KOL ECHAD | Weekly Newsletter 

December 14, 2023

Light in the Darkness:

Chanukah in the ECEC

By Alisha Sela, ECEC Director

Banu choshech l'garesh! We came to chase away the darkness. 

Chanukah falls during the time of year when the sun sets early and the weather is cold and gloomy. This year our hearts are also feeling the darkness, for Israel and the rise in antisemitism. 

In the ECEC, it’s easier to see the light, especially during Chanukah. Through smiles, laughter, music, and play, our hearts feel a little lighter each time we are with the children.  

Our halls have been filled with the joy of Chanukah for the past few weeks. As the children learned the story of Chanukah, everything came to life. We used loose parts to create the symbols of the holiday, letting our imagination guide our play. Science experiments with oil and water sparked our curiosity, clay got formed into dreidels and sufganiot, and we even did dreidel yoga! 

Gesher had the honor of singing live on the news. That was so much fun! Today we gathered together, midor l’dor, from generation to generation, to celebrate the last night of Chanukah. Each class sang a special song, loud and proud, as we celebrated being Jewish and being together. 

May our light shine so bright that the world sees the strength of the Jewish people. 

Chag Chanukah sameach,

Alisha Sela, ECEC Director

Important Dates

Monday, December 18 - Tuesday, January 2, 2024

• Winter break - school closed

Wednesday, January 3

• School resumes

Thursday, January 4

• PTO Meeting - 8:15 am, in the library

Tuesday, January 9

• Rosh Chodesh staff lunch

Thursday, January 11

• Chai Club reception

Friday, January 12

• Kindergarten shabbat reception

Monday, January 15

• Martin Luther King Day - school closed

Wednesday, January 17

• Snack Shack

Friday, January 19

• Yom HaSafah HaIvrit (Hebrew Language Day)

Sunday, January 21

• A Taste of Kindergarten - 10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Thursday, January 25

• Tu BiSh'vat
• Intergenerational Day

Wednesday, January 31

• Tuition assistance application (FAST) priority deadline
• 2024-25 admission application priority deadline

*For the full school year calendar, please click HERE.

Chanukah Celebrations

Recycled Chanukiah Contest Winners

Thank you to all the students who submitted the beautiful and creative entries for this year's recycled chanukiah contest. We had so many entries this year (more than 20!), it was challenging for our staff to judge.

Mrs. Winderlich, art teacher, congratulated the winners this afternoon. Our third place winner, with an amazing coffee pods chanukiah, are a brother-and-sister team, Adam (3rd grade) and Mali (1st grade) Shampanier. Our second place winner, with a beautiful Star of David cork chanukiah, is also a team effort by Mika Nouman and Gaia Karni (both in 1st grade). Finally (drum roll please), our first place winner, with a fantastic safari animals chanukiah, is Leon Perez (1st grade). Leon was not present this afternoon to accept her award gift, but her classmates, and the entire Kadima family, send her our enthusiastic hoorays.

Congratulations to all the winners, and to everyone who entered the contest, well done! Thank you to Mrs. Winderlich for all her hard work and effort in facilitating the contest.

All of the recycled chanukiah contest entries are on display in our Beit Knesset

Second place winner by Adam and Mali Shampanier (3rd grade and 1st grade)

First place winner by Leon Perez (1st grade)

Third place winner by Mika Nouman and Gaia Karni (1st grade)

Annual Campaign

Thank you to our wonderful community who has contributed to the 2023-24 annual campaign. We are grateful to everyone who donated and helped us raise over $90,000 to date.

Please take the time celebrate the positive impact you made!

A Taste of Kindergarten

Sunday, January 21, 10 am -12 pm

Attention all Gesher parents! Please join us on Sunday, January 21, from 10:00 am to 12:00 noon, for an engaging introduction to Kadima's kindergarten. Our morning will be filled with fun interactive activities, including mini-lessons led by our kindergarten teachers. Come and get a taste of what's ahead next year in kindergarten. Please RSVP to admissions@kadimadayschool.org.

2024-25 Priority Deadlines

The 2024-25 admission application priority deadline is fast approaching. To apply for admission to Kadima Day School for a younger sibling, please click here. The admission priority deadline is January 31, 2024.

Returning Kadima families will be receiving their re-enrollment contracts starting February 15, 2024. You will have two weeks to submit your signed re-enrollment contract to waive the enrollment fee.

The tuition assistance application priority deadline is January 31, 2024. All returning families who would like to be considered for tuition assistance, including those that have applied previously, must submit a 2024-25 FAST application. To access the tuition assistance FAST application, please click here.

Hot Lunch Menu

Hot lunch is now available for purchase for the months of January and February 2024. Please click here to access the new menus and to order hot lunch.

Top 10 Conversation Starters: Parashat Miketz

By Dr. Steven Lorch

#10 - The action in this parashah resumes two years after the end of the last parashah (B'reshit 41, 1), when Yosef interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh's baker and cupbearer. Is there any point to Yosef's having been kept in jail for such a long time?

#9 - During the two years, the cupbearer forgets Yosef and says nothing about him to Pharaoh (40, 23). Is he just forgetful, or is the Torah teaching us something else?

#8 - Some commentaries answer the previous two questions by saying that God punished Yosef because Yosef didn't trust that God would save him and instead asked the baker and cupbearer to mention him to Pharaoh. But when Ya'akov was preparing to meet Esav, he also didn't simply trust in God: in addition to praying, he also sent Esav gifts and prepared to fight him (32, 8-9; 14-22). What's the difference between these two cases?

#7 - Pharaoh has two dreams: 7 skinny cows eat 7 fat cows, and 7 sickly stalks of grain eat 7 healthy stalks of grain (41, 1-7). Why is it so hard to interpret them (41, 8), so that Yosef is the only one who succeeds? Do you think Pharaoh's advisers explained it differently, or didn't they have any explanation at all?

#6 - In addition to interpreting the dream as Pharaoh asked, Yosef gives Pharaoh advice: to appoint someone to oversee the stockpiling of grain during the years of plenty and its distribution during the years of famine (41, 33-36). How can Yosef dare to do something Pharaoh didn't ask him to do? And why isn't Pharaoh upset with Yosef?

#5 - When Pharaoh hears Yosef's interpretation, it pleases him, and he calls him wise (41, 37-39). How does Pharaoh know that Yosef's interpretation is correct?

#4 - After Pharaoh makes Yosef the second most powerful person in Egypt (41, 40), Yosef doesn't contact his father to tell him where he is, or even that he is alive. Why didn't he? Should he have?

#3 - When Yosef's brothers come to Egypt to buy food, Yosef recognizes them, but they don't recognize him, and he doesn't tell them who he is (42, 7-8). Why not? Was he taking revenge? Was he making his dreams come true? Was he teaching them a lesson? Was he giving them a chance to do t'shuvah?

#2 - Yosef accuses his brothers of being spies and throws them in jail. When he lets them out, they say to each other that they're being punished for what they did to Yosef many years earlier (42, 21). Why don't they acknowledge their guilt when they're first thrown in jail? Why do they wait until they're let out?

#1 - Yosef demands that the brothers come back with Binyamin before he will give them any more food (42, 20). Ya'akov refuses to let him go, but Yehuda says he will be responsible for Binyamin, and if he doesn't bring him back, Yehuda will bear the blame forever (43, 9). Ya'akov immediately lets them go back with Binyamin. Why does Ya'akov change his mind?