Shalom Religious School Parents!

The Kindergarten Class continued talking about Shabbat and read the story My First Shabbat Board Book. We learned about Havdalah and Rabbi Benjy came into our class to teach us about Havdalah and to do a mini service with us, saying "goodbye" to Shabbat and "hello" to the rest of the week. We tie-dyed our Challah covers and decorated our invitations to next week's special Kindergarten Program (see below).

The 1st Grade learned about Noah's ark. We read the story of Noah's Ark and worked on coloring pages. We then colored and cut out 2 animals each and glued them on popsicle sticks to put on our class ark. We also enjoyed learning new songs with Mrs. Rose in Music Class.

The 2nd Grade learned about the book of Exodus marking the freedom of the Israelite people. They then went around the building on a mezuzah (door scroll) scavenger hunt and were able to find 20 hanging up in the building. They finished by talking about the V'ahavatah prayer inside the mezuzah.

The 3rd Grade in Hebrew class played "around the world" with Hebrew flashcards. They learned new letter and vowel combinations and worked on reading them. They finished lesson five and started lesson 6. Remember, working on your CD at home helps a lot! In Religious School, the class learned in the CHAI curriculum about the story of Noah and the Ark. They made and named their own animals to go on the huge class ark which is on display in their room.

The 4th Grade worked independently for the first part of class in the Mitkadem binders. During the second part of class they worked on Hebrew reading and made Hebrew Letter flashcards for games to become more familiar with the letters. The Religious School class was introduced to the book of Exodus and did a fun art project relating to it.

The 5th Grade in Hebrew had a substitute teacher and worked on Mitkadem during the first part of class. They also spent time practicing the prayers they have learned so far for 5th Grade Shabbat on Friday night. The Religious School class continued their study of Jewish history. The kids are very engaged and are asking and answering great questions!

The 6th Grade had a great time in Hebrew. In Elle and Evan's class they continued learning about the Torah service and focused on the blessing before the Haftarah. They also spent some time working on Mitkadem. In Emily and Sam's class the kids reviewed some of their conversational Hebrew and learned some "sweet" words in honor of Halloween. They began learning the first few words of the Chatzi Kaddish and worked on Mitkadem. Their reading skills continue to improve every week! The Religious School classes worked more on their Barchu Raps and is ready to perform!

The 7th Grade finished up their first unit in the CHAI curriculum and spent sometime brainstorming about all the Jewish topics they want to focus on this year. They will be watching and discussing the movie Paper Clips, about a class that used collecting paper clips as a way to learn about the Holocaust.

The High School Classes

• Seinfeld to South Park: Today we discussed the French Court ruling that convicted the Church of Scientology of fraud. We also watched a South Park episode that pokes fun at Jews and discussed if it offends us more because we can relate and whether it is any worse/better than the Scientology episode the viewed last week.
• Tattoo Jews: Today we finished our discussion about piercing and tattooing in Jewish tradition. The class shared lots of interesting opinions about piercings and tattoos and learned about what Jewish "tradition" says on the subject. More interesting and controversial topics will start next week - be sure to ask your high schooler about them!
• Pray Ball: Today in Pray Ball they discussed the "sport" of trick or treating. They used Halloween as a way to discuss the Jewish calendar and how Jewish time is separate and more difficult to follow for us today. They discussed Jews losing sight of tradition in other Jewish observances throughout the year.
• Tikkun Olam Green Class: Today the Tikkun Olam class continued working on their vegetable garden. The good weather has helped make this project a reality! Check out the garden that's forming near our outdoor Sanctuary next to the creek!

CHUGIM! Today was our 5th Day of Chugim! We have only one more class period of Chugim until performance day (11/15) and then a new block of classes start! If you are interested in teaching (half an hour per week for 6 weeks), let me know!