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!