Shalom families! It’s been a busy few weeks at KBE. We had some wonderful outdoor classes and Zoom classes as well. Since your children have their books at home, you can have them read to you for practice.
1st and 2nd grade
1st and 2nd grade reviewed the Noah’s Ark story, played Noah’s Ark dominos, and learned about the Tower of Babel. They discussed whether the flood was a fair punishment or if God could have chosen something else. They sang the Beresheet song (“in the beginning” – the first word in the Torah) and played Shimon Omer (Simon Says in Hebrew). In Hebrew the 1st and 2nd have made great progress working through their primer.
Next week we have a virtual tour of TBE on Sunday morning (Nov. 1) at 9:30. Look for the link in the weekly email.
3rd-6th grade
For our theme of Jews around the world, our 3rd-6th grade students identified Jewish communities on a map and put them in the context of Jewish history. They had just finished learning about Columbus Day / Indigenous People’s Day at public school and were amazed to know that 1492 was an important year for Jews too. The Jews were exiled from Spain (there is speculation that Columbus himself was a hidden Jew) and created new communities around the world, including new Jewish communities in Israel and North Africa, and the first Jews in the Americas.
Jews around the world have a special connection. Your students were asked, what does it mean to be Jewish? Ask them! It’s a great conversation starter. Here’s a link to the video “I am Jewish” that sparked discussion.
They started off the year in Hebrew class learning about the vocabulary and customs of Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot, and are now into their textbooks. 3rd and 4th grades are introducing themselves in Hebrew and learning the Jewish calendar and days of the week (Chapter 1 of Shalom Ivrit 1) and the 5th and 6th grades are reading and listening to simple Hebrew sentences with colors and body parts (Chapter 1 of Shalom Ivrit 2).
In tefillot the 3rd and 4th grades learned Romemu and Lecha Dodi from the Shabbat Evening Service. 5th and 6th learned the start of the Torah service (Ein Kamocha). Here’s a quote from their book that I think you’ll enjoy: “Just before we take the Torah out of the ark and begin to make it our own, we share the hope that all people will join in its dream of peace and freedom, justice and kindness. When we take the Torah out of the ark we accept that hope for the future.” Your students should practice on Prayertech (15 minutes a week is enough).
Thank you to all the teachers and students for your hard work!