William S Malev Schools Newsletter - November, 2016

Hadashot

Inside this issue:

The News in Religious School, Sulam, and Kehillah High

Kindergarten - 2nd Grade

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Kindergarten Consecration

3rd - 4th Grades; In the Religious School/Sulam 5th - 6th Grades; Zamranim

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A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

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Kindergarten Consecra on in the Religious School was held on Sunday, October 23 with the Kindergarten families and the en re Religious School in a endance. A"er the students sang several songs and were blessed by Rabbi Rosen and their parents, each student was presented with a small Torah and Consecra on cer ďŹ cate to mark the beginning of their formal Jewish

educa on. The benedic on was given by Rabbi Morgen. The program was coordinated by our K - 2nd grade music teacher, Marcia Sterling, and Kindergarten teachers, Chaya Lazenga and Mamie Marx.

A recep on in the sukkah for the Kindergarten families immediately followed the ceremony.

Students and their siblings enjoying the recep on in the sukkah.

Sulam 7th Grade; 6 Upcoming Programs

Each student said their Hebrew name before they were given a small Torah and cer ďŹ cate from their teachers.

CBY President, Arlene Staller, is shown with her family, which includes two of our kindergarten students who par cipated in Consecra on.

Gabi is shown working with 5th and 6th graders.

that they have Educa on Fellows, who are recent college graduates, who work with the partnering synagogue communi es.

Gabi Cohn is our Fellow for this year, and she recently spent the weekend here at Beth Yeshurun. In addi on to a ending Friday night services and Junior Congrega on, Gabi led interac ve programs during Religious School with our fourth - sixth grade students and led professional development for our sta at the end of the Religious School day. The highlight of her visit was her

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RS/BYDS 3rd 8 5th Grade Program

Upcoming Events:

ISJL Fellow Visits Beth Yeshurun We love partnering with the Goldring/ Woldenberg Ins tute of Southern Jewish Life, or ISJL, for our curriculum. We are now in our sixth year working with them.

One of the perks of working with ISJL is

Kehillah High (8th - 12th Grades)

planning and leading a special RS/ BYDS program on Saturday evening (see the back page for more informa on on that program).

• Sun., Nov. 6 - K - 3rd grades meet at ERJCC for Oliver Lapin Family Day; other RS students meet at CBY; Sulam to Holocaust Museum Houston ; Fall back - daylight savings time ends • Sun., Nov. 13 - 4th grade to Houston Food Bank • Fri., Nov. 18 Zamranim singing at services • Sun., Nov. 20 - 11th Grade Kehillah High College Trip

Gabi and 6th grade teacher, Talia Mergi, shared ideas during professional development.

• Watch your monthly calendar for more information!

Kindergarten

with dierent materials to show what sound the le er makes. We have now learned about This year is o to a great start! Each week we all of the High Holidays and had a blast doing begin the morning with a it! We started short service led by music with Rosh Hashateacher, Marcia Sterling. nah and made There are music classes each our own shofar. week where the children are On Yom Kippur learning lively Jewish songs we read the story in English and Hebrew. This of Jonah and the year we will complete our Whale, and we own li le Torah that concolored a big tains Bible stories and picwhale oa ng in tures created by each child. the water. We We will also do a Hebrew learned about Alef Bet book as we go Sukkot and Simthrough each le er, and the Kindergarten students illustra on the chat Torah. We have children decorate each le er days of crea on. also started reading

some Torah stories. For the story of crea on, the children colored and put some s ckers to show the dierent days of crea on. We also learned that God rested on the seventh day, which is Shabbat. We learned that on Shabbat we read from the Torah. We know that the Torah is a book that God gave us to help us know how we are supposed to live and act as Jewish people. Each Sunday both kindergarten classes have a chance to combine and do a learning project or games together. They seem to enjoy it!

Prac cing for Consecra on was a joy and the kids made it an easy task because they learned it all so quickly. They did an amazing job saying their Hebrew names very loud and proud!

We are very proud of our kindergarteners and how eager they are to learn, and we look forward to a very exci ng school year!

First Grade Our school year has go en o to a fantas c start! We begin each morning with a short service. The service is led by music teacher, Marcia Sterling.

In Hebrew we have been focusing on the name of each Hebrew le er, the sound it makes, and le er recogni on. The students have also begun learning basic words in Hebrew such as house, ice cream, ag, etc.

We have been learning about the dierent types of mitzvot (commandments) in the Torah: mitzvot that are posi ve and nega ve, mitzvot between man and God, and mitzvot between man and man. We have also learned about the mitzvot of blowing and listening to the shofar. The children enjoyed hearing the beau ful sound of the shofar that Max Uzick blew. The children also learned the the shofar must come from a Kosher animal. Before Yom Kippur the children discussed the mitzvah of

not bearing a grudge, kippah, tallit, and teďŹ llin, to say sorry and to when we pray . accept apologies. The First grade has also children painted rocks been crea ng mitzvah and threw them into a books, and this will be a pool of water as they project that will take the learned about Tashwhole school year. Each lich. We also studweek we go over a mitzied the two mitzvot vah that relates to the of siGng in the suklesson being taught that First graders learned about the kah and shaking the lulav week. At the end of the Torah from Rabbi Morgen. and etrog during Sukkot. year the students will get to The children had a blast take home their books ďŹ lled making their own edible sukkahs. We also with all the mitzvot we have discussed and learned that it is a mitzvah to learn Torah. done.

Rabbi Morgen talked to the children about the We have many more fun and engaging Torah and then opened a Torah for the stuac vi es planned for our students. We look dents to look at. It was also taught that it is a forward to learning and growing as a class mitzvah to wear special items, including a and seeing your children grow and learn as individuals.

Second Grade Second grade has started the new religious school year with a great variety of Hebrew alphabet, Judaic studies and related learning ac vi es that have created great excitement for the year to come.

Students were welcomed to the new school year with fun and educa onal ac vi es where we learned about the high holidays - Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. We learned about the purpose of celebra ng the Jewish New Year, and we talked about New Year’s resolu ons and how we can all be be er people and more involved in our communi es. For Yom Kippur, we talked about the importance of saying "I'm sorry" and the signiďŹ cance of the

The second grade students enjoyed working together to make sukkahs.

Day of Atonement. We held a mock tashlich ceremony and we learned about the purpose of symbolically throwing our sins away. For our Sukkot lesson we learned all about the

holiday, about making a sukkah, and sharing in all of the tradi ons and customs with our family and friends. During class, second graders split into groups and made our very own sukkahs out of shoe boxes and decora ons!

In Hebrew class we have began our lengthy journey through the Hebrew alphabet. Students have so far learned the le ers tav, lamed, shin, mem, and the vowels kamatz and patach. Students are now able to recognize, sound out, and prac ce each one of these le ers.

The second grade class is extremely excited to con nue our journey through the religious school year.

Third Grade

versus the English calendar which is based on the solar cycle, and this is why Shabbat and It has been a busy ďŹ rst two months in third holidays begin at sundown the night before. For grade Hebrew School. In Hebrew, we have Yom Kippur we talked about Teshuva‌ apolocompleted the ďŹ rst four chapters of our textgizing for the bad book. We have learned the choices we made durle ers bet, tav, mem, lamed, ing the year. We had a kaf, and hay. We have also chance to par cipate in learned 2 vowels as well as Tashlich, where we certain rules we follow when threw crackers in a combining le ers and vowkiddie pool. The crackels. The children are doing ers represented the great and enjoy reading in things we felt bad for class. We will con nue adding during the year. The more le ers and vowels as the children were told to year progresses. really think about their In Judaica we have been Third grade students made rainbows mistakes before throwstudying about all the holidays while learning about the story of Noah. ing the cracker in the of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, water. We also learned Sukkot and Simchat Torah. We learned the about Adam and Eve and their sons Cain and reasons behind celebra ng these holidays, Abel, Noah and the Ark and the Tower of Bacustoms associated with them and prayers bel. We have lots of discussions in class about and songs. We discussed that the Jewish calthese stories and the children ask great quesendar is based on the lunar cycle of the moon ons. We discussed the concept of B’tzelem Elohim...created in the image of God. We made

a rainbow that symbolized the covenant made between God and Noah. For another ac vity, we divided into groups and built our own Towers of Babel; we learned how to work together.

Some of our special events include: Rabbi Morgen coming and talking with the children about the siddur and some of the prayers. We par cipated in the Shofar Factory. The children loved learning about how a shofar is made and from what animal it is allowed to come from. Then each class made its very own shofar which is visi ng a dierent home each week. We decorated cd's to hang in the synagogue sukkah. We also enjoyed ea ng snack in the sukkah as well as saying the blessing over the lulav and etrog.

We have weekly music class with Mrs. Grinberg and Sunday services with Cantor Dorf.

Please remember to send in tzedakah each me we meet....We really emphasize to the children that even if they only bring a penny that that is ok!! It's not the amount brought that counts, it's the fact that we remember to think of others on a daily basis.

Fourth Grade This year, we have reviewed the Hebrew alphabet, and we have also learned how to read and write longer words in Hebrew. We furthered our mastery of pronouncing the le ers with vowels, and our wri ng skills are certainly geGng be er! We spent me delving into the Shema and Ma’ariv Aravim.

We have a ended our weekly music class with Mrs. Grinberg, and we have deďŹ nitely mastered many of the prayers while singing them beau fully. We a end weekly services in the Chapel with Cantor Dorf, who helps us all to learn the prayers we always need to know!

In honor of Shimon Peres, we learned about how he has helped the Jewish people, and what it means to be a founder. In the

theme of the New Year, we wrote about ourselves and our goals, and then we placed them Torah, and what we want to learn from it. in a me capsule (which will be read next year).

While studying Torah, in order to simulate the For Yom Kippur, we discussed introspec on and spies scou ng out Canaan, we featured our how we want to improve ourvery own adver sing selves this upcoming year. We contest! We split up learned about the 4 species in groups, made (willow, myrtle, and palm, and illustra ons, and etrog) on Sukkot and all about presented their case the booths our ancestors once for the Israelites to lived in. We went to the sukse le in Canaan. kah and had the opportunity We’ve had a great to shake the lulav and etrog. me learning all To celebrate Simchat Torah, about our history we used a sheet of butcher and language, and paper and made our own we look forward class Torah. Here we wrote Fourth grade students enjoyed experiments they to a great new what we know is in the did in class related to the par ng of the Red Sea. year!

In the Religious School and Sulam We are fortunate to have a wonderful group of teachers in our Religious School who work hard to give our students a strong founda on in Hebrew and Judaic Studies.

Kindergarten - Chaya Lazenga and Mamie Marx 1st Grade - Monica Woolf and Rachel Kossar 2nd Grade - Joseph Ruiloba 3rd Grade - Michelle Hadar and Penny Pershell 4th Grade - Freda Wadler and David Enav 5th Grade - Mellonee Sigust 6th Grade - Talia Mergi 7th Grade - Steve Daum Music - Dora Lee Grinberg (Wednesdays only) and Marcia Sterling (Sundays only)

Hebrew Enrichment - Chaya Lazenga Hebrew Reading Specialists - Alisa Golan and Hana Karny (Wednesdays only) Torah Reading Prepara on for Junior Congrega on- Cantor Diane Dorf Our rabbis and cantor also add a great deal to our students’ learning through visits during services and in the classrooms, and the cantor’s teaching of prayers sung in Friday night services.

Cantor Finkelstein leading a K - 6th grade service for students and parents.

Fifth Grade Welcome to our ďŹ "h grade class! We cannot be more excited for this year and what’s to come! We have started to learn about Jewish Values. Each week we learn about a dierent value, as in Sh’mirat HaGuf (Caring for the Body), Choch’mah (Wisdom), Lo l’Vayeish (Do Not Embarrass), and Tzedek (Jus ce). Through

Fi"h grade students are shown working with the siddur during class.

ac vi es and games. We are really going into depth about each value and learning a lot. One example is, while learning about Lo l’Vayeish (Do Not Embarrass,) we did a group debate on how to not embarrass people and how to ďŹ x it

Sixth Grade Our sixth grade class has learned a lot in just the few ďŹ rst weeks of Religious School, and it has been extremely engaging and exci ng. On Sundays, we focus our learning on the Torah, or Tanach, primarily the ďŹ rst book, called B’reishit. We started o the year by introducing the several themes that appear very o"en throughout the Torah, including Family Rela ons, Miracles and Revela on, Leadership, Mitzvot amongst people, and Mitzvot between people and God. We also learned about the structure of the Torah and by doing cita on exercises, the students have become more familiar with naviga ng through the dierent chapters and verses.

Each week’s Torah por on, or parsha, has been discussed through the use of dierent interac ve ac vi es. A"er each parsha lesson, the students crea vely and intelligently incorporated the dierent themes that were demonstrated in that week’s lesson. The students also watched “G-dcastâ€? clips which brought some exci ng anima on to the Torah stories and themes we learned about thus far.

Furthermore, we have also begun our exci ng long-term Capstone and Tree of Life Projects,

if we did . Another example while discussing Choch’mah (wisdom), the kids took quizzes to see if they were more right-brained or le"brained to show them that there are dierent ways of being smart. Everyone learns in a unique way!

In Hebrew we have learned about the blessing in the Amidah, the Avot and Avot V’Imahot. We learned the meaning of the names of the blessings as well as the meanings of the actual blessing.

So far ďŹ "h grade has had an amazing turnout of kids each week, and we would love for that to con nue! This year is looking great so far, and we are looking forward to much more!

where the students are given the opportunity lenged to ďŹ gure out the meaning of Hebrew to have fun while being engaged in applying words by extrac ng their “rootâ€? le ers. The the dierent concepts we learn throughout students have also been crea vely conthe year. struc ng their own ashcards consis ng of the As for our Wednesday’s Hebrew class, we new Hebrew words and shorashim that we have been focusing on learning important learn each week, and every week our pile gets prayers that are recitlarger! ed during Torah serIn addi on, the sixth grade vices, as well as unhas been so fortunate as to derstanding their have had the opportunity to meanings and derivdo a special project of creing key words and a ng their very own yad,or phrases. The prayers Torah pointer, as we help we have looked at so prepare them for their Bar or far are called Ein Bat Mitzvah.

Kamocha, Av We have seen impressive HaRachmim, and applica on of material Barach Shenatan. demonstrated by the stuEach sixth grader worked with their U lizing their ar s c dents’ eager par cipa on and crea ve skills, the parents to create their own yad online both in the sixth grade classand will complete the project in students composed room and during Chapel serthe coming weeks. their own unique vices. I am in no doubt that Torah blessings. We also learned the important concept of shorashim, or root words, and the students had fun par cipa ng in dierent ac vi es, including Around the World, where they were chal-

the sixth graders will outstandingly thrive in their learning this year at the Religious School! We look forward to a fantas c year ďŹ lled with wisdom and excitement all around!

Zamranim Returns in November We are so lucky that our Cantor wants our students to par cipate in services and excites them to do so! All 3rd - 6th grade Religious School students are encouraged to sing with Zamranim at Friday night services on the 3rd Friday night of each month. Cantor Finkelstein and our 3rd - 6th grade music teacher, Dora Lee Grinberg, have been working with the

students to teach them the melodies of the prayers. We have received very posi ve feedback from congregants and our Religious School families, and we are pleased to have so many new students with Zamranim this year in addi on to those who are returning!

The students’ ďŹ rst night par cipa ng in services is November 18th.

Cantor Finkelstein prac cing with our 3rd - 6th grade students for Zamranim.

A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words

Sulam - Seventh Grade As we prepared for the holiday of Sukkot, From group breakfasts to blowing shofars, Sulam students read the ďŹ rst chapter of the building model sukkahs to discussing respect Mishna’s Tractate Sukkah to learn about what and studying the Holocaust, seventh grade makes a kosher sukkah. We discussed what the Sulam class has started the year o strong!

Mishna was and why the Oral Tradi on was Each week we are lucky to kick-o our day’s wri en down by Rabbi Judah the Prince in learning by sharing a delicious breakfast of about 200 CE a"er the destruc on of the Secbagels, muďŹƒns, cinnamon rolls, or other yumond Temple. With their knowledge of the my treat. All of the seventh graders are able Mishna’s laws, students set out to build either to spend the ďŹ rst half an hour of the day kosher or non-kosher sukkahs using popsicle strengthening friendships and building their s cks, glue, pipe-cleaners, and other arts and own unique Jewish community. cra" supplies.

Following With the breakfast, the holidays beseventh grade hind us, we meets to begin have launched thinking about into our unit how Judaism is on Kavod relevant to HaBriyot, or seventh gradrespect for our ers in the 21st The 7th graders at work peers. Sulam seventh graders century. building their sukkahs. watched and discussed the Before Rosh Hashanah, we ďŹ lm Let’s Get Real, a docudiscussed the Jewish Lunar mentary in which real middle-schoolers talk Calendar and how it diers from the American about their experiences bullying or being bulSolar calendar. In par cular, we thought lied on the bases of race, religion, class, and about why Jewish holidays seem to happen at sexuality. As we begin our school year in this dierent mes throughout the calendar year highly divisive poli cal season, it is more imwhile American holidays seem more or less portant than ever that Sulam seventh graders ďŹ xed in me. Each student was then encourrecognize how dangerous bullying is and how aged to reect on their ac ons and aGtudes important it is to be tolerant and respecTul of from the previous year before making several every other human being.

Jewish new years’ resolu ons. Lastly, each student was able to try blowing a shofar!

We segued our unit on bullying and respect into a discussion of the Holocaust, perhaps the most extreme example of human disrespect and bullying in living memory. We have been so fortunate to have Ruth Steinfeld, a Beth Yeshurun member and Holocaust survivor share her story with us about how she survived the Holocaust and ul mately made it to Houston.

We are looking forward to our trip to Holocaust Museum Houston this week to learn more about this historically important, yet terrible, episode in Jewish memory.

The year has only just begun, and we’ve already accomplished so much! We’re so excited to con nue learning together as the year con nues!

Holocaust survivor Ruth Steinfeld is shown with the seventh grade classes a"er she spoke with them.

Upcoming Programs for Sulam Our Sulam program has been designed to meet the unique needs of our seventh graders and meets on Sunday mornings only. The year is a transi onal one between Religious School and Kehillah High, and students are engaged in relevant classes, discussions, and ac vi es.

We are looking forward to involving our seventh graders in the community in the next few months! • Visi ng Holocaust Museum Houston • Volunteering with Count Me In

• Volunteering at Hermann Park • Par cipa ng in the World Wide Wrap at Beth Yeshurun

• Par cipa ng in Limmud B’Yachad

h ps://www.facebook.com/CBYTXReligiousSchool

Kehillah High, our community Jewish studies program for 8th - 12th graders, began its second year on September 7th with a huge kicko at Congrega on Beth Israel run primarily by the Kehillah High Teen Leadership Team. Every Wednesday night approximately 125 teens from Beth Yeshurun, Beth Israel, and Brith Shalom come together to learn and socialize with our clergy and top educators in our community.

Danielle Alexander, the Director of Kehillah High, worked hard to network with Jewish educators throughout the community and brought in many new teachers this year. She is also working closely with the Teen Leadership Team to ensure that they have a voice in what happens at Kehillah High. In addi on, all the teens have input on teachers and class topics based on their wri en and verbal feedback.

The second trimester, which is being held at Beth Yeshurun, has just begun. Teens take two classes each evening. The ďŹ rst class is organized by grade and covers a variety of topics. The second class, eighth and ninth graders are grouped together, and tenth twel"h graders are together in other classes and sign up for the classes based on their interest. Each evening begins with dinner, typically pizza. During Sukkot, the teens had a special dinner of southern food in the sukkah from Genesis Steakhouse.

In addi on to coming every Wednesday night each grade has the opportunity to par cipate in grade speciďŹ c experien al and/or immersive programs. The ďŹ rst is of these experiences this year is the eleventh grade trip to Aus n to visit the UT-Aus n campus and Hillel on Sunday, November 20th. We will learn about Jewish Life on campus and visit with Kehillah High and Hillel High School alumni.

Kehillah High teens enjoyed a special southern food dinner in the sukkah during Sukkot.

Kehillah High teen leaders are shown helping with the ďŹ rst night of classes.

Back to School Dinner/Games Night for CBY Teens We welcomed the Beth Yeshurun teens who were registered for Kehillah High to the synagogue in late August for a back to school din-

ner and games night. The teens enjoyed the me to visit and catch up with each other a"er the summer months.

For teens unable to meet on Wednesday evenings, Kehillah High has just launched a brand new program, Making Connec+ons through Music together with the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center (ERJCC).

This program meets once a month on Sundays from 1-3 pm at the ERJCC and brings teens (grades 8-12) and senior ci zens together for conversa on and meaningful engagement through music and memory.

It is not too late - teens can s ll join both these programs! For more informa on or to register, contact Danielle Alexander at Dalexander@KehillahHouston.org or at 713271-7369 x. 334.

Kehillah High is a mul -denomina onal partnership with Congrega on Beth Israel, Congrega on Beth Yeshurun, and Congrega on Brith Shalom, partly funded by the Jewish Federa on of Greater Houston and Houston Jewish Community Founda on.

Go to www.kehillahhouston.org to learn more about Kehillah High.

Our eighth grade students are shown par cipa ng in an interac ve ac vity during class.

William S. Malev Schools for Religious Studies Congregation Beth Yeshurun Rhona and Bruce Caress Family Campus 4525 Beechnut Houston, Texas 77096 Phone: 713-255-8034 Fax: 713-481-9800

Education Director - Sheryl Eskowitz Administrative Assistant - Lauren Federow

What’s New This Year ♌

We have a K - 6th Grade service six mes during the year when Beth Yeshurun clergy lead the service and parents are invited to join us! We had a great turnout for our ďŹ rst service and are looking forward to the next one on December 4.

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We have bought many new Hebrew games so that students can prac ce their Hebrew reading in fun and crea ve ways.

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The teachers are working on new ways to integrate technology into their classroom instruc on.

Special RS/BYDS Third - Fifth Grade Program More than 40 students in third - ďŹ "h grade in the Religious School and Beth Yeshurun Day School came together last Saturday evening for a special program.

Planned and led by ISJL Fellow, Gabi Cohn, the students par cipated in a Shabbatfriendly PokĂŠmon-themed event that had the

A"er Havdalah, students had fun drawing their own PokĂŠmon.

students working in teams to earn training badges through scavenger hunts, grab bag skits, geGng through a maze, a memory game, and more. Ariel Rozen, BYDS Director of Judaic Studies; David Enav, 4th grade RS teacher who is a BYDS graduate; and Sheryl Eskowitz, Educa on Director, assisted with the evening.

The program began with dinner prior to the ac vi es.

Later in the evening, Havdalah was held, and the students were able to ďŹ nish the evening with ice cream sundaes, with elements of the sundaes rela ng to elements of Havdalah.

Those in a endance had a fun evening, and we look forward to doing another event later in the year.

Wai ng in line for ice cream.