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.