March 29, 2024 |

Doing Teshuvah

Posted on September 21, 2015

Shalom Kitah Gimmel,

It was great having the entire Gimmel class together today!
We enjoyed breakfast and conversation together as a classroom community.  Students were asked to think about 3 things they did well last year, 2 things they want to do better at this year and 1 personal goal they have for themselves for this year.  Students shared some great ideas!  We then met with Robin, Cantor Ken and the rest of the school for Tefillot and singing.
Students enjoyed their first morning meeting as a class and did jobs such as taking attendance, figuring out the Hebrew date, day of the week and weather.  The highlight of morning meeting of course is our counting game.  Today’s counter chose shmoneh (8) and we went around the circle counting to 8 in Hebrew.  Each time someone landed on 8, they were out the game.  Last one standing wins the game!
Most of today was spent reviewing Yom Kippur.  Students did activities that deepened their understanding of the 10 days of repentance, and they also reviewed the concept of Tefillah, Teshuvah and Tzedakah, the main themes of the High Holidays.  Students also discussed promises they could make for the coming year based on these themes.
We ended our day with a story about a mitzvah (good deed) and used this as a basis for discussing some important rules to make our classroom a happy and successful place.  These are our derech Eretz (good manners) rules.
I am super excited to pass out and start working on our Hebrew reading curriculum next week!
Gamar Hatimah Tovah
Elana