What's New B'Yachad

On Monday and Tuesday, 4th Grade redefined heroes: A hero is somebody with a big purpose. A hero tries to overcome obstacles, usually with their special inner qualities.  Everyone has opportunities to be a hero — we just have to see that opportunity, and act on it well.  (We checked: Yep, Jacob from the Torah is a hero.) Students also defined more things that they think of in a hero: for example, a hero might also be a role model, might save the day, might help people altruistically, it might be very subjective, and so on.

Then, we went on to learn and discuss one of the most complex family structures in the whole Torah. We watched the following video, looking for all the things that were unfair in it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y8l4RILn-Y  There was plenty to choose from! 

Happy Tu B’Shvat, 4th Grade Parents!

MW students talked about climate change, and designed inventions that could help address the problems they saw in the world.  (Ask them what they invented, they have awesome ideas. Ray guns that shoot ice to help the polar bears have somewhere to walk. Stylish cars that run on carbon and shoot out cool clean air. All their ideas are different and rad.)  MW students also enjoyed playing a game and snacking with Elal, our shinshin, to continue learning about important Israelis in history.

On Tues and Wed (yesterday and today), we’re all discussing empathy.

• Upcoming Closure: Yachad will be closed for the February break from 2/15-2/22. Classes resume Monday, 2/24.  Happy break! 
• Friday Tu B’Shevat Dinner 2/7 Looking forward to our Yachad-wide (all families K – 12) Tu B’Shevat Shabbat dinner on 2/7, 6 – 8pm. We’ll celebrate the birthday of the trees with dinner, singing, and special activities.  We will also be joined by 6 Points Creative Arts Academy Camp Director, Jo-Ellen Unger for info and activities about camp. Registration is now closed.
• Shabbat in the Home, Save the Date: April 24.  As we enter into our third theme of the year, kesher/connection, we are excited to share that each grade will have a Friday evening where families can host each other for Shabbat dinner! This will be a wonderful way for students and parents to get to know each other outside of the walls of Yachad and to share in the joy of Shabbat together at home. 4th Grade’s will be on April 24. More info coming soon.

Have you ever had a nighttime dream that changed your life? What kind of dream would do that?  How might you know that a place felt holy, what would that be like?

While our Torah-hero Jacob was running for his life, he had a beautiful dream: a ladder stretching into the heavens, with angels going up and down it, and at the top, God told Jacob that God would always be with him. When Jacob awoke, he was so amazed that he said, “This was a holy place, and I didn’t even know it!”  Jacob marked the spot specially, and he promised that, if he got home safely, God would be his God forever.

In class, students walked around a gallery of these pictures, by modern Jewish artists all over the world, all depicting this same dream.  Not only did these images show what literally happened in the dream, but also, they tried to show how the dream might have felt.  Some artists and students thought the dream was surprising and active, some thought it was relaxing and spacey, some dizzying like that swirly moment right before you fall asleep.  How do the pictures make you feel?