Dear Parents,

As the year continues to progress successfully at JEPY, we’d like to present you with a glimpse of some of the special activities and learning experiences that your child has encountered the past few months.

NEW HEBREW READING PROGRAM AT JEPY THIS YEAR:

A new, innovative Hebrew Reading Program has been introduced at JEPY this year called “Aleph Belts”. The program is comprised of color-coded reading levels and is designed to turn the students into “Aleph-Bet Champs”!! The students begin at Level 1 (white belt) and work their way through the reading booklet until they have mastered the entire level. They are then tested, and when they pass the test, they receive a certificate of achievement and a prize and are promoted to the next reading level. The students have embraced this new program with both enthusiasm and diligence. To date, we already have many “white belts”, quite a number of “yellow belts”, and even a few “orange belts”.

BIG BROTHERS / BIG SISTERS PROGRAM – A HIGHLIGHT AT JEPY:

The Big Brothers / Big Sisters Program, a highlight at JEPY, has contributed greatly to the success of the Hebrew reading program. Each student is paired up with a big brother/sister who helps guide him/her through the reading levels. This allows students to move at their own pace, and receive individualized guidance and attention as they progress in their reading skills. At the same time, students have the opportunity to develop a warm and personal relationship with their big brother/sister. Both programs have been very exciting so far, and we look forward to continued success!!

EXCITING ATTENDANCE CONTESTS AT JEPY:

Ask your child about the two new contests that we have instituted this year to encourage and promote good attendance in school. The students are awarded raffle tickets every Sunday when they come to school, and the tickets are entered into a drawing for a grand prize at the end of the year. The raffle ticket bucket is slowly filling up, and one lucky student will be the proud winner of a brand new IPOD!!!

In addition, every student receives a “JEPY dollar” for good attendance, and an extra dollar for coming on time, to be redeemed in a fantastic prize store. We already held two prize stores where students were able to “purchase” great prizes with their dollars, and we look forward to another one in a few weeks.

STAY TUNED FOR UPCOMING EVENTS….

NOTES FROM OUR TEACHERS….

1 st / 2 nd grade – Morah Ricka Cohen

We’ve had a wonderful year so far in JEPY! We’ve covered the first 8 letters of the Hebrew Alphabet (Aleph to Chet) so far, and our Aleph-Bet notebooks with pictures for each letter are looking beautiful, and extremely creative!! The students are able to recognize each letter and its corresponding sound, as well as Hebrew words that start with each letter.

We’ve enjoyed learning about the different Jewish holidays as they approached, and especially enjoyed the “hands-on” learning – blowing our shofar, shaking our lulav, and lighting our menorah!

We’ve discovered and learned about different mitzvoth such as giving charity, saying the shema, praying, etc. Ask your child about our trip around the school building in search of mezuzot! We also had a great time washing our hands with our new personalized washing cup for netilat yadayim.

Every Sunday in JEPY is full of fun, excitement, and discovery! Each child ads so much to our classroom, and I look forward to a continuously enjoyable year! Parents are welcome to stop by and check out our classroom and beautiful Aleph-Bet notebooks!

 

3 rd / 4 th grade – Mrs. Parnes

Mrs. Parnes’ third and fourth grade is a lively, fun and exciting place! As we progress through the year, we are learning and growing in so many ways! Mezuza, daily prayers, giving tzedaka (charity), and brachot (blessings), are just a few of the activities that we do every Sunday. We enjoy learning the parsha of the week, as well as the exciting projects that come along with it!

Just to share with you a few of the main highlights that we have done to date in JEPY…

We started our unit on Shabbat with our class becoming expert challah bakers; an activity that the students really enjoyed!! We kneaded the dough with our very own hands, rolling and braiding it into beautiful challot. Did you see our creative light switch covers to put over the light switches on Shabbat?! As the holiday of Chanukah came around, we worked hard at making real wooden menorahs. The wooden dreidels were spinning around the classroom with the letters of the “aleph-bet” that we have learned. We have made great strides in our Hebrew reading with the help of our big brothers and sisters.

Looking forward to an exciting second half of the year!!

 

5 th grade – Mrs. Pollack

The fifth grade in JEPY is a happening place! Our day starts with an inspirational story, which sets the tone for the prayer that follows. Then it’s time to play Jewish History. With exciting games and activities, remembering the important information about our heritage becomes fun. Holiday season adds an extra dimension to our classroom. We’ve learned the background and reason for each holiday that we’ve celebrated this year, and created a special coordinating project. (Check out creative Chanukah menorahs.) We are now completing a unit on the Jewish Life Cycle. From birth, bar/bat mitzvah, and beyond, each time period in our lives is enhanced with special Jewish traditions. We are learning about the significance of these special customs. Of course, our Hebrew reading is constantly progressing. With the help of our Big Brothers/Sisters we are becoming more fluent every week.

 

6 th grade – Morah Rena Hanfling

The sixth grade has had quite an exciting year so far! After learning about the Jewish holidays, we began exploring and discovering our Jewish homeland, Israel. We began our adventure by studying the map of Israel and learning to recognize its borders. Our first stop was to Jerusalem, the country’s capital. We got to see an up close picture of the Western Wall and spoke about what it means to the world today. The class then moved on to Beth Lehem, where our mother Rachel is buried. We listened to a moving song that described the special qualities of our mother Rachel. The class journeyed on to Hebron where we discussed the history of our forefathers and saw pictures of the cave where they are buried. From there, the class traveled to all the waters that surround the state of Israel. We looked at the Mediterranean Sea, the Dead Sea, the Red Sea, the Jordan River, and the Kinneret and spoke about how each of these bodies of water are important to Israel. The class discussed both the historic and present significance of each city and place that we visited. We can’t wait to finish our journey through our homeland, as we wrap up our unit on Israel.