Schechter Shavua: September 13, 2021

Rosh Hashanah: New Beginnings and a time to Celebrate

The chagim began after we had just one week of school, but our faculty still provided meaningful opportunities for the students to learn! Here’s a snapshot of some Rosh Hashanah activities throughout the school:

• Parparim and Tsiporim (K-1) learned about the symbols of Rosh Hashanah and played Rosh Hashanah BINGO.
• Sh’kedim (EC3-4) made holiday cards using apples as stamps
• Dubonim (EC2) - used the symbol of the pomegranate (rimon) to make Rosh Hashanah cards for our families. Everyone colored the outside of their pomegranate paper with a red crayon and used the eraser end of a pencil to “dot, dot, dot” pomegranate seeds with red paint on the inside. Students also looked at, touched, and tasted a real pomegranate and dipped apples in honey for a Rosh Hashanah treat! In addition, they examined a collection of shofarot and got to “play” a pretend shofar.
• T’marim students (EC3-4) worked collaboratively to make “Honey Cake” at the sand table
• Gesher students (grades 4-5) explored versions of different cards from Israel, learned additional Hebrew vocabulary pertaining to the cards, then created their own cards for family members in Hebrew. Some of their favorite Hebrew words for their holiday cards:

Osher - אושר (joy)
Brioot -בריאות (health)
Mootzlachat - מוצלחת (successful)
Bitachon - בטחון (safe)

• Rimonim (grades 2-3) learned everything about the pomegranate (whose Hebrew name is Rimon!) They studied the parts of the pomegranate and the significance of the pomegranate as it pertains to Rosh Hashanah. Then, inspired by Israeli artists, they painted their own representations of rimonim. 
• Parparim and Tsiporim (K-1) also created their own calendars of the chagim to help them get a visual perspective.
• Habonim- played charades using Hebrew words relating to Rosh Hashanah, did a Rosh Hashanah kahoot game, and ate birthday cake 

Check out some PHOTOS of Rosh Hashanah activities around the school.
 

Summer Reading Challenge: The Pie in the Face Goes to….

Yashar Koach to all of our dedicated students who participated in the summer reading challenge! Students in grades K-5 read a total of over 550 books AND over 6.500 pages (depending on the reading level), earning them the right to vote for the person they’d most like to receive a pie in the face! By a landslide of 519 to 100 votes, the clear “favorite” was Rabbi Berger!

To catch a glimpse of the students’ excitement, see this VIDEO.

Keep Schechter Buzzing on Social Media

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See a post that you like? Share it on your own FB page or Insta account. We want everyone to know about Schechter’s great sense of community and caring as well as our spectacular education. 
 

Outdoor RELISH is a Big Hit

RELISH is one of our favorite times of the week, a chance to join together as a community and welcome Shabbat with songs, dancing, and sometimes stories. We are thrilled that we can safely hold RELISH outdoors each Friday morning! Parents and members of the community are welcome to join our outdoor celebration!

Click HERE to see photos of the RELISH joy.
 

Early Childhood Team is Always Growing

The Schechter Early Childhood team is connecting the… “DOTS” and being trained in Connecticut’s Documentation and Observation for Teaching System to further align our Early Childhood assessment tool with the CT Early Learning Standards. 
 
The EC faculty participated in the first of a two-part training session during professional development week in August.  We are excited to begin using the most updated framework to guide us in the process of monitoring children’s progress and learning in all areas of development. The next and final training session will be during our upcoming Professional Development day in late November.