April 25th - Yom HaAtzmaut

We were excited to celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut today! (Israel's Independence Day) The 7th grade students shared a skit with the other classes about how the symbols for Israel were chosen and that they all have meaning in Jewish Tradition!


In 4th grade students sang HaTikvah and reviewed the meaning of the Israeli national anthem. Several students wrote poems connected to Yom HaZikaron (Israel Memorial Day). This is observed the day before Yom HaAtzmaut. 5th grade also got ready for Yom HaAtzmaut by looking at HaTikvah and reviewing Hebrew words - and even some Israeli dancing. The 7th graders learned about all of the technological advancements that have been made by researchers and companies in Israel!

In Pictures: Sunday 4/22

Today the Kindergarten focused on Israel.  We looked at a map of Israel and of photos of Israeli people and places.  We learned about Yom Ha'Atzmaut (Israel's Independence Day / Israel's birthday) 

and how it is celebrated.  We also learned what Israel's flag looks like. 

The 4th grade is continuing to learn about Israel - the highlights of the cities and founding fathers and mothers.  We are dancing Israeli dances and learning to sing Hatikvah.  We are continuing to improve our Hebrew reading skills by reading and drilling words and phrases with letter combinations that have special rules for Hebrew reading. 

This week in 3rd grade we learned zayin and our final Hebrew vowel. We learned about the city of Tzfat and the concept of Tikkun Olam - Repair of the World.

In Mr. Levy's 2nd grade class students continued our journey into the story of Exodus and learned the significance of Yom Ha'atzmaut.

Today in 6th grade in Judaic Studies we reviewed the information we already learned and started our review project on cities in Israel. We will work on the projects for a few class sessions. In Hebrew everyone had a chance to demonstrate their mastery of the Torah and Haftarah blessings.

Mrs. Rodriguez's 2nd grade class enjoyed singing in music! We also posed as our favorite Hebrew letters using Alef-Bet yoga and reviewed the Hebrew we have learned so far with a game of Masoret. With a yummy snack it was a great day.

The 1st grade had a special treat today when Mrs. Kutell our art specialist came to work with the class on creating special tzedakah boxes to use throughout the year. We hope that you will use these lovely boxes in your homes. We also learned about Yom HaAtzmaut: Israel's birthday.

Today the 5th grade took a break from reviewing and focused instead on character building activities. The group had a chance to play games, perform skits, and reflect on the wonderful aspects of each of our personalities that help make religious school so special.

Thanks to Jonathan Maia for serving as our photographer!

April 18th - Yom HaShoah

Everyone gathered in the sanctuary for a special service for Yom HaShoah - in remembrance of those who perished in the Holocaust. Our 7th graders led the service with Rabbi Siegal.

In our fourth grade Hebrew class we are studying about Israel and Israel Independence Day.  We are reading and singing Hatikvah and doing Israeli dances. We are also reviewing Hebrew words and syllables that have unusual combinations in them. In Judaic Studies we had game day!

Today in the 5th grade Judaic Studies class the students continued to review the concepts of both Talmud Torah and Hachnasat Orchim. Since we never had a chance to do so the last time it was planned today we will perform skits reflecting the importance of these values in a modern context. In Hebrew we looked at the Kaddish prayer that is said in times of mourning.


Today in 6th grade Judaic Studies we continued reading about Tzfat. We answered questions and discussed the material to fully understand the text. In Hebrew we looked at the personal story of Uri Orlev, a Holocaust survivor, who became a writer in Israel. The story is told from Uri's viewpoint as a child: his dreams, hopes, along with his experiences in the ghetto, and in hiding.

Sunday 4/15 Religious School Activities

It was wonderful having our 6th grade parents at Religious School for their third family program this year. The parent session with Rabbi Siegal produced quite a few tears as

Wednesday, April 11th Updates

Here's what happened at Religious School today!

In 4th grade we started to learn about Israel Independence Day.  We did Israeli dances and learned to read and sing Hatikvah. We sang Israeli songs and did a facts page about Israeli

Preparing for Passover - April 4th

The 4th grade class prepared for Passover with a mini seder.  The class made charoset, sang songs and blessings from the Haggadah, completed our Passover booklet and tested each other on the Four Questions.

The 5th graders played Jewish Jeopardy reviewing information from their study of the

April 1, 2012 - No April Fools at Temple Judea!

Kindergarten

We began the day with a review of what we learned about Passover last week. We read “Penny and The Four Questions” by Nancy Krulick and talked a bit about “Seder etiquette.” We played a game of “What Belongs on a Seder Table?” and we finished our day singing Passover songs with Benny and Family Tefilah. The children, who were in class on March 25th, made beautiful Elijah or Miriam cups made of glass and Sculpty clay. The glasses should be hand-washed only. They will be a beautiful addition to your Seder table. The kids are very

Mr. Levy's 2nd Grade Celebrates Shabbat at The Palace!

"With Mr. Levy's coordination, his second grade class hand-decorated beautiful matzah covers for residents at The Palace. This past Friday, the children and their parents were invited to share Shabbat services (led by Mr. Levy), and present the residents with the handmade matzah covers. Nearly every child in the class turned out (this was entirely voluntary), and as you can imagine, the residents were thrilled! One by one, each child presented his/her matzah cover to a delighted resident. The residents' joy was visible and their gratitude immeasurable. Equally important, our children gained a deeper understanding of what a mitzvah really is. Kudos to Mr. Levy for making this happen; it was truly a wonderful experience."

Best regards, Christine Kotler

Wednesday 3/28 - Getting Ready for Passover!

The 7th graders did an awesome job leading tefilah during the 2nd hour of school today. We were fortunate to have a representative from Feeding South Florida who came for the presentation of money collected by Harrison Herskowitz, Noah Cohn, and Sam Zahn as part of their mitzvah project. Here's what was going on during the first hour of school: