HSRS Announcements (Hodaahot הוֹדָוֹת) New Information Conferences I have included a signup genius for those who would like to have a conference with your child's teacher. These are 15 minute, optional, conferences. Teachers may reach out to you, as well, to request a conference. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090D44ACAE2EA6F94-51852005-fall
New Basketball Hoop We would like to give Ellen Kozberg a giant Todah Rabah תּוֹדָה רַבָּה (thank you) for her generous donation in memory of her brother. When Ellen approached us, we knew that the addition of the basketball hoop to our courtyard would be the perfect way to honor her brother's love of sports and his passion for bringing the Jewish community together. Ellen's grandsons had the honor of taking the first shots on Sunday morning!
New Dismissal Process Sunday's dimissal was a bit overwhelming for the students and staff. What was originally working isn't anymore- we just have too many students for 1 person to be dismissing everyone. So, moving forward:
This will be the new plan for Wednesday AND Sundays.
We are going to have assigned spots for classes to line up.
TEACHERS will be dismissing their own students; students can help with this process by pointing out their ride. Madrichim will stay with their class and help with group management.
We will have a separate line for families who carpool.
WE WILL PRACTICE THIS ON SUNDAY MORNING.
Previous Sent Information
Har Shalom has a new phone system. To call the religious school, please dial 970-223-5191, ext. 103.
Important Dates & Upcoming Events October 2- NO HSRS, Erev Rosh Hashana October 16- NO HSRS, Sukkot October 16-October 31- SOCKtober Mitzvah Project begins October 19- S'mores Havdalah 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 Teen of the Week! Each week, we will be recognizing one of our amazing teen volunteers who went above and beyond to help. Maya is our madricha of the week. Maya is great at taking the lead when needed and is extremely helpful in her classroom. She is well-loved by the students and is always ready to play with her students, offer a hug, or get creative with them.
Upcoming BBYO Event Mark your calendars! Worldwide registration for BBYO International Convention (IC) 2025 in Denver, Colorado is opening on Wednesday, October 9. Last year, IC went to a waitlist in less than an hour so make plans to be near a computer or phone at your local registration time. Need more information? Click here! Due to the popularity of IC and to prevent disruption to program planning late in the season, only partial refunds will be issued after November 7, 2024 and no refunds will be issued after December 6, 2024.
Synagogue & Community News
From Our Teachers Beresheet (Preschool) Morah Kyla will see you in November!!
Kitah Gan (Kindergarten) from Morah Becky, subbing for Morah JoJo- Kitah Gan had a great Sunday morning. After Shira, we worked on Hebrew letters and we focused on the letter Dalet. Then we spent time learning about Rosh Hashanah. We talked about the meaning of Rosh Hashanah and specifically learned about the tradition of Tashlich. We read two books and drew pictures that reflected on our past year and what we would like to accomplish in the upcoming year. We then spent time making our own shofars. We also enjoyed Israeli dancing with Judy.
Kitah Alef (First Grade) from Morah Laura We had a great time getting ready for Rosh Hashanah. We reviewed everything that we had already learned about the Jewish new year and then started our centers. The student should have brought home a New Year’s card to give to a loved one, an apple sun catcher and some information to discuss with their parents about missing the mark. We spent some time talking about things that we would like to improve upon in the new year and about learning from our mistakes after we ask for forgiveness. The students also learned about the letter hay and played the honeybee game. We ended our day with Israeli dancing. The students have been doing a great job returning their library books. Please continue to return them each week. The students are very excited to be getting their prizes from Mora Judy. Next week, we will continue talking about how we celebrated Rosh Hashanah and will learn more about Yom Kippur and Sukkot.
Kitah Bet (Second Grade) from Morah Melanie, subbing for Morah Anne- After shira we got to learn a new Israeli dance from Judy to give us energy to start the day. This week’s projects were for Rosh Hashanah. We made a pamphlet with our intentions for the new year, ways we can be kind, actions we can say sorry for, and talked about the concept of tikkun olam. We colored new year themed worksheets and practiced Hebrew letters, and because the kids cleaned up their tables so efficiently we got to end the day with one game of “night at the museum”. Thanks to Hannah for being the leader of the game!
Kitah Gimmel (Third Grade) from Morah Robin Wednesday- Kitah Gimmel began by reviewing the Hebrew letters and vowels we’ve learned thus far. We then split in two teams, taking turns, having one team create Hebrew fake words and the other team pronouncing them. We did a few rounds of this. After a short break outside, we moved onto Avodah Lesson 2 – Road Signs to God. We talked about what we do when God seems distant to you. Why is God often so difficult to reach? We watched a video and read a few parables about the Genesis story of Jacob and Essau. Jacob betrayed Essau by taking his birthright, but even though Jacob felt guilty and far from God, this story showed us that God was with Jacob all along and still protected Jacob. We then did an exercise in our Chai workbooks, where we used road signs to demonstrate how we can remember God, help Jacob, and help a friend face a problem. The students were very creative and thoughtful with this activity. The class received extra cotton balls for their shared ideas and extra effort.
Sunday- Boker Tov! Kitah Gimmel began the morning by discussing Rosh Hashanah concepts since it’s coming up this week! We then joined 2nd grade for Israeli Dancing in the sanctuary. Immediately after, we moved into the kitchen to make and enjoy Apple & Cake Skewers with Honey & Caramel Sauce to celebrate Rosh Hashanah. Delicious! After a fun break outside, we came back to class and made our own Shofars. We even got to practice the four shofar calls (outside 😊) — tekiah, shevarim, t'ruah and tekiah gedolah with Nicki. We ended the day with Alexis reading “The Apple Tree’s Discovery” and the students doing a fun Rosh Hashanah word search and “Take the Apple to the Honey” maze.
Kitah Dalet (Fourth Grade) from Morah Merav- Wednesday- We worked in our Time to Read Workbooks. We ended our time played an Aleph Bet block game.
Sunday- We had a fun morning together. After Shira, we all took a turn with one share and of course, listening. We spent time reading together about Israel. We reviewed some vowels. We enjoyed a fun Israeli Dance class with Judy in the sanctuary. We finished our morning playing games. We had so many games! It was great to see them work together!
Kitah Hay (Fifth Grade) Wednesday from Morah Lauren- On Wednesday learned days of the week and different blessing words.
Wednesday from Morah Sophie- We are finally finishing up our section on the prophet, Joshua. We discussed symbols that we could use to represent Joshua, then each student drew one of them.
Sunday from Morah Lauren- On Sunday, we started with Shira Deb and we learned a traditional dance with Morah Judy. Students did a great job reading and figuring out blessing puzzles.
Sunday from Morah Sophie- We finished our unit on Joshua. We made the poster that the symbols were put onto. Each student helped with the poster that will be shown during our Shabbat service.
Kitah Vav (Sixth Grade) from Morah Aviva Wednesday- On Wednesday, we played Teacher/Student by using flashcards with words from the Amidah for the students to teach each other. After, we started the project of learning how to pronounce and read the Avot prayer in the Amidah. For Chai, we started the Wisdom chapter. The students decribed people they know who are wise and what qualities make that person wise. After, the students broke into pairs and acted out certain proverbs from the Torah.
Sunday- On Sunday, we played a game in hebrew called "what's missing?" Students left the room and had to spot the missing/or added image once back in the room using the words "there is" or "there isn't" in hebrew. (אין/יש). Then we reviewed the steps and words that go with the first prayer of the amidah. For chai we moved onto the second chapter of Wisdom, where the kids delved into Mishlai, or Proverbs. We read quotes from proverbs and debated whether we agreed or disagreed with the statement. After, the students chose a favorite proverb and made a comic describing it.
Kitah Zayin (Seventh Grade) Wednesday from Rabbi Finestone- On Wednesday evening, we continued to work on the prayers of the Torah service, practicing our Hebrew reading on some of the more complex prayers. After break, we completed the chapter in our book the topical Bible, which described the reconciliation between Jacob and Esau and explored the proper way to apologize and mend broken relationships.
Sunday from Rabbi Finestone- On Sunday morning, we continued working on the melodies for the prayers of the Torah service.
Sunday from Morah Michelle- After Hebrew with Rabbi and Israeli Dance with Judy, students made mandalas to decorate our sukkah. The mandalas are time-intensive, but they came out looking great! We will hang these up in our sukkah in two weeks and when Sukkot is over, students can take them home. I’m looking forward to going to the movies next Sunday.
From Our Specials News from the Sifriyah (Library) Reading challenge: 14 students received prizes! WOW!! Keep up the good work and keep on reading!
Madrichim: Sunday's group reviewed what makes a Jewish book, how to choose a book appropriate for their class, and how to read the book to promote student engagement with the story. We also said a "shechechiyanu" for Lila. Ask your teen why!
Rikuday Am: (Israeli Folk Dance): Todah rabah (thank you very much) to Madricha Zia for running the music for me!
K/1: We learned what "Shana Tova" and "Rosh Hashanah" mean. Hint--they both have the word "year" in them. We did a dance to the Shana Tova song and walked slow, walked fast, jumped on two feet and had a great time.
2/3: We danced to "Noladeti L'Shalom" (I was born for peace) and offered our good wishes for the new year.
4/5: We learned the dance "Tzena tzena". Much appreciation to a very large group for being flexible and trying different circle arrangements so we could keep our bodies from getting tangled up.
6/7: We felt like being silly so we did "Yesh Lanu Tayish" (I have a goat), which is a reel and where the head partners change each time the dance is done.
News from Shira (Sunday Morning Song Session) In Shira we added the fun song, David Melech Yisrael (replete with hand gestures) last week, and this week we added Hava Nagillah to support the 6th and 7th graders learning to dance the Hora with Morah Judy!! There was great singing and dancing participation from students in all the grades!
News from Tefillah (Wednesday Evening Prayer Session) In Tefillah on Wednesday we warmed up with Ma Tovu and concluded with Essa Einai, but spent the middle 20 minutes focusing on the Birhot Hashahar/Morning Blessings on pp. 884-885 of the Siddur. We discussed the first two B’rachot in depth, focusing on how we are made in the image of G-d. The student comments reflected on our creativity and ability to love. We worked on reading the B’rachot in Hebrew.
News from Small Group with Deb The Beginning Hebrew class now knows enough letters and vowels to read the phrase “Baruch Atah Adonai!! Attendance was perfect today, and each student read well!!
