Our Final Week in School Together

This final week of school was one filled with transition and fun. During the weekday sessions, our sixth graders made the final transition to becoming 7th graders by meeting with Jory in the official 7th grade territory - the Youth Lounge. For half an hour, Jory painted a picture for them of what they could expect to do and learn beginning in the fall. The students found comfy spots to sit on the sofas and easy chairs while they listened to Jory and asked lots and lots and lots of questions about the coming year. Many of our 6th graders have been in my Edot class for two years, and it's hard to say goodbye to them. Hopefully, I'll see them all during the year at all-school events and during second semester, when our 6th graders will join 7th graders for tefillah service up in the Sanctuary.

Following their meeting with Jory, they joined the fifth graders for our final hafsaka (recess) of the school year.

Sure we have an entire lawn for everyone to play on - but why spread out when you can squoosh into a tiny space and have just as much fun!

Of course, some kids prefer to have open space to run around, and even just to schmooze.

And finally, it was the big day - our Spring Fling. I finished reading "The Circlemaker." For those students who couldn't join us, I promised I would let you know how the story ends in my blog.   SPOILER ALERT - don't read the next paragraph if you want to finish reading the book yourself!!!

Mendel convinces Sandor (the owner of the farm in Hungary to which he and Dovid escaped) to take him to Salzburg, a city on the German-Hungarian border. In Salzburg, Sandor is able to get a passport and ship ticket for Mendel to America. He also converts Mendel's hundred rubles to German deutsch marks (the money they used in Germany), and gives Mendel a going-away gift - a wooden case that Sandor carved himself for Mendel to hold Zalman's knife. Once Mendel finally reaches Hamburg (just one day before his ship is supposed to sail to America!), he quickly goes to get his passport stamped with an exit visa (Sandor told him to do so because then the passport, which has probably been forged, will look official to the American immigration officials). But he's told he has to go through a health inspection first the next day. The health inspector convinces Mendel that because he has lice in his hair, he won't be able to pass the inspection before the boat sails, unless Mendel gives him all the money he has (45 marks) so he can put him in the "urgent line." Mendel does so, but discovers that the inspector pocketed all the money and he really didn't have lice. Now he doesn't have any money left. He finds the ship he's supposed to sail on (the "Hamburg Queen") and boards her. The steerage quarters are crammed with 2,000 travelers, so Mendel decides to sleep on the deck, even though it's cold. The book ends as the anchor is lifted and the sails are unfurled. As the ship sails away from Hamburg, Mendel remembers his parents and Zalman and his home in Molovsk, and realizes that he will likely never see them again. But he remembers his father's words about the power of the circle (hence the title of the book), and knows that just as a traveler can sail around the world and end up in the same place, so he, too, will return to Molovsk - in his heart if not in person - and he will share his memories and traditions and values with his children and grandchildren, and will close the circle, as his ancestors did before him. 

END OF STORY. 

Then it was time to play the Shekel Game. Lots of fun, lots of laughing, lots of money! 

The hour went fast, and it was time to go up to the Sanctuary, to join the rest of the school for our Spring Fling concert with Peri Smilow. 

This is the first time that many of us have seen and heard Peri Smilow, and she didn't disappoint. She got us all involved in singing and moving in rhythm with her from beginning to end. Erin and her Shira students joined Peri up on the bima, joining her in singing some of her songs, and Jory joined her on the bima as well, to help lead everyone in the Sanctuary in singing a joyful "Heveinu Shalom Aleichem."

SHALOM ALEICHEM - we say it in Hebrew when we greet someone, and again when we say goodbye. So even as I'm saying goodbye to you all for the summer, I'm looking forward already to saying hello again in the fall.

After the Fair

Our culminating activity for the Edot track is over, but that doesn't mean that we're sitting around and not continuing to learn and to build a strong community. Quite the opposite - we've been continuing to build and strengthen our Hebrew vocabulary during our Hebrew Through Movement sessions. And the sixth graders from all 3 tracks have been meeting with Jory (our 7th grade co-ordinator) during tefillah time, to build and strengthen their connections to each other and to Isaiah.

Hebrew through Movement sessions this past week have focused on introducing vocabulary relating to the upcoming holiday of Shavuot (erev Shavuot is Saturday evening, May 23rd this year).

Leefto'ach aron ha'kodesh (Open the holy ark)

 L'hareem et sefer ha'torah (Raise the Torah scroll)

 

L'hareem sal ha'peyrot (Raise the fruit basket)

L'seem sal ha'peyrot al ha'rosh (Put the fruit basket on the head)

La'lechet eem sal ha'peyrot al ha'rosh (Walk with the fruit basket on the head)

Our 7th graders "graduated" to Noar Night two weeks ago. Up until that time, our 6th graders have joined the 7th graders each weekday session for tefillah up in the Sanctuary. Since the 7th graders are no longer attending Religious School sessions, Jory has been meeting with the 6th graders and leading them in community building games and exercises during tefillah time.

During the first week, Jory met  with the 6th graders up in the Oneg Room. This past week, they met in Room 301, downstairs in the Temple House Building, near the Youth Lounge. It's a much smaller space than the Oneg Room, but very conducive to getting everyone to work together to achieve a goal!

Heading down the ramp to the Youth Lounge - a path they'll be taking as 7th graders on a regular basis next year

Here's a peek into how the students worked together to figure out a way to cut the time it took them to move around in a circle together, in half.

We have a 10-minute hafsaka (recess) period for all the 5th and 6th grade students together each weekday session up on the lawn outside the Sanctuary. It's not much time, but the children make good use of it - another way to build community at Isaiah!

We don't have school this Sunday in honor of Mother's Day. There is only one more weekday session to go, and then our final day of Religious School on Sunday, May 17th - our SPRING FLING! I hope I'll see you all there!

Edot Fair

Our Edot track's big day finally arrived yesterday - the Edot Fair. For one hour each session, Edot students and parent volunteers shared a taste of the foods, arts and crafts, and games of the edot we've studied about this year with the students and parents of other Religious School classes. Between the two sessions, during Tefillah in the Sanctuary, we presented a skit which shared the history of the Jewish People, to help explain the origins of the edot (Jewish Diaspora communities).

We began each session by having Edot students go into Room 202, to choose their costumes and put them on.

I call the next few shots the "Quiet before the Storm" - the Beit Knesset transformed to become a Fair.

As soon as the costumes were on, we all went to our assigned booths and waited for the first group of visitors. Will P's Mom, Andrea, took advantage of the time to catch some wonderful shots of the students. Here are Will and Morrie mugging for the camera...

Left to Right: Lauren, Judy, Gabby, Shaina and Jill at the Shvueslakh and Reyzlakh table. Notice the clock - in just 2 or 3 minutes, the first visitors would enter the BK

And then the Fair began - visitors might choose to make a Gold Rush Pouch  (that American Jewish peddlers used to store their hardtack). Our first session staffers (from left) Jack, Daniel and Robert had their hands full with all the visitors to their booth...

...as did Zoe and Samantha second session.

And even as you were making the pouch, you could check the next table over to decide if you wanted to make a Jeta de la Mezuzah - a pouch which Moroccan Jews hang on their doorposts containing the "Sh'ma" and "V'Ahavta" lines from the Torah.

Making the Jeta de la Mezuzah's under the guidance of Jenna, Jennifer, and Abi first session...

and with Ali's and Mara's help during second session.

The Bene Israel Handprint booth was very busy first session as well. Here's Will explaining to a young visitor how to place her hand on the paper, once she had smeared her palm and fingers with the orange paint.

The successful handprint!

And here is Emerson guiding a young visitor's hand down on the paper during second session. Visitors to the booth could choose green or orange paint for their prints.

Whichever color they chose, they had to wash it off so they could continue to visit other booths. A big thanks goes to Randy who took charge of turning on the tap for those who couldn't reach it!

Before making the final handprint, Zack explains during second session how to draw the Indian and Jewish symbols of luck and beauty on the corners of the paper.

Along with Will and Morrie, Aaron and Sammy were kept busy at the Bene Israel Handprint booth, along with their Moms, Claire and Neela.

Visitors could also play the "Eliyahu Ha'Navee" (Elijah the Prophet) card game. Our first session dealers, Ari and Ben kept a brisk game going. If you end up holding the Eliyahu Ha'Navee card (the Jack), you win the round! The Bene Israel edah believe that they are descended from 7 couples rescued from a shipwreck off the Kerala Coast of India by none other than Eliyahu Ha'Navee!

Ethan, our second session card dealer, obviously enjoying his assignment

Jacob's first session Kindergartners seemed to have enjoyed the Fair...

...and his second session took the time to shout a big "TODAH" (THANK YOU) when it was time to return to their classroom.

During the three sessions prior to the Fair, our Edot students reviewed the Jewish history we had learned this year and last by working on the huge Jewish History Timeline which served as a prop for our skit during Tefillah. Their hard work paid off, and the timeline was quite impressive as the students unrolled it during the skit.

    

YASHER KOACH to all our Edot students and parent volunteers (who prepared the recipes and helped staff the booths) for all the time and effort you put into helping our Fair be a success. Now, it's time to look forward to the final two weeks of school, and to our Spring Fling on May 17th.