News

List of 20 news stories.

  • Flag Football in Middle School PE

    Denise Lujan, Physical Education, Middle School
     
    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. 
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  • Theater Arts Students Set the Stage for a Spectacular Production of Oliver!

    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 TwistOliver! 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.

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  • Kindergarteners Learn About Torah By…MAKING ONE!

    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. 
     
     
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  • Learning about Elections in 5th Grade

    by Madeleine Mackenzie, 5th Grade Teacher

     
    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. 
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  • 8th Grade Lip Sync Video Challenge Wrap-Up! by Kate Glustein, Spanish Teacher

    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.


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  • Motor Skills and Body Movement in Lower School PE

    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).
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  • Creating Sacred Spaces: A First-Grade Exploration

    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.
     
     
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  • Unambiguous Loss

    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:
     
     
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  • Classroom Spotlight: Photographers Head to the Zoo

    Evan Spiler
    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.
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  • Brandeis 2024 Today - A Remarkable Community

    Dr. Dan Glass, Head of School
    Hello from New York, where I am representing Brandeis at The Covenant Foundation’s annual project
    director’s meeting, and meeting with some of our alumni at Columbia and other New York colleges and universities.

    We had a beautiful, joyful 60th-anniversary community celebration this past Sunday—I wanted to share in this space the welcome address I shared there. 
    Hello and welcome! It is such an honor to have you all here to celebrate this amazing school’s sixtieth anniversary. For those of you who I haven’t yet met, my name is Dan Glass, and I have the good fortune of being the head of school here at The Brandeis School of San Francisco, in my ninth year in that role. And if we have not met, please come introduce yourself today—whether you are an alum, a former parent, a friend of the school, if you are here to celebrate Brandeis then you are someone I would like to know. 



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  • Classroom Spotlight: First Grade Science in Nature

    Carly Cheng and Crystal Brown
    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!
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  • Classroom Spotlight: Open Art in the Art Studio

    Cathy Withrington and Rebekah Goldstein
    “Open Art” is a beloved part of the art program at Brandeis. Beginning in third grade students have the opportunity to spend recess or study hall in the art room.
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  • Classroom Spotlight: Lab Reports!

    Sarah Goldrath & Rachel Klein
    We are excited to share what our 2nd graders have been up to lately in the Writer’s Workshop pinwheel group - they've been working on Lab Reports! Lab Reports are a combination of non-fiction writing integrated with learning about scientific writing and procedures.
     
     
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  • Linear Regression Modeling with Supply, Demand, and Market Equilibrium

    Alison Frank
    8th grade students are using their knowledge of positive, and negative correlations to create a Market equilibrium for a needed product. Students created a good they felt was needed in the world, and created supply and demand curves to go along with their product. Products ranged from a pill that can do anything, to an animal translator, to a magic closet that picks your clothes for you each morning based on the weather forecast!
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  • Classroom Spotlight: Legos Teach Active Listening and Overcoming Adversity

    Eitam Kohen, 5th Grade STEM
    Four days a week, 5th graders begin their day with advisory. During this time, we take the opportunity to greet each other, play fun games, and build a sense of community. On Wednesday mornings, 5th graders enjoy an extended advisory session. During these sessions, we, as teachers, design lessons that aim to develop specific social-emotional skills. Last week's activity focused on practicing active listening and overcoming adversity.
     
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  • Classroom Spotlight: Sparking Curiosity in 8th Grade Science with Potato Batteries

    Cassandra Burger
    As we transition into the spring semester, the 8th-grade students have successfully concluded their exploration of chemistry concepts, seamlessly bridging the gap to their new unit: physics. In a recent hands-on demo titled "The Potato Battery Experiment," students actively participated in constructing potato batteries using copper and zinc electrodes, marking a captivating initiation into this physics-focused phase.

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  • Classroom Spotlight: Social Studies, Language Arts, or Both?

    Madeleine Mackenzie
    This year, 5th graders have been engaging with news more than ever, thanks to our new class subscription to Time for Kids, in partnership with the Mifgash Project. Each week, students get to peruse the magazine of the week, answer comprehension questions and do activities that come along with the articles. Each issue has a different theme, including artificial intelligence, global travel, animals, and charitable giving.
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  • Classroom Spotlight: 7th Grade Practices Empathy and Critical Thinking with JCAT

    Our seventh-graders are participating in the Jewish Court of All Time (JCAT), a web-based simulation for middle school students, developed at the University of Michigan School of Education by their Interactive Communications and Simulations (ICS) group and designed in collaboration with RAVSAK (the Jewish Community Day School Network).

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Archive

2025

  • January

    Flag Football in Middle School PE

    Denise Lujan, Physical Education, Middle School
     
    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. 
    Read More

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