March 28, 2024 |

Grade 6 – Ken’s Trope Class

Posted on October 24, 2017

Great to start learning to read Torah with the 6th graders today and yesterday!

1) The students should put their trope packet in a folder or binder and bring it every Tuesday or Wednesday to Hebrew School
2) They should also please bring a set of 6 highlighters (preferred colors below)
3) They should listen to track 1 on this pagehttps://tiofnatick.org/Torah  to master the “Etnachta” family, and should also make flashcards for the first 4 trope (Mercha, Tipcha, Munach, and Etnachta), which we went over in class.  Flash cards should have the trope symbol on one side of the card and the name on the other, and they can put those in their folder to show me next week.  They can feel free to listen ahead to track 2 and/or 3, which we’ll get to next week.  
Please read this introductory letter below which you can also view here.  Feel free to call or email with questions.  I’m emailing parents and 6th graders if I have your addresses (if you have additional addresses I should send updates to, please let me know.  Thanks!   — Cantor Ken

Dear 6th grade families,
        I am excited to begin meeting with our 6th graders for Trope Class that will meet during Hebrew School on Tuesday OR Wednesday afternoons throughout the year, 5:30-6:00.  This class is a great opportunity for students to get a head start on synagogue skills that should serve them well for bar or bat mitzvah and beyond.  By laying the groundwork in our class and in practice at home, our individual lessons will go much more smoothly.
       Our goals for the class are for the 6th graders to:
1)  master the blessings before and after the Torah (“an aliya”) and the blessings before and after the Haftarah.
2)  know the names of each of the trope symbols and know what tunes they signify for both the Torah and Haftarah, enabling them to, with practice, chant any Torah or Haftarah portion
3)  join the large community of Temple Israel’s Torah readers.  This journey will begin this year with reading Torah at Synaplex Shabbat services and Junior Congregation services (dates here)–, and will conclude for the year in our special celebration on the first day of Shavuot— Sunday, May 19.  Please mark your calendars in advance to make sure you plan to be there; this will also be the final day of Religious School. The students will continue to have opportunities to read Torah at minyan next year, at their bar or bat mitzvah, and beyond.
The expectations for the class are as follows:
1)  Students should practice daily and complete each weekly assignment.  The recommended amount of daily practice is 10-15 minutes a day, increasing to 20-30 minutes a day when individual lessons begin.  I will tell the students the assignment at the end of each class and will sometimes email it as a reminder.  
2)  Parents, please check in with your child each week on their progress with the Trope, Blessings, and Torah portions.  You may sit with them for the full practice time or you might check in with them for a few minutes to hear their progress after they have practiced on their own.  Even if your Hebrew skills are not strong, it still helps your child to listen to them. Let me know if you need help from my end to help your children or to learn to chant Torah yourself!
3)  Please buy and bring to class each Tuesday or Wednesday:
a.   A binder or folder for the packet and other papers
b.  Highlighters including pink, orange, yellow, green, blue, & purple

Bar/Bat Mitzvah Dates and Family Programs

    Below are bar/bat mitzvah dates with “sneak preview” dates, when you can hear your Torah and/or Haftarah portions a year ahead of time. On Shabbat morning that day, you can follow along with the portions and hear the d’var Torah. The more you can attend services this year, the better.  6th graders can attend junior congregation, usually on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of the month, and can sometimes join us in the sanctuary.  Jr. Congregation dates are listed  here.
Bar/Bat Mitzvah Date  Name and Torah/Haftarah Portion                     Sneak Preview Date
9/1/18                       Jacob Rosenberg  Ki Tavo                                            
9/29/18                          Zachary Austrager  Chol Hamoed Sukkot                         
10/6/18                     Sophia Rothkopf  Breisheet                                 
10/13/18                        Max Masters  Noach                                               10/21/17
10/27/18                        Isabel Pravda  Vayeira                                            11/4/17
11/3/18                          Jonathan Sugarman  Chayei Sarah                        11/11/17
11/10/18                        Chloe Steinberg  Toldot                                      11/18/17
12/1/18                         Asher Copaken  Vayeishev                                       12/9/7
12/8/18                        Jared Marcus  Miketz/Rosh Chodesh/Chanukah     12/16/17
12/29/18                     Asher Blacker  Shemot                                              1/6/18
3/2/19                         Zachary Missle  Vayakhel/ Shekalim                        2/10/18
3/9/19                         Sophia Priluck  Pekudei                        3/10/18
3/23/19                         Sasha Linden  Tsav                     3/24/18
4/6/19    Maya Rossin  Tazria/Rosh Chodesh/HaChodesh  3/17/18 & 4/21/18
4/13/19                     Matthew Koltenuk  Metsora/HaGadol    3/24/18 & 4/21/18
5/4/19                         Sarah Berk  Acharei Mot      4/28/18
5/11/19                         Miles Goldenblatt  Kedoshim    4/28/18        
5/25/19    Dafna Novick  Behar                         5/12/18               
6/1/19                            Rebekah Kingsbury  Bechukotai                5/12/18
6/22/19                          Naomi Dolgoff  Behaalotecha        6/2/18
8/31/19                          Nadav Fuxman  R’ei/ Rosh Chodesh    8/11/18
9/7/19                            Gabriel Klawans  Shoftim   8/18/18
9/14/19    Clara Duckworth Ki Teitsei               8/25/18
In addition to our group class each Tuesday or Wednesday, 5:30-6:00 PM, we’ll begin individual lessons at least 6 months before your Bar or Bat Mitzvah, and at least 8 months if there is an intervening summer. (for the fall through early spring bnai mitzvah)
Also, please note that we’ll have several Family Bar/Bat Mitzvah programs during the year (most for parents with children), on Sunday mornings, including our religious school students and day school students.  The first two are a family program on October 22, 10:00 AM-noon, and a parents’ meeting on November 5, 11:00 AM-noon.
Questions? Call 508-650-3521, ext. 107, or email cantor@gmail.com.  I’m looking forward to our studies together leading up to your celebrations!