Volume 14 Issue 5 February 2017

PRE-GAN {Sherry}

This month we learned about Tzedakah. I teach that is Tzedakah as helping people in as many ways as possible. There are many ways Preschoolers can do Tzedakah. They can help mom and dad with chores around the house, like putting recycling in the bin, sorting laundry, or even loading the dishwasher. Donating old toys or clothes, sharing toys when friends come over, being kind to animals and helping winter animals by putting out birdseed are also tzedakah. I explained that just smiling or making someone else laugh is Tzedakah. Our first act of Tzedakah was giving one of our rocking chairs to the 1st grade, when we found out they didn't have one, and we had more than we needed. The first graders had big smiles on their faces when we donated the chair. I read a book called Heartprints by P.K. Hallinan which asked how many heart prints (or acts of Tzedakah) will you leave today. The rest of the day, every time I noticed children doing acts of Tzedakah, I gave them a heart stamp to show they left a heart print. Ava almost ran out of room for heart prints. We also learned to count to 5 in Hebrew. At Center time Jonas and Gabe cleaned 5 pennies with vinegar and salt and then counted the shiny pennies into our Tzedakah box. Meyer, Yael and Noa did Tzedakah by cleaning our table with shaving cream. My room smelled so good! Ruth and Tyler did crayon rubbings at the Easel to see how many coins were in their Tzedakah box. Ruth squealed every time she found a coin! At the end of the year we will count all the Tzedakah money collected by our class and decide on a place we want to help. We hope the heart prints will continue to spread.

PRE-GAN {Vicki} The students are doing beautiful work in January in Pre-Gan 4. I am so proud of them and love their enthusiastic attitudes every Sunday! We have been busy learning Hebrew letters dalet and hei. We watched a short Shalom Sesame Aleph Bet Disco video, that highlights each letter’s sound and words that begin with each letter. Our words include deleth (door), dag (fish), devash (honey), Devorah (bee), hahr (mountain), hagag (dance in a circle), and hagadah (Jewish book used at Passover). Ziva, Rory, Yoni and all the students are doing a great job forming the aleph-bet letters with their bodies by doing Aleph-bet yoga. The children are also learning the important Jewish values of tikkun olam (making the world a better place) and tzedakah (acts of lovingkindness). We talked about ways we can help others, like being kind, and helping family and others. I performed a puppet play

called the Rainbow Fish for them, to show that it feels good to share what you have, then they did an activity with this as a group to help understand this concept. Joseph and Linus love giving their best effort by adding wonderful details to their crafts and art projects like the one we did for tzedakah and sharing by decorating paper dolls holding hands. We also read the book How Dalia Put a Big Yellow Comforter Inside a Tiny Blue Box to illustrate the beauty of giving tzedakah. Also, they made their own tzedakah boxes. I am encouraging them to help family members at home and add to our tzedakah box in the classroom each Sunday with nickels, dimes, quarters or whatever they can give, and donate to the one at home for a charity that they choose. We are reviewing the Hebrew letters that we have learned so far each week (aleph, bet, vet, gimel, dalet and hei) and doing various activities in hands-on, multi-sensory centers and games as a group to help recognize the letters and know the sounds they make. I am so proud of the children and look forward to seeing their beautiful faces each week. KITAH GAN: Kindergarten {Debbie}

Kindergarten has had a great start to the second semester. We continued our God Talk, reviewing that Jews pray to one God. We learned this concept during our study of Hanukkah as well. We learned the Shema, its meaning and how to do it in Sign Language. Harper and Adrian helped Miss Chana lead the class as we sang and signed together. We also discussed talking with God and the fact that anyone can talk to God anytime, for any reason, anywhere (except in the bathroom) about anything. Gavi helped teach the class that in order to pray as a group in the synagogue, we have to have 10 Jewish adults. The students were also introduced to the Hebrew letter Chet and enjoy playing review games. Jens and Evan enjoyed the “Look Alike” letter game while Andrew and Avi did a great job on the Roll and Say game. The students are so excited for the new learning centers that start this month. Shoshana also taught us a

Classroom News

little bit about Martin Luther King Jr., telling us that he wanted everyone to be nice to each other and treat everyone fairly! The students are also beginning to learn the “I Am Jewish” song, which can only mean that Consecration and Ceremony Sunday are around the corner!

KITAH ALEF: First Grade {Deena} As we start our new calendar year, we will be learning about synagogues (ours in particular). The children will be able to participate in our Synagogue Scavenger Hunt and learn about all the different objects in the synagogue. Our students will also have the opportunity to interview some of the important people who work at Adath Israel. In our last class, all of the students had an opportunity to write down one of their favorite memories of Toby Samet and draw a picture, which will be added to a school wide book of art honoring her. We look forward to celebrating Toby’s 50 years at Adath Israel!

KITAH BET: Second Grade {Scott} 2017 has arrived! Shalom! Though as of the time this is being written we have only been back for a couple of sessions, we have jumped right in by learning about the next holiday ; Tu B’Shevat. Though Tu B’Shevat comes across as a relatively minor holiday on the Jewish calendar, in fact it is a significant holiday, especially in Israel. In the coming weeks we will be learning why this is so as well as ways that we can make it a significant holiday for us here in America. We will also be doing a small project for this holiday, which you will read more about in the February issue of the Jarson Journal. In Hebrew we have reviewed two new letters, nun, (final nun too) and the letter chet, We have begun to learn Hebrew pronouns as well, a challenge which the students have met with enthusiasm and excitement. Learning to speak Hebrew, not just read Hebrew, adds another dimension - a fun dimension - to our lives as Jews. Learning this kind of Hebrew is a fundimentional value of mine- (okay…sorry for the pun) as language plays such a strong role in defining Jewish

culture, as it does in countless other cultures and ethnic groups throughout the world. Over the next few months it is my goal for the students to become comfortable enough with the pronouns and other basic nouns and verbs to be able to build and understand basic sentences in Hebrew. Last month we began playing a fun Hebrew matching card game online, and will continue to do so this month and through the end of the year.

Classroom News

Rabbi Karen

and

Rabbi Daniel

spent a recent Sunday morning visiting with

some of the classes at Religious School to get to

know everyone!

We had SO MUCH FUN!!!

KITAH GIMEL: 3rd Grade {Zahava} It is hard to believe that the month of January is almost behind us. Since our last lnoteto you, we have been learning about the subject of winter. We read a few stories about winter and the students were introduced to new Hebrew vocabulary and songs about winter. The students were also given some of their parts for the play for Ceremony Sunday and their Siddur Dedication, that will take place on February 26

th. I

need your help practicing your children’s parts and bringing them to class each session. In History, we read about Ein Gedi and King David. Ein Gedi is a place King David visited, located just at the edge of Jerusalem. The hills slope steeply towards the desert. Today lots of people visit Ein Gedi. King David was the first person to unite B’nai Yisrael into one large kingdom. He brought together the 12 tribes and built his capital in Jerusalem. We are continuing to practice our Hebrew reading and cursive writing. Next week we will begin to study about the holiday of Tu B’Shevat.

KITAH DALET: 4th Grade {Phyllis} Kitah Dalet brought our current story, The Black Crow to life by making a puppet show out of it. Each student created a paper bag puppet for a different character. As we read the story our puppets brought it to life. The point is to work in the language – to hear it and see it so that we are not translating Hebrew words into English words. We are experiencing Hebrew as it is spoken. It was a great deal of fun and the puppets were really creative. Brandon’s “mayim” (water) puppet was bold and colorful. Alex’s “yonah lavan” (white dove) was whimsical and had great personality! Sarina’s “etz” (tree) was a beautiful drawing and Molly’s “Yaldah” (girl) had a bit of a princess look. Cody and Joey created great beaks for their doves. Jacob and Wyatt’s crows, “orvim,” were quite menacing. Beckham created the “yeladim” the boys, Sam created the “ochel” (food) and “notzot (feathers) puppets and Philip made the “lavan” (white)

puppet. Not only did we practice our Hebrew, but we also learned about the importance of truth. The class also started to practice their Torah play for Ceremony Sunday, and is very excited to perform for everyone.

KITAH HEI: 5th Grade {Ryan} Shalom Parents! Welcome back to Kita Hei! I hope everyone had a fantastic winter break. Now that we’re back, the students have already starting new things in the new year! This school year, the 5

th grade class is lucky to be the stars of Toby’s play! Everyone has been

so active in setting and preparing for the play from rehearsing their lines, to setting up the props. The students have continued to learn and progress with Hebrew and Judaic studies. Recently, in our environmental chapter, the talmedim have come to better understand the laws of kashrut through discussions and activities. They not only understand the laws more deeply, but also see the environmental impact these laws have on our diet and our community. I hope everyone has a great new year!

KITAH VAV: 6th Grade {Leslee & Benj} L'shanah tovah - happy New Year! 6th grade is very excited to get back in gear during this new semester. After covering Sifrei Kodesh and Friendship in the fall semester, we are ready to transition into our next two units: Kashrut, and Bikkur Holim (the mitzvah of caring for the sick). So far, we have engaged in activities like gathering questions from students about kashrut, such as, "why aren't fish considered meat?" We also staged a grocery store visit and discussed what to look for in particular items to determine if it is kosher. We are also looking forward to expanding our modern Hebrew vocabulary and honing our reading skills. Here's to a beautiful new semester!

Classroom News

KITAH ZAYIN: 7th Grade {Brett} We have only had a couple classes since our last newsletter, but we are having a great start to the second semester. To finalize our Wednesday sessions with Rabbi Wise, the students had the opportunity to ask Rabbi Wise absolutely anything. Our students asked a broad range of questions about relationships, Judaic practices, and kashrut. The students will miss our weekly interactions with Rabbi Wise. Last Wednesday evening, we had the opportunity to meet a Sofer (scribe). We took a very

close look at the Torah and learned about what it takes to create a Torah scroll. The students also had the opportunity to participate in an exercise where they came up

with 100 dreams for the next year. Our students were able to envision what the next year could look like and what they could accomplish if they focused on what they are doing on a daily basis, including topics like education, social action, involvement in Jewish life, and health and wellness. All of our studies have been leading up to our next unit; the Holocaust, with the objective to ‘never forget’ and to never allow these events to happen again.

Classroom News

MUSIC AND TROPE {Mitch} Trope: Grades 5 and 6 This month, we focused on review and evaluations. Both 5th and 6th graders reviewed everything they learned so far during first semester. We reviewed the major Haftorah and Torah blessings, davening, and tropes. We continued to work on the Ashrei prayer in both classes. 5th graders participated in an "Ashrei" race where we divided the class up into teams, and each student took turns reciting one of the lines of Ashrei for points. We will begin working on new skills this coming month, and we will continue to review the skills learned so far. I want to thank our Madrichim (teacher assistants) in both classes who have helped provide additional support for students as they work on the more challenging blessings and prayers. Music: grades K-2 and 3-5

As Hanukkah ended, we transitioned to singing a number of non-holiday songs in music class in January. 3rd through 5th graders worked on the Hebrew for Hatikva. We sang a number of songs about peace, including two different upbeat versions of Oseh Shalom (by Nava Tehilah and Rick Recht). This past week we began singing songs about Tu b'Shevat (the New Year for Trees). We sang a number of songs, including "The Planting Song" by Jeff Klepper. Students enjoyed volunteering to lead "The Planting Song" singing in front of the class. We also sang the popular "Tree of Life". K-2 Tefillah were excited to do the hand motions to "The Green Grass Grows All Around" as we get ready to celebrate the New Year for Trees.

RESOURCE CENTER {Chana & Toby}

Toby: DICTIONARY WORDS!! Students choose favorite animals, sports, foods, etc, look them up in Hebrew Dictionaries and make PERSONAL FLASH CARDS to take home with our new supply of hundreds of letters and vowels on colorful card stock. This enables them to have an input in their learning, to personalize the activity and make yet another memorable learning experience. The colored letters and vowels are fun to work with, giving opportunity for artistic design as well. We also have plans to create vocabularies for holidays and subjects the students will choose, enlarging upon the concept of categorizing language subjects. TU B'SHEVAT IS COMING!!!!!

Chana: Kindergarten and 1st grade students learned to sign the Shema in modified ASL. The first 20 seconds of this video show a version very similar to the one we learned. 1st through 7th graders who participated in the 2016 Community and Congregation Israel Mission completed preparations for the school wide activity. Older students guided classes through clues and challenges to follow their Israel itinerary through Tel Aviv, Netanya, Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, Massada. Caesaria, and the Western Wall. Younger students shared their knowledge of Israeli food (and shared the food): the 7 species of Erets Yisrael along with borrowed foods and innovations: falafel, Bisli, Bamba (display only), and Israeli pretzels. The students were proud to share their unique experience with the rest of the school. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UrQHYOeAus LIBRARY {Barbara}

In response to a request to introduce more books in Hebrew for the children's section, we have added The Hebrew Alphabet: Book of Rhymes... by Yael Rosenberg and Sarah Mazor, From Head to Toe, by Eric Carle, in Hebrew, and a board book for the youngest.. Babayit, My First Words at Home, a very easy dictionary of Hebrew words in pictures. In addition, I am glad that children and families are remembering to bring back books from the holiday break. As we look forward to the spring Chagim, I hope the students will check out some of the new Young Adult cookbooks and storybooks. As always, I can take requests for new additions to our ever-growing library.

Classroom News

Special Activities

2/20/07

2/16/04

2/20/12

2/11/09

2/27/07

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13

5

8

10

Lucy Salters

Sophia Tyler

Joshua Willis

Eli Zelvy

Aaron Zelvy

2/22/09

2/13/09

2/9/04

2/6/06

2/16/09

8

8

13

11

8

Jacob Baron

Noah Cochran

Yoni Finkelstein

Samone Harris

Paige Levine

SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT

1 2 3 4 Family Service 10:30am

5 Mazel Tots 9am

6 7 8 9 10 11

12

13 14 15 16 17 Shabbat Neshama 6pm

18 Joshua Willis Bar Mitzvah

19 NO SCHOOL President’s Day Weekend

20 President’s Day Office Closed

21 22 23 24 25 Mini Minyan 10:30am

26 Ceremony Sunday

27 28

February 2017