Things I Use to Know Nothing About

April 2021   Keeping Connected

Hello School Community Friends,

On my desk sits a sticky note titled “Things I Use to Know Nothing About.” I started this list when I took on this job almost two years ago. At first, the list was my own way of dealing with the feeling of being thrown into an unknown situation of helping to run the school in the interim and learning things that were new to me, such as how to send a note out through Constant Contact and how to use a Mac computer! As we all know, that first year took a very unexpected turn and my list of “Things I Use to Know Nothing About” grew exponentially. Things such as “video conferencing” and “scanning” were quickly added to the list. It’s a good thing that I love sticky notes because I started to need more than one note to continue listing the new things I had to learn! The list continues to grow, though I have noticed that I have been able to add a few things to the list that are now my choice to learn and not because I have to know those things for this job.

One day recently, I was sitting at my desk, overwhelmed with a very long list of things to do. (I am definitely a list maker.) My eyes fell upon my original list of “Things I Use to Know Nothing About” and it got me thinking. What would a similarly titled list look like for the students in our school?

On Sunday mornings and Wednesday afternoons I get the great pleasure of popping in and out of all the classes. I could fill up stacks of sticky notes with all the things that I observe being taught (and that is just from what the kids are teaching their teachers!) All of the teachers bring vibrant and engaging curriculum to their classes. Kids are learning about helping others. Students are being asked to make connections to their own life. They are traveling to far off places and visiting museums. They are attending Jewish weddings, they are thinking about and helping others in our own community. They are learning about the history of the Jewish people, the history of Congregation Shalom, and the history of their own family’s experiences. They are making connections with Hebrew words and prayers. They are learning to chant and read Hebrew. They are learning that a “Bet has a belly button” while a “pey has a penny.” They are learning how to be a contributing member of their class and their temple community and the larger world. They are learning to be good people.  They are learning about the joys of Judaism, foods, rituals, good guys and bad, l’dor v’dor, how to help those in mourning, how God fits into their own lives, how to go the extra mile with performing an act of kindness, when to bless juice or potatoes, how to say a tongue twister in Hebrew, how to help a classmate struggling with a Hebrew word, how to be present for a friend or temple community member. This list could go on and on and I could fill my room with sticky notes galore listing all these things and more!

Take some time in the next week or so and engage in a conversation with your children. Ask them what they would put on a list titled “Things I Use to Know Nothing About.”  I would love to hear what they share with you.

Here’s to a life long journey of continued learning, for you, me and all the students.

Deborah

Schedule for April (subject to change)

Sunday, April 4  – Sunday Religious School and Sunday Hebrew School

Wednesday, April 7 – Wednesday Hebrew School, Gimel, Dalet, Hey, Chai School

Sunday, April 11 – Sunday Religious School and Sunday Hebrew School

Wednesday, April 14 – Wednesday Hebrew School, Gimel, Dalet, Hey, Chai School and Post Confirmation

Sunday, April 18 – NO SCHOOL – April Vacation

Wednesday, April 21 – NO SCHOOL – April Vacation

Sunday, April 25 – NO SCHOOL – April Vacation

Wednesday, April 28- Wednesday Hebrew School, Gimel, Dalet, Hey and Chai School