סוכות 2015

9/25/2015

Dear Parents,

This week we started the unit about Sukkot!

·       Your child will bring home next week 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.

The Sukkah:

·       We discussed what can make a Sukkah kosher or not kosher

(Make sure to ask your kids!)

·       We learned about the 7 Ushpizin (guests) that come to visit us in the Sukkah on each night of Sukkot.

·       We learned a Hebrew song about the names of the Ushipizin.

Lulav

·       We reviewed the names of the 4 species.

·       We read a Hebrew story from Tal-Am called: “4 המינים”

We will be continuing to learn more about sukkot during “Hol Hamoed” (next week) with more songs and Hebrew books from the Tal –Am unit.

Please look in the backpack, you will find a model sukkah we built and some decoration to decorate the sukkah.  Look inside the Sukkah and you will find new Hebrew words that we just learned.

Have a good Yom-Tov

Morah Irit

9/25/2015

Dear Parents,

This week we started the unit about Sukkot!

·       Your child will bring home next week 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.

The Sukkah:

·       We discussed what can make a Sukkah kosher or not kosher

(Make sure to ask your kids!)

·       We learned about the 7 Ushpizin (guests) that come to visit us in the Sukkah on each night of Sukkot.

Lulav

·       We reviewed the names of the 4 species.

We will be continuing to learn more about sukkot during “Hol Hamoed” (next week).

Please look in the backpack, you will find a model sukkah we built and some decoration to decorate the sukkah.  Look inside the Sukkah and you will find new Hebrew words that we just learned.

Have a good Yom-Tov

Morah Irit

מכתב לחוברת 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.

P.S

I am sending  home the Hebrew workbook we finished so you can review with your child. Please keep this workbook at home.

יום כיפור

בס"ד

9.18.2015

Dear Parents,

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

-We looked at the calendar and we saw that the date is Yud which means 10, and the month is Tishrei.

Calender:

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

                                                                                              

"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:
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 meaning 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.

Hatima Tovah – חתימה טובה

מורה אירית

First grade 9.4.2015

Dear Parents,

We have been very busy continuing learning about Tishrey month.

 Moreh Dror comes to our class every day to blow the Shofar and teach us new things about the Shofar. We also enjoyed a special visit from the 3^rd grade who sang to us a song they had recently learned.

Prayer:

We have been using the Artscroll Siddur during our daily Tefillah service. While singing the Tefillot, the children follow the words in their siddurim. This helps them become familiar with the words of the prayers.

Parashat Hashavua-Parashat Ki Tavo

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 the box.  The first graders learned about the Mitzvah  of “Bikurim”. “ביכורים”. We fulfill this Mitzvah by bringing the first fruits that our crops produce to the Kohein in the Bait Hamikdash. There, we said  special verses from the Torah to praise Hashem for the all the bounty He has provided us . We also learned about the “curses “ and “blessings” that Hashem will give us. Wonderful blessings  will come when we observe the Torah but if we do not observe the Torah, the Jews will receive curses.

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):

We continued working on our unit on Rosh Hashana. The students completed a project during Hebrew class and I will  send it home B”H next week along with our Rosh Hashana workbook.

Shabbat Shalom,

      Morah Irit.

8.28.15 second week

8.28.2015
Dear Parents,
We were very busy learning about the month of “Elul” and about Rosh Hashanah.
We learned a new song for the 12 Hebrew months, and we know that Rosh Hashnah starts on the first day of the first month of Tishri.

Prayer:
We learned the whole “Alenu  Leshabeach” at the end of the service. We added one more new prayer to our morning prayers:
“En ke elokenu” We love singing it with the music;
We are also saying the entire “Birkat Hamazon”. Please encourage your child to follow with his/ her finger along the words while he/she is davening or benching.

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 up to the letter "ב" . We learned the meaning of some of the Hebrew words and learned how to spell them as well.

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 Hashsem. Please encourage your child to explain to you what is in the other pictures as well.

Shabbat Shalom, 
      Morah Irit.

8.28.2015
Dear Parents,
We were very busy learning about the month of “Elul” and about Rosh Hashanah.
We learned a new song for the 12 Hebrew months, and we know that Rosh Hashnah starts on the first day of the first month of Tishri.
Prayer:
We learned the whole “Alenu  Leshabeach” at the end of the service. We added one more new prayer to our morning prayers:
“En ke elokenu” We love singing it with the music;
We are also saying the entire “Birkat Hamazon”. Please encourage your child to follow with his/ her finger along the words while he/she is davening or benching.
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 up to the letter "ב" . We learned the meaning of some of the Hebrew words and learned how to spell them as well.
SHALOM BAKITA (Shalom in the Classroom):

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

The workbook deals with everyday life in the classroom at 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.

Smart board:

This week we got to learn on the Smartboard with the 0Ariot CD.

It was a lot of fun!!!

 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 Hashsem. Please encourage your child to explain to you what is in the other pictures as well.

Shabbat Shalom, 
      Morah Irit.

First week

8.21.2015

Dear Parents,

First grade is doing very well.

I am also s 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

Prayer:

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

We will be learning new prayers as the year goes on.

Hebrew:

We are using a workbook called Me Ot L’Ot, where we learn to read, write, and sound out words.

This week we started the letter Alef,

Parashat Hashavua

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

Please encourage your child to share with you what they learned.

Chagim (Holidays):

We started with 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.

Please visit our 1st grade hallway and see that our 1st graders created "all about me" posters sharing their favorite things with Hebrew descriptions.

Shabbat Shalom,

Morah Irit.

Last fay of school

6-3-15                                                                                                                    בס"ד

Dear Parents,
Wow!  Can it be the end of the school year already? Today we had a ceremony. I gave each student a prize and 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’m 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.

-“Shabbat Shalom” workbook

This week we finished the Shabbat workbook. It is composed of 3 distinctive units which reflect the main ideas of the Shabbat theme: 
1. Bo'i Shabbat (Come, Shabbat) - Welcoming Shabbat in class and at home. 
2. Oneg Shabbat (Celebrating Shabbat) - What's permitted and what's forbidden during Shabbat. 
3. Shavua Tov (Good Week) - Farewell to Shabbat, Havdalah. 
These units deal, respectively, with the preparations for Shabbat, the Mitzvoth of Shabbat and the ritual of departure from the Shabbat on Motzaei Shabbat (Saturday night). 
The units include: Blessings over the candles, the challa and the Kiddush for Shabbat. 
The Shabbat Shalom unit is taught throughout the year and in parallel to Ariot and Shalom units, during the periods of the year when holiday topics are not taught.

-Jornal notbook:

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

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

-Cursive Hebrew workbook:

The students know how to write all the cursive Hebrew letters. The students have been focusing on forming the letters correctly and reading words written in cursive script. Please use this workbook to make sure your child is writing his/her letters correctly.

In the folder you can find a paper with the letters your child needs to work on.

-supplies :

I’m sending with the students the new folder and 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.

From:

Morah Irit Karavani