Religious School Parent Bulletin April 4, 2014
Friendly reminders:
The entire family is invite to attend our Passover Family Workshop on Sunday, April 6, 9:00am to 12:00pm. Join us to create a paper Seder plate and hear a Passover story (Grades K-2); make matzah and participate in a Readers’ Theatre (Grades 3-6); and attend a Model Seder (all grades). Then we’ll have some Passover goodies! (This is a mandatory day of religious school and we strongly encourage parents to attend with their children … it will be fun for all!)
Looking for a great way to spend Shabbat? Try Shabbat Family Experience, an interactive, spirit-filled and participatory service on Saturday, April 12, at 10:30am in the Epstein Chapel led by children in the Religious School and Tucson Hebrew Academy. Participants will lead services, discuss the meaning of prayers and determine how the teachings from our tradition apply to their lives.
Want to attend an inspiring event? Then join us at Siddur Dedication on Friday, April 25 at 5:45pm in the Epstein Chapel. CAI’s Religious School 3rd Graders will lead the entire Friday night service and give short talks about why Judaism is meaningful to them. Each student will be presented with a certificate and personalized Siddur. The service will be followed by a delicious Shabbat dinner ($12/adult, $8/child). Please RSVP by April 18 to Kim.
All families are invited to join us on Sunday, May 4, 10:30am-12:00pm in Cantor Falkow Lounge as we end the year strong with our Electives Assembly and Talent Show! This event will also feature Teacher Appreciation and the raffle for the Shabbat Incentive IPod. STUDENTS: Please wear your Anshei Israel Religious School T-shirts on this date!
TEACHERS' CLASSROOM RECAPS:
Kindergarten and 1st Grade – Renee Hulsey
This week the kindergartners learned the letters “kaf” and “lamed” while the 1st Graders learned the letter “yud” and the vowel sound “oo.” We also learned the reason why we eat matzah and not bread on Passover. We made frogs with Devin in art (to be used at your family Seder!), because that was one of the plagues. Finally, we continued practicing the Four Questions. I look forward to seeing everyone this weekend for our Passover Family Workshop!
2nd Grade – Bryan Gordon
This week in 2nd Grade we continued making headway in our understanding of the Four Questions, and learned a whole bunch of new Hebrew vocabulary, spending a good bit of time talking about the differences between matzah and hametz, culminating in our all-school, for-charity “Matzah Machine” on Tuesday. It was a lot of fun!
3rd Grade – Laura Olesen
We had another wonderful week! The 3rd Graders have been rehearsing for their Siddur Dedication, especially since they will be on break for Passover. They are doing a great job! In Hebrew, we have completed our book and are reviewing translation of their vocabulary. We will begin Kol Yisrael 2 very soon. We had fun taking part in the “Matzah Machine.” I'm looking forward to our Passover Workshop on Sunday and will enjoy seeing all the classes participate in our Model Seder.
4th Grade – Elana Israel
This week in Judaics, we dove deep into the story of Passover by talking about our traditions and playing a trivia game show. In Hebrew, we began learning about different vowel-letter combinations. I am so proud of all of the great work that everyone has been doing! The 4th Grade class continued their study of Passover, practicing reciting the 10 Plagues in English and Hebrew. We look forward to doing this at the Model Seder with our “Bag of Plagues”!
5th Grade – Courtney DeYoung & Sarah Artzi
On Sunday in Judaics, we discussed different aspects of Israel and on Tuesday we played “Israel Jeopardy.” Although the questions were hard, we saw so much prior knowledge being expressed. On both Sunday and Tuesday, we focused on different nouns in Hebrew and played a matching game. After a few rounds, the students caught on to the words and did so well!
6th Grade – MeMe Aguila
What a busy week for 6th grade! We had a presentation on Herman Wouk. We also spent time learning about Passover. In Hebrew, we continued to prepare for our field trip to 5th St. Deli on April 8, where the students will put their Hebrew skills to the test by ordering food in Hebrew. Of course, the week’s highlight was participation in our annual “Matzah Machine!”
7th – 8th Grade – Sivan Shahmoon
The 7th Graders began compiling their booklet for the Yom HaShoah Service. The 8th Graders will be attending the Hebrew High Open House next week after Religious School!