JCC Havurah

Dear Families, This week, we started out by finishing up our shabbat candlesticks. We hope everyone had a chance to use them because they look beautiful and will hopefully bring much color to your shabbat! If you did not bring them home with you, we will hold on to them and you can pick them up next week. We were fortunate to have Hillary join us for another holiday cooking lesson this week. This time, we made delicious challah. Because this past weekend was “international Shabbat” Hillary also read a book that explained how shabbat varies around the world.  For instance, some communities enjoy potato kugel on Shabbat and so Hillary made some delicious kugel ahead of time for everyone to try. Next, we recapped David and Goliath and addressed 3 questions: 1. What makes you a hero? Answers included: -Saving the day -Fighting villians -Helping others 2. Who is a hero in your life? Answers included: -My mom -My twin brother -My twin sister -My robot because I love hi...

Hello, Havurah First Grade Aleph families!  It was great seeing everyone for an energizing second week.  One of the goals of Havurah is for everyone to create their own personal relationship with shabbat and Judaism. This week, we started on this mission by beginning to create our own shabbat candlesticks. They're looking great and we can't wait to pick up again next week!  Lucky for us, this week we had a very special treat in our holiday cooking specialty.  Hillary taught us how to create matzoh balls. Our kitchen connoisseurs had much to say about the mushy matzoh meal but rest assured, they did enjoy the final product.  We hope you have had the chance to cook the matzoh ball mix that we sent home with you all too.   As we mentioned in our initial email, we are focusing on the story of David and Goliath this cycle. To begin to familiarize ourselves with the story, we read a book and acted out the story in tableau...

Hello Havurah First Grade Aleph families!  It was so nice meeting you all yesterday. We had a great start to the cycle.  As we said in our last email, this cycle we are focusing on the story of David and Goliath. To kick it off, we began by talking about the meaning of the word hero and getting to know each other’s strengths.  Our first activity was a go-around of our names and our superhero poses. We expected typical superman poses, but were thrilled to see that our class is filled with the most unconventional superheroes we've ever seen! Whether their superhero pose was flossing, falling to the ground, or whistling, First Grade Alef made it clear that each of us has a superpower within! Next, we talked about what makes a hero and segued into collectively creating a kavod code (i.e. community norms/classroom expectations). This year's kavod code emphasizes kindness, respect, and safety. Everyone signed their...