Dear Kitah Gimel (3rd-grade) families,
Happy new year! We hope you had a relaxing, safe, and fun winter break. We are excited to dive into the second half of our year together and continue to build a strong Kitah Gimel community.
In Sofya’s class, we have been reviewing all the vocabulary from our book, The New Siddur Program. During the last two classes we have been focusing on the first four chapters from the book. Last class we started the Chapter 5 on page 42, which include the brachot we say in the Sukkah. Students are enjoying our Hebrew class together, while at the same time have been coming together as an amazing community. Next class we look forward to watching together a 10 Min Hebrew show for Tu B’shvat (רינת גבאי ומימי - שלושה פרקים ברצף - ט"ו בשבט).
In Polly’s class, students are exploring Shabbat rituals and making connections between our class and their own Shabbat experiences. We read the creation story from the first book of the Torah, Beresheet, and looked at the work of three different artists who depicted the seven days of creation in their unique style. Soon students will create their own Shabbat artwork in their journals! Throughout the rest of our year together we will cover Tu B’shvat, Purim, Passover, Israel, and more.
We look forward to working together with your family to create a successful second semester. As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to us with questions, comments, or concerns.
B’Shalom,
Polly & Sofya
Gimel 3 -- Hebrew
During our Hebrew period together, Kitah Gimel (3rd-grade) students address two aspects of reading -- Hebrew reading fluency and Hebrew reading comprehension. The students in this class are great Hebrew readers! Gimel students started January with a quick review of the letters and vowels. When they practice their reading, it’s important that they continue to pay particular attention to vowels. Students are also learning advanced reading skills that go beyond what they learned in Kitah Bet.
Gimel students are also reading stories, which introduce and reinforce vocabulary and grammar. They provide a framework for engaging in basic conversation based on the vocabulary and sentence structures that students learn from the stories.
Gimel 3 -- Judaics
Kitah Gimel students have started their Shabbat unit. First, they read the story "Mrs. Maskowitz and the Shabbat Candlesticks" and discussed how Shabbat is a gift. Also included in the Shabbat unit is the story of creation. The students looked at three different artists, each of whom painted a day of creation. We finished this section by reviewing the days of creation and discussing our favorite creation gifts. Students also played a game of “I Spy”, searching for Shabbat ritual items within our story and in our homes! The next unit will focus on the holiday of Tu B’Shvat.