HSRS Newsletter Archive

HSRS Announcements (Hodaahot הוֹדָוֹת)
New Information
Our community is in need of new socks, all sizes!  Please consider participating in our "SOCKtober" mitzvah project!

Previous Sent Information

Attending Services
It was absolutely wonderful seeing so many students at High Holiday services.  Don't forget that we have "Service Attendance Recommendations". One of the best ways to feel confident and prepared for leading Saturday morning services is by watching others lead. It is suggested that our Kinder/1st graders attend 1 service over the course of the year, 2nd grade attends 2 services, 3rd grade attends 3 services, and so on. These can be attended virtually, at other synagogues, at a classmate's bar/bat mitzvah, at one of our grade level Shabbats, etc. High Holiday services count towards this goal!

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​​​​​​​

Har Shalom's Phones!
Har Shalom has a new phone system.  To call the religious school, please dial 970-223-5191, ext. 103.

Important Dates & Upcoming Events
October 23- NO HSRS, Sukkot
October 26- 7th grade-led Shabbat Service at 10:15am, oneg to follow
October 27- NO HSRS for 7th grade
November 3- Beresheet Day 1 from 10:30am-12pm
November 10- The Shuk is open (volunteers needed!)
UPDATED DATE!!!! November 10- B'nai Mitzvah Orientation for 6th grade families and those wanting a refresher from 12-1pm. 
November 15- Jewish Book Month Family Shabbat at 5:30pm
November 16- 6th grade-led Shabbat Service at 10:15am, oneg to follow
November 17- NO HSRS for 6th grade
November 17- Beresheet Day 2 from 10:30am-12pm
November 24, 27, and December 1- NO HSRS

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. Ryan is madrich of the week; He is always telling stories and connecting what they are learning to things in his life so kids understand better. He loves creating games to play with the class and even taught the 2nd graders ultimate duck duck goose! We love having Ryan as a 2nd grade helper!
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Synagogue & Community News​​​​​​​​

From Our Teachers
Beresheet (Preschool)
Morah Kyla will see you in November!!

Kitah Gan (Kindergarten) from Morah JoJo-
We kicked off our day by revisiting what we learned about Sukkot, exploring our pamphlets together. The class shared their ideas about their Sukkahs and created wonderful drawings of what they look like or what they dream they could be. Next, we ventured outside for a special time in the Sukkah with Rabbi Katzir. With the warm sunshine, we said our prayers and shook the lulav and etrog, and talked about the traditions of Sukkot. After our time in the Sukkah, we had a cooking session where everyone made their very own mini pumpkin pie to celebrate Sukkot and the fall season. Once our delicious creations were ready, we enjoyed a tasty snack outside, letting everyone run around and get the wiggles out. Next, we dove into our Hebrew lesson, practicing our previous letters and discovering the loudest letter in the Aleph-Bet: Chet! The class did an amazing job writing and sounding out the letters on the whiteboard. We also included some Aleph-Bet yoga, combining movement and learning as we sounded out the letters together. To wrap up our day, we focused on Chaverut, or friendship. We talked about the importance of caring for one another, and the children shared what makes their friendships special. As a creative act of kindness, they crafted beautiful Perler bead designs to give to their friends. Each design symbolizes the unique bonds we share. The Perler bead creations are all ironed and ready to be picked up next week.​​​​​​​

Kitah Alef (First Grade) from Morah Kyla, subbing for Morah Laura
We had a fun day in kita aleph! Morah Laura was out of town so Morah Kyla subbed. We did a skit where Abraham and Sarah welcome strangers into their home and then talked about times we’ve been welcoming. We spent time in the sukkah with Rabbi Katzir and everyone got a chance to shake the lulav and etrog. We enjoyed a delicious harvest treat with mini pumpkin pies! We finished out the day learning about the letter chet, playing Sukkot bingo, and making invitations to our sukkah. 

Kitah Bet (Second Grade) from Morah Anne
Hello Kita Bet! We had a great day celebrating Sukkot. After morning shira, we assembled a book on Sukkot basics. We talked a little bit about the holiday and symbols that we see. After a quick snack and break we sat in the sukkah where Rabbi Hillel taught us more about the sukkah and the traditional blessings. We then went to cooking where the kids made personal pumpkin pies. After returning to the classroom, we tried our hand at making our own sukkahs out of graham crackers and candy. Each sukkah had to have certain criteria but I was surprised at how unique each one was! I am certain that most sukkahs were eaten or destroyed before even making it out of the classroom. 😊 Before packing up, we did a quick bin clean-out and gathered papers to take home. You don’t need to keep anything, I just wanted to show you some things we have been working on. Hope you all have a fantastic week!

Kitah Gimmel (Third Grade) from Morah Robin
Sunday from Morah Robin- Sunday morning we are talked about how our relationships with one another help us have a relationship with God.  We usually think people are special because of the ways in which they care about us and try to help us, just as God cares about us and tries to help us.  We then learned the Shehecheyanu Blessing, which is a very special blessing that is said at special occasions to acknowledge something new or a first-time event.  We read three short case studies about special occasions or first time events and repeated the Shehecheyanu after each case study.  At the end of this discussion, each student had three pipe cleaners and made a pipe cleaner stick figure.  We connected all the stick figures and discussed that when people are connected, they form a group or family. Groups and families help individuals feel strong and connected, close to each other and to God. After a short break outside, we met with Rabbi Hillel in the Har Shalom sukkah.  Rabbi Hillel talked about how the etrog and lulav represent the  user's body; the lulav represents the spine, the myrtle the eyes, the willow the lips, and the etrog represents the heart. We said the blessing for Sukkot and waved the etrog and lulav symbolizing that God is everywhere.  Next we had cooking where the students made mini pumpkin pies! Delicious! Finally, back in class, we reviewed the Hebrew words we’ve learned thus far – shekels for good guesses and right answers! Great class – 3 cotton balls into the cotton ball jar!

Kitah Dalet (Fourth Grade) from Morah Merav
Sunday- We practiced all our new words and introduced a few new ones. 
We completed a worksheet with a sukkah theme that covered some of our new words. Check it out, It came home with your student. We all read from the word wall. We had the pleasure of Jacob the Madrich in class with us. Todah Rabah Jacob! We also had the opportunity to visit the Har Shalom Sukkah. Rabbi Hillel Katzir joined us for a wonderful discussion about Sukkot! Todah Rabah to Rabbi Katzir for sharing time with us! A celebration wouldn’t be complete at HSRS without a yummy treat! Everyone had a mini pumpkin pie. See you all next week!

Kitah Hay (Fifth Grade)
Sunday from Morah Lauren AND Morah Sophie- Kita Hay had a fun religious school Sunday morning beginning with Shira Josh. Librarian Morah Judy taught us about the Jewish calendar and compared ours with other calendars. Students decorated our Tree of Life with their V'ahafta leaves in class, and then we went to the playground for recess, the Sukkuh for our blessing, and to cooking for our own pumpkin pie.

Kitah Vav (Sixth Grade) from Morah Aviva
This Sunday, the students continued to work on their family vocabulary and their possesive phrases in hebrew. With family member cards, the students asked each other if they had the family member being shown in hebrew. The students responded "I do have" or "I dont have" in hebrew. 

For Chai, the students started their first chapter of Avodah, Revelations. The students participated in a sonic meditation of what it was like to receive the Torah at Har Sinai, and dissected the definition of revelation using an ancient method of studying Tanach. We finished up by creating a poster of what it means for us to recieve the Torah in the modern world and hanging it on the wall to look at as we continue with Avodah. 

Kitah Zayin (Seventh Grade) from Morah Michelle
Sunday from Morah Michelle- We had a great day on Sunday! We started class with time in the sukkah with Rabbi Katzir.  Students were able to shake the lulav and etrog.  We then had some yummy pumpkin pie.  It was a chilly start to a morning but fun. I then gave a brief lesson on the differences between the Jewish and secular calendars.  We then watched a video produced by the ADL that details the myth of the blood libel; an antisemitic rumor which falsely accused the Jewish people of murdering Christian children and baking their blood into matzah. 

In honor of the spooky season, I read the students the book Golem by David Wisniewski. This story details the Jewish folktale of the golem: a creature made out of mud who is animated by a rabbi or tzaddik whose sole purpose is to protect the Jewish people. There are many different tales involving a golem, and the story I read takes place in Prague in the 1500’s. The Jews at that time were being accused of the “blood libel” so the rabbi of Prague created a golem to protect the Jewish people from persecution. Ask your student what Hebrew word is written on the golem’s head and how one kills a golem. We then finished class by practicing for the 7th grade Shabbat service. Over the next few weeks, I will be using the ADL’s guide to combating antisemitism as a resource when teaching the students about some common antisemitic tropes. I try to walk the fine line of educating our students without scaring them. If you have any questions or concerns do not hesitate to reach out. 

News from the Sifriyah (Library)
5th grade: We compared 4 different calendars--Gregorian, Jewish, Muslim and Chinese--and looked at similarities and differences.  We also looked at Jewish calendars to see what made them "Jewish".  Ask your student what they remember about any of these calendars.

Jewish Book Month is coming up in November.  Tzedakah money collected this month will be used to help buy books for 2 libraries in Israel.  The first is at Neve Hanna, a residential children's home with an after school care program in Kiryat Gat, serving children from underprivileged and unsafe home environments.  They recently built a library and we are helping them buy books.  The other library is on a moshav called Mitzpeh Netofa west of Tiverya (Tiberius) in the Lower Galilee.  They also are in need of books, which they say provide learning opportunities and fun activities and are a great source of comfort for families in these difficult times.  Thank you so much for its support!!

Reading Challenge: 12 more students received prizes and 3 of them finished the challenge and received their $5 Target gift card.  Kol HaKavod (way to go)!!!

News from Shira (Sunday Morning Song Session)
We spent the morning learning a few new songs for the season plus Hatikvah.

News from Small Group with Deb
In Small Group Hebrew, the 6th graders reviewed the new letters, took turns leading the Aleph-Bet song, then enjoyed learning to draw/write the Hebrew consonants. The seventh graders were in the Sukkah.