Religious School Parent Bulletin April 19, 2013

Yasher Koach to all who participated in the Maccabiah (with Or Chadash’s Religious School) and the 3^rd-6^th Graders who participated in the Yom Ha’atzmaut Assembly. Both events were lovely! We are going to do a special religious school program with Or Chadash again next year as this one was so successful!

Mazal Tov to Renee Hulsey for winning the Outstanding Judaic Educator of Southern Arizona! Renee will be recognized at the Jewish Federation Annual Awards on May 2.

Reminder: Please continue to bring in tzedakah for our MITZVAH 613 Project.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Sunday, April 21
Geniza Field Trip (for 5^th and 6^th Graders) 9:00am
The 5^th & 6^th Grade class will take a field trip to Evergreen Cemetery as part of the lifecycle curriculum. Rabbi Robert Eisen will discuss funerals and the geniza, and point out graves from our congregation’s history. This is a very important part of the school year and a valuable experience for your children. Parents are encouraged to attend! If you are able to help with transportation, please contact Rabbi Herman.

Saturday, April 27 
7^th/8^th Grade Siyum 6:15pm in Epstein Chapel
Join us as we celebrate the accomplishments of the 7^th and 8^th Grade class. These students will be leading the Mincha and Ma’ariv (afternoon and evening) services, as well as speaking during the 3^rd meal (dinner) about what they have learned this year.  There is no charge for dinner; however reservations are a must. Please RSVP to Kim.

Sunday, May 5
Teacher Appreciation 11:30am in Cantor Falkow Lounge
Join us at the end of the last day of Religious School as we honor our teachers and raffle off the prize (an IPod!) for “You Pray, You Play,” our Shabbat incentive program. Refreshments will be served.

Teachers’ Classroom Recaps:
Kindergarten/1^st Grade – Renee Hulsey
What a great time we had this past Sunday at the Maccabiah! We enjoyed Israeli dancing with Michael's mom and Morah Rina from Congregation Or Chadash; a fun art project with Devin (which we will pass out this week), a Shabbat and Holiday trivia game in our classroom, and music with Morah Nichole. It was a lot of fun getting to know some of the kids from Congregation Or Chadash. Don't forget: Sunday is the Israel Festival at the JCC after class. I look forward to seeing all of my wonderful students there!

2^nd Grade – Natalie Guerin
I was not able to attend the Maccabiah on Sunday, but I know my class was looking forward to it. It sounds like it was a lot of fun. On Tuesday, we were treated to, and greatly enjoyed, a concert in honor of Israeli Independence Day.

3^rd Grade – Laura Olesen
Mazal tov 3^rd Graders on your consecration! They were amazing at the Kabbalat Shabbat service. I am proud of each and every one of them. We enjoyed erev (evening) Shabbat dinner and the cake with all their names was beautiful. And thank you for the wonderful gift, I love it. We also had a week filled with our Yom HaShoah memorial and then the students enjoyed the Maccabiah. We are continuing forward in our Hebrew studies.

4^th Grade
This week we had two special events. On Sunday was the Maccabiah: Students celebrated Yom Ha'atzmaut (Israeli Independence Day) with a full day of special workshops and activities. On Tuesday, students preformed songs related to Israel that they had practiced for the past few weeks. In Hebrew, students learned the categories of brachot (blessings) related to foods and began learning these blessings for our bracha bee next week. In Judaics, students began learning about Medieval France.

5^th Grade – Courtney DeYoung
The 5^th Grade class began learning about the life-cycle ritual of mourning and Jewish mourning procedures.

6^th Grade – MeMe Aguila
What a wonderful week we had: The students enjoyed a wonderful joint program with Or Chadash, learning Krav Maga, did art projects and made new friends. On Tuesday, we were treated to a wonderful concert that featured our Religious School students and CAI’s Adult Choir. In Hebrew, we are continuing our progress in Let's Talk Hebrew, and will begin the final review process.

7^th – 8^th Grade – Jacob Kotz
The 7^th and 8^th Graders did a wonderful job on their Yom HaShoah presentation! We are also excited about our 7^th and 8^th Grade Siyum on April 27.

Rabbi Ben Herman