HSRS Announcements (Hodaahot הוֹדָוֹת) New Information It's almost spring break! HSRS will be closed from March 10-17!
Previous Information Sent! PHOTOGRAPHY DURING SHABBAT SERVICES Just a reminder- We have many upcoming bar/bat mitzvahs as well as grade level services. Please remember that photography and videography are not allowed on Shabbat.
DRESSING FOR OUTSIDE RECESS! On Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings, our students crave breaktime. Most sessions, we do go outside. Please make sure your child is dressed for the weather; bringing coats, hats, gloves, etc.
VOLUNTEER AND SUBSTITUTE TEACHER NEEDS We have some current needs for volunteers as well as to expand our substitute teacher list. Take a look at the SIGN UP GENIUS and see if there are any ways for you to help!
SERVICE ATTENDANCE The next few months is the perfect time for your student to meet their service attendance requirement. As a reminder, Kindergarten and 1st grade students are encouraged to attend 1 service; 2nd grade attends 2 services; 3rd grade attends 3 services and so on. Attending grade level services, zoom services, bar/bat mitzvahs out of town all can count toward this goal.
Important Dates & Upcoming Events March 6- Teen Baking Event for Purim from 5:30-7:30pm March 10-17- NO HSRS for SPRING BREAK March 22- Shabbat Jr at 5:30pm, oneg to follow March 24- Purim celebrated during HSRS, costumes encouraged March 30- 6th Havdalah from 5:30-7:30pm (NOTE THE GRADE CHANGE) March 31- NO SCHOOL FOR 6TH GRADE (NOTE THE GRADE CHANGE) March 31- Beresheet Day 6 at 10:30am
BBYO & Teens Teen of the Week! Ryan is always so enthusiastic and welcoming to the students, interacting in dancing, coloring, or even hebrew making it interesting and fun. Thank you Ryan!
Synagogue & Community News
From Our Teachers Beresheet (Preschool) We will be back for Day 6 of Creation on March 31! Land animals and people!
Kitah Gan (Kindergarten) Sunday from Morah JoJo- Hey Everyone! For the last couple of weeks, we have been trying to get the Hebrew letters really stuck into our long-term memory. We started with the Aleph-Bet yoga and the class had to name all the letters they know so far and the sounds they make. We then went back to our books, going over previous letters and learning a new one for the week. To finish Hebrew, we took turns writing all the letters we have learned on the board. After a quick snack break, we had 10 minutes of tablet time, playing games and puzzles in Hebrew. The class then had to run to the sanctuary for Israeli dance, thanks to Judy, everyone was able to show off their dance skills. Finally, we had our Chai lesson, this week was all about Purim. We read the story of Purim and talked about what fear feels like and what it means to be brave. We learned how to properly BOO "he who shall not be named" and how to pronounce the king's name, though that one was tough. The kids created their own puppets to retell the story to their parents during Purim. Everyone did great, see you after the break.
Kitah Alef (First Grade) Sunday from Morah Laura- Wow! Our class worked very hard getting our tzedaka project ready. Last week, the students had voted to make soft objects to give to children in crisis situations, well, we talked about them in kid terms. Sunday, the students each sewed at least one project using pre-cut felt objects and plastic needles. They overcame a lot of difficult situations including knots, the needle falling off the string, and the thread getting stuck on other parts of the cut out. All in all it was very successful, and some students even had time to make two. A huge shout out to our amazing madrachim, Lila, Eliana, and Maya. We had so much fun learning a new Israeli dance with Judy and I’m sure the students will be able to show you their EC moves. Step to the right, step to the left, jump four times, and repeat. When we return on March 24, it will be time to celebrate Purim, so we squeezed in a quick story of Purim and will review it again next time. The students have also requested to do a puppet show of the story of Porum so stay tuned. Don’t forget your library, book and water bottle and remember that we go outside to play in students should dress accordingly.
Kitah Bet (Second Grade) Hi All! We celebrated this week by learning a new Israeli dance. I will say, the kids proved to be much more coordinated than I was! After dancing we learned a little bit about Purim. We discussed the expectations of the four mitzvahs and read a story about Queen Esther and her bravery. We wrapped the class up by making bravery tags/charms out of clay. I hope you all have a wonderful Spring Break! See you in a few weeks!
Kitah Gimmel (Third Grade)- Wednesday from Morah Shoshanna subbing for Morah Robin- We had fun with reviewing one of the words from the “word family tree". We got to learn a new word which was Amish- to stand and discussed the meaning and custom of standing while reciting this special prayer. We spend a lot of the night working on our word search where the class got very involved in having it be a fun competition. After break we worked on “My Personal Guide to Holiness” booklets where they wrote their own personal thoughts on holiness.
Sunday from Morah Robin- After a very lively Shira, Kitah Gimmel continued the musical theme with Israeli dance led by Judy. What an uplifting start to our morning! When we returned to class, the students continued working in their “Personal Guide to Holiness” booklets. On the last page of this booklet is the Shema blessing, so we practiced reciting the Shema and discussed its significance to the Jewish people. We read from “Hello, Hello, Are You There, God?” which talks about how special the words of the Shema are if you are Jewish and the short story “The Fish That Looked for Water” about why can’t I see G-d. We also read “Because Nothing Looks Like God”. After snack/break, our Madrichim talked to the students more about the Shema and we watched two videos about the Shema. We ended the morning with Shema coloring pages and word search.
Kitah Dalet (Fourth Grade) Wednesday from Morah Merav- We are preparing for the service we will be leading on Saturday April 20. Mark your calendars for this special day and service. We are working on understanding the prayer for Israel and creating our own prayer.
Sunday from Morah Merav- We continued our work on our Prayer for Israel. Our Madrichot read the whole kitah a book, ‘Everywhere Chair’ by Nati Bait. The book is about 4 cities in Israel: Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Eilat, and Haifa. We ended our time together with a few rounds of Jewish Apples to Apples. See you all Wednesday for the last class before spring break. Please remember to bring jackets and warm clothes. We will be going outside during our break.
Wednesday from Morah Sophie- We started to dive back into the cities of Israel because we did not learn specifics last time. Each student was able to choose an article of a city or landmark in Israel and read about it. They wrote down important facts, which will be turned into questions for our own Jeopardy game.
Sunday from Morah Sophie- Sunday was full of catch-up work! Some students were still finishing their piece for our 12 tribes dial. The rest of them continued reading articles about Israeli cities and writing questions to create our very own Jeopardy game! We also had time for Israeli dance with Judy which was so much fun today.
Kitah Hay (Fifth Grade) Wednesday from Morah Lauren- Kitah Hay had a great Wednesday starting with Teffilah Josh. The prayers sounded beautiful this week 😇. Kitah Hay learned more V'ahafta words. It's difficult without the 🎶 but they are really becoming readers in Hebrew. It's very exciting. I have shared with the class that my son parlayed his Har Shalom Hebrew into a Semitic political studies major at Dartmouth, and that came with more languages he needed to learn! It's been a rich journey in all ways, and it stemmed from Wed & Sun classes at HSRS. Oliver will be visiting the class via Zoom in April to share his love of Hebrew, Arabic, French & Spanish, Har Shalom, and, above all, L'dor V'dor. Perhaps students can think of some questions for him with parents? Kids are also making masks for Purim and learning about the Megillah story in the Book or Esther. Wishing all well.
Sunday from Morah Ellen subbing for Morah Lauren- I enjoyed getting to know the students. We read some of the Hebrew words we are working on. We danced with Morah Judy and Kita Dalet. Everyone completed their word search....13 words. The rest of the morning was spent on our Purim masks.
Kitah Vav (Sixth Grade) Wednesday from Morah Leah- After Hebrew language session, we reviewed all the many ways we can spend the Tzedakah money we have been collecting each class. Your student and I had a brainstorming session on all the ways we want to contribute to larger (more global) issues and areas of need. I will collate the list and we will vote as a class in the future. Sunday from Morah Leah- Sunday was a busy day - phew! After Shira and Hebrew language session, we continued the review of Jewish life cycle events with weddings / commitement ceremonies. We talked about the many traditions and customs and how rituals today can be re-interpreted to alternate meanings then they were originally intended. If you have a Ketubah (Jewish wedding contract) please share with your student. We talked about G-d’s role in marriage and how it is holy to let G-d in, but also to honor G-d and yourself. So much to review. If you are asked a question or want to know more about what we discussed please feel free to reach out. There is ALOT to review with this joyous lifecycle event. Todah Raba and Shavua Tov!!
Kitah Zayin (Seventh Grade) Wednesday- This is Morah Michelle subbing for Rabbi Finestone. Students learned about Jews in comedy. Did you know that in 1978, 80% of stand up comedians identified as Jewish or had Jewish ancestry? That percentage has decreased, but Jews are still disproportionately represented in American comedy. We had a short discussion about why this is the case. We then watched clips from the Marx Bros, Mel Brooks, Curb your Enthusiasm and Coffee Talk from SNL. We ended class by brainstorming more food and costume ideas for the Barbie themed Hospitality Dinner.
Sunday- We made four lasagnas! Kids did a great job chopping, cooking and assembling. Have a great Spring Break.
From Our Specials News from the Sifriyah (Library) Reading Challenge I'm getting caught up on the Bingo cards and was able to hand out some prizes today. 11 students have earned at least one prize so far, and 2 of those students earned 2 prizes each. Keep checking out books and reading!! I'd love to hand out more prizes after spring break!! Israeli Dance
K/1st did a dance called "Geveret Im Salim" (the lady with shopping bags). It's about a lady who gets on the bus with all her shopping bags. It combines the bunny hop with "low" fives and is a lot of fun!!
2nd/3rd did a dance called "Ten Li Et HaYom Hazeh" (give me this day) which is about gratitude. We shared some of the things we are grateful for. It is a line dance that changes direction each time through.
4th/5th learned "Od Lo Ahavti Dai" (I haven't yet loved enough), which is a circle dance. They did such a great job that we tried it with an inside circle and an outside circle moving opposite each other, which was a real challenge!
6th/7th remembered that the last place we visited in Storytime was Yemen. So we tried a Yemenite dance. We learned the "tza'ad Teimani" (Yemenite step) and a dance called "Mocher Prachim" (the flower seller). It's also a circle dance and is very fast and energetic.
News from Shira Shira Josh spent the Sunday teaching us songs for Purim!
News from Tefillah Another session of focusing on the Aleinu. We learned some movements to accompany the prayer.
News from the Kitchen Morah Ellen will be back in April! YUM!
