Announcements

Closure

There are no Yachad classes on Monday Nov 11 for Veterans Day.

Family Interview Project

Students were assigned the “6th Grade Yachad Family Interview Project”

For this project, students will learn more about the history of their family by interviewing their oldest living relative who has a connection to Judaism (or any other family member, as long as it’s a grown up). This could be a grandparent, aunt, uncle, parent, cousin, etc. After the interview, each student will create a presentation which they will present in class. These presentation will be during Yachad in the 2nd and 3rd weeks of December. Presentation date sign-ups will be emailed by your student’s Jewish studies teacher the 1st week in December. You can view the assignment here. Students will have time during Yachad to put together the actual presentation based on the interview, but they do have to conduct their interview outside of Yachad (we assign this project this time of year because the holidays are a great opportunity for kids to see family members, and Thanksgiving would be a perfect time for the kids to conduct the interview!) Please have your student take 2 minutes to fill out by clicking here by November 13th to share who they would like to interview, when they would like to conduct the interview, and how they would like to conduct the interview (in person, on the phone, etc.)

B’nei Mitzvah Retreat, December 6th-7th

Registration is now open for the B’nei Mitzvah Retreat! Register here by Nov 27th.
The B’nei Mitzvah Retreat is an opportunity for families to share in an immersive Jewish experience, learn together about B’nei Mitzvah and bond as a grade level. The retreat will be Friday, December 6th through Saturday, December 7th. We will begin Friday night with Kabbalat Shabbat starting at 6:45 followed by Shabbat dinner and end on Saturday with Havdallah at 5:00 pm.
If you’re interested in carpooling up to URJ Eisner Camp, please add your information to this form.

Camp Style Havdalah Pool Party, Saturday, Nov 16, 3-5pm

Families that are already connected to URJ Camps will join with prospective campers and their families for a fun night with havdalah, swimming and camp-style games. We look forward to seeing you there! Register here by Nov. 8th. All welcome; 2nd – 6th grade focused.

Save the Dates, Parent-Teacher Check-Ins, Dec 7-14

From Saturday Dec 7- Saturday Dec 14 we will hold opportunities for you to meet with your child’s teacher to hear about how the year has been going. These meetings will generally take place after Yachad classes. Within the next two weeks you will receive an email with further information and the link to sign up for meetings.

Jewish Studies Update

This week, students examined the story “Little Things Are Big” by Jesús Colón. Students considered the following questions:

• To what extent do our choices define us?
• To what extent does who we are shape the choices available to us and the choices we make?
• How do our concerns about how others might perceive us affect our actions?

Next week, students will explore the ways that individuals, groups, communities, and nations define who belongs and who does not. We will investigate what it means to belong by learning about the idea of a “universe of obligation,” the term sociologist Helen Fein coined to describe the circle of individuals and groups within a society “toward whom obligations are owed, to whom rules apply, and whose injuries call for amends.” Although Fein conceived of the term to describe the way nations determine membership, we might also refer to an individual’s universe of obligation to describe the circle of other individuals that a person feels a responsibility to care for and protect.
Students will consider their own universes of obligation, as well as those of groups and nations to which they belong. This lesson will prepare students to apply this key concept when we examine the Holocaust and to reflect on the way they view others and make sense of the society in which they live.