Sunday, October 30th Highlights!

Kindergarten

Today we were busy learning all about Shabbat. We went over the blessings, and talked about the special symbols and rituals associated with celebrating this weekly holiday. We read the Shabbat Box, and the children decided they want to make a shabbat box in our class too. Then each week a child will get a turn to take the shabbat box home. We also read a book about Noah, and the kids were amazed that Noah was 600 years old when he built the ark! We finished our Torah art project, drew shabbat pictures and had music with Benny. It was action-packed as always. 

1^st Grade

We learned about the story of Noah. God created the rainbow as a covenant with Noah and all of humankind. God promised never to flood the entire Earth again, and we promised to act in God’s way doing good and doing the right things. We made a rainbow, and then wrote things we promised to do in order to fulfill our promise to God. 

2^nd grade - Mrs. Rodriguez

We enjoyed music and sang Modeh Ani. We had a discussion about Rachamim, showing compassion.

2^nd grade - Mr. Levy

We learned the Dalet, Vet and completed the first lesson of CHAI Torah learning. It is all about the Torah and how we are ready to embark on our journey into the book of Exodus!

3^rd Grade

Today in Hebrew we reviewed dalet & the silent vowel. We also learned Alef. We began our holiday books that we will share with kindergarten later on in the year. We also learned about King Solomon. 

4^th Grade

In Hebrew, we learned two new vowels that say OO. We learned 2 words with our new letters: kiddush and sukkah. We played a reading game as well as tic tac toe with the key words from lessons 1-12. In Judaic Studies we read and discussed the two creation stories and compared and contrasted them. We played a baseball quiz to reinforce our learning and the students had a chance to visit the library.

5^th Grade

In Judaic Studies we created brochures to demonstrate our understanding of the value of Hachnassat Orchim (welcoming the stranger). We showed how we could implement this value today and why it was so important. In Hebrew we took a quiz on Yotzer Or and used the cd to play games and reinforce our learning. 

6^th Grade

During Judaic Studies we played a game to review our learning on Wars before the founding of the state of Israel, basic Israel facts, and the regions of Tel Aviv & the Dead Sea. In Hebrew, we introduced the Aleinu and discussed the way Aleinu is said in our Synagogue. We also practiced reading the prayer for the first time.

Wednesday Events (10/26/11)

4^th Grade

Learned samech, sin, the ch vowel and the Hebrew words for grandma, grandpa and Israel. We reviewed all that is involved in the Havdalah ceremony and played a reading game with our new words. In Judaic Studies the 4^th Grade class compared the 2 creation stories – the one earth related & the other family related. They learned the words Dam, Adam, Adamah, Eesh and Eesh-a-h. The learned what midrash is and looked at an example – Wnen God made Adam, God collected dust from the corners of the earth –white sand, rich black soil, red & yellow clay. 

5th Grade

Mrs. Goldberg's 5th grade class created a beautiful Yotzer Or bulletin board.  The class also opened the class CD and studied and played on 4 school laptops!  Now that everyone knows how to use the CD, please take time and study for 10 minutes every day. We will have a quiz on the first 6 lines of the prayer on Sunday.  You can all do it!!! Today in Judaic Studies  we read the story of “Eliezer meets Rebecca”. Then we came up with modern day versions of the story. Then we switched papers and added on to our friends stories. This lesson is designed to show the students how many different ways there are to show Hachnasat orchim.

6^th Grade

In Judaic studies, we reviewed information in the book about Tel Aviv and the Dead Sea. We used that information to create questions for the game we will play next class. In Hebrew we reviewed the Haftarah blessings - they sure are tricky! 

7th Grade

For the first hour we got new teachers and topics for smaller learning groups. Then, when the class got back together we learned about what it means, and how organizations qualify, to be a 501c3. It was a complicated topic but the class did a great job catching on!

5th Graders Tackle the Yotzeir Or!

What happened on Sunday! (10/23/11)

Kindergarten
Our focus today was the concept of “Love your neighbor as yourself." We drew pictures to put up on the bulletin board of ways we can treat friends (neighbors) in the same manner that we would like to be treated in. We learned about Rabbi Hillel and learning Torah while standing on one foot!
First grade
Today’s class focused on Genesis chapter 1 and 2 – The stories of Creation. We learned that God created in an order and the process of Creation ends with Shabbat: a celebration of that Creation. The second story teaches us that we must take care of the world. God created Adam and Eve to help each other. We made a chart of the creation process and we made a tree with the name of the people who help us.
Second Grade - Mr. Levy 
Today we made edible Torahs and learned the Hebrew letters Resh and Chaf.
Second Grade - Mrs. Rodriguez
We learn how to say my name is in Hebrew. We had recess and played Masoret. 
3rd grade
In Hebrew we reviewed our third vowel sound—the E vowel.  We also learned a new letter, Dalet, and started to learn about the silent vowel.  After music, the class was split into two teams, Beersheva and Sde Boker, two important places in the Negev desert.  They learned about an important person connected to the place and a little about why people visit there before presenting about the place to the class!
4th grade Hebrew
We learned vav and vet and mitzvah (commandment) and Havdalah (separation). We played a game with all of our Hebrew key words and we learned about the Havdalah ceremony.
4th grade Judaic Studies
We created a diary for Adam or Eve and discussed if we would like to forever live in the garden of Eden or venture into the world. 
5th grade
In Hebrew we continued to work on the Yotzer Or (thanks to Seth, our sub). In Judaic Studies we continued our discussion of Hachnasat orchim. After brief review, we read the story of “Joshua sends spies to Canaan.” When we completed the story, we compared Rahav with other characters who exemplify the values of Hachnasat orchim, like Abraham, Boaz, and Ruth. We finished the day looking at the children's story written by Gilad Shalit when he was 11.

6th grade

Today we had our first Yachdav class. This is the program partnering us with a school in Israel. This session was made up of two stages: a game and a trigger poem entitled “That kid is me" by Yehuda Atlas. After the reading we discussed what things you need to find out in order to know somebody. Each student wrote facts that make him or her special. We also had our first Jewish Lens class with Candice Maze and talked about objective and subjective interpretations of photographs!

Rabbi Goldberg LOVES his props!

Hag Sameach - Happy Simchat Torah!

It's Simchat Torah - 10/19 Update!

Shalom and Hag Samach! Today the 7^th grade learned about and celebrated simchat torah. The class split into 5 teams and completed against each other to answer Simchat Torah trivia questions. Then each group was given puzzles where they had to find words in the Torah based on the book, chapter and verse. Then all the classes came together for Simchat Torah services where we sang and danced with the Torah. The 7^th grade helped hold the Torah as it was completely unrolled. The Torah almost stretched around the entire Sanctuary! In 6^th grade we finished the movie “The Wave” and started talking about the movie and its similarities to historical events. We also watched the movie The Making of the Torah. The movie explained facts about the process of making the Torah: the scribe, the feather, ink and the style of the letters. In 5th Grade the Hapoel Kfar Saba group made their own sukkot and reviewed the prayers for Sukkot and discussed the upcoming holiday of Simchat Torah. The Maccabi Herzeliya group spoke about the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and continued to learn the Yotzer Or.  They are up to line 5 of the prayer--half way there!!  Please use the CD to practice 10 minutes a day.  It will be much easier and faster.  We celebrated Simchat Torah as a community and rolled the Torah scroll all the way out and around the Sanctuary so our rabbis could read the last and first sections, thus starting the cycle of Torah reading over again for another year. In 4^th Grade we learned tet, tav, torah and talit. We played around the world reading hebrew words with our new letters.

Sunday, October 16 Highlights!

Today Kindergarten was very busy! We had music, a visit to the sukkah, and consecration rehearsal. That left us with only 30 minutes to squeeze in our snack and a story. We heard On Sukkot and Simchat Torah by Cathy Goldberg Fishman which gave us a lot of information on the history and customs of these holidays. First Grade explored the four species that make up the lulav and etrog and made edible Sukkot. 2^nd Grade learned the Alef Bet letters kaf and vav. We waved the lulav and visted the sukkah. In 3rd Grade we learned a new letter, mem, and the "ee" vowel.  We then did an activity that led students to discover one of the most precious resources in Israel, water.  The end of Sukkot starts the rainy season in Israel so a prayer for rain is added at this time. We made and ate edible Sukkot! The 4^th Grade learned resh and the ay vowel. We played up the montain with our new reading words and learned the Succot blessings. We also reviewed what we learned about the Torah from the Rabbis. We went into the sukkah & welcomed our new students. Today in  5^th Grade we continued our celebration of the holiday of sukkot. First, we talked about the requirements of building a sukkah. Then, we built our very own sukkot: they will be on display in the class room next Sunday. 6^th grade focused on the blessings after the Haftorah reading. The central theme is the statement that God is “The one whose every word is dependable." The last part the blessing is about shabbat. We also looked for Kamatz Gadol during the reading of the blessings. Then the entire 6^th grade played a sukkot game all together. 

Hag Sameach - Happy Sukkot! 10/12/11

In Hebrew Fourth grade played "Fill the Sukkah," a game reading words with tzadee and final tzadee. We learned the Shabbat blessings and sang 3 sentences of Vahavta. In Judaic Studies the class researched different aspects of sukkot. One group read Leviticus 25:39, another group read the Mishnah rules for building a sukkah, another group measured the Temple’s sukkah, and another told about the ushpizin. The fifth grade class talked about the holiday of Sukkot with “advanced” word finds (crosswords puzzles) to reinforce our vocabulary. Then, we learned the sukkot prayers and enjoyed eating lollipops in the Sukkot it’s a mitzvah after all! In Hebrew we studied the first two lines of Yotzer Or.  The class made some great progress!!!  For both groups there will be a quiz on these two lines on Sunday.  Use your books and especially your CD for review.  You can do it!!! Sixth grade focused on the blessings after the Haftorah. The central theme is that God is “the One Whos every word is dependable." The last part of blessings is about Shabbat. We also looked for Kamatz gadol during the reading of the blessings. We also began watching a movie called “The Wave.” This movie is about a high school teacher trying to teach about the Nazi’s rise to power. The 7^th grade participated in several sukkot activities as a class. We learned that there is always a full moon on the first night of Sukkot. We also heard from classmates who will be serving as Student Ambassadors. They had great ideas. All of the classes visited the sukkah with Rabbi Siegal and attended the congregation's Sukkot service. Hag samach!

Wednesday,October 5, 2011

4th Grade discussed the quote: “Apologizing does not always mean that you’re wrong and the other person is right. It just means that you value your relationship more than your ego.” Then the class read the first chapter of Being Torah. We discussed Theme words and Number words that we will find thought text. In Hebrew we learned tzadee and final tzadee and the words matzah, meetz (juice). We also did a reading game and wrote a teshuvah-gram to God for Yom Kippur. 5th Grade continued our study of Hachnasat orchim. First we read the story of Ruth and discussed the characters’ respective choices. Then, we broke into groups and talked about how to incorporate the tenants of Hachnasat orchim in to our day to day lives. 6th Grade read the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel. In Hebrew we completed the learning of the blessing before the haftarah. We practiced our reading and focused on the Hebrew vowel sh'va. We also worked on Teshuvah skits demonstrating the four steps to Teshuvah.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Kindergarten focused on Yom Kippur, their actions during the past years, how we pray for forgiveness, as well as having better behavior in the future. We read the story about K'tonton (Jewish Tom Thumb), the Yom Kippur Kitten and Jonah. Then we made our own big fish books! We also enjoyed music class with Benny. We continue to work on our songs that will be sung at consecration. First Grade prepared for Yom Kippur, the day of atonement. It is a time to reflect on how we behaved during the past year. We say “I’m sorry” to the people we not act correctly with. We then drew pictures of the things we were sorry for and we promised to try harder to be the best we can be. We recognize we missed the mark and we are determined to do our best to hit the bull’s eye with our actions next year. Second Grade learned about how hard it is to do Teshuvah! Third Grade learned the Hebrew letters Mem & Laned. They wrote personal letters to God asking for forgiveness so that we can have a happy 5772. In Judiac Studies we finished our brochure on the Negev. We learned what children in Israel do during Yom Kippur. We also learned about the high priest and what would happen when he entered the Holy of Holies. Fourth Grade read the story of Jonah and the students illustrated the story and wrote “What is the message of the story? Why is it read on Yom Kippur afternoon?" In art we made Siddur covers. Fifth Grade started yotzer or. Please practice lines 1-3. The Judaic Studies class started our new unit, Hachnasat orchim. We read he story of “Abraham and the three vistors” and came up with a list of how to best welcome guests to our homes. Finally, we created skits that demonstrated how Abraham would act in variety of situations. We learned it is a Jewish value to welcome people into our homes. Sixth Grade began the learning of the Haftorah blessings and discussed the meaning of the root. We made the connection to the time of the Maccabees when Antiochus banned Jewish practice and we made a connection to our freedom. We also completed our letters to God that soon will be posted on the classroom board. In Judiac Studies we read and discussed the history and culture of Tel Aviv.