Sixth Grade Review

Dear Parents,  
Today we started our day with a twist. Instead of discussing the Torah portion, the students took a brief quiz to test their Israel Knowledge.  The quiz asked true or false questions like: The first airplane was created in Israel (false), The technology for cell phones was created in Israel (true), Israel is about the size of New Jersey (true), Only Jewish people live in Israel (false)... and more.  This will form the basis of our new unit of study: Experiencing Modern Israel.  The students have some background about the creation of the modern state of Israel so we want to add to the base by learning about arts & culture, the diversity of the nation, the environment, the food along with touching upon the layers of history that have brought us to modern day realities.  There is some on-line learning we can use in the classroom via Google Earth.  Today we also took advantage of the Western Wall webcam to view the real time activity at the Wall. While it was 6:30 p.m. on a Sunday evening  in Israel when we tuned in, the kids were able to see men and women praying at the wall. They could see the different sections for prayer and we were able to discuss who goes to the Wall to pray, why men & women are divided in their prayer sections and more. We will continue to use several sources so the students can get a sense of what Israel looks, feels and tastes like!  (I've already had a request to do an Israeli cooking lesson - which we will work on in a few weeks.)

Since Rabbi Eitan was out of town today, the teen agers led our morning service which included the regular prayers and a lot of extra songs, too!  The teens taught the congregation the tune for the Modeh Ani prayer and we practiced some old favorites like Adon Olam and The Hope. 

After services we had some more time for discussion of our answers to the Israel quiz and we found out that we have a lot to learn!  We also spent some more time learning about each other & our community by sharing the highlights of the week. 

Hebrew brought us to a new set of prayers, the Birchot HaHaftarah - the prayers that are said before & after reading the Haftarah. We spent most of the period learning about the haftarah - a reading from N'vi'im (prophets), the second section of the Bible. The prophets were spokespersons for God - they lived and preached over a period of about 750 years - from about 1250 BCE to 538 BCE. The prophets brought hope to the people in times of despair. When the people strayed from the teachings of the Torah, the prophets helped lead them back to God and the mitzvot. There are 5 blessings that accompany the haftarah reading - one before & 4 after. Each blessing reflects the traditional aspects of our relationship with God. We read through the 1st blessing today but will begin to learn it together next week.  

We concluded our day with art with Phyllis where the class made beautiful Torah scrolls which included their names and the Torah blessings. The concept included the crown of a good name - "There are three crowns. the crown of Torah, the crown of the priesthood, and the crown of royalty. But the crown of a good name excels them all." The class talked about their own names and what the name represents. The kids were asked to include memories of who they were named for on the back of their projects.  I encourage those who did not finish in school, to complete this step at home. (see photos of the kids at art).

Just a note to let you know that I will not be in class next week. We already have a great substitute lined up who will continue the lessons right on schedule. 

For next week: 
1. Practice the prayers we have studied so far as review. We have a prayer competency chart that we will fill out and return to the parents toward the end of the term. 
2. SAVE the DATE: Sunday, February 8th - Family Education Day for 5th - 7th graders.  Come to school with your child & spend the day learning about Tu B'Shevat.  Emily will send more information soon!
3. Registration for Midwest Kallah ends next week.  Contact me with any questions.  (Registration on-line www.shir-hadash.org)

Have a great week!  Carole

Also,  6th graders are invited to the Midwest Regional Kallah - a weekend of Reconstructionist Living in Wisconsin.  Forms are attached or you can register on-line at the Shir Hadash website: www.shir-hadash.org.

As always, contact me with questions or comments.  Have a great week!