Dear Parents,

It has been a pleasure getting to know some of your children over the past few weeks.  For the most part, I have found them to be attentive and more than willing to engage in the subject matter of our curriculum - the Holocaust.  As I believe it is important to lay a sound foundation, and set the material in its proper context, we have started at a slower pace.

During the first week of class, we began by discussing catastrophic events in general, with the Holocaust as an example of such an event.  We established a working definition of the term, while distinguishing between natural and human caused catastrophes. We will be referring back to this definition as the year goes on.  Additionally, we began a discussion of the Holocaust by each sharing what we know about it, and the source of our knowledge.  I was very impressed by the students' knowledge, and their willingness and ability to articulate the source or sources through which they obtained such knowledge.

During the the second week of class, we built on the list of sources of our knowledge that we compiled during week 1.  Additionally, we analyzed these sources, and classified them on a variety of grounds, including primary vs. secondary.  Most importantly, we discussed the importance of scrutinizing source material.  In order to display to the students how information can be changed or distorted over the course of time, we played a game of telephone, which the students seemed to enjoy.  I made sure to explain to the students that, just as the information was distorted during our game of telephone, there are numerous factors that may impact the accuracy of source materials. 

Finally, as you can read about in the letter from my co-teacher, during the third hour of week 2, we baked a delicious honey cake.  Fortunately, the girls, who were unable to participate in this Jewish-themed baking experience, were able to take a break from Rosh Chodesh group to assist us in devouring the cake in its entirety.

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to post them on the blog at seventhgradecbe.blogspot.com, where this letter will be posted, or contact me directly.

Very truly yours,

Aviv Shamash