Thursday, February 28, 2013

Game day Wednesday!

I was so excited to see everyone back at Religious School on Wednesday!  Our teachers planned many fun activities along with the regular classwork!


Seventh graders completed their afternoon Tefillah and reviewed the Megillat Esther by taking turns telling portions of the story.  The students did a beautiful job of telling the story in a fun and creative way!







Sixth graders played a game of "Jewpardy" in class, answer questions from categories like Purim Heroes, Numbers, Purim Customs, American Jewish History, and The Whole Megillah!



Students in sixth and seventh graders also visited the library answering questions from "The Great Jewish Quiz Book" and hearing the story, "A Purim Tale."



Fifth graders reviewed lifecycle events by playing Bingo with the various terms they have learned.  They also accepted the challenge of completing a very tricky Purim quiz!  Not only did students show off their knowledge, but they impressed me with their vocal chords as they blotted out Haman's name!







The third and fourth graders went to full on creative mode, making groggers in every shape and color and creating their very own Megillat Esther!









As you know, the carnival and our activities for Purim were postponed and will take place this Sunday.  Since Purim took place during our February break and many students were unable to attend our Megillah reading on Purim this past Sunday, we wanted to provide our students with the opportunity to participate in the fun we had last week.  Please join your children for our additional Megillah reading at 11 am in the Sanctuary as we celebrate Purim (again)!  Please encourage your child to come dressed for the occasion as Mordechai, Esther or any fun costume that they like.  Silly or serious, Superhero or Super Jewish Hero, all are welcome!  At 11:30, students will be able to go to the Adar-Nival where they will play games and have fun!  The Youth Group is running this fundraiser and asks that each child bring $5 to the carnival which buys them a lunch of pizza and ice cream!

By the way, if you are looking for a babysitter this Saturday evening, the Youth group will be providing babysitting from 6-10pm Saturday night, with a  suggested donation of $20 per child, snacks provided. You can sign up by emailing Youth Group director, Ana Rader at raderana@gmail.com

Nancy Kahrimanis

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Shabbat Sheleg Shalom!

TBT is closed this weekend due to snow.

All Shabbat activities, SALTY activities and Religious School are cancelled this weekend. The SALTY baby-sitting evening & Shul-In and the ADAR-Nival are postponed. Read more below:

We hope that everyone is having a safe and wonderful Shabbat.

On this historic Shabbat, 32 inches of snow fell on Madison, and Governor Malloy has ordered all roads in Connecticut closed until further notice. Therefore, please note the following changes to our weekend of TBT activities:

SALTY Babysitting Saturday Evening is POSTPONED TO SATURDAY EVENING, MARCH 2. (Contact our Youth Advisor or the TBT office next week for more information.)

SALTY Shul-In is POSTPONED TO SATURDAY EVENING, MARCH 2.

SUNDAY Religious School for Sunday, February 10 is CANCELLED.

SUNDAY ADAR-Nival is POSTPONED TO SUNDAY, MARCH 3.

We will continue to post updates on events as they are determined.

Please contact your TBT friends if you need or can provide help during the storm. 

Enjoy your weekend wonderland of snow!

Best wishes, stay safe and warm!
Shabbat Sheleg Shalom

Friday, February 8, 2013

Storm Information


Shabbat Services are CANCELED tonight, Friday February 8, 2013.
Torah Study is CANCELED tomorrow morning, Saturday February 9, 2013.
In light of the falling snow and the fact that the State of Connecticut Department Of Emergency Services and Public Protection has confirmed blizzard warnings in effect for the entire state until midday tomorrow, we have closed the temple for the day. The DESPP is describing this as a “potentially historic winter storm.”
Please stay safe & warm as you celebrate Shabbat at home.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Fifth grade Shabbat Dinner

Fifth grade Shabbat dinner tomorrow night postponed, date TBD. We will continue to post updates on events as they are determined. Please contact your TBT friends if you need or can provide help during the storm. Best wishes, stay safe and warm!
This coming Sunday is going to be busy and wonderful in so many ways!  Report cards will be distributed this Sunday, so be sure to ask your child for the envelope when they come home from Religious School!  

But, before they head home, be sure to come by for our Megillah reading at 11 am in the Sanctuary as we celebrate Purim!  Due to the February break, we are celebrating a bit earlier, but that doesn't mean we can't have fun!  Please encourage your child to come dressed for the occasion as Mordechi, Esther or any fun costume that they like.  Silly or serious, Superhero or Super Jewish Hero, all are welcome!  At 11:30, students will be able to go to the Adar-Nival where they will play games and have fun!  The Youth Group is running this fundraiser and asks that each child bring $5 to the carnival which buys them a lunch of pizza and ice cream!

We will have Religious School next Wednesday, but will be on break after that until Wednesday, February 27th.


Please remember that if we have a weather issue that extends to this Sunday, I will report closings via the listserv, on the Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/templebethtikvahct), the Facebook group, the Religious School blog (TBTRS.blogspot.com) and on the following media outlets:

TV:  WTNH, WFSB
Radio:  WTIC, WRCH, WZMX

If there is an issue with power or internet, I will do my best to post the information on as many of these outlets as possible.  Please feel free to contact me via email if you have any questions or concerns and as always, please use your own best judgement during inclement weather if you do not feel comfortable traveling.  Parents of fifth graders should receive an email with information about tomorrow night's Shabbat dinner either this evening or tomorrow.

Miss Nancy Kahrimanis

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Torah Lesson with Rabbi Offner

Today the fifth and sixth graders met in the Sanctuary with Rabbi Offner to look at the various Torahs that we have at TBT.  Students saw the Sephardic Torah, the Torah that our congregation wrote a few years ago, and our Holocaust Torah.



























After returning to their classroom, the sixth graders starting preparing for Purim by listening to the story of Purim.  The fifth graders also planned for Purim but talking about the upcoming Adarnival and planning their costumes for Sunday!

The third and fourth graders learned Hebrew vocabulary words related to Purim.  When I stopped in, the kids were telling the story using the appropriate Hebrew names and titles!  Homework is to come dressed up and to bring in Mishloach Manot to exchange in class.

Seventh graders completed their afternoon Tefillah and spent time reviewing the Kedusha in their prayer companion and then talked about Purim.  The finished the movie, Escape from Sorbibor, and discussed their reaction to the movie and planned questions to ask the Sorbibor survivor who will be joining the class in the near future!

Don't forget to come dressed up on Sunday and bring $5 for the Adarnival!

-Miss Nancy Kahrimanis

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Getting thoughtful about prayers

First graders finished up their Shabbat boxes, filling them with pictues of Shabbat candles and a challah.  Students decorated their boxes with their Hebrew names, colorful paper and fun items!  Students worked in their Hebrew books, went to the library to hear the story, and read a story in class.




Our second graders were working hard on their Hebrew letters throughout the day, coloring them, identifying the letters and determining which letter would start various words!  I was most impressed when I saw students using their notes to remind them how to make letter and the sounds that they make.  They also began to talk about Purim as we will be celebrating next week (a little bit early due to vacation) and planned to make groggers!





The third and fourth graders worked with their Substitute Becca to review their Hebrew vocabulary words!  Students shared their knowledge of the words, spelled and wrote them in Hebrew, and really impressed me with their knowledge!  They also listened to Bible Stories with rapt attention and got to play Hebrew four corners!



Fifth graders practiced reading the Shema/V'ahavtah in small groups and sounded great!  Many students earned points for reading the V'Ahavtah at home to their parents.  Students also began talking about Purim and planning their activities for the holiday.  They also broke into small groups to discuss adding elements of Judaism to their big tree, determining what served as a grounding root, a stabilizing trunk, the expanding branches, and the changing leaves.  They will place the terms/elements on the tree next week.  Homework is to come up with questions to ask the Rabbi about Torahs as they will meet with Rabbi Offner this Wednesday.






Sixth graders practiced the Amidah, and got creative, with both their hands and minds by writing their own prayers.  The expressed what they were thankful and prayed for, from family to things to favorite celebrities, and made a small poster of their prayers.  By considering ways to make these prayers personally meaningful and modern, students will have a better understanding of the classic prayers they read each week in Tefillah.




Seventh graders continued watching Escape from Sobibor and worked on the Avot prayer in their companion, answering various questions about the prayer.  The kids talked about which line from the prayer was most meaningful to them and why.

Eighth and ninth graders joined the seminar on Gun Violence during their class periods.

As a reminder, we will read the Megillah next Sunday at 11 am.  Following the Megillah reading, students will be able to join the Adar-nival at 11:30.  Students should come dressed in costumes if they wish and bring $5 for the carnival/fundraiser which buys pizza and ice cream!

-Miss Nancy Kahrimanis