5-13-11

5-13-11
Dear Parents,
Thank you for coming to our Achievement fair. I was very proud to show you all our first grade projects from this year.

“Chai Club”

Congratulations to another 5 student who joint the “Chai Club”! They are: Channah, Samuel, Dani, Zack and Tovah who have finished reading all 18 books!  Please encourage your child to read so they can also become members of our club.

Hebrew Sentence of the week:

“_____ עָף/עָפָה  בּ____” –The _______ is flapping in the ______.

 Like: “הציפור עפה בשמים”(the bird is flapping in the sky), "הַעֲפִיפוֹן עָף לְמַעלָה"(the kite flapping up).

Chag Hasiddur

We are continuing to practice our lines and our songs for our “Chag Hasiddur”.

I am sending home another copy of your child’s part to practice at home (in case you have lost it). Please make sure you child practices and learns his/her part by heart.

Please plan on attending this celebration on Friday, May 20^th  at 2:00 p.m. See you there!

Yom Ha’ atzmaut:

This week we finished our unit on “Yom Ha’ atzmaut” (Independent day).  Our new Tal-Am workbook “My Israel” (Yisrael Sheli) focuses on:
1. The tie between the People of Israel and the Land of Israel;
2. The identification of the People of Israel with the State of Israel and Jerusalem. We learned that this identification is acquired and internalized through celebrating these special days as well as through displaying the Israeli flag, symbol and emblem, singing the national anthem, and saying the prayer for the welfare of the State of Israel.

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. We also learned that there is a the Mitzvah to lend money to someone who needs money. We also learned that you cannot ask the person to pay you back more money than he borrowed. This is called “neshech” or interest.

Vocabulary words:

This week we will not have Homework or test.

Shabbat Shalom,

Morah Irit.

5-6-11

5-6-11
Dear Parents,
Passover is over and we have already started the new month of “Iyar”. We have so many things coming up! On Monday we will have a special program with activities for “Yom Ha atzmaut” (Israel Independence Day). We are also preparing for the achievement fair and of course we are very busy preparing for our “Chag Hasiddur” celebration.

“Chai Club”

Congratulations to our first three members of the “Chai Club”! They are: Yakkov B. Yaki L and Samson J. who have finished reading all 18 books!  Please encourage your child to read so they can also become members of our club.
Hebrew Sentence of the week:

“ה -------- בריא לגוף” –The _______ is healthy for the body. Like: “הסלט בריא לגוף”, "הספורט בריא לגוף(“Salad is healthy for the body, sports are healthy for the body”.)
Chag Hasiddur

We have started to practice our lines and our songs for our “Chag Hasiddur”.

I’m sending home your child’s part to practice at home. Please make sure you child practices and learns his/her part by heart.

Ariot 4: This week we started the Ariot 4 workbook. We read a story about “Salat shel Pilim” (An elephant salad). We learned that salad is very healthy for you. The story taught us that if the “pil Pilon” (the young elephant) wants to eat “pudding” he has to eat the salad first.

Yom Ha’ atzmaut:

This week we also started learning about “Yom Ha’ atzmaut” (Independent day).  Our new Tal-Am workbook “ My Israel” (Yisrael Sheli) focuses on:
1. The tie between the People of Israel and the Land of Israel;
2. The identification of the People of Israel with the State of Israel and Jerusalem. We learned that this identification is acquired and internalized through celebrating these special days as well as through displaying the Israeli flag, symbol and emblem, singing the national anthem, and saying the prayer for the welfare of the State.

Parashat Hashavua: Parashat :אמור""
This Friday we learned about the special group - called the Kohanim. We learned that they are very special and must always be ready to serve Hashem in the Temple. We also did a project to remember the six Torah Chagaim: Shabbat, Pesach, Shavuot, Sukkot, Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur.

Vocabulary words:
Our Hebrew vocabulary words for this week come from our next story in “Ariot 4” workbook:

Wing /wingsכָּנָף/ כְּנָפַיִם  

Birdצִיפּוֹר  

Benchסַפְסָל  

Flyingעָף/ עָפָה  

Kiteעֲפִיפוֹן  

You can practice with flash card at:
http://www.flashcardmachine.com/1351889/u64i

Shabbat Shalom,

Morah Irit

First grade 4.8.11

4.8.2011בס"ד                                                                              
Dear Parents,
This week started with a cookie as a treat for “Rosh Chodesh “Nisan” !

Hebrew Sentence of the week:
בבקשה לסדר את ...!"”- Bevakasha Lesader Et… (Please clean up the… or please put things in order)

We learned that the first night of Pesach is called “Lel Haseder”  because you have to do all the Mitzvot of the night in a certain order.

Pictures:

I’m still missing pictures from 7 families.

Chai Club:

We have started our “Chai Club” and it has already been a great success! We already have students that have finished reading 5 books! (If you don’t know what the “Chai Club” is you can go to my blog at: morahirit.blogspot.com)  If you want your child to participate you must follow the following rules:

1. A student must read the entire book out loud to an adult before returning the book back to school.

2.  A student does not have to read the book in one day!  Once he/she finishing reading the book, he/she must return it to me.  I will give him/her a new book then.

3 Parent must sign the slip that is attached the book.  If there is no slip of paper, please sign on any piece of paper and send it back with you student. A book which doesn’t include a slip with a real parent signature will not be accepted!

4. I will only send home one book at a time!

I hope you will encourage your child to participate in the Chai club in order to help your child improve your child’s Hebrew reading skills. With your help and support we can make a real difference in your child’s Hebrew reading!

Ariot 3: This week we read the story called “Dan Ve Dina naganim” (The story is about children named Dan and Dina who play musical instruments). I brought to the class my own musical instrument in a big box.  I asked the children to guess what musical instrument was in the box and only one student was able to guess correctly!  (Ask your child what instrument it was!). I explained what the instrument was and I played some songs the students knew.   We concluded with the “Hatikvah”.

Passover:

This week, we continued learning about “Pesach” (Passover). We have almost finished making our own interactive Haggadot. I will e-mail you the date when it will be coming home before Pesach. Please make sure to look for it then!

Prayers:

We add the second part of “Alenu Leshabeach” (“Al ken nekave”) to our daily prayers).

Parashat Hashavua: Parashat :מצורע""
This Friday we learned more about – לשון הרע"“  "Lashon hara” . We learned to speak only nice things about people. 

Vocabulary words:

Our next word list comes from the next story in Ariot called: “Hasod” (“The Secret”)
The test will be on Thursday 4/12/11

Secretסוֹד 

Partyמְסִיבָּה

Basketסַל 

Lettuceחַסָה 

Saladסָלַט

Horseסוּס

Squirrelסְנָאִי 

You can practice with flash card at:

http://www.flashcardmachine.com/1292144/7li5Shabbat Shalom,

Morah Irit

"Chay Club"

Chai Club

Dear Parents,

I am very excited because we are starting a new program/project for the first grade called “Chai Club”! You ask: What is “Chai Club”?  When you add up the letters for the word “חי” – (chai in Hebrew) it equals the number 18. I will be giving to each student a Hebrew book to practice reading at home. Once your student is finished reading the book to an adult, he should bring the book back to school with a signature from the parent and your child will get a new book to read.  What does this have to do with the word “chai?”  A student who reads 18 books will join the “Chai Club” and will receive a certificate and a special prize!  This program will help create excitement about Hebrew reading and help improve their Hebrew reading skills. It will also give each student a real love for Hebrew reading when they see how well they read.

The first book is called: “Boker tov Bina Ve Dov” (Good morning Bina and Dov).

Please encourage your child to read it aloud to you over the weekend so they can receive a new one on Monday.

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

Shabbat Shalom

Morah Irit.

First grade 4.1.11

                                               4-1-11בס"ד     
Dear Parents,
Spring has come and we can feel Pesach in the air!

Hebrew Sentence of the week:
יש לי שאלה ____ ..."”- Yesh li she’ elah (I have a question).

With all the question words we have learned “Mi? Ma? Lma? Kama?” we definitely can ask many questions and we are almost ready to ask the 4 questions on the “Seder”.

Pictures:

I still need your pictures!

Ariot 3: This week we read the story about “Hillel Hashoel” (The story is about a boy named Hillel who ask a lots of questions). We learned that asking questions always helps us to learn.

Passover:

This week, we continued learning about “Pesach” (Passover). We continued making our own interactive Haggadot. All students will bring one home before Pesach.

This week we learned the different between “Avadim” (slaves) and “Beney Chorine” (free people). We continued reviewed the entire order of the Seder night as written in the Haggadah. We also learned the names of the ten plagues in Hebrew and English. We have so much more to learn! We will be spending a lot of time over the next few weeks learning all the laws and customs surrounding the Seder night and Pesach.

Prayer:

We have finished practicing the words for the Shabbat song “Aneim Zemirot” and now we are practicing singing it.

We added the beginning part of the “Amidah” to our regular tefila service every day. I’m very proud of all my first graders when they pray in the morning!

Parashat Hashavua: Parashat :תזריע""
This Friday we learned about – לשון הרע"“- l"ashon hara” . we learn to speak only nice thing about people.

Shabbat Shalom,    Morah Irit

Vocabulary words:

This is our next word list.
The test will be on Wednesday  4/5/11

Passover words

Egypt מִצְרָיִם- 1  

slave- 2 עֲבָדִים

Evil-  3 רָשָע

  Plate 4 קְעָרָה-     

Cup - 5 כּוֹס

Wine –  6 יָיִן

 Spring   אָבִיב-  7

Vegetable 8 יְרָקוֹת

Order-   9 סֶדֶר   

Smart-   10 חָכַם

                       

You can practice with flash card at:

 http://www.flashcardmachine.com/215961/d2r4

בהצלחה!

First grade 3.25.11

3-25-11
Dear Parents,
Our Purim celebration was a big success! We had so much “simcha” (happiness) all day! We wore costumes, we saw an amazing performance of the Megilah story by the 6^th grade and we played games in the Purim carnival. At the end of the day, we received from PTO, Mishloach Manot " משלוח מנות" The whole day was such fun!
Hebrew Sentence of the week:
כואב לי ____ ..."”- Koev li  (My ______ is hurt)

The student learned how to complain for any think that hurt them in Hebrew! Some examples are: “Koev li Harosh (I have a headache!) or “Koev li Hashen” (My teeth are hurting!).

”My family” and “My house” unit:
We are supposed to start learning about our family and about our house in Hebrew. I asked a few weeks ago that you should send two pictures about your family.

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).

Unfortunately, I’ve received pictures only from half of the class and therefore I will have to push off teaching this unit for another two weeks. If you haven’t sent your pictures yet or you have sent only one of the pictures, please send your pictures this week!

At the end of this unit, the pictures will be posted in your child’s album. For your convenience you can send to school the SD card with your child (I promise to send it back the same day) or Email me the pictures and I will print it for you! (My Email is: iritkaravani@hotmail.com)

Shalom Babayit Uavchutz (Shalom at Home and Outdoors)
This week we learned how much it is important to wash our hands with “sabon” (soup) and “Mayim” (water). Ask your child to sing for you our song: “Ani Rochets Yadayim Tri Li Li Li Li”

Ariot 3: This week we read the story about Glidah Le Gilah Hacholah ( An ice cream for Gilah who is sick) we connected that unit to our unit on cleaning in the Shalom Babayit Uavchutz workbook. We learned that washing our hands with soap we can prevent ourselves from getting sick.

Passover:

This week, we started learning about “Pesach” (Passover). We have starting making our own Haggadadot. Each of us will bring one home before Pesach.

We have learned the story of how the Jews became “Avadim” (slaves) in Egypt. We have reviewed the entire order of the Seder night as written in the Haggadah. We also learned the four names for Passover as well as the names of the four sons mentioned in the Haggadah.  We also learned that the four cups of wine we drink at the Seder stand for the four different languages for redemption. Of course, there is still a lot to learn! We will be spending a lot of time over the next few weeks learning all the laws and customs surrounding the Seder night and Pesach.

Parashat Hashavua: Parashat :שמיני""
This Friday we learned about kosher and non-kosher animals, birds, and fish.

Vocabulary words:
Our Hebrew vocabulary words for this week come from our next story in the “Ariot 3” workbook. The theme of this story is: “She’ e’lot” (questions):

Questionשְׁאֵלָה 

Who? מִי   

What?מָה   

Why?לָמָה  

How many?כַּמָה

Where? אֵיפֹה

You can practice with flash card at:
http://www.flashcardmachine.com/1265507/d77f

Shabbat Shalom,

Morah Irit

First garde 3.11.2011

3-11-11
Dear Parents,
Rosh Hodesh Adar 2 started with great “simcha” (happiness)! We wore funny hats and Moreh Dror gave us Hamantashen " אֹזֶן המן " to eat. We also danced with students from other grades. Even the tables in the lunch room were decorated. It was a lot of fun!

Hebrew Sentence of the week:
בְּאֲרוּחַת בּוֹקֵר אֲנִי אוֹכֵל/ אוֹכֶלֶת ___ וְשׁוֹתֶה/שׁוֹתָה ____ ..."”- Be arochat Boker Ani Ochel___ Ve’shote (for breakfast I’m eating____ and drinking______)
We ate breakfast in school to help us learn to identify all kind of foods we are eating in Hebrew. Please ask your child what he/she ate and drank in our class breakfast and what they are named in Hebrew.

Cursive Hebrew letters:
We continue to practice and review how to write all the cursive Hebrew letters. The students focus on forming the letters correctly and reading words written in cursive script. Now it is required for all students to write only in cursive! Please make sure your child is writing his/her letters correctly.

Parashat Hashavua:
This Friday you will find in your child’s folder a picture page with a summary of the story of Parashat :ויקרא"”. We learned that the Jews brought korbanot because the process of bringing a korban helped them become close to hashem.

Shalom Babayit Uavchutz (Shalom at Home and Outdoors)
This week we learned the Hebrew words for the different foods we eat. We learned that we thank Hashem for providing us with food by saying “Birkat Hamazon” every day after we eat.
We also focused on the “Bracha” (blessing) we saying before we eat the food. We practiced the different blessings by taking a quiz I created in the computer.
You can try it by your self by going to: http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=blessing_1. Please type in your name and press “take the quiz” button.
Please encourage your child to go to that site and take the quiz over and over to practice the different “brachot”.
I would like to hear any comments you have about my new experiment with this quiz

Purim:
This week in our weekly computer lab time, each student viewed on his/her own computer a slideshow of the Purim story! Everyone really enjoyed it.
We are about to finish the story of the Megillah and place it in our “Pringels” can.
Thank you for sending a “Pringels” can. If you haven’t been able to send one yet, please do it ASAP. (I’m still need 5 more!)

First Grade Album:
We are working on a special album that includes all the subjects we are learning in “Tal-Am”. If you haven’t sent in your pictures yet, Please send them ASAP.
You can send in 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! If you have already sent in one, you don’t have to send any more.
You can also Email me the pictures and I will print them for you. (My Email is: iritkaravani@hotmail.com or ikaravani@torahacademy.org)



Vocabulary words:
Our Hebrew vocabulary words for this week come from our unit of Purim:

King מֶלֶךְ

Queen מַלְכָּה

Crown כֶּתֶר

Banquet מִשְׁתֶּה

Feast סְעֻדָּה

Writing (M) כּוֹתֵב

Writing (F) כּוֹתֶבֶת

You can practice with flash card at:
http://www.flashcardmachine.com/1238396/x56v

Shabbat Shalom,

Morah Irit