Parent-Teacher Conferences

It was wonderful to see so many of you at Parent-Teacher conferences yesterday. (I look forward to productive phone conversations with the rest of you!) I am very pleased with how all of the students are progressing and I hope you are, too. At the same time, I have a lot of good ideas about how to make the next semester even better for your children.
Please keep an eye on your child's Dropbox folder for some pictures, their grade report, and their full progress report (come January). If you have any questions about how to access that folder, please contact Rabbi Silverman.
Finally, some of you have indicated an interest in Hebrew tutoring for your children. I am happy to announce that Rabbi Silverman is in the process of interviewing several wonderful candidates to be tutors here at KI and they should be ready to start work in January. If you are interested in signing your child up for tutoring, please contact me or Rabbi Silverman.
Have a wonderful break! See you on January 2nd!

Last day of 2013!

Kitah Dalet-Hei ended the semester with a bang on Monday with our field trip to Family Table in Waltham. We successfully brought our 103 items of donated food to the facility, got a tour, and sorted almost all of our food into categories so that families in need would be able to "shop" for what they need. They students had a great time and learned a lot. Many thanks to Brad Kramer and Jennie Roffman for being intrepid drivers and chaperones on this trip. Finally, I want to apologize for coming back late and making some of our parents wait; I take full responsibility for not accounting for traffic on the way back. I'm so sorry for any inconvenience I may have caused.
To start a conversation with your child about KIRS: Ask them how they connect our food drive to the Jewish idea of "Kol Yisrael Arevim Zeh b'Zeh (all Israel is responsible for one another).
In lieu of class, parent-teacher conferences will be held on Thursday beginning at 4:30. If you haven't had a chance to sign up for a time slot yet, you can still do so here.
After this we are off for break until January 2, 2014. Looking forward to seeing you in the new year!

Showing off all of our donated food

Listening to instructions on how to sort the food

Sorting the food

Sorting more food

12/12/13

I was sorry to miss class this afternoon, but I heard everything went smoothly! I was also very excited to hear that we have REACHED OUR GOAL in collecting donations for Family Table--we now have 103 items to donate! I am so proud of these students as they have worked very hard for this great cause. I am looking forward to taking a trip to Family Table on Monday and learning more about this wonderful organization.
There is a lot happening in the next few days for Kitah Dalet-Hei. Please see my previous post for dates to remember. You may now sign up here for a time slot in which to meet with me at Parent Teacher conferences next Thursday, Dec. 19. This is a great opportunity to follow up on conversations we started at Back to School night, reflect on the past semester, and make a plan for success next semester. I look forward to seeing you there.

12/9/13

There are lots of exciting events coming up for Kitah Dalet-Hei!

Dec. 12: Please note that I will be absent and the class will be run by another capable staff member.

Dec. 14: The students will lead the Shabbat Morning Service at Jr. Congregation. Please encourage them to practice their prayers (and accompanying movements!) at home.

Dec. 16: Our field trip to Family Table! Please return your child's permission slip if you have not done so already.

Dec. 19: Parent-teacher conferences from 4-7 PM. More information to come.

A note about homework: Please help make sure your child turns in the homework the day it is due. Many students did not turn in their homework packet on the Shema, which was due today. These assignments not only reinforce important content, they help the students develop a sense of responsibility for their learning. If your student ever has trouble completing the packet, please feel free to reach out, and I would be happy to help.

Mazel Tov!

A belated Mazel Tov to Sophia Friedman, the Mensch of the Month for Kislev!

12/5/13

It was back to business in Kitah Dalet-Hei today after the excitement of the holidays. The students learned a new prayer, the Shema, and practiced the prayers they will lead at Jr. Congregation on Dec. 14. They will be adding physical actions to help express the meaning of the prayers. Please be aware that they have a homework assignment on the Shema that is due on Monday, Dec. 9. Finally, we began to study our last text of Judges for 2013, the conclusion of the story of Gideon.
I am excited to announce that our food drive for Family Table is going very well. We have reached almost 50 % of our goal (100 items)! I am very much looking forward to bringing our donations to Family Table with the students on Dec. 16. Please sign and return the permission trip for this trip as soon as you can to make sure your child is able to attend.

KIRS Field Trip

I am excited to share with you an opportunity for our class in conjunction with our mitzvah project, "Feeding the Hungry with Family Table." We have been invited to bring the donations we have collected to the Family Table facility in Waltham, sort and box them for families, and learn more about how our donations are part of the process of helping the community. This would occur on our last day of KIRS before break, on Dec. 16. We will meet at KI at the regular time (3 PM) and return at about 5:15 PM (just past the normal pick-up time of 4:45). I will be sending permission slips home with the students on Thursday; please sign and return them as soon as you can. We are hoping to have 2 parent drivers who can also act as chaperones on the trip. If this is something you are interested in, please let me know. 

If you have any questions for me, please feel free to reach out. Looking forward to sharing this experience with your children!

12/2/13

We have had a lot of fun celebrating Hanukkah in Kitah-Dalet Hei. We have learned about the history of the holiday and how to play dreidel. The students have even made menorahs (chanukiahs) to take home and use. Some students tried them out for the first time at the KIRS Hanukkah party this afternoon!
We are looking forward to leading Junior Congregation again on Dec. 14 (save the date!) and wrapping up our food drive with Family Table at the end of the month. We have collected almost 30 items so far and are hoping to reach 100, so please continue to send in donations. Thank you in advance!

11/21-11/25/13

It was such a pleasure watching Kitah Dalet-Hei lead Junior Congregation this past Shabbat morning. They had worked so hard on Monday and Wednesday preparing to lead the prayers and teach the parsha, and their effort truly paid off. The students reflected today on some things they think could have gone better, but all in all, I think it was a success. Kol ha Kavod!

Sophia and Serena practice Anim Zemirot, which they flawlessly led on Saturday.

This afternoon, the students learned about the menorah (hanukkiah) and then made menorahs of our own. We are excited to finish them and use them next Monday at our KIRS Hanukkah party!

Happy Hanukkah!

11/18/13

I was thrilled to hear the students rehearse the prayers for the Torah service that they will be leading this week on Shabbat morning at Junior Congregation. They sound like true young leaders. I encourage any parent who is able to join us in the chapel this Saturday morning at 10 AM to hear for yourself how great they are.
The students will also be teaching on Parshat Vayeishev, the beginning of the Joseph novella. Please remind your child that he or she should finish reading the parsha and be prepared to share the important events from it on Thursday.
Finally, our food drive is in full swing! We currently have 9 items--only 91 away from our goal! Please continue to send in kosher, non-perishable food items. Thank you to everyone who has already contributed!

11/14/13

I was disappointed to have to miss class with Kitah Dalet-Hei on Nov. 14. I look forward to seeing everyone next week!
Each student should have taken home a make-your-own "Memory Card" game with all of the vocabulary words learned so far. Please encourage your child to decorate this game; if they show the completed version to me, they will receive extra credit. More importantly, this game can be used as a fun and simple way to review our vocabulary words and keep them fresh in our minds. Ask your child if he or she will let you play, too!
Instructions for the game can be found here. The goal is to collect the most pairs of cards (a pair is a Hebrew word and its English definition).

11/7/13

It was so wonderful to see so many of you at KIRS Back-to-School Night last Thursday evening! Thank you so much for coming out to KI to share and learn with me. Be on the lookout for a follow-up email from me in the next few days.
We have been busy in Kitah Dalet-Hei preparing for some exciting upcoming events. On Saturday, Nov. 23 Dalet-Hei will lead Junior Congregation in prayer and learning. Your child can practice Ein Kamocha and Av HaRachamim here, and Vayehi Binsoa here.
We have also begun to collect kosher items for our food drive with Family Table. Collecting food for the hungry helps teach us the mitzvah of "Kol Israel Arevim Zeh b'Zeh"--all Israel is responsible for one another. Please send in any non-perishable kosher items you might have. Family Table especially needs peanut butter, whole wheat crackers, canned fruit in fruit juice, raisins, low-sodium soup, and household goods such as toilet paper and Shabbat candles. Our goal is to collect 100 items by Dec. 16.
To start a conversation with your child about KIRS: In the story of Gideon and the wool, we learn about Gideon receiving a sign from G-d. Do you believe in signs from G-d? Have you ever experienced one?
Please note: There will be no school on Monday, Nov. 11 due to Veteran's Day. Classes will resume on Thursday, Nov. 14. 

11/4/13

Kitah Dalet-Hei has begun learning "VaYehi Binsoa," a prayer for the Saturday morning Torah service. We are looking forward to leading Junior Congregation on November 23rd! Remember that students can practice our previous two prayers here, and can work on the new one here. 

We are also excited to launch our mitzvah project "Feeding the Hungry with Family Table" beginning this week! Our goal is to collect 100 kosher food items by December 16th. Please send in any extra non-perishable items you might have, especially canned fruit (in fruit juice), raisins, whole grain crackers, peanut butter, low-sodium soup, toilet paper, and Shabbat candles. 

Finally, I am pleased to announce that Carly Grossman is our "Mensch of the Month"! During Cheshvan, she exhibited responsibility, respect, and hard work, all qualities of an exemplary Dalet-Hei student. I look forward to seeing who our next Mensch of the Month will be!

A few upcoming dates to remember:
Thursday 11/7, 6 PM: Back-to-School night. Sign up here to set up an individual appointment with me.
Monday, 11/11: No KIRS, Veteran's Day
Thursday 11/14: Students return to KIRS. I will be absent, but one of our fantastic KIRS teachers will fill my shoes. I look forward to returning on Monday 11/18.

Special Announcement!

KIRS Back-to-School night will be on Thursday, Nov. 7 from 6:00-7:30 PM. This is an opportunity for you to chat with me and the other KIRS staff about your child's progress, now that we are about midway through the semester. Come with questions, concerns, comments, or just to check out all the wonderful work we have been doing in Kitah Dalet-Hei.

Day 10: 10/28/13

There was a lot of great energy in Dalet-Hei today. The students first took a vocabulary quiz. 100% of the students passed the quiz, almost all got an 80% or above, and a few students showed a huge improvement from their last quiz. They then learned 9 new vocabulary words-please be aware that they have a homework assignment due Thursday and a quiz next Monday. Feel free to contact me if there are any questions about this.
Next, the students practiced chanting Av HaRachamim. They sounded beautiful. Check out KIRS' facebook page for a video! (KI's Religious School on Facebook)
Finally, we made a list of steps we need to take to achieve our goal for our mitzvah project. Our goal is to collect 100 items of kosher, non-perishable food by the last day of class in 2013 (Dec. 16). We'll send out a flyer soon with more details about the food drive, but until then, think about what you have in your pantry that you might be willing to donate!

Day 9 10/24/13

Thursday was a busy day in Kitah Dalet-Hei. We began by chanting Av HaRachamim, one of the prayers of the Saturday morning Torah service. The students are well on their way to being able to lead services in the Junior Congregation. We also finished studying the story of Gideon destroying the altar in the book of Judges. Finally, we brainstormed all of the steps we will need to take to reach the goal for our mitzvah project: 100 items of food collected for Family Table by December 16. Look for a flyer from your child in the next couple of weeks about how you can get involved. Please remember that on Monday, the students will have a brief quiz on 10 of the words that appear most frequently in the siddur. They can study from the list in the "Tefillah" section of their binders.
Have a great weekend. Shabbat Shalom!

Day 7 10/17/13 and Day 8 10/21/13

In Kitah Dalet Hei, we've transitioned from studying the prayer Ein Kamocha to the next one in the Saturday morning Torah service, Av HaRachamim. The students are doing a fabulous job chanting the prayers. To practice at home, you can use this recording: Ein Kamocha and Av HaRachamim. They are also learning the next 10 words of the 500 most frequently appearing words in the siddur. Please note that they have a homework assignment due Thursday and will have a brief quiz next Monday. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about this.

Last week, the students decided to focus our mitzvah project on the issue of hunger. We'll be working with Family Table to collect food that serves needy Jewish families in the Boston area. To learn more about Family Table, you can visit their website: Family Table. Stay tuned for how you can get involved!

We've also begun studying the story of Gideon, a judge featured in the book of Judges. Today we read about how he destroyed the altar the Israelites were using to worship other gods. To start a conversation with your child about KIRS, you could ask them what they think about doing what is right even when it is unpopular, just like Gideon did. 

Day 6: 10/10/13

In class today, the students gave their enthusiastic renditions of "Ein Kamocha" as we attempted learning the melody for the first time. Please use this recording (just to 0:50) to practice with your child. In addition, they will have a vocabulary quiz next Thursday on 10 common words found in the siddur; they should have the vocabulary lists in the "Tefillah" section of their binders, which they can study. Please contact me if you have any questions about this.
There is no class on Monday, 10/14 because of Columbus Day. Have a great long weekend!
To start a conversation with your child about KIRS: Ask them to sing you Ein Kamocha. Or, ask them what lesson they learned from the story of Deborah.

Day 5: 10/7/13

On Monday, we read our first story from the book of Judges, which was about Deborah. The students did a great job working together in groups to identify the important characters and the plot of this story. On Thursday, we'll analyze it even further to see what we can take away from this story that is applicable for our own lives.
We also began learning an important prayer of the Torah service, "Ein Kamocha." We first learned 10 important vocabulary words that occur over 500 times in the siddur, and then practiced reading the prayer in a group and in partners. There is a homework activity related to this: Please make sure your child practices "Ein Kamocha" at least once, and completes the vocabulary worksheet, by Thursday. There will be a brief vocab quiz next Monday.
To start a conversation with your child about KIRS: Ask them what they learned about Deborah.

Day 4: 10/3/13

Today was an exciting one at Kitah Dalet-Hei. We began studying the book of Judges by reading "The Israelites forget," which sets up the conflicts between the Israelites and G-d and the Israelites and the Canaanites, which will continue throughout the book. We also began out mitzvah project on "Kol Israel Arevim Zeh b'Zeh" (all Israel is responsible for one another) by taking a walk around our building and yard to see where our community has needs. Students were assigned homework for Monday to explore needs of the wider Jewish community--please see the "Shiurei Bayit" section of their binders for details.
To start a conversation with your child about KIRS: Ask them what it means for all Israel to be responsible for one another.

Day 3: 9/30/13

In class today, we began our study of Torah by reading a story called "Who Will Be My Surety?" which introduces the idea that it is our responsibility to study Torah in exchange for receiving it as a gift from G-d. The students then took a Hebrew pre-test, in order that I can more accurately assess their skills and be intentional in what I teach them.
Please remember that your child should bring the following items to every class: a notebook, a folder, a binder and dividers. The binders should be labeled as follows: Tefillah, Torah, Mitzvot, and Shiurei Bayit. Thank you!
To start a conversation about KIRS: Ask them why THEY think we study Torah.

Day 2: 9/23/13

In class today, the students read about Simchat Torah to learn about the history, practice, and significance of the holiday. We then made flags to wave at the Simchat Torah celebration. We hope to see you at KI this Thursday night to celebrate--children's services start at 6:15!
To start a conversation with your child about KIRS: Ask them what they learned about Simchat Torah.

Day 1: 9/16/13

We had a great first day in Kitah Dalet-Hei! I truly enjoyed meeting all of the students, and I hope they had a good time as well. Please remember that they should bring a binder with dividers, notebook, folder, and writing utensil to every class. In addition, if you have not yet returned the parent survey (see previous post), please do so when you can.
This Thursday, there is a special Sukkot program for students and families. Class resumes as normal next Monday.
To start a conversation with your child about KIRS: Ask them what our goals are for this year.

Orientation 9/12

I enjoyed meeting many of you at the KIRS orientation today, and I look forward to meeting the rest of you next week! Our first day of class is Monday, September 16 at 3 PM.
Please see below for the link to the welcome letter and parent survey. I would greatly appreciate it if you could return the survey by next week. Thank you!

Welcome letter and survey

Welcome to Kitah Dalet-Hei!

Welcome to KIRS Kitah Dalet-Hei! This blog will be used to keep KIRS families abreast of the happenings in Kitah Dalet-Hei, including what we have learned, what we will be learning, important reminders about homework and upcoming events, and conversation starters for you and your student. Please subscribe to this blog by entering your email in the box on the right side of the page. This will ensure that you receive notifications when I make updates to the blog, which I will try my best to do after every class. Looking forward to working with you this year!