Religious School Parent Bulletin October 4, 2013
Shalom! We are having a blast in Religious School! The High Holy Days Appeal count is in! Here are the results:
K-$1.66
1st Grade: $21.47
2nd Grade: $33.18
3rd Grade: $5.25
4th Grade: $8.65
5th Grade: $17.91
6th Grade: $12.09
Grand total: $100.21
Yasher Koach to everyone who gave tzedakah. We are now returning to our collection of tzedakah for CAI’s new Torah so that each child will have a letter dedicated to him/her in it. Our goal is to raise another $350 by the Torah Dedication on December 8.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Sunday, Oct. 6 Blessing of the Pets
Our lives would not be the same without our pets! They are such a part of our lives: a presence in our homes and in our hearts; companions in times of joy and comfort in times of pain. Everyone is welcome to join us – with your pet(s) safely leashed or caged – for a brief service at 11:45am to recognize how important they are to us. Follow the signs for location.
Friday, Oct. 13 Shabbat Family Experience
Join us for a delicious Shabbat dinner and Friday evening service led by students from the Religious School and Tucson Hebrew Academy. Dinner begins at 6:00pm in Cantor Falkow Lounge, followed by the service at 7:15pm. The cost for dinner is $25 per family, $10 per each additional person. Please RSVP for the dinner to Kim . RSVP for a part in the service to Rabbi Herman.
Sunday, Oct. 13 Parents are Teachers Too
Join Rabbis Robert Eisen and Ben Herman to learn about the laws of Kashrut and where Kashrut fits in the Religious School curriculum. Afterwards we will join Max (our Mashgiach) in the kitchen to make some tasty treats.
Tuesday, Oct. 22 Camp Ramah Assembly
Join Ariella Moss Peterseil, Camp Ramah’s Assistant Director, at 5:30pm in the Cantor Falkow Lounge, to learn all about Camp Ramah in Ojai, California. Ramah summer programs are packed with a wide range of activities including sports, aquatics, art, Israeli dance and Jewish music, cooking, media arts, drama, ropes course, camping trips and much more! More important is the Jewish community formed among campers and staff filled with spirit, friendships, celebration, ethics and Jewish values.
Sunday, Oct. 27 Mitzvah Day at Congregation Or Chadash
Anshei Israel Religious School students will meet at Congregation Or Chadash to participate in service projects to improve our community, and will have fun getting-to-know you activities with the students at Or Chadash. This is in part because Heshvan (the Jewish month we will be in) is Jewish Social Action Month. Students are encouraged to wear their CAI Religious School shirts for this event. Parents are encouraged to join with their children in the fun activities!
Teachers’ Classroom Recaps:
Kindergarten – Renee Hulsey
Last week was great in kindergarten. We ate breakfast in the sukkah and got to shake the lulav and etrog with Rabbi Robert Eisen. Gimmel was our letter of the day, and we decided that gimmel is our favorite letter so far because glidah (ice cream) starts with gimmel. Don’t forget to bring tzedakkah each week!
1st Grade – Nancy Auslander
We started work on our Shabbat unit, one that will take some time and this is why: The children were given a choice to either make challah one time, or make a whole set of Shabbat ritual items to use again and again. We voted, and it was decided unanimously to make our Shabbat boxes over the coming weeks. We also had minyan and music with Nichole Chorny in preparation for our Shabbat Family Experience on October 11, and reviewed the first six letters in our Aleph Bet lesson book.
2nd Grade – Bryan Gordon
Second grade made an exciting start to the new Torah cycle this week, reviewing the Creation story and learning about Simchat Torah traditions. We also added three new letters to our writing practice, and we are using spoken Hebrew as a way to engage with the mitzvah of "bikkur cholim" (visiting the sick), so that we get a sense of the meanings in the Mi Sheberach prayer (prayer for those who are ill).
3rd Grade – Laura Olesen
Third graders did a wonderful job this week! They are learning new prayers and enjoyed learning about Safed, Mt.Hermon, Banias and the Knerret in the Galil. They continued to mark their maps of Israel. In Hebrew, we continued through chapter 2 and with Brachot and learning the use of the "vav."
4th Grade – Elana Israel
This week, the 4th grade learned about important Jewish prophets.We read about five different prophets, and worked in groups to put their teachings into our own words. We also made "Prophet Wanted Ads," which reminded us of the importance of guidance in the Jewish faith. In Hebrew, we have been practicing reading and writing, and used fun games like Hebrew Musical Chairs to test our reading skills.
5th Grade – Sarah Artzi & Courtney DeYoung
On both Sunday and Tuesday in Judaics we discussed the basics behind being a child. Every single one of the students contributed to great extents and every word they said made us extremely grateful to have such intellectual students in class. In Hebrew we moved on to Chapter 2 in our book, covering basic readings. We already see more confidence and improvement in their reading.
6th Grade – MeMe Aguila
We are moving right along! The students have enjoyed their discussions with Rabbi Eisen on Tuesdays, as they explore their path to becoming a Bar/Bat Mitzvah. We have had our first student presentation on Prophets. Solomon was our first, and Rebecca Freund did a great job. We also have begun our immigration family tree project. The students should be asking you where you and their grandparents and great-grandparents were born. The assignment is due this Sunday. The immigration tree is on our classroom bulletin board and it will grow as more birthplaces are added. I think we are in for a few surprises as we look at the birthplaces of our families! In Hebrew, we are learning the basics of conversation as our Let's Talk Hebrew book takes us on a journey to Israel. We have learned conversation related to from where you come and where you are going as covered in Chapters 1 & 2. We are also learning to ask “How are you?” and “What is your name?”
7th – 8th Grade – Sivan Shahmoon
In this week's class we talked about "A Time for Action." The class read a part of the story of Moses and the splitting of the sea and God's lesson on taking action rather than just asking for help. We then did an activity where a few students played the role of a person in the "Sea of Reeds" story and the rest of the students were on a panel and asked questions.