Grade 5- Diana's Update

Dear Kitah Hey families,

The fifth graders are off to an amazing start!

During our Tuesday and Wednesday classes this week, we reviewed the idea that each one of us holds a different point-of-view. We talked about the fact that rabbis everywhere, both long ago and at present, hold different interpretations of Jewish texts. We discussed, at length, the importance of coming up with an interpretation that is meaningful to each one of us, as the literal translation of Hebrew prayers we are provided with are often difficult to understand.

After this introduction, students broke off in pairs and worked together to break down each line of the Ein Kamocha into more personal language.

After working hard to analyze these lines, students had the chance to share. Upon doing a close reading of the line, “Adonai blesses G-d’s people with peace”, one group explained their interpretation: “If you pray to G-d, G-d will pray to you (blessing you with peace)". This group took it even a step further, explaining that it is like looking into the mirror. If you smile, the mirror will smile back.

Another student took a look at the line, “Rebuild the walls of Jerusalem”, and tried to think about it more figuratively. Just as we want G-d to help the Jewish people rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, this student explained it is important that G-d helps us to build up walls of hope within ourselves. This bit sparked an amazing discussion where we talked about how having hope for the future can keep us going. Because the kids had just been talking about the sick during Jewish Values class, we also discussed the students’ thoughts that having hope can even help the sick live longer lives.

Incredible things are happening in grade 5!

Best,

Diana

Grade 5- Diana's Update

Dear Kitah Hey Parents,

I'm very excited to be working with your students!

This year in fifth grade, we will be focusing on the prayers recited during the Torah Service.
On Sunday morning, we talked about the importance of the opening prayer, the Ein Kamocha, which we recite before the ark is opened. We discussed that this is a special time, where we are about to take out the most holy object in Judaism to read God's very own words. The question was posed, "What might people want to say in a prayer at this time?" After sharing our ideas, we looked at the English translation of Ein Kamocha. We started learning the first lines of the prayer, reading and then chanting (students participated in both choral reading and partner reading).

In class, we discussed our homework policy. Every student will be expected to practice Hebrew for 10 minutes every day, with the exception of the weekend. The fifth graders received a calendar with assigned lines for them to review as well as one new line to practice each day. On Thursday evenings, students will be asked to call my google voice number 508-656-0657 and record themselves either reading or chanting the assigned lines for that week. This practice will help the fifth graders master the prayers of the Torah Service and will assist students in becoming more fluent in their Hebrew reading skills. Each day a student completes their homework, I ask that you (or another adult) sign off for that day. For each day of homework completed, students will get to fill out a box on their incentive chart (located in the classroom). When all the boxes are filled, the students will be able to participate in a small celebration.

On Sunday, students were given a copy of a QR code which, when scanned using the "QR Reader/Scanner" app, directs students to an audio recording of Cantor Ken chanting the Ein Kamocha. Pretty neat, right? What isn't there an app for? If students are unable to download this app, the link to the website used is also provided on the same paper (which can be found in your child's black binder along with all other handouts).

Best,
Diana

Grade 5 - Tali's Update 9/20/16

Fifth graders started the year with a bang! They participated in community-building activities/games within the classroom and were introduced to class routines and expectations. Students also took part in the Apples and Honey Olympics!  We dedicated much of Sunday to creating impressive, creative refuah sh'lemah cards for Cindy.

Tali Brauner-Pell

Grade 6 - Homework Update from Rav Elana

Dear Kitah Vav Parents,

Cantor Ken and I work together to build the skills we know that your students will need to be confident on the bimah, or leading prayer or davenning in other settings at Temple Israel, like Minyan or Junior Congregation, or even at camp.  My emphasis is on accurate, smooth reading of prayer, followed by singing the prayer, where called for.  Cantor Ken will also include singing prayer mastery, but in addition he will dedicate much time teaching the students to learn to chant Torah according to the cantillation marks (trope) under and over words of Torah.  In our goals for the students, Ken and I will work in tandem to reinforce the learning. Before your student can chant with confidence, he/she must be able to read the Biblical Hebrew comfortably and accurately.

       

That said, when your student does Cantor Ken’s homework practice, he/she will get credit in my class. Each student has an individual homework chart.  To make this work, I would particularly like to see and hear Kitah Vav students reading in small groups in class, or demonstrating mastery by recording the assigned prayer on my dedicated Google Voice number: 617-410-8145.  If each student will do that, then I can give them credit and move them along to the next prayer sheet.  Students do not need to use the QR Code unless they want to. Cantor Ken gave you another way to hear the prayers by going on the TI website and selecting the prayer your student needs to listen to. 

I hope this addresses any concerns you might have had about homework in Kitah Vav.  If my students will use class time to practice that would be ideal.  If I find that a student is not mastering the prayer we have worked on, then I’ll discuss it with the student and with you to figure out together how best to help.  Besides the prayers, I’ll be reviewing Hebrew reading rules for the next month and will send home sheets for your student to review.  There is a pesky vowel called a “sh’va” (:) that is silent in some positions in a word, or makes the “ih” sound with its consonant in other positions, so I’ll review that and other Hebrew reading challenges.

Please write to me with any questions/concerns you might have.  I feel that parents are my partners in making religious school a good experience for their child.

Kol tuv, all the best,

Rav Elana

Grade 2-Kitah Bet Update

Second Grade-Kitah Bet is off to a great start!

Sunday morning we met as a class for a game we called "Shin Shakes Right" where we tried to guess who was the Shin Shaker, it was a nice way for the students to move around a bit and to reconnect with friends they had not seen for a while.

We shared what everyone is looking forward to learning this year.  Reading Hebrew  was by far the most popular choice! Many students are also excited to learn about the Jewish Holidays and Israel.
We also created a short list of 8 expectations for classroom behavior.  Included is the need for safe bodies, sharing and following directions.  Most importantly we stressed being kind, and of course having fun.

It was wonderful to see the Bet students participating in our school wide tefila (prayer session).  During the year we will have the opportunity to pray both with the entire school and separately with the younger grades.  Our focus in Kitah Bet will be learning the Shema and V'Ahvta prayers, both their meaning and how they are recited.

We are  fortunate that on Sundays we are able to meet in smaller groups for learning about holidays and Hebrew.   The Hebrew class is located upstairs and meets with Margie and the Holiday class is located downstairs and meets with Joanne.  Rachel Greenberg is also in the class on Sunday mornings. Rachel is part of our "Madrchim " program which places teens in the class.  Rachel is a graduate of our school and is currently a Junior in High School.

In our holiday class we shared our excitement about the coming holiday as we read  the book "Sophie and the Shofar" and saw a real shofar.  We sang the Shofar song about Rosh HaShananah.

In Hebrew we reviewed the letters Shin, Bet and Tav, and learned the "ah"vowels.  We were able to combine them on our whiteboard to read the Hebrew word Shabbat!  On Tuesday and Wednesday the students will be receiving binders and text books.  In the binders there is a pouch that will have a card for each letter and vowel as it is learned.  The students will be coloring in the cards as we implement a new mnemonic system for learning Hebrew.  For instance we learned the "Bet is a brown box with a ball in it".  Be sure to look through the binders with your children this week.  We will also be using the binders for any communication and as a homework log.

Homework will be assigned regularly and should not take more than 10 minutes.  At this point, the homework will be to practice reading as a review to what has been learned in class.  If you are a Hebrew reader you can listen to your child read and offer praise or gentle corrections.  If you are not a Hebrew reader, the cards in the pouch have prompts on the back as to the sounds the letters/vowels make.  Perhaps you could learn along with your child!

We are all looking forward  to a year of growth and learning in Kita Bet!

Margie Matross

Grade 4- Dalet - 1st Sunday!

It was wonderful to meet so many of my students this past Sunday!

In our first group, we worked hard on a name selection process. Now I introduce you to the "Crayons," a name that I hope inspires artistic adventures and highlights each individual contribution!

We focused on the Hebrew word "kehillah" which means community and all the different communities that we are part of. We took part in challenges and games and we ended with an art project where each person shared part of themselves such as their favorite activities, hometown, and what they love about being Jewish. The same continued for my second group, but they didn't choose their name yet! We are off to a great start of being a "kehillah"! You can ask the students what "kehillah" means to them and why I think the Torah story of Creation is all about tuna fish. Have a great week!

Jeremy Arcus-Goldberg

Grade 6 Update - 9/18/16

Dear Grade 6-Kitah Vav-Parents,

      

Shalom! I am new to the teaching staff of Temple Israel, and very excited to start the school year with your students. The Grade Six curriculum supports preparation for Bar/Bar Mitzvah through its emphasis on Hebrew reading and prayer competence, beginning cantillation and prayer with Cantor Ken, study of the prophets and their message, holidays and values, engaging in creative Judaica activities in the arts, and, hopefully, activities/projects around our Haifa school Gr.6 partners. More about the Haifa partnership as we set it up.

At Temple Israel we employ some technology to support our students’ learning!  So, once your student feels he/she has mastered a prayer, they may call my Google Voice number:  617-410-8145 and read or sing the assigned prayer.  At the next class I’ll offer praise and feedback, and there will be an incentive chart giving credit for the accomplishment. 

I will also use a QR Code that will connect directly to the prayer being learned to model the singing.  That means that you will need a QR Code reader for your phone or your student’s phone or other device.  To download the reader go to the App Store and type “free QR Code reader/scanner.”  You will have several choices, but I went with the one that had 4+ stars (it was also the first one that came up). Some of the students were able to download the QR reader today.  Temple Israel has a new password to get onto WIFI: YayEsther, so if students want to bring a phone and download the QR Reader at T.I. that would be fine. Then they can access Cantor Ken reading or singing the current prayer that they need to master.

Another way to access recordings of Cantor Ken singing the prayers is to go to our website.   https://tiofnatick.org/Torah takes you directly to the cantillation and prayers that we ask our b’nai mitzvah students to learn.  When all is up and running there will be a QR Code (it’s kind of a black and white symbol) on each page of our Tefilah (Prayer) 3-ring binder.  Read the code with your phone (or your student’s phone) and you will hear that one prayer that is on the page.  We hope that this will be an easier, more direct way of learning the assigned prayer.

There’s an old joke about a guy who has a ticket to a performance and is a bit lost in the 50’s blocks of Manhattan.  He stops a passing stranger and asks, “How do I get to Carnegie Hall?”  The unexpected answer is “Practice, practice, practice, my son!”    We want our kids to feel secure and at ease, so that they can shine on the day of their ceremony, and there is only one way to ensure that:  Practice! 

I will supply a monthly homework calendar (HW), and ask that students read as many times a week (4 is ideal) as they are able; ten minutes each time.  I ask that you (or another adult) listen to your student and sign the calendar on the days that you listened.  Ten minutes each practice at a minimum. Reading can happen anywhere including the car, or before bed.  Each practice session gets a sticker, and I will set up a reward system calculated at the end of each month. I have not given out this month’s calendar yet, but students were assigned to practice the “Mitzvot” prayer sheet used today. It has four blessings on it where the first ten words set us up for performing a particular mitzvah, such as putting on a tallit or lighting Hanukkah candles. The HW calendar will go home this Tuesday/Wednesday, and is kept in the 3-ring binder that was given out today.  That blue binder is our Tefila/prayer curriculum, and today I introduced the bracha for putting on a tallit. I gave the students other examples of that ten word mitzvah formula to practice reading at home. You can sign the sheet directly when you listen to your child read. Please put in the date as well, thanks.

Absences:  if you know that your student will be absent, please write to me at my email address: elainep315@icloud.com.  After class I’ll write to you with the day’s assignment.  If you have my Comcast address, that works, too. elainep315@comcast.net.

Communications:  I will send out a weekly review of our classroom activities for the previous Sunday and weekday class, “This week in Kitah Vav.  You can expect it on Sunday, or shortly thereafter.  Please do not hesitate to write to me with questions or concerns at any time.  

May we all be inscribed for a year of health, learning, and fulfillment.

Shanah tovah u’metukah.  שנה טובה ומתוקה

Rav Elana

Elaine Pollack

Google Voice:  617-410-8145 (Students call when they have mastered a prayer.)