education – aleph wed

5/17: Today in class we worked on:

  1. Our kitah (class) had t’fillot time with Rabbi Prass. Each student had a chance to hold the Torah as we talked about inheriting the tradition we have been studying.  We also said the blessing over the omer and counted today, the 41st day of the Omer.
  2. We played Hebrew review games.
  3. Rabbi Prass came into our class and led us thru a self-evaluation where we wrote down;
    • 4 things we learned on Wednesdays this year
    • 2 reasons the things we learned on Wednesdays are important
    • 1 bit of advice for next year’s Aleph students

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. register for the 2023-2024 school year.
  2. There are lots of Beth Am events happening over the summer.  You can find them all here
  3. Have a great summer! Try to attend at least 3 shabbat services before the next school year. It’s a great way to review your Hebrew

5/10 Today in class we worked on:

  1. We enjoyed a great afternoon having T’Fillah all grades with Rabbi Prass in the Sanctuary.Rabbi Prass told the students that today is Lag BaOmer, which is the 33 day of the counting of the Omer. Ask your student what makes this day special.  Rabbi then discussed with the students, “what gets you fired up or excited” because one way the holiday is celebrated is with bon fires. The students then shared their thoughts on this subject.
  2. Saw how much we have learned this year
  3. Learned how to say the colors in Hebrew

Homework to be completed by next class:

1) Practice the Hebrew letters and vowels

5/3 Today in class we worked on:

  • We began with Tefillah. Today, we all stood before the Ark while praying as a congregation. It was a very moving experience.
  • We have finished our textbook, so we now know ALL the Hebrew letters and vowels.  Today, we practiced the letters and vowels
  • We participated in Hebrew through Movement with our school community.

Homework to be completed by next class:

1) Practice the Hebrew letters and vowels

4/26: Today in class we worked on:

  1. pages 60 -66 in our textbook (both the Hebrew and English) We counted the 20th Day of the Omer, and joined in Hatikvah.
  • Learned about the “oy” vowel sound and the “ooee” vowel sound
  • The day ended with Rabbi Prass explaining how Eliezer Ben Yehudah made Hebrew a living language once again. Rabbi gave each kitah an exercise to come up with two words of their own.  Ask your student which word they came up with. It was very clever!

Homework to be completed by next class:

1) Practice the Hebrew letters and vowels

4/19: Today in class we worked on:

  1. We enjoyed T’Fillah with all grades with Rabbi Prass in the Sanctuary.  Today was Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Memorial Day.  One student from each kitah lit a candle today in honor of the 6 Million Jews who died in Holocaust.  We counted the 14th Day of the Omer, and joined in Hatikvah.
  2. Learned a vowel exception and read from the Megillah!
  3. Practiced for our Hebrew letters and vowels
  4. Read the Hatikvah
  • Practiced for our Hebrew letters and vowels
  • Read the Hatikvah
  • We ended with Hebrew Through Movement along with the other Hebrew classes. The day ended with Rabbi Prass giving each kitah an exercise in the counting of the 50 days of the omer.  Ask your student which numbers they had.

Homework to be completed by next class:

1) Practice the Hebrew letters and vowels using the worksheet from class and flashcards

4/12: Today in class we worked on: 

  1. We enjoyed T’Fillah with the whole school, led by Rabbi Prass in the Sanctuary.  Today we stood the entire t’fillah and walked around the sanctuary as we prayed.  The point of this was to experiment with how movement or different things might help you focus more.  
  1.  Started Lesson 20. Hebrew Vowels OO-EE and the vowel “OH”. Read the letters and vowels with the “saying sounds”– page 92 yellow box.  
  1.  We read the Letter-Vowel Hint on page 92. 
  1.  We read ALOUD pages 92-93 using the “favorites” game. (Remind them to use their “pointer finger”). 
  1.  Make dictionary page for Hebrew letters you missed. Checked-off on our Aleph-Bet “countdown list”. 
  1.  The students did the “Sound Check” page 93. 
  1.  The students wrote out new Key Word flashcards for Oy Vey!   
  1. The day ended with Rabbi Prass leading Hebrew thru movement where today we played Shimon Omer (simon says in Hebrew) 

   9. Lihitaot (good-bye).  

Homework to be completed by next class:  

  1. Practice reading ALOUD page 92-93 at least 3-5 times for 15 minutes. 
  1. Do Clue to Quest on page 94. 
  1. Review all past keywords up-to-date lesson 20. 
  1. Remember Tzedakah. 
  1.   Parents, you can help your child even if they don’t know Hebrew, since the English is on the back of the flashcards. 

3/22: Today in class we worked on: 

  1. Participated in an all school T’Fillah with Rabbi Prass in the Sanctuary.  We continued discussing the 13 bakashot (request prayers) which are said every weekday, and focused on the one that asks God to grant us forgiveness. The students shared personal examples of mistakes, and how forgiveness affords them a chance to start over. 
  1. Practiced for our Passover skit and practiced our letters 
  1. Participated in a model seder with our school community.  Our class presented on the 4 Questions. 
  1. Learned a vowel exception and read from the Megillah! 

Homework to be completed by next class:  

  1. Enjoy break 🙂 
  1. No Homework. Hope you have a wonderful spring break! 
  1. Sunday, March 26 - Sunday, April 2 NO Religious & Hebrew School – Spring Break 
  1. Wednesday, April 5th: NO Wednesday Hebrew School – 1st Day Pesach 
  1. Sunday, April 9th: Religious School Resumes 
  1. Wednesday, April 12th: NO Wednesday Hebrew School – 7th Day Pesach 
  1. Wednesday, April 19th: Wednesday Hebrew School Resumes 
  1. You can always access the school calendars by clicking here. 
  1. You can always access the entire CBA calendar by clicking here. 

3/8: Today in class we worked on:

  1. Students began with the rest of the school for tefilah and Rabbi Prass, followed by a discussion of how we balance the need to be serious with an equally important need to be funny and enjoy ourselves. The students really understood how these behaviors are found in the way we celebrate Purim.
  2. Learned a vowel exception
  3. We then joined the rest of the school for reading the Megillah. They all did an excellent job!  The video of their reading is on the CBA Facebook page.

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Practice this weeks reading and practice the 4 questions for Passover in Hebrew

3/1: Today in class we worked on:

  1. We began with Tefillah and Rabbi’s discussion of Purim and our school wide Magilla reading project. We talked about one of the bakashot (request prayers)  in the Amidah which asks God to get rid of the wicked people.  We connected this to Haman, and the upcoming holiday of Purim.
  2. Practiced our words that we are reading from the megillah
  3. Made crowns with Hebrew letters and our word in honor of Purim
  4. Practiced reading from the Megillah to get ready for Purim

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Finish and cut out the crown and bring it back to class for next week

2/22: Today in class we worked on:

  1. Participated in Tefillah with Rabbi Prass and Rabbi’s discussion about the new month of Adar. As the expressions says, “It’s Adar, be happy.” We also talked about how laughter can have a positive effect on one’s mood and health.
  2. Learned 1 vowel exception & learned Fey and Final Fey
  3. Participated in Hebrew through Movement with our school community, where we added on new words for Purim.

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. I can read Hebrew on page 84

2/15: Today in class we worked on:

  1. We enjoyed all grades T’Fillah with Rabbi Prass. 
  2. Learned 2 vowel exceptions: If there is a certain ah vowel under a chet & if there is a certain oh vowel that follows a vowel
  3. Participated in Hebrew through Movement with our school community, where we added on new words for Purim.

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. The Clue to the Quest activity on page 81
  2. Read lines 6-9 aloud to someone on page 79

2/8-

Today in class we worked on:

  1. We enjoyed all grades T’Fillah with Rabbi Prass.  We connected the prayer gevurot which talks about strength with tu bishvat.  We shared where we have grown, and how we are stronger because of that.
  2. Practiced all the letters we have learned thus far
  3. Participated in Hebrew through Movement with our school community. We worked on our Tu Bishvat words.  We even shared tree jokes

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. The activity on page 74 “Odd Letter Out”
  2. The activity on page 73 “Sound off”
  3. Teach your family the letters we have learned with the Hebrew Letters packet

Today in class we worked on: 

2/1-

  1. Participated in Tefillah with Rabbi Prass. During silent prayer, we wrote notes which will be put in the kotel in Jerusalem by Rabbi Bellows next week when she goes there. 
  1. Learned the letters nun and final nun 
  1. Learned the vowel eh-cha 
  1. Participated in Hebrew through Movement with our school community led by Rabbi Prass.  Today we added on Tu Bishvat words 

Homework to be completed by next class:  

  1. The activity on page 74 “Odd Letter Out” 

Today in class we worked on: 

1/25-

  1. Our kitah (class) had sanctuary/t’fillot time with Rabbi Prass.  We talked about who has helped us grow, and connected that to the upcoming holiday of Tu Bishvat (new year of the trees) and the prayer avot v’imahot. 
  1. Learned the letter Pay and the “eye” vowel 
  1. Participated in Hebrew through Movement with our school community led by Rabbi Prass. 

Homework to be completed by next class:  

  1. The activity on page 69 “The write letter” 

Today in class we worked on: 

1/18-

  1. Participated in Tefillah led by Rabbi Bellows 
  1. Learned the letters Chet, Chaf, and final Chaf 
  1. Participated in Hebrew through Movement with our school community 

Homework to be completed by next class:  

  1. Use your flashcards to practice letters and vowels at home 

Today in class we worked on: 

1/11-

  1. Our kitah (class) had t’fillot with Rabbi Prass where we had a discussion about how much fun everyone had on break, how we express special moments, and that t’fillah can be an opportunity to express special moments. 
  1. Learned the letter Zayin 
  1. Learned that there is a vowel that can be silent or sound like “a” from “alone” 
  1. Participated in Hebrew through Movement with our school community 

Homework to be completed by next class:  

  1. It’s a match activity on page 60 
  1. Sound Advice activity on page 61 

Today in class we worked on: 

12/21-

  1. We began in an all-school t’fillah with Rabbi Prass where we talked about heroic acts we have seen and how that connects to the heroic acts of the Maccabees in the Channukah story.   
  1. Practiced all of the letters and vowels we have learned so far! 
  1. Our class along with the other grades were able to enjoy a pizza dinner.  
  1. Lihitaot (good-bye). Have a wonderful Chanukah, Happy and Healthy Secular New Years! See you all back on Wednesday, January 11th. 
  1. We have two weeks vacation …see you on the 11th. Happy Hanukkah and Happy New year 

Homework to be completed by next class:  

  1. Enjoy break! 🙂  
  1. The CBA Winter Break schedule is: 
  1. Sunday, December 25 - Sunday, January 8 NO Religious & Hebrew School – Winter Break 
  1. Tuesday, January 10 - Tuesday Hebrew School Resumes 
  1. Wednesday, January 11 - Wednesday Hebrew School Resumes 
  1. Sunday, January 15 - Religious School Resumes 

Today in class we worked on: 

12/14-

  1. We enjoyed all school t’fillot with Rabbi Prass where we talked about the gifts we have given and can give to our parents  
  1. Learned the letters Kaf and Koof 
  1. Learned the ooo vowel 
  1. Our class along with the other grades were able to enjoy learning with Rabbi Prass to learn Hebrew through Movement.  
  1. Lihitaot (good-bye). 

Homework to be completed by next class:  

  1. Activity on page 58 

Today in class we worked on: 

12/7-

  1. We had all school t’fillah. 
  1. Learned the letters Samech and Sin 
  1. Learned the vowel “ay” as in “day” 
  1. We had all school Hebrew thru movement.  

Homework to be completed by next class:  

  1. Pages 51 & 52 – Practice the readings out loud and try to increase fluency in reading 

Today in class we worked on: 

11/30-

  1. We had all school t’fillah. 
  1. Played Bingo to review letters and vowels we have already learned 
  1. Learned the letters Vet and Vav 
  1. Learned the silent vowel 
  1. We had all school Hebrew thru movement.  

Homework to be completed by next class:  

  1. Page 48 

Today in class we worked on:

11/9-

1) Learned the letter Raysh
2) Practiced the sound a Tzadi makes by making Tzedakah boxes 3) We also joined Rabbi Prass and the rest of the school for tefilot

Homework to be completed by next class:

1)Pages 36 & 37 – Review the readings and try to increase fluency in reading

Today in class we worked on:

11/2-

  1. Participated in all school Tefillah with Rabbi Prass
  2. Learned the letters Tzadi and Final Tzadi
  3. We ended class with the other Hebrew classes and watched a video about OSRUI summer 2023 and Rabbi Prass led Hebrew Through Movement.

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Pages 32 & 33

Today in class we worked on:

10/26-

  1. Participated in all school Tefillah with Rabbi Prass
  2. Reviewed Letters and vowels we have already learned
  3. Learned that the letter hey can sometimes help the vowel next to it or make an H sound. The letter Yud is the same.
  4. Learned the Word Bimah
  5. Participated in Hebrew through Movement with our school community

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Activity on Page 29

Today in class we worked on:

10/19-

  • We reviewed all the letters we have learned up until now
  • We learned the letter Gimel and the vowel “eh”

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. On page 23 in the book there is a section called “ I can Read Hebrew!” Please practice reading this activity

Today in class we worked on:

10/12-

  1. Participated in all school Tefillah with Rabbi Prass
  2. We went inside in sukkah and shook the lulav and etrog with kitah bet.
  3. We colored in all of the letters we have learned so far on the first page of our book
  4. We learned how to say hand in Hebrew – yad!
  5. We learned 2 more letters: yud and hey

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Page 18 – “I can read Hebrew!” section
  2. Page 19 – “Sound Check” activity

Today in class we worked on:

9/28:

  1. We had T’filah (services) with all other classes
  2. We joined kitah bet for Hebrew through Movement with Rabbi Prass
  3. We reviewed letters we already learned: Ayin, Aleph, and Bet
  4. We learned 2 more letters: Dalet and Lamed
  5. We learned the “oh” vowel as well

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Rhyme Time activity on page 16

Today in class we worked on:

9/21-

  1. We enjoyed an all-school t’fillah with Rabbi Prass where we heard the sound of the shofar.
  2. Reviewed what we learned last week
  3. We worked on the Aleph Bet song by Debbie Friedman.
  4. We learned the letters: aleph & alyin.  We completed thru page 11.

Homework to be completed by next class:

9/21-

Today in class we worked on:
9/14-

  1. We enjoyed an all-school assembly with Rabbi Prass where we heard the sound of the shofar.
  2. We all met each other and had Hebrew through Movement outside with Rabbi Prass
  3. We learned that Hebrew is a language that is read from Right to Left.
  4. We sang and danced to the Aleph-Bet Song so we could start to hear the names of the letters.
  5. We learned 3 letters: Shin, Mem, and Final Mem along with the Ah vowel
  6. Everyone read Hebrew aloud to the class for the first time! If you would like to hear your child read some Hebrew, I recommend working on the “Word Building” section on page 6 in the book with them
    Homework to be completed by next class:
    9/14-
    ● On page 7 in the book there is a section called “ I can write Hebrew!” Please complete this section for our next class
    ● Listen to the Aleph Bet Song at least one time at home this week. It is a call and repeat song! Here are some recommended links:
    ○ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBqqR-nqQsc
    ○ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22KiI5xvxfA
    ○ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFNhOgMOtGw