Dismissal time on Fridays will be 2:00 P.M. until after Pesach.

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1 Dismissal time on Fridays will be 2:00 P.M. until after Pesach.

2 Essence of ESTER Today, Friday, March 13 Dismissal was 2:00 and remains so through Friday, April 3. Monday, March 16 Early Registration Deadline. Tuesday, March 17 Kindergartens Aleph Beis Siyum at 9:15 in Cafeteria. Thursday, March 26 - Rosh Chodesh Nissan We are looking for sponsors for Rosh Chodesh Treats. NOAM (Night Out at Max s). Ease the cleaning exhaustion. Treat your family to dinner at Max s and help your children s school. We get a kickback of 10% of whatever we spend. Friday, April 3 Last day of classes before Pesach. ************************************************************************************* With Purim past us, it is now time for the Pesach Tzedaka: Maos Chitim. Checks made out to Od Yosef Chai may now be sent to our office. Thanks to in-school daily collections and your donations, we sent $ for Matanos LaEvyonim. ************************************************************************************* There are now 66 days to the Chemdas Point Accumulation Deadline. Mitzvah/Gadol Projects must be turned in by March 17 to receive full credit.

3 Erev Shabbos Parashas Ki Sisa Parashas Parah March 13, 2009 Licht Bentchen: 6:55 Volume XV, Issue 27 $ 2" Torah School of Greater Washington E.S.T.E.R. Erev Shabbos Torah Events Report Dear Parents, Our Purim week began with a high note at Sunday s YGW Concert. Our Boys Choir opened the program with songs composed by Rabbi Reuvane Slater and Rabbi Chaim Biberfeld, respectively. At Wednesday s in-school Shushan Purim festivities, our young men did an encore with a few additional songs. Many thanks to our talented young men, Rabbi Slater, and of course, Rabbi Biberfeld for two very fine and enjoyable performances and for the latter s directing of our male chorus. Shushan Purim Wrap-up Our line-up of almost-all-day-fun on Shushan Purim was as follows: 5G opened the A.M. with a Purim Shpiel in Ivrit. Attendees were 3G, 4G, 6G, and female teachers, parents, and friends. Since I don t fit into any of the above categories, I can only offer second-hand observations about the program. What I heard and overheard was that it was an entertaining and terrific play. Many thanks to Mrs. Sharona Katz and her budding thespians for some new insights into and perspectives on the Megillah. Our annual Masquerade parade had the requisite number of Queen Esthers (or is it Queens Esther?), Mordechais, clowns, sports figures, animals (e.g. elephant, kangaroo, bunny rabbits, panda, lion, kaola bear), kings, Kallos, and super heroes. We also were treated to costumes of: Gymnasts, Lisa Baden, Mrs. Dunkin, Ladybug, Teachers, Doctors, Artists, Painters, Magicians, Chazzan, Kohein Gaddol, M and M s, a button, Green With Envy, Ipod/MP3, Mishloach Manos, Popcorn, Crayon, Smiley Face, Drummer, Inside-out, Hatzalah Volunteer, Rabbis/Rebbes, Farmer, Modern Tweety Bird, Tigger (and his jumps), Wizards, Mr. Potato Head, Gedolim, Baby Ruth candy bar, cell phone, Hamantash, Chefs, Soldiers, Astronaut, Harry Potter (only one), Hermoine (only one), Policemen, Raggedy Anne, Statue of Liberty, Butterflies, Snowboarder, Doughnut, An Amazing Maze, Indians, and lots more. Our entertainment was provided by Rich Potter and his Bert character. The act was enjoyed by all, and the amazing juggling fascinated the crowd. This was followed by a truly exciting Fire Drill scheduled especially for this holiday. Next on the docket was our Second 3M (Monthly Middometer Medalist) Assembly of the year. Kids were singled out for demonstrating/working on Emes and/or Savlanus (patience). The following were the honorees: 1G Deena Kotek Aviva Kramer Chana Leah Ravin Esther Stiber Ruth Troy Joseph Vogel KB Yaakov Yitzchok Beitsh Yossi Bluming Michal Eizenstat Maya Kotek Moshe Reuven Sussman Paula Ungar 1G Rivka Rachel Danesh Rochel Leah Tova Goldstein Bracha Hes Shira Komarow Batsheva Kreiser Dalya Namrow Ayelet Rosen 1B Yoshi Altschuler Beryl Backman Yitzchak Meir Biberfeld Ari Ferneau Yitzhak Graff

4 (1B cont) 4B Moshe Orlofsky Binyamin Broth Meir Schwartz Avraham Gottlieb Shlomo Starkman Shimon Idstein Yitz Taragin Yaakov Kerchner Eliyahu Winter Aron Kreiser 2G Akiva Miller Michal Arzouan Eli Newman Chaya Beitsh 5G Esther Feldman Shira Abrams Miriam Fink Shani Breitstein Rena Esther Kerchner Sarah Leah Danesh Adeena Kreisler Jessica Franco 2B Shoshana Garfield Baruch Cortell Malkie Palatnik Yitzchak Friedman Nesha Sukol Shimon Graff 5B Ezzie Lasdun Ori Bernstein Zev Namrow Yehuda Edelstein Yosef Sanders Moshe Greenspon Aryeh Stiber Chaim Hes Ezra Troy Adam Lombardo Avi Verschleisser Avi Miller 3G Asher Samberg Mushka Bluming 6G Ariella Cohn Sarah Alya Arzouan Nessia Ferneau Gila Harris Adena Hawk Shoshana Kott Tzippy Hes Chani Kreiser Talya Miller Aviva Lombardo Avigail Orlofsky Chaya Bryna Niman Shoshana Sukol Amira Rosen 3B Yaffa Rosen Rachamim Akeeva Danesh Ilana Ruchelman Moishe Newman Shoshana Shemtov Chaim Singer 6B Yitzchak Meir Winter Yonatan Ferneau 4G Levi Meerovich Zeesie Breitstein Ahron Tzvi Verschleisser Miriam Hillman 6B Sara Keleman Moshe Geisinksy Kayla Kramer Yisroel Yaakov Miller Sori Leiman Zalman Newman Penina Rubin Many thanks to Shirah Charner s computer for the certificates and our office staff for getting it all together. This week was the fourth installment of Savlanus with the following focus: Patience is the ability to remain calm even when things are not going exactly as you wish. The more patient you are, the easier it is to handle challenges. This week, take a deep breath or count to ten to help keep calm when things don t go your way. Next week, we start concentrating on Chesed a great way of preparing for Pesach which begins (with the first Seder) 26 days from tonight. Finally our Rebbes demonstrated their acting talents with a thoroughly rehearsed, well-thought-out, carefully scripted and written out show (which they came up with at 12:30 on Wednesday). (They have fine careers prospects for their next lifetimes.) Rabbi Biberfeld (as Mrs. Samberg), Rabbi Feldman (as Harvey the brat), Rabbi Hoffman (as Rabbi Hoffman), and Rabbi Samberg (as Rabbi Samberg) had the kids (and adults) rolling. The skit was inspired by Dorothy (who babysits for the Feldmans, Hoffmans, and Sambergs) calling in sick (either malaria or strep throat) on Wednesday A.M. I believe that Shushan Purim is a close second to our Chanukah Carnival as a funfilled, no-pressure-to-achieve, hectic day which the kids anticipate enthusiastically. Take heart! We DO have 168 other days of regular, pressured, and tension-packed learning. Yes, Some Learning Has Happened Here This Week 6G made ice cream volcanoes to give a better taste to their current Science unit. 3G are writing about what they would do with $1,000,000. 1B/G and 2B/G were appropriately rewarded for their individual completions of the Megillah reading project. 3G have on display (in the hall leading to the Cafeteria) their excellent written and visual biography reports. 2B/G made conservation posters. We are now officially a GREEN SCHOOL. 3B performed a scene from their Italian folktale and celebrated PI (π) Day (tomorrow 3/14) with a pizza pie. 3G have connected what they ve studied in Chumash, Parasha, and Megillas Esther. 4B are carefully analyzing Yosef Hatzaddik s tactics in dealing with his brothers in Mitzrayim.

5 4G are into cause and effect writing and studying the beginning of the Md. Colony. 6B found out that Haman s name is mentioned 54 times in the Megillah. This is also the numerical value of %(/!, I will wipe out. They ve also discussed in Chumash whether a child can be a surgeon for his parents. K/K are still into neighborhoods and helpers. Monday s focus was on doctors. 3B have completed Parashas Toledos and celebrated with a Siyum. Mazel Tov! 6B/B Masmid Govoha points are up to 40,153. 5B MTT minutes have reached 14,239. 1B made pop-up Shabbos cards and said Kiddush in class. This was in conjunction with learning &-,*& in Bereishees. These are the Pesukim that discuss the creation of Shabbos. Attached today: Classroom Close-ups by Mrs. Diane Scheer. Ooroo LaTefillah. We express HaKaras HaTov to: Adrienne Rosenthal for covering the front desk on Sunday. Mrs. Mendlowitz and Morah Shirah Charner for the terrific, creative Ooroo LaTefillah posters. Right Around the Corner Sunday, March 15 5 th /6 th Shiurim. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, March 17, 18 and 19 Full post-3:30 schedule. Wednesday, March 18 Pizza. Todah for this week to many inhouse residents. Personal Confessions As we all know, RSVP stands for Respondez s il vous plait, a French phrase that translates as please respond. A word for word translation is respond if you please. When I was a mere child (in the previous century), I assumed that this acronym stood for: Refreshments Served Very Promptly. I was brought to my senses by the fact that nothing is ever served promptly. We wish a Refuah Shelaimah to: Mayer Goldstein. Mrs. Devorah Kaler. We wish a heartfelt Mazel Tov to: Rabbi Yehuda and Mrs. Chaya Shinensky, upon the birth of a boy. Rabbi Dovid and Mrs. Atara Rosenbaum and the Brauns, upon the birth of a boy. Mr. Danny and Mrs. Sima Jacoby, upon the birth of triplets to Malka and Yahtze Blejer. Shoshana Shemtov, her parents, Rabbi Levi and Mrs. Nechama Shemtov; her siblings, Esti, Menachem, Eli, Bati, Aron, and Shalom; and her entire family upon her becoming a Bas Mitzvah. May they continue to be blessed with Simachos. Clarifications of Answers to Our Megillah Quiz 1) Esther HaMalka s fast was on the 13 th, 14 th, and 15 th of Nissan. Ta anis Esther is on the 13 th of Adar, commemorating our fasting on the day of the battle against our enemies. 2) Haman was killed on the 16 th of Nissan. His sons were killed on the 13 th of Adar.

6 3) Haman s sons were killed and then hanged (see Rashi) to put fear into the hearts of our enemies. 4) There were 3-plus days from Haman s lottery until he was hanged. 5) Chazal tell us that Vashti was killed. The Megillah does not state this clearly. 6) Haman s lottery took place in Nissan. 7) Mordechai HaYehudi was Esther HaMalka s cousin. 8) Chronologically, Purim came before Chanukah. Purim occurred at the end of the Babylonian Exile. Chanukah happened during the Second Temple. 9) One of the 3 days of Esther s fast was during Pesach. 10) The letter that the Jews could defend themselves was sent over two months after Mordechai HaYehudi became Prime Minister. This was done so the same messengers would bring both letters. 11) There were about ten years from the start of the Megillah until its end. Now, to Counter a Common Pesach Misconception Yul Brenner was not a reincarnation of Par oh. Ancient manuscripts indicate that Par oh had hair. March is the Final Month for our School to Earn A+BonusBucks! Good Shabbos! Sincerely, Rabbi Yitzchak Charner Headmaster

7 s"xc v kh p T k UrUg Volume II March 13, 2009 Issue 19

8 s"xc v kh p T k UrUg Volume II March 13, 2009 Issue 19 (continued)

9 Classroom Close-ups by Mrs. Diane Scheer Volume V, Issue 16 March 13, 2009 In writing my Classroom Close-Ups article, I thought about what works best in terms of motivating my students to learn the material and, more importantly, helping them retain what I have taught them. I have found that the class as a whole does best in this respect when the students work together and help one another. My students seem to feel the same way, as I am often asked, Mrs. Scheer, can we work together on this? There are obviously times when students need to work independently, but I try to have them work together whenever feasible. As a teacher, I get no greater pleasure than watching their faces brighten and hearing one student ask another, Is that how you do it? Or perhaps say, Now I understand, or, better yet, This is fun! The results I have seen from allowing my students to work together validate the thesis of a recent article that appeared in the publication The Master Teacher, entitled If You Really Want to Teach So Students Remember. The thesis is essentially that the more involved students are in the learning process, the more they will retain. According to the article, the least effective strategy for learning retention is lecture, which generates a five percent retention rate. The most effective strategy for learning retention is having students teach someone else what they have learned, which generates a ninety percent retention rate. Working together in groups not only encourages positive social interaction among the students, but, by helping one another, it reinforces their understanding of the subject matter and helps them retain this information. In addition to having students work together in groups, I am a firm believer in physical practice of the concepts we cover in class in a manner that makes things interesting and fun. For example, I have students use colorful dry-erase markers on their individual white boards to practice math problems. The Master Teacher article concludes with the following quote from Confucius: I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand. These are instructive words for every educator and form the foundation of my strategies for helping students understand what is taught in class and retain what they have learned.

E.S.T.E.R. Erev Shabbos Torah Events Report

E.S.T.E.R. Erev Shabbos Torah Events Report Erev, Erev, Erev Shabbas Chanukah Day 4 of Chanukah Parashas Mikeitz December 12, 2012 Licht Bentchen: 4:28 P.M. Chanukah Licht Bentchen on Erev Shabbos - just before 4:28 Volume XIX, Issue 14 Dear Parents,