Schechter Shavua: October 11, 2021

Looking for Lev Tov: Please Help these Refugees

IRIS (Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services) is putting together a group of volunteers in West Hartford to welcome a new Afghan family to the area. Schechter is looking forward to helping and supporting the group in this initiative. The group of supporters here in West Hartford is just beginning to form. If you are interested in hearing more about how you can support and help, please email Sarah Montag- smontag@ssds-hartford.org , who will connect you with the group leaders. For more information about IRIS, please click here.

Habonim Applies Geography Lessons to History and Today

What do people need to survive and thrive? Habonim Humanities students (grades 6-7) are gaining a deeper understanding of the impact geography has on our everyday life by delving into five themes of geography (location, place, region, movement, and human environment interaction - or use of available resources).

Students will also study ancient civilizations on each continent; as part of this, they will understand what geographic features these particular places utilized to support growing civilizations. Students will also look at why some civilizations did not have a lasting presence as they examine the question of what role geography played in the success or failure of a particular civilization. As they absorb these lessons, students will make the connection to our world today and understand geography as a tool for social justice.

Rabbi Berger’s Got Talent!

Rabbi Berger is excited to make guest appearances in the classrooms as he gets to know our students and shares some of his many talents. A few highlights:

In Habonimmath (gr. 6-7), Rabbi Berger taught origami techniques. He made connections to angles, geometry, and the importance of precision in certain situations. Students loved their finished products!
Rabbi Berger will join Gesher(gr. 4-5) each month on Rosh Chodesh for “Ask the Rabbi,” an opportunity to ask questions that pertain to Torah and Jewish life. For their first visit, students did “ice breakers” to get to know Rabbi Berger; next, our talented Head of School took out his guitar to teach them a new song for Rosh Chodesh!
On Friday, Rabbi Berger led Kabbalat Shabbat for T’marim and Sh’kedim (EC 3-4), and he was a huge hit! Together, they sang Shabbat songs and clapped with enthusiasm.

Exploring Fall in Dubonim

The Dubonim class (EC 2) is exploring pumpkins! Students love to touch and play with the very large pumpkin in their classroom. Soon, they will get to open some smaller pumpkins to see what is inside. What will they find?