December 2015 Volume 13 Issue 4

Please be our guests on

Friday, December 11th for a Shabbat Chanukah celebration

We kick off our evening with our

Friday Night Live:

Rhythm of the Night

Service begins at 5 pm featuring our band, Shir Ami.

The service will be followed by a delicious homemade

Shabbat dinner free of charge for all.

Please join us for this child-friendly service and meal!

Please RSVP to Kathy Haas in the synagogue office at 793-1800 ext. 106 or email to info@adath-israel.org

The dinner is underwritten by the Herb Byer Memorial Fund at Adath Israel

Cincy Journeys helps every child attend overnight Jewish camp and every young adult travel and learn in

Israel, giving them the skills, experience, and desire to become tomorrow's community leaders.

Grants for Jewish Camps!

Come meet Karyn Zimmerman, Cincy Journeys Grant Manager.

Sunday, December 6, 2015 at 8:45 am -10:00 am in the Religious School Lobby

Get information about how to apply for generous grants offered by the Jewish

Federation of Cincinnati to a variety of Jewish Camps.

Join us for a special breakfast after you drop off your children.

PRE-GAN {Sherry}

Noah's Ark was a big unit in October. First we learned about chai-yot (animals). Sunrock Farm came and brought goats, sheep, Thumper the bunny, and chicks. Yoni was brave enough to hold a chick, and he was surprised how soft the feathers felt. Thumper wins the prize for the softest fur. We sang the Itsy Bitsy Akavish (Spider) in a regular, baby, and daddy voice. Corinne literally got her hands into our geshem (rain) stick craft. She not only painted 3 layers of paint on her geshem stick, but then she stuck her hands directly in the paint and wanted to finger paint. In weeks to follow we continued Noah's Ark theme, but concentrated on colors of the keshet (rainbow). We drove Hot Wheel cars through paint, and then on paper to make rainbows. Rory made a very precise rainbow with separate colors on her "keshet road". Another week we mixed colors by painting with golf balls. We practiced our Hebrew colors by playing a game which I named "Pop the colors" This would make a great game for a long car trip if you are going away for Hanukkah. I cut a square of bubble wrap, and using a permanent marker, I drew different colors on each bubble. (You could do colors, shapes, alphabet letters etc) Make sure the permanent marker has dried completely before you play the game. We used a spinner from the Twister game, but in the car you could simply call out a color. When a color is called, the children have to pop that color bubble. Most of the children were able to pop the bubbles without assistance. I filled every Center Time activity with colors for this theme. Yoni filled his keshet bracelet with Fruit Loops, Levi sorted colors at Light Table, Remy put colored pom poms down the paper towel tubes of the same color, Meyer strung beads matching the color pattern, and Colt put all 3 beanbags on the Stomp and Catch (catapult game) all at once. It was funny to see if he could say the Hebrew vocabulary words before all 3 beanbags fell to the floor. Then we moved onto a unit about B’tzelem Elohim (In G-d’s Image) We are created all the same, but different at the same time. Our body is a gift from G-d, so we must treat it respectfully by taking care of ourselves such as washing hands, brushing teeth, exercising, getting enough sleep, and eating healthy food. All of the children thought donuts were healthy food! I taught body parts in Hebrew. Linus had fun adding face pieces, made from electrical safety outlet covers, to Mr. Playdoh Head. Ava spent a long time building faces at the light table. I read From Head to Toe by Eric Carle but swapped out the body part words in Hebrew. We ended our unit with Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes in Hebrew. PreGan 3 is a busy classroom!

PRE-GAN {Sherryl}

We performed a Shabbat play for our classroom this month. Ziva, Harper, and Isaac J. set the table for dinner with Matzah Ball Soup, Broccoli, Chicken, Gelfite Fish, and Noodle Kugel! In preparation, we read Where Shabbat Lives by Jan Fabiya and My Jewish Home by Martin Lemelman. Ari, Jens, and Shoshana were happy to choose a library book to take home and read with their families when we had Library time. We explored some of the Jewish learning apps on iPads in our classroom. Adrian, Eli, and Isaac S. were very excited to play with the iPads. We did a project where everyone painted with golf balls to continue learning names of colors in Hebrew. Children are recognizing more and more of the ALEF BET letters as we play games to increase familiarity. Mazel Tots this month was great! You are always welcome to join us. We sang the song Happy Thanksgiving, hooray hooray

hooray! Aren't you glad you’re not a turkey on this Thanksgiving Day! Children sang and danced to songs about Thanksgiving and Hanukkah which are right around the corner! Enjoy Hanukkah with your family and friends! KITAH GAN: Kindergarten {Debbie}

Gan Kindergarten is growing and learning. This past month the students have been hard at work making discoveries about God in our lives. They have a good grasp on the idea that God is not a person but is everywhere around us. We have explored the Shema prayer and talked about the basic belief that Jews believe in and pray to one God. The students are exploring different mitzvot through stories, including tzedakah, respecting others and feeding the hungry. We have also discussed that while God makes things in nature, including humans, we as people work together with God to make other things in our world, including popcorn for snack time. Madelyn waited patiently for the popcorn to spill over the top of the popper. Savannah enjoyed singing to our popcorn while waiting for the kernels to pop. The students have also been learning more about the holiday of Shabbat. They have discussed how our lives can be more relaxed and peaceful while celebrating Shabbat, as well as the different ritual items we use when celebrating. As a

Classroom News

class the students decorated Shabbat ritual items to go into our Shabbat boxes. Each week two students will get a chance to take home and share a box with his/her family. The class has been introduced to 11 Hebrew letters! Hannah and Sydney got very creative when making the letters Shin and Sin using pretzel sticks and M&M’s! We continue to add Hebrew words to our vocabulary wall each week! The students continue to enjoy visiting the library as well as our center time! Livia loved practicing her Hebrew colors and counting numbers as she proudly made a fruit loop necklace! Thanks to all the parents and grandparents who help make our centers run so easily! Learning in Kindergarten is SO MUCH FUN!

KITAH ALEF: First Grade {Deena} This past month has been all about Jewish Identity. We have discussed how each child’s family does Jewish a little bit differently and what we all do the same. The children had an opportunity to decorate their own kippahs to wear while they are in the synagogue and will bring them home at the end of the year. I especially liked the frenetic energy of Samone's spider web design. Each Sunday we go over our words on the word wall, including but not limited to, mom (ima), dad (aba), family (mishpacha), Kippah, mezuzah, dog (kelev) and cat (catol). At this point, the students can identify about half of the words in Hebrew. I am confident that they will know all of them in short order. In addition to our monthly topics, we are also focusing on our basics like the alef bet and our numbers up to ten. We use our Hebrew number sticks every Sunday to get lined up for our activities outside the classroom. All of the children want the echad stick, but of course, there can only be one. During story time, I am always so impressed that the students want to take turns reading

from the books. Eden and Remi are both such great readers that I am always happy when they raise their hands to read. Next month’s theme will of course be Hanukkah! I know that we will be playing some games where the students will be able to play for candy, either M&M's or jelly beans. Please let me know if your child can't have either of these and we can discuss a suitable alternative. By the way, thanks for helping your children get their homework completed and back to school! I have been very pleased that the primers have been coming back so often!

KITAH BET: Second Grade {Scott} The last few weeks have been very busy for us here in second grade. We have practiced some more Hebrew letters and vowels, including alef, vav, bet, dalet, kaf, tsazik, and the vowel "ee". Ella loves playing Around the World. This is a game we play to help us recognize the Hebrew letters we have learned. In addition, we are reviewing vocabulary through learning the song In the classroom by Debbie Friedman. I am quite proud of the entire class's progress. Addison has taken to it like a fish to water, sometimes helping me to lead the class in singing! The children become better each day at remembering the Hebrew words and their meanings as we practice the song. In addition to learning Debbie Friedman songs, we have also begun to learn some songs for Hanukkah, such as Ma'otzur, sivivon sov sov, Hanukkah o' Hanukkah (in English AND Yiddish) the blessings over the candles, and other Hanukkah songs as well. Of course it need not be said that in addition to learning songs for Hanukkah, we have been learning about the story of Hanukkah as well. We have learned that while Hanukkah is not the 'biggest' holiday on the Jewish calendar, it never the less has some big ideas surrounding it…chiefly, that even when the odds are against you as they were with Judah Maccabee and his small army, if you try hard, you can still accomplish great things, as did Judah when he defeated Antiochus and vanquished the Greeks. We have begun to spend more time learning the importance of Jewish values and the roles they can play in our daily lives. By the time you read this we will have explored two very important Jewish values- Emunah (the belief in one God) and Brit (covenant-making and keeping promises). We have finished our lesson about the Torah, and are nearly finished with our small Torah project. The students had a lot of fun learning about the Sefer Torah, coloring, cutting, and assembling the pieces to make the project they have brought home with them. In closing, the class has been doing an excellent job. They love learning Hebrew and about the holidays. Shimon Omer (Simon says in Hebrew) is an especially fun game that we have been playing for a while now, and will continue to keep playing regularly.

Classroom News

KITAH GIMEL: 3rd Grade {Zahava} So many exciting things are happening in our third grade class. In our history book Israel Sheli, we studied about Ilan Ramon who was Israel’s first astronaut and one of only a few Jewish astronauts ever. He joined NASA in 2003 and went to the Space Shuttle Columbia. He brought a drawing from a boy that died in the Shoah and also a miniature copy of the Torah. The space shuttle blew up on re-entry killing all aboard. Ilan Ramon was from Beersheva, which is mentioned repeatedly in the Torah. We studied Beersheva and Eilat, which is in the south of Israel by the Red Sea. We explored the Modeh Ani in our Prayer Companion, which thanks G-d for returning our soul to us. In ancient times people believed that our soul left our body during sleep and was restored by G-d upon awakening. The Ma Tovu and Shema are becoming more knowledgeable. We also studied the blessing for bread, wine, fruit, vegetables and cake & cookies. Joey says

that he enjoys singing. We are continuing to read lovely stories in our Hebrew books thus increasing our Hebrew vocabulary. Philip likes to learn new vocabulary. We have learned almost all of our script letters. Aaron says he likes to get Hebrew homework. We have started to study Hanukkah and are busy making hanukkiyot. We are also learning songs for the holiday. We hope that you had a meaningful Thanksgiving with family and friends.

KITAH DALET: 4th Grade {Rabbi Ricky} It has been a wonderful month in the 4th grade. We continue on in our Hebrew books, learning all new vocabulary and rules of grammar. We just learned about plurals and how the ending of a word can change because of gender. This year, we are learning all about the Amidah and how it changes from Shabbat services to weekday services. We're also gaining an understanding of the movement associated with the prayers and why they are done. In our Judaic lessons we are learning the difference between the Hebrew terms Tzedakah, Derech Eretz, and Gimilut Chasadim. They are all important, but have different actions which must be taken for those Jewish tenets to be fulfilled. We continually have a great time in music and going to the library, and always have fun while learning about Judaism.

KITAH HEI: 5th Grade {Phyllis} We are exploring the agricultural roots of the Jewish People when they lived in the Ancient land of Israel. We are connecting agricultural laws found in Torah to our lives today. When we learned about not harvesting the corners of our fields or picking up sheaves that fall, we acknowledged that although we are not farmers, the idea of sharing a portion of what we earn works in today’s world. Jared Kraus earned money over the summer from a lemonade stand. He took a portion of that money and bought a Kroger gift card for a family in need. His story was very powerful in the classroom because it helped his friends understand the concept of peah, not harvesting the corners of your fields. By starting our year with reading and pulling the big ideas out of the five books of the Torah and the 54 stories within those books, it gave Kitah Hei a personal connection to each book. If we are learning a law that is found in Leviticus/Vayikra, I can say, “ This

law comes from the book Isaac and Isabel illustrated for us.” As I write this article we are learning the agricultural connection to the three pilgrimage festivals, Sukkot, Pesach, and Shavuot. Our Madrich, Zachary Lempert, has divided the students into three groups. Their assignment is to create a board game that teaches about the agricultural roots of their holiday, what harvest it is associated with, and about going to Jerusalem on a pilgrimage for each festival to bring offerings to Adonai.

KITAH VAV: 6th Grade {David & Noah} David: Wow. We’ve been so busy that the month of November has just flown by. With the absence of Holidays

Classroom News

between Simchat Torah and Hanukkah, we have really been able to focus on the Etgar Curriculum material. We started with the factual information, who wrote it, when, where, what it contains, and what it looks like, for each of the four Sifrei Kodesh. The students were divided into four groups to become experts on the Tanakh, Mishnah, Talmud, or Shulchan Aruch, then they worked together to create a presentation and taught their book to the rest of the class. Tillie really helped lead her group in this, and, together, they created a very well done presentation on the Talmud. Once we covered the basics, we started to look at the texts themselves. Initially, this was just to see an example of each and to learn to differentiate between the four texts. Noah showed a real understanding and was able to grasp the material very quickly. We have also been learning Hebrew. Through practice and games, we have continued to use the Hebrew greetings and pleasantries, and we have delved into our Modern Hebrew book. Benji has really excelled in Hebrew, and many of the other students often look to him for help. Over the next few weeks, we will finish up the core part of the Sifrei Kodesh section and will use the texts themselves to examine real life issues, such as testing on animals. This will show how our Jewish texts can help guide us in interacting with the world around us.

Noah: Over the last few weeks, we've been doing a lot more Hebrew vocabulary, as well as exploring some challenging ideas about friendship and trust. It has been a treat for me to get to know the Sixth Graders, as well as Brooke, our Wednesday madricha. Lately, I hear some really good questions from Noah, and they show me he's putting together the things we're learning and talking about. And Zara has started volunteering a lot more often to read or do activities, which I was glad to see. As we move forward, we'll be wrapping up our friendship unit in the coming weeks. We're looking forward to the next semester and some more great topics.

KITAH ZAYIN: 7th Grade {Brett} Did you know there are different ways to give tzedakah then just to bring money into class? We discovered over 30 different ways anyone can make a difference in someone’s life. In conjunction with Tzedakah we discussed the concept of random acts of love and kindness. Kitah Zayin has been given a weekly homework assignment to share Gililut Chasdim (acts of love and kindness) or Tzedakah (justice / righteousness) they have performed. The students are excited to share what they did for others during the week. Nora and Shoshi both volunteer on a weekly basis and their passion and efforts certainly are contagious and inspiring. As a seventh grade class we start looking at our obligations, and one of those obligations is Pidyon Shvuyim, the obligation of Redeeming Captives. To understand this obligation better we discussed the Jews who were held captive in the Soviet Union and the SSSJ’s

(Student Struggle For Soviet Jewry) Advocacy efforts to help their fellow brothers and sisters in need. We then looked back at the Diaspora, studied how Jews were treated in the Middle Ages, and began to look at the texts of our great books to see what they have to say about this particular obligation. Finally, to end the unit, the students worked in small groups to look at real work examples of the mitzvah of Pidyon Shvuym. They researched their topic, created a poster, and presented / taught the class. It was really amazing to see the students want to teach their peers, especially Caleb, Ethan, and Gabrielle. All of our students really did an amazing job presenting. We just introduced our new unit – Obligations. As conservative Jews, we have an obligation to fulfill the Mitzvot. Our understanding the source of our obligation may differ greatly, but we share this obligation in common. We will continue to look at this concept through text study, group projects, and stories.

Classroom News

MUSIC AND TROPE WITH MITCH COHEN Trope: Grades 5 and 6 5th graders are doing a great job learning their blessings and the Haftorah tropes. The class can now confidently chant the Torah aliyot blessing and the blessing before the Haftorah. They enjoy earning points as I call out a trope name. They raise their hands to volunteer to sing the proper melodies. We also worked on davening the Torah service this month, which is the first service they learn as part of their Bar/Bat Mitzvah studies. Students enjoy drawing a pretend ark on the blackboard to use for our Torah service. Each student pretends to hold a Torah as they march around the classroom in a Torah processional after chanting the prayers. 6th graders have mastered Haftorah tropes, so we are working on Torah tropes now. We continue to review the longer blessings after the Haftorah. 6th graders also worked on davening skills, such as the Ashrei prayer and the Musaf service.

Music: grades K-2 and 3-5 This month was an existing month in music. I was impressed by our 3 - 5th graders as they learned a special arrangement of "Od Yavo Shalom" written by Rick Recht. This song is written in several parts. Our Madrichim Zak and Hannah along with Rabbi Ricky helped lead the different parts with the students. By the end of the month, the students sounded awesome. This month we also brought back the popular "cat" song that tells the story of a cat named Don Gato. First we sing the fun story in English and then we replace a number of the lyrics with Hebrew, including the word for cat "chatul" and lady cat "chatulah". In K-2 musical tefillah, the students continue to enjoy the Ellen Allard song I mentioned last month titled, "G-d, G-d, G-d". There are a number of students who enjoy leading the hand motions now. As we closed out the month we sang a number of Hanukkah songs. The Debbie Friedman song titled, "I am a Latke" is still the

winner with the children. This year a number of students helped lead the verses while other students pretended they were latkes spinning in a blender. Music was a fun place to be this month.

RESOURCE CENTER {Chana & Toby}

Toby: We are full steam ahead, seeing many students each session! They are enjoying so many fun experiences as they improve reading skills in their individual learning style. Computer programs, magnetic letters and vowels on the chalk board, card and board games, and the very new and beautiful letters and vowels in sand on boards ala Montessori style for tactile as well as visual learning. For the auditory learners we use prayers chanted as they are shown on the computer monitor. Parents: please talk with your child; as the school year is going, and your child feels that she/he is not at class level, or struggling with reading and we are not seeing them, please make this known to Dara and we will gladly find time to schedule them so they may enjoy success and comfort in the extra attention they deserve. Chana: Assessments are complete and enrichment is underway. Grades 3-7 are working on Hebrew short stories on the topics of their choice. Many of them chose to write fantasy stories about how they became rock stars or professional baseball players. The younger students are learning songs and movement in enrichment to reinforce the Hebrew letters they learn. We look forward to a fun and productive year. LIBRARY {Barbara}

The classes that are visiting this year have been so good. We are trying something new. When the classes PreK thru 4th come in on Sundays for "library time," I just read parts of a few books and leave the children hanging. Then we have check-out time! Some grab the book I am reading to "find out what happens..." Some check out the books I have arranged for the classes on the library tables. And some students ask for, and look for books of special interest to them. This year the favorites that you might see coming home are cookbooks, easy biographies, and books about Israel. And watch out PreK parents. This year, your children are checking out books as well. Enjoy reading!

Classroom News

Special Activities

Danny Siegel spoke to the 5th-7th graders about the importance of tzedakah

and how they, as children, can make a big difference in the world.

Thanks to all who brought in canned goods and non-perishable items. They will be taken to the

Barbash Vital Support Center

Lily Bernstein Ella Blatt Ziva Charnay Zara Cohen Avi Edelstein Eli Joffe

12/10/05 12/27/07

12/5/11 12/9/03 12/8/03

12/16/03

10 8 4

12 12 12

Jacob Joffe Lily Levine Jacob Ruby Katie Spector Hope Vernon Andrew Wade

12/16/03 12/4/05

12/31/06 12/2/07

12/31/08 12/4/10

12 10

9 8 7 5

SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT

1 2 SCHOOL RESUMES

3 4 5 Sam Jacobson Bar Mitzvah Mini Minyan 10:30

6

Jewish Stars & Atid

Hanukkah party 12:30-2pm 1st Candle

7 8 9 10 11 12 Kadima Mystery Bus Ride 5:30pm

13 Mazal Tots 9AM

14 15 16 17 18 19

20 NO SCHOOL WINTER BREAK School resumes on January 6th

21 22 23 NO SCHOOL WINTER BREAK

24 25 26

27 NO SCHOOL WINTER BREAK

28 29 30 NO SCHOOL WINTER BREAK

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December 2015

Enjoy the Winter Break!!!

December 20th through January 3rd.

School resumes on Wednesday, January

6th.