HSRS Announcements (Hodaahot הוֹדָוֹת) New Information Thanks to everyone who joined for our Summer Camp Fair. If you missed the event, flyers can be found in the Har Shalom foyer. Here are the promo videos that were shown too: Links to videos: Ranch Camp Shwayder Ramah
Previous Information Sent! Calling all siddurim!!! If you currently have a copy of Har Shalom's siddur/prayerbook, that you are not actively needing, please return ASAP. We have many b'nai mitzvahs and grade-level Shabbat services over the next few months that will be needing these copies. Thank you!
TZEDAKAH! Prior to spring break, each class will be designing mitzvah projects. All the money collected through weekly tzedakah contributions will be used for the project. This is a great way to be a mensch and a wonderful habit to form at a young age!
Important Dates & Upcoming Events
February 3- 6th grade Saturday Morning Shabbat Service February 3- Teen Event off campus, 4:30-8pm (see below!) February 4- NO SCHOOL FOR 6TH GRADE ONLY February 4- Beresheet Day 4 at 10:30am February 10- 4th/5th grade Havdallah from 5:30-7:30pm February 11- NO SCHOOL FOR 4TH AND 5TH GRADES ONLY February 23- Shabbat Jr at 5:30pm, oneg to follow February 24- 2nd/3rd grade Saturday Morning Shabbat Service February 25- NO SCHOOL FOR 2ND and 3RD GRADES February 25- Beresheet Day 5 at 10:30am March 10-17- NO HSRS for SPRING BREAK
BBYO & Teens Teen of the Week! Maddie is another one of our amazing Kindergarten madrichim. We are so lucky to have her. She is a great help with passing things out, including donuts. She takes initiative and all of the kids love learning from her! Thank you for all your help Maddie
Synagogue & Community News
From Our Teachers
Beresheet (Preschool) We will meet again on February 4 for Day 4 of Creation.
Kitah Gan (Kindergarten) Sunday from Morah JoJo- Hey everyone! Our stuffed animal, donut, movie party was a success. It was a full day, we started with Hebrew. The class did Aleph Bet Yoga, then moved on to our letters. We wrote lines in our book, then on the white board. With each line, we practiced the letter sounds and our penmanship. Then it was off to Gaga ball and snack time. For the second part of the day, we headed back to class for story time with Judy. The book was perfect, following our Joseph and brother theme of the day. Finally, we had our donuts and movie time. We talked about Joseph, his backstory and why it was so important for him to be in Egypt before the famine. The kids talked about times they had forgive someone and why it’s important to realize that good can come from difficult situations. They were amazing, see you next week.
Kitah Alef (First Grade) Sunday from Morah Katie- In class we learned about the Hebrew letter Tet. After that we got to have snack and play some gaga ball. Then we had Judy come in and read us a story about Shabbat and friendship. The Madrichim then put on a puppet show for the kids about friendship and why it’s important, for the last part of the day we learned about Rebekah and why she is an important person from the Torah.
Kitah Bet (Second Grade) and Kitah Gimmel (Third Grade) Havdalah- We had a wonderful Saturday evening together. From spaghetti for dinner and ice cream for dessert with all of the activities in between, it was a memorable evening for our 2nd and 3rd graders.
Kitat Gimmel, Dalet, Hay, Vav, and Zayin TuBeshvat Celebration Thank you to Dr John Hanck for helping our students prepare peach seeds. In about a month, we hope to plant peach trees with our students. Rabbi Finestone then led us through a lovely Tu B'shvat seder. Ask your student what foods they tried for the first time and what their favorites were.
Kitah Dalet (Fourth Grade) Sunday from Morah Merav- We made 8 more flash cards of Hebrew words. These cards will be coming home so that everyone can practice. We also worked on the Mi Chamocha (מי כמוכה) prayer together in class. We reading it in Hebrew only( and singing!). We played Gaga, enjoyed recess outside in the sunshine. It was a fun Sunday at Har Shalom!
Sunday from Morah Sophie- We will be learning about the 12 tribes of Israel for the next few weeks, so we started by getting a basic understanding today. We learned the names, symbols, and territories of all 12 tribes. Then, each students became their own tribe of Israel with a name, symbol, and territory. We also had time to be outside in the warm weather and play some gaga ball.
Kitah Hay (Fifth Grade) Sunday from Morah Lauren- Kitah Hay on Sunday sang with Shira Josh and learned about Marc Chagall and branches of Judaism. We made mosaics with Judy. We read about Moses. Students also learned what blessings go with different foods and traditions. Lastly, the kids played gaga and danced at recess. Please remember our book reading bingo game! Have a great week.
Kitah Vav (Sixth Grade) Sunday from Morah Leah- Sunday was chock full of preparing for Saturday’s Shabbat Morning services. On Sunday, we also played Gaga! Looking forward to seeing you all on Saturday, February 3 at 10 AM. Shavua Tov!
Kitah Zayin (Seventh Grade) Sunday from Morah Michelle- Sunday was a busy day spent learning Hebrew (and a little bit about the differences between Judaism and Christianity) with Rabbi, Gaga outside, and storytime with Judy. We spent the little amount of Morah Michelle class time writing letters to soldiers in the IDF. Students put a lot of thought and care into the messages they wrote...most in Hebrew! See everyone next week!
From Our Specials
News from the Sifriyah (Library) Storytime:
In Gan we read the story "Brothers" about two brothers who share their wheat with each other because each brother thinks the other brother needs it more than him. We had a nice discussion about how families help each other.
In Kita Aleph we read the story "Chik Chak Shabbat", about how friends helped their neighbor celebrate Shabbat when she was sick. We also talked about how friends and family help each other.
In Kita Hey we visited the Ashkenazi community of Belarus and learned about the artist Marc Chagall. We looked at pictures of his stained glass windows in the synagogue at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem and made our very own stained glass windows with tissue paper. Since the windows represent the 12 sons of Jacob, it was a good opportunity to review the patriarchs and matriarchs and name all of the 12 sons. How many do you know???
In Kita Zayin we visited the Ashkenazi community of Ukraine and read excerpts from the stories about Tevye the dairyman by Sholom Aleichem (pen name of Salamon Rabinovich). We then looked at clips from the movie Fiddler on the Roof and noticed the similarities and differences. It was challenging to explore the norms and values of Jewish shtetl society, and try to understand why they are different from today.
In Kita Dalet, the Rabbi spoke to the class about Albert Einstein. It was a great opportunity to showcase books we have about the great scientist, and several students checked them out!! Way to go!!
Foyer book checkout: Saturday January 27th was International Holocaust Remembrance Day. For the next couple of weeks, the foyer for sale and check out bookcases feature books for children, teens and adults about the Holocaust.
