Education – 6th Grade (Wurtzel)

5/18: Today in class we worked on:

  1. Trope review with Morah Dickson
  2. Discussion about what stereotypes are, how they get started, why they are spread.
  3. Class was split up into two groups and then asked to respond to 4 different scenarios that picked on stereotypes of Jewish people.
  4. Class discussion about the situations and how might you respond now vs 10 years from now.
  5. Finally, 4th – 6th grade finished out the year with Tefillah led by Rabbi Prass and Morah Alexa.  Rabbi Prass discussed the surprise second place finish by Israel’s performer at Eurovision, Yuval Raphael.  He shared part of her amazing story.
  6. We all enjoyed the ice cream truck for our sweet new year, and getting ready for Shavuot.  It was lovely to see everyone hanging out together, students, parents, and siblings.

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Work on Prayers that were worked on during trope. Practice the trope we worked on.
  2. The Trope book and prayers on Beth Am Website
    • Go To Beth Am Website
    • Scroll Over To “Education & Youth”
    • Click on “Education & Youth”
    • Click “Religious & Hebrew School Work”
    • Left hand box is a tab labeled “6th Grade-Trope Plus”
  3. Thank you all for an incredible year. It was an honor to be your teacher.
  4. Have a great summer.
  5. 1st day of Religious School is Sunday, September 7th
  6. Don’t forget to sign up for the 25-26 Religious/Hebrew School year.

5/11: Today in class we worked on:

  1. Trope with Morah Dickson (Vahavta)
  2. Each student was handed a sheet of paper and we discussed 3 questions (What is a stereotype?, How do they get started?, Why do they get started?)
  3. Classroom discussion about the 3 questions
  4. Finally, K- 6th Grade enjoyed a special Parents Day Tefillah, led by Rabbi Prass and Morah Alexa. It was wonderful to see so many parents, and even a few grandparents in attendance.  We recited the blessing for the Omer, and recounted that it was the 28th day of the Omer.  Rabbi Prass then suggested it is hard to fulfill the commercial idea of Mother’s Day. Rather in order to fulfill the commandment of “Honoring your mother and father” we all came up with a list of 28 things our parents/grandparents do for us, and then another list of 28 little things we can do to show our gratitude to our parents.

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Work on Prayers that were worked on during trope. Practice the trope we worked on.
  2. The Trope book and prayers on Beth Am Website
    • Go To Beth Am Website
    • Scroll Over To “Education & Youth”
    • Click on “Education & Youth”
    • Click “Religious & Hebrew School Work”
    • Left hand box is a tab labeled “6th Grade-Trope Plus”
  3. Please have your child bring highlighters for Trope (Yellow, Blue, Green, Orange, Pink)

5/4: Today in class we worked on:

  1. Trope with Morah Dickson (Sof Passok family from Vahavta)
  2. We were super excited to welcome Mr. and Mrs. Das to our classroom to teach us about Hinduism and the similarities it has with Judaism
  3. 4th & 6th grades gathered for t’fillah led by Morah Alexa & Rabbi Prass. This being May 4th, Rabbi Prass helped us to see how the themes expressed the Star Wars franchise, related to the liturgy in our Siddurim.  In addition, since this is teacher appreciation week, Rabbi Prass presented the morim (teacher) and madrichim appreciation gifts which many parents contributed to, and the education committee organized. 

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Work on Prayers that were worked on during trope. Practice the trope we worked on.
  2. The Trope book and prayers on Beth Am Website
    • Go To Beth Am Website
    • Scroll Over To “Education & Youth”
    • Click on “Education & Youth”
    • Click “Religious & Hebrew School Work”
    • Left hand box is a tab labeled “6th Grade-Trope Plus”
  3. Please have your child bring highlighters for Trope (Yellow, Blue, Green, Orange, Pink)

4/27: Today in class we worked on:

  1. Trope with Morah Dickson (Finished Etnachta family, started Sof Passok
  2. Discussed what we knew about Judaism, Islam and Christianity as its own entity.
  3. Discussed similarities between Islam and Judaism, Judaism and Christianity, Islam and Christianity
  4. Discussed the similarities between all 3 and how each of these religions are seen in the world and how they are connected.
  5. Morah Alexa and Rabbi Prass led 4th – 6th grade in Tefillah. Rabbi Prass took time out to explain some of the prayers in our Siddur which relate to Israel, and entertain questions our 4th though 6th graders might have on Israel. 

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Work on Prayers that were worked on during trope. Focus on Blessings Before and After Haftarah, Avot V’imahot and Gevurot.
  2. Learn how to access the Trope book and prayers on Beth Am Website
    • Go To Beth Am Website
    • Scroll Over To “Education & Youth”
    • Click on “Education & Youth”
    • Click “Religious & Hebrew School Work”
    • Left hand box is a tab labeled “6th Grade-Trope Plus”
  3. Please have your child bring highlighters for Trope (Yellow, Blue, Green, Orange, Pink)

4/20: Today in class we worked on:

  1. Today was a special day where all of K – 6th grade met at CBA instead of JCYS so we could spend time in our sanctuary.
  2. The theme of today was a Tour thru the Spring “Yoms (Yom Hashoah, and Yom Ha’atzmaut). It was great to see so many of our learners engaged here!
  3. We began our session in the sanctuary for an all school t’fillah. Rabbi Bellows and Morah Alexa led us in Havdalah. Several of our students helped by holding up the spice box, candle, and kiddush cup.
  4. Then we divided up by grade for 3 stations of our Tour thru the Spring “Yoms”
    • Omer: The Omer is 50 days walking from slavery in Egypt, into Freedom, and walking to Sinai to receive Torah. It runs from the 2nd day of Passover thru Shavuot. They looked at a famous Omer story of a school of rabbis, and how they sadly modeled disrespectful behavior.  They then did a project tracing their feet ‘walking thru the Omer’ and writing examples of how they can walk (show) respect on the feet cutouts.
    • Yom Hashoah: they looked at “The Story of Simcha – the story of Holocaust survivor Simcha Holzberg” in a Youtube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypeQhEAtO2w ) and program designed by Yad Vashem’s Educational program. We created a processing worksheet to help the children understand the story.
    • Yom Ha’atzmaut: The students were given a chance to continue to learn about Israel thru participating in a YOM HA’ATZMAUT POSTER COMPETITION  (https://education-en.nli.org.il/curate-create ) which offers real cash prizes.It was great to see their enthusiasm and creativity.
  5. K – 5th grade gathered back in the sanctuary for Shira led by Morah Alexa.  There was a lot of Ruach (spirit!)  She led them in songs from Passover, Yom Hashoah, & Yom Ha’atzmaut. 
  6. 6th grade went to the ALC with Morah Dickson for Trope Plus.

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Work on Prayers that were worked on during trope. Focus on Blessings Before and After Haftarah, Avot V’imahot and Gevurot.
  2. Learn how to access the Trope book and prayers on Beth Am Website
    • Go To Beth Am Website
    • Scroll Over To “Education & Youth”
    • Click on “Education & Youth”
    • Click “Religious & Hebrew School Work”
    • Left hand box is a tab labeled “6th Grade-Trope Plus”
  3. Starting 4/20 – Please have your child bring highlighters for Trope (Yellow, Blue, Green, Orange, Pink)

4/6: Today in class we worked on:

  1. Trope with Morah Dickson
  2. We wrote letters to the brave Chayalim (soldiers) of the Israel Defense Force to express our appreciation for their fine efforts.  This is part of JUF’s week of good deeds campaign.
  3. Introduction of our last unit; comparative Religion. Walked around the room and asked what the students knew about Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. After that was done, we looked at similarities and patterns about what was written on the sheets.
  4. Finally, 4th – 6th grade gathered for Tefillah led by Rabbi Prass & Morah Alexa. Rabbi Prass helped us to focus on the important themes of the holiday of Chag Pesash thru story and introductions to our familiar prayers.

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Work on Prayers that were worked on during trope.
  2. Learn how to access the Trope book and prayers on Beth Am Website
    • Go To Beth Am Website
    • Scroll Over To “Education & Youth”
    • Click on “Education & Youth”
    • Click “Religious & Hebrew School Work”
    • Left hand box is a tab labeled “6th Grade-Trope Plus”https://www.bethambg.org/education-6th-grade-3/

3/16: Today in class we worked on:

  1. “Be Happy! It’s Adar” The Hebrew month which holds Purim.
  2. Today was Yom Purim! It was great to see so many of our learners in Purim costumes!
  3. We began in our assigned classrooms where each grade divided into teams and came up with their own team names based on Purim themes.  Here are the names each team/grade came up with for themselves:
    •  K-2, The Hamantaschen Crew
    • 3rd (last name ending in A – Ka), Chocolate Hamantaschen Cookie
    • 3rd (last name ending in Ki – Z), The Kings/Melachim
    • 4th, Purim Hamantaschen
    • 5th, The Hamantaschen
    • 5th, The Grogers
    • 6th, Peanut Butter Hamantaschen
  4. Then we gathered for an all school t’fillah led by Morah Alexa, Rabbi Bellows, and Rabbi Prass. Morah Alexa changed the melodies to some of the prayers to have a Disney theme.  Rabbi Bellows showed us the real Megillah.
  5. Then we divided up by grade and the teams we created for 4 stations of “Yom Purim” aka Purim Sunday!  We will share out their work over the course of the week. 
    • What is Beautiful? – Queen Esther looking at Esther’s beautiful character traits and actions, and how those same things could solve some of today’s problems.
    • Let’s Get to know Each other – Purim Style looking at how we would teach Purim words/themes to someone who isn’t Jewish, and then coming up with mixer/icebreaker questions using those same themes.
    • What’s it all about – Purim Acrostics asked the groups to create a modern lesson of the Purim story in the form of an acrostic, using the Purim character names of Esther, Haman, Vashti, Mordechai
    • Haman’s Proper Blessing asked the groups to list 7 modern Hamans.  Then they played of the Tzar’s Prayer from Fiddler on the Roof and wrote 3 “Haman’s Prayer”
  6. We then gathered back together for an all school Purim shira led by Morah Alexa where we sang Purim songs, Rabbi Prass read some Hebrew from the Megillah, 3 of our students read an English 5 minute Megillah so we could cheer Mordechai & Esther, and booooo Haman.  We also had a reenactment of the Latke vs Hamantaschen debate which began at the University of Chicago in the 40s and is still held to this day.
  7. As we left Rabbi Prass handed out Hamantaschen.  

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Work on Prayers that were worked on during trope.
  2. Learn how to access the Trope book and prayers on Beth Am Website
    • Go To Beth Am Website
    • Scroll Over To “Education & Youth”
    • Click on “Education & Youth”
    • Click “Religious & Hebrew School Work”
    • Left hand box is a tab labeled “6th Grade-Trope Plus”https://www.bethambg.org/education-6th-grade-3/

3/9: Today in class we worked on:

  1. First, we enjoyed an all school Tefillah, led by our guest Jay Rapaport. 
  2. Jay also introduced us to the three Reform  Movement specialty summer camps, including the Fine Arts Camp he directs in Pennsylvania.
    • URJ 6 Points Sports Academy Summer 2025 Registration is open! (for more information click here)
    • URJ 6 Points Sci-Tech Summer 2025 Registration is open! (for more information click here)
    • URJ 6 Points Creative Arts Summer 2025 Registration is open! (for more information click here)
  3. Class Discussion about Orthodox Judaism as we continued learning about the three major streams in Judaism
  4. Students refilled out their letters of affirmation asking them They are a reform Jew because… and What did they know about the Reform movement?
  5. All School Shriah – Purim Edition

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Work on Prayers that were worked on during trope.
  2. Learn how to access the Trope book and prayers on Beth Am Website
    • Go To Beth Am Website
    • Scroll Over To “Education & Youth”
    • Click on “Education & Youth”
    • Click “Religious & Hebrew School Work”
    • Left hand box is a tab labeled “6th Grade-Trope Plus”https://www.bethambg.org/education-6th-grade-3/

We strongly believe in the power of Jewish overnight camp and want to help you find the right camp for your child.

This past Thursday, we welcomed URJ 6 Points Sports Academy, URJ 6 Points Sci-Tech Academy, and URJ 6 Points Creative Arts Academy, to CBA!

Whether they have a passion for sports, science and technology, arts, or want to experience a little bit of everything – there’s a camp for them! Here is a short description of the camps:

At 6 Points Sports Academy, Jewish athletes participate in a unique camping experience that combines professional sports coaching and the beloved traditions of Reform Jewish camping. Within our kind and nurturing community, campers form lifelong friendships, feed their passion for their chosen sport, and strengthen their identity as Jewish athletes. Contact Jackie here!

At 6 Points Sci-Tech Academy, kids have fun learning about science and technology through the lens of Judaism! Build a robot. Save the environment. Perform chemistry experiments. Design a video game. Code an app. At 6 Points Sci-Tech East, located just outside of Boston, campers entering grades 5-10 learn from experts and are part of a camp community that appreciates science and technology! Contact Jayme and Dan here!

At 6 Points Creative Arts Academy, the program staff, campers, and site work together to create a holistic, meaningful experience for artists in a living laboratory for learning and performing. Mentored by the best in their field, young artists are drawn together in a dynamic community to experience camp, explore their passions, and improve their skills in creative writing, photography, dance, instrumental or vocal music, theatre, musical theatre, songleading, and visual arts. Contact Samantha here!

3/2: Today in class we worked on:

  1. We had Trope Plus with Morah Dickson (Shema, Blessings Before and After Reading Torah – pages 6 and 7, Blessing Before Reading Haftarah – page 8, Avot Vaimahot and Gevurot)
  2. Students were given a sheet of paper with two questions on it 1) What do you and your family do that makes you Jewish while at Beth Am?
  3. What do you and your family do outside of Beth Am that makes you Jewish?  
  4. Class discussion about what makes you Jewish at Beth Am and outside of Beth Am.
  5. Finally, at Tefillah, Rabbi Prass used our weekly 4th – 6th grade morning Shacharit service to talk about experiencing the joy of the whole Hebrew month of Adar and Purim at a sad time for the Jewish people.  Luke Kanter helped again on his guitar and he was really focused on the Tefillah!

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Work on Prayers that were worked on during trope.
  2. Learn how to access the Trope book and prayers on Beth Am Website
    • Go To Beth Am Website
    • Scroll Over To “Education & Youth”
    • Click on “Education & Youth”
    • Click “Religious & Hebrew School Work”
    • Left hand box is a tab labeled “6th Grade-Trope Plus”https://www.bethambg.org/education-6th-grade-3/

2/23: Today in class we worked on:

  1. Trope with Morah Dickson (Shema, Blessings Before and After Reading Torah – pages 6 and 7, Blessing Before Reading Haftarah – page 8, Avot Vaimahot)
  2. Students were given an article detailing the Conservative Movement in Judaism. While reading the article students were asked to highlight or mark down details about the Conservative Movement that they found interesting or enlightening or would better help us understand
  3. Class discussion about what they may have marked or noted while they were reading the article. Discussion about inclusion and living Torah through Tikkun Olam
  4. Finally, at Tefillah, Rabbi Prass and Morah Alexa led 4th -6th in our weekly morning Shacharit service.  Rabbi Prass began asking what are times the learners have been speechless and what helped them find what to say.  Then Rabbi Prass pointed out that this past week has left many Jews speechless. He then suggested that one answer to being speechless, is t’fillot, performing mitzvot, and studying Torah.  Rabbi Prass then asked the learners to lend their voices in t’fillah to help those who are at a loss for words.  The students showed they understood the moment and made it a beautiful t’fillah.

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Work on Prayers that were worked on during trope.
  2. Learn how to access the Trope book and prayers on Beth Am Website.
    • Go To Beth Am Website
    • Scroll Over To “Education & Youth”
    • Click on “Education & Youth”
    • Click “Religious & Hebrew School Work”
    • Left hand box is a tab labeled “6th Grade-Trope Plus”https://www.bethambg.org/education-6th-grade-3/

2/16: Today in class we worked on:

  1. Trope with Morah Dickson (Shema, Blessings Before and After Reading Torah – pages 6 and 7, Blessing Before Reading Haftarah – page 8)
  2. Students were given an article detailing the Reform Movement in Judaism. While reading the article students were asked to highlight or mark down details about the Reform Movement that they found interesting or enlightening
  3. Class discussion about what they may have marked or noted while they were reading the article. Discussion about inclusion and living Torah through Tikkun Olam
  4. Finally, 4th – 6th grade gathered for t’fillah led by Morah Alexa & Rabbi Prass. Rabbi Prass used our weekly morning shacharit service as an opportunity to go through different parts of the traditional Tu B’Shvat Seder. 

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Work on Prayers that were worked on during trope.
  2. Learn how to access the Trope book and prayers on Beth Am Website.
    • Go To Beth Am Website
    • Scroll Over To “Education & Youth”
    • Click on “Education & Youth”
    • Click “Religious & Hebrew School Work”
    • Left hand box is a tab labeled “6th Grade-Trope Plus”https://www.bethambg.org/education-6th-grade-3/

2/9: Today in class we worked on:

  1. First, we enjoyed a school wide Tefillah led by Rabbi Prass and Morah Alexa.  Rabbi Prass included the 5th Grade Faux Aufruf.  It was wonderful to see all the 5th grade parents present.
  2. Trope Plus with Morah Dickson (Blessings Before and After Reading Torah – pages 6 and 7, Blessing Before Reading Haftarah – page 8)
  3. Finished work on creating our campaign fliers for whom their choice of prophets would be to lead the fight against hunger. Some students chose to present.  
  4. Students filled out a letter of affirmation asking them why they are a Reform Jew and what did they know about the reform movement.

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Work on Prayers that were worked on during trope.
  2. Learn how to access the Trope book and prayers on Beth Am Website
    • Go To Beth Am Website
    • Scroll Over To “Education & Youth”
    • Click on “Education & Youth”
    • Click “Religious & Hebrew School Work”
    • Left hand box is a tab labeled “6th Grade-Trope Plus”https://www.bethambg.org/education-6th-grade-3/

2/2: Today in class we worked on:

  1. Then we joined the entire school for t’fillah led by Rabbi Bellows and Morah Alexa.
  2. Trope with Morah Dickson (Started Learning Shema, Tallit Blessing, Blessing Before Reading Torah)
  3. Tell Me Something Good – we started off by sharing one good thing that happened to us since in the last week
  4. Reviewed the 4 prophets stories that we had looked at – Isaiah, Solomon, Hannah, Deborah.
  5. Worked on creating our campaign fliers for whom their choice of the prophets would be to lead the fight against hunger.

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Work on Prayers that were worked on during trope.
  2. Learn how to access the Trope book and prayers on Beth Am Website
    • Go To Beth Am Website
    • Scroll Over To “Education & Youth”
    • Click on “Education & Youth”
    • Click “Religious & Hebrew School Work”
    • Left hand box is a tab labeled “6th Grade-Trope Plus”https://www.bethambg.org/education-6th-grade-3/

1/26: Today in class we worked on:

  1. Tell Me Something Good – we started off by sharing one good thing that happened to us since in the last 2 weeks
  2. Reviewed the 4 prophets stories that we had looked at – Isaiah, Solomon, Hannah, Deborah. Started jotting down notes about what values and morals we take away from their story.
  3. We had a presentation from Sara Weiser about staying safe online in today’s technological world. She is a senior in high school and prepared this lesson as part of her winning the JUF 18under18 award.
  4. Finished our thoughts on the 4 prophets and what we take away from their stories.
  5. Started discussing which prophet we would want to come back and lead us to help end world hunger.
  6. 4th – 6th grade gathered for Tefillah led by Rabbi Prass & Morah Alexa. Rabbi Prass talked about how Israel was fulfilling the important mitzvah of Pidyon Sheviim, redeeming captives, by helping to get all of the surviving hostages, home from Gaza.  It was very moving when the entire 4-6th grade recited the Beracha together giving thanks for the redemption of captive people!

Homework to be completed by next class:

N/A

1/12: Today in class we worked on:

  1. We had our annual Boker B’yachad.  It was GREAT to see so many parents present!
  2. Introductions and Tell Me Something Good – we started off by sharing one good thing that happened to us since we have been gone
  3. Parents & 6th graders were together for our Introduction to Trope Plus – Morah Dickson introduced the students and their parents to what we will be doing while in Trope and what the goals of it are.  ALL of the Trope Plus materials are on our website at the following link: https://www.bethambg.org/education-6th-grade-3/
  4. Parents then went with Rabbi Bellows for a discussion on middot and how to bring them to the Bar/Bat Mitzvah process. Students stayed with Moreh Aaron for a project called “The Jewish Me”. Students chose middot/values and prophet quotes that resonate with them and how they make up each part of who they are.
  5. Once we got back together, students shared their “The Jewish Me” work with their parents.
  6. We ended our class time together, having the students talk with their parents about their B’nai Mitzvah and what the day truly means to both of them. Families wrote down their thoughts which collected, and will be mailed out to them approximately 1 month before their Bar/Bat Mitzvah celebration.
  7. Finally, 4th – 6th grades enjoyed Tefilla led by Rabbi Prass and Morah Alexa! Rabbi Prass challenged all of us to think about positive things we all have done despite the fact that so many terrible things are going on in the world today.  He shared a story from Pete Seeger about the teaspoons who worked to outweigh the brokenness in the world.

Homework to be completed by next class:

N/A

12/15: Today in class we worked on:

  1. Today was Yom Chanukah! It was great to see so many of our learners in ‘Chanukah swag’
  2. We began in our assigned classrooms where each grade divided into teams and came up with their own team names based on chanukah themes.
  3. Then we gathered for an all school t’fillah led by Morah Alexa, Rabbi Bellows, and Rabbi Prass. We talked about Chanukah and how the prayers connected to our upcoming festival of Chanukah. Rabbi Bellows shared how Chanukah means dedication and that we need to give thought to rededicating ourselves to many of today’s challenges and not giving up on them.
  4. Then we divided up by grade and the teams we created for 4 stations of “13 Minute to Win It activities”.  We will share out some of their work in the days to come. The stations were:
    • Chanukah is about HEROES with Moreh David.  We looked at the Chanukah story and thought about the heroes in the Chanukah story, Israeli heroes, our own heroes, and ways that we can be heroes.
    • Chanukah is about LIGHTS with Morah Wilgus.  We talked about the Chanukah rituals, where we have lights in Chanukah, What we can do to create light.
    • Chanukah has Dreidels with Morah Rachel & Mr & Mrs. Popper. Our congregants brought in some of their 250 dreidel collection to share.
    • Chanukah Write-Pass-Write with Morah Kaufman. We retold the Chanukah story in creative contemporary formats.
  5. We then gathered back together for an all school shira led by Morah Alexa where we sang Chanukah songs.
  6. As we left Rabbi Bellows and Rabbi Prass handed out Chanukah Gelt and dreidels.

Homework to be completed by next class:

N/A

12/8: Today in class we worked on:

  1. Tell Me Something Good – we started off by sharing one good thing that happened to us this week
  2. Stayed as one group today and worked on one reading about one of the prophets (Elijah).
  3. Discussed what we knew about Elijah – Passover story, sign of the messiah
  4. Finished reading through the story and discussed as a group about how they prophet they read about would help solve our modern day problem of hunger.
  5. At Shira, Morah Alexa started to teach 4th – 6th grade songs for the upcoming festive holiday of Chanukah!
  6. Finally, 4th – 6th grade enjoyed Tefilla led by Rabbi Prass and Morah Alexa!  Rabbi Prass began to remind us about Chanukah thru the lens of our prayers.

Homework to be completed by next class:

N/A

11/24: Today in class we worked on:

  1. Tell Me Something Good – we started off by sharing one good thing that happened to us this week
  2. Broke up into two groups and each group worked one reading about one of the prophets (Deborah or Isaiah).
  3. The 4th – 6th graders enjoyed Shira with Morah Alexa.
  4. Finished reading through the story and discussed as a group about how they prophet they read about would help solve our modern day problem of hunger.
  5. Each group shared about their prophet, who they were, how they became the prophet they were and what they got out of their story to believe their prophet can help solve hunger.
  6. Then, 4th – 6th students, and 4th grade parents gathered for t’fillah led by Rabbi Prass and Morah Alexa.  At Tefilla, Rabbi Prass connected our limmud theme of Jewish history to each of the prayers in that each of the prayers connect to a snapshot in Jewish history.  Rabbi Prass again talked about the Jewish concept of saying Todah or gratitude as we draw closer to the US Holiday of Thanksgiving, as well as challenging everyone to help out at their homes with what was needed to pull off a festive holiday celebration!

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Have A Wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

11/17: Today in class we worked on:

  1. Tell Me Something Good – we started off by sharing one good thing that happened to us this week
  2. Broke up into two groups and each group worked one reading about one of the prophets (Hannah or Solomon).
  3. At Shira, 4th – 6th grade enthusiastically joined with Morah Alexa and sang out some favorite numbers from our songster.
  4. Finished reading through the story and filled out a think sheet about how they prophet they read about would help solve our modern day problem of hunger.
  5. Each group shared about their prophet, who they were, how they became the prophet they were and what they got out of their story to believe their prophet can help solve hunger.
  6. 4th – 6th grade joined Rabbi Prass & Morah Alexa for t’fillah. Rabbi Prass talked about the Jewish concept of Hakatoret Ha-Tov or gratitude/recognizing the good as we draw closer to the US Holiday of Thanksgiving.  We also talked about our Jewish prayers in our t’fillah, and how they teach us to recognize the good by offering praise.

Homework to be completed by next class:

N/A

11/10: Today in class we worked on:

  1. Tell Me Something Good – we started off by sharing one good thing that happened to us this week
  2. Rehearsed and filmed 2 of our 4 skits from our Middot unit.
  3. At Shira, we welcomed Morah Alexa back, who taught 4th – 6th grade new songs.
  4. Rehearsed and filmed the final two of our skits from the Middot unit.
  5. Had a discussion about what the final project of our Prophets unit will be and then discussed what our overarching modern day problem will be for our prophets to solve – hunger.
  6. Morah Alexa and Rabbi Prass led 4th – 6th grade in T’fillah.  Rabbi Prass talked about the attacks on Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam this past week, but stressed that since we have a Jewish country, Israel was able to successfully rescue everyone.  We compared the Israeli planes bringing the Israeli fans out of Amsterdam into safety in Israel like a modern day Mi Chamocha moment.

Homework to be completed by next class:

N/A

11/3: Today in class we worked on:

  1. Tell Me Something Good – we started off by sharing one good thing that happened to us this week
  2. Opened our unit about the Prophets by asking the students to write down where we get our Jewish Values and then What is the Tanakh? Students were then asked to share with others in the class and then have a classroom discussion.
  3. At Shira, 4th – 6th grade enjoyed spending time with Morah Ari who was with us again this week.
  4. Now that we know where we get our values, and what the tanakh is, the students were asked to write down a prophet they remember and to summarize their story if they remember. They then shared with classmates and have a classroom discussion about these stories and what we can learn from these stories.
  5. Morah Ari & Rabbi Prass led 4th – 6th grade in T’fillah. Rabbi Prass stressed the importance of finding holiness, as Jews, in Chesvan.  We had the opportunity to debate if the Talmudic rabbis were right, that this is MarCheshvan (the bitterness of Cheshvan) because there are no holidays in this month OR if Rabbi Prass’ t-shirt was right, some modern rabbis love Cheshvan because it is a slower pace than the previous month of Cheshvan.

Homework to be completed by next class:

N/A

10/27: Today in class we worked on:

  1. Tell Me Something Good – we started off by sharing one good thing that happened to us this week
  2. Broke up into two groups and started writing our scripts for the 4 skits we are going to be portraying
  3. At Shira, 4th – 6th grade welcomed Morah Ari back and enjoyed learning new songs from her.
  4. Finish Scripts For Filming on 11/10. Discussion about values and how our values can change or why our values change.
  5. 4th – 6th grade gathered again for Tefilla led by Morah Ari and Rabbi Prass.  Rabbi Prass led a discussion where we talked about transitioning away from the structured “Holiday Time” of 4 holidays in Tishrei as we go into the month of Mar Cheshvan where we just live out lives, as Jews, in “Ordinary Time” with Shabbat and Rosh Chodesh. Students also shared what makes them uncomfortable: structured time or unstructured time.

Homework to be completed by next class:

N/A

10/20: Today in class we worked on:

  1. Today was a special day where all of K – 6th grade met at CBA instead of JCYS so we could spend time in the Sukkah.
  2. We began our session in the sanctuary.  We look around this room and talked about what makes a room “chol” Hebrew for secular, and what makes our sanctuary “kodesh”, Hebrew for holy.  The students shared answers like the Torah scrolls, Israeli flag, Jewish stars, and one 6th grader said the community. We then made Havdalah together, having some of our 6th graders hold the 3 symbols.
  3. From here the entire school broke into 4 stations/rotations focusing on Sukkot.  They were:
    • Sukkot Charades: Reviewing Sukkot topics by playing charades
    • Sukkot STEM: Learning about Sukkot through the lense of STEM questions
    • Sukkot Visits: We went out to the Sukkah with Rabbi Bellows, shook the Lulav/Etrog and talked about what middot (Character traits) we need to invite into the sukkah this year.
    • Paper chains with a 2023 twist:  We made paper chain decorations by writing the name of a hostage being held in Gaza on each piece of paper.
  4. The entire school gathered back in the sanctuary for Shira led by Morah Alexa.  There was a lot of Ruach (spirit!)
  5. Then Michael Greenwald, an associate Camp Director from OSRUI, came and we enjoyed a presentation from him on the amazing opportunities for fun, learning, and Jewish community from Reform Judaism Summer camp in Wisconsin.  The camp website is: OSRUI.  The Reform movement runs the following speciality camps:  6 Points Creative Arts Camp, 6 Points Sci Tech Camp, 6 Points Sports Academy,
  6. Lihitaot (good-bye)! See you next week back at JCYS!

Homework to be completed by next class:

N/A

10/6: Today in class we worked on:

  1. Tell Me Something Good – we started off by sharing one good thing that happened to us this week
  2. Discussion about prayers and the meanings they have now that we are 1 year since October 7th – connection to how this effects our values as Jews and how might our values have changed in the last year (if they have). 
  3. At Shira, Morah Alexa taught 4th – 6th graders new songs for the High Holiday season that will be sung at the Youth Services here at Beth Am, as well as a Debbie Friedman variation of Oseh Shalom Beemromov.
  4. Class Discussion about what values we will portray for our final group project in 3 weeks.
  5. 4th – 6th grade gathered for Tefilla led by Rabbi Prass and Morah Alexa.  We talked about what we can do when things are open, and what we can’t do when they are closed.  Rabbi Prass reminded us that on Rosh Hashanah, the Gates of Heaven are open and our prayers are extra heard thru Yom Kippur’s neilah service.  We continued to hear the call of the shofar. We also recalled the tragic events of October 7, 2023.

Homework to be completed by next class:

N/A

9/29: Today in class we worked on:

  1. Tell Me Something Good – we started off by sharing one good thing that happened to us this week.  Some of the things shared were: passing a quiz, having a good game in a sport, something family related.
  2. We continued our discussion about Jewish Values
  3. 4th – 6th Grade gathered for Shira. Morah Alexa taught us new songs for the High Holiday season that will be sung at services here at Beth Am.
  4. Class Discussion about “”What Would You Do?” – The students created their own situations where Morals/Values would be compromised. They shared out with the class and we discussed what we would do and why.
  5. Rabbi Prass and Morah Alexa led 4th – 6th grade inTefilla. Rabbi Prass got us all in the spirit of the upcoming High Holiday season and the new year of 5785 by blowing the Shofar; additionally. we expressed our hopes for things to be  better in 5785!
  6. L’Shanah Tovah – Have A Great Start To 5785

Homework to be completed by next class:

N/A

9/22: Today in class we worked on:

  1. Tell Me Something Good – we started off by sharing one good thing that happened to us this week (passing a quiz, having a good game in a sport, something family related).
  2. Class Discussion about “”What Would You Do?” I gave them each 2 situations and what they would do in that situation based upon their values.
  3. At Shira, Morah Alexa taught 4th – 6th grade new songs for the High Holiday season.
  4. The students all worked together to complete a scavenger hunt to get to know our physical Sunday learning spaces, our wonderful Sunday staff, and how their work makes us feel.  We will be sharing the answers out next week once all the classes have completed it. Ask your student about it!
  5. Start a Discussion about Values of Judaism
  6. At Tefilla, 4th – 6th grade joined together with Morah Alexa and Rabbi Prass. Rabbi Prass got us all in the spirit of Chodesh Elul by blowing the Shofar. 

Homework to be completed by next class:

N/A

9/15: Today in class we worked on:

  1. Tell Me Something Good – we started off by sharing one good thing that happened to us this week (passing a quiz, having a good game in a sport, something family related). This was a great icebreaker and roundtable for everybody to share some good news from the past week.
  2. Class Discussion about “What are Values?”
  3. Started Worksheet about 5 Values you have and why they are your values
  4. 4th – 6th grade joined together in Shira led by Morah Alexa
  5. Shared and Discussed with classmates about what we value.
  6. Discussed how I can connect my values to Judaism
  7.  Gan –  6th grade joined in our first Sunday t’fillah of the school year led by Morah Alexa and Rabbi Prass.  We talked about where we “find inspiration for our own words” and how silence helps us find other inspiration.  Rabbi Prass shared two rabbinic stories, and a Ringo Starr story about this.   

Homework to be completed by next class:

N/A

9/8: Today in class we worked on:

  1. We enjoyed an Opening Ceremony, with all the grades together, Morim & Madrichim, Rabbi Bellows, and Rabbi Prass. We reenacted Mt Sinai by each kitah (class) sitting in the large circle to pretend we were encircling Mt Sinai.  Then we chose 2 people from each class to go closer to the middle of Mt Sinai to do some running for a scavenger hunt.  Morah Alexa led us as we sang blessings and we ended with a streamer/confetti burst to kick off our Torah learning party of a year!  It was great to have so many parents join us.  Pictures of the kickoff can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=BethAmBuffaloGrove&set=a.906074391552343
  2. Introductions (Name, School We Attend, 1 Hobby We Have, Why Are You Here?)
  3. Rules and Formalities in our classroom.
  4. Rock – Paper – Scissors – Move: If you won a game, you added a thought to the sheet about what you thought of with that topic. Topics were our 4 units we will discuss in class (Values, Prophets, Comparative Judaism, Comparative Religion).
  5. Discussion of what was written and how all of these topics are intertwined.
  6. 4th – 6th grade joined together with Morah Alexa for shira.
  7. On the way out, each of us were offered a popsicle both to hold onto summer weather, and to begin our Torah learning with some sweetness.

Homework to be completed by next class:

N/A