Issue #006
Upcoming Events

  
November 4
Motzei Shabbat Learning Begins

November 10
Yom Iyun 
Professional Development Day
Pupil Free Day

November 14
Parent-Teacher Conferences By Appointment
Pupil Free Day PN-8th
MM-Regular 

November 15
Golf Tournament 

November 18
PTA Bingo Night

November 20
Parent Teacher Conferences by Appointment
Early Dismissal P1-8th at 3:00pm
No HAS, HW Club or Stay & Play

November 22
No HAS, HW Club or Stay & Play

November 23 & 24
Thanksgiving Break
School Closed

November 28-30
PTA Book Fair 


Wednesday December 6
70th Annual Scholarship Banquet
The Beverly Hilton Hotel
Reserve at
banquet@hillelhebrew.org
See Flyer in Happenings
Hillel PTA
Join your fellow Hillel Moms for a private Yoga Barre class on Wednesday, November 8th at 10am at Namastday Yoga. Only $10 pre-sale until 11/6, or $15 at the door.
Sign up online by Clicking Here!

Join us on Motzei Shabbat on Saturday, November 18th from 7:00pm  to 9:30pm for Bingo Night for Pre-1 to 5th grades! Have fun with your friends and win fabulous prizes!  Pizza and snacks also available for purchase.




Give your children the gift of healthy food. A fun and enjoyable treat! Fruit cart sign-up entitles your student to a bag of fresh fruit once a week during the entire school year. Fruit cart is available for Grades Pre-1 to 8 on Wednesday mornings. Sign up online here for the remainder of the year.




Co-Sponsor a Rosh Chodesh Breakfast for the teachers and staff in in honor of your child's bar mitzvah, birthday, or teacher; or in honor or memory of someone you love. The teachers  really appreciate  this gesture ! The next Rosh Chodesh teacher breakfast will be Monday, November 20th ,but you can sign up online in advance for any month. $100, or add multiple times to your cart to contribute $200 or $300 if desired. 



Join The Birthday Book Club!

Your birthday child will get to choose a new book for the library with a dedication to him or her inside, check it out first, and have their picture proudly on display in the library.  Kids love to see their names in the books!   Excess funds will be used for recreational supplies like games, balls, hula hoops and jump ropes. 

Mazal Tov



11/03/17

...Mazal Tov to Avi & Aiden  Gutis on the birth of  TWINS a BOY and GIRL! 

Parnas Hayom


Parnas   HaYom  is a beautiful way to honor a yarzheit, merit a refuah shelemah, or celebrate a simcha. Dedicating the Torah learning of students at Hillel to mark an occasion helps us to imbue both a love of learning and appreciation for the value of Torah scholarship.

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11/03/17
Today's Parnas Hayom, generously sponsored by the Begin Family, is in memory of Eve Schwartz, Chava Feiga Breindel z"l, mother of Coach Chumie. May the learning of Hillel's students be a zechut to her memory and may her neshama have an aliyah.


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If you are interested in sponsoring a Parnas HaYom please  email  parnashayom@hillelhebrew.org
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ISSUE NO. 006


Friday, November 3, 2017
14 MarCheshvan 5778

רחמנים בני רחמנים
Rachamim B'nai Rachamim
Masters of Compassion
By Rabbi Sufrin, Head of School


In this week's parasha, Avraham tries to convince Gd to save Sedom and its environs. He urges Gd to search for the righteous people amongst the wicked, those whose merits could protect the others from destruction. Avraham first pleads that there must be 50 such righteous people. When Gd says there are not, Avraham continues searching, determined to find 40 righteous people. When unsuccessful, he sets his aspirations to 30, then 20 and then 10. Avraham was relentless in his endeavor with the hope that he would find even a single virtuous person that might be the salvation of Sedom.    

If Avraham failed in his quest to save the city despite his unremitting efforts to seek out the righteous, why then is this Torah narrative so important for us to read?

There is a seemingly unusual halacha as it relates to capital punishment. If an entire sanhedrin declares a murderer guilty at the beginning of his trial, he cannot be sentenced to death. In order for a person to receive capital punishment, there must be at least one member of the sanhedrin who opines that the murderer is innocent. Why? The answer is that the Jewish people are a compassionate people and we are expected at all times, even if someone is an alleged murderer, to find a way to be מלמד זכות - to give a person the benefit of the doubt - before declaring a person's guilt. Pirkei Avot states: הוי דן את כל האדם לכף זכות - (Always) judge everyone with the benefit of the doubt.

Avraham's tireless efforts to search out the good, to find even a single righteous person, teaches us a very important lesson. We know that Avraham did not succeed in saving Sedom from destruction. Yet, Avraham Avinu, the father of our people, throughout his lifetime maintained his beneficent character with an unwavering sense of empathy. Avraham's compassion is never exhausted and he sets the tone for the idea that as a Jewish nation, we must always be מלמד זכות - give a person the benefit of the doubt. Hashem is referred to as אב הרחמים Av Harachamim (Father of compassion) and we, who are created in Gd's image, emulate His positive attributes. We must also be compassionate. Talmud states that as Jews we are רחמנים בני רחמנים rachamim b'nai rachamim - compassionate children of compassionate ancestors.



Let's Talk!
By Daphne Orenshein

New students! New teachers! New families! New administrators! With so much 'newness' in the Hillel halls, it's no wonder that the Elementary Department is focusing their energies on effective communication. Psychologist Rollo May once said, "Communication leads to community, that is, to understanding, intimacy and mutual valuing." Such is the case in our growing kehilah, in which pockets of connections and relationships are developed daily through awareness and communication.
While veteran students and teachers lead the way for the 'rookies' and guide them to full adjustment and mastery, there is much to be explained, questioned and analyzed. With Character Counts in mind, students are guided to use their words when playing with friends or talking to adults. Co-teaching, the model for teaching in the Elementary department, relies on consistent and respectful communication between teachers. Our educators are further exploring aspects of communication during bi-monthly meetings and grade-level meetings. In one recent meeting, we explored the power of one negative communication through a kinesthetic exercise, having our educators keep afloat a big bag of balloons after just one water balloon (representing the negative remark) was added to the bag. It was virtually impossible to support that big bag after the water-filled balloon was added. Educators shared how that water balloon could be one negative nonverbal gesture or one negative word between a student and another student, or between one teacher and one parent. We always need to be aware of the effects that our communications, nonverbal or verbal, may have on others.
 
We now know so much more about effective communication and what comments are entirely useless, if not detrimental to a child's development. Teachers and parents can guide their students and reinforce positive behavior with nonverbal cues as well as meaningful compliments. Saying, "I see you have been writing on that topic for 15 whole minutes! It must be pretty important to you," is more specific and inspiring than the old "Good job!" Teachers can likewise communicate more effectively with their co-teachers and parents via email and MyBackpack, sending powerful photographs of students at work.
Communication is critical to our own families, and it is that much more critical to our new Hillel citizens. Let us all consider our words and their messages for the benefit of the whole kehilah.

Early Childhood and Physical Education
By Coach Jenna Kinsbursky, Interim Athletic Department Head


We have had such an exciting start to the school year. There are new students, new equipment, and new staff! Physical Education classes have been excellent and the students are having a blast. With the Early Childhood, we have begun working on various motor skills and the fundamentals of teamwork.

Pre-1 has been introduced to a new game called "Mountains and Valleys." In this game, there are small soccer cones spread out on the gym floor. The students are split up into two teams; one team are the mountains and the other team are the valleys. When they hear the whistle, the students flip the cones over into a mountain or a valley shape. This game teaches the students how to work as a team and follow directions, and it helps improve their fine motor skills.

We emphasize the importance of proper middot, working together, and providing words of encouragement to our classmates. We are learning that if we did not win the game, it is OK! What is key, is how we can improve.

We have exciting new games and fitness exercises planned for the coming months, and look forward to a fantastic school year ahead!

Middle School Running Springs Shabbaton
By Rabbi Swigard and Coach Chumie

For the third straight year, our Student Council and student leadership will take part in a one-of-a-kind "away Shabbaton" for Middle School students. The Shabbaton will take place at the beautiful Dovid Oved facility in Running Springs from November 17-19, 2017.

In the weeks and months leading up to the Shabbaton, we opened a powerful discussion with our student leaders and faculty to define our goals for the Shabbaton. We decided together that we wanted to continue to build our Middle School Kehilla through the platform of Shabbat, to generate achdut within each grade level, and to create an authentic Shabbat experience with many memorable moments for our students.

Throughout the Shabbaton, our students will take ownership of the weekend and lead each other with their ruach and achdut . From the pre-Shabbat kumzits before Shabbat candle lighting, to the ruach on the way to the Beit Midrash for Kabbalat Shabbat, to the Carlebach-style tefillah, to the special oneg Shabbat and Moshav style Havdalah, the ruach plans to be out of this world!

We can't wait to tell you more about it!
The Change of Seasons in Pre-Nursery
By Chaya Douek, Pre-Nursery Teacher 



Living in Los Angeles, we are blessed with beautiful weather for most of the year. So teaching the children about the change of seasons can sometimes be challenging for the morahs in Pre-Nursery!

Children are inspired by nature. Our school and classroom are in an urban environment, so throughout the school year, the morahs try to bring nature into the classroom with hands-on experiences as much as possible. We think about child-centered activities that spark their imaginations. To talk about fall, we first introduce the different seasons. Then we discuss all the changes in weather patterns, identifying the colors of the leaves, looking at different fruit and vegetables and noticing how we start to dress differently. Our science center has a few of these items and the yeladim love to use magnifying glasses to examine each one very closely. The yeladim also connect the colors they are learning about - such as red, yellow, green and brown - with the leaves that are changing outside! We ask the yeladim open-ended questions to entice their imaginations and encourage them to talk about what they see and feel. They notice that some leaves are red or yellow and sometimes both!

During circle time, we read different books, such as The Four Seasons, by Rozanne Laczak Williams and Autumn Leaves by Ken Robbins. During music and movement, each child holds his\her own leaf and sings, to the tune of "London Bridge is Falling Down:" "See the leaves come falling down, falling down, falling down, See the leaves come falling down, can you catch them!" As they sing, the children try to catch the falling leaves. All of this learning leads to the creation of beautiful projects inspired by the children's experiences throughout the learning process!

ISRAEL EDUCATION - SHAVUA SHORASHIM
By Lihi Lapid Nissani, Middle school Ivrit Teacher


This year we proudly added Israel Education to the Ivrit curriculum. The first unit we focused on our Shorashim (roots) and connections to Eretz Israel in Torah and T'fillot and Minhagim . In 6th grade, students focused on the names of Israel and their origins, such as "Canaan," "Eretz Zavat Halav Ve Dvash," and "Eretz Hemda."

It was fascinating for the students to learn about our Jewish traditions and how they bring us back to our roots. For instance, students learned that breaking the glass by the groom under the "Choopa" is a symbol that our joy and happiness is not full until " Biet Ha Mikdash " will be rebuilt. To celebrate our hard work for the week, we learned and danced to the song "Po Be Eretz Hemdat Avot." We learned that the song was essentially written for kids to sing while on a field trip in Israel to spread all that is unique and special about Israel.  
In 7th grade, students learned about our prayers as a symbol of our love and rapport with "Eretz Israel." Students learned the meaning and the reason behind T'filot: " Tal ve matar," "Birkat Ha Mazon," "Ve Techezena Einenu" and "Tfila Le'Shlom Medinat Israel."

The 8th grade students learned how much the Jewish people are connected to the land of Israel, even when in the "Gola, " as they learned the Piut: "Libi Bemizrach" and "Shir Hamalot," said on Shabbat before "Birkat Hamazon."

To celebrate the week, the Bat Ami created an educational game to reinforce the knowledge the students acquired in class. The students showed their knowledge in Ivrit and Israel education as they prepared a video commercial for the T'filot they learned.

Please stay tuned for more updates as we explore our second unit of Israel Education on the "Rebirth of Israel" in the last week of November.

HAS Session Two for N- 5th grade Registration is up online! Click here to register!





Chidon Hamesorah, is a  hands-on, after-school learning opportunity for all Jewish children in grades 2-4 focusing on studying Mishna using the acclaimed Bonayich "Mishna Kids" program.

Medallions will be awarded to participants for their achievements!