A New School Year
September 2021 Keeping Connected
The beginning of September has us looking forward to the new school year. I am excited for the year ahead as we approach another unique year for our temple school. The summer months have allowed me to meet some new families that will be joining our school. I invite you to reach out to people you may not know in the coming months and share a friendly hello and welcome. In addition, I am thrilled to welcome Kristin Morris to our teaching team. Morah Kristin is an involved member of Congregation Shalom. She will be teaching our 5th grade class this year. Morah Kristin will be joined by the familiar faces of Morah Lauren (preschool and 6th grade,) Moreh Rob (4th grade, Hebrew and Chai,) Moreh Rich (3rd grade and Kitah Aleph,) Morah Amy (Hebrew and Chai School,) Morah Tymon (Hebrew) and myself (K-2) to create a dynamic and awesome teaching staff!
Our plans for this year are to return to the building for much of the school, though our experiences from the COVID years have also provided us with the successful Hebrew learning remotely, so we will be able to offer some online learning for some of our Hebrew students. We are also ready to change our plans at any time as needed. Our priority is the health and safety of our staff, students, families and great Congregation Shalom community. School families will be receiving more information in the coming weeks regarding the plans for school this year.
We want to try to accommodate the families in our school community, so please reach out to me with any concerns you may have going into the new year and we can work together to try to create a solution that works for you and our school community.
This coming year will also bring with it some other changes. Due to the hybrid plans for Hebrew School with some students learning from home and some students learning on Zoom, we are going to swap out the traditional Wednesday Ma’ariv services and instead hold a monthly morning service (Shacharit) on Sundays during the Religious School hours. I am excited to expose the student population to the joy of in-person services (with the health and safety of our community at the forefront) and the services will be a great complement to the Hebrew and Religious studies that they engage with each week. We are also planning on the Friday night class services, though at this time we will not be hosting class dinners but are interested in other creative ways to help to form class community. I am more than happy to hear your own thoughts and ideas.
I know that we are not yet able to return to our “normal” school programming and that the health issues surrounding the coronavirus and its variants are causing a lot of stress and anxiety for our school community. Please know that we are working hard to continue to create the safest environment possible, while also working to create an engaging and interesting educational environment.
I look forward to working together in the new year with the support, care and connections of our temple community.
L’shana tova,
Deborah Morrissey
Schedule for September
September 6 – September 16 – High Holiday services and programs.
Please check the High Holiday schedule to see which options best suit your family. I hope to see you during the holiday weeks!
Sunday, September 19 – First day of Religious School
- Kindergarten through 4th grade – 8:30am – 10:15am
- Kitah Aleph (3rd grade Hebrew School) – 10:30am-11:30am
- 5th grade through 7th grade – 10:30am – 12:30pm
Wednesday, September 22 – First day of Hebrew School (more details to follow)
Sunday, September 26 – First day of Religious School
- First day of Preschool – 8:30am – 10:15am
- Kindergarten through 4th grade – 8:30am – 10:15am
- Kitah Aleph (3rd grade Hebrew School) – 10:30am-11:30am