Kitah Bet

Dear Parents,

It was great to have  Riley, Joely, and Sam back in class on Sunday. We missed Evan and Ari.
We spent some time learning about the holiday of Tu b'Shvat. I shared some stories with your kids , we did a  tu b'Shvat word search, and played a "fruit game". We also planted some herbs that we will take care of, and  hopefully by Pesach we will have parsley for our seder !

We continued our Torah study on Sunday.  As we learn the the book of Shemot it will coincide with our Pesach learning.

We divided into groups for our Hebrew reading  and then had an extended tefillah with Rabbi Starr.

I hope to see everyone on Sunday.
Shabbat Shalom

Davida

Kitah Hey Update

Dear Parents,

 Our learners have begun our initial steps focusing on the Passover Seder. As you already know we are participating in a Project Based Learning unit on Passover. Project based learning engages students in curricular content in ways that are exciting, relevant, and meaningful.  The kids have already decided what portion of the Seder interests them and what they would like to learn more about & share with the rest of the class. The children will be working in groups creating together,  a detailed presentation about the history and meaning about a particular portion of the Seder. They will present it in mid April, when we get back from vacation, which is right before Passover. They were very proud of their Chanukah projects & are eager to work on Passover. The small groups really work as a team, so if you could try and get them to Religious school it would be very helpful. We don't have a lot of time to work on this. On March 13, our class is visiting "Jewish Detroit" and will have a few classes given by a Detroit Jewish Historical Society educator. You are invited to join us on this wonderful tour. 

As you can see we have a very busy and exciting semester ahead. I appreciate you working with me to help educate your children in their Jewish heritage.

 

Shabbat Shalom

Cillia Kleiman

Hebrew Update

Dear Parents,

This past Sunday, our Sixth grade class began the day with Tefillah led by Cantor Gutmann. They continue to hone their Bar and Bat Mitzvah skills.

In honor of Tu B'Shvat which fell on Monday this week, our 4th, 5th and 6th grade classes participated in a "Seven Species" catagorizing activity during the "chugim" time. Everyone really enjoyed it.

The 4th and 5th grades continued to spent time learning about Tu B'Shvat and the blessings that are recited on the "seven species" The kids had a chance to taste the Sheva Minim from Israel and learned how we categorize them for the holiday of Tu B'Shvat. We also discussed the way the holiday is celebrated in Israel and how we celebrate here in America.

Our sixth grade students began the day on Tuesday with Cantor Gutmann leading them in Tefillah and reviewing the important procedures for their Bar/Bat Mitzvot.

The 4th and 5th graders spent some time reading and discussing the importance of the "Shema". We also learned the days of the week in Hebrew and how to say yesterday and today. Finally, we concluded the day with a song that I taught them about everyday of the week and what we do on those days.

Ask your child if he/she can sing the song to you. Let me know how you like it.

Have a wonderful rest of the week and weekend.

Shabbat Shalom,

Toby Schlussel

 

Dona Levinson

 

7th grade class update

Shalom to our 7th grade parents: 

 This week we started to learn about the Holocaust.  We started by discussing Genocide, what is the meaning of this word and how it relates to the Holocaust. We then started an overview of the life of Adolf Hitler and how he came into power and took over Europe.  Over the next few weeks we will get into more depth of our history

 During the second half of our morning on Sunday we partnered with JFS and made some soup, cornbread, and comfort packs for the homeless in Detroit.  The kids were amazing.  I hope that they went home and shared their culinary skills with you.  There was some leftover soup, and we had a taste of the mushroom barley soup. Phenom!  Again, the children were focused and fully participatory in this program.  They really enjoy community service work.  This is such a blessing. 

 You are invited to for a dinner, a tour of the Holocaust Museum, and to hear a survivor's testimony on

 If you have stories to share, about your family history and the Shoah, please do so with your children. We must never forget! 

 Shabbat Shalom! 😃 

 

Morah Gawel Update

Hello All! We had another FANTASTIC week at Congregation Shaarey Zedek.  I am so impressed with our 6^th graders.  I have taught this class for 6 years and usually by now, the kids start slogging.  That is the what I call the mental point where one is mentally jogging and then the brakes start to come on and the synapsis go SLOWER than usual.  Anyway, while they might be slogging at home, they are NOT slogging at shul. They are ON IT!

 On Sunday we partnered with JFS and made some soup, cornbread, and comfort packs for the homeless in Detroit.  The kids were amazing.  I hope that they went home and shared their culinary skills with you.  There was some leftover soup, and we had a taste of the mushroom barley soup. Phenom!  Again, the children were focused and fully participatory in this program.  They really enjoy community service work.  This is such a blessing.  I am proud of them.  I have some community service time sheets for Sunday, if they need any to complete bar /bat mitzvah hours or service hours at school.

 On Tuesday, we continued to delve into the narrative of Sodom and Gomorrah.  We discussed the balancing act of partnering with God and how do we do this when it seems one sided. We talk to God, but does God talk back?  The kids worked on a Minecraft and Lego activity to experience this dilemma. The kids all had a mission: build a house, castle, park, mall etc… and then the kids had different jobs.  For instance, some had to make the castle walls tall, others had to make the mall colorful, others had to make the castle pretty, others had to make the mall big.  They had to work together WITHOUT communicating.  So, they had to really observe their team mates’ behaviors to see what they were doing. This way BOTH groups could have their mission accomplished. It was frustrating, but they got it done!

 We then broke up into discussion about how do we know what God is telling us. How do we wrestle with God when we have a one sided form of discussion.  How do we listen? How do we observe? 

 It was a great talk.  Proud of them. 

 See you Sunday.  Thanks for all you do,

Morah Leah

 

Morah Kleiman Class Update

Dear Parents

We have begun studying PESACH! Yes, you did read correctly. Because of time restraints & vacation days, etc. I have introduced our next Unit for our PBL curriculum.

Our class just reviewed some of the Passover story just to get their feet wet. We will officially begin on Sun. Jan. 24.

Looking forward to seeing you all this Sunday at our day of " giving back" .

Shabbat Shalom

Cillia Kleiman

Morah Schlussel and Levinson Class Update

Dear Parents,

Due to the power outage at the Shaarey Zedek building our school week was a short one. 

We began our day on Tuesday with Tefillah for 6th and 7th grades led by Cantor Gutman.

 

Our 4th and 5th graders spent the second half of the day brushing up on our reading skills and we played Shimshon Omer (Simon Says in Hebrew). At the very end of the day, Morah Edna Sable introduced us to the Hockey Pokey in Hebrew. Ask your child how you say "  put your right foot  in".

I hope to see all of you on Sunday, when we spend the day doing various Tikun Olam activities in honor of MLK Day. It should be a fun day with good intentions and deeds. 

I would like to close with  condolences on behalf of the 4th, 5th,  6th grades, and myself to Morah Dona Levinson  whose father, Daniel Levit, passed away recently. 

May she and the entire Levit family be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.  

Have a good Shabbat.

Toby Schlussel

 

Kitah Zayin Class Update

 Shalom to our 7th grade Parents:

 

As I writing this blog, I am very  saddened  by the loss  of Morah Hollenberg ' s father. Our 7th graders  did a big mitzvah  of comforting  the mourners, by going to the shiva house. Before we went to Morah Hollenberg 's home, Rabbi  Star came into our classroom and talked  to us of the laws of Shiva. Morah Hollenberg ' s family  are observant Jews. 

He explained  to the class how orthodox Jews observe Shiva differently then Conservative and Reform Jews.( covering the mirrors, not eating  at the shiva house and prayer services  are done with men and women  in different  rooms). 

Our 7th graders had such utmost  respect  for the family. Morah Hollenberg was so pleased that we came. They cheered  her up, she had a smile on her face.  It was such a proud moment to watch the kids interacting  with the mourners. They truly embodied what it means to be a mentsch (A person of integrity and honor).

 I would like to give a huge thank you to Allison Gutman for organizing our class experience.  Thank you to Rabbi Starr for beautifully preparing the children for the visit to the shiva house, and to Wendy Arnold and Marcy Citron for accompanying us to the Hollenberg home.  

 May  we only share simchas together.  May God show comfort  to the Hollenberg family. 

 Shabbat Shalom,

 Zoya Rice 

Morah Gawel Class Update

Hello All! I hope you had a great week and that you stayed WARM!  Sadly, we were not able to make soup and cornbread for the homeless, due to a city power outage, BUT, I will get back to you on a reschedule for that event.

 We did, however, have a WONDERFULLY productive day committed to service on Tuesday.  The kids finished helping me prep all of the blankets and books for CSZ in Action. They sorted, packed, and then shlepped to storage for Sunday - seriously, I think it is an 1/8 of a mile from our classroom to the social hall stage 25 bags and 5 boxes. The kids were total troopers. I didn't hear one complaint. BUT... I am sure that you did. There must have been some sore muscles Wednesday morning.

 I am really proud of the work that these kiddos have done. They are 100% willing and excited to do mitzvot and to live the Torah in this meaningful and impactful way.  

 This weekend, we will continue our service work at CSZ in Action. Please make sure to fill out your registration form for this big day.

 And then next Tuesday, we will crack open our books again... but luckily, we have some super fun things planned.

 

Be well,

Leah

Morah Katz Hebrew Class Update

Dear Fourth-Sixth Grade Families-

With Winter officially upon us, it's hard to grasp the idea of trees blooming and the upcoming celebration of the holiday of the trees, Tu B'Shvat.  We quickly introduced the holiday and some of the ways we celebrate it in Israel.  We began playing with some key words like Kaddosh (קדש), holy, and the identification of its root word and letters.  We saw how isolating the 3 letter root words helps us decipher the meaning of many Hebrew words and prayers.

We look forward to seeing everyone for our CSZ In Action program this Sunday.  We hope you are planning to attend with your children as this will be a very meaningful Tzedakkah and Gmilut Chasadim program. 

Shabbat Shalom 😊

Morah Zachor and Morah Katz

Kitah Bet Update

Dear Parents,

We had a bonus day last Sunday and this Sunday is the MLK day of service, so we will not be having formal class. If you have not had the chance to read with your kids, you have an extra week to do so.

On Tuesday, Aram, Levi and Evan completed Lesson 11 in our reading books and I  shared with them the story "Joseph and the Shabbat Fish".   It is a great story with a lesson of treating all people  fairly and taking care of those less fortunate  and of course honoring the Shabbat.

Shabbat Shalom,

Davida

Kitah Bet update

Dear Parents,

I hope everyone had a wonderful winter break.
On Tuesday Aram, Levi and Evan were in class learning "Ivrit". They completed lesson 10 in our reading book and they were all great Hebrew readers.

On Sunday we will continue with our Torah study and small group Hebrew reading.
I hope to see everyone there. If you know your child will not be there,please let me know.
Also before Sunday please check your child's take-home folder for homework to be completed with you. It has been a long time since many of your children were  in class and it would be good review and warm-up for class.

Shabbat Shalom,
Davida Robinson

Hebrew Update

 

Dear 4th - 6th grade families, 

 We hope that you all enjoyed the long break with your families. It was so nice to see everyone back in school on Tuesday! 

 The 6th graders started the day with a warm and meaningful Tefillah service led by Cantor Gutman. As usual, the kids were engaged and sang the prayers beautifully. 

 We combined both of the 4th and 5th grade reading classes and played a fun and challenging game of "Hebrew Connect-3" together. This provided the students a good opportunity to refresh their reading skills, and everyone had a great time.

 Wishing you a Happy New Year! We look forward to seeing you all on Sunday. 

 Shabbat Shalom, 

 Morah Dona Levinson 

 Morah Toby Schlussel 

Kitah Vav Update

Dear Parents!

I hope that you had a FANTASTIC winter break!  The kids were all back and excited to be in the building.  Instead of our regularly scheduled programming, the kids helped to organize some of our items that we will be using at CSZ in Action: our day of service coming up on January 17th.  We began by framing the day with some quotes from famous rabbis and Talmud sources on the importance of Tikkun Olam (repairing the world).  The students were surprised that it is an OBLIGATION of Jews to give Tzedakah and not a "good deed."

We then went on to talk AT LENGTH about homelessness and shelters and what domestic violence shelters were.  I was so impressed by the kids' level of engagement.  I kept the discussion as light as it can be, but we talked about emotional abuse and physical abuse (surface level talk) and spent the majority of the time discussing SAFETY and that some families live in fear, and need to be somewhere where they feel safe.  We also discussed how homelessness in this day and age is not defined by people living on the streets who seem so different from us. Next week we will discuss the working poor and talk a bit about hunger issues and "food insecurity," which is an epidemic in our country.

Actually, I expected to spend 5 minutes on the discussion and move into the "doing," but the kids were so interested and they had such insightful questions.  We spent a good 20 minutes talking about serious issues of homelessness and how children are impacted by being uprooted from "home."  I was really proud of them.

We then sorted stuffed animals, sorted blankets, rolled and tied blankets, assessed what donations were appropriate to give (many items donated are sub par and not something that we want to give to someone else).  The kids worked furiously for the last 30 minutes to help get everything ready for the big day: Jan 17.

Sunday, we will move into another arena of service by helping to make soup for the homeless.  Please consider letting your child stay until the end of the program, which is at 1:30, but we should be winding down around 1:15.  You are, of course, most welcome to pick up at the regular time of 12:15.  We will be learning about cooking, watch a demonstration, making soup and cornbread and eating a kosher pizza lunch.

 

The following week we will continue doing service work on Tuesday and then on the 17th, we will all come together - families and children - to participate in CSZ in Action.  Please sign up for a service project soon. Allison mailed out information on this process on Wednesday.

Thanks for all you do and see you soon,

Morah Leah

Kitah Zayin Update

Happy  New Year  to all of our  7th graders and Families!  

 Welcome  back  to the 2nd half of the school  year.  We started  talking  about  the prayer of "Shema."  We are discussing  the importance  of Shema, why do we say it and what  is the purpose  of this very unique prayer  that  God commanded  us to say everyday  of our lives. On Sunday  we will continue  more on this very important  subject. 

 We hope to see all of you this Sunday  as we will be making  soups  for those we are less fortunate  then we are. 

 Happy  and Healthy  New Year.

Morot  Rice  and  Holenberg. 

Kitah Hey Update

Dear Parents,

 We started the new year with a brief review of the relationship between Abraham, Sarah & Hagar. We connected the idea of being a "Team Player" and incorporating  "Shalom Bayit" into the learners lives. The kids gave examples of keeping their excitement over personal achievements, in check.  Not to be arrogant & "hoity toity" as one student shared. Through the study of sacred text in our classroom, we continue to connect our values to lead meaningful Jewish lives.

Wishing you all a Healthy Happy New Year!

Shabbat Shalom

Cillia Kleiman