Kitah Hey Update

4/26/2017

Dear Parents,

Hope everyone had a great vacation and a wonderful Passover. It was nice welcoming back our students this week and hearing about their holiday and how the Seder was meaningful to them.

We continued our Torah study, discussing the relationship of Jacob and his brother Esau. The learners retold the story of Jacob receiving the blessing from Isaac and the birthright from Esau. The special blessing was Jacob's (and Jewish people's) family treasure. When asked to fill in blank "one of my family treasures is?" The students' answers were: 

                        Siblings getting along

                        Not fighting

                        Going on family vacation 

                        Shabbat dinner

                        Spending time with grandparents 

All really special things to treasure!

This week we commemorated Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Memorial Day) Our class visited "the Butterfly: An Art Exhibition in the new wing, off the main lobby at CSZ. Our class contributed a beautiful stained glass butterfly inspired by the poem "the Butterfly", written in 1942 by a child in Terezin Concentration Camp. Our butterfly represents endurance, change, hope, and life. 

Our lessons have focused on how small acts against injustice can ultimately create an environment where hate cannot flourish.

Shabbat Shalom

Cillia Kleiman

Kitah Vav Update

April 25, 2017

Hello all –

We are entering the home stretch of religious school. It is always difficult when we come back after Passover, as the kids are in Spring Mode.  I have am wondering if wearing a giant inflatable dinosaur costume at all times might help, and am willing to take that plunge, if need be.  We shall see. It is always good to keep a trick or two in your back pocket. J In the meantime, while I know that spring sports are here and the kids’ schedules are crazy, just a gentle reminder that they are in Judiacs class from 11:25 – 12:15, so if they leave at 11:30, they  miss all of their Judaics lesson… and my giant inflatable dinosaur costume. And that’s just tragic.  Please make sure if your child needs to leave early, that he/she circles back with me BEFORE or AFTER class the next week, so I can catch him/her up.  And, of course, there is always the blog.  This past Sunday we began with 15 kids and I had 4 by 11:45.  And such is spring.   So, as for Sunday, we don’t have much to report, as we REDID the lesson on Tuesday.

Since I am typing this Tuesday morning, let’s pretend that this class went as follows.  In my mind, this is EXACTLY what is going to happen, but who knows.  Usually I am at least 20% right. J But this is the lesson planned. First, I will look stunning in my inflatable T-Rex costume and the kids will ALL be there and then they will all leave to go on to play baseball AFTER religious ed and naturally, win their games.  They will then go home, eat all of their veggies without complaint, and their chicken (even without fried breading on it), not torture their siblings, do their homework, brush their teeth without leaving globs of toothpaste in the sink, and go to bed by 9:00 p.m. with the day’s clothing neatly tossed in the hamper.  Just so you know: this happened.  I guarantee it.

Tuesday plan:  We learn about Moses as an imperfect leader.  Why? One might ask… because I want the kids to know that YOU TOO can be like Moses.  You do NOT have to be PERFECT.  But you can have GIANT positive impacts on the world and on the Jewish people.  We discuss what it means to be a leader, what characteristics leaders hold – both positive and negative.  We then discuss in popular culture what the characteristics those leaders hold.  We see a short google slide show that Morah Leah made.. naturally, the internet does not go out and the Smartboard works perfectly.  Then, The kids do an activity that involves lemons and leadership (ask them about this… it’s a good one), and it ends by making homemade lemonade.  Yum.  On Sunday we will move on to discuss specific characteristics of Moses and tie them in to characteristics he shares with other leaders that they are familiar with.

Please mark May 2 as an important date – the kids are making their YADS with Gail Kaplan.  These are the ones that they use for their Bar/Bat mitzvahs!  They are BEAUTIFUL and are generously sponsored by CSZ. 

Please also mark May 21^st from 11- 12 in your calendar.  You will meet your children for the last day of religious school for the all school, family Shavuot program.  Looking forward to having you there.

Have a great weekend,

Leah

Kitah Gan Katan Update

April 24, 2017

Welcome Back! Hope everyone had a great Passover Holiday.  

Today we have learned a lot, very busy in our Gan Katan class.  We started learning about Mezzuah. We learned what goes in the Mezzuah, the Shema. We went on a hunt around the shul to look at how many different types of Mezzuahs we could find. We even went to Rabbi Starr's office and he showed us a Mezzuah that he brought from Israel. It was the stones of the Kotel, very cool to see.  

We are making our very own Mezzuahs to take home. Keep an eye out.

Hope you have a great week!!

Morot Zoya and Alexis 

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Dear Parents,

What a great week in Kitah bet!! On Sunday we had  an experiential learning day of Pesach. Your children helped make "Maror". Proud to say everyone  tasted it and many came back for more. They also created a bowl to  use at the Seder for  either Maror, salt water, or Karpas.

On Tuesday we joined the entire school for a "Chocolate Seder". Kitah Bet was well represented and participated  as part of our learning community.

During our brief time together, I hope your children got a taste ( no pun intended) of this joyful holiday. I shared some fun Pesach stories, we listened to some Pesach song parodies and played a Pesach memory/matching game to familiarize them with the Pesach story and celebration.

There is an app available for the  4 Questions that you get  for your i-phone or i-pad.   It is something your kids  can play with for the next couple weeks to learn the 4 QUESTIONS  and there are also activities to play.

I am looking forward to hearing about your seders and Pesach when your children return to class.
Wishing you all a chag kasher v'sameach. Happy Passover.

Davida

We will not have class again until April 23.

7th Grade Class Update

March 30, 2017

Dear 7th Grade Parents,

We had a meaningful visit to the Holocaust Memorial Center this Sunday. After our docent-led tour, we heard from a survivor, Mr. Martin Lowenberg, about life in Germany pre, during, and post WWII. He spoke to us about the importance of love and the terrible consequences of hatred. 

On Tuesday, we prepared for Pesach by enjoying a chocolate seder with the rest of our friends in the CSZ Religious School.  We learned about the structure of the seder while eating some delicious chocolate sweets, and we had a very competitive search for the chocolate afikoman.

We do not have another Sunday class before Pesach. I wish you all a chag Kasher v'sameach! Happy Passover!

Best, 

Morah Hollenberg and Moreh Fidel

Kitah Vav Update

March 27, 2017

Hi All –

We had an eventful 6^th grade week out of the classroom: First the Jewish Historical Society field trip and then the Chocolate Seder! The kids were busy, busy learning and moving and grooving this week. I hope that they have an EXCITING spring break and a restful Seder and that they get whatever fun, rest, sleep or silliness that they need to in order to keep their eyes on the prize from April til the end of school.

I know that it is hard to imagine, but HOW is it that the school year is almost over?  It always seems to just creep up on me! 

At your Seder table this year, ask your child to share a bit about how Anti-Semitism played a role in the Passover story.  Ask your child why Pharaoh was afraid of the Jewish people, and what Pharaoh did to resolve this issue.  It is also worth noting how this Anti-Semitism has continued to play a role in history from this point until – quite sadly – today. The kids discussed at length why they think that people have continued to dislike and fear Jews, and they know the stereotypes that have been repeatedly associated with the Jews.

Next year, may we all celebrate our Seders in Jerusalem and in, God willing, a world free of Anti-Semitism and hate. In the meantime, thank you for sharing your thoughtful, children with me. It is my pleasure to play, pray and learn with them.

Warm regards and Happy Passover,

Leah