ויצא 2016

Dear Parents,

I will be in Israel until winter break is over.

Morah Eva and Morah Malka will substitute for me and teach first grade.

During my absence, the Hebrew folder and books will not be sent home.

Hagim (Holidays):

This week we started to prepare for Chanukah.

We learned the story of Chanukah and we learned the Hebrew words: “Yehudim” (Jews) and “Yevanim” (Greeks).

We saw two different Dreidels – סביבונים. One is from the USA and the other from Israel.

Please ask your child to explain what are the differences between the two dreidels and why the difference exists. (The answer is in the page in the Hebrew folder).

Hebrew workbook:

We are half way in our workbook with the “Segol” and “Tseyre” vowles.

First Grade Album:

We are working on a special album that includes all the subjects we are learning in “Tal-Am”. Please send to school two of the following pictures (4”x6”)

1. A picture of the outside of your child’s house.

2. A picture of your child’s family (a group picture of as many members of the family as possible).

These pictures are very important for our learning in the class!

Please send it to me soon as possible - the latest time is after winter break, you can also Email me the picture and I will print it.

 “My library” -  “הַסִפְרִיָה שֶלִי "

This week’s book is called: “?מִי לֹא בַּכִּיתָה” (Who is not in the class?)

We learned the questions: “מִי בַּכִּיתָה?” and “?מִי לֹא בַּכִּיתָה” (Who is in the class? Who is not in the class?)  In this week’s story –

שַחַר לֹא בַּכִּיתָה, שַחַר בַּבַּיִת כִּי שַחַר חוֹלֶה"  “Shachar Lo Bakita, Shachar Ba’Bayit Ki Shachar Hole’”   (Shachar is not in the class.  Shachar is at home because Shachar is sick!). We learned that you wish a " רְפוּאָה שְלֵמָה " (speedy recovery) to someone who sick.  

Please encourage your child to read it outloud to you over the weekend.

Parashat Hashavua

This Friday you will find in their folder a picture page with a summary of the story of Parashat: “ויצא” (Vayeitzei). We learned that the 3 prayer services we say every day were established by each of our forefathers. We also learned the stories of Yaakov’s dream, how Lavan tricked Yaakov into marrying Leah and Rachel, as well as the birth of the 12 sons of Yaakov.

Shabbat Shalom from Morah Irit.

תולדות2016

Dear Parents,

Yesterday we had a very nice time welcoming in the new month of “Kislev”. In this “Rosh Chodesh”   Moreh Dror gave us a “sufgania” with lots of “Ribah” (jelly) in it! 

Hebrew workbook:

This week, during the Alef Bet unit, we finished  Part 4 of the workbook!!!

We reviewed the Aleph-Bet letter names with their sounds and the vowel sound “AH” up to the letter Tav. We also focused on: “Shin” and “Sin”. We practiced writing words and placing the dot on the right place. (Shin- on the right Sin-on the left). I am sending it home for you to keep and review.

We will start a new Choveret (workbook) with the vowel “Tsereh” (the short E sound). We will learn to spell words with both vowels we have learned (Ah and short E).

I am sending a page with all of this workbook’s words. Please practice reading it with your child. It is very important to make sure he/she knows all of the Alef Bet letters and their sounds.

Ariot:

This week Ariot went to Bella’s home.

“My library” -  “הַסִפְרִיָה שֶלִי "

This week’s book is called: טוֹב בַּכִּיתָה- Tov Ba’kita (it is good in the classroom).

This book is a great way of practicing all the sight words.

Parashat Hashavua

This Friday you will find in their folder a picture page with a summary of the story of Parashat: “תולדות” (Toldot). We learned that Rivkah had twin boys: Esav and Yaakov. We learn about their differences. We learned the story of how Esav sold the birthright to Yaakov for a bowl of lentil soup.

 Shabbat Shalom,

Morah irit Karavani

וירא

Dear parents,

As part of our Parasha learning, our class received a very special invitation. The kindergarten requested our presence at Avraham’s tent in order to learn about

הכנסת אורחים -“Hachnasat Orchim”. We had a blast and enjoyed their company.

We also went to Avraham’s tent in Moreh Dror’s  Kabalat Shabbat.

Please look at the pictures.

 “My library”"-  הַסִפְרִיָה שֶלִי "

This week’s book is called: “Sharona Bakita?” (שרונה בכיתה?).

Find out who came with Sharona to the classroom.

Please returns the book with a signature.

SHALOM BAKITA (Shalom in the Classroom):

This week we started the “Shalom 1- Shalom Bakita”  workbook from theTal-Am program.

The workbook deals with everyday life in the classroom from the beginning of the school year, and focuses on familiarization with the characters of a "virtual" classroom, the articles and the learning habits in the classroom. 

Shalom Bakita is further organized into 3 subtopics: 

(a) Who is in the class? 

(b) What is in the class? 

(C) How to study. 

These topics will accompany the students throughout the year, since they deal with the everyday life of the students.

Ariot:

This week Ariot went to Gefen’s home.

Hebrew workbook:

This week during the Alef Bet unit we finished part 3 of the workbook . We reviewed the name of the Aleph-Bet letters  with their sounds and the vowel sound “AH” up to the letter Kof.

I am sending home the workbook for you to keep. Please encourage your child to go over the unit with you and read all the words.

Parashat Hashavua

This Friday you will find in their folder a picture page with a summary of the story of Parashat:  “ וירא” (Va yerah). We learned about two important Mitzvot that our Parasha teaches us: Hachnasat Orchim and Bikur Cholim. We also learned about other stories from the beginning of the Parasha. Please encourage your child to tell you the stories he/she learned about this Parasha using the pictures on the sheets.

Prayer

We are doing very well reading and singing the following new prayers: “Baruch Shamar”, “Ashrey” and “Anim zemirot”

Shabbat Shalom from

Morah Irit.

פרשת לך לך

בס"ד

Dear Parents,

Learning with "Ariot" in the Computer Lab:

On a weekly basis we will be visiting Ariot in the computer lab to work on our Hebrew language skills.  Students will hear on the computer the same story that we are currently working on in their Ariot workbooks.  This will provide them with a "fun" forum to reinforce their newly learned skills and Hebrew vocabulary.  The students are extremely excited to use the special noise cancelling headphones, which help them stay focused.

 “My library”  -  “ הַסִפְרִיָה שֶלִי "

This week’s book is called: “Shachar Bakita?” (?שחר בכיתה).

What’s happen to Shachar?  Is he in the classroom?

Please remind your child that he\she will get a “Dag”  (our reward fish) when he\she is returns the book with a signature.

Ariot:

This week Ariot went to Eliana L’s home.

SHALOM BAKITA (Shalom in the Classroom):

This week we will start the “Shalom 1- Shalom Bakita”  workbook from theTal-Am program.

The workbook deals with everyday life in the classroom from the beginning of the school year, and focuses on familiarization with the characters of a "virtual" classroom, the articles and the learning habits in the classroom. 

Shalom Bakita is further organized into 3 subtopics: 

(a) Who is in the class? 

(b) What is in the class? 

(C) How to study. 

These topics will accompany the students throughout the year, since they deal with the everyday life of the students.

Hebrew workbook:

This week during the Alef Bet unit we almost finished part 3 of the workbook . We reviewed the name of the Aleph-Bet letters  with their sounds and the vowel sound “AH” up to the letter Pay Fay and Fay sofit. We also focused on the final letters: “Fay sofit”. We practiced writing words and we learned when to use a final letter.

Parashat Hashavua:

This Friday you will find a picture page in your child’s folder with a summary of the story of Parashat 

 לך לך (Lech Lecha). We learned the story of the beginning of Avraham’s journeys. We learned the story of how Avraham discovered there was one G-d and what happened when he started to teach everyone about it. Please encourage your child to tell you the stories he/she learned about this Parasha using the pictures on the sheets.

We met “Avraham Avinu”  ( Moreh Dror) who came to our Kabalt  Shabbat and showed us Israel’s land.

Prayer:

We have finished reading the entire “Ashrei” Psalm and we are now practicing singing it together.

Shabbat Shalom

Morah Irit.

שמחת תורה 2016

Dear Parents,

This week we completed the unit of Sukkot.

Your child is bringing home a workbook with activities in it.

Calendar: We continued to develop and work on our Hebrew calendar skills.  We spent time locating Sukkot, Chol Hamoed and the last two days of Yom Tov on the calendar.

     4 species:

     We reviewed the names of the 4 species.

We compared each one of the 4 species. to our body parts:

Lulav= spine

Etrog= heart

Hadas= eye

Aravah= mouth

We also compared it to different kind of people by comparing the taste to people who learn Torah and smell to people who do Mitsvot (good deed)

A kosher Sukkah:

     Moreh Dror discussed with us what can make a Sukkah kosher or not kosher. We saw many kind of sukkot build by the high school students.

(Make sure to ask your child!)

Look at the pictures on the back of this page.

Sukkot activitys:

-Today  we participated in 2 sukkot activities that was led by 4^th and 6^th grade it was great!

Look at the pictures on the back of this page.

“Degel” (flag):

We are very excited to finish reading the entire torah on Simchat Torah and then start reading it all over again. We are ready to dance and have a real Simcha (joy) with our “Degel” (flag) that we made for the special event.

Look at the back of this page to see how we danced with our own “Degel”.  Please remember to take it with you to the Bet-Keneset- Synagogue).)

חג שמח    !

Happy Holiday.

חוברת יום כיפור

Dear Parents,

I’m sending home our “yom Kippur” work book to keep and review.

-We learned about two Mitzvot that we do before the fast.

1 Kaparot

2 Seudah Mafseket, also called the “feast before the fast.” We learned that it is a Mitzvah to eat.

-Yom Kippur is here and we know now exactly what to wear - white clothes like the angels. ( We wear white also because  white is clean and we want to be clean from “mistakes”) and what kind of shoes we can wear. Some people wear a kittel, a white robe-like garment for prayers on Yom Kippur

Five prohibitions of Yom Kippur

1.    No eating     2.  No drinking    3.  No wearing of leather shoes   4. No bathing or washing

5.     No perfumes or lotions

On Yom Kippur we are praying from a Siddur call “Machzor”

-Yom Kippur is the only day in the year when there are five prayer services. The evening service, containing the Ma'ariv prayer, is widely known as "Kol Nidre", the opening declaration made preceding the prayer. During the daytime, shacharit, musaf (which is recited on Shabbat and all festivals) and mincha are followed, as the sun begins to set, by Ne'ila, which is recited just this once a year.

-In the service there are two main stories we learn.

1 The Kohen Gadol entered the Holy of Holies (Kodesh Hakodashim)  in the center of the Holy Temple (Bet Hamikdash).

2 Jonah and the whale.

We made a book mark for the 5 prayer services that are mentioned above.

-We finish the Yom Kippur Prayer with the sound of the Shofar   - wishing that our prayers will be accepted.

-Right after Bet Knesset (synagogue) we run to start our first Mitzvah - building the sukkah.

-In order to encourage the student to do Mitzvot I’m sending home a Mitzvah checklist to fill in together with your child.

I wish you and your family a Gmar Hatimah Tovah!

Morah Irit Karavani.

לפני יום כיפור- שבת שובה

בס"ד

10.7.2016

Dear Parents,

Even though this week was very short, we were very busy learning about Yom Kippur.

I will send our “Yom Kipur” workbook B”H on Tuesday.

Calender:

When we came back to school we found out that it is a new month (Tishrei) and a new Hebrew year ( תשע"ז).

                                                                                              

"Aseret Yemei Teshuva”

We also counted (in Hebrew) ten days from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur and we now understand that these days are called Aseret Yemei Teshuva (TEN days of Repentance.  This activity helped us reinforce our Hebrew counting skills and provided us with a better understanding of the Jewish calendar.

Shabbat Shuvah

Between Rosh Hoshanah and Yom Kippur we have a special Shabbat called “Shabbat Shuva”.  Shabbat Shuva (Shabbat of Return) is devoted to “teshuva”, which means “repentance” in Hebrew.

Tashlikh (תשליך‎, meaning "casting off")

This week, first grade went to the stream that passes through our campus and performed the Tashlikh ritual.  The children were taught that Tashlikh is the way we show our regret for past “mistakes”.

Now we are ready for “Yom Kipur”!

Hebrew workbook:

This week during the Alef Bet unit we finished part 2 of the workbook . We reviewed the name of the Aleph-Bet letters  with their sounds and the vowel sound “AH” up to the letter Lamed. We also focused on the final letters: “Kaf sofit”. We practiced writing words and we learned when to use a final letter.

I am sending home the workbook for you to keep. Please encourage your child to go over the unit with you and read all the words.

Hatima Tovah – חתימה טובה

מורה אירית

כי תצא 2016

Dear Parents,                                                            בס"ד      אלול תשע"ו                                                                 

 We have been very busy learning about Tishrey month.

 Moreh Dror comes to our class every day to blow the Shofar and teach us new things about the Shofar.

Prayer:

We pray all the 3 parts of “Shema Israel all the way to the word “Emet”.

Wow! It is very impressive!

Chagim (Holidays):

We were very busy learning about Rosh Hashanah.

Here are some of the thing we learned:

Rosh means "head" and Shanah means "year", together the two Hebrew words means: "head of the year". On Rosh Hashanh we go to "Bet-Keneset" (synagogue) and pray for a year of good health and peace. We need to think about the good things we did in the past year. We also promise to ourselves that in the year to come we will try to become better people by doing t'shuvah (repentance). We ask G-d to forgive us for any wrongs we have done.

- In "Bet-Kneset we pray from special prayer book call "Machzor".

-another name for Rosh Hashanah is Yom t'ruah, the day of blowing the shofar. The shofar is a ram's horn, and the sound reminds all Jews to return to Torah and to good deeds.

There are three types of shofar blasts blown on Rosh Hashanah, known as T'kee'ot:

T'kiah- a straight unbroken blast that ends sharply.

Shevarim- three broken sounds, like a shiver.

T'ruah- a group of nine short notes.

Prayer:

We Pray all the 3 parts of “Shema Israel”  all the way to “Emet”. Wow! It is very impressive!

Hebrew:

We are learning about the letter "ו"

We learned that "וְ" (veh) = And.

We practiced saying different thing using "וְ" like: "אִמָא וְאַבָּא"

Please ask your child to put 2 words together using- "וְ"  “Veh” (and).
Parashat Hashavua - Parashat Ki Teitzei

This Friday you will find in the folder a Parasha sheet with pictures and a summary of what is in the Parasha. The first graders learned about the Mitzvah  of Hashavas Aveida. “השבת אבידה” which means we must return lost objects to their owner. A person cannot pretend that he does not see the object, and he must watch over the lost item until the owner returns for it. He/she also cannot use that object while it is in his/her possession. One must also ask the owner for signs in order to establish that the object is really his. We also learned about the Mitzvah of Tzitzit as well. We learned that there are 5 knots and 8 strings which add up to 13. We learned that there are 613 Mitzvot and looking at our Tzitzit reminds us to always be ready to follow the Mitzvot of Hashem. Please encourage your child to explain to you what is in the other pictures as well.

Shabbat Shalom from

 Morah Irit.

שופטים 2016

בס"ד חודש אלול תשע"ו

Dear Parents,                                                                             

We started to learn about the month of Elul. We got to know about the Shofar, and Moreh Dror has even come every morning to blow the Shofar for us.

Next week we will start the unit on Rosh Hashanna.

Prayer:

We are davening all together, reviewing what we already know.

This week we learned the first 2 parts of “Shemah” with the torah reading tune.

This coming week, B”H we will add the 3^rd part.

Hebrew:
Our small groups are running very well. We are using a workbook called “Me Ot L’Ot”, where we learn to read, write, and sound out Hebrew words. This week, we finished the first “חוברת"- work book- up to the letter “Hey”. We learned the meanings of some of the Hebrew words and learned how to spell them as well. We focused on the “ ה” at both the beginning and the end of a word.  We learned that most of the time a “ ה” at the front of the Hebrew word means “The”.  We saw many examples of Hebrew sentences that start with “The”.
Ask your child to show you some of the sentences.

I am sending the workbook home to review and keep at home.

Parashat Hashavua- Parashat Shoftim

This Friday you will find in your child’s folder a Parasha sheet with pictures and a summary of what is in the Parasha. We learned that the name of this week parashe means: judges. Please look inside each picture for the words your child wrote in Hebrew.

Reading assignment:

I am sending home (at the back of this page) a list of words that are a combination of words of the letters Alef up to Vav.

Please let your child read it until he/she reads it fluently.

With your help and support we can make a real difference in your child’s Hebrew reading skills!

Shabbat Shalom

Morah Irit.

אַבָּא

בָּאָה

גַב

גַג

דָג

בָּד

גָד

הָב

הָבהָב

הָבָה

וָו

שבוע שני

בס"ד

Dear Parents,

Here are some of the things we accomplished:

Hebrew:

This week we reviewed the Aleph-Bet letter names with their sounds as well as the “AH” vowel sound up to the letter “Dalet”.

We learned to read, sounding out and writing the words: אַבָּא, בָּא, גַג, גַב

We also learned the meaning of each word.

Chagim (Holidays): Next week B”H we will start to learn about the month of Elul.

Prayer:

We are davening all together, reviewing what we already know by using the Artscroll Siddur during our daily Tefillah service. While singing the Tefillot, the children follow the words in the siddurim with their finger. This helps them become familiar and recognize the written word, which strengthens Hebrew reading skills.

Parashat Hashavua- Parashat Re’eh

This Friday you will find in your child’s folder a Parasha sheet with pictures and a summary of what is in the Parasha.  Please look inside each picture for the words your child wrote in Hebrew.

Shabbat Shalom

Morah Irit.

שבוע ראשון

8.25.2016

Dear Parents,

First grade is doing very well. I am also sending this letter by Email. Please let me know if you did not receive it or if you would prefer me to send it to a different Email.

If you have any questions or concerns please feel free contact me at: iritkaravani@hotmail.com or ikaravani@torahacademy.org

Here are some of the things we accomplished:
Prayer:

We are davening all together, reviewing what we already know by using the Artscroll Siddur during our daily Tefillah service. While singing the Tefillot, the children follow the words in the siddurim with their finger. This helps them become familiar and recognize the written word, which strengthens Hebrew reading skills. This week we added a new prayer to our service: “Ein ke’elokenu” We love singing it with the music! We also bentch Birkat HaMazon every day using a bencher as well.

We will be adding and learning new prayer as the year goes on.

Hebrew:

We are working in 3 groups. One groups work independently, one group works with Morah Malka and one group works with me. We are using a workbook called “Me Ot L’Ot”. We learn to read, write, decoding and sounding out words.

This week we finished the letter Alef!

Parashat Hashavua

Every Friday you will find in the folder the summary of the Parasha along with pictures. The first graders learned about the main ideas in the Parasha.

Please encourage your child to explain to you what’s in the pictures.

Please pass through the 1^st grade hallway, and see our bulletin board, were the students wrote in Hebrew about themselves.

Shabbat Shalom

Morah Irit.

סוף השנה

Dear Parents,
Wow!  Can it be the end of the school year already? Today we had a ceremony. I gave each student a certificate that acknowledges one thing (of many) that he/she succeeded at during the school year.

-Summer work:

It is very important to help your student retain the Hebrew skills that he/she has achieved this year. I am sending an enrichment workbook. I highly recommend that your child finish this workbook over the summer. I will give a small prize to whoever brings back the workbook completed at the beginning of next year.

-Siddur:

I’m sending home the Siddur that your child received at the Chag HaSiddur to use over the summer. Please make sure to return it to school with your child at the beginning of the new school year. They will use it every day next year as well.

Ariot 4: This week we completed the “Ariot 4” workbook. We enjoyed studying the story with “אדון וגברת גורילה” (Adon Ve Geveret Gorilah)-Mr. and Mrs. Gorilla.

The last story was about the Tal –Am students receiving a certificate. Each student in our class also got the same certificate recognizing their ability to read Hebrew.

 I am sending the completed workbook home to keep.

Please take time to go over the stories with your child and let him/her read and explain them to you. I’m sure you will enjoy it.

Jornal notbook:

I’m sending home the journal notebook call : "מחברת עברית"

In this מחברת  you’ll fine all the daily work we wrote in it during the year.

Vocabulary notbook:

I’m very proud of my first grade students’ achievements this year. Thank you as well. All your child’s studying this year would not have been so successful without your help and support. I’m sending the מחברת (notebook) home for you to keep. Please use this notebook for review during the summer.

supplies :

I am sending with the students the notebook that we didn’t use (if there were any left).

 I’m very proud of my first grade students’ achievements this year. Thank you as well. Your child’s achievements this year would not have been so successful without your help and support.

Have a wonderful summer.

Morah Irit Karavani

בהר

Dear Parents,

We had a wonderful day at the zoo. We learned a lot!

I am sending home some of our work from this year. Please look for more to come next week.

Shalom workbook:

This week we finished our unit on “Shalom Ba’Bayit U Ba’chots” (Shalom in the house and outside).  The “Shalom at Home” workbook focuses on the daily life of a Jewish child at home from waking up in the morning until going to bed at night.

This week we focused on the 4 different seasons. We learned about hot days and how important it is to drink water. I am sending home the completed workbook. Please go over it with your child and let him/her share with you all we have learned.

“My library” הַסִפְרִיָה שֶלִי "   

This week’s story is:""האותיות בתורה שלנו- (the letters in our Torah)- a story special for Shavuot!

Please encourage your child to read it aloud to you over the weekend .It is a great way to practice their reading and all the vocabulary we have learned.

Homework notebook - Vocabulary words:

There will be no more Hebrew vocabulary words for this year! 

I am very proud of my first grade students’ achievements this year. Thank you as well. All your child’s studying this year would not have been so successful without your help and support. I will send the מחברת (notebook) home next week for you to keep. Please use this notebook for review during the summer.

Hebrew reading test:

This coming week we are going to have a Hebrew reading test called “MADIK”

The MADIK is a test that checks the student’s ability to read accurately and with fluency.

Please make sure your child is getting enough sleep this week.

Parashat Hashavua: Parashat: "בהר"

This Friday we learned about the Mitzvah of Shimitah. This Mitzvah happens in Israel every 7 years. The farmers do not work their land, plant on it or sell any foods that grow from it. After 7 Shimitot, we celebrate the “Yovel” year. This occurs every 50 years. We also learned about the Mitzvah of Tzedaka. We learned that the best way to give Tedaka is to give it secretly so that no one knows that the poor person is getting money.

Shabbat Shalom,

Morah Irit

פרשת אמור 2016

Dear parents

Thank you for coming to the achievement fair and letting me share with you just a few things from all the activities and learning we had all year long.

Parashat Hashavua:  Parashat :אמור""-counting the Omer

We learned that from Passover until Shavout we count 49 days which is 7 weeks. Ask your child why we are counting the days.  We are counting the Omer every day as part of our “Tefilah” (Prayer).

“My library” הַסִפְרִיָה שֶלִי "   

 “"קולות בגן החיות- sounds in the zoo

We are going to learn this story in Ariot 4  right before our trip to the zoo.

Please encourage your child to read it aloud to you over the weekend. It is a great way to practice some of the Hebrew names of the animals we are going to meet.

Vocabulary words:

These words are from our next unit מַה יֵש בַּבַּיִת? – (Ma yesh Babayit) what is in the house?

Bed  מִיטָה

Sofa סַפָה

Computer מַחְשֵב

Clock שָעוֹן

Picture תְמוּנָה

You can practice with flash cards at:

http://www.flashcardmachine.com/2573288/3na3

Shabbat Shalom,

Morah Irit

 “Sight & Sounds”, a Hebrew Reading Facts!

Please practice from the booklet I sent for our new reading program

 for 3-5 minutes each day!

The aim of the exercise is for your child to bring to mind the sound of the letters and the vocalization system used in Hebrew in rapid succession.

Please look at the “Rocket ship” at what level you need to start practicing.