William S Malev Schools Newsletter December 2016

Inside this issue:

Hadashot The News in Religious School, Sulam, and Kehillah High Hanukkah Fun in Religious School The Religious School students had fun celebra ng Hanukkah just before winter break with a variety of ac vi es.

Kindergarten - second graders decorated picture frames, the third - fourth graders decorated boxes to hold Hanukkah candles, and the fi$h - sixth grade students created and painted Hanukkah

menorahs from air-dry clay.

Students enjoyed Mad-Libs, word search puzzles, and coloring sheets a$erwards, and of course, they had fun playing dreidel in small groups.

It was a fun ending to our fall semester!

Kindergarteners had fun assembling Hanukkah puzzles.

Two of the fi$h grade students are shown with the Hanukkah menorahs they made.

Some of the fourth graders in the midst of decora ng boxes to hold Hanukkah candles.

• 4th grade: Sophie Grosman, Jacob Magzen • 6th grade: Layla Mueller, Ari Reimers We are so happy to have so many students with perfect a+endance this fall!

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3rd - 4th Grades; Attending the Oliver Lapin Family Day at the ERJCC

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5th - 6th Grades; Join Us at Junior Congregation

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A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

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Sulam 7th Grade; Volunteering with Count Me In

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Kehillah High (8th - 12th Grades); On the Road

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Our Clergy Are Always There For Us; Like Us on Facebook

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Upcoming Events: • Sun., Jan. 8 - Classes resume for RS /Sulam • Sun., Jan. 15 - No school for MLK Day weekend

We’re Proud of These Students!

At this halfway point in the year, we want to recognize and congratulate the following students who have perfect a+endance for the fall semester: • Kindergarten: Sydney Abramson, Evann Meador, Norah Staller • 1st grade: Cason Baum, Sophie Churchill, Shira Kagan, Aaron Peskin, Chase Sperling • 2nd grade: Ma+hew Grosman, Anna Magzen, Laren Michelman, Hayley Naggar • 3rd grade: Ethan Abramson, Hannah Churchill, Orly Kammerman, Sam Sperling

Kindergarten - 2nd Grade

In addi on, we are very proud of the following students who have a+ended Junior Congrega on at least 4 out of 8 mes this year, and we look forward to many more opportuni es in the spring: Ethan Abramson, Max Frankel, Josie Goldfarb, Sam Goldfarb, Benne+ Grossman, Adam Hakimi, Daphne Kaufman, Sophia Mellon, Layla Mueller, Halle Pickelner, and Laila Wright.

We look forward to being able to recognize many more students at the end of the year!

• Fri., Jan. 20 Zamranim singing at services • Sun., Jan. 22 - CBY Annual Meeting/Brunch • Sun., Jan. 29 - Limmud B’Yachad for 6th & 7th graders at Beren Academy; Kindergarten program with parents • Sat., Feb. 11 - 4th grade Family Havdalah • Fri., Feb. 24 - Sat., Feb. 25 - Kehillah High 10th Grade Shabbaton • Watch your monthly calendar for more information!

Kindergarten We have con nued working on our Hebrew Alef-Bet book which is progressing very well as we learn our Hebrew le+ers. We visited the ERJCC Book Fair. The children seemed to have lots of fun with stories and ac vi es about Hanukkah. We are also con nuing to work on our book of Torah stories and add our own crea ve pictures as we discuss the stories. We learned about Adam and Eve who were the first man and woman that were created. We learned that God created them on the sixth day.

We had a tour throughout the synagogue led

by Ms. Eskowitz and saw the Torahs in the

Ark. 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 be as Jewish people.

Hanukkah is a holiday that the children love and are mesmerized by the

Kindergarten students learned how to play dreidel in class.

story. We all enjoyed playing dreidels and talking about the yummy food we eat on Hanukkah.

Each Sunday both kindergarten classes have a chance to combine and do a learning project or games together, They seem to enjoy it! We hope you have a nice safe winter break and we look forward to seeing the children when they return.

First Grade First grade con nued to learning with hands on experiences and classroom ac vi es.

In November, our children par cipated in the Oliver Lapin Family Day at the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center. Talented presenters shared age appropriate concepts of kindness to others, respec ng individual differences, and working together Learning about mitzvot is an important part of our curriculum. The significance of God’s commandment to observe Shabbat, including rituals and prayers, was discussed. Each student braided his or her own challah, baked it in our kitchen, and took it home for the family to enjoy.

The following week, first graders learned about Havdalah, the short service which sepa-

rates Shabbat from the rest of the week. to par cipate in feeding Houston’s hungry.

Rabbi Mendy Traxler led a workshop where Students are now working on crea ng a students made personal “My Siddur” prayer individual spice folder to be used at our balls and Havdalah weekly service. It includes candles. the prayers we say together First graders coveach week. ered the miztvah of Our music teacher, Ms. tzedakah. Brady Sterling, has taught the Brazda, a student in children Hanukkah songs our Kehillah High and the blessings we say who is a youth when ligh ng the menorah. ambassador with We wish our students and Souper Bowl of parents a happy and healthy Caring, spoke to our First graders enjoyed hearing from Brady Hanukkah and winter break. children about the Brazda about Souper Bowl of Caring. program and how

Second Grade on when we complete reading through the The second grade class has con nued their en re Torah each year. The Hanukkah lesson fun and exci ng journey of Jewish learning was an exci ng one as the class had an opporand bonding through the par cipa on in tunity to share their unique, educa onal and own stories and give exci ng ac vi es that intelexamples of why they lectually challenge and love Hanukkah. The facilitate Jewish learning. class also learned about In Judaics, the class has the story of the Maccalearned about the annual bees and got to watch holidays Simchat Torah and The Rugrats’ Hanukkah Hanukkah and discussed movie. Aside from the the meaning of each and holidays, the second why we celebrate them grade class has also every year. For our lesson learned about the speon Simchat Torah, we were cial things that make a excited to see the Torahs in Second graders enjoyed decora ng synagogue and a Jewish the Chapel and discuss why picture frames for Hanukkah. community. We took a we have such a big celebratour through the synagogue to look at the

Chapel, Barg Sanctuary, Freedman Levit Sanctuary, and Judaica Museum and learned very unique things that make this and other synagogues so special.

In Hebrew, the class has con nued to learn the Hebrew le+ers and began to put the ones we have learned into words. During this last quarter, the students have learned and review the le+ers kaf, caf,hey, reish, daled, vet, aleph and vav. The second grade class now has an easier me recognizing, sounding out and wri ng each of the previous and new Hebrew le+ers.

Second grade will con nue to learn, work hard, and have tons of fun in religious school next semester. On behalf of your teacher, I wish the second grade class a very happy Hanukkah and a healthy and happy new year!

Third Grade It has been an amazing semester in third grade. In Hebrew, we have completed the ďŹ rst six chapters of our textbook. We have learned the le+ers resh, chaf, vet, dalet, alef, and vav, and we have begun to learn to read whole words, including: havdalah, v'ahavtah, kallah, shamash, b'rachah. The children are doing a wonderful job of reading and learning the alefbet, and they are really enjoying it! We will con nue adding more le+ers, vowels and words throughout the year.

In Judaics, we have begun to study and prac ce saying the Shema and the V'ahavtah. We are learning about the concept that God is One, and enjoyed ac ng out the story of Avraham, "the idol smasher". We learned about Avraham and Sarah's journey to become the ďŹ rst Jews, and about how they were amazing hosts, always trying to make travelers feel welcome. We also learned the story of Lot and

his family. member to think of others on We have started to a daily basis. learn about Hanukkah, Your child is allowed to bring and the children made a nut free snack each me we beau ful dreidels. We meet. are learning the reasons We do go out to recess, behind celebra ng this weather permiGng, most holiday, customs associclass mes so please have ated with it, and prayers your child bring a sweater if and songs. We con nthey tend to be cold. ue to have weekly music Please encourage your child class with Mrs. Grinberg Third grade students used Jenga blocks to a+end Junior Congrega on and Sunday services on Shabbat mornings. to build their own towers when with Cantor Dorf. We Cantor Finkelstein would like learning about The Tower of Babel. really appreciate that so your child to join his many of you are con nuing to send in tzedekah "Zamranim" choir. They sing once a month at with your children. We con nue to emphasize Friday night services. to the children that even if they only bring a Please don't hesitate to reach Mrs. Hadar or penny that that is ok!! It's not the amount Mrs. Pershell with any ques ons or comments. brought that counts, it's the fact that we re-

Fourth Grade Fourth grade has been very busy over the past few months. We studied a lesson on the prophet Joshua, and we learned that Joshua led the Israelites at the ba+le of Jericho. During this lesson, we talked about the word Mishkan. The children learned that the Mishkan is a traveling ark the Israelites carried through the desert.

In another lesson, we learned about the prophetess Deborah who helped the Israelites defeat an enemy. We also learned that she was the fourth judge and the only female judge men oned in the Bible. The children were able to list at least three quali es a judge should have.

We also studied Samson who is a very strong Israelite leader with special strengths.

We con nued to work on our Hebrew reading skills and we are making nice progress with learning our prayers and their meanings. We were recently introduced to the synagogues and were given insighHul informa on on how to navigate through them.

The fourth grade also enjoyed a trip to the Houston Food Bank with fourth graders from other religious schools in the city. The children worked very hard and packed hundreds of meals for those in need before the Thanksgiving holiday.

Wishing you all a very happy Hanukkah.

Fourth grade students helped pack meals when they volunteered at Houston Food Bank.

Attending the Oliver Lapin Family Day Kindergarten - third grade students a+ended the Oliver Lapin Family Day, which is part of the Evelyn Rubenstein JCC Book Fair. Students enjoyed hearing from authors and watching a short play based on the book Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins.

It is our hope that this annual program introduces our students to Jewish authors and helps encourage reading.

Students enjoyed the various programs they a+ended at the Oliver Lapin Family Day.

Fifth Grade Welcome back to our fi$h grade class!

We have been very busy learning and having fun! In Judaics, we have con nued learning about Jewish values. A few of the new values we have learned the past few weeks are Hidur Mitzvah (beau fying the commandments) and Sh’mirat haTevah (protec ng the

Fi$h grade students created torn paper pictures about Shabbat in conjunc on with one of the values they discussed.

environment). While we were learning about how to protect and take care of the environment, the kids and I spent a lot of me outside. We made blessings on the trees and even did a scavenger hunt including things that we would use in order to protect the environment and keep it clean.

Another thing that the kids learned was about family trees and the importance of family. We made our own family trees going back all the way to the children’s greatgrandparents.

In Hebrew we are con nuing to learn about the Amidah. A few of the new blessings we have learned are Gevurah and Kedushah. We will con nue learning about the Amidah for the remainder of the year.

A$er the children get back from break we are going to start learning about the amazing land of Israel. We will go in and out of every city learning everything we can about the country.

I love seeing each and every one of the kids so I hope our amazing a+endance con nues!

Sixth Grade The sixth grade has truly been advancing in both their Torah and Hebrew skills in the past two months. Every Sunday, the students have con nued to learn about a new parsha, or Torah por on, from the book of B’reishit. We are only two parshiot away from finishing the book, and we will be on to the second book of Shemot! At this point, the students have become more fluent with naviga ng through the Tanach on their own and reading the Hebrew verses coherently. I am highly impressed with how well the students have been able to apply our major themes to the stories and lessons we have learned from each Torah por on! The students have con nued to engage in s mula ng ac vi es and exercises, both individually and in groups, which has certainly enhanced the excitement, interest, and understanding of their learning in the classroom. For example, in learning about the cap va ng adventures of Abraham, Sarah, and Lot, the students had a great me working in pairs to apply their new knowledge u lizing Mad Libs. They then presented their group work to the class and, together, nominated the most crea ve group!

Addi onally, the students played a “da ng The students have designed more flashcards game” when learning about Eliezer’s search of the new Hebrew words, shorashim, prefixfor the right wife for Isaac, in which the boys es, and suffixes they have learned, and added were challenged to choose the girl who’s list them to our growing pile. We have u lized the of values encompassed the most important flashcards for playing games, in order to make quali es. The stulearning the several new dents also learned the Hebrew words easier and importance of commore fun to remember. The promise/conflict resostudents also spent some lu on by the story of me working in their notethe rivalry between books, individually and in the brothers of Jacob groups, and their prac ce and Esau, and brainhas surely proven to show stormed ways to great understanding on the comprise in real world material they have learned. rivalries, such as arguThe sixth grade has con nments between sibued to show beau ful par clings.

Furthermore, A sixth grade student and his mom ipa on and applica on of mashow the personalized yad that each student created a terial in the classroom. It is so they created together. “social media” profile nice reflec ng on how engaged page using large paper and excited the students have been to learn, to illustrate the several events of Joseph’s life, and we are already sure that they will con nand were super crea ve in doing so!

On Wednesdays, the students have learned ue to strive throughout the rest of the year more prayers that are recited during Torah here at the Religious School! services, such as Ki MiTzion and L’Cha Adonai.

Join Us at Junior Congregation We encourage parents to a+end Junior Congrega on regularly with their children.

This is a relaxed service where our children are provided with the background to feel comfortable and knowledgeable about the Shabbat morning service. Addi onally, it is a wonderful opportunity for parents to become reacquainted with the service in a comfortable atmosphere. Rabbi Morgen and Cantor Dorf conduct the service, and they always share informa on about

the prayers and that week’s Torah por on.

All third - sixth grade students are expected to a+end at least nine Junior Congrega on services throughout the year. All children are encouraged to be the Rabbis of the Week and Torah readers as well. Please contact the RS Office to sign your child up for either of these.

If you haven’t a+ended Junior Congrega on, we encourage you to do so!

Please mark these upcoming dates on your calendars: • January 21 and 28 • February 11 and 18 • March 4 and 25 • April 1 and 22 • May 6 and 13 We hope to see you there this spring!

A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words

Sulam - Seventh Grade learned how a coali on government is formed Seventh grade Sulam con nues to have a in Israel and how the role of president is very year filled with crea ve learning and experiendifferent in the two countries. al ac vi es. Each week we are lucky to kickStaying on our theme of Israel, students split off our day’s learning by sharing a delicious into pairs and became travel agents responsible breakfast of bagels, muffins, cinnamon rolls, for preparing a tour presenta on for the varior other yummy treat. All of the seventh gradous ci es and towns of Israel. Students reers are able to spend the first half an hour of searched popula on, climate, educa on, emthe day strengthening friendships and building ployment, nature, and entertainment among their own unique Jewish community. other categories and created posters in order We were fortunate to have Ruth Steinfeld, a to teach each other all about the many places Beth Yeshurun congrega on member and to live, play, and work in Israel.

Holocaust survivor, share her story with us Recently, we spent me at the Merfish Center about how she survived the Holocaust and par cipa ng in Count Me In. Count Me In was ul mately made it to Houston. This interacstarted in 2005 by two teenagers - Eric Berdinis ve visit preceded our visit to Holocaust Muand Ben Rice - entering their first year of high seum Houston where students viewed the school. They wanted exhibit and asked many to be involved in a meaningful ques ons of community service our wonderful docents. project throughout As America prepared their high school years for our na onal presiin which they could den al elec on, we make a difference in looked at similari es and other people’s lives. differences between The boys came up poli cs and the poli cal with the idea of dosystems in Israel and the na ng Hanukkah gi$s United States. Among Sulam seventh graders visited because it was something other informa on, students Holocaust Museum Houston.

that had never been done before in the greater Houston area. They wished that all children, regardless of their family’s financial situa on, could experience the excitement they felt as kids ligh ng the menorah and receiving gi$s for Hanukkah. Their strong beliefs in the Jewish value of tzedakah fueled the incep on and forma on of Count Me In, Inc. What a great example for our Sulam students!

We’re so excited to con nue learning together as the year con nues!

Two Sulam seventh grade students researched Tel Aviv and created a poster to share with their classmates.

Sulam Students Volunteer With Count Me In Our Sulam seventh graders had a great me volunteering with Count Me In, and we heard that they worked hard and did an awesome job!

Sulam seventh grade volunteers learned about Count Me In and how they could help.

The volunteers enjoyed sor ng through the many gi$s that had been donated.

COMING SOON! Our sixth and seventh graders will be par cipa ng in Limmud B’Yachad with sixth and seventh grade students in religious schools throughout the greater Houston area on Sunday, January 29. It will be a fun morning for all students par cipa ng.

Our seventh graders and their parents are invited to par cipate in the synagogue’s World Wide Wrap on Sunday morning, February 5.

Parents should watch their e-mail for more details.

Kehillah High Director, Danielle Alexander, works very closely with the Teen Leadership Team throughout the year 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 wri9en and verbal feedback.

Kehillah High also helps to organize three citywide teen programs, including a program with Ma9 Bar, the founder and Execu ve Director of Bible Raps, which was held in November; the teen night at the JFS ReelAbili es Film Fes val in February; and a program on healthy rela onships with the Jewish Coali on Against Domes c Abuse that will be held later this spring.

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

This program meets once a month on Sundays a$ernoons from 1- 3 pm at the ERJCC and brings teens and senior ci zens together for conversa on and meaningful engagement around music and memory.

Kehillah High students are also encouraged to take leadership roles in J-Serve, the interna onal day of Jewish Youth service and other citywide programs in our community,

We are in the middle of our second trimester, which is being held at Beth Yeshurun. Classes are going well, and teens are con nuing to enroll throughout the year.

Kesher, the community-wide Jewish educa on program for students with disabili es has now joined forces with Kehillah High. Students who are 13 years and older meet at Kehillah High for dinner and classes. There are currently five students enrolled in the program.

Kehillah High teens are shown in line for a special falafel dinner.

and many of the Kehillah High teens are ac vely involved this year.

It is not too late - teens can s ll join Kehillah High! 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.

Kehillah High teens sold bake sale items to benefit J-Serve.

Kehillah High Students on the Road In addi on to coming every Wednesday night each grade has the opportunity to par cipate in grade specific experien al and/or immersive programs.

The first is of these experiences this year was the eleventh grade trip to Aus n to visit the UT -Aus n campus and Hillel in November. One of our Kehillah High alumna gave the teens a tour

around the campus, took them to her favorite lunch spot and joined them at Hillel for a conversa on about Jewish life on campus.

Close to 20 eighth and ninth graders traveled to New Orleans at the beginning of winter break for the second annual

citywide Jewish Heritage Tour of the South.

Danielle Alexander led the trip, along with Houston’s two shlichim (Israel ambassadors) Miki and Herut.

This spring the tenth grade will be spending a Shabbat together in Galveston, and the twel8h graders will a9end AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington D.C. Kehillah High juniors enjoyed visi ng The University of Texas at Aus n, learning more about college, and visi ng their Hillel.

Teens on the Jewish Heritage Tour of the South volunteered with Youth Rebuilding New Orleans.

One of two teams who solved the puzzles to “Escape the Room” in the allo+ed me.

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

Please take me to LIKE our page on Facebook, so that you will get to see more pictures of events that are happening throughout the school.

www.facebook.com/CBYTXReligiousSchool

Our Clergy Are Always There For Us! Our students and teachers always enjoy having me with our Rabbis and Cantor. Each of the Rabbis visits our 3rd - 6th grade classrooms several mes throughout the year, and they teach classes in Kehillah High. They also try to make themselves available whenever we ask them to join us for something special.

Cantor Finkelstein works regularly with our students who sing once a month with Zamranim.

Rabbi Rosen talked about our new siddur with the third graders.

Kindergarten - sixth grade students and parents par cipated in a service led by Rabbi Morgen and Cantor Finkelstein.

This year we have scheduled six services that are led by one of the Rabbis and the Cantor for kindergarten - sixth grade students and parents. We have had great par cipa on from our parents for the first two, and we look forward to having many of you join us in the spring. Our next service together is on our first day back - January 8.

Two discussions about Hanukkah - on the le$, Rabbi Morgen talked with the fourth graders, and above Rabbi Strauss spent me with the fi$h and sixth grade students.