Happy New School Year (and L’shana Tova)

Keeping Connected.  September 2023

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. As you may know, our school will look a bit different this year with a new Sunday structure but I can guarantee that the new structure will still be filled with lots of learning, enjoyment, engagement and community. I hope we can all work together to create another successful school year at Congregation Shalom.

Due to the decrease in enrollment, we will be offering mixed aged classes.

Religious School on Sundays

  • Preschool through Kindergarten with Morah Lauren
  • 1st grade through 3rd grade with Morah Kara
  • 4th/5th grade with Moreh Rob
  • 6th/7th grade with Moreh Collin. (Please join me in welcoming Collin Thomas to our teaching staff this year!)

Hebrew School on Wednesdays

  • Kitah Aleph (3rd grade) with Moreh Rob on Sunday mornings
  • Kitah Bet, Gimel and Dalet (4th, 5th, 6th) with Moreh Rob, Morah Deborah and several Hebrew madrichim
  • Kitah Hey (7th grade) with Rabbi Perry

School families (Preschool through 7th grade) should have already received information about your child’s class assignments for the year.  The first day of Religious School will be on Sunday, September 10, 2023 in the building. On September 10 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 projects around the idea of “a morning of service.”  These projects will embrace the idea of “g’milut hasadim –  גְּמִילוּת חֲסָדִים” – acts of loving kindness, as our community joins together for a morning of service for others  A separate note will come out with the exact plans for our opening day!

Wednesday, September 13, 2023 will be the first day of Hebrew School.  Our Hebrew program will continue to engage our students in prayer-based Hebrew, though we will resume what we started last year with sharing a Word of the Week each week, joining in with some Hebrew Through Movement, and hopefully engaging more of our school community in prayer services and worship, called t’fillah – תְּפִילָּה.  These additional elements will work in conjunction with learning Hebrew, becoming more familiar with the language, using the language more and finding joy in the learning of Hebrew.

Lots of school related information will be coming your way in the coming month, so please check your emails!  Check out the list of important dates below for September plans.

Wishing you all a safe and healthy start to the new school year and a Happy New Year.

 

Schedule for September

  • Friday, September 8 – Family Shabbat at 7pm, come join together to reunite with friends and classmates and we celebrate Shabbat together
  • Sunday, September 10 – Yom Rishon/First day of Religious School 9am-11am for students and families 9:30am
  • Wednesday, September 13 – First day of Hebrew School, 4:15pm-6:00pm
  • Sunday, September 17 – No School due to High Holidays – see High Holiday schedule
  • Wednesday, September 20 – Hebrew School
  • Sunday, September 24 – No School due to High Holidays – see High Holiday schedule
  • Wednesday, September 27 – Hebrew School
  • Sunday, October 1 – Religious School will resume

L’shana tova,

Deborah Morrissey