New Information Calendar Changes!!! K/1/2 parents- We have a plan to reschedule the havdalah that was, unfortunately, cancelled due to weather. And in exciting news, Morah JoJo has been chosen to go on a Birthright trip to Israel so we are moving the grade-level service, too. Here is our plan: March 1 at 10:15am- 2nd/3rd grade Shabbat-led service March 2- NO SCHOOL FOR GRADES 2nd/3rd March 29 at 9am- K/1st grade Shabbat-led service March 30- NO SCHOOL FOR GRADES K/1st May 3 at 5:30pm- K/1st/2nd Havdalah May 4- SCHOOL FOR ALL GRADES
3/4/5 parents- Sadly, Mother Nature prevented us from having our
Havdalah this past weekend. Here is our new plan: April 5 at 5:30pm- 3rd/4th/5th Havdalah April 6- SCHOOL FOR ALL GRADES
3/4/5/6 parents- We have decided to cancel our Friday evening student led services for this school year. We will be having a guest rabbi here on March 7 to lead services and needed to do some adjustments!
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!
Important Dates & Upcoming Events March 1- 2nd/3rd grade Saturday morning Shabbat Service at 10:15am March 2- NO SCHOOL FOR GRADES 2nd/3rd March 2- Beresheet Day 5 from 10:30-12pm March 7- Purim Shabbat Jr at 5:30-6:30pm March 9- Purim Celebrated at HSRS. COSTUMES ENCOURAGED!!!! March 16, 19, and 23- NO HSRS (Spring Break) March 29 at 9am- K/1st grade Shabbat-led service March 30- NO SCHOOL FOR GRADES K/1st March 30- Beresheet Day 6 from 10:30-12pm April 5- 3rd/4th/5th Havdalah from 5:30-7:30pm April 13- NO HSRS (Non-working holiday, Passover) April 20- NO HSRS (Non-working holiday, Passover) April 25- Shabbat Jr at 5:30pm April 27- Beresheet Day 7 from 10:30-12pm
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. This week’s Teen of the Week is Maddie, one of our amazing Kindergarten madrichim! Maddie is always ready to lend a hand and jump right in whenever help is needed. Her calming presence brings comfort to the kindergartners, especially to those who have a tough time being away from their parents. Maddie’s kindness and dedication make her a true asset to our team, and we are so grateful to have her with us
Synagogue & Community News
From Our Teachers Beresheet (Preschool) from Morah Kyla and Morah Joanie See you in March for day 5!
Kitah Gan (Kindergarten) from Morah JoJo This week, we had a great time celebrating Tu Bishvat, the Jewish New Year for Trees! We started with our Hebrew lesson, practicing writing and sounding out letters. The class worked on writing their letters while practicing their names and sounds, then enjoyed some Hebrew Yoga to stretch and connect with the shapes of the letters. Next, we focused on Tu Bishvat and learned how trees give us so much, including food, oxygen, shade, and beauty. The kids got creative with a Tissue Paper Tree Craft, using toilet paper rolls and tissue paper to make their own trees. To wrap up the morning, we enjoyed several hands-on activities set up by Har Shalom. The students took home terracotta pots with parsley seeds, which they can care for and hopefully enjoy just in time for Passover. They also created their very own mini composters, complete with soil, leaves, and three worms to help decompose food scraps. Finally, we sampled the seven species of Tu Bishvat, including barley, wheat, olives, grapes, figs, dates, and pomegranate. The kids shared which ones they liked best. It was a fun and meaningful day, and the kids left with new ways to think about nature and take care of the planet. See you all next week!
Kitah Alef (First Grade) from Morah Laura We had so much fun this week celebrating Tu B’Shevat. We started off by making 3-D trees in talking about the holiday. The students all enjoyed sharing the things that they have grown and the different kinds of fruit trees that they have had or seen. After snack, where the students all devoured their chips and salsa and apples, we read a story about a lemon tree that gave a lot of joy to an entire community. Back in our classroom we learned about the letter pay and reviewed some previous letters. Finally, we had our celebration rotations. I hope you all enjoy the compost containers, the parsley plants, and ask your student about the different foods from Israel that they tried. Most of the students loved the barley soup, but had very diverse feelings about the dates and the olives. I look forward to seeing everyone next week and it was very helpful for the students who had brought bags this week to take home all of their materials.
Kitah Bet (Second Grade) from Morah Anne Hello Kita Bet families! It was a relaxing Sunday class this week but we still had fun! We spent the day reviewing and celebrating the holiday Tu B'Shvat. We began by reading a story and crafted our own tree out of tissue paper. After that, we planted some fruit tree seeds hoping to grow our own mini trees! We will keep them at Har Shalom for a few weeks to see if we can get them to sprout. After a quick snack and break, we finished watching our movie before heading to the sanctuary for the rest of our Tu B'Shvat celebration activities. It was so much fun to watch the kids try the seven species of the holiday. Olives were the over-all favorite! They also enjoyed handling the worms for their compost bins. All in all, it was a fun day to celebrate trees and growth even though it was so cold and snowy here. Have a great week!
Kitah Vav (Sixth Grade) from Morah Aviva Sunday- On Sunday, we practiced our hebrew vocabulary with Guess Who and Headbandz. We then did some hebrew reading before recess. After, we discussed what mental steps we need to take to prepare ourselves to be in a holy space before saying the Amidah, and llustrated values and appreciation to think of before saying the Amidah. We finished up with a meditation on self peace.
Kitah Zayin (Seventh Grade) Sunday from Rabbi Finestone- We worked on the Aramaic/Hebrew of the Kaddish prayer, with the students practicing reading the prayer both together and individually.
Sunday from Morah Michelle- The students learned about Jews and comedy. Did you know that in the 1970s, 80% of stand-up comics were Jewish? We discussed the reasons why Jews would have a disproportionate role in the comedic world. Then we watched a few clips from the Marks brothers and Mel Brooks. Students also started working on a paper cutting project that we will finish next week. Finally, we voted on our Hospitality Dinner theme and the kids chose….Minions!!! If your family has any Minions-themed decorations or costumes, please reach out! PLEASE SAVE THE LATE AFTERNOON/EVENING OF MAY 9 ON YOUR CALENDAR FOR THE 7TH GRADE HOSPITALITY DINNER!
Tu BiShvat Celebrations Our Kinders-2nd graders celebrated Tu Beshvat with three centers Sunday morning. Taste testing of the 7 species, decorating mini pots and planting Passover parsley, and making mini composters. Make sure to water the parsley seeds!
Our 3rd - 7th graders had a lovely Tu Beshvat seder Wednesday evening. Tu Bishvat is on the 15th day of the month of Shvat. It is common practice in some Jewish communities to consume a variety of fruits, include the 7 species mentioned in the Torah: wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates. Ask your student what food they liked the most? The least?
News from Teffillah (Prayer Session) with Deb Tefillah is going great! We are focusing now on the second half of the Shabbat morning service, from the Hatzi Kaddish onward.
News from Small Group with Deb Students in Small Group Hebrew are now within a few letters of completing the Hebrew alphabet! Great work!!
