Keeping Connected August 2023

I hope you are all enjoying the summer and a slower pace.В  We have been busy at temple making plans for the new school year.

Information as you plan for the upcoming school year:

• Religious School, Preschool – 7^th grade – Sundays, 9am-11am В See below for dates.
• Kitah Aleph (3^rd grade Hebrew) – Sundays, 11am-12:15pm (this allows for a break and snack between classes.) See below for dates.
• Hebrew for Grades 4^th – 7^th – Wednesdays, 4:15pm-6pm See below for dates.
• Chai Schoolers and Post Confirmation students will receive an email with relevant information. (Chai School begins on October 11.В  First Post Confirmation is on October 10.)

More information, with lots more details will be shared as the summer comes to an end.В  Please feel free to reach out with any questions that you might have before that time.

• HEBREW PRACTICE – encourage your student to practice a little Hebrew before returning to school. It is a good idea to revisit the foundation of letter names and sounds.В  Also, open up a prayer book at home and have your student read a few lines of Hebrew. Make it fun!

Enjoy the summer,

Deborah

Important Dates

Religious School and Kitah Aleph dates through December

• Sept 10, 2023 – whole school event (students and families)
• Sept 18, 2023
• Oct 1, 2023
• Oct 15, 2023
• Oct 22, 2023
• Oct 29, 2023
• Nov 5, 2023
• Nov 19, 2023
• Dec 3, 2023
• Dec 10, 2023
• Dec 17, 2023

Hebrew School dates through December

• Sept 13, 2023
• Sept 20, 2023
• Sept 27, 2023
• Oct 4, 2023
• Oct 11, 2023
• Oct 18, 2023
• Oct 25, 2023
• Nov 1, 2023
• Nov 8, 2023
• Nov 15, 2023
• Nov 29, 2023
• Dec 6, 2023
• Dec 13, 2023
• Dec 20, 2023

 

Keeping Connected June 2023

Thank you again to everybody for helping to create a successful school year. So many great things happened during the course of the year and we were able to end the year with well-deserved fun celebrations! I am so grateful to be part of this school community!

The summer will bring with it lots of work in continuing to figure out and design the school for next year, including class configurations, curriculum, staffing and so much more. Please send in your registration forms if you have not already done so. It is so important for us to have that information as we move ahead with plans for the next school year. I welcome any suggestions and questions as this important work continues throughout the next few months.

I cannot stress enough the importance of practicing Hebrew this summer. This was a year of amazing Hebrew learning and progress. No practice over the summer will result in a summer slide back, leading us to have to use more time next year in review and less time moving forward with continued learning. Stay tuned for opportunities for students and classes to meet this summer for some fun Hebrew review followed by a trip to Sully’s and other fun times together. These opportunities will be offered on Wednesdays in the late afternoon and evening. I will also be available to meet with any student or a group of students for some summer Hebrew practice. Please reach out to me if this is something you are interested in pursuing this summer. In addition, let me know if you need help and suggestions in ways to help your student continue to practice Hebrew this summer.

As you know, we will be proudly be sending a check for over $1300 to Mayan Hands from our tzedakah efforts this year. We had an amazing year with the tzedakah project, including weekly donations, friendship bracelet sales, time with Anne and Brenda from Mayan Hands, weaving opportunities and more.В  As a reminder, you can continue to purchase items and goods from Mayan Hands at mayanhands.org.

Friday, June 2 – 7pm, Teacher Appreciation Shabbat – the teachers have worked so hard this year with enthusiasm and dedication.В  Come and support the teachers as we celebrate all their hard work.

Friday, June 16 – 6pm, Tot Shabbat – join us as the youngest members of our community join together in song and prayer and fun as we honor Shabbat

Monday, June 19 – Last Post Confirmation class, at Rabbi Perry’s at 7:00pm.

Friday, June 23 – 6pm, Graduation Shabbat (come and celebrate four young adults as they graduate and move on to their college experiences.В  All four students (Aliah, Hannah, Noah and William) have helped out in the school in so many ways over the course of their Congregation Shalom journey.В  It will be a Shabbat service that you won’t want to miss!

Wishing a wonderful summer.

With gratitude,
Deborah

Keeping Connected В  May 2023

I had the joy and pleasure of attending the Kindergarten – 2nd grade Shabbat service last month. Though I find great joy and comfort in all Shabbat services, I was so moved by this particular service. From the very beginning, there was a feeling of happiness and pride in the sanctuary. The youngest students sat in the front row seats without their parents. From my view, I could see their legs dangling off the chairs, not quite reaching the floor yet. They were supported by some of the madrichim from their class and a congregation filled with family members, other students, congregants and guests. These young students were poised, engaged and filled with Shabbat spirit. They helped Rabbi Perry to lead the service, taking turns to read (with confidence and precision) various passages from the prayer book. As Rabbi Perry talked and asked questions, I continually saw their hands shooting up in the air, waiting for a turn to share their own ideas.

At one point during the service, all young people were invited up on the bima to help with a song and its hand movements. From my seat, I beamed ear to ear as I saw our youngest students up there, along with the great role models of a few fourth graders, a young person on the verge of becoming a B-Mitzvah and a 12th grader who will be graduating this year. I was moved to tears by the community of students on the bima, supporting each other, engaged in the song with great spirit and joy, all joined together in our school and temple community. There was such enthusiasm, respect and contagious joy! After the service, and for days following, I shared my own stories of this wonderful Shabbat and the pride I felt for our school. After a long day, a long week, a long month and a long year, it was exactly what was needed to help remind me of all the hard work from so many people that always goes on in our school.

As some of you may know, we are embarking on a bit of school restructuring for next year, due to lower enrollment numbers and budgetary constraints. More information about the school restructuring will be shared over the next few months, but one of the changes will be the implementing of mixed age groups for our Religious School. Students will get the opportunity to attend class with students either older or younger than themselves, creating a stronger community and allowing for many benefits of multi-age environments. The Family Shabbat from April was a clear sign of all good things that can come from a group of students across the age spectrum working together to create something special for our Congregation Shalom community. I will take this as a positive sign for the changes that will be implemented in the coming school year.

FAMILY SHABBAT DINNERS

– This year we tried something new and we offered a free Shabbat Dinner once a month for all students and families from our school community. I hope you got a chance to join us for a dinner or two. Our last dinner for this year will be on Friday, May 5 at 6pm.В  Please RSVP and plan to join us.В  We want to try to get as many people as we can to enjoy the Shabbat meal together before the monthly Family Service! I would also love to hear your thoughts and ideas about the monthly Shabbat dinners as we begin to make plans for next year. Please reach out to me with any thoughts or opinions you might have around the Shabbat dinner idea.

REGISTRATION FOR NEXT YEAR

– It is time! Registration packets are being mailed out in the beginning of May. Please fill out and return your forms before June 1. Again, please reach out to me with any questions, comments or concerns.

Here’s to a great end to a wonderful school year.

With gratitude,
Deborah

May

Wednesday, May 3
Hebrew School
Chai School

Friday, May 5
В  В  В  В  В Shabbat Dinner and Shabbat Services
6:00pm – Last Shabbat dinner of the year.В  All are invited.В  (It’s free!)
7:00pm – Family Services (3rd grade service and Siyyum HaSefer). All are В В  welcome to attend.

Sunday, May 7
Preschool
K-7th grades
6th grade – All day Kallah

Wednesday, May 10
Hebrew School
Chai School – last one
Post Confirmation meets at temple with Rabbi Perry

Saturday, May 13
Tot Shabbat at 10:00am

Sunday, May 14
NO SCHOOL

Wednesday, May 17
Hebrew School

Sunday, May 21
Last Day of Religious School – Whole School Event with students and В В В В В В В В  families from 9am-11am

Wednesday, May 24
Hebrew School – last day

Friday, June 2
7:00pm – TEACHER APPRECIATION SHABBAT – plan to attend to show appreciation for your teachers and madrichim

KEEPING CONNECTED В  APRIL 2023 В 

I went to Israel last month!

In the middle of March, the 3rd graders and their families “took a trip to Israel “as part of this year’s Family Ed program for them. As they entered Congregation Shalom, they were quickly directed to the airport where they got a passport, answers many questions about their travel plans and got the okay to board the Congregation Shalom El Al airplane. Their tour guides for the trip included Rabbi Perry, Moreh Rich and Morah Madeline. After a plane ride, complete with beverage/snack service and in-plane information and entertainment, the class arrived in Israel. They went to the Hadassah Hospital, a café in Tel Aviv, a visit to the Western Wall and so much more. While in Israel, the students wrote postcards home. They got to practice their Hebrew and explore much of Israel.

I was personally moved by their visit to the Western Wall. After their tour guide explained that people go to the Western Wall to write prayers that are meaningful to themselves, the students took this task very seriously. Here are their writings.

• We pray that everyone is healthy and happy.
• I pray for homelessness to end.
• We hope our family is happy.
• Wishing my family happiness and good health.
• Dear God, I love you.

Coincidentally, I was also in the third-grade class the other day while they were learning more about the Western Wall while watching a LiveCam of the Western Wall.  The whole thing was really amazing. Just the idea that we were able to be sitting in Congregation Shalom and watching it in real time was quite moving. The students were so invested in this activity and had so many questions and facts to share. They saw the divided areas, one for the men and one for the women. They saw chairs and learned that some people chose to become a B-Mitzvah at the Western Wall. It was explained to them that the women would be standing on one side looking over the divider to see the boy becoming a Bar Mitzvah. Some of the kids were incensed over the division of the genders. Two of the students made plans to visit Israel and the Western Wall after they become a B-Mitzvah. (They also already picked out what they will wear on their trip!) Someone asked, “I do not see a lot of young people at the Wall. Do you have to have had a Bar Mitzvah to visit?” Other questions included “Why is that person sitting and not standing?” “What time is it in Israel?” and so much more. I was really proud of our 3rd graders and Moreh Rich for engaging in such meaningful and interesting curriculum.

This is just a small snippet of what goes on during Religious/Hebrew School at Congregation Shalom. We are providing our young students with a rich curriculum that allows them to listen, learn, engage, question and enjoy their time at our school.

Wishing you and your family Ч—Ц·Ч’ Ч©Ч‚ЦёЧћЦµЧ—Ц· (Chag Sameach!)
Deborah

APRIL

Sunday, April 2, 2023

Preschool
5th grade – Wimpel Painting

Wednesday, April 5, 2023

NO HEBREW SCHOOL
NO CHAI SCHOOL
Happy Passover!

Sunday, April 9 , 2023

K-7th
K-2 – Family Ed

Tuesday, April 11, 2023\

Post Confirmation at Rabbi Perry’s home

Wednesday, April 12, 2023

Hebrew School
Chai School

Friday, April 14, 2023

Shabbat Dinner and Family Shabbat (lead by the 2nd graders)

Sunday, April 16, 2023

NO SCHOOL (Mass. School vacation)

Wednesday, April 19, 2023

NO HEBREW or CHAI (Mass. vacation week)

Sunday, April 23, 2023

NO SCHOOL (Mass. School vacation)

Wednesday, April 26, 2023

Hebrew School
Chai School

Sunday, April 30, 2023

Preschool
K-7th

Friendship Bracelets

We held an amazing Friendship Bracelet sale in February with the profits going right into our tzedakah collection for the year.В  We were able to add $280 to our tzedakah collection!В  It is beautiful to see students and grownups around the temple wearing the various friendship bracelets.В  If you would still like to purchase friendship bracelets, you can go to mayanhands.org and buy some more!В  (Mayan Hands is the organization that we are collecting tzedakah for this year.)

 

В В В  В  В  В 

Tzedakah

The addition of the profits from the bracelet sale helped our weaving get bigger but we still have a ways to go.В  Please consider giving to tzedakah each week to help us reach our goal this year.В  We want to see the weaving reach the top of the loom!

Word of the Week

This year we began the idea of offering a Hebrew Word of the Week.  The weekly word changes on Wednesdays.  Teachers and students try to use the word during conversation or prayer.  Some classes have been playing matching games with the Hebrew word and its’ English equivalent.  The 6^th graders sometime write a story, trying to incorporate as many words of the week as they can.  I see families stopping at the Word of the Week board in the lobby and learning a new word.  It has been fun to hear various Hebrew words being used throughout the building and seeing confidence and joy in the students as they include some new Hebrew words into their repertoire.  I hope you try to learn a new word or two and use it in your daily life.

Preschool

We have a vibrant and spirited preschool class that meets a few Sundays each month.  This small but mighty group adds so much enthusiasm and joy to our Sunday mornings.  They keep busy all morning learning through reading books, doing crafts, singing songs, movement, food and enjoying a new addition to the classroom this year, a sensory table!  The table materials change according to their curriculum.  This year the students have explored a table full of Jewish stars, water beads and dreidels and most recently, a table with sand and trees as the class explored Tu B’Shevat.  The hands-on nature of this table allows the students to explore, engage, talk and play all while learning in meaningful and enjoyable ways.

I could go on and on sharing the joys and delights of so many awesome things happening inside our temple during school hours!В  I hope you can take a moment and share some of your own joys and delights surrounding Religious and Hebrew School.

Please take some time to look at the calendar at the bottom of this article.В  March is a busy month for the school with Purim, Shabbat dinner, lots of Family Ed and so much more!

As always, please feel free to reach out to me with any questions, comments or concerns.

Thank you,

Deborah

 

March

Wednesday, March 1, 2023 – Welcome Back Rabbi Perry!

В В В В В В В В В В В  Hebrew School

Friday, March 3 – Family Shabbat

В В В В В В В В В В В  Dinner at 6pm

В В В В В В В В В В В  Shabbat Service at 7pm

Sunday, March 5

В В В В В В В В В В В  Purim Shpiel and Carnival for students and families – 10:00am

Wednesday, March 8

В В В В В В В В В В В  Hebrew School

Sunday, March 12

В В В В В В В В В В В  Preschool

В В В В В В В В В В В  K-7^th

^{В В В В В В В В В В В В В В В В В}  3^rd grade family ed

В В В В В В В В В В В  5^th grade family ed

Tuesday, March 14

            Post Confirmation at Rabbi Perry’s home

Wednesday, March 15

В В В В В В В В В В В  Hebrew School

Friday, March 17В 

В В В В В В В В В В В  Tot Shabbat at 6pm at Congregation Shalom

Sunday, March 19

В В В В В В В В В В В  Preschool

В В В В В В В В В В В  K-7^th

^{В В В В В В В В В В В В В В В В В}  4th grade family ed

В В В В В В В В В В В  Shacharit service at 10:15am

Wednesday, March 22

В В В В В В В В В В В  Hebrew School

В В В В В В В В В В В  Chai School Session 3 begins

Sunday, March 26

В В В В В В В В В В В  K-7^th

В В В В В В В В В В В  6^th grade family ed

Wednesday, March 29

В В В В В В В В В В В  Hebrew School

В В В В В В В В В В В  Chai School