Jan. 30, 2014

We had a busy day on Thursday preparing for a fun-filled Shabbat. Students practiced the prayers they will lead at the Friday Shabbat dinner and the Saturday morning service. They also created a game to play on Friday night! I look forward to seeing you at 5:30 PM on Friday in Novakoff and at 10 AM on Saturday in the library for Jr. Congregation.
On Saturday, please remember to have your child bring an item that is important to them (like a blanket, book, stuffed animal...). We will be making a mishkan with these objects. They will only be used for the activity and can be taken home afterwards.
Please remind your child that we have a vocabulary quiz on Monday, for which they can prepare by studying list #5. They will also need to turn in the V'Zot HaTorah homework packet and the "Challenge Chart" for vocabulary, if they received less than an 80% on their last quiz. If you have any questions about this, please feel free to reach out.
Shabbat Shalom!

1/27 and Upcoming Events

On Monday, the students prepared to lead Junior Congregation this upcoming Shabbat. They chose which prayers they would like to lead and learned a new one, "V'Zot HaTorah." They are only one prayer away from reaching their goal of learning how to lead the Torah Service!
They also studied Parshat Terumah. This parsha gives a lot of instructions on how to build the Mishkan (tabernacle). They created clay models of the Mishkan and other objects like the mizbeyach (altar) and shulchan (table). Check out the picture below!

Finally, they learned 10 new vocabulary words. Please note that they have vocabulary homework due Thursday, 1/30 and a packet on "V'Zot HaTorah" due Monday, 2/3.
Looking forward to seeing you at 5:30 PM for Shabbat Dinner this Friday and at 10 AM for Jr. Congregation this Saturday!
To start a conversation with your child about KIRS: Ask them what they made out of clay and what made it interesting.

A Popplet on Prayer

Check out the Popplet I made on Jewish prayer!
What is Popplet?

Jewish Prayer

Jan. 23, 2014

Today in Kitah Dalet-Hei, the students practiced the Torah blessings for Aliyah. I am excited to hear them lead it next week, Feb. 1, in the Torah service in Jr. Congregation. I also look forward to seeing many of you for a delicious Shabbat dinner next Friday night, Jan. 31, at 5:30 at KI.
We also finished the last story in our study of the book of Judges, the conclusion of the story of Samson (Judges 16). We had a lively discussion as to whether this was a "good or bad" ending, and whether Samson was a "good guy or bad guy." To start a conversation with your child about KIRS, you could ask his or her opinion on these topics!
Please be reminded that students who received less than an 80% on their most recent vocabulary quizzes should complete the "Challenge Chart" for Monday, in order to reinforce vocabulary they struggled with.

Jan. 16, 2014

We had a great Tu BiShvat celebration in class on Thursday! We began with a seder full of fruits, and learned a lot about trees and the earth. We then planted Marigold seeds in the spirit of the holiday. The flowers will hopefully be ready to take home in a few weeks. I apologize for not having any pictures, but the class flew by!
We also had a guest in our class, Svetlana Grinshpan. Svetalana is running the workshops for a fellowship that Wendy (in Kitah Bet-Gimel) and I have been lucky enough to receive, the CJP's Teaching and Technology Fellowship (you can read more about it here). In a few weeks, we will be receiving 8 iPads each for use in our classrooms! Wendy and I are learning a lot about all the educational resources that the iPad has to offer. We are very excited about all the opportunities we will have for integrating technology into the KIRS classrooms.
Please remind students that they have a homework packet on the Torah blessings for Aliyah due Thursday. To practice the blessings, they can go here and click on "Torah Blessings (Aliyah)."

Shabbat Dinner for Dalet-Hei on 1/31

Dear 4th and 5th grade Parents, 

I'm excited to get to spend Shabbat with you on Friday night, January 31. We will begin at 5:30 pm.  Based on feedback from last year's dinners, I wanted to do a quick poll about what you'd like to eat / pay / cook for next week's dinner. 

 

Please note, no matter which dinner option we choose, your 4th and 5th grade students are our guest and you don't need to pay for them.

 

We have three choices for food:

 

1. Get a catered (meat) meal from a local caterer - the cost would be about $18 per adult and $10 per child. 

 

2. Order pizza from Cafe Eilat. Families would be asked to bring contributions of salad, challah, wine, drinks, and dessert. The cost of this option would be $8 per adult and $5 per child, plus the cost of your contribution.

 

3. Make baked ziti in the KI kitchen. Families would be asked to bring contributions of salad, challah, wine, drinks, and desert. The cost of this option would be $5 per person, plus a contribution, plus volunteering to help cook on Thursday afternoon.  

 

I'd greatly appreciate it if you can let us know your preference ("no preference" is a fine answer too) by Wednesday afternoon (January 22) so we can make arrangements. Please email both Rinat Zyskind (rinat@congki.org) and me (sfein116@gmail.com) to RSVP, including how many adults and children will be joining us. 

 

Many thanks,

Sari 

Jan. 13, 2014

Today in class, the students worked on L'Cha Adonai and learned a new blessing, the blessing before the reading of the Torah. They sound great and I am excited to see them lead in Jr. Congregation and the Main Sanctuary this semester. They can practice with the recordings here (L'Cha Adonai) and here ("Torah Blessings: Aliyah"). They also reread Judges 14-15, the story of Samson, to try and understand it on an even deeper level.
Please be reminded that the students have a vocabulary quiz on Thursday 1/16 and should study vocabulary list 4 in preparation. They also have a homework packet for the Torah blessings, due on Thursday 1/23.
To start a conversation with your child about KIRS: Ask them if they would like to be Samson/his friend/his enemy. What are some details from the story that make them feel this way?

Jan. 9, 2014

Yesterday in Dalet-Hei, we continued building a positive classroom culture by doing some trust falls. The students all fell--and caught each other!--very well. We then learned 10 new vocabulary words from the siddur. Please note that the students have a vocabulary homework assignment due Monday, and a vocabulary quiz on Thursday. Finally, we began reading the story of Samson (Judges 14-15) and talked about the pros and cons of being the strongest person in the world.
To start a conversation with your child about KIRS: Ask them how being strong both helped and hurt Samson, or how it could help or hurt you.

Jan. 6, 2014

Welcome to the spring semester at Kitah Dalet-Hei! Today we began with a community-building exercise, the Human Knot. While it was a challenge, the students worked together and ultimately solved the knot! We then learned the prayer "L'Cha Adonai." Your children can practice here. In the coming few weeks, I look forward to completing our study of the prayers of the Torah service as well as our study of the book of Judges. We'll even find time to celebrate Tu B'Shvat next week!
To start a conversation with your child about KIRS: Ask them how they can develop and show trust for their classmates and other people in their lives.