HSRS Announcements (Hodaahot הוֹדָוֹת) A few families have asked how they can help their children learn Hebrew and the prayers at home. This is a great resource for online Alef-Bet games. Also, I suggest you have student listen to the prayers using Soundcloud. These recordings are our tunes, sung slowly, by one of our congregants.
Is your child interested in going to sleepaway camp for the first time? We are thrilled to announce that applications are now open for Jewish Overnight Summer Camp Grants! JEWISHcolorado One Happy Camper (OHC) Program, in partnership with The Foundation for Jewish Camp (FJC), awards grants of between $700 and $1000 to eligible families sending their children to Jewish overnight camps for the first time.
Important Dates & Upcoming Events
November 19, 22, 26- NO HSRS November 29- BBYO meeting from 6:30-7:30pm, feel free to come as early as 5:15 to hang/do homework/bring your own meat-free dinner. December 2- Kindergarten/1st grade Havdalah at 5:30pm December 3- NO SCHOOL FOR KINDERGARTEN/1ST GRADE ONLY December 3- Mitzvah Day with Or Hadash from 1-2:30pm December 8- Shabbat Jr at 5:30pm (oneg to follow) December 10- Hanukkah celebrated at HSRS December 16- 7th grade Saturday Morning Shabbat Service DECEMBER 17- NO SCHOOL FOR 7TH GRADE ONLY December 17- Beresheet Day 2 from 10:30-12pm
BBYO & Teens The long-awaited BBYO memberships for your teens are now available! We have been working hard to get you a discounted membership price and were able to get them down from $249 to $180. Click on this link to pay for your child's membership through Har Shalom. Once purchased, you will receive a code to register your teen through the BBYO website for free!
Synagogue & Community News
From Our Teachers
Kitah Gan (Kindergarten) Sunday from Morah JoJo-Hey Everyone! Sunday was full and went by very quickly. We started with Hebrew, getting any wiggles out with some Aleph Bet yoga. Then we opened our books, going over Gimel and Dalet from last week. We finished all empty rows left over before moving on to our new letter, Hey. We practiced in our books and on the white board over and over again. Then it was snack time, and everyone got shekels for running around the yard. Last part of the day was all about Chanukah. The kids learned about the history of the dreidel and how it helped the Jewish people study the Torah. We talked about the Maccabees, how they were brave and protected the Jewish people. Everyone guessed how much oil it would take to have a menorah last 8 days and nights without going out. We then created our own menorahs with every candle lit, just like the menorah that was in the temple. They all were amazing, have a relaxing break! Kitah Alef (First Grade) Sunday from Morah Becky and Morah Mollie, subbing for Morah Katie- In Kita Alef, we learned the letter Hay and talked about Havdalah which they will get to participate in later this year. We also learned about Noah and his ark. Read a story, played animal charades and then got to make arks of our own out of popsicle sticks! See you after Thanksgiving!
Kitah Bet (Second Grade) Sunday from Morah Anne- We learned about g’milut chasadim (kindness/helping others.) We drew comics depicting ways to help to others in everyday situations. The entire class is so sweet and caring, we had no problems coming up with various ways to solve any situation. We discussed how g’milut chasadim is an everyday value we can practice. We also spent some time reviewing our Hebrew letters. (alef-zayin). The class has been working so hard to fill their cotton ball jar. On Sunday, they reached the top with their excellent behavior and involvement in class. So, the next time we meet (12/3) will be a pajama and stuffie day for our class! I will send a reminder out closer to the class date so I am not the only one to show up in my pajamas. Have a fantastic break and I will see you in a few weeks when we start our Hanukkah lessons.
Kitah Gimel (Third Grade) Wednesday from Morah Robin- We stepped away from Leviticus for a moment, and reviewed Torah stories from Genesis. We watched a video about the Creation story from Genesis, and then we read the story of Adam & Eve in “Torah – The Growing Gift”. We then discussed scenarios that involved good choices (yetzer ha tov) versus bad choices (yetzer ha ra). After a short break outside, we started Hebrew Lesson 6 and practiced reading with our new letters koof and final nun, and our new vowel oo (as in boo).
Sunday from Morah Whitney, subbing for Morah Robin- In Kitah Gimel we did a fun word search activity as a review of the creation story. We then read the story of Noah and discussed what it means to “walk with G-d”. After break we reviewed the Hebrew word for “who” and learned the Hebrew word for “what”. We then practiced when you would use either of those words in a question.
Kitah Dalet (Fourth Grade) Wednesday from Morah Debbie, subbing for Morah Merav- Hi everyone, I had the pleasure of subbing for Merav in Kitah Dalet. We did 2 exercises in our workbook -one that concentrated on different consonants that have the same sounds and another focusing on 3 different vowel sounds. I also spoke with them in simple Hebrew phrases so they could see that they understood more than they thought they did. It was a great evening -- thanks for sharing them with me!
Wednesday from Morah Sophie- On Wednesday, we discussed the different sections of a service including the intro, Torah reading, Sh’ma, Amidah, and conclusion. We talked about why each section is important and how they can be implemented in our daily lives.
Sunday from Morah Merav- We continued our work on the Aleph-Bet with half the class. I also introduced a few new words for them to read and learn. Everyone had an opportunity to share their Aleph -Bet knowledge with the class. The other half of the class also received new words this week. We spent our time reading all the words from the wall. Everyone had the chance to participate. Keep up the good work everyone!
Sunday from Morah Sophie- We continued our discussion of each of the Israeli cities. We read about Tel Aviv and reviewed Jerusalem. Then, we played a trivia game show about these two cities!
Kitah Hay (Fifth Grade) Wednesday from Morah Laurel- On Wednesday night, Kita Hay learned about a plant. That’s right, we learned about Tradescantia zebrina, aka Wandering Dude. We learned about a previous, antisemitic name for the plant, where it came from, and the antiseptic trope it referred to (The Wandering Jew). Afterwards, we took cuttings from the real plant, placed them in water, and put them in our class greenhouse. We’re hoping to see roots soon! We also learned about Tefilat Haderech, The Traveler’s Prayer. We listened to two different versions in song while we colored a Tradescantia zebrina coloring sheet.
Sunday from Morah Lauren- Hello Kita Hay, Sunday’s class was super fun because all friends were there! We sang with Josh, studied Hebrew, made flash cards, and played book bingo for our Jewish culture enrichment book program this year. Morah Lauren subbed for Morah Laurel but this week is normal. Wednesday will be Hebrew and rock painting.
Kitah Vav (Sixth Grade) Wednesday from Morah Leah- Wednesday night was all about Justice. Tzedek (Tzedakah) are about opportunities for justice. We give tzadakah equally in the highest hopes of achieving equity. Your student and I had an awesome conversation about Justice, Equity and Equality. We closed the night with reading from our Hebrew.
Sunday from Morah Leah- Sunday was a full morning of learning. I engaged the scholar in each of your students asking them to read quotes from Ketuvim (writings). How oftentimes these writings were troubling for the rabbinic leaders of the ages - and what these quotes impact have on our lives today. We had a 45 minute, Talmudic discussion - that was thoughtful, engaging and respectful. I am extremely proud of your student. After our break - we planned for our much deserved party. Date to be determined - and closed the day with more reading from our Hebrew prayers. Shavua Tov!!
Kitah Zayin (Seventh Grade) Wednesday from Rabbi Finestone- We finished our work on the Aleinu prayer, strengthening the students' knowledge and ability to sing this prayer. We then looked at an ethical dilemma about a student who cheats on a Torah test, and then challenges the principal regarding punishment. We discussed how cheating is a form of stealing, and what the appropriate action would be for the principal.
Sunday from Morah Michelle- After the Rabbi's Hebrew lesson, students decorated homemade Hanukkah wrapping paper while we listened to Hanukkah music. After snack, we completed our final antisemitic myth: Jews are greedy. We discussed how Jews have been associated with money since the Middle Ages and were often forced into money-lending professions since they were not allowed to have jobs in the government or military. We talked about how "being good with money" is an example of a positive stereotype but how it can still be hurtful when a characteristic is applied to an entire group. We talked about how the myth of Jews being greedy can be very dangerous when people assume that Jews earn their money through nefarious means. We then watched this video from the ADL that went into more detail. We ended class with a fun game of book bingo with Judy. I'll see everyone in a few weeks!
From Our Specials
Shira and Tefillah News There was a lot of energy and ruach during Shira on Sunday. We sang some favorites, plus learned a new song called "Arctic Menta". Take a listen to this catchy tune!
News from the Sifriyah (Library) Book Bingo Reading Challenge: A huge thank you to Stephanie Luzuriaga for creating our Reading Challenge bulletin board! It looks phenomenal and will be a great way for the students to keep track of their Reading Challenge bingo cards.
Jewish Book Month: We always celebrate Jewish Book Month (November) by playing Jewish Book Bingo. On Sunday, we played Book Bingo with Kitas Gan, Alef, Bet, and Vav. The classroom winners and the books they chose are:
Gimmel: Aviva--Sami's Sleepaway Summer
Dalet: Max B.--The Boy Who Failed Show and Tell
Hay: Drew--The Doughnut Fix
Zayin: Jack--Linked
As always, we discuss both what makes a Jewish book as well as ways to get books (check out from the library, save up allowance money to buy, etc.) other than winning at bingo. We also passed out the Reading Challenge bingo cards. Students get credit for reading books with Jewish content according to subjects, such as holidays, Israel, Torah, etc. They will keep the cards the entire school year and every time they get bingo they get a prize.
News from the Kitchen Morah Ellen will be back in December!
