Sunday, December 11th - Getting ready for Winter Break!

For our K-3 students today was the last day of classes for 2011! That meant lots of Chanukah parties in anticipation of the Festival of Lights. Don't forget Chanukah starts the night of December 20th. Here's what all of our classes were up to this Sunday.

Kindergarten

Today was our wonderful Chanukah party. We wrapped presents, painted dreidels and heard a story, "Mrs. Greenberg’s Messy Chanukah." We had bagels and cream cheese, latkes and applesauce! Yum! Then we made edible dreidals, yum-yum! We also played pin–the–candle on the Menorah. The day was filled with fun and games. Thanks to everyone for the generous gift card (which was not necessary, but greatly appreciated). I hope everyone has a happy Chanukah and healthy, Happy New Year. See you all back on Sunday, January 8, 2012!

1^st Grade

Chanukiot, dreidels, gelt, latkes and sufganiot helped bring the joy of Chanukah to our classroom. We began the morning recounting the story of chanukah. We reviewed Judah the Maccabee and the Jewish people’s fight for religious freedom. We also talked about the miracle of the bottle of oil that lasted for eight days and nights . We went over the meaning of

More Fantastic MACTown pics!

Temple Judea hosts a very special holiday party!

Our 7th graders hosted a holiday party for residents of MACTown. MACTown's primary mission is to improve the lives and further the independence of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in South Florida. We had 10 MACTown residents join us for dancing, latkes, picture frames and fun! Thanks to Lisa Heiblum for coordinating this awesome program!

Here's what was happening in the other classes:

4th grade: We discussed the metaphor of Noah "walking with God" and about assigning God anthropomorphic characteristics. We discussed the Theme word "covenant" and the number of times it was used. Our Davar Ha Yom was "sacrifices" which was quickly guessed in the hangman fame. In Hebrew we sang the Chanukkah blessings and talked about their meanings. We played the two chanukah games with reading Hebrew syllables and matching Chanukah themes.

5th grade: Today the 5th grade had a quiz in Hebrew on the Shema and Hebrew roots.  The quiz was difficult for most students. We reviewed the  material afterwards and they were able to understand it.  It is important for students to be able to read prayers and understand what they mean.  Students can easily review the material on the website.  EVERYONE should try to log in. If you can't, please ask the school office for help.  Next Wednesday, the 5th grade will have it's last class of the semester and a Chanukah party.  A sign up sheet is posted outside room 3. We will miss the Coral Gables Elementary students.  Have a great Chanukah and winter break!

6^th Grade Today we practiced the Chanukkah candle blessings. Wealso practiced the Aleinu and Ashrei. For the first time we read interesting articles from the Zim Zoom magazine about teen life in Israel. In Judaic Studies we played games to review the information we covered through the semester and then planned for our party. 

Sunday, December 4th at Temple Judea

Kindergarten
Today we focused on Chanukah. We read "Engineer Ari and the Hanukah Mishap" and "A Chanukah Riddle book." We painted menorahs and made beautiful Chanukah wrapping paper. We had music with
Benny and closed with Family Tefilah. Next week we have our class Chanukah party.
1st Grade
Excitement is in the air as we prepare to celebrate Chanukah. Students acted out the story of Chanukah. We discussed the miracle of the oil. We made shields to remind ourselves that we must be brave like Judah the Maccabee. We must do everything we can to keep our freedom and help others to achieve the same.

November 30, 2011

This Wednesday was a very difficult day at Temple Judea. We have experienced a terrible loss with the death of Vicki Hamersmith, mom to Sofie, Cameron, and Kasey. Students had a chance to discuss this in their classes and make cards for the Hamersmith kids. We also had Wednesday tefilah which was an opportunity to come together and express both our sadness and our gratitude. In addition, our 4th grade classes learned about the 613 mitzvot in Hebrew, and delved further in to the story of Cain and Abel in Judaic studies. In 7th grade we did planning for next week's holiday party with MACTown. We discussed what MACTown is and what to expect next week. We also planned some fun activities like gingerbread cookie decorating and also making holiday picture frames.

A Super Sunday - Here's what happened on 11.20.11

Today was super busy! Our 6th graders went all over the building taking pictures as part of the Jewish Lens program. They also created a bulletin board that will teach the community about Yachdav and involve them in the program. In 5th grade Judaic Studies we reviewed the concept of Tzedek (justice). Each student was able to name multiple characters from the Bible who demonstrate just behavior. After reading quotes from the Bible about justice, the students created skits to demonstrate how we can express tzedek in a modern day setting. In Hebrew the 5th grade started 

Our First Kitah Kef (and other events from 11.16.11)

Kitah Kef (literally "fun class") is the collaborative program offered by the education and youth departments at Temple Judea. It highlights the best possible blend of formal and informal education. This past Wednesday, all of our 4th-7th graders competed in the Torah Board game. Pictures and video to come! Here is what else happened. In 4th grade Hebrew we played a game reviewing lessons 14 &15. We also worked on chanting the V'ahavta. In Judaic Studies we began the story of Cain & Abel with a discussion of fairness, anger and jealousy. In 5th grade Judaic Studies we talked about justice and wrote examples of justice and how to act with justice. In Hebrew both Maccabi Herzeliyah and HaPoel Kfar Saba studied the Maariv Aravim prayer--a parallel prayer to the Yotzer Or, for the evening service. We are going to continue with the Shema and its blessings. The 6th graders learned about the city of Haifa. In 7th grade we caught up in our small groups. Rabbi Siegal worked with students on the structure of the service, Erica reviewed the Avot V'Imahot, and Beth worked with students to create games to review important Judaic terms - like Talmud and aliyah!

Thanks to all the families who joined us for Family Moments!

Sunday, November 13th Spotlight

The 6th grade practiced the reading and chanting of the Birkot HaHaftarah and Aleinu. Please remember to bring the Siddur booklet every week. In Judaic Studies we read about Masada. In groups we made word splashes. Today in 5th grade we continued our study of Tzedek. After playing relay games with no rules, we discussed the importance of how to behave or act. We read the holiness code and chose our favorite section. 4th grade students learned the words mishpacha and chai today. We just have one more sentence in the V'ahavta to learn and we are reading Hebrew much more smoothly. In Judaic Studies we completed the creation story of the Garden of Eden. The D'var HaYom was "creation" and "brother." We began the story of Cain & Abel. The 3rd Grade added hey to the letters we already know. Today we visited Masada and learned about Josephus. 2nd graders learned the vav and koof. We began our study of the book of Exodus. The 1st graders drew a picture of God’s promise to Abraham that his descendant would be as numerous as the star in the sky and the grains of sand. Each child made a personal connection to this promise as they identified themselves with one of those stars and grain of sand.

Signing the Shema at Family Tefilah!