Soles4souls shoe drive for Haiti
Do you have gently worn shoes in your closet that you don’t need? The Sabes JCC, Talmud Torah of Minneapolis, the Amos and Celia Heilicher Minneapolis Jewish Day School (HMJDS), Talmud Torah of St Paul (TTSP) and the St. Paul JCC are partnering with an organization called Soles4Souls to host a shoe collection drive for those affected by the Haiti earthquake.
 
Soles4Souls has been sending gently worn shoes to needy people around the world since it was founded in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami that hit Southeast Asia. To date, Soles4Souls, has distributed more than five million pairs of shoes to people in over 125 countries, including in the United States. They now distribute one pair of shoes to a person in need every 13 seconds.
 
In response to the Earthquake, Soles4Souls has pledged to deliver 1 million shoes to Haiti during 2010 and we want to help make that goal a reality. Official St. Paul Soles4Souls collection boxes can be found at the front entrance of TTSP, at the Gayle Johnson Cohen Preschool entrance, as well as at the St. Paul JCC.

Shoes will be collected at TTSP through March 22.
 
How can you help? Please bring in your gently used shoes to TTSP or the JCC during the month of March and place them in one of the designated bins. (Because Haiti is a warm climate nation, no snow boots please.)

Thank you for participating in this community mitzvah. For questions, please contact Tamar Fenton at the Sabes JCC, 952.381.3405 or Juli Olson at HMJDS, 952.381.3310.

Annette Newman Day School
Sara Lynn Newberger, Director of Education and Day School Principal

Hands on learning

Pesach is coming. Student prepare for the holiday by learning the story of the Exodus and songs of the seder. They write first person narratives about leaving Egypt, make ritual items to use at the seder, or prepare discussion topics for their seders. The goals of each activity are to teach about the holiday, the story, the values and big ideas behind it, and, through all this, to help students to find what their link in the chain of Jewish tradition is going to be.

What do these two things—the Chinese opera and preparation for the seder have in common? They are both about creating opportunities for students to engage in hands-on learning, in applying concepts to new settings, in combining information to create something new.

Gayle Johnson Cohen Preschool
Liz Strimling, Preschool Principal
  
Watching them grow
February was in part spent preparing for the second parent conference of the year. We take out our notes and the children’s folders and begin to reflect on just how much they have grown. I was watching the children in the Preschool class one Friday, as they were coming back from taking the challah to be baked in the oven. It struck me that they are no longer the same children that cried when their parents dropped them off last August. These children appeared to be confident, holding hands with a friend, planning on what they were going to play when they arrived back in the room. The play that they are now experiencing is their method of learning how to interact with each other and the ability to follow directions to make them successful in a social setting. The Pre K class has pretty well mastered the social piece of school, and now is focusing on kindergarten readiness skills. As I give them the opportunity to do similar, yet more difficult tasks as they did for the fall conferences, I am so pleased to see the growth in all of their skills. What is even more pleasing is the interest they show and the pride they take in themselves for accomplishing the various tasks. It is this time of year that we, as teachers, realize why we continue to teach; we are compensated for our efforts by the successes of our students.

George Kaplan Afternoon School and Midrasha
Rabbi Julie Gordon, Afternoon School and Midrasha Principal

Inspiring students to feel deeply rooted to our
holidays and traditions
Talmud Torah of St. Paul George Kaplan Afternoon School and Midrasha help students feel deeply connected to our values and rituals by teaching components of our rich Jewish heritage and culture. We inspire students to observe traditions at home and in the synagogue, now and in their adult years. Soon we will celebrate Pesach, commemorating the Exodus of the Children of Israel from Egyptian slavery.

Slavery is a concept far from our students’ realities. In order to connect traditional values with world events, our Midrasha teens are studying communities that experience slavery today. Students will research the painful reality that exists in Darfur and the Sudan. Our goal is to fulfill the teaching: “In every generation we are obligated to feel as if we were freed from slavery.” We want them to open their hearts to feel the pain of those who are suffering in our world. We want them to make a difference to lessen their suffering through letter writing to legislators and a tzedekah drive.

Active participation in family sederim is an important part of our programs. Several times we are reminded that when our children ask, “What does all this mean?” we are to answer, “We were slaves in the land of Egypt, and God brought us out b’hohzek yad –with a strong arm.” Today, we preserve the drama at our family sederim by speaking in the first person, as if we were actually there at the moment of Exodus.

We will be teaching songs and stories that the students can add to their family sederim. Our Afternoon School pre-Pesach program will be a bibliodrama, where they act out and talk about the Exodus, as if they were there. We’ll utilize computer technology and games to increase their knowledge and facility in reading Passover prayers, so they can lead prayers during these joyous family celebrations and synagogue services. This time of year highlights how strongly our students are personally involved and connected to our master story.

TTSP online auction bidding is on fire!