HSRS Announcements (Hodaahot הוֹדָוֹת) New Information No School on Sunday as it's Labor Day weekend!! We will be back in session on Wednesday the 4th. Nicki will be absent that evening. If you need something, Morah Mollie (teens@nocoharshalom.org) will be at school acting as director.
Previous Sent Information
A few reminders:
The temperatures vary GREATLY in the buildings. It is always a smart idea to send a sweatshirt/sweater/jacket. Plus, we will be going outside most days/evenings.
We also encourage students to bring water bottles to each session plus Tzedakah.
Finally, with the number of students attending, it is important that you parking your car so we don't cause a Drake back-up at drop off and please exit your vehicle to pick up your child so we aren't having students roaming the parking lot.
Important Dates & Upcoming Events September 1- NO HSRS September 13- Shabbat Jr at 5:30pm at Har Shalom September 21- 6th/7th grade Havdalah from 5:30-7:30pm September 22- NO HSRS for 6th/7th grades October 2- NO HSRS, Erev Rosh Hashana October 16- NO HSRS, Sukkot October 19- S'mores Havdalah and SOCKtober Event from 6-7:30pm October 23- NO HSRS, Sukkot October 26- 7th grade-led Shabbat Serviceat 10:15am, oneg to follow October 27- NO HSRS for 7th grade October 27- B'nai Mitzvah Orientation for 6th grade families and those wanting a refresher from 12-1pm.
BBYO & Teen Things
Synagogue & Community News
From Our Teachers
Kitah Gimmel (Third Grade) Wednesday from Morah Robin- We continued our discussion about Shabbat; specifically observing the Sabbath on Friday evening. We did a mock Shabbat, explaining each step – ie. why we light the candles before we say the blessing, why we cover our eyes, etc. We then said Kiddish over grape juice, and Hamotzi over challah. We then turned to our Chai workbooks and discussed and answered additional questions about Shabbat. We learned a new term – Melacha – the type of work not engaged in on Shabbat. After a much needed break outside, we turned to our Hebrew workbooks and started Lesson 1 – learning the Hebrew letters and vowels that spell Shabbat!
Kitah Dalet (Fourth Grade) Wednesday from Morah Mollie, subbing for Morah Merav- In Fourth grade, we practiced reading the Alef-bet on our Alef-bet board. The kids used a pointer and tried to get as far as they could and earned shekels for doing so. We then played a game of suspend practicing our colors in Hebrew and practiced saying our favorite colors in Hebrew as well.
Kitah Hay (Fifth Grade) Wednesday from Morah Lauren- Our Hebrew session focused on phonetic spelling using their names. We added some vocabulary for self descriptions. We’ll finish and hang them up next week. Shalom!
Wednesday from Morah Sophie- On Wednesday, we explored the Tanakh, also know as the Hebrew Bible. The students learned about the 3 sections including Torah, Nevi’im, and K’tuvim. They also learned how to find a verse in the book. We then went back to the prophet word search and put them in order of how they appear in the Nevi’im section.
Kitah Vav (Sixth Grade) Wednesday from Morah Judy, subbing for Morah Aviva- This is Safranit Judy (Judy the Librarian). I had the pleasure of subbing. After Tefila, our Hebrew portion split into two groups. One group worked with our new Tefila leader, Deb, and one group worked with me. My group did some reading drills, seeing what words we could translate, sorted words into groups (given names, words related to holidays) and did a speed reading drill where you earned a shekel for as many words as you could read correctly in 30 seconds. We played 3 rounds, so a lot of shekels were given out! After break, we read a story about Eliezer Ben Yehuda and his son Ben Zion. Eliezer Ben Yehuda almost singlehandedly revived Hebrew as a modern spoken language, and Ben Zion was the first child to have Hebrew be his native language. Many students had questions about how the date of their Bar or Bat Mitzvah is chosen and how what verses they read from their parasha are chosen. Great questions and it's great to see that they're thinking ahead!!
Kitah Zayin (Seventh Grade) Wednesday from Rabbi Finestone- The entire class was devoted to the study of the Morning Blessings, the dozen blessings that are traditionally recited at the very beginning of the Shabbat morning service, as well as during daily prayers. Each student was assigned a blessing to recite in Hebrew, and they practiced in pairs. Then each student read their Hebrew blessing - it was not only good practice, but also a good way for me to ascertain each students Hebrew reading level. We then discussed the meaning of each of these blessings: why were they chosen? Can they be interpreted literally but also metaphorically? What do they mean for us today? In the last part of class, each student added what blessing they would add to this list. It was a wonderful session.
From Our Specials
News from Tefillah (Wednesday Evening Prayer Session) We started the evening with reviewing the Shechehianu blessing for a new beginning together. We then proceeded to Ma Tovu as a round, Esa Einai for its connection to mountains and the name of our congregation, plus two melodies for the Shema, before concluding with Oseh Shalom.
