Surprise latke party at Morah's

On Tuesday, the 3rd day of Chanukah I surprised the class with a latke party.
I brought them over to my apartment and together we made our very own latkes!!!
They came out just perfect-crunchy on outside and soft on the inside. After we fried the latkes we played the"pass the parcel" game in Chanukah version, where each student had a chance to unwrap a layer of paper, find a picture of an object and connect it to Chanukah. If they were able to get the right answer they got a candy and then we continued on to the next person. It was alot of fun!!!
Oh and by the way we brought over some latkes for the teachers to taste after the party. I am sure they enjoyed them!
Enjoy the pictures!

Morah Yehudis

Curriculum night reminder

Dear parents,

I would like to remind you that we are having curriculum night on Tuesday, the 4th of November, at 6:00 pm.

Cant wait to see all of you! 

Have a great weekend!
Morah Yehudis

Challah baking at Morah's apartment

On Friday I took the 5th Grade girls to my apartment in Crown Heights.
The whole class baked delicious 6 braided Challahs and they did it all on their own!
I hope you enjoyed it with the family on Shabbat. :)
We also learnt about the mitzvah of taking Challah.  I didnt have a chance to take pictures of the girls actually braiding it but here are some pictures of them reciting the morning prayer in my apartment.
For those of you who havent heard about the mitzvah of taking Challah  here is a short explanation:

Taking Challah: A Deeper Look

"…the first of your kneading you shall set aside as challah …(so) shall you give a portion to Hashem for your generations" (Bamidbar 15:20-21)

What is challah? Challah is known to most of us at the two braided Shabbat loaves we delight in after Kiddush on Friday night. In halachicterms, challah is a mitzvah in the Torah to separate a portion of dough from the baker’s batch. Any dough meeting the requirements forhafrashat challah , taking challah, must have this portion removed, or the bread baked from this dough is not considered kosher.

In Temple times, the separated portion, the challah, was given to the Kohain . The Kohanim were deeply involved in their service in the Temple, and were therefore unable to fully provide for their families. Hashem commanded us to give His portion, challah, among other gifts, to the Kohanim. This ensured their sustenance as they performed their holy work on our behalf.

Today, the Temple remains central to our identity as a people. Observing the mitzvah of hafrashat challah, then and now, establishes a bond between the people and the Kohanim. We immortalize this interdependence when we remove this piece of challah dough, burn it and dispose it in an honorable way.

Hurricane Sandy project

The first few days of school we spoke about each students individual experience of Hurricane Sandy and then after that each students worked on her own project in Hebrew that was called "ANi veHuricane Sandy" which means "Me and Hurricane Sandy". They wrote about their expericence  before during and after the Hurricane and then Illustrated it. When the projects were ready each student stood in front of the class and presented it After each presentation the students had a chance to ask questions.

THis project taught us lots of important things. One of them was that even though we all wrote about the same Hurricane each and every one had a whole different story to share and viewed it in a very different way. Some even had a positive experience.

Back to school!

Dear parents ,
I hope you and your families are all doing well.
After a long break from school, we are all back together again. True, maybe we don't have our own building  supplies, furniture, but we do have the most important thing, and that is- each other.
The first 2 weeks of school after Hurricane Sandy I focused a lot  on talking about what happened in general and also about each and every one of the sutudents individual experience. We also spoke about Chessed- helping  others in this hard time. Even if they lost a lot themselves they could still help others that are in more need. In the next couple of posts you will see  a few activities and projects we did in these past 2 weeks.
This first one is a skit that we did  in hebrew in Chumash class about Yaakov meeting the Shepherds by the well.
ENjoy!

Enjoy!

Our surprise Sukkot trip!

On Friday we visited the Sukkah of the Goloborodsky family in Brighton. All of the students did the mitzvah of Lulav and Esrog and recited the "Leyshev basukkah blessing"  as they enjoyed a delicious "Bagels and cream cheese" breakfast. After that, we heard a Sukkot story from Rabbi Naftoli and played a  review game about the holidays of the month of Tishrey.
Once more we would like to thank the Goloborodsky family for hosting us. We had an amazing experience in your beautiful Sukkah!

Sukkot here we come!

A sukkah is essentially an outdoor hut that is covered with vegetation, known as sechach. But there are many guidelines and requirements that must be followed in its construction, and regarding the location where it is erected, in order for a sukkah to be deemed “kosher”—fit for use.

In this class we learnt all about a kosher sukkah and at the end each student built their own edible "kosher" sukkah.
Enjoy the pictures!

Jewish History Class

In our Thursday Jewish History class (which is shared with both fifth and sixth grades together), we've been reviewing some of the major events in the early history of our people.  For now, we are focusing on sequencing key events from Avraham, the first Jew, until the destruction of the Second Beis HaMikdosh (Temple).  From learning about the weekly Parsha and yearly holidays, the students already have a lot of prior knowledge about these time periods, but don't always know how to place them in historical context.  This is something that we will continue to review and work on over the coming weeks.

Here are a few interesting questions that we have discussed.  Ask them of your child and see how many they can answer, but first give them a try on your own.  Do you know...
- How many millenia of Jewish History are there? (following the Jewish calendar)
- Who first led the Jews in conquering and settling the land of Israel after they left Egypt?
- Who ruled over the Jews before they had kings?
- Who was the first Jewish king?
- Which Jewish king made Jerusalem the capital of Israel?
- Which Jewish king built the first Beis HaMikdosh (Temple)?
- What happened to the 10 "lost" tribes?
- Which Jewish holiday story took place first Purim or Chanukah (this one is tricky!)?
- What were some of the names used throughout of history to refer to the land of Israel?

We will be continuously reviewing and adding these types of Jewish History trivia to our students "database" of knowledge - revisiting and discussing again and again, so that they truly retain the information.

For our next lesson, the students will be discussing the fascinating life stories of: Devorah the Prophetess and Shimshon (Samson).   For your reference you can read more about these individuals online, via these links:
Devorah the Prophetess
Samson the Mighty

MY GOALS FOR THE CLASS:

Learning about Jewish History helps us understand the Jewish people, because it is the story of how we got to where we are today.  Learning about Jewish History helps us understand not only what happened in the past, but also what it means to be a Jewish person now.   Learning Jewish History helps us understand how the story of our people is all part of our unique mission: to help make the world a better place.

Over the course of this year, we will go on a journey “traveling” through different time periods of Jewish History – “meeting” people who played an important role in Jewish history, and “experiencing” major events that impacted the nature of our story.  Our goal will be to begin the journey in biblical times and then “travel” to the modern-day. 

In our class, we will be studying from the books “SAND AND STARS” by Yaffa Ganz.  This set is an excellent beginner’s textbook on Jewish History for Young Adults.  I highly recommend that you consider purchasing a set of these books for your own home, so that you and your child can learn more about Jewish History together.   They can be purchased online (here's a link to the first volume on Amazon) or at most Judaica book shops.

 

Kaporos!

Dear Parents,

Today we learnt about the meaning of the custom of Kaporos. As soon as we were done we were able to practice it at the school payground. Enjoy the pictures!

Have an easy fast and a Gmar chatima tova, may you be sealed in the book of life!