Shalom Talmud Torah Community!
It is hard to believe that we are already more than halfway through February! The last few months have been a whirlwind, and I continue to be impressed by the level of community, passion, expertise, and love our teachers, students, and parents show each day. On a personal note, I have been able to visit every class regularly and I am well on my way to learning all of our students’ names!
A few highlights from 2022 so far:
Online and in-person classes for all grade levels are in full swing and continuing to provide students with the tools for lifelong Jewish learning.
Three of our former teachers (Missy Lavintman, Nachamit Yaari, and Yefet Zedaka) were honored in front of over 300 Jewish educators from around the country at the Annual Jewish Educators Assembly (JEA) conference.
Our first all school Yom Ruach (Spirit Day) was a huge success and everyone enjoyed spending time with The Bible Players!
Many of our Kitah Bet (2nd graders) have advanced into the second book of Z’man Likro, and the rest are not too far behind!
Kitah Dalet (4th grade) has begun “Reading Clinics” which are conducted in the first 10 minutes of class and break students up into small groups to focus on individualized skills relevant to their ability and specific needs. We look forward to seeing the positive impact this has on the students’ learning and implementing them into other grade levels in the near future.
Both the Kitah Zayin (7th grade) trip to New York and the Kitah Het (8th grade) trip to Washington, DC are being planned and booked. We are so excited to have these amazing opportunities for experiential learning happening again this year!
Taste of Talmud Torah brought in a crowd of almost 50 people and the families enjoyed their time learning about our wonderful school, participating in a sample class, and decorating their own Talmud Torah kippot. After the program, I asked a student what they learned and they said, “We learned Hebrew!” I said, “All of it?” and they replied, “YES, I think so! I can’t wait to come back next year!!” That’s the type of enthusiasm we love to see! Take a look at photos from the day here.
Looking ahead, we are excited to learn about and celebrate both Purim and Pesach in the coming months. Holidays, traditions, and symbols play a huge part in what we teach our students. We are in the process of forming a system to accurately assess where students are performing. We are also investigating how our curriculum aligns with our school goals to ensure we provide students with the best possible Jewish education available.
Our annual Middle School Madness information night is coming up on March 2nd. This is a chance to learn about the Middle School programs that Talmud Torah has to offer. Current 5th, 6th, and 7th-grade families can RSVP HERE.
Also, information about registration for the upcoming school year will be sent out shortly. Be sure to check your email and register right away to take advantage of the Early Bird Specials!
Building community is an important core value of our institution. Please remember that Talmud Torah faculty and staff, our synagogues, parents, and students all work together to ensure the highest level of education possible. We know life can get busy and we ask that you do your best to prioritize Jewish learning. If your child needs to miss a class, please let the teacher know right away and we will do what we can to help them catch up on what was missed. By building kehilla (community) we are able to empower our students to go on to lead intentionally Jewish lives.
Please never hesitate to reach out to me for any reason!
B’Shalom!
Jody Moreimi
Head of School
Talmud Torah of Minneapolis