Dor L’Dor	r«us‰k r«us
Temple Beth-El Religious School February 13, 2003          Number 21		5763 I rst 10

The contact phone # during Hebrew School hours is 382-4286.

Valentine’s Day?

Contrary to popular belief, Valentine’s Day was not developed by Joyce C. Hall, the founder of Hallmark.  It is clearly a Christian holiday.  As Christianity became a more dominant religion, priests attempted to replace pagan rituals, in this case specifically, Lubercalia, or the Feast of Lubercus.   During this ritual, boys and girls were matched and would be considered partners for the year.  The church changed some of the rituals of this ancient pagan celebration and also changed the name to St. Valentine's Day. Through the centuries, the Christian holiday became a time to exchange love messages, and St. Valentine became the patron saint of lovers.

Tu B'av was a festival dedicated to young Jewish men and women finding their mates. Even today, the wall posters of Jerusalem announce special Tu B'av (The 15^th of the month of Av) prayers for finding a match.  The Mishnah (Ta'anit 4:8), surprisingly enough, proclaims: "There were no greater holidays for Israel than Tu B'av and Yom Kippur, for on them, the girls of Jerusalem used to go out in borrowed white dresses ... and dance in the vineyards. What would they say? 'Young man, lift up your eyes and see what you choose for yourself ...' "

Teacher Observations

My dear teachers, the first semester of school you were video taped, you watched the videotape, and learned from yourself about your teaching style.  Now it is time for me to observe you.  My goal is to observe two teachers a Sunday from here on through the rest of the year.  I will be taking notes during the class on the classroom interactions and dynamics, the classroom set up, and of the lesson plan and its implementation.  Martha  will be contacting  you to set up a time with me to discuss my observations within 2 weeks of  the observation.  This could be any afternoon or evening that you have available. 

Taking Responsibility for Our Building

Please try to take and give a sense of ownership for yourself and your students about our building, hallways, and classrooms.  Your classrooms should be decorated and set up to be conducive to creating memorable Jewish moments.  Your students should take pride in their Temple and know their responsibilities in terms of keeping it clean and usable. 

Please know that most of you are sharing classrooms even if you don't know it.  The adults in our Adult Jewish Growth program use the classrooms and committees meet in the classrooms.  It is important that everyone feels welcome and able to use the classrooms in the Religious School.

Special Programming on March 2, 2003

On Sunday March 2, 2003, we will be having a special program for all students in all grades.  Included in this program will be a lesson plan provided by me to be adapted by you regarding Our Synagogue, Dedications, Mezzuzot, and Sacred Space.  We will be hanging designated mezzuzot on the classroom doors, and all students will participate in an all school, 10 station rotation event which was created by a special task force for this day.  The theme of the day is "Back to Our Future."  Be on the look out for the lesson plans and Michael J. Fox giveaway.

Fourth Grade Shabbat

Thank you to Kellie, Jennifer, Emily, Megan and Matt for coming last Friday night and helping our Kibbutzniks with the Friday night service.  The kids were cute, the teachers were appreciated, and dinner was tastey! Yay Charlie Smith.  I'm sorry if you couldn't make it but the congregation does really appreciate its teachers, as do I.

Calling Your Students

If your students are absent more than two Sundays in a row, you must call them after Religious School.  You should say, "Hi, my name is Ploni Almoni and I’m Josh’s 3rd grade teacher at Religious School.   I’m concerned about Josh because he hasn’t shown up for the past two Sundays.  Is everything o.k. with him?"  Pause and wait for a response.  After the response, say, " we are looking forward to having Josh back with his class next week.  If there are any concerns please feel free to call Avram or me to discuss them.   Have a great week."  Wait for them to say goodbye and then hang up the phone.

Pinat Amy

WELCOME BACK ! ! ! ! The classrooms look AWESOME ! ! !  I hope you all enjoy being “home” as much is I.  If there is anything you need for your room, please let me know.  I will see what I can do.  I will be in the Faculty Resource Room organizing, setting up, and making it teacher friendly.  Please, let me know if you want anything or cannot find anything.  When we packed up 18 months ago we went through the Resource Room.  If there was something that you used and cannot find it now, it may have been disposed of.  I will try to locate it if I know you are looking for it.  I will have a wish list and a check out list folder for your use.  Please be patient, I still need a few things in the Resource Room before it will be teacher friendly.  Remember to give any major copying to Martha at least one to two weeks in advance.  The copier is for last minute copying only. 

Also, remember the Faculty Resource Room doubles as a classroom from 9:30–10:50 A.M. and is not to be disturbed for any reason.  Gayle Fish meets with special needs students and needs no disruptions to her and her students.  If you realize you forgot something or need something you will need to wait until after Ivrit/Hebrew and go in after 10:50.  Thank you for understanding.

I want to start a “Lending Library” for all of us to use.  As soon as I can make room for it I will be asking for help from anyone interested in building our “Lending Library.”  Start looking at home for books you would like to share and put into the library.  The books can be of any subject.