HSRS Announcements (Hodaahot הוֹדָוֹת) It was a great first week back. Thanks to everyone for your patience during drop off and pick up. I promise that it will become quicker as we get more use to the routines. If you didn't receive the calendar and parent handbook, please respond to this email so I can resend it.
Important Dates & Upcoming Events
September 3- NO HSRS September 6- BBYO Meeting from 6:30-7:30pm September 8 - Backyard Shabbat Jr. (Rescheduled date) September 17- NO HSRS September 24- NO HSRS September 30- PJ Havdalah in the Sukkah (details to come!)
BBYO & Teens Our madrichim are amazing! They were a tremendous help in the classroom. It's wonderful to see so many invovled teens. A huge thank you to our teen coordinator, Mollie, for training our madrichim this morning plus hosting an ice cream social after class.
Synagogue & Community News
From Our Teachers
Kitah Gan (Kindergarten) Hey everyone, our first day back was fantastic! We started the day by decorating our Shekel containers. Over this school year the kids will be able to earn shekels to spend at two different Shukim. While we were decorating the containers, we read a book about Rosh Hashanah, learning a bit about our Jewish New Year. Then we had a visit from Rabbi Finestone, the kids were able to ask questions about the upcoming holiday and its meaning. After a quick snack break, we went back to the classroom to work on our class Brit. The kids all helped write our class rules, they were creative and very thought out. We finished the day talking about Shabbat, the importance it has in our life and how we each try to relax. They all created a Shabbat Butterfly that enjoys the same relaxation as they do. Everyone was amazing, see you on September 10!
Kitah Alef (First Grade) We started off by going around and getting to know each other by sharing our favorite colors and animals. Then we all made name plates to put on our desks, and then we went over the letter alef and the sound it makes. We did an activity of tracing alef to get familiar with how to write alef. After that we talked about the torah and the importance of the stories. We also talked about how the torah is written on parchment and handwritten in ink and how long the Torah takes to write and the significance of the person who writes it.
Kitah Bet (Second Grade) Hello Fabulous Families! We had a great day in Kitah Bet and were busy all morning long! We started the morning getting to know one another-we have a few new faces in the class, our fantastic madrichim (Zelda, Ryan, and Ceci,) and of course myself. We played a few games, read "Ari the Engineer" (a story about Rosh hashana) and even began talking a little bit about the up coming high holidays. We finished the morning with some themed coloring before dismissal. I think we are off to a great start and I look forward to jumping back into the swing of things in a few weeks.
Kitah Gimel (Third Grade) Wednesday- Welcome to Kitah Gimmel! After pizza and Tefillah with Rabbi Finestone, our 3rd graders were welcomed to their classroom. We started with introductions and then continued with a review of the curriculum for the year which will include Hebrew study, Jewish Holiday celebrations, Torah study – specifically the book of Leviticus, Avodah – what we can do to find sacred connections to G-d, and G’milut Chasadim – the fundamental of Judaism – making the world a better place through acts of loving kindness. We then drafted our Brit Kehillah, our shared commitment to how we will sustain a positive learning environment in our classroom, which will be signed by the entire classroom in agreement. Finally, we reviewed the Hebrew alphabet to get a baseline of the students proficiency.
Sunday- What a great first Sunday class Kitah Gimmel! We did quick re-introductions and then moved right into a discussion about the Torah. We talked about what is so special about the Torah to the Jewish people and read a story “Torah is the Best Merchandise”. After snack/recess, we started our first Hebrew lesson and then moved onto a discussion about Shabbat. Our Madrichim did a great job with brain breaks in between discussions by playing Hebrew Hangman and “Who We Are” - a game where we connect ourselves together with string around our wrists and declare that we are all individual but we are all Jews. We had a lovely visit by Rabbi Finestone and she answered great questions by our students about the Torah. Such a great group of 3rd graders – already earning cotton balls and plenty of schekles!
Kitah Dalet (Fourth Grade) Wednesday from Morah Merav and Morah Sophie- For our first day of class on Wednesday, all of Kitah Dalet had class together. We made a class B'rit (agreement) of expectations and rules that were important for the year. We also decorated envelopes for our shekels and started earning shekels already. We ended our time with a fun ‘getting to know you’ game we played outside. We are off to a great start.
Sunday from Morah Merav- We spent some time going over the Aleph Bet and shaking off the summer cobwebs. We learned a few new Hebrew words. Ask your child if they remember how to say flag in Hebrew (דֶגֶל) . I’m looking forward to seeing them all again on Wednesday and continuing our study of Hebrew. We’re going to learn so much together!
Sunday from Morah Sophie- We discussed the similarities and differences between American children and Israeli children. We learned that the two are not so different after all. Then, we did an intro into one of our main Torah lessons for the year, Am Yisrael. Am Yisrael means "the people of Israel", so the students drew what it meant to them to be a person of Israel. I am so excited to see all of your students this week!
Kitah Hay (Fifth Grade) Wednesday from Morah Lauren- Kita Hay had a wonderful first Wednesday! Both Morahim, Lauren and Laurel, taught. We were so excited to meet our new students. We reviewed the alphabet, consonants and vowels, in all modalities, reading, writing, singing, and listening. We reviewed prepositions (under, in, on ) and some locations like classrooms and houses. This class has good energy!
Sunday from Morah Laurel- Kita Hay started out strong with a review of the 5 books of Moses. We learned to find biblical citations in a Chumash. The students were engaged and blew me away with their Hebrew skills. Afterwards, we started a craft that we didn’t quite get to finish, so look for it on Wednesday night when the students bring it home.
Kitah Vav (Sixth Grade) Shalom Chavurim Kitah Vav (Hello Sixth Grade Families), Wednesday- I am thrilled to be back for another year teaching and learning with your student. We began the year with an introductory Tefillah in the sanctuary where your student was paired with a prayer buddy - at least until Rosh Hashanah - this ia great way to get to know a younger student and to build community across the grades. We moved the to the classroom and where I set up expectations for the year and we began the creation of our Brit Kehilah - classroom rules. After a break we finished off our evening with a review and great discussion of the Ten Commandments.
Sunday- From our first Shira session, we moved to the classroom and reviewed our Brit Kehilah from Wednesday. We then began a Hebrew assessment and lesson. Your student did an excellent job. So great to have students at all levels - wherever your student is at with Hebrew is the right place. At break we enjoyed the beautiful morning. After - we began our journey to learning about ourselves and G/d. Ask your student what selfie they drew on their paper phone home / lock screen. Shavua Tov - A good week to you all.
Kitah Zayin (Seventh Grade) Wednesday from Rabbi Finestone- We spent the first half of class reviewing all of the Hebrew letters and vowels. I then showed the students a re-creation of each Hebrew letter with animals made out of clay. Each student then got a jigsaw puzzle based on these Hebrew letter animals, and had to put it together and reform the Hebrew alphabet. For the second half of class we looked at the first of many ethical dilemmas that we will study together this year. It involved a man being asked to remove his kipah in order to give testimony in a court. The students were quite upset that the man would be asked to remove his kipah, and thought this was very wrong. However, we discussed that as important as it is to wear a kipah, it is even more important to give testimony in court so that justice can be done. We then discussed all the different situations in which they may need to come forward and give testimony if they see something wrong being done. Great discussion! Sunday from Morah Michelle- Sunday was a GREAT first day of religious school. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Michelle Gliszinski and I will be your child's religious school teacher on Sundays. Rabbi Finestone teaches the students on Wednesdays and we are fortunate to have her come by my class every Sunday morning for a brief Hebrew lesson. On Sunday, the students created name tags and introduced themselves to the group, we played a classroom bingo activity and I spoke a little about myself and my Jewish background. Students created our classroom brit, and we discussed what it means to be the leaders of the religious school and how they now have a few special privileges/activities that make this year special. As a class, students will earn a trip to Starbucks once we fill our classroom gem jar (more details to follow). Individually, students eard shekels for participation and these shekels will be used during the school-wide shuk. Also, students can earn small prizes from me (water bottle stickers, squishies, etc.) for having a good day in class. We briefly discussed the 7th Grade Hospitality Dinner (more details to follow) which is a large student-run event that occurs in the Spring. Please don't hesitate to reach out to me with any questions/concerns.
From Our Specials
Shira News Shira Josh taught us two new songs today, plus we sang a few familiar favorites. The new songs were "Not by Might" and "Shiru". Thanks to all of the students who helped with dance moves!
News from the Sifriyah (Library) All classrooms have been stocked with books for check-out; K-3rd with High Holiday books and 4th and up with books according to their curriculum. There will also be High Holiday books available on the foyer bookshelf for check-out starting Sept. 1st. This year's reading challenge will be playing book bingo! Although the bingo cards won't be introduced until Jewish book month in November, any books read now will still count--I'm keeping track and will update each student's bingo card. Remember that PJ Library and PJ Our Way books also count towards the reading challenge--just email me the name of the book your student read and I'll add it to their card. kpeter3434@aol.com
News from the Kitchen We have a few weeks before Morah Ellen will be returning to the kitchen! Get ready to whip up something delicious.
