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For Your Calendar
Friday, March 18
3:30 dismissal resumes
Sunday, March 20
PJ, Pancakes, and Purim
at the Hoffman Summerwood Community
Monday, March 21
7:30 pm
PA Evening Coffee Talk with Andrea Kasper on the topic "Educational Philosophy: How Education has Changed."
Thursday, March 24
Purim celebrated in school
Friday, March 25
No Classes
School Closed
Wednesday, March 30
Parent-Teacher Conferences
No Classes
Thursday, March 31
Evening Parent-Teacher Conferences
Thursday, April 7
7:00 pm
8th Grade performance of "James and the Giant Peach"
Friday, April 8
Schechter Shabbat Share
Saturday, April 9
JCC Film Festival: Schechter Parent/Staff Outing
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Solomon Schechter Day School offers our heartfelt condolences to
Sherri and Fred Pliskin and their daughters, Schechter graduates Hannah and Madeline (2014)
on the loss of their beloved mother, mother-in-law, and grandmother
Minnie Goldenberg.
המקום ינחם אתכם בתוך שאר אבלי ציון וירושלים
May God comfort you among the mourners
of Zion and Jerusalem.
Shiva will be observed at the home of Sherri and Fred Pliskin, 161 West Ridge Drive, West Hartford, on Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings from 7:00-9:00 pm with the service beginning at 7:30 pm.
The family has requested that donations in her memory be made to Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Hartford.
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Join Our List
Would you like a grandparent, relative, or friend to receive the Schechter newsletter?
Email
[email protected] and include the name, email address, and relationship to Schechter
and we will add them to our list!
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Community Events
Saturday, March 12
7:30 pm
JT Connect Fundraiser at
Congregation Beth Israel
Worries Go Down Better with Chicken Soup : Stories about being Jewish. A
n evening of diverse group of local storytellers sharing true stories about funny, joyous, soulful, and significant Jewish
moments in their lives,
featuring Matthew Dicks. Tickets available at the door.
Click here
for more information.
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Sunday, March 13
10:30 am- 12:00 pm
Emanuel Synagogue
HIPSTORY: Join Israeli artist Ami Shimoni as he presents his illustration series "HIPSTORY" .
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Sunday, March 13
1:00-3:00 pm
S'mores and Tours -
Camp Laurelwood Information Session.
Click here
for more information and additional dates
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Sunday, March 13
2:00-4:00 pm
B'nai Tikvoh Sholom, Bloomfield
Invites you to Community Interfaith Seder, led by Rabbi Debra Cantor. Click here for more information.
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Sunday, March 13
1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
JTCares About LGBTQ Issues
lunch, learn & community service project
at Congregation Kol Haverim,
Glastonbury
Teens giving back and making a difference! Click here for more information.
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Tuesday, March 15
Offerings from Chabad
Chavrusa Night Learning
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Wednesday, March 16
7:00 pm
The Making of a Mensch
PJ Library Parents Leaning Night
Congregation Kol Haverim with Rabbi Craig Marantz
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Wednesday, March 23
Purim Happenings in the Community
Beth David Synagogue
6:30 pm
Bollywood Purim- Indian Buffet, Rides, Games and Music
Beth El Temple
5:00 pm Family Megillah Reading
Dinner and Festivities
7:30 pm Ma'ariv and the Gantza Megillah.
Click herefor full schedule of events.
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Saturday, March 26
8:15 pm
Emanuel Synagogue
Cabaret Night - We've Got Talent
The Emanuel Synagogue Sisterhood presents a lively cabaret evening with singers, dancers, pianists, guitarists and comedians hosted by special guest and MC Max Reiss. In addition to the variety of talent, there will be wine tasting and elegant desserts.
Click here for more information.
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Sunday, March 27
2:00 pm
Solomon Schechter Day School
Hear About the
Camp Zeke Experience.
Join us for some fun Krav Maga and to learn all about Camp Zeke, a Jewish overnight camp.
For more inforamtion call 212-913-9783 or email
campzeke.org.
Click here
for more information
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Sunday, April 10
Revisit the Past: Tour Synagogues and Summer Retreats of CT's Jewish Farming Communities.
Click here
for more information.
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Shabbat Shalom
Parashat Pekudei
Candlelighting 5:35 pm |
March 11, 2016
1 Adar II 5776
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A Message from Andrea |
Schechter's Cup Runneth Over
There is no clearer sentiment I could send out to the community today.
This morning over 100 grandparents, special friends, parents, aunts and uncles joined ReLiSH. The room was overflowing with people and their joy. Everyone was singing; the room was alive with energy.
Everywhere you looked, students were surrounded by friends, family, and faculty, three critical parts of their lives. Schechter's core value of Community was palpable in that moment. Grandparents and special friends from near and far saw each other and shared the experience of watching young faces light up with song, watching a new generation learn enhancing Jewish life. The visual of watching a group of individuals come together in purposeful community was more powerful than I could have imagined.
Following ReLiSH, the special guests were invited to have coffee, a nosh, and a conversation with me. It was truly a gift to share Schechter with friends who passionately wanted to know more and who in turn asked - how can we help? Schechter grew today in a beautiful way; our friendships deepened, our mission was articulated, our circle widened; we are richer for it.
Thank you for joining us today, for raising your voices in song alongside ours. Thank you for your friendship.
Shabbat Shalom,
Andrea
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8th Graders Learn JavaScript |
As part of a year long coding curriculum, eighth grade students have been  learning how to program in JavaScript. Through coding challenges and projects on Khan Academy, the students have discovered many important coding concepts, as well as the syntax of JavaScript. At the beginning of the year, they were creating simple drawings and animations. Now that they have grasped how to use logic, recursion (loops), and various other important programming concepts, the eighth graders are generating more complex programs.  Some examples of individual projects include a Pong-like tennis program and various games with swimming fish, scores for completing certain tasks, and user interaction via the keyboard and mouse. As the students learn more about JavaScript throughout the rest of the year, it will be exciting to see how their projects evolve.
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5th Grade Shadow Day |
 This past Tuesday, students in fifth grade spent the morning shadowing current middle schoolers to get a glimpse into the day of a middle school student. The fifth graders were excited to go upstairs into the middle school wing and attend classes alongside middle school students. This program afforded the younger students the opportunity to get to know teachers, experience classes, and feel the rhythm of the middle school day. The older students enjoyed sharing the qualities that make middle school at Schechter unique, fun, and interesting.
Harris Berson said, "I thought it was really fun and interesting. We got to see their schedule and what the middle school environment is like." So many students commented that the classes were interesting and engaging. "I raised my hand and the teacher called on me to give my opinion. That was cool!" said
Sal Katz. "In middle school, students have choices, like for tefilah. I really liked the chance to choose a class," said
Morissa Kranc.
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Cooking in the Kitchen with EC 2 |
During this school year, the EC2 class has been exploring f
ood and  cooking
as a long-term Reggio-Emilia project. Cooking projects include measuring, pouring, and mixing. Students enjoyed making homemade play-dough.
As part of their studies, the students set up a grocery store in their classroom. Soon, they will be visiting a real grocery story for a hands-on experience. They have also done science activities involving food, reading stories related to food,  and exploring the sensory qualities of cornmeal. Students have even painted with brushes made out of spaghetti! The cooking activities have captured interests as well.
Upcoming plans include more cooking activities, like making soup! The most popular activity so far has been making pizza. First they made English muffins pizzas. Another day they used real dough and made mini pizzas. Working with real pizza dough was an interesting sensory activity for the students. They were excited to bake their personal pizzas in the Schechter kitchen.
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5th Grade Studies the Expression of Redemption |
Students in fifth grade have been preparing for the holiday of Passover. In their Chumash class, teacher
Nancy Rosen discussed with her class the four expressions of redemption: "I will save you from, I will redeem you from, I will take you out from, I will take you from.") and also "I will bring you to." She asked the students the following question. "
Why did they choose wine at the Passover seder to represent the four expressions of redemption in the Torah?"
Molly Lerner answered, "The tartness and the sweet of the wine are bittersweet. The Hebrews were slaves experiencing hardships, but then God remembered the promise to save them."
Alyssa Temkin offered, "When you pour the wine into the cup, it's like the expression "I will bring you (to the Land of Canaan)." When you drink it, you're taking it out."
Matthew Medvedovski said, "Humans have to create wine. God created people. When we drink the wine (the cup being Egypt), we are re-enacting God taking the people out of Egypt."
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Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss |
To celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday, third graders worked together to find the deeper meanings and messages in many of his books and to react to some of his most famous quotes.
According to
Sydney Huttner, the lesson in The Sneetches
is
that "i
t doesn't matter what you look like. You should be judged on what is on the inside."
Troy Raviv
learned from Horton Hatches the Egg that, "You should trust people and stay true to your word."
Maddie Shani
reminded everyone that the lesson from The Grinch is that "It is nice to be friendly to other people; it is good for you!"
Students were interested to learn about the early life of Theodore Geisell  (Dr. Seuss). He drew political cartoons aimed at prejudice, racism and social injustice. Geisell did not become a children's author until later in his life. He was rejected by publishers over 25 times until they finally accepted The Cat in the Hat, which was written as a dare to try to get children to read. It was to replace the popular school series, Dick and Jane. However, the book was considered too much fun for schools.
Keeping up with tradition, class rabbi, Jim Rosen read
The Cat in the Hat in Yiddish.
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8th Grade Presents: James and the Giant Peach
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 Thursday, April 7
7:00 pm
The Schechter 8th Grade Class
Proudly Presents
James and the Giant Peach
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Mishloach Manot - Purim Basket Fundraiser |
Purim is just 2
weeks away and the PA needs your help. The Purim  basket fundraiser is the Schechter PA's only fundraiser for this school year and we look forward to having 100% parent participation. Students (youngest child in the family) will bring home their baskets on Thursday, March 24. This is a great opportunity to volunteer at the school and help the Schechter community. T
here are multiple ways
you
can support and be involved:
- Only 1 week is left to participate and send Purim greetings to friends, teachers, and others in the Schechter school community. The deadline to place orders is Friday March 18.
- Help pack Purim baskets on Tuesday, March 22 in the auditorium. Packing 450 baskets is easy when there is a large turnout of volunteers. We start at 8:30 am and usually end by 11:30 am, so any amount of time you can help during those hours is great.
- Deliver baskets to community members outside the school. Routes will be delivered on Thursday, March 24 and usually consist of 10-12 houses that are in close proximity. They can be delivered anytime during the day, at your convenience, and baskets can be picked up from school Wednesday afternoon, March 23 or Thursday morning, March 24 by 10:00 am.
- Contact Leah Berson at [email protected] and let her know how you can help.
This is a wonderful project and a great opportunity to volunteer. All money raised from this fundraiser will be used for enrichment programs, supplies, and projects that will directly benefit Schechter students!
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News from the Parent Association |
Monday, March 21: PA Coffee Talk:
7:30 pm Schechter Auditorium.
"Educational Philosophy: How Education has changed." Discussion led by Andrea Kasper. She will speak about her educational philosophy and how it intersects with Schechter and the community. Her talk will include her expertise, experience and empirical evidence on topics such as curriculum, belief about students as learners, belief in teacher growth, and the school climate. We all look forward to hearing Andrea speak!
Friday, April 8: Autism Awareness Day
Schechter will join Autism Speaks to bring awareness of this disorder that affects an estimated 1 in 68 individuals worldwide. Students will wear blue in support and will be able to buy a blue treat with the funds raised going to Autism Speaks.
Friday, April 8: Schechter Shabbat Share
Last Schechter Shabbat Dinner for this school year. Kosher Chinese themed menu! Registration will be open next week. SAVE the DATE!
Saturday, April 9 - JCC Film Festival
JCC Film Festival: Parents/Staff invited to see Rock in the Red Zone. Group tickets are available at a reduced rate of $9. RSVP to Elaine Leshem ASAP ([email protected]) for discounted tickets. This film explores the underground music that transforms Israel's pop-rock music scene in a city that, being on the edge of Gaza, has been called "the bomb shelter capital of the world." There is an 8:00 pm reception and a 9:00 pm viewing of the film. It is a fabulous way for the Schechter Community to support the JCC film Festival, visit with friends and view an award winning Israeli documentary.
Tuesday, April 12: PA Meeting at 8.30 am
Join us in the PA room at drop-off to hear about Teacher Appreciation week. Learn how you can help to make this a creative, heartfelt week of giving back to our phenomenal staff.
AmazonSmile
is a simple and automatic way for you to support your favorite charitable organization every time you shop, at no cost to you. When you shop at
smile.amazon.com
, you'll find the exact same low prices, vast selection, and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Hartford.
On your first visit to AmazonSmile (
smile.amazon.com
), you need to select Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Hartford as your charitable organization. Then every eligible purchase you make at
smile.amazon.com
will result in a donation.
Spread the word!
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Susan Kurtis, Editor
Lara Lakenbach and Audrey Sobel, Asst. Editors
Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Hartford |
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