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KOL ECHAD | Weekly Newsletter
March 7, 2024
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Watching Our Garden Grow
By Alisha Sela, ECEC Director
This year we added something new to our ECEC yard. We built a garden, complete with a white picket fence.
In January, the teachers spent a day of professional development with Ruth Steinberg, from Little Saplings. She taught us everything we needed to know about our garden, including helping us make a worm farm. Together we planted a garden bed, saving the second garden bed for the children to create when they returned to school.
Our garden was created with a variety of senses in mind. We have things to smell, things to eat, and beautiful flowers to enjoy. The children take turns watering the plants and exploring all our garden has to offer. We have a center with gloves, shovels, magnifying glasses, spray bottles, and lots of containers to collect treasures inside.
I have been so impressed with how much care the children have given the garden. We are entering our third month, and the garden is flourishing! The children look forward to their watering day and can’t wait to harvest some of the fruits and vegetables.
Just as the plants in our garden are growing, so, too, are the children. They are learning where fruits and vegetables come from, how to take care of our environment, and what you get with patience and love.
"Play in the dirt. Because life is too short to always have clean fingernails." - Unknown
Shabbat shalom,
Alisha Sela
ECEC Director
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Important Dates
Sunday, March 10
- Daylight saving time begins (spring forward)
Monday, March 11
- Concert by visiting musicians from the Kadima Conservatory of Music (ECEC/Elementary School)
Wednesday, March 13
- Snack Shack
- 3rd and 5th grade field trip to Griffith Observatory
Thursday, March 14
Monday-Friday, March 18-22
Tuesday, March 19
- Field trip to the Jewish Home for the Aging (3rd-5th grades)
Thursday, March 21
- 1st grade field trip to the Los Angeles Natural History Museum
Friday, March 22
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Tropical paradise Purim carnival
Monday, March 25
- Purim celebrated at school
Sunday, March 31
*For the full school-year calendar, please click HERE.
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NEW 2024-25 School Year Calendar
The 2024-25 school year calendar is now available, please click here.
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Spring Enrichment (Kindergarten - Second Grade)
Starting Monday, March 11
Spring enrichment for kindergarten, first grade, and second grade students will begin next week, the week of March 11, and extend through the week of April 8. The 5-week sessions include art with Yael Shakked on Mondays, dance and movement with Shiri Cohen on Wednesdays, and theater with Yafit Josephson on Thursdays. Classes are $200 each and will be offered from 3:30 to 4:15 pm. Deadline to enroll is Friday, March 8. No refunds if canceled after March 8.
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Snack Shack
Wednesday, March 13
This month's Snack Shack for grades K-8, hosted by our PTO, will take place this coming Wednesday, March 13. Please send your children with a few dollars for a treat during recess. All proceeds benefit our PTO.
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Get Ready for Spirit Week
Monday-Friday, March 18-22
In preparation for Purim, the middle school student leadership group invites students in Kinder through 8th grade to get creative! Each day during Spirit Week includes a special theme, and a costume to match.
On Monday, show off your crazy hair or hat. On Tuesday, everyone should be able to get to school on time as it is pajama day, easy breezy morning routine. On Wednesday, students in elementary and middle school will dress in a cohesive class theme (teachers will send details of their class's theme in advance), while, in ECEC, children will dress up as their favorite superhero or Disney character. Also on Wednesday, volunteer parents will decorate each classroom door with the class theme. Thursday in Kinder through eighth grade is is v'nahafoch hu (opposite) day. Wear your clothes upside-down, backwards, or any other variation of your choice. The ECEC theme on Thursday is sports - channel your inner LeBron or Serena! Friday is our grand tropical paradise Purim carnival day. Dress in your favorite Hawaiian shirt, hula grass skirt, or other tropical-themed clothing.
On Monday, March 25, Kadima will be celebrating Purim with a mishloach manot exchange, costume parade, and m'gilah reading (more details to follow soon). On Purim, students should wear a costume of their choice (no weapons, please).
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Purim Carnival Volunteers
Friday, March 22
Kadima's tropical paradise Purim carnival is in need of volunteers. The carnival will be held on Friday, March 22, with the following time slots for each division:
- ECEC: 9:00 - 10:30 am
- Kindergarten-2nd grade: 10:30 am - 12:30 pm
- 3rd-8th grade: 1:00-3:00 pm
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Mazal Tov!
Please join us in congratulating Ori Ben David, and his family, on the occasion of his Bar Mitzvah. Mazal tov!
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Thank You, Kadima PTO!
Thank you to the Avitan, Batzri, Federman, and Tahvili families, along with Chef Suzie for sponsoring a delicious brunch for the faculty and staff in honor of Rosh Chodesh Adar II. We really appreciate it!
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School Policy - Microwave
Beginning Monday, March 11, students will no longer be able to use the microwave oven, or hot water from an urn, at school. Please do not send your child with food requiring heating. We encourage you to send preheated food in a thermos instead. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.
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Thanking the Jewish Federation
The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles works to identify and address the greatest challenges and opportunities in Los Angeles, Israel, and around the world. The Federation is steadfast in its commitment to addressing our community’s short- and long-term challenges. They play an essential role in keeping our community connected and strengthening our beloved Jewish LA. Federation also supports Jewish day schools in other ways, including, but not limited to:
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Financial Aid Awards for Jewish day schools and Early Childhood Centers, for families in need. This strategy strives to ensure that families with young children will be able to participate in Jewish life and build a foundation for future Jewish engagement.
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The Community Security Initiative (CSI) partners with local, state, and federal agencies to assure the safety and security of all Jewish institutions in greater Los Angeles. CSI provides site assessments and emergency and disaster training.
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Partnerships with the Builders of Jewish Education (BJE) promote professional development for our educators and gain access to government benefits and capacity building.
We encourage you to connect with the Jewish Federation to learn more about future opportunities for engagement for you and your entire family. To begin receiving Federation communications, go to the bottom of the homepage of www.jewishla.org, and look for “Join Our Mailing List.”
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IAC Adloyada - Purim Parade 2024
Wednesday, March 21, 4:00 - 7:00 pm, IAC Shepher Community Center
Kadima cheer squad will be performing at this year's IAC Adloyada.
Come and support Kadima!
Immerse yourself in the magic of Purim with a carnival featuring kids’ attractions, food trucks, arts and crafts and many more surprises! Be captivated by various performances and displays!
The highlight of the event is the grand Purim parade, spreading the joy of Purim and bringing the spirit of Israel to Los Angeles. This celebration is a testament to our community’s unity and the pride of being together for Israel. Tickets are limited. Every person 2 years old and up needs a ticket.
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Top 10 Conversation Starters: Parashat Vayakhel
By Dr. Steven Lorch
#10 - Moshe assembles B'nei Yisrael to tell them to build the Mishkan (Sh'mot 35, 1), but first he warns them not to violate Shabbat (35, 2-3). Why is Shabbat a good introduction to building the Mishkan? What's the connection?
#9 - In a previous parashah, when God instructs Moshe how to build the Mishkan (Sh'mot 25,1 - 31,11), observing Shabbat is mentioned, too, but after all the instructions for the Mishkan (31,12-17). Why, in God's instructions to Moshe, does the Mishkan come first and Shabbat second, but here, in Moshe's instructions to B'nei Yisrael, the order is reversed - Shabbat first, then the Mishkan?
#8 - In the Ten Commandments (20, 9), the Shabbat instructions are phrased: "ששת ימים תעבוד ועשית כל מלאכתך (On six days shall you labor and do all your work)," while here (35, 2) it's phrased differently: "ששת ימים תיעשה מלאכה (On six days work shall be done)." What differences do you notice in the phrasing? How does the context of each instruction help explain the differences in phrasing?
#7 - After the instruction is given not to do any creative work on Shabbat, one of the prohibited types of work, lighting a fire, is specifically mentioned (35, 3). Why? And why this example rather than any of the others - planting, writing, carrying, etc.?
#6 -Men, women, ordinary people, and leaders all donate raw materials to the Mishkan. Men bring the materials as is - gold jewelry, dyed yarn, linen, animal skins, silver, copper, wood, precious stones, spices, and oil (35, 5-9). Women, on the other hand, are called skilled (חכמת לב), and, before they donate, they take the dyed yarn and goats' hair and spin them into fabric (35, 25-26). Why the difference?
#5 - B'nei Yisrael give to the Mishkan so generously that Moshe tells them to stop (36, 5-6). Why doesn't he let them keep bringing donations? Why is stopping good for B'nei Yisrael? Why is B'nei Yisrael stopping good for Moshe?
#4 - In God's instructions to Moshe to build the Mishkan, the chief architects, Betzalel and Oholiav, are appointed at the end (31, 1-6). In Moshe's instructions to B'nei Yisrael, they are appointed near the beginning (35, 30-34). Why the difference?
#3 - Last week, in Parashat Ki Tisa , when God instructs Moshe to appoint Betzalel to be the chief architect of the Mishkan (31, 6), Oholiav is referred to as Betzalel's assistant (נתתי איתו את אהליאב - I have assigned Oholiav to him). Here, when Moshe describes the building project to B'nei Yisrael (35, 34), Betzalel and Oholiav are described as equals (הוא ואהליאב - he and Oholiav). Why?
#2 - God endows Betzalel, the chief architect of the Mishkan, בחכמה בתבונה ובדעת (with wisdom, understanding, and knowledge - 35, 31). In Proverbs 3, 19-20, the same three terms, in the same order, are used to describe God's creation of the world. What does this similarity teach us? Be specific.
#1 - This parashah repeats almost word for word the design of the Mishkan and its furniture and utensils, substituting ויעשו (they made) for ועשית (make, or you shall make). It would have been much more efficient to write "ויעשו...כאשר ציווה ה' את משה כן עשו (they made it exactly as God had instructed Moshe)." What purpose is served in repeating every detail?
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