science teacher Lisa Hjelm, “The most exciting part of this project is that they are conducting environmental studies in the same ways that scientists do, collecting data over time to record and document the effects of climate change...
Congratulations to the Brandeis students in the class of 2017, who have been accepted into and will be attending the following highschools (listed alphabetically)...
Students in sixth grade Hebrew visited the San Francisco Zoo just before Passover break. “The purpose of this trip was to provide students with a different learning experience,” explains teacher Mira Peretz. Students were tasked with identifying animals in Hebrew and then selecting animals from three animal classes..
Over the Passover break, teacher David Starfas and facilities assistant Aaron McCullogh installed a beautiful student-created mural on the wall in the media resource center (MRC). Since the beginning of the school year, middle school students in Mr. Starfas’s mural elective have been working to create this mural of the San Francisco skyline...
Each year as part of their curriculum, both second and seventh graders visit Urban Adamah, an educational farm and community center. Because the second and seventh graders have been buddied up as mentors and mentees through our Mentor Program, the trip was “reformulated so that the students could visit Urban Adamah together in a way that allowed for so many amazing outcomes,” explains Jody Bloom, seventh grade Judaic studies teacher...
In fifth grade, Friday is math challenge day, when students participate in various station activities all related to a central goal. Just before Passover break, fifth graders engaged in stations with a goal of learning more about area, perimeter, and surface area. “This differentiated math approach helps students develop mathematical habits of mind,” explains teacher Sarah Nguyen...
In recent lab sessions eighth graders have learned about paper chromatography—how to separate out the pigments from different types of dyes. The students were faced with a problem and a clue: beloved class pet Boris (a Russian white dwarf hamster) was missing. A ransom note was left by the rushed perpetrator, who had spilled water on it, which caused the colors to bleed and revealed a unique dye pattern...
In front of a packed house in the beit midrash, first graders performed The Unusual Woodpeckers, a story the class collaboratively adapted from the play The Ugly Duckling. “Our students took ownership of every aspect of this play: the costumes, the music, the background, the props, and the script,” says teacher Nicole Schoentag...
The fourth grade has been learning all about angles and lines in math. As part of the ongoing effort to help students make real-world connections to math and to make math more meaningful, students participated in an angle scavenger hunt. Said teacher Valerie Welsh, “It was great to hear exclamations like ‘It's an obtuse angle! See, it's more than 90 degrees!’” as she walked around the school...
The eighth annual Kinship Project Evening took place last night, April 5, the culmination of a six-week 8th grade research and writing project that engages students in interviewing their parents and other relatives; gleaning details of family history and recording stories; and then producing a final paper that includes the interviews and a family album. For this annual story-telling evening...
On Thursday, March 30 during parent-teacher conferences, seventh grade students hosted a waterless car wash in the parking lot to raise money for their Tzedek Fund. “This was a student-driven project that was carried out with the help of parents and Brandeis support staff,” explains teacher Allison Stine. “On the day of the car wash, the students really took charge and did all of the work organizing the event and washing cars.” In total, the seventh grade class raised $781! This money will be part of the Tzedek Fund...
Blending the ancient story of Passover and the twenty-first century technology of iPads, first graders spent time this week retelling the story of Passover. “Telling the story is the most important part of the Passover holiday,” explains teacher Sandra Menachem. In collaboration with Leo Stern, technology integration specialist, first graders used the app Explain Everything to produce an animated slideshow of the story...
On Tuesday Laura DeDominicis, of the U.S.-based nonprofit organization Nurturing Minds, came to speak with fourth through eighth grade students about one of Nurturing Mind's main benefactors, the SEGA Girls School in Tanzania. The SEGA Girls School is a residential secondary school for Tanzanian girls who are otherwise unable to attend school due to extreme poverty. Middle school teacher Ali Frank spearheaded the effort to bring this talk to Brandeis...
Some old stories don't grow "old"—they become tradition. For eighteen years Brandeis eighth graders have participated in a service project at Jewish Family and Children's Services in their holiday outreach program. Our students prepared over 900 "seder sacks," to be delivered to homebound Jews in time for Passover...
Seventh graders are immersed in a language arts unit on the famous William Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet. “This is my students’ first exposure to Shakespeare,” explains teacher Isaac Jacobs-Gomes. “It provides a great chance to dig into some difficult language and to practice literary analysis...
On Friday, March 24, Brandeis welcomed over 250 grandparents and special friends to campus for our annual Grandparents and Special Friends Day. The day was filled with intergenerational learning, Shabbat celebrations, and student performances. Students in the lower school chorus, middle school a capella group, and first grade were among the performers for the lunchtime gathering...
A few months ago kindergarteners were introduced to fitness stations in P.E. “They get to climb, throw, roll, scoot, jump, and hurdle over a variety of different obstacles,” says teacher Patrick Alcasabas (who goes by Coach Pat with his students). “It’s a great way to keep the students moving and to have them practice using their bodies in a variety of ways..."
Fourth grade artists traveled to the Conservatory of Flowers last week to explore the work of American artist Georgia O’Keefe, who is best known for her large close-up studies of flowers and plants. “The fourth grade art curriculum focuses on the intersection of science and art,” explains art teacher Cathy Withrington. This field trip also helped the fourth graders hone their observational drawing...
With a touch of feathers, fur, and scales, third graders learned this week about the astounding animals that live right here in our own neighborhoods. This presentation, from WildCare’s Nature Van (located in San Rafael), provided the students with an overview of our state’s wonderfully diverse wildlife...
During their 6-week study of Japan, second graders explore the culture, history, geography, and language of the Asian country. At the beginning of the unit students also get the opportunity to share what they want to learn about Japan. “Their questions and thoughts lead the direction of the curriculum design of this inquiry-based unit,” says teacher Rachel Klein...
The Lunch and Learn program for middle school students launched last semester, to much success. So far, students have had the opportunity to learn about virtual reality, writing and publishing a children’s book, and about the history of San Francisco’s water supply. This week, Dr. Wendell Lim, director of the UCSF Center for Systems and Synthetic Biology and professor of cellular and molecular pharmacology...
Today was the final contest in the annual eighth grade language arts event known as Poetry Wars. Each student finds a poem to champion; once three weekly champions have been crowned, the three then compete for the class championship. This year's selection includes poems by Maya Angelou, Thomas Lux, Charles Simic, (15-year-old) Royce Mann, James Tate, and William Wordsworth...
As part of the sixth grade Rodef Shalom Judaic studies curriculum, the sixth graders spent the week engaged in conversations with lower school students about constructive conflict, as this week is the Jewish Week of Constructive Conflict. To prepare, the class first learned about the history of the 9th of Adar...
For part of Women’s History Month, first graders learned about and celebrated the most important women in their lives and in the world. “This month is a time to reflect on the extraordinary accomplishments of women and honor their role in shaping the course of our nation’s history,” says teacher Barbara Eisenhauer...
"Mathletes" around the world celebrate Pi Day to encourage a love of math learning. Our Brandeis mathletes took part in Pi Day festivities on Tuesday, with middle schoolers visiting lower school classes and leading the students in a few Pi Day-related activities...
Our third graders are immersed in a Judaic studies unit about synagogues. They have explored the features and purposes of a synagogue and have created their own 3-D models. As part of this unit, students visited two local synagogues this week: Temple Emanu-El and Magain David Sephardic Congregation...
Fourth graders completed their health unit in science by hosting a fair and sharing their knowledge with parents and lower school peers. “The Health Fair is a great opportunity for students to direct their learning based on personal interest and connections to a health topic,” explains teacher Kate Callan. This year, students selected to research topics including sleep disorders, amnesia, yoga, and color blindness...
As part of the Reader’s Workshop curriculum in kindergarten, students engage in partner reading, in which they work with another to read books and act as a captivated audience for their peers. “This week the students were learning that ‘strong readers make strong writers,’” explains teacher Samantha Silvestri. To serve as inspiration for the students, Ms. Rhodes read a book written by her own son when he was in first grade...
In what math teacher Paul Rogers calls the “Comic Blow-up Project,” sixth graders are currently focused on ratios, proportions, and scale, using grids and measuring tools to create comic enlargements on a scale of 1:3.5. Mr. Rogers has the students work in groups of 2 or 3 on this project “because I want them to learn the value of teamwork...
For the past several weeks, fifth graders have been engaged in the Artist Project, a Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop project in which students select an artist of interest to them and then conduct research about the artist’s personal and professional lives. “This is probably the most challenging unit in fifth grade in regards to personal time management,” explains teacher Eitam Kohen, as students complete a research paper, a slideshow presentation, and an art project...
Fourth graders took parents and students on a trip around the world yesterday, sharing fun facts, presentation books, and food from Jewish communities all over the world. "I created this project because I realized that we live in a very specific Jewish community here in the Bay Area," says Judaic studies teacher Sharona Israeli-Roth. Each student in the class selected a Jewish community—either an existing community or a historic community...
Students in the "Architectural Approach to Homelessness" elective are working in teams and using design-thinking strategies to come up with a solution to the issue of homelessness. They began this spring semester elective by researching and learning about homelessness and current proposed solutions...
Third graders have been working diligently on a creative and reflective movie-making project. By reflecting on their accomplishments and challenges throughout the school year, the students developed content to use in making a movie to be shared. Aided by iPads and green screens, the students were able to make their reflections come to life in new and interesting settings...
A visit to the dentist is usually not a child's idea of fun—unless it's a class field trip. To celebrate Dental Health Month, first graders visited the dental office of Dr. John Schulz (alumni parent and husband of teacher Barbara Eisenhauer) and John Romero’s dental lab, located in the Stonestown Medical Dental Building...
Middle school students participating in the spring basketball elective got to take in an exciting game at UC Berkeley last week, as they traveled to Haas Pavilion to see Cal take on the #6-ranked Oregon Ducks. “In an effort to increase their understanding of the sport,” says Coach Corrie Mizusawa, elective teacher, “I thought it would be a great idea for my students to be ‘students of the game.’ They were able to watch a high-level collegiate game and attempt to learn the intricacies of the sport...
Congratulations to the boys' fifth grade basketball team on an outstanding finish to their season. With the #2 seed heading into playoffs, they defeated undefeated International in overtime in the championship game with a final score of 46-44...
Fourth graders are currently engaged in their health unit in science. “The students started the year exploring electricity and magnetism,” says teacher David Starfas. “They were then introduced to the concept of circuits and systems. Using this background knowledge of electrical systems, we moved into studying the systems of the body.” As they prepare for their Health Fair on Thursday, March 2, fourth graders welcomed special guest...
Learning Hebrew letter recognition is an important part of the kindergarten curriculum. Students have been engaged in a number of stations focused on reinforcing letter recognition. “When I teach letters, I try to include other disciplines, including art, music, Judaic studies, and math, in order to make the learning more relevant to my students..
Science learning in second grade is currently centered on balance, motion, and the scientific underpinnings of spinning. Second graders spent time Wednesday designing their own tops, creating designs they thought would look interesting once spun. Through their experiments in creating tops out of a shaft and disks, the class learned about force (a push or pull), friction (a force that opposes motions), and torque (a twisting force)...
This morning the sixth graders led a community gathering titled “Pursuers of Light” for their families and middle school students. “This was an opportunity for our community to gather to learn about and celebrate our sixth graders, our pursuers of light,” says teacher Jody Bloom. The morning focused on the sixth grade Judaic studies curriculum, Rodef Shalom, and one by one the students had the chance to share their learning with the community...
Armand Volkas, artistic director of the Living Arts Playback Ensemble, actors from Living Arts Playback Ensemble, and members of the Jewish German dialogue group met our eighth grade students today as the finale to their Holocaust unit in Judaic studies. This workshop, “Healing the Wounds of History,” was made possible through the Brandeis Innovation Grant program. “Armand has developed innovative programs using expressive arts for social change, intercultural conflict, reconciliation, and intercultural communication...
Friendship is an important and relevant topic for second graders. Each day, students find themselves looking for a caring friend, a loving, supportive, kind, compassionate and trustworthy person to be part of their life...
As part of the Brandeis Tzedek Program, seventh graders participate in four days of service learning. This year the seventh graders are taking part in the Tenderloin Walking Tour, serving lunch at Glide Memorial, and volunteering at Family Crossroads and Urban Adamah. Last week, students spent the morning participating in both the Tenderloin Walking Tour and at Glide Memorial...
Congratulations to the boys' varsity basketball team on winning the CYO championship in outstanding fashion. They defeated St. Peter's 53–18. Says Corrie Mizusawa, boys' basketball coach and athletics director, "Our boys did a tremendous job of constantly improving every single day. They are hard- working, extremely coachable, and each of the players played a role in our undefeated season." Go, Lions!
Wednesday marked the 100th day of the 2016–17 school year. Kindergarteners spent the week leading up to this day, and then the morning of, celebrating together. Prior to the 100th day, students collected 100 items of their choosing: cards, Swedish fish, paper clips, and legos, to name a few...
Sixth graders channeled their inner engineers to create buildings that could withstand the power and shaking of an earthquake. “Students took on this design challenge by incorporating what they learned about structures,” says teacher Lisa Hjelm. “February is also national engineering month, so this project was a great connection.” Using minimal materials, students created earthquake-proof buildings that could hold up to 400 grams...
The summer Olympics may have concluded last August, but Brandeis fifth graders are picking up where the Olympics left off, competing in several Olympic sports in their P.E. classes. After selecting the countries they would like to represent—the USA, Canada, Colombia, England, Sweden, and Brazil, to name a few—teams of students are participating in basketball, soccer, handbook, track and field, and floorball...
One of the eighth grade writing program’s main goals includes writing logical, persuasive arguments. To practice crafting cogent arguments, 8th graders engaged in a courtroom debate surrounding “The Case of the Speluncean Explorers,” a fictitious case published in Harvard Law Review in 1949. “I have found that students perform better when the situations they are writing about lie far from the reality of their daily lives,” explains teacher Jennifer Baumer...
Last week first graders began a four-week study of opera, kicked off by a workshop led by Sing a Story with the San Francisco Opera Guild. After a singing lesson and the musical telling ofMozart’s The Magic Flute, Kristen (the visiting teaching artist) unveiled a “magic bag” full of props and costumes and led the children in performing the opera in the classroom...
This morning, fourth graders proudly shared their Tu B’Shvat learning with their families in a packed Beth Israel Judea sanctuary. In the spirit of innovation and exploration, we are piloting grade-level community gatherings—instead of grade-level tefillot—this year for second, fourth, and sixth grades. As one fourth grader explained at the beginning of the celebration, “You might be wondering why we are doing it this way. Well, we wanted you to see something you haven’t seen before.”
Weaving in Jewish values and text, pairs and small groups of students shared learning about nature and trees...
This week, our varsity girls' basketball game competed in two tough BAIAL playoff games, facing off in the first round against Hamlin and against Burke's in the championship. Monday's game against Hamlin was a thriller, with the teams exchanging baskets for much of the evening. Brandeis was able to pull away with the victory, winning 29-25. The win catapulted the team to the championship game last night—the first girls’ varsity basketball championship game Brandeis had competed in...
Seventh grade social studies students enjoyed a special presentation and Q&A session with Ameena Jandali, an American Muslim speaker representing Islamic Networks Group (ING). The class has been studying Islamic civilization and the foundation and tenets of the religion. "ING is an impressive organization that looks to counter discrimination through education," says social studies teacher Allison Stine...
Middle school students in P.E. are beginning to take on the 30-day challenge, a challenge in which each student selects a physical challenge, a hobby, or another task that they will strive to accomplish every day for 30 days. “Students are being challenged to take 30 days and invest themselves in something and then track their progress and see how far they can get in 30 days...
Seventh graders have begun exploring the slope of linear equations. They started off by discussing what slope means in the context of the real world—the steepness of a mountain, the rise over run of a staircase, for example—then gained visual and kinesthetic understanding of how the variables move on a graph by creating dance moves...
First graders have been taking inspiration from Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Ruby Bridges, changemakers who saw a problem in their community and had the courage to take action to make a change. After learning about these historical figures and tying this idea to the Brandeis core values of integrity, kindness, and service, students realized that changemakers do all of these things together. “The first graders began by writing about changes they would like to make at our school or in San Francisco...
As a kick-off to their social studies unit about Japan, 2nd graders participated in a workshop by Linda Janklow of Peopleologie—a humanities program that hosts workshops that promote cultural literacy, celebrate community, and build connections to the world. Ms. Janklow began the workshop, “Shibori-Fabric Dyeing from Silkworm to Kimono,” by introducing students to the art of Shibori and Japanese culture and traditions...
Our seventh graders embarked last week for their 3-day, 2-night outdoor education trip. This experiential education trip focused on the themes of leadership and tzedek (justice), two themes that permeate the seventh grade curriculum. Students collaborated in group challenges; hiked through the woods; spent time discussing different types of leadership and the choices they can make around tzedakah...
Kindergarteners are preparing this week to perform a verse play, Let’s Go Visit the Solar System, for their families tomorrow morning. “This is the final part of our science unit on the solar system,” explains teacher Jacqui Smith. “Acting and performing allow the students to build their confidence and work on their speech and public speaking...
In the CREATE space, students in kindergarten through fifth grades have been engaged in activities related to the year-long theme of light and color. Their ongoing study of light has logically led to light's opposite, shadow. The current unit combines the science of light and shadow with the artistry of light design and storytelling...
In the 2D animation middle school elective that concluded last week, students experimented with how to make pictures and objects move across a two-dimensional screen. “We explored the history and process of animation using stop motion, drawing, iMovie, music, and collage to tell visual stories,” explains teacher David Starfas. The first lessons of the class tasked students with making thaumatropes and flip books; then students progressed to exploring stop motion animation and learning how to use technology to create animated gifs...
As part of their Shoah (Holocaust) unit, our eighth grade students had the powerful opportunity to bear witness to the stories of a Holocaust survivor firsthand. Leon, born in Romania in 1931, told his story, intertwining illustrations of his experience into his talk and sharing excerpts from his book, Black Days and Nights. “I think that Leon’s story helps bring to life the lessons we have been studying in class,” explains Judaic studies teacher Rabbi Camille Angel...
Over 140 students in fourth through eighth grade participated yesterday in the first rounds of the GeoBee, a National Geographic Society contest designed to encourage teaching and learning about geography. Teachers administered the oral quiz to the contestants, who were divided into small groups of students from each grade level. Brandeis has sent GeoBee finalists to Sacramento several times, one of whom won the state championship and then competed in the national finals in Washington, D.C...
Students in kindergarten white are reading and learning about the popular Israeli story “Eliezer Va’hagezer” (“Eliezer and the Carrot”) by Levin Kipnis. The story teaches students not only the power of teamwork—a man finds an enormous carrot growing in his garden and needs the help of many characters to pull it out of the ground—but also many new Hebrew vocabulary words. “When learning this story, the students have an opportunity to hear Hebrew spoken by native Israelis, since we watch a cartoon of the story spoken only in Hebrew...
Each year, the middle school elective "Advanced Topics in Mathematics" explores math from a real-world perspective, rather than through the pages of a textbook. This semester, the class of 28 students elected to study statistics, game theory, and virtual reality programming. The culminating experience of the elective is a trip down to the Google headquarters in Mountain View...
Last Friday, Director of Lower School Jenny Rinn guest-taught in second grade, giving a number talk to the students. “Number talks are meant to offer all students access to the curriculum by offering multiple entry points and a high ceiling,” explains Ms. Rinn. “There are questions embedded in the number talk that all students in the class can answer, and there are some questions that provide enrichment opportunities for those students who need more...
Seventh graders are learning the process of photosynthesis, while practicing and honing science skills such as creating and viewing microscope slides. They began with a review of the famous photosynthesis experiment by Van Helmont (a seventeenth-century Flemish chemist), who deduced that a plant’s mass must come from water, and in asking pertinent questions, discovered that in fact the mass of a plant comes from the air (the carbon molecules in CO2) and the water together—not from the soil, as most people think...
Over the past few years, Brandeis has hosted Zephira Derblich-Milea, youth program coordinator for Shalom Bayit—an organization that promotes healthy homes and families—to work with middle school students about age-appropriate relationships. This week Ms. Derblich-Milea led our sixth and seventh grade students (eighth graders will participate in the spring) in the workshop Love Shouldn’t Hurt, a Jewish-values based curriculum that teaches students to advocate for themselves in different types of relationships...
Every year in the Creativity Elective (formerly known as ADMB: Art, Music, Drama, & Band), students in sixth grade select their area of focus and work as a class to create a musical from start to finish. Students write their own script and music, build their own sets, and perform every part in the final production...
The through line in fourth grade social studies is California. Each year “we start learning about the first Californians and the Gold Rush, and end our year learning about modern-day California government,” explains teacher Abby Stanford. This week, fourth graders completed a unit on California explorers...
Sixth graders wrapped up their social studies unit on ancient Egyptians, putting the work of the ancient priests into practice by mummifying chicken carcasses! In this unit about ancient Egypt, students have learned about the geography of the Nile; researched ancient Egyptian monuments (such as the Great Pyramid at Giza) and the pharaohs who commissioned them; and studied the societal roles of government officials, scribes, artisans, peasants, and priests...
Lining one of the walls of the main building and another in the middle school building are displays of the recently completed eighth grade pre-World War II European Jewish Life Photo Project. Through this project, which is part of a three-month-long Holocaust unit in Judaic studies, eighth graders analyzed photos of European Jews prior to World War II and compared them to photographs from their own lives...
Just before winter break, fifth graders participated in a lobby “informance” (informal performance), the culminating experience of their semester-long “cooking up rhythms” unit. After reviewing rhythmic and melodic patterns, students began the unit by learning a chocolate-cookie-dough-themed rap and worked to identify where the stress beats and rests occurred...
For the ninth straight year, cardiologist Dr. John MacGregor and son Jacob (class of 2016) visited Ms. Barbara Eisenhauer’s first grade class for a lesson about the heart. Dr. MacGregor and Jacob began the morning providing the first graders with an overview of the heart. The highlight of the presentation was when the students were given the opportunity to examine, touch, and even hold three hearts...
On Friday afternoon before winter break, students and parents gathered for an all-school Hanukkah assembly, which featured beautiful performances by the lower school band; middle school band; lower school chorus; middle school singing group, The Trebles; and sixth grade chorus...
Just after Thanksgiving, a new morning program was launched at Brandeis, introducing yoga and fitness to our community. “The morning program at Brandeis allows our students to start their day with exercise which, according to research, improves students’ classroom performance,” says Dean of Student Life Sharona Israeli-Roth...
Because of the various connections between history and current events, seventh graders in Ms. Allison Stine’s social studies class watch CNN10 (formerly CNN Student News), a 10-minute show “that identifies stories of international significance and then describes why the stories are newsworthy, who’s being affected, and how the events fit into a complex global society.” This week, students are learning about important political developments in England during the 12th and 13th centuries, including the seal of the Magna Carta...
2nd Graders have spent the second half of the year reading and discussing books together. Once a week we meet in small groups to discuss the book, Keena Ford and The Second Grade Mix-Up. Our objective for Lit Circles is to guide our students in small heterogeneous groups in reading different genres of books critically, listening to others' opinions and commenting constructively. We also hope it will help students gain exposure to different subjects, promote a love of reading and to discuss books thoughtfully and respectfully.
Since the beginning of school, our wonderful first graders have put on their scientific hats and have been having a blast learning about the natural environment that surrounds us. This includes learning about sound and light, air and weather, and most recently plants and insects. We have been studying observing the general features of plants and insects as well as their life cycles. Most recently, this unit of inquiry culminated in the raising and release of Painted Lady butterflies!
The 6th Graders had a reading party. Not really a “party” in the traditional sense (there were no cookies orcake), but rather a celebration of writers, their craft, and the product of their labor. We had the party a couple of months ago in 6th grade Language Arts classes to celebrate students’ written mimics of Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street. The novel is stylistically unusual, with short chapters made up of poetic prose. Each chapter is a vignette about an aspect of the author’s Mexican-American life in 1960s Chicago, though technically the novel is considered fiction. The students were charged with mimicking one of her chapters, using the literary elements learned in class–such as simile, metaphor, personification, rhythm, and rhyme–while writing about their life experiences. The pieces are as varied as the students themselves, and their final products are nothing short of literary. They demonstrate an ability to create tone and imagery, conjuring a vivid understanding of not only what is being described, but the writer's connection to it. Their works were the delicacies served as our party’s fare.
Long ago, at the beginning of this school year, the concept of number bonds came up during our kindergarten Back to School Night. “What do you know about number bonds?” we asked the parents. Parents responded: “Number whats?”. It’s taken a while, but kindergarteners are now deep into discovering how to make and manipulate numbers in ways that are new (and possibly confusing) to many adults.
After countless days of being rained out in December, middle school PE is starting off the new year with a continuation of our flag football unit. Did you know that flag football is one of the fastest-growing sports in the country? It has gained so much popularity that several states including California have added it into their high school and college sports programs. 
We so happy to be able to bring you the moving story and the sumptuous music of Oliver! Based on the Dicken’s classic Victorian novel, Oliver Twist, Oliver! is darker than most family musicals - mixing joy and heartbreak as casually as life so often does - but it touches us more than most family musicals.
At our all-school Simchat Torah gathering, the eighth graders helped to hold our Torah fully open for all to see. One 8th grader chanted the last lines of the Torah and another the first few lines; “in the beginning (beresheet)…” Capturing on Kindergarten enthusiasm about this big scroll displayed before them (and their enthusiasm about seeing their beloved 8th grade chaverim) we went up to the beit midrash (our house of prayer) to get a closer look at the Torah. 
Here in 5th grade, we’ve had a busy month. 5th graders have been turning in work to complete their first quarter of middle school, preparing for their first ever conferences…and learning all about the election. While they do have favorites in the lower school election, the majority of our focus has been on the US Election taking place tomorrow, as of when I’m writing this.
