Morah Katz Update

What a great year this has been at Religious School!  Not only have our students grown and matured, but they've all become incredible readers.  They encourage and assist eachother, while reinforcing their own knowledge.  On our final Tuesday of the school year we played reading games and the group felt so confident in their individual reading skills.  I must say that I have a great sense of pride in their accomplishments this year.  

I wish everyone a great summer vacation and looking forward to seeing you on Sunday for our end of the year celebration!

B'Shalom
Donna Katz

Morah Schlussel Update

Dear Parents,

It is hard to believe that Sunday is our last class of the year. Where did this school year go?  For the occasion, please join us at Shaarey Zedek for an end of the year slide show and awards  at 11:15 a.m. following with a "Pitch, Hit and Run" fun afternoon with food at 12 noon.

Because it was Mother's Day last Sunday, we were not in session. I hope you all had a wonderful day with your families. I did as my family celebrated my Granddaughter's Bat Mitzvaih.

On Tuesday, we began our day with teffilot . Again the students chose which minyan they wanted to go to and continued practicing the important prayers that Jews say.

In our 4th grade class, we played reading baseball with page 58 in the Hasefer This is the Grace after the meal prayer.

In our 5th and 6th grade we went over pages 65 and 68 in the Hasefer. These pages are the Brachot we say when we are called up for an aliyah and the Hatikvah, the Israeli National Anthem.

We read these pages and then sang them and chanted them in both of the classes.

Please review these with your children . They are very familiar with them. Sing these pages with them, they will love it and you will too!

Hope to see you all on Sunday. 

Have a Shabbat Shalom,

 Toby Schlussel

Morah Hollenberg Update

Dear 6th Grade Parents,

This week we discussed the upcoming holiday of Shavuoth. We spoke about the fact that it is one of the three pilgrimage holidays during the year when all of the Jews would gather in Jerusalem (when we had a Temple), that this holiday celebrates the first fruits (and that they were brought as an offering to G-d in the Temple), and that we are also commemorating the fact that the Jewish people received the Torah (symbolized by the 10 commandments which Moses gave to us at the base of Mt. Sinai). Then we reviewed the 10 commandments together. After discussing them we created our own versions of the 10 commandments, We imagined that we were G-d (G-d forbid)...and if we were to offer the basic principals of Judaism to the Jewish people what they would consist of....

It has been a true pleasure getting to know you and your children this year. I have enjoyed each moment of learning about our Judaism together. Let me know if you have any lingering questions. Have a wonderful summer!

Best, 

Morah Hollenberg

Morah Levinson Update

Dear 4th - 6th grade families, 

We hope you all had a lovely Mother's Day on Sunday!

On Tuesday, we read from our books, and also played a new reading game. We scattered flashcards and sticks on the floor, and taking turns, the kids each had to try and read a word. If they read it correctly, they took a stick. By the end of the game, everyone counted their sticks to see who had the most. It was a very close tie between the kids -- they have all become wonderful Hebrew readers! Then for the last few minutes of class, they had fun taking their sticks and working together to create a large Magen David.  It was a great day of learning and working together :)

We look forward to seeing everyone on Sunday, which is (believe it or not!) the last day of Religious School. This year really flew by!

Wishing you a peaceful Shabbat,

Dona Levinson 

Edna Sable 

Aliza Zachor 

Kitah Hey Update

Dear Parents,

As our year comes to an end, it is especially bittersweet for me.  I have had the privilege to teach these children since Third grade! I have watched them grow and flourish in both their Jewish knowledge,  their Jewish identity and connection with God.  They are wonderful examples of what a  "Mench" is.

Your children have taken the important lessons and values they have learned from the Torah and can apply them to their everyday life. They have made valuable connections between Jewish Holiday traditions and Torah stories that are rooted in Jewish Values. These have become so much more meaningful to them.  They have shown me, in so many ways that they contribute to making the world a better place. They feel so comfortable at CSZ and they chant the Tefillot with such exuberance,  it is uplifting!

Their love and commitment to their Jewish values is not just from my working with them, but from your commitment as well. Thank you for your continued support and allowing me to partner with you in educating your child.

I hope you have a good summer and look forward to seeing you in the Fall.

Sincerely,

Cillia Kleiman

AS YOU GO ON YOUR WAY...

To bring our year to an end, our Kitah Dalet students participated in an interactive year in review lesson.  Students took a trip through time and created a list of the many life lessons we learned this year.  We talked about our responsibility to GOD, self and others, and how each and everyone of us is created in GOD's image.  We are most definitely our brother's keepers, and we are the future of Judaism.  Our job is to build relationships with those in our community, and most importantly we must find ways to bring us closer to GOD through observing the commandments.  We talked about our commitment to repairing the world, and building a partnership with GOD and all of creation.

Many of our students remembered our many discussions about ethical decisions, and the importance of doing the right thing when everyone else is doing something else.  As we look upon our time together, we hope your children have come away from Kitah Dalet better equipped to live a Jewish life in a non-Jewish world.  They have a strong foundation to living an ethical life, and the skills to make informed choices about doing the right thing, thinking about others, and working in partnership with GOD to make the world a better place. 

Our students are ready to embark on many new challenges in the future, and they know the Torah is our guidebook, providing us with the tools to think and question in order to make knowledgeable, informed choices.  It has been a honor getting to know your children this year, and I wish you a wonderful, safe, and productive summer break. 

Kitah Zayin Update

This week our 7th graders made matzoh ball soup from scratch (with the assistance of the wonderful Mrs. Sandra Gutman) nad delivered it to CSZ community members who are experiencing loss or illness. Here's a letter from a caretaker of one of the soup recipients.

Dear Mr. Lerner & 7th Grade Class,

There are times in life when your heart is so broken you feel as though you will never feel good or whole or happy again. Mrs. Perlman's husband of 68 years, Major Charles Perlman, a World War II hero and Silver Star recipient was called home to God on February 13th of this year. When Major Perlman was alive, I used to tell people I took care of a National Treasure because I was on a team of caregivers lucky enough to be assigned to the Perlman home.

Now I tell people I take care of one of our Nation's greatest Heroes. It is truly a privilege to serve a woman of such great character and strength. My time with Mrs. Perlman has taught me that it is the women and men who love and serve the men and women serving our country who are perhaps our greatest National Treasures.

It is in the service of others that God helps us all to heal. Of this I am certain. Because today, the gift of homemade chicken soup together with the power of your presence, instantly and unequivocally lifted Mrs. Perlman's spirits to Freedom Tower heights. Your Mitzvah helped to heal another piece of a broken heart today. And for that, we - the family and friends of Mrs. Elaine Perlman - are all truly thankful. Be proud and carry on!

Kathleen Daelemans 

Morah Gawel Update

Hi All -

We had a fabulous Sunday playing Capture the flag! The kids were split up into 2 teams and the first game of CTF we played with no rules, no captain, no prep time.  It was a free for all. Naturally, things devolved into a Lord of the Flies setting within minutes.  The second time we played we had rules, we had captains, we had 5 minutes to come up with some strategy.  Now the kids are in 6th grade.  While in my perfect world this would have been a beautiful, orderly game... it did devolve... but it took about 10 minutes for Lord Of The Flies to truly set in.

We then recapped by reading the Incident of the Spies narrative again in Numbers.  We see how God is angered by the Israelites.  God wants to punish them and Moses intercedes. God says that the Israelites who made it out of Egypt WILL NOT see the promised land.  The next day, a group of Israelites feel badly about their behavior and they go to conquer Canaan.  Things don't go so well for them. They have no plan. They have no leader. They have no God.  Lord of the Flies happens right away and let's just say: nobody gets off of the Island.

It reminds me of one of my mom's old sayings "'I'm sorry' a day late and a dollar short equals two meaningless words."  We must not only apologize, but CHANGE OUR BEHAVIOR.

We talked about preparedness, being sorry, listening to our elders and our leaders, and accepting punishment.

It was a good day.  Lord of the Flies and All. 

I am pretty sure I was Piggy too. Definitely not Ralph.

Be well and see you in a week. Enjoy Mothers Day off!

Morah Leah

Hebrew Update

Dear 4th - 6th grade families,

On Sunday, all 3 grades had the opportunity to write essays that will be submitted to the Jeffrey Weisberg Memorial essay contest. The 5th and 6th graders that finished their work early, spent the rest of the class period practiced the prayers before and after reading the Torah. They tried memorizing parts of the prayers, and then recited what they learned by heart for the rest of the class. 

Tuesday we played a fun "Connect Four" reading game with our books and flashcards. Everyone did a wonderful job, and during our 5th and 6th grade class one of our moms joined in on the game! Then as a special treat in honor of Lag B'omer, at different times throughout the day everyone had a chance to make yummy s'mores outside in our bonfire!

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom! 

Dona Levinson 

Edna Sable 

Aliza Zachor 

Morah Schlussel Update

Dear Parents,

We began our day on Sunday with Teffilah . Again the students had a choice of two different minyanim.

 After Teffilah we all went to our respective Hebrew classes.

My 4th grade class concentrated on the Adon Olam which we read and then sang to two different tunes. The children took turns reading the verses and we sang the prayer together. You can find the Adon Olam on page 54 and 55 of the Hasefer book.

My 5th and 6th graders concentrated on the Shalom Alaichem teffilah, which can be found o page 63 of the Hasefer. Again we read it and then we sang it. I explained to the students that in some homes each of the 4 parts of the prayer are sung 3 times at the Friday night Shabbat dinner before we make kiddush.

On Tuesday, we again started with our Teffilot with the choice of one of two minyanim.

During my 4th grade Hebrew class, we combined all the students of 4th grade and played a game of tic tac toe, using the Hasefer book as our basis for getting either an o  or an x . If the student read the line right , they scored. We did the same with the 5th and 6th graders, but we did it with only our class and we used  the Sim Shalom prayer found on page 64 of the Hasefer as our text.

This proved to be a fun, enjoyable, and painless way to practice reading.

Please remember to review these pages with your children.

Since Lag B'Omer is Thursday , all the students were treated to a special bonfire near the entrance to our school. They experienced what children in Israel do on Lag B'omer. The only difference is that our students made smores whereas in Israel they roast potatoes.   Happy Lag B'Omer!

Please remember all the mothers in your lives this coming Sunday. In honor of Mother's Day, we do not have any school Sunday. So enjoy this special day for all moms.

Shabbat Shalom, see you all next Tuesday.

Toby Schlussel

Morah Katz Update

Dear Fourth-Sixth Grade Families:

It's hard to believe we only have one more week left of religious school.  This has been such a great learning growth year for all of our students.  This week we discussed the counting of the Omer.  We begin counting 49 days from the second night of Passover to Shavuot.  We discussed that we are in mourning for all the Jews who died in the plague and how we aren't supposed to get married, shave or buy new things during this time.  However, on ל״ג בעומר, the 33rd day of the Omer (ל-30, ג-3), we are able to celebrate because it was the first day that the plague stopped spreading.  We celebrate with bbq's and bonfires.  Jews get married, shave and rejoice. 

Hebrew this week was centered around further increasing our fluency.  We played a game similar to tic-tac-toe, but with each team needing to get four in a row.  We all had a lot of fun.

I wish all the moms a very Happy Mother's Day and a beautiful Shabbat!

Donna Katz

Morah Hollenberg Update

Dear 6th Grade Parents,

This week we continued our discussion of Lag Ba'Omer (the 33rd day of the Omer which we celebrate this week beginning at sundown Wednesday night until sundown on Thursday). We spoke about Rabbis Shimon Bar Yochai and and Akiva and why they are central to our Lag Ba'Omer celebration. Then we enjoyed a taste of Lag Ba'Omer with a mini bonfire over...which we roasted marshmallows...which we used to make s'mores!

Best, 

Morah Hollenberg

Kitah Bet Update

Dear Parents,

As I told you in an earlier e-mail,Today was my last day in kitah bet, as I am going to Israel Saturday night. i am very excited about this upcoming trip with family and new adventures.

Tonight we did  some Hebrew reading and  made some Hebrew Mother's Day cards, please check their backpacks for  these.

We celebrated lag b'omer by making s'mores and we celebrated Daniel Michelson's b'day by eating doughnuts. It was a bittersweet day...

 It always is at the end of the year. I feel we have accomplished much, but always much more to do than we have time.  Your children have gotten a good grasp of Hebrew reading and they should be proud of this. As they move to kitah gimmel they will build on what we have begun in kitah bet. Our Torah studies and holiday studies have been some fun experiential learning. I hope this is only the  beginning of lifelong Jewish learning  and Jewish living for your kids. 

There is no class on Sunday ( in honor of Mother's Day) there is class next Tuesday,May 12 and on Sunday May 17. There is still work to be done and I have left lesson plans and work for the guest teacher to complete with the class. On the last day your children should bring home all their books and materials in their mailbox.

We missed Bella, Ivy and Zachary today.

Enjoy your summer adventures and see you all in the fall. Please stop by and say hello.

Davida

Kitah Aleph Update

Dear Parents,

We were very busy learning the letter Shin. Shin starts with the words Shabbat, Shalom, Shofar, and many other words. The students had to look at various pictures and choose which Hebrew letter began with each word. Some letters were shown more than once so they had to think about each picture and match it to the correct letter. We then read sentences that said, The Torah is on the table. Students had to understand what the words meant. They had to read the sentence and decide which sentence matched the correct Hebrew phrase. This was not an easy lesson, however, the students did very well.

We reviewed all the letters and are down to the last two letters of the alphabet which will complete the entire alphabet. I am very proud at how hard each of your children have worked and how far they have come from the beginning of the year. They will be able to recognize letters and vowels and read basic sentences while understanding what they are reading.

We did an exercise on Shabbat and what it meant to them. They were given construction paper and glue sticks and doilies. They had to create their own Shabbat table without using scissors, tape, etc. Attached is a beautiful masterpiece from a student that created what Shabbat means to her. Each one of your children created beautiful pieces of art and will be bringing home all their artwork next week.

We roasted s'mores in celebration of Lag B'omer. The students had fun standing over the fire pit and putting together their s'mores. Its always great to coordinate an activity when there is a holiday as it is a better way to teach the students in a way that they will remember and understand different holiday's. We are almost done with the school year and I am so proud of each of your children. They were eager learners and they will remember many things they have learned in class this year. We did several projects such as making Seder plates to help them understand what each item on the plate represented. We will review on Sunday and they will be bringing home a special book they made which will show you some of the things they learned this year. I'm confident they are well prepared for next year and I look forward to seeing them in the hallways.

Thank you for sharing these special children I have really enjoyed each one of them and their special personalities. I have learned from them as well as they have learned from me.

Enjoy the rest of your week.

Lisa Dresner Wais

YOUR REPUTATION PRECEEDS YOU

As our year comes to an end, our Kitah Dalet students are preparing for the future and we put the finishing touches on our values based discussions for the year.  We talked about reputations, and what it means to honor our names.  We talked about the importance of always doing the right thing, and maintaining high standards for ourselves and those we keep company with.

We studied a bit of Pirke Avot, literally translated as the Sayings of our Fathers, and tossed around the idea that we are given many names in our life, a name our parents call us, a name our friends call us, and most importantly the name we earn for ourselves.  We compiled an extensive list of the values we thought we possessed and the behaviors we regularly displayed in the classroom, and I asked our students to think about just what they wanted me to tell next years teachers about them.  It was quite interesting to hear the values they thought they should have, and the values they displayed on a regular basis.  Of course, I confronted them on the discrepancies, and promised we would revisit the issue.

By the time you read this, we will have observed Lag b' Omer and eaten s'mores around the campfire.  Please ask your students to share a little bit of their knowledge about this obscure celebration, starting with the connection of the number seven....days of mourning, seven days, seven weeks, and the receiving of the Torah on Mount Sinai.  Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend, and if you celebrate, a Happy Mother's Day.  See you next Tuesday!