Am Yisrael SJS Teacher Class Reflections
כ״ה אייר   תשע"ט  
פרשת בחקתי

Shalom Am Yisrael SJS Community,

(1) Today we share with you our teachers audio reflections upon completion of the 2018-2019 (5779) SJS year.  You will be able to listen to these audio recordings in the chart directly below.  Simply click on the links in the column  "Reflection Audio Recordings" and press/click "Play" to hear these 1-3 minute audio recordings.  In our congregational school, we have found these audio recordings to be a more effective mode of communication than the report card system.  Our priority with this end-of-year communication is to share meaningful progress made in each class and/or how we met our goals within each class.  We find that our regular day-to-day communications are the best way to let you know when/if there are issues that require parental direct involvement.  If you have specific questions for our teachers, please be in direct contact with them (see the fourth/final column in the chart directly below).  Please copy me csherman@amyisrael.org on these emails to keep me in the loop for the purposes of follow-up and continuity.  

(2) Mazal Tov to Ilana Friedel and Zoe Jagher and their families on Ilana and Zoe being chosen for the Regional CHUSY Board.  We are extremely proud of these two rising 9th graders!

(3) Registration for the Ta'am Yisrael 2020 trips to Israel for rising 8th Graders opens very soon.  Here is a link for more information: https://www.juf.org/cfje/taam_yisrael_about.aspx

(4) We hope that you and yours have a meaningful and rejuvenating summer!  Our teaching team will be working diligently this summer to plan for the upcoming SJS year.

(5) In the meantime, we hope to see you at one or more of the following upcoming June programs:  (a) Chicago Loves Israel Event at the Bernard Weinger JCC in Northbrook this Sun Jun 2, (b) Mr. David Lerner's Book of Ruth Adult Education Class at Am Yisrael on Sun Jun 2, (c) Am Yisrael's Annual Meeting/BBQ on Wed Jun 5 (if you already sent in your RSVP), (d) Our Shavuot programs on Sat Jun 8 and/or Sun Jun 9.  Please be sure to read our Executive Director Nancy Holab Nevins Am Yisrael Events email to learn more about these and additional events.

Class
Reflection Audio Recording
Teacher(s)
Contact
Torah Tots with a Twist (Infant w/accompanying adult-3.5 years old
Ms. Debbie Kroopkin
Gan (3.5 yr-6 yr)
Morah Lynn Washer
Alef/Bet (1st/2nd Grade)
Ms. Diane Rosenfeld
Alef (1st Grade)
Morah Myra Weisberg
Gimel (3rd Grade)
Mrs. Shira Sender
Dalet (4th Grade)
Mrs. Tikva Moustakis
Dalet (4th Grade)
Mr. Dennis Gelbart
Dalet (4th Grade)
Hazzan Lawrence Szenes-Strauss (Mr. S.)
Hei (5th Grade)
Mr. Allan Arnet
Dalet/Hei (4th-5th Grades)
Hazzan Lawrence Szenes-Strauss (Mr. S.)
Dalet/Hei (4th-5th Grades) Hebrew Tutoring
Morah Myra Weisberg
Vav (6th Grade)
Mr. Dennis Gelbart
Vav (6th Grade)
Hazzan Lawrence Szenes-Strauss (Mr. S.)
Zayin (7th Grade)
Morah Sandra Mieli Kamm
Prozdor (8th Grade)
Morah Aviva Tilles
Pardes (9th-10th Grades)
Mr. Allan Arnet
Pardes/Tichon (9th-12th Grades)
Morah Aviva Tilles
Madrichim Professional Development
Morah Aviva Tilles

Chicago Loves Israel Event on Sun Jun 2
Each spring JUF has festivities that highlight our love for Israel.  This year's event is Sun Jun 2.  We look forward to having a nice Am Yisrael presence for what should be an extremely meaningful day with various programs throughout the day:

Events

Israeli Film Presentation: Good Morning Son
9:15 a.m. - Light Breakfast
9:45 a.m. - Film Presentation
11:00 a.m. - Facilitated Discussion
Cycle Israel
11:00 a.m. - 11:45am
12:00 p.m. - 12:45 p.m.
Teen Experience
1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Young Family Festival
3:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
4:30 p.m. - Rick Recht and Friends Concert

Cost

Israeli Film Presentation: Free 
Cycle Israel: Free
Teen Experience: Free
Family Festival: $18 per family
Registration Link:
Am Yisrael Adult Education presents an encore class:
The Book of Ruth

Sunday June 2
10:00 a.m. - noon
Instructor: David Lerner

You do not have to have attended the first session to attend this class. Besides reading the text again (it is only four brief chapters), there will be virtually no overlap from the previous class.

Is the Book of Ruth:
  • A literary masterpiece of theme, structure and character development?
  • A story of women's networks in Ancient Israel?
  • A text that enables us to understand the history of Jewish interpretive process?
  • A morality tale?
  • An important piece in the Jewish calendar?
  • A love story?
  • A messianic story?
  • A reminder of our connection to the land and agriculture?
  • A reminder of our connection to the Land of Israel?
  • A polemic on Jewish identity, conversion, and intermarriage?
  • A work of history?
  • A piece of fiction?
  • A theologically provocative text?
  • A work of political propaganda?
  • A story of the power of kindness?
If you answered "Yes" to ALL of the above, then you will appreciate this class!

All materials will be provided. No need to pre-register; for questions, please contact David  Lerner at  David.Lerner.2012@gmail.com or 312-208-3283.

Annual Meeting and Barbeque Wed Jun 5

Am Yisrael's Annual Meeting and Barbeque is Wed Jun 5 at 6:30 p.m. for $12.50 per person for the BBQ for those who sent in their RSVP's to our Executive Director Nancy Holab Nevins.  We will hear our outgoing President, Judi Zeal recap the year.  We thank all our outgoing officers and board members and welcome the new ones. 

Shavuot Learning, Service, Celebration of Torah & Pool Party Sat Jun 8 & Jun Jun 9

Last year one of our largest celebrations of our congregation's 50th birthday was the dedication of a brand new Torah scroll that nearly all of us wrote at least one letter in.  
  • This year, we will be reading out of this same (very special) Torah scroll on Shavuot: Sunday morning June 9, beginning at 9:30 a.m.  
  • We will be having a pool party at Rabbi Newman Kamin and Dan Kamin's home beginning at 1:00 p.m.  
  • The Rabbi and Dan will also be hosting a Shavuot Study Session at their home the night prior with a dairy dessert, Sat June 8 at 8:00 p.m.  
  • Please let our Executive Director Nancy Holab Nevins nhnevins@amyisrael.org know if you will be attending the study session, services (with kiddush lunch) and/or the pool party and let me know if you would like for you and/or your child to chant from the Torah scroll csherman@amyisrael.org
Ta'am Yisrael 8th Grade Trips to Israel in 2020

Thank you to Mia Burton, Ilana Friedel and Lyla Kelber for presenting to our rising 8th Graders about the Ta'am Yisrael trip to Israel https://www.juf.org/cfje/taam_yisrael_about.aspx, based on their amazing experiences in Israel in this program this past school year. I can't recommend this program (which I have staffed) highly enough.

2019-2020 (5780) SJS/Youth Group Programming Calendar will be published soon
The brand new 2019-2020 SJS/Youth Group Programming Calendar is 99% complete and we will be published in a stand-alone email soon so that you can save the key dates on your calendars.   At any point if you would like access to a Google Calendar for SJS/Youth Group Programming please send me an email 

At any point if you would like access to a Google Calendar for SJS/Youth Group Programming please send me an email  csherman@amyisrael.org  and I will send you a link to sync it with your electronic calendar(s).  

Class Updates from our Teachers, Schedules and Curriculum
The  link directly below gives you access to the entire year's worth of class updates:  https://www.amyisrael.org/classschedulesandupdates
   
Class-by-class curriculum outlines for Am Yisrael SJS, can be accessed here:
https://www.amyisrael.org/sjscurriculum

KEY RESOURCES TO GET MOST OF SJS EXPERIENCE:
Am Yisrael Communication on the whole:
Am Yisrael Events emails from our Executive Director Nancy Holab Nevins  nhnevins@amyisrael.org  or 847-446-7215

Access all SJS pages on our website:

SJS Manual 5779:
There are two ways to read the SJS Manual: (a) Links for each topic, beginning with fourth bullet point on:  https://www.amyisrael.org/visitors  and (b) is in PDF form:  https://images.shulcloud.com/1177/uploads/SJS-PDFs/Parent-Manual-SJS-5779-rev-8-27-18.pdf

Practicing Tefillah (Sun and Wed students):

Soundtrack for Newborns through Kitah Alef/Bet:

Regional CHUSY
CHUSY/CRUSY Regional Teen Engagement Director: Marc Sender:  msender@uscj.org  and CHUSY Assistant Regional Teen Engagement Director: Daniel Warshawsky: dwarshawsky@uscj.org

Am Yisrael Teen Babysitting Initiative
Contact Am Yisrael congregant and SJS parent Carrie Feig:  carrieendick@yahoo.com  or 312-636-4241

Find Us on Social Media:




B'Shalom/בשלום

Charlie Sherman, MAEd, CJE
Head of School
Am Yisrael Conservative Congregation
4 Happ Road
Northfield, IL 60093
Cell phone: 847/708.1805
Fax:  847/446.7202