This Week at YLS
News and Updates from Yeshiva Lab School
19 Shevat 5776
A Message From the Principal
Dear Parents,
It is active play time, a student sits down, holds his foot and starts crying quietly. Everyone playing nearby stops and it gets very quiet.
Three seconds pass.
One friend asks, “Are you ok?”
Another friend exclaims, “Do you need ice!?”
Others gather around the injured student to inspect his foot.
What happened during those three seconds of quiet? The students were looking at their friend and assessing; what is he thinking and feeling, why is he crying?
Roman Krzanric, in his TED Talk “How To Start An Empathy Revolution”, notes that “recognizing and identifying the emotions of others" is the first crucial step in developing empathy. And, this is something which needs to be explicitly taught and practiced.
We saw this in Parshat Shemot with Moshe Rabbeinu, “Moshe grew up and went out to his brethren and saw their burdens” (2:11), Rashi explains that Moshe focused his eyes and his heart to be distressed over them. Perhaps this deep sense of empathy makes him fit to lead B’nei Yisrael despite not having grown up amongst them.
Recognizing and identifying another person’s emotions and experiences is something we are currently working on with our students and that you can nurture at home with your children.
Nurture natural empathy by asking your children these simple questions whenever it is appropriate to do so: What is _____ thinking or feeling? Why is he/she laughing, crying, smiling, grimacing, etc? You can do this when reading a book together and looking at the pictures of the characters. You can pause and do this when you see someone in your family express or display a specific emotion. You can play a game during dinner where one person makes a face displaying a specific emotion and then everyone takes turns creating a story as to why that person might be showing that expression.
We practiced this skill by playing a game during morning meeting. One student was given an emotion to display without the other students knowing what it was. The student was asked to show the emotion to his/her friends with his/her face. The other students then had to guess what emotion he/she was showing.
By taking the time to explicitly teach and practice this skill we help our children develop the ability to empathize.
Shabbat Shalom!
Becky Troodler
From the YLS Parent's Association
Happy Birthday
How to Find Out About a Snow Day
In the case of inclement weather there are several ways we will let you know that we do not have school.
1. We will send out an email.
2. We will send a text message.
3. We will post a message on our website.
Please do not call Yeshiva Lab School to find out if school is closed.
Yeshiva Lab School will make its determination independently of all other schools'
decisions. The highest priority is the safety of the parents, students and
staff, and that will be the basis for any decision. The decision to have school will be made as early as possible.
Important Calendar Dates
Friday, January 29- 1pm Dismissal, Afternoon LM Busing
Wednesday, February 3- Teacher Professional Growth and Collaboration - No School
Friday, February 5- 1pm Dismissal, Afternoon LM Busing
Friday, February 12- 1pm Dismissal, Afternoon LM Busing
Monday, February 15- President’s Day -No School
Friday, February 19- 1pm Dismissal, Afternoon LM Busing
Friday, February 26- 1pm Dismissal, Afternoon LM Busing
Yeshiva Lab School
Email: office@yeshivalabschool.org
Website: yeshivalabschool.org
Location: 612 Montgomery Avenue, Narberth, PA, United States
Phone: 6102063926
Facebook: www.facebook.com/yeshivalabschool
Twitter: @yeshivalab