Newsletter
February/Adar 1
2014
“Happiness is contagious. When we bring happiness to others, we open the pathways for the same joy to find its way to us.”
~Michael Berg
A day of happiness & love from Ms. Summerville
The Preschool is such a place of magic and joy…
Today I walked into my office full of Kindergarteners singing "Let It Go" from Frozen, while Ben played the piano. You should have seen how all of the kids – even the boys – were singing their hearts out. Davidi Oelberger was center stage with his hands open wide, face up to the heavens;; Mikey Serour with his huge brown eyes opening his mouth as wide as possible. Shaili was twirling around like a ballerina as she sang… Sarah Oelberger kept trying to tell everyone the words when they forgot them;; and, Moshe N. and Raphael were so patient with me, as they had to keep moving their spots each time I needed to move around my office.
Then, I visited the 2 year old students, who were sweaty from climbing and running on the play structure. As I was catching up with Shanaz and Martha – enjoying Sarah Bergman's new haircut and laughing at Sarah Kafaei's adorable voice asking for her chair – I realized that Ms. Shanaz has been replaced as lead teacher in her classroom! Did you know that David Shvili is her new replacement?! I continued on to the 3 year olds, where Sterling spoke to me for the first time ever – in a full, complete sentence. So, did David Ezra – who walked up to me, with his hands on his hips, and said quite firmly, "I'm Davidi." Then, he smiled his toothy smile at me, while Michael Cummings cleaned up around him in the block area. I noticed that Moshe Dan's hair has grown so much (and, so has Ilan's), and it is so beautiful. Then, I remembered that Lag B'Omer is coming… "Oh, yeah," I thought, "we need to order Kippahs soon…" Miriam Turgeman had a conversation with me. I have no idea what she said, because I was just enthralled to stare at her big brown eyes and huge smiling face. Which, brings me to Esther Zadeh, who, bli ayin hara, I am no longer afraid of because she smiles (rather than glares) at me now.
Wandering outside to the turf, I noticed Sarah Soumekh lying by herself in the grass, with her chin propped up on her hands. She looked so comfortable that I joined her in the grass. (I really miss resting in the grass on a beautiful day. Don't you?) We looked at each other, giggled, and didn't say much. She did squeal my name which sounded pretty funny and made me laugh;; so, of course, I squealed her name back at her, which made her laugh and hide her face. Then, Esti Shalom and Sarah Mor joined us. Sarah handed me a bunch of letter things (the round, plastic circles with letters on them). As she stood above me, I asked her what each letter was, she was able to name every single one! First, I was impressed that she knew her letters AND spoke to me about them. More impressive was that she named every single letter out of order. I made sure to tell Lilac about it. Then, Olivia told me that there was a dragon who had a princess. When I asked her, "What do we need to do?" She promptly told me, "We need to yell at the dragon." Of course, I asked her what we needed to yell;; she told me, and then, we yelled 3 or 4 times (each time getting louder) to make the dragon go away. Still not realizing that it is a music day, I walk into my office to find it full of students again – this time the PreK class. "Oh, yeah, duh…" It finally clicked.
Then, I just sat and listened to the PreK class play tambourines and sing Purim songs. Heloise has such a big voice, and she speaks with a perfect Israeli accent. Moshe Bergman and Esther Vaknin are so quiet and still in music. They followed directions so well. Other kids were trying so hard to ringle and jingle their tambourines at just the right time;; but, they just kept picking them up to play them. And, can you blame them? Who can keep a tambourine quiet when it resides in your hand? (Poor Angelo, he just didn't have a tambourine that would be quiet…lol.) Then, I noticed Yehuda Taubman's hair has also grown really long and beautiful, and, oh!, his front teeth are missing! He looks like a new little-big man… Through it all, Ben was encouraging the kids to sing louder and louder;; and, I just sat and watched in amazement… "How do they learn those Hebrew words without reading them?" I wondered.
Of course I noticed every child;; I just can't mention them all in a one page article! If you would like me to share a story about your child, please reach out. I love your kids, and I love sharing stories about them.
As we move into another month of Adar, I look forward to sharing my reflections from the Day School. Pre-School: 1046 S. Robertson Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90035 • Day School: 9250 W. Olympic Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90212 Take a Look at the Preschool
3 year olds working on star pictures in the Hebrew class
Planting with Daniel
4 year olds
learning about
exotic birds
Ilan making a telescope out of paper
The Month of Emotions in the Preschool
This month we focused on the monthly theme of Emotions. In the Preschool, emotions can be a daily rollercoaster ride! In our Four-Year old classroom we created Happy and Sad faces and described reasons why we are either happy or sad. Here are a few examples of when we feel happy:
“I’m happy when my mommy kisses me!.” –Sarah S.
“I’m happy when I dance!.” –Udi
“I’m happy when I’m sharing.” –Kobi
Be sure to check out the rest of our reasons in the main entrance of the Preschool! Our New
Preschool
Play Areas
Kabbalah Buzzzzzz
z
During the month of Adar 1, our students at Kabbalah Children’s Academy explored the concept of EMOTIONS. Being that LOVE is one of the emotions we are all so familiar with, we went on a journey of discovering and looking at it from many different angles. As we took off on this exciting adventure, we not only asked the students to share their existing knowledge of love but also to voice their curiosity about the topic by asking different questions. The dialogue that developed was one that included both the teacher and students as participating learners in the process. Everyone asked, and everyone answered. What Does It Mean To Love God?
“To love God is to respect God.” – Michael Helfand
“To love God is to treat yourself and others well because we all have a piece of God inside.” - Asher Feiles
“Loving God is appreciating what happens to me.”– David Shalom
“Loving God is raying and appreciating everything God created,” - Yehuda Raz
“I love God by following the wisdom of Kabbalah.” – Yacov Judah
“I love God by sharing with people.” - Shaya Schwartz
How Was Love Created?
“We create love when we give it to somebody and then they give it to somebody until it is everywhere.” – Sarah Haber
“Love was created by God when he loved Adam and Eve.” - Esther Berg & Seffi Atzmon
What Does It Mean To Love Yourself?
“To love yourself means to stay healthy and fit.” – Elijah
“To love yourself is remembering everyone has a soul. It’s to treat everyone like you treat yourself.” - Seffi Atzmon
“To love yourself means to follow the rules around you.” – Rachel Vaknin
What Is Love?
“Love is inspiration.” – Davidi Judah
“To believe in yourself.” - Miriam Hausman
“Sharing with others.” – Julian Olschwang
“Restricting reactive behaviors.” – Esther Berg
Happy Day of School th
Pre-School
1st Through 5th Grades
For the first time at KCA, the fifth graders created, planned, and taught the activities for the 100th Day of School celebration at the day school. Activities included writing 100 words in Hebrew, 100 cities in the United States, building with 100 Legos, and creating a Design with 100 Squares. Teacher Training in Israel
A delegation of 40 teachers from schools in the USA, including our own Cindy Bishop and Katherine Owuor, traveled to Israel to participate in a three-day intensive training program at the Israel Center for Excellence in Jerusalem. This program, run by The Center for Initiatives in Jewish Education (CIJE), offered training in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Here is a link to the article in the Jerusalem Post::
http://www.jpost.com/Israel/STEM-education-anothersuccessful-export-from-Israel-342090.
STEM delegation in Israel Photo: The Jerusalem Post
Jumping for Joy in Adar
...From Rabbi Parry
“When the month of Adar enters, we increase our happiness.”
Does this Talmudic proclamation suggest that in a leap year we have two months of increased joy? If so, what kind of joy should we be expressing during this 60-day period?
The great Chatam Sofer was of the opinion that both months of Adar have this status. Others disagree and write that this concept is only applicable to the second Adar. They cite the words of Rashi on this Talmudic passage as the source for his ruling: “We increase in happiness during these days of miracles - Purim and Pesach.” Meaning, the happiness of Adar is due to the joint miracles of Purim and Pesach. If so, only the second month of Adar, which has Purim in it and is adjacent to Pesach, has the reason to increase in happiness.
It would seem that the above disagreement is a moot point, as we soon enter the second Adar, which, according to all opinions, has an increase in happiness. However, there’s something that requires explanation. Why should the miracle of Purim bring us to enhanced happiness throughout the entire month? Even more perplexing is that Rashi also mentions the miracles of Pesach. How does the happiness of Adar result from the holiday of Pesach?
To help answer this, the great Rav Yaakov Emden (18th Century German Talmudic Scholar), explains that Rashi throws Pesach into the mix in order to show us that Purim isn’t a one-time miracle that was performed for us, like Chanukah. Rather it ushers in an era of Geulah (redemption), beginning with Adar and running through Pesach. Accordingly, the reason why we are bidden to increase joy is because we are beginning an era of redemption and light – the exact opposite of Av when we are beginning a period of Galut (exile) and darkness. Hence, the powerful good fortune of “double Adar” connotes a season of hope and deliverance. It is an ideal time for each of us to seek out our own personal Geulah - freedom from the “opponent” and the distractions of Galut. Perhaps, it is an auspicious time to start a new endeavor, rekindle a friendship, or distance ourselves from some of the negative influences, which can surely bring on a personal “redemption.” Adar is a time to meditate and rejoice on the miraculous nature of our lives, which forms an intricate tapestry and spark of divine guidance for which we can more readily celebrate in the mirthful month of Adar.
From a Kabbalistic perspective, the good fortune of Adar is Pisces, which of course are fish. These creatures of the sea form a symbol for the "concealed reality." Likewise, the souls of Israel are likened to fish that swim in the waters of the Torah and Kabbalah. The Kabbalist Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburg teaches that the true identity and fortune of Israel is invisible in this world. The revelation of Purim, he asserts, is the revelation of Israel's true identity, reflecting the revelation of the World to Come. The singular form for "fish" in Hebrew is ‫ דג‬ . It represents the tikkun, the rectification of worry;; the three-letter root of "to worry" is ‫(דאג‬pronounced da'ag). In the Bible, the singular form of fish (‫)דג‬actually appears once written as the root, worry ( ‫ דאג‬ ) . The Bible relates that in the time of the prophet Nechemiah, certain people desecrated the holiness of the Shabbat by selling fish in the market of Jerusalem. But, their fish (‫)דג‬had turned into excessive "worry" (‫)דאג‬over earning a livelihood. In the opposite direction, the “fish” of the joy of Purim, the strong (though initially hidden), good fortune of Adar, convert all the worry in the heart of man to the ultimate joy of redemption with the new birth of self.
4th Grade Project on
Happiness and Adar
Crazy Hair/Hat Day
On February 3, 2014, Kabbalah Children’s Academy had their very first ever school-wide Crazy Hair/Hat Day. It was fun to see all of the different styles the students came up with!
Upcoming Events
March
14 Purim Carnival -lunch will be provided,
1:50pm Day School dismissal 2:00pm Preschool dismissal 16 Purim
17 Shushan Purim
25 Vision Screening
31 Day School Early Dismissal @1:00pm PTA Corner
Our KCA Annual Fundraiser this year will be a RAFFLE! We encourage all the parents to show their support for our children and KCA by selling raffle tickets to everyone you know or buying them yourself! You can also contribute by donating new, unused items or services or soliciting these items to add in the raffle prizes. The grand prize will be $3600 cash! Please check out the website for more information: http://
www.kabbalahacademy.net/raffle/donate_form.php
Keep up the great work!
Sasha Brodsky
*March/Adar 2 Theme: PTA Secretary
Emotions - Reactive Vs. Proactive
*Daylight Savings Time begins March 9 -Set your clocks ahead!.