Education Bulletin

Shir Hadash teachers and staff are looking forward to seeing smiling faces on Sunday, September 23rd, 9:15 a.m. - 12:25 p.m.

While you are beginning to shop for school supplies and new socks, we are creating lesson plans,  ordering books, and dreaming up new things for our students.  Please send in your registration forms so we can have an accurate count of students for the beginning of the school year.  Make sure to tell your friends about Shir Hadash-- we will always make room for more.

The Shir Hadash Education Office is very crowded these days.  Thank you to Education Committee Members Lauren Tashma and Dawn Allen, as well as Board Member Marc Fargotstein, for schlepping school supplies from the Hellenic American Academy storage shed to our main office on Dundee Road.  This is just a temporary matter, as Ed. Director Emily Ascher, daughter Aimee, son Zach, and Shir Hadash students Emma and Oliver have been working diligently to freshen-up our treasured books, art supplies, and assorted stray items.  Sunday school office administrator Gloria Kaplan will be so proud when she sees what we have accomplished.

Looking foward to seeing you soon.

Education Director Emily Ascher

Madrichim (Student Teachers) and Havayah (8th Grade-High School Class) Information

Thanks to all of you who sent your registration forms in, it helps us get a great start on the school year.  If you are one of families we are waiting for, please send in the pink forms today.


For those of you who have students entering the 8th through 12th grades, watch your snail-mailbox for news regarding two of our most popular programs.  The madrichim program, headed by Youth Director Carole Mostow and our head madrichah, Colette Charak, is an opportunity for your son or daughter to work in our school.  


The Havayah class is divided into an 8th grade class and a 9th-12th grade class. The 8th graders discuss teen issues and discuss how to solve them Jewishly, we learn self-motivation techniques, and play team-building games. Many of the 8th grade students work at the Sunday school in addition to attending these fun 14 classes. This class is led by Education Director Emily Ascher.

Rabbi Eitan leads the high school class. The first element of this curriculum includes a study of the Talmudic book Pirkei Avot - The Ethics of the Sages.  The wisdom sages form the foundation of Jewish ethics and morality for all aspects of life.  The second element will explore student's Jewish roots.  They will learn about their families and countries of origin, do some genealogy work and learn a little Yiddish and Ladino.  

We spend time together eating pizza and solving world problems.  Joining in this class can be a wonderful experience for our students, as they begin to realize how being Jewish, using Jewish philosophy, and being with Jewish friends can be fun and helpful.


If your son or daughter is interested in joining--


1. Fill out madrichim form (both sides).
2. Send in to office at 3340 Dundee Road, Suite 2N4, Northbrook, IL 60062.
3. If havayah (8th-12th class) is what they want, please email Emily Ascher at
    eddirector@shir-hadash.org.
4. Wait for confirmation of your forms.


Looking forward to hearing from you, 


Emily Ascher
Education Director

School Happenings

Clipart by Picsburg - http://free.clipartof.com/

School forms are past due. Please send in your pink school registration forms as soon as possible.  

Know any 5 year olds craving a fun Sunday school class? Please advise them to sign up for the Shir Hadash Gan Yeladim class with superstar teacher Cindy Salomon.  Awaiting your children are hands-on, center-based activities specifically developed to aid them in absorbing Jewish values, the feeling of Jewish holidays, the meaning of Torah stories and even an early knowledge of Hebrew.

Havayah (8th grade - high school class) and madrichim (teacher's assistants) forms will be mailed this week.  These are wonderful opportunities for your teen to experience personal growth, appreciation for our community, and lots of fun.  Look for more information to arrive at your home this week.

The Shir Hadash picnic will be a great time to get together before school starts on Sunday, September 23rd.  Visit with the Rabbi, some board members, and students for a celebration of shabbat, the summer,  and each other.

Emily Ascher
Education Director
eddirector@shir-hadash.org

Links to Cool Websites

My sister found this very cool, glossy online Jewish magazine and passed it along to me.  It looks great on an iPad. Click here to go to Tablet Magazine.  I enjoyed the article on the disappointing Pink Floyd concert in NYC, but the story about the Texas grandma standing up to the Klan is particularly great. There are recipes (try one and let me know how it turns out) and short stories with Jewish themes.

Do you ever sit at your computer and just go? I was somewhat transfixed by the Tablet site, when I found a link to http://www.jewcy.com, another online magazine. It seems to be geared towards twenty-somethings, but it worked for me (a forty-something).  Here is a picture from the site, a watercolor by artist Elanit Kayne, which brightened my day.


I plan on continuing my quest for contemporary Jewish educational websites, please let me know if you have found anything special along those lines.


Emily Ascher
Education Director
Shir Hadash Reconstructionist Synagogue

Happy Independence Day

Happy Independence Day

Is the second floor of your house twenty degrees hotter than the first floor?  Are you, too, trying to keep cool at those 100 degree baseball tournaments, pouring water over the heads of any red-faced child you see panting by you?  Are you attempting to find the best 4th of July schedule involving fireworks, a parade, and perhaps a beach? Good times if you have air-conditioning.

The 4th of July marks the celebration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America. Even my favorite all-American holiday cannot stop me from pointing out a Jewish connection.  This is a simple matter as Jews have played many roles in American culture.

One powerful example is Emma Lazarus, the Jewish woman from New York who wrote the sonnet
The New Colossus to raise money to bring the Statue of Liberty to America. It speaks to not only the welcoming of immigrants, but the difficulties they will face in coming to our country.  Please click on the link below to learn more about the intriguing life of Emma Lazarus.

The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" 

Emma Lazarus

http://jwa.org/womenofvalor/lazarus

Happy 4th

Education Director Emily Ascher