This fall, Bnos Yisroel and Torah Institute switched their pre-algebra curriculum to a state-of-theart, “blended learning” course that has students newly motivated to learn and achieve in math. What is even more impressive is that the course is homegrown; it

was developed in its entirety by three administrators at the schools.

A year ago, Bnos Yisroel and Torah Institute were chosen to receive a grant from the Avi Chai Foundationto develop a blended learning math course for their schools. This grant was a result of the initiative of Dr. Harry Bloom, strategy manager of Yeshiva University’s Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education,

DEAR MR. SOLOMON,
My six-year-old grandson was at my house on Shabbos afternoon, and I was playing memory with him and a neighbor’s child. Every time the other child or I got a set, my grandson started to cry. He just couldn’t handle not winning. Funnily enough, I could understand him in a certain way. I also felt excited when I got a set and a little stressed out when another player got one turn after another, because when you get a set you get another turn. This incident reminded me that being able to lose is a very important

As many of us have already noticed, this year, Thanksgiving occurs on the first day of Chanukah. This rare event has caused much discussion and interest in the calendar. Although many of us remember Chanukah beginning during the weekend of Thanksgiving (e.g., in 1975 and 2002, Chanukah began on Friday night, the day after Thanksgiving), no one seems to remember a time when Chanukah and Thanksgiving actually coincided.

Why is this occurrence so infrequent? Chanukah usually falls in the civil calendar during the month of December. In “early years,” it begins in late November, and in “late years” it ends in early January. This year, the first day of Chanukah is on November 28th. This is an extremely early day in the solar calendar. In the 20th century, this only happened once, in 1994, when Chanukah began on Monday, November 28th. Thanksgiving that year was on the previous Thursday (see below what was special about that Chnaukah).