Religious School Update – January 31, 2024
Shalom Everyone!
After our series of breaks over the last few weeks, we are now set for a more regular schedule for the next month. We will be having religious school classes for the next three weeks into February. We also encourage all of our families to attend the New Member Shabbat on February 16. And thank you to all the families who brought in fruit for our Tu B’shvat celebration! Finally, please remember to sign up for bringing snacks one week for the kids along with one Oneg for a shabbat this year. The sign-up sheets are in the Religious School hallway.
And now for the recap. We started off with our regular Tefillah service, led as always by our own Rabbi Dean. We also had the pleasure of having Scarlet assist in leading the service in preparation for her upcoming Bat Mitzvah in February.
Afterwards, all the kids engaged in Tu B’shvat activities. Heather’s and my class together prepared the 7 species along with the fruit brought in by the families and teachers. We ended up with 16 fruits to sample along with all 7 species. As in years past, the kids got to taste fruits they had everyday along with a few they had never tried before, expanding their palates. Afterwards, everyone went to the meditation garden to help plant fava beans. Finally, the kids got to watch a video about Tu B’shvat before assisting the teachers in cleaning up.
And that about wraps it up for now. We look forward to seeing all our families this upcoming Sunday, January 28. Thanks everyone!
Best,
David
Religious School Update – Feb. 9, 2024
February 9, 2024 by tbhrich • Beit Midrash
Hello Everyone,
First of all, we wanted to thank all our parents for braving the rain and wind to come to Religious School last week to fill up our classes. Our next session will be this upcoming Sunday, February 11, and two weeks from now we will have a break on February 18. As a reminder, the New Member Shabbat will take place on February 16 and we encourage all of our families to attend ( along with the Family Shabbat which will take place earlier that evening). We will also be having our second field trip in April to the Oakland Zoo. I will send out more details when I have the exact date. And the big day is approaching when Scarlet will have her Bat Mitzvah on February 24 (all are welcome to come to the service). Finally, please remember to sign up for bringing snacks one week for the kids along with one Oneg for a shabbat this year. The sign-up sheets are in the Religious School hallway.
And now for the recap. We started off with our regular Tefillah service, led as always by our own Rabbi Dean and Cantor Marney. While the younger kids went to Jenny’s class, the middle and upper grades all gathered together with me for a special project. Since we will be going to the Zoo in April, I wanted the kids to start learning the Hebrew names for all the animals. We therefore spent our day playing a game of Guess the Animal. The kids had a lot of fun with it and now have full lists of about two dozen animals with their Hebrew names. They also utilized gematriyah to determine the values of each animal’s name according to Hebrew tradition. Incredibly, the majestic swan had one of the highest gematriyah values! We will be practicing saying the Hebrew animal names so we can identify them all when we get to the field trip.
And that about wraps it up for now. We look forward to seeing all our families this upcoming Sunday, February 11, after which we can all enjoy the Super Bowl. Thanks everyone!
Best,
David