HSRS Announcements (Hodaahot הוֹדָוֹת) 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
December 24, 27, 31, January 3, 7- NO HSRS January 10- HSRS back in session! January 19- Shabbat Jr at 5:30pm, oneg to follow January 21- Beresheet Day 3 at 10:30am January 21- TuBeshvat celebrated for grades K-2 January 24- TuBeshvat celebrated for grades 3-7 January 27- 2nd/3rd grade Havdallah January 28- NO SCHOOL FOR 2ND AND 3RD GRADES ONLY January 28- Camp Fair at 12pm
Synagogue & Community News Please note that our campus will be closed and staff will not be working from Saturday, December 23rd until Tuesday, January 2nd.
From Our Teachers
Kitah Gimel (Third Grade) Wednesday from Morah Robin- We continued working in our Hebrew workbooks on Lesson 9 (only one more lesson in this workbook!!). After a short break outside, we switched to a brand new activity – learning major body parts in Hebrew! This class is full of quick learners – so we moved right into playing “Head, Shoulders….. Eyes & Ears, and Mouth…” and practiced for a future game of Shimon Omer (Simon Says in Hebrew). We then discussed what we want to do for our very well deserved class party. We decided on watching a movie in pajamas with donuts and popcorn!!! This will be on Sunday, January 14! Have a wonderful winter break!
Kitah Dalet (Fourth Grade) Wednesday from Morah Merav- We continued working on our Hebrew. Using a new book that allowed us to work on different phrases!
Wednesday from Morah Sophie- For our last class of the semester, we played some team building games and learned a prayer that we all know well. We read the Hebrew transliteration and English translation of the Bar’Chu before learning the tune! We played a blindfolded block-stacking game where the teams had to coach each other how to stack them in the right orientation. We played another game where the students had to put themselves in different orders without talking. We can’t wait for next semester!
Kitah Hay (Fifth Grade) Wednesday from Morah Lauren- Wednesday was awesome for Kita Hay. We had all friends at class and a visiting friend from Kansas City. The class worked really hard on their Hebrew. It was a mostly academic day. We opened a class Hanukkah present to play in January. I hope everyone has a good winter break. See you in 2024.
Kitah Vav (Sixth Grade) Wednesday from Morah Kyla, subbing for Morah Leah- Morah Kyla subbed this week and we had a great time on Wednesday night. We started the evening with Tefillah Josh who taught us about the importance of sitting and standing during prayers and we got a chance to practice some of the common prayers for Shabbat services. Next we worked on Adon Olam and had a fun Hebrew reading competition. We finished the night with an epic game of Jewish Apples to Apples. Have a great break!
Kitah Zayin (Seventh Grade) Wednesday from Morah Michelle- Students learned that Jewish writers and artists played an important role in the creation of the modern comic book industry. In fact, nearly all the great superheroes were created by Jews: Jerry Siegel and Joe (Joseph) Shuster created Superman, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby (Jacob Kurtzberg) created Captain America, Bob Kane (Robert Kahn) and Bill Finger invented Batman, while Kirby, together with Stan Lee (Stanley Martin Lieber) produced a particularly impressive line of heroes such as Spider-Man, The Hulk, the Fantastic Four, Ironman, the X-men, Thor and the Avengers. We discussed whether there is a certain Jewish sensibility embedded in Superhero stories. Traumatic backstories and dual identities, common tropes in comics, can be seen to mirror the Jewish immigrant experience. I then introduced them to the graphic novel Maus, which was the first comic to win the Pulitzer Prize. We learned about The Thing, who is part of the Fantastic Four, and how his character recently had a bar mitzvah. We finished our evening learning about the Jewish connection to pomegranates, cutting up pomegranates and harvesting the seeds. Have a great winter break!
