Dear TST Families,
We celebrated Sukkot at the school a little early this year, as we were closed for the holiday. October 1st was also our first exciting Sababa Sunday!
We experienced Judaism with all our senses and through multiple modalities. We opened our morning with Tefilah for grade 2-6 families. We raised our voices in prayerful song, learned about the holiday of Sukkot, also called "Z'man Simhatenu" (Time of our Happiness) and the connection between gratitude and happiness. Students shared such touching examples of the many people and things they are grateful for.
Each of our grades visited our sukkah, had the opportunity to learn about and rejoice in the holiday, bless and shake the Lulav and Etrog, and have a special snack. Grade 1 and 2 students made special decorations for our sukkah.
Grade 3-5 students experienced one of our Sababa Sunday electives: Caring Cards, Games with a Jewish Twist, Shabbat Art, Jewish Sign Language, Music, and Gadna (Israeli army exercises). Each first Sunday of the month, they will get to try a new elective.
Grade K and 6 students joined in the mitzvah of assembling, sorting and packing food bags for TST's High Holiday Food Drive. Grade 6 students participated in their first Rosh Hodesh (for girls) and Shevet Achim ("brotherhood") groups where they explore what it means to be a mensch and what it means to be a young man or woman in a "cool," personal group setting. These special groups will continue on each Sababa Sunday this year, and in future years as part of AISH.
After school, many of our 5th and 6th grade students had fun socializing and playing mini- golf in their first youth event of the year.
This past Sunday, our 6th graders went to Belmont S.P.O.R.T., their first of a series of mitzvah field trips. They learned about this wonderful program which provides recreational activities for individuals with special needs, and participated in parts of a football practice.
As always, please be sure to click on the religious school updates in the box in the upper right-hand corner of this email to find out what your children are doing in class each week.