Shalom Ulpanon Bet Families, “Aviv Hegia Pesach Ba!” – Spring has arrived Pesach is here! Pesach spirit and spring energy is in the air. Ulpanon Bet friends are now experts in the Passover story and now learning the many Pesach traditions. In class we had a mini hands-on Seder; the children set up the table and each child had all the Seder plate items on their own plate. Next, they mixed the salt and peeled the eggs. After that, we also ground our own Haroset with apples, dates, and raisins. While we were doing this, we learned all the meanings of the symbols. We baked a challah and a Matzah and got to understand the Mitzvah of eating Matzah during Pesach. The children got to watch the dough rise and saw how making Matzah is much faster. This was a great experience to help them make the connections and understand how fast the Israelites left Egypt. For art, the children made another beautiful painting of tulips. They learned that in Hebrew, tulips are called “Tsivoni”. An additional project that the children worked on was a gift for the families that you can use at your Seder. We also learned the Pesach vocabulary in Hebrew and we are practicing the four questions every day. Each day this week we focused on one question. We would like to share with you about two beautiful mitzvot that two of our students have done. Last month, Geffen entered the classroom sporting a shorter hairstyle. Eager to show off her haircut, she excitedly recounted, “I cut so much of my hair because it was so long, all the way down to my tush. I wanted to do a big mitzvah! I want to give my hair to someone so they cannot be bald anymore and the person will be happy so they will not look bald anymore. I like doing nice things for people because it makes me feel good and a mitzvah for them makes them feel good, too. ” Giving tzedakah is supposed to be a spontaneous act, a marker of generosity and a value at our school, which our children clearly understand. This month, in preparation for last Friday’s Farmers Market in support of Beit Issie, we read the book A Circle of Smiles by Sylvia Rouss, which describes Beit Issie’s program and the children who attend. We continued to discuss the ideas of tzedakah, mitzvoth and similarities/differences amongst children. That afternoon, Shane came home and shared the information with his family. He declared, “I want to give my money to those kids who need more help and other stuff to play.” He brought his piggy bank to his mom and shared his plan to bring it to school to donate. The next day, Shane carefully carried his piggy bank into class and patiently waited to visit the Farmers Market. Upon arriving, Shane emptied his entire savings onto the cashier table and explained, “I want to give you this money to help other kids. It’s mine but they need it more. It’s a mitzvah.” Evidently, Wise fosters a student’s love of learning and desire to make the world a better place. The children not only learn about Judaism, but also live and practice these values in everyday life. Witnessing the children embrace their Jewish identity and spontaneously do mitzvoth is incredibly moving. The Ulpanon Bet children should be so proud of themselves; we certainly are kvelling! Today was Geffen’s special Shabbat. Thank you to her family for celebrating with us. Reminders: - Daditude this Sunday, April 10th, at 9:15 am - Tuesday 4/12/16 at 11:00 in Hershenson Hall is the Pre K Seder: Please let us know who will be your child’s guests (2 per child) please make sure you know the food items you need to bring. - Friday, April 15th, will be Hayli’s special Shabbat - Grandmothers and Mothers week is 5/2/16-5/6/16 . Stay tuned for more information. - Grandmothers and Mothers brunch will be on Friday 5/6/16. Please RSVP to the Evite that will be sent to you from the office. Warmly, Meirav & Talia
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