Dear Kitah Vav Parents,
We continue to work on Hebrew reading accuracy and fluency. The November reading is a prayer called Ya-aleh v'Yavo which is found in the festival Amidah. We have numbered the lines, and each week students should practice three new lines. Last week 1-3, and this week 4-6.
November will also find us working on the Ashrei Blessing. The students seem to know the first four verses and then fall off. This prayer is chanted at each of our three daily services, and it would be wonderful for students to participate in each other's Bnai Mitzvah by leading Ashrei for their classmate.
We have begun delving into the four prayers that students will be representing when they create colorful panels that express the message of the prayer. Our four are: the prayer for Torah study, Modeh/Modah Ani, Mah Tovu, and Elohai Neshamah sh'na-tata bi Tahorah Hi. Students will collaborate in groups of three to design their panel.
This Sunday, Nov. 13, is the first of three Sundays dedicated to the whole school art project.
However, Kitah Vav will participate from 9 to 10am, and then you will be joining them at TI for your first Family B'nai Mitzvah Program. I hope to see you there.
Whenever you know that your child will be absent, please alert me or Robin by email or phone. Thanks. Sunday, November 20, is our next day dedicated to designing and transferring the designs of our four prayers to a paper panel, then on Dec. 11 we paint.
Wishing all a very sweet Shabbat.
Rav Elana
Wednesday, November 9, 2016
Sunday, November 6, 2016
Alef--Havdalah November 6, 2016
Dear families:
A busy day today! We joined the gan and kitah bet classes
(kindergarten and grade 2) for tefillah with Cantor Ken. We sang Modeh/Modah Ani. We also were musical instruments in Hallelu,
and we sang the Shema and V’Ahavta and Oseh shalom. We concluded with Hatikvah.
As the culmination of our unit on
Shabbat, we learned about Havdalah, which ends Shabbat, when three stars are
visible in the evening sky. I showed my
own Kiddush cup, bisomim (spice) box, and Havdalah candle. Sweet spices are
used to show the sweetness of Shabbat and the hope that the coming week will be
sweet. The candle has several wicks to
bring together the separate candles lit on Friday evening. According to tradition, Havdalah may be
recited until Tuesday evening.
STORY: We heard the story Shalom, Shabbat,
which told about how our five senses help us to say good-bye to Shabbat on
Saturday evening. With our עניםaynayim” (eyes), we can see the
three stars, see the flames of the candle.
With our יד “yad” (hand), we can touch the braided candle, etc. Ariel listed the things we can see, smell,
hear, touch, and taste for Shabbat as we brainstormed ideas.
CRAFT: Students made their own hand/wax
protector to put around their Havdalah candle.
Tzipporah (Cheryl) showed several kinds and colors of Havdalah candles.
CEREMONY: We sang the Havdalah prayers in Debbie
Friedman’s version, blessing the “wine,” the spices and the candle, and
concluded with Eliyahu Ha Navi and Shavua Tov.
HEBREW: Our Hebrew letter today is כ “kaf,”
the first letter in “kos” (cup), “kippah,” “karpas,” and “kelev” (dog).
TORAH: We began the first
in our series of Teach Me Torah pamphlets. We read about Moses and his sister Miriam. When the Israelites were slaves in Egypt, they
built cities for Pharaoh, but, they did NOT build the Pyramids. Pharaoh, concerned that the Israelites would
grow too numerous, ordered the midwives to kill the baby boys, but the women
refused. So soldiers did the deed. Moses’ mother put him in a basket in the
Nile, hoping that a kind person would find him and raise him. Pharaoh’s daughter found him; then Miriam
offered to have their own mother take care of the baby until he was a
toddler. We will learn more next week.
We will discuss all the people who helped Moses.
I am thrilled by how much the
children recall—they pick out Hebrew letters in the prayer book and in posters. The children also commented about Moses and Havdalah.
As always, we had time for our
learning books and games.
Shavua tov!
Esther
and Tzipporah (Judy and Cheryl)
Grade K - Gan Class Update 11-6-16
Hello Temple Israel Families!
The Gan class was very busy today. We started the morning in the Sanctuary with Cantor Ken for Tefilah. We are practicing following along with the pages, treating the siddur with respect and learning many of the morning prayers. Cantor Ken always points out how the pictures on the page relate to the prayers and asks us to share our personal connections.
In our classroom we revisited the story of Adam and Eve which we read for the first time last week. This week we reviewed the story of Creation with each student sharing something that God created before resting on Shabbat. Then, we read for a second time about Adam and Eve being tricked by the snake and eating the from the forbidden tree. Students illustrated the main idea of this story which will be included in their student workbook.
After snack we learned that another name for a temple or a synagogue is a beit k'nesset. We discovered that there are lots of things that people do in a beit k'nesset which can include learning, praying, working celebrating and doing good things for other people. To see this first hand, we traveled around the building looking for evidence of the activities happening. There were lots of students learning in classrooms. Robin and Rabbi Liben invited us into their offices to see what those spaces looked like and to think about the activities that might take place there. We stopped in the hallway to see where people can leave donations of toilet paper for those who might need some and met the Sisterhood ladies that were setting up the Rummage Sale so that people who needed new clothes could come buy some. We visited the chapel and the sanctuary, the spaces where we most often pray and checked out the Temple Office and the Sisterhood Judaica shop. Special stops on the trip included the kitchen and a viewing of the walk-in refrigerator the secret pathway behind the bima and hanging out on the beanbag chairs in the Youth Office upstairs. Students know that the kitchen and the space behind the bima are places they can only visit with the permission of an adult. It was exciting for students to see new places in the building and get to ask questions to congregants and staff at the Temple.
Our letter of the day was caf. Caf makes the sound k- and begins the word kippah. To practice our letters we had three stations. At the first, students could practice writing the letters we have already learned with white board markers. At the second station we played a Go Fish game with our Hebrew Letters and at the third station, students worked with Bina to play Aleph Bet Adventure. Our letter recognition skills are getting better each class and we now know six letters!
As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about the Gan Class.
Have a wonderful week!
Michelle
The Gan class was very busy today. We started the morning in the Sanctuary with Cantor Ken for Tefilah. We are practicing following along with the pages, treating the siddur with respect and learning many of the morning prayers. Cantor Ken always points out how the pictures on the page relate to the prayers and asks us to share our personal connections.
In our classroom we revisited the story of Adam and Eve which we read for the first time last week. This week we reviewed the story of Creation with each student sharing something that God created before resting on Shabbat. Then, we read for a second time about Adam and Eve being tricked by the snake and eating the from the forbidden tree. Students illustrated the main idea of this story which will be included in their student workbook.
After snack we learned that another name for a temple or a synagogue is a beit k'nesset. We discovered that there are lots of things that people do in a beit k'nesset which can include learning, praying, working celebrating and doing good things for other people. To see this first hand, we traveled around the building looking for evidence of the activities happening. There were lots of students learning in classrooms. Robin and Rabbi Liben invited us into their offices to see what those spaces looked like and to think about the activities that might take place there. We stopped in the hallway to see where people can leave donations of toilet paper for those who might need some and met the Sisterhood ladies that were setting up the Rummage Sale so that people who needed new clothes could come buy some. We visited the chapel and the sanctuary, the spaces where we most often pray and checked out the Temple Office and the Sisterhood Judaica shop. Special stops on the trip included the kitchen and a viewing of the walk-in refrigerator the secret pathway behind the bima and hanging out on the beanbag chairs in the Youth Office upstairs. Students know that the kitchen and the space behind the bima are places they can only visit with the permission of an adult. It was exciting for students to see new places in the building and get to ask questions to congregants and staff at the Temple.
Our letter of the day was caf. Caf makes the sound k- and begins the word kippah. To practice our letters we had three stations. At the first, students could practice writing the letters we have already learned with white board markers. At the second station we played a Go Fish game with our Hebrew Letters and at the third station, students worked with Bina to play Aleph Bet Adventure. Our letter recognition skills are getting better each class and we now know six letters!
As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about the Gan Class.
Have a wonderful week!
Michelle
Thursday, November 3, 2016
Grade 6 - Trope Update from Ken
Great to see BOTH trope classes this week, on Tuesday AND Wednesday!
Great to have Justin join us on Tuesday and Arianna on Wednesday!
For next time, students should (if they don't already) have flashcards for all the trope (see list below)
They should make sure to know the name of each symbol, the melody (or melodies), and which other trope it belongs with.
They should listen to tracks 1-11 on the CD or website, and follow along with pages 3-7 in the packet.
On Tuesday we learned/reviewed/highlighted families 1-5 in class, and we'll try to get to the last 5 families next week.
On Wednesday we finished learning/reviewing/
Soon we'll be applying the trope to actual Torah portions.
Thanks, and please let me know if you have questions--
Cantor Ken
Trope: (in order that they appear in the packet)
- Mercha
- Tipcha
- Munach
- Etnachta
- Sof Pasuk
- Kadma
- Mapach
- Pashta
- Katon
- Yetiv
- Kadma V'azla (I recommend making one card with both of this trope pair on it)
- Munach with the line after it (as in 5a)
- Revi'i
- Darga
- Tevir
- Telisha Ketana
- Telisha Gedola
- Pazer
- Azla Geresh
- Gershayim
- Zakef Gadol
- Zarka
- Segol
You can see pictures of most of the trope on my friend and colleague's website if that is helpful in recognizing the trope symbol. (occasionally he and I use different variants of the names)
Tuesday, November 1, 2016
Kitah Hey Update- Diana
Dear Kitah Hey parents,
The fifth graders have been hard at work! Last Sunday, they had the opportunity to celebrate Sukkot by participating in a "sukkah walk". The students discussed the importance behind the harvesting holiday and had a chance to shake the lulav and etrog. The temple members who hosted us were impressed with our class and very much enjoyed having them over.
In class last Wednesday, the fifth graders took part in an amazing discussion about what it means to be "lifted up". We took a look at three short stories. One story was about the Jewish people lifting the ark in the desert during their travel to the promised land, one story was about a rabbi lifting up a Torah, and one story was about a grandfather lifting his grandson and carrying him during World War II. At the end of each of these stories, the Jewish people, the rabbi, and the grandfather all said that it was not them who were lifting up these objects and people, but it was the ark, Torah, and grandson who were lifting them up. After reading these stories, the students shared some incredible insights. When asked what was similar about each of the three texts, one student explained, "The ark, the Torah, and the grandson are all synonyms for G-d. Even the grandson, because he is a child of G-d." Another student shared, "When you really care about something you're holding, it makes you happy. It makes it so it is easier to carry and it gives you more motivation." We discussed that these objects and the grandson were not literally lifting people, but were figuratively doing so.
I was so impressed by these brilliant minds.
This past Sunday, we started learning the prayer, "Vayehi Binsoa", which is the prayer following "Ein Kamocha" in the Torah service. The class was given a copy of this prayer as well as a QR code and website link they can use to access the written prayer and audio recording of the prayer at home.
Attached, is the homework calendar for the month of November.
Best,
Diana
Attached, is the homework calendar for the month of November.
Best,
Diana
Monday, October 31, 2016
Kitah Bet October 31
It feels so good to return to a (relatively) normal schedule now that the Jewish fall holidays are behind us!
In Hebrew we were able to introduce two new letters and a vowel yesterday, the Alef, Mem and long "E" vowel. We colored in the cards for them, and working with partners built words using the cards. We learned the trick for remembering the "mem" is that it has two mountains, and for the Alef that it is silent and takes all of it's sound from the accompanying vowel. One student asked why we are learning these "tricks" for remembering the letters when she can remember them without these prompts. I answered that for some students these little tricks make the learning process easier and that it's fun for all of us. In class we also have a large magnetic set (9" x 11 1/2") of the cards and we begin every Hebrew session by putting them on the whiteboard one by one repeating the names, sounds and mnemonics for each letter. This opening "ritual" is done with a bit of drama and a lot of humor and is most often accompanied with lots of smiles, laughter and hands held high hoping to be called on. We then create both real and nonsense words on the whiteboard, everyone loves to have a turn to show off how they can put the letters and vowels together to create words. We will be using the personal cards during every class and it is important that every student bring them to every session.
We began our Torah studies and read about the story of creation. We learned what was created on each day of the week and discussed what it may mean for humans to be created in G-d's image. Some of the ideas suggested are the need to continue G-d's work of creation and taking responsibility for caring for the world that G-d created. We also learned a rap song about the days of creation and played a game of Pictionary where the students had to guess what day of creation some of their classmates were drawing about on the whiteboard.
Margie & Joanne
In Hebrew we were able to introduce two new letters and a vowel yesterday, the Alef, Mem and long "E" vowel. We colored in the cards for them, and working with partners built words using the cards. We learned the trick for remembering the "mem" is that it has two mountains, and for the Alef that it is silent and takes all of it's sound from the accompanying vowel. One student asked why we are learning these "tricks" for remembering the letters when she can remember them without these prompts. I answered that for some students these little tricks make the learning process easier and that it's fun for all of us. In class we also have a large magnetic set (9" x 11 1/2") of the cards and we begin every Hebrew session by putting them on the whiteboard one by one repeating the names, sounds and mnemonics for each letter. This opening "ritual" is done with a bit of drama and a lot of humor and is most often accompanied with lots of smiles, laughter and hands held high hoping to be called on. We then create both real and nonsense words on the whiteboard, everyone loves to have a turn to show off how they can put the letters and vowels together to create words. We will be using the personal cards during every class and it is important that every student bring them to every session.
We began our Torah studies and read about the story of creation. We learned what was created on each day of the week and discussed what it may mean for humans to be created in G-d's image. Some of the ideas suggested are the need to continue G-d's work of creation and taking responsibility for caring for the world that G-d created. We also learned a rap song about the days of creation and played a game of Pictionary where the students had to guess what day of creation some of their classmates were drawing about on the whiteboard.
Margie & Joanne
Gimmel Goings On
Shalom Gimmel Families,
It has been a busy month of holidays and I hope everyone enjoyed celebrating!
This past Sunday Gimel students jumped back into the swing of things. They wrote in their journals about the importance of community and joined the entire school for Tefillah where they had an opportunity to act out some of the Bircot Hashachar.
MORNING MEETING
Students reviewed the morning greeting (Boker Tov) by picking a popsicle stick out of a jar and greeting the person whose stick they picked. They also reviewed the schedule for the day, the days of the week, the calendar, the weather and the season. They enjoyed our number game where they practiced counting to shesh (6) and also played a new game called Zip Around to review some of their reading. Ask your Gimel student how to play Zip Around!
HEBREW
Students were introduced to our new prayer curriculum! The first set of blessings they will be studying will be the Bircot Hashachar (morning blessings).
Binders
Each student received a binder in which to store their Hebrew materials, their homework calendar, a copy of the Bircot Hashachar, and a color coding sheet which they can use for reference to review their vowels. In class students highlighted the different vowels in lines 1 and 2 in different colors.
QR code and Temple website
Their copy of Bircot Hashachar has a QR code which students were shown how to use. If you are able, it would be great if you could download a free qr reader app. The one I use on my iPad and iPhone is QR Reader. Just scan your device over the code and it should come right up. If you are not able to download the app, here are the steps to find the Bircot Hashachar on the Temple website:
It has been a busy month of holidays and I hope everyone enjoyed celebrating!
This past Sunday Gimel students jumped back into the swing of things. They wrote in their journals about the importance of community and joined the entire school for Tefillah where they had an opportunity to act out some of the Bircot Hashachar.
MORNING MEETING
Students reviewed the morning greeting (Boker Tov) by picking a popsicle stick out of a jar and greeting the person whose stick they picked. They also reviewed the schedule for the day, the days of the week, the calendar, the weather and the season. They enjoyed our number game where they practiced counting to shesh (6) and also played a new game called Zip Around to review some of their reading. Ask your Gimel student how to play Zip Around!
HEBREW
Students were introduced to our new prayer curriculum! The first set of blessings they will be studying will be the Bircot Hashachar (morning blessings).
Binders
Each student received a binder in which to store their Hebrew materials, their homework calendar, a copy of the Bircot Hashachar, and a color coding sheet which they can use for reference to review their vowels. In class students highlighted the different vowels in lines 1 and 2 in different colors.
QR code and Temple website
Their copy of Bircot Hashachar has a QR code which students were shown how to use. If you are able, it would be great if you could download a free qr reader app. The one I use on my iPad and iPhone is QR Reader. Just scan your device over the code and it should come right up. If you are not able to download the app, here are the steps to find the Bircot Hashachar on the Temple website:
- www.tiofnatick.org
- Click on Music of TI
- Click on Shabbat
- Click on Saturday Morning Melodies
- Scroll all the way down to Pesukei Dezimra
- Click on Bircot Hashachar and enjoy the melody!
Information Letter and Google Voice
In their binders, students have a letter with information and explanations of how the homework calendar works. There is also a Google Voice number on the bottom of the calendar. I encourage students to call the number each week to practice the lines they are studying. When I hear their message, I will send an email with feedback. Students can use a cell phone or landline to call Google Voice. This week we are working on lines 1 and 2. For homework I would like students to practice reading these 2 lines for 5-10 minutes each day.
Please feel free to contact me via email with any questions about the letter, the homework calendar, the QR code and Google Voice. My email is eberelowitz@gmail.com
TORAH
This year our Torah curriculum will focus on Jewish values in some of the stories from the Book of Exodus, and we will explore these Jewish values in the context of being part of a community. Yesterday, students wrote in their journals about what community means to them and what values they think is important for their communities to have. Students shared interesting ideas such as kindness, safety, friendship and respect as being important values for a community to have.
During the week, we will continue to explore these ideas and will also talk about why their own communities are important to them. They will also create a poster which will be a visual representation of what their ideal community looks like.
RECAP OF LAST WEEK
Last Sunday we enjoyed a walk to the Greenberger's Sukkah and we thank our hosts for welcoming us. Students enjoyed a snack, story and game and had an opportunity to shake the lulav and etrog.
Our Wednesday group used an iPad app called Explain Everything to review all of the fall holidays.
Wishing everyone a wonderful week and we are super excited to welcome both our Tuesday and Wednesday groups during the week!
L'hitraot
Elana & Marc
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