|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Friday LetterFriday Letter Archive | Friday Letter AlertsFriday, February 5, 2010
below) Tues. Feb. 9 3rd grade Family Education Evening Program. 6:30 – 8:00 PM Tues. Feb. 9 Nassau County Special Election to take place in the Jericho building during school hours and evening program. Tues. Feb. 9 Jewish Heritage Night @ Madison Square Garden. Click HERE for flyer. Fri. Feb. 12 Recycled Jeans Deadline – see letter below. Fri. Feb. 12 Kabbalat Shabbat – Special Guest, Rabbi Kurshan, Huntington Jewish Center, parents warmly welcome, 8:15 AM. Feb. 13-21 Presidents Week. School Closed Feb. 15-19 Mon. Feb. 22 Classes Resume. Learning to Look – taking place during Library Class Tues. Feb. 23 Israeli Folk Dancing for Grades K-5 Wed. Feb. 24 100th Day of School Fri. Feb. 26 Purim Celebrated in School. Special Guests, Rabbi Sat. Feb. 27 Erev Purim Sun. Feb. 28 Purim Fri. March 5 4th Grade “Coming Home” Play. Parents and guests warmly welcome. 9:00 AM. (No schoolwide Kabbalat Shabbat program) Sun. March 7 Fine Arts Festival – All school (elementary, middle and high). Gallery opens at 1:15 PM, performances begin at 2:00 PM. @ Glen Cove Campus. Click HERE for flyer. Wed. March 10 Science Fair Grades 3 -5 @ elementary school gym Sun. March 14 SSDS Choir at Merrick Jewish Center Cantor’s Concert. 7:00 PM. Click HERE for flyer. Mon. March 15 ES Report Cards sent home Thurs. March 18 ES Parent-Teacher Conferences (evening) by appointment Parent Association Book Fair Fri. March 19 ES Parent-Teacher Conferences (daytime) by appointment – NO SCHOOL Mishloach Manot Orders for Purim Now Underway – One of the central and fun Mitzvot of Purim is sending Mishloach Manot, baskets filled with treats. The Parent Association makes it easy for you to fulfill this Mitzvah. Use the attached form to order your baskets. Deadline extended to Feb. 5th. Click HERE for Order Forms. Jewish Heritage Night – Knicks Vs. Kings. Feb. 9th. For ticket information, Click HERE for flyer. Tuition Raffle – Win 10 X off your Tuition. Want to know more? Click HERE. Be Part of the First Schechter Community Cookbook – Click HERE for more information. SSDS Board of Trustees Nominations - The Board of Trustees seeks candidates who are committed to serving Schechter’s long term vision and strategic plans, willing to enhance excellence in our children’s education, have demonstrated leadership skills, and are able to follow through with necessary responsibilities. If you wish to nominate a candidate (you may also nominate yourself) to the Board of Trustees, please complete the information below and submit to Fouad Pouyafar at foupou@msn.com no later than March 15, 2010. Click HERE for Board of Trustees Nomination Form. Community Events: UJA-Federation “Play Ball,” Baseball Clinic and visit with Yankee Great, Ron Blomberg. Sunday, March 7 @1:30. Click HERE for additional information. “Pizmon” A Cappela Shabbat at Shelter Rock Jewish Center. Musical Shabbat Service and Dinner, Fri. Feb. 5th and Havdallah Celebration, Sat. Feb. 6th. Click HERE for flyer. _______________________________ Dear Parents and Friends of the Solomon Schechter Elementary School, In last week’s Friday Letter, I made mention of several projects that have been initiated by the 5th graders, the leaders of the elementary school. Today I wish to make mention of how the leadership and “community-organizing” activities that are the hallmark of 5th grade at SSDS Nassau fits into the larger scheme of things, within our K-12 system. In the Jewish tradition, there are several phrases used in connection with such projects. Doing Hesed, or “acts of loving kindness,” is a central value that we instill in our youngsters, so sometimes we call these kinds of projects “hesed projects.” Repairing the world, in Hebrew, is called “Tikkun Olam.” This week, the 5th graders were recruited as “foot-soldiers” for the middle school Knesset (student government) that is organizing a school-wide hesed project to provide for the homeless, here on Long Island. This project is spanning all three divisions of the school, elementary, middle and high school, but organized by the middle school. Down at the elementary school, after learning that one third of all homeless people on Long Island are under the age of 18, the 5th graders have been coaxing and reminding the children in younger grades to bring into school two different types of “hand-me-down” or used clothing: Hoodies for the Homeless – by Monday, February 8th, bring to the elementary school lobby any hooded sweatshirts that you or your child no longer wear. Do you have a pile of hoodies that have been accumulating from Bar/Bat Mitzvah give-aways? Then send them to school with your child on Monday, and they will be donated to people in need of warm clothing, right here on Long Island. Other sweatshirts and warm clothing (in all sizes, from infant to XXXL) are also welcome, but please do not send in tee-shirts, just long-sleeved items. Jeans for Teens – Solomon Schechter Day School of Nassau County has partnered with the clothing chain, Aeropostale, and other institutions for this hesed project. Bring into school a pair of old jeans, and receive a coupon for 25% off for a new pair of jeans. All hand-me-down jeans collected will be donated to the homeless. If Schechter and the rest of the consortium collect 100,000 pairs of used jeans for the homeless, then Aeropostale will donate 100,000 pairs of new jeans to refugees of the earthquake in Haiti. Coupons expire on February 14th, so get those jeans in soon. Let’s fill those boxes! I know this used clothing campaign came on with short notice, but it is a wonderful opportunity for our elementary school students to be a part of something larger, and it is meaningful to participate in a hesed project that spans the whole school by recycling clothing we already own but no longer need, without incurring additional cost. Last week, I also wrote about letters that the 5th graders wrote to the parents of kidnapped Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit. If you would like to see their beautiful letters, in Hebrew and in English, go to: http://www.ssdsnassau.org/schools/elementary/enews.php?NewsId=424 One last word about the 5th grade, and then I will leave them alone for a few weeks! I want you to understand that these kinds of hesed projects and a commitment to Tikkun Olam is not just an “add on” to the curriculum at Schechter, but that it is also an integral part of the overall curriculum that is unique to Jewish day schooling. In their Hebrew classes, the 5th graders are currently studying a unit on natural resources, such as oil, wood and metal, how they are mined and processed, and the consequences for the environment. All of this is taking place in Hebrew, though these topics span from physical science to political science. Students are reading and writing in Hebrew about topics of great import, and they are applying what they learn to do their share in making the world a better place, in doing Tikkun Olam. Mrs. Romano and Mrs. Yair, the 5th grade Hebrew teachers, have recruited the science teacher, Ms. Blumberg, to create synergistic experiences for the students across the disciplines of Jewish studies and science. At the same time, Ms. Blumberg has also partnered with Mrs. Sherman and Mrs. Hirsch, the 3rd grade Judaic studies teachers, as their current unit in Hebrew is focused on natural cycles, such as the cycle of water, plants, the moon, the week, and the seasons. And speaking of water cycles the 3rd graders, under the guidance of Mrs. Goldstein and Mrs. Somekh, the 3rd graders have just completed their studies of Brazil and have now begun their studies of Australia, a beautiful continent suffering the most extensive drought in history. I spent a morning with the 3rd graders and could not believe how much they had learned about Brazil! Stay tuned for more adventures from 3rd grade and down under! Shabbat Shalom, Dr. Cindy Dolgin Elementary School Principal Dvar Torah Rabbi Michael Stanger is Rabbi of the Old Westbury Hebrew Congregation and the parent of Arielle (2nd grade). Like many Americans last week I was tuned into President Barak Obama’s State of the Union address, as he spoke live, before both sessions of Congress, the Justices of the Supreme Court, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, his Cabinet, and what appeared to be just about every other Washington insider within twenty miles of the Beltway. And as far as how the President spoke, and what he said, some I liked, some I agreed with, some I am not sure about, but one thing I was very glad for as I watched him address so many politicians, law makers and leaders in one room, and watched the myriad of reactions that his speech elicited –I am sure glad that I don’t have his job right now! And speaking of leadership –this parasha is a veritable field manual for leadership in the trenches. At the outset of the Sedra, Moses’ father in law, Jethro, the Priest of Midian, has traveled to the Israelite camp to reunite Moses with his wife and children, and as a result he is warmly received. The very next day Jethro proudly watches his son in law at work, and is horrified by what he sees ---Moses as solo judge over all the people –hearing and deciding all the cases by himself –an exhausting and unwise process! And Jethro states as much: “The thing you are doing is not right; you will surely wear yourself out, and these people as well! For the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone…”(Ex 18: 17-18) The Rabbinic commentators have pointed out that not only would the unilateral approach that Moses has put in place overburden him unnecessarily, but it would prove to taxing for the Israelite citizens as well. By having to potentially stand in line morning until night, they would lose faith in Moses and the whole legal system, and attempt to settle (or worse yet, not settle) their claims out of court –this could lead to feelings of confusion, feuding, vengeance and even vigilantism. Jethro then wisely advices Moses to delegate, appoint additional magistrates to preside over several courts that would convene simultaneously in order to decide the smaller cases, and only having the largest and most baffling cases brought to Moses –a system not dissimilar from our own, with smaller courts, district and state courts, appellate divisions, and finally the Supreme Court to rule on matters of law. Fittingly, this parasha also contains the monumental event of the giving of the Law at Mt. Sinai –first the Ten Commandments, then additional laws and provisions, in fact according to rabbinic belief all 613 commandments of the Torah, plus the Oral law was handed down at this time. And the connection between the two events is obvious: God saw the need for all leaders, not just Moses, but those whom where delegated with responsibility, to have a system in place to turn towards for guidance. As Americans we have the Constitution and the Bill or Rights, as Jews we have the Ten Commandments and the Torah. In other words, there is the legal system in place, and then there are those who are entrusted and enacted to both interpret and carry out the laws, helping to govern our system and keeping it ever ethical as our society advances. In the case of our country, our President, and the tough job he has in front of him, I would like to argue that just as in the case of Moses, it is not his role alone to govern the people and our country towards advancing us out of the economic malaise and political challenges we currently find ourselves mired in. We all must do our part, from communicating and cooperating with our elected officials, to standing on that line when necessary, making sure that our voices are heard. Either we complain or we connect –one may be easier to do than the other, but one can have a far more gratifying effect than the other. From our country to our community to our school to our synagogue, from the macro to microcosm, we must involve ourselves, in a positive way, if we want to effect better change. And we should look to the laws already in place for proper guidance as to how better our society, and ourselves, in the process! Shabbat Shalom. Rabbi Moshe Schwartz PDF filesChesed Corner2010 Solomon's Sluggers Baseball Registration Deadline is Just ONE Week Away! Schechter Water Bottles |
|||||||||
| © Copyright 2003-2007 Solomon Schechter Day School of Nassau County |
|
