Sunday, September 29, 2013

What Happened in Grades K-2 on Sunday, September 29...

Kindergarten

 

Kindergarten started our day with circle time, which is how we normally begin. This helps us establish a classroom routine so we know what to expect when we come to Religious School. Circle time gives us a chance to share with our new friends what we did this past week.


After sitting down during circle time, we needed to stretch! We sang "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" in Hebrew, which we knew from previous weeks, and learned a new song - Shabbat Boogie!


We started to talk about stories that can be found in the Torah and Mrs. Bernstein had us draw pictures of our favorite stories.


Everyone had a chance to share their picture and favorite story with the class. It was a great day!

Grade 1


Grade 1 started our day with a story. Ms. Levy read to us about Sammy Spider's first Simchat Torah.


In T'filah we learned a new song with Cantor Yomtov. It is called "Rise and Shine."



In class, we explored the holiday of Simchat Torah and learned that we wave flags to celebrate. We decided to make Israeli flags that we can use next year at Simchat Torah.


In keeping with our Simchat Torah theme, we talked about the Torah (what is it, where can we find it, when do we use it, etc) and learned the blessing that we say before reading Torah. Everyone got to decorate their own copy of the brachah (blessing). 

Grade 2


Grade 2 started our day learning about the letter lamed. We used our Hebrew workbooks to practice finding the letter in a row of words.


Then we went to T'filah. We love using our new Mishkan T'filah siddurim (prayer books)! We learned a new song, "Rise and Shine" with Cantor Yomtov.


When we came back to class, Mrs. Ehrenreich taught us about the letter mem and how it looks different when it appears at the end of a word. This is called mem sofit.




In art class, we made letter wheels using the outline of a Torah. This will help us practice our Hebrew letters at home each week.


Monday, September 23, 2013

What Happened in Grades 3-6 on Sunday, September 22...

Grade 3


Grade 3 stated our day with T'filah (prayer time) and Kehillah (community time). During Kehillah, we sang HaTikvah (Israel's National Anthem).


Then, we visited the Sukkah and learned how to perform the mitzvah of shaking the Lulav and Etrog.


In Mrs. Zaas' Judaics class, we sorted various things into three groups: ordinary, special, and Kadosh (Holy). We discussed why we put each thing in each category as we began to explore what makes something ordinary, special or Kadosh


In Mrs. Gabay's Judaics class, we finished making our brit (agreement) so that we all know what is expected of each of us as students and so that Mrs. Gabay knows what we hope to get from her as a teacher and from our class. 



In Hebrew with Mrs. Zaas, we decorated our Hebrew binders, which is where we will keep all of our materials this year. It is important for us to bring these with us each week and on Tuesdays as well!

Grade 4


In Mr. Feinberg's Judaics class, we learned about how we will use a process called Philosophical Inquiry to better understand Torah. To begin, we learned about the kinds of questions that Mr. Feinberg will challenge us to think of when looking at a piece of Torah text. These are called Philosophical Questions. Philosophical Questions don't have straight forward answers, like 2+2 = 4. An example of a Philosophical Question that might come from a Torah text is, “what does it mean to be good."




In Mrs. Abrams' Judaics class, we will be exploring the idea of what it means to be an "upstander." We started with an activity that required us to work on our teamwork skills. Everyone had to pick up a starfish on the ground made out of yarn, bring it to another room, and set it down without breaking the starfish. After many attempts, the we had a discussion on the importance of working as a group and began to unpack the quote from Pirkei Avot 2:21, “It is not upon you to complete the work, but neither are you free to dissent from it.”






We all visited the Sukkah and learned about the mitzvah of waiving the Lulav and Etrog.




In Hebrew with Mr. Feinberg, we made flashcards with the Hebrew letters. On one side, we drew the Hebrew letter, and on the other, wewrote the name of the letter and sound it makes. It is important that we study these flashcards at home so that our Hebrew skills continue to progress this year.

Grade 5

 

In Ms. Gonzalez's Judaics class, we are starting a unit on the Book of Nevi'im (Prophets). To begin thinking about prophets, Ms. Gonzalez had us draw what we think of when we hear the word "prophet."




We also spent time reviewing basic Hebrew vocabulary.



In Hebrew with Ms. Silverstein, we worked on an activity where we had to sound out Hebrew words and match them with the English words that they sounded like.



We also spent time in the Sukkah, where we got the chance to perform the mitzvah of shaking the Lulav and Etrog.

Grade 6


In Judaics with Ms. Killam, we began our unit called Count Me In. During this unit, we will be exploring the quote from Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7:1, "Every person has three names: one his or her father and mother give, one others call him or her, and one s/he earns for him or herself." 




In Hebrew with Mr. Solomon, we focused on "look alike letters" and developed strategies for telling these strikingly similar letters apart. We also reviewed the brachot (blessings) for Sukkot.



We all visited the Sukkah and were able to practice the mitzvah of shaking the Lulav and Etrog.