So much happens in each

session of religious school, our

teachers keep things active

and moving. See pages 2—6

to read all

about it!

There are many opportunities

for families to participate

together in everything from

childrens’ services, programs

and dinners. See pages 7 & 8

for details.

The Youth and Family Program

Department has a variety of

events for all ages.

See pages 9 & 10 for

information on upcoming

events.

2

JARSON

EDUCATION

CENTER

HAPPENINGS

The Teachers and Madrichim keep things moving

and active in the classrooms. Take this

opportunity to read about some of the things that

have happened during this past month.

SHERRY COHEN PRE-GAN 3 (PRE-KINDERGARTEN 3Y)

In October we learned about Yom Kippur and Sukkot. We read Jonah and the

Whale, and then we played a game where everyone pretended to be Jonah and

ran away from G-d's directions. Tevye got eaten by a giant whale (made from our

round table) and Teddi said "Teshuva" to get out of the whale. We also practiced

blowing the shofars we made. Everyone made a New Year wishing star and shared

a way they would help out at home. Sukkot came fast and furious. We learned the

vocabulary words: aleem (leaves), sukkah, lulav, and etrog. There was a child size

Sukkah for our classroom. Rachel painted our Sukkah walls with colorful leaves, and

we pretended to have pizza in the hut at the Dramatic Play Center. Sadie shook her

newspaper lulav up, down, sideways and back and forth. We talked about how

that reminds us that G-d is everywhere. Chag Sameach!

SARAH WASNIEWSKI PRE-GAN 4 (PRE-KINDERGARTEN 4Y)

This month we learned about Yom Kippur and made our own shofars!

We learned the different shofar blasts with a movement game. Then,

we heard the story of Jonah and the Whale, and created our very own

whale and Jonah craft to tell the story at home. Devin, Sadie, and

Miriam loved listening to the story and making their very own whale

and Jonah to take home! Our Hebrew letter of the month was Bet for

bayit (house). We also had an awesome time decorating our sukkah!

We started learning all about Sukkot crafts, music, and will even make

our very own sukkahs in our classroom!!

3

CLASS HAPPENINGS DEBBIE LEMPERT GAN (KINDERGARTEN)

The Kindergarten students have been busy learning about the fall High Holy Days

and the Alef Bet letters. The students learned about Yom Kippur, focusing on saying

“I’m sorry” for the things they might have done wrong in the past. We read a story

about a boy who wronged a cat and how he dealt with the feelings he had. Then

the students thought about what they had done to harm someone else. They

colored that scene on a laminated sheet. Then each student sprayed their “sin”

with a water sprayer and watched the sin dissolve. Nadav and Cameron loved

using the spray bottle to watch the colors wash away. We talked about how Yom

Kippur is the time to wash away our sins and start a fresh year. The students have

now learned 5 Hebrew letters through games and activities. The kids love making

the Alef Bet letters in yoga. You should see how flexible Sadie and Ella K are! Cece,

Leon, and Leo liked playing Twister Alef Bet. David J liked coloring in the Hebrew

letters. They continue to learn Hebrew vocabulary. They also love singing and

dancing with Mitch in musical tefillah. Sam loves to show off his dance moves during tefillah time.

ALLISON LESTER BET (SECOND GRADE)

This month has been jam packed with fun learning! We started the month learning

about the history, rituals, and traditions of Rosh Hashanah while reflecting on our

goals for the new year. Rabbi Ben stopped by our classroom to lead a discussion

on kippot. We talked about the importance of wearing a kippah. We then studied

about Yom Kippur, reflecting on the concept of teshuvah. Next, we dove into

Sukkot, learning about the history, traditions, and rituals of the holiday. We studied

the engineering and design of a sukkah. We even started building one in our

classroom, as you can see in the picture!

DEENA ABERNATHY ALEF (FIRST GRADE)

So far we have celebrated Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot together as a

class. Nadav has done a great job helping the class out when we are learning new

holiday terms. It also made me so happy to hear that Elan has been talking about

what we discuss on Sundays with his family at home and bringing questions back

to school! I hope to encourage more conversations at the year continues.

4

CLASS HAPPENINGS

ZAK LEMPERT : DALED (FOURTH GRADE)

Fourth Grade had a wonderfully busy high holiday season! We have continued

our exploration of the Torah for our Torah Induction Ceremony in the Spring.

Students learned about the five books of the Torah: Genesis (the beginning),

Exodus (leaving Egypt), Leviticus (laws about being a holy people), Numbers

(wandering in the desert), and Deuteronomy (the retelling). We learned that the

Torah follows humans from Adam and Eve to Joshua, and that the family in the

Torah is actually our family, thousands of years ago. In Hebrew, students were

introduced to many more verbs, including "I hear," "I forgive," and "I want." We

have continued to grow our reading and writing abilities together. Students had

a blast at Sukkah Raising, and have continued to learn songs and prayers about

this season with all of the holidays. Next month, we're looking forward to Harry

Potter games, Mock Shuk (marketplace), and learning about Israeli Kibbutzim.

Shanah Tovah!

ZAHAVA RENDLER GIMEL (THIRD GRADE)

So many exciting things are happening in our class. In history, we finished the first

four chapters in our book. We talked about all the new people that we were

introduced to. In Hebrew, we read a few stories about the beautiful holiday of

Sukkot. We learned new songs for the holiday, and made sentences with new

vocabulary words. Our Hebrew reading and comprehension are starting to

improve very quickly! To practice our vocabulary, we played games and sang

songs to help us remember the new words. We had a lot of fun! We are also

progressing nicely with our prayers, thanks to the help of our prayer companion

that has work pages and translations to the prayers. Wishing you all a Chag

Sameach!

ASHLEY ENGLANDER, AUDREY RONIS-TOBIN, AMY NIREN: HEI (FIFTH GRADE)

This past month, fifth grade learned many new things and reviewed the old.

Throughout the chagim, the fifth graders freshened up on their knowledge of

Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and Simchat Torah. They learned about the

different objects used during the holidays and what their purposes are. Also, the

students learned the importance of rain in our tradition throughout the holiday

Shmini Atzeret. The students mastered the Ashrei prayer and are continuing to

practice their Hebrew grammar and reading. Avi said he really enjoyed going

outside and playing in the sukkah this past week. His favorite moments are being

with his classmates outside. Chag Sameach to everyone!

Change

5

TOBY SAMET HEBREW RESOURCE ROOM

We continue to develop new games and experiences designed to enhance the

students’ reading skills. Using magnetic letters, word cards, computer programs,

Montessori materials, spinning boards, iPad apps, cut-out letters, vowel and letter

combinations, word-identifying, and Siddurim, we are a "Reading Super Market;"

which is designed to meet the needs and likes of each individual student so they will

enjoy learning, have success, and look forward to returning. Madrichim Leah and

Shosh contribute greatly to creating new, exciting interactions and relate most

positively with the students. We have a great thing going here!

JOURDAN STEIN HEBREW ENRICHMENT ROOM

In Hebrew Enrichment we have continued to expand our Hebrew horizons. First

grade continued their exploration of the Alef Bet. We played a matching game to

work on identifying Alef Bet letters out of order and in the context of a word.

Second grade continued their tic-tac-toe game from previous sessions, and the

competition to win the game by displaying both writing and reading skills heated

up. Third grade began learning Hebrew words for things one would find in a school

backpack. Zoe said lunch and when we went over the word for lunch (aruchat

tzohareem) the class was surprised at how long of a word it was compared to it's

English counterpart. Fourth grade is practicing their speaking skills by only asking

peers questions or favors in Hebrew. In fifth grade we are expanding our

vocabulary by playing Hebrew Banana Grams. Finding words to make with the

letters provided proved challenging, but the students rose to the occasion. Sixth

and seventh grade continue to work on their books. Maya, Paige, and Orit have

decided that the characters from their personal books will all become friends, and it has been interesting to

watch as they coordinate in Hebrew how their stories will fuse together.

CLASS HAPPENINGS BRETT SCHWARTZ & LESLEE LISNEK : VAV/ZAYIN (SIXTH/SEVENTH GRADE)

Over the last several weeks we started to focus on the importance of tzedakah. Did

you know there are different ways to give tzedakah than bringing money into class?

We discovered over 30 different ways anyone can make a difference in someone’s

life. We studied Rambam's levels of tzedakah and tried to understand how

tzedakah could fit into our own personal lives on a daily basis. Along with the theme

of tzedakah we volunteered at Cleats For Kids. In conjunction with tzedakah we

discussed the concept of random acts of love and kindness. Kitah Vav & Zayin have

been given a weekly homework assignment to share Gemilut Chasadim (acts of

love and kindness/benevolence) or Tzedakah (justice/righteousness) they have

performed.

6

MITCH COHEN MUSIC & TROPE TEACHER

Music: This month was filled with songs related to the High Holy Days as we

traveled through Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and Simchat Torah. I had

requests for the upbeat Dan Nichols song "Sweet as Honey" that is great for both

Rosh Hashanah and Simchat Torah. The kids enjoyed doing their best hula dance

to the "Lulav Shake". Everyone rocked out to "I'm So Sorry" sung to the tune of the

Beatles’ "Twist and Shout". As we thought about the new year, we thought of how

we could help the world by singing Rick Recht's song Hineini (Here I Am). In the

Sukkah, we sang the exciting “Visimachta B'chagecha" which tells us to have a

joyous holiday.

Trope: In trope, the fifth graders added a number of new Haftorah tropes this

month. They are doing a great job putting the trope tunes to sentences. The class

makes up sentences that I write on the board and then they choose which tropes

work best, while practicing singing them. They enjoy making hand motions to each of the trope symbols. We

continued to work on the Haftorah and Torah blessings. Sixth graders reviewed their blessings and worked on

mastering difficult trope combinations.

CLASS HAPPENINGS

BARBARA BRESLER LIBRARIAN

Hello parents! The school year is well underway. The Yamim Noraim, the High

Holidays are already over, as are Sukkot, Shmini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah. The

returning and new students are so great! They are participating so well during

library time. And, you've probably seen a few books come home. For those

families that are new, we usually check out the books for two weeks at a time. The

Pre-Gan classes come to library every week on Sunday, and the older groups, up

through fifth grade, come either on alternate Sundays or by arrangement with

their teachers, sometimes on Wednesday for special projects. If for some reason,

you have books to return and it's not a Hebrew School day, just drop off at the

synagogue or school front desk. Please write a note letting me know your

student's name and class. Then I can check the books back in and other kids will

have an opportunity to read them! There are many new books this year and I look

forward to sharing them all with the kids!

7

BRINGING SHABBAT HOME

Change

Change

8

UPCOMING FAMILY EVENTS

9

UPCOMING YOUTH EVENTS

10

UPCOMING YOUTH EVENTS

11

CELEBRATING SUKKOT!

12

1 2

Elijah Guttman’s

Bar Mitzvah

10:30AM Family

Service

7PM USY Event

3 RS, Mercaz 4 5 6 RS 7 8 9

Rabbi Smolkin &

Family Welcome

Shabbat

10 RS, Mercaz

9AM Mazel Tots

12:30PM Krav

Maga (K-3rd)

5PM Confirmation

11 12 Candle

Stuffing 5PM

13 RS 14 15 Bringing

Shabbat Home

16

17 RS, Mercaz

12:30PM Krav

Maga (4th-7th)

18 19 20 RS 21 Mega

Challah Bake

22 USY Fall

Kinnus/Kadima

Kinnus

23

USY Fall

Kinnus/Kadima

Kinnus

10:30AM Mini

Minyan

24 RS, Mercaz

USY Fall Kinnus/

Kadima Kinnus

25 26 27 NO

RELIGIOUS

SCHOOL

28 Office Closed

Thanksgiving

29 Office Closed 30

NOVEMBER BIRTHDAYS

NOVEMBER 2019

Samantha Ackerman 11/25 Meyer Lerer 11/28

Zechariah Adams 11/9 Jack Levine 11/2

Hailie Barbash 11/23 Arthur Newman 11/24

Juda Guttman 11/14 Samantha Rosen 11/5

Kai Guttman 11/5 Joseph Samuel 11/30

Jaylyn Hall 11/26 Henry Siegel 11/30

Noah Hiudt 11/16 Liam Stalvey 11/22

Madeline Kaehler 11/29 Leo Webber 11/5

Spencer Kahn 11/29 Noah Weeden 11/26

Atalya Leiferman 11/19 Isador Wolfson 11/21