Keeping Connected with our Ed Director
How do you do Shabbat?
Keeping Connected В В В February 2022В
What rituals and traditions did you do growing up?В What rituals and traditions are you creating with your own family?
Do you want to start a new Shabbat tradition?В How about having Shabbat Dinner at temple with your family and friends?В It is a great way to welcome Shabbat – someone else cooks and cleans, you get to eat a good meal and you and your family get to be surrounded by your temple community!
This year we have been piloting a new way of offering Shabbat Dinners.В The once-a-month meal is now open to any school families, free of charge! On a Shabbat Dinner Friday, you enter the temple at 6:00pm to the glorious smells of a home-cooked/temple-cooked meal of pasta, sauce, meatballs, salad and challah.В The meal is served buffet style so you can decide exactly what you want to eat.В After Shabbat Blessings, everyone enjoys a good meal and great company.В A wonderful way to end the week and an even better way to begin Shabbat!
Notices go out each month close to the date of the dinner.В All you need to do is RSVP with the number of people who will be attending and then show up for the Shabbat meal.В People have been reaching out to their classmates and temple friends and have been making it a fun time with friends and family.
The Shabbat Dinner is followed by a beautiful Family Shabbat Service, filled with music, prayer, ruach and joy. Attending services is a meaningful experience for the students. It allows them to understand the meaning and importance of the Hebrew they are learning during the week, allows everyone the opportunity to join together in prayer and music and helps strengthen everyone’s connection to Judaism. It is an important piece of your child’s education.
The schedule for upcoming Shabbat Dinners (at 6pm) is as follows:В February 3,В March 3,В April 14,В May 5
I hope to see you at Shabbat Dinners!
Tzedakah Update:В Our tzedakah project is moving along this year. Check out how the weaving on the loom in the lobby is getting larger.
On Sunday, February 5 and Wednesday, February 8, we will be holding a Friendship Bracelet Fundraiser, selling friendship bracelets made by Mayan Hands artists.В (Our collected tzedakah money is being donated to Mayan Hands this year.) All money earned from the bracelet sale will be added to our tzedakah collection for this year.В Friendship Bracelets will be sold for $5 each.
As always, please feel free to reach out to me with any questions, comments or concerns.
Thank you,В Deborah
February
Wednesday, February 1, 2023
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
Friday, February 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, February 5
В В В В В В В В В В В Parent/Teacher Conferences
В В В В В В В В В В В Preschool
В В В В В В В В В В В K-7th
Wednesday, February 9
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
Sunday, February 12
В В В В В В В В В В В K-7th
Monday, February 13
В В В В В В В В В В В Post Confirmation at the temple
Wednesday, February 15
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
Sunday, February 19 – NO SCHOOL – Massachusetts February Vacation
Wednesday, February 22 – NO SCHOOL – Massachusetts February Vacation
Sunday, February 26 – NO SCHOOL – Massachusetts February Vacation
What’s Happening with Hebrew?
Keeping Connected. В December 2022В
Aleph Bet Quest.В Hebrew Through Harmony.В Mitkadem.В Hebrew Word of the Week.В Hebrew Through Movement.В Does any of this sound familiar to you?В These are the different Hebrew experiences being offered to our student body this year.
The Hebrew atmosphere in our building this year is one of enthusiasm, excitement and anticipation. On any given Sunday or Wednesday, Hebrew is heard throughout the building. Children are moving about to Hebrew action words, reciting prayers and blessings, using new words in their own speech and so much more. Here is a quick rundown of what it going on with our Hebrew program.
AlephBet Quest – our 3rd graders are learning to decode Hebrew this year by learning the letters and vowels and the sounds they make. They are putting together long strings of letters and vowels and reading Hebrew words and some short sentences. It is really amazing to hear them read in such a short period of learning time.
Hebrew in Harmony – Our 4th graders are learning Hebrew this year using a curriculum called Hebrew in Harmony. The idea is to bring more music into learning Hebrew and offer new experiential ideas such as art and movement to help the students understand and interpret the prayers. The 4th graders bring great spirit to the Hebrew studies, as I often hear them chanting loudly and enthusiastically throughout the building!More
The Loom in the Lobby!
NovemberВ 2022 В Keeping Connected
Have you seen the loom in the lobby?В During the past few weeks, the loom and the table have generated many questions and interest from our community.
For our tzedakah project, we will be donating all collected money to an organization called Mayan Hands. (mayanhands.org) “Mayan Hands Foundation is a fair trade, non-profit organization dedicated to providing economic and educational opportunities to Mayan women and girls, so that they can bring their families out of extreme poverty and, at the same time, continue to live within the culture they cherish.” Mayan Hands invests in the next generation by providing scholarships and other education programs to indigenous girls in Guatemala.”More
What are your “Jew-wishes?”
October 2022 В Keeping Connected
We have had a smooth and successful start to the new school year. It has been joyful to see the students and teachers and families in the building, reconnecting, laughing and finding their place in the temple and all that it has to offer. As you know, the way the calendar worked out this year, we had a few weeks of school and then a break for the High Holidays.
This break and beginning to a new year seem like an appropriate time to take a moment to think about the future.В How would you respond if asked, “What are your “Jew – wishes” from Congregation Shalom?” If you took some time to sit back and think about what you hope your children get from Religious School, Hebrew School and membership in our temple community, how would you respond?More
Welcome to the new school year!
September 2022 В Keeping Connected
Welcome to September! I hope you can all look back on a fun, restful and an exciting summer as we all forge ahead to a new school year. I am excited to begin another year at Congregation Shalom and I hope you are too. There are some new ideas and curriculum in place for the coming year, the restoring of some traditions that have taken a covid hiatus, the continuation of some tried and true experiences and the return of familiar faces and the joy of reconnecting with your temple community.
As you may know, the first day of Religious School will be on Sunday, September 11, 2022 in the parking lot.В There has been such a great response from so many of our school parking lot activities that we are excited to continue that covid tradition and bring it into our school regularly.В The difference is that is the weather does not cooperate, we can easily bring our plans into the building.В On September 11 we invite students and families to join together to reconnect with each other and to meet and greet your teachers for the year (both Religious and Hebrew School teachers.) Students and families will also have some time to engage in some welcoming activities and catch up with old friends and meet new friends.В A separate note will come out with the exact plans for our opening day!More
Coming Soon: A New School Year! Hebrew Practice SUMMER FUN NIGHT – you won’t want to miss out!
August 2022 В Keeping Connected
We are in the middle of the summer break. What could she possibly have to say?! Read ahead to hear a little bit about plans for the new school year, the importance of practicing Hebrew and our first Summer Fun Night!
School Year 2022/2023
As of this writing, we are planning on holding Sunday classes in the building. There are many things that we learned from the pandemic and a lot of protocols will remain in place to ensure the safest and healthiest environment possible. Details about all this will be forthcoming. Our Wednesday Hebrew program will remain hybrid, in the sense that some students will meet for Hebrew in person and some students will attend class through Zoom. You will receive information about your specific plans.More