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Hakhel - A Year of Gathering
This new year, which
began on Rosh Hashanah, is
a Hakhel year (the year after
the end of the seven-year
period). At the end of each
seven years, on the festival of
Sukkot, the king gathered
together the men, women,
and children to hear and learn
Torah and thus be in awe of
God, inspired in the obser
vance of mitzvot.
At CJDS, we were privi
leged to relive the Hakhel experi
ence. The students reenacted the
journey to Jerusalem as the Jews
did in the days of old. All the stu
dents came to school that day
dressed in festive clothing in
preparation for this special day.
Then, our very own Rabbi Weiss,
as the king, read from the Torah,
inspiring us all in our learning and
doing mitzvot. We also received a
special mission from the king. In
keeping with this year’s motto,
“You Are a Diamond in Our
Crown,” the students put to paper
their thoughts on how each one of
us is truly a diamond. These “dia
mond statements” are currently on
display in the school’s lobby.
Hakhel does not end in the
"Mispacha Rut" enjoying each other's com
pany.
month of Tishrei; rather, its mes
sage travels with us throughout
the year. This is a year of gather
ing together in groups to talk, to
sing, to daven, to join in one uni-
Rabhi Weiss, as the king, with
Alexander Shporer.
fying voice and to connect with
our higher Divine calling — our
mission of spreading goodness
and kindness.
The Hakhel celebration was the
starting point for a new CJDS
institution-our mishpachot (school
families). Each school family is a
cluster comprised of one child
from each grade, supported by a
staff advisor. The families take
their names from Jewish history-
for example, the Esther family; the
Solomon family; the Aaron fami-
ly-
At the celebration, each “fami
ly” danced to Jewish music. As the
school year goes on, the families
will participate in various activi
ties, such as lunch and holiday
projects.
Principal Mariashi Groner
expressed the hope that the school
families would fulfill the chil
dren’s need for connection. In
modem times, when people tend
to be emotionally isolated, the
school family would help children
of different ages bond. The family
program was developed in
response to the PTO’s suggestion
of a “big brother/big sister” pro
gram. ^
Sukkah-
Hopping
The intermediate days of
Sukkot always provide a special
event for CJDS students.
Chauffeured by good-natured par
ents, each class visits two or three
households to see and compare
sukkot. The students enjoy a song
in one sukkah, a dance in another,
a cold drink in the next one.
By visiting several homes in the
Jewish community, the children
see that Sukkot is a living holiday
that is celebrated by many Jews at
various observance levels. They
see that a sukkah is not only for
school or synagogue.
Our thanks to the fifteen fami
lies who welcomed us. ^
Robbie Winterfield with
at Sukkah
lulav and etrog
hopping event.
Charlotte Jewish Day School
A BenefiaarY Agency of The Jewish Federehon of Greater Charlotta
921 Jefferson Drive
P.O. Box 21209
Charlotte, NC 28277
Hello, Mr. President!
We are writing to you from Charlotte, North Carolina. We are the
2nd grade class at Charlotte Jewish Day School. We think that you are
doing a great job in the war against terrorism. On Friday, October 12,
2001, our teacher told us about your “homework assignment” for the
children in America. As a class, we talked about the important need for
food and clothing for the innocent children in Afghanistan. Those
children must be so scared. We know that the people in Afghanistan
speak another language, but we thought that the. children might enjoy
receiving pictures of hope from the United States. We each created a
picture that can be sent with the food and clothing. After our class
discussion, we each pledged to earn a dollar over the weekend. We
talked about different ways to earn this'money.
On Monday morning, October 15, 2001, we came to school and
talked about what each of us did to earn our dollar. Many of us earned
more than a dollar. Some of us set up lemonade stands and others
washed cars or helped mom or dad around the house. We even had one
student help his dadhang a 100-lb. mirror! As a class of 18 students, we
earned $75.00! Please use our hard-earned dollars to help the children
of Afghanistan.
Sincerely,
The 2nd Grade Class at CJDS
W)
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Miss Coiac
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AnJiFcrJ
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Let Us Help
You Clean
Out Your
Attic
We are excited about the cre
ation of our new thrift shop.
Divine Finds, which will benefit
Charlotte Jewish Day School.
Initially, we will have four two-
week sales, which will be held in
December, March, May, and
August.
Thanks to the generosity of
Sam Kaplan, we have secured a
location for our shop in the Amity
Gardens Shopping Center, next
door to the Kosher Mart. We are
looking for donations of gently
used furniture, clothing, and other
interesting items.
We need your help to stock our
new shop. We will have drop-offs
every Thursday morning from
7:30-9:15 AM in the Camp Mindy
parking lot. For larger items or
special arrangements for pick-up,
please call Donna Ehrlich at
(704)544-2343.
Drive Underway for New
Ambulance
Charlotte Jewish Day School is
a member of RAVSAK, the
Jewish Community Day School
Network.
As a way to unite and make a
tangible contribution to help
rebuild New York City, RAVSAK
has launched a drive for its mem
ber schools to purchase a new
ambulance.
Our students are reminded that
in addition to the terrible loss of
lives, there were also many police
cars, fire trucks, and ambulances
lost. Replacing an ambulance will
help ensure that the city is able to
respond to future emergencies.
RAVSAK is encouraging every
day school student to contribute
$10 to the ambulance cause. At
CJDS, each classroom has been
equipped with special Ambulance
Fund tzedakah boxes. Each stu
dent also has his own ambulance
puzzle. With each dollar that a
child earns, he gets to add a piece
to his puzzle. When the child has
earned ten dollars, the ambulance
puzzle is complete. Children have
been asked to raise their contribu
tions themselves, through chores,
yard work, bake sales, etc.
Knowing how resourceful our stu
dents are, it will be interesting to
see their creativity in raising their
share. ^
Meet the Judaica/Hebrew
Staff at CJDS
Charlotte Jewish Day School
would like to introduce our spirit
ed Judaica/Hebrew staff. These
are the people who teach our stu
dents how to function as Jews
within the local and worldwide
community.
Tara Grindrod develops and
implements our Jewish events.
This is her second year at CJDS.
Tara’s talent in the field of graph
ics, art, and communications
enables her to be quite creative.
Some of her projects to date have
been: Lag B’Omer field day, the
Israel Bee; Project Peace Crane;
and the Peace Quilt.
When asked’ what she wants to
accomplish at school, Tara says
that she wants to “enhance the
everyday curriculum by making
holiday events extra special and
memorable.”
Kindergarten: Kindergarten
Judaica/Hebrew is taught by
Rochele Groner and Chaya Fuss.
A graduate of Yad Ramah
Seminary of the United Kingdom,
Rochele strives to “insfill a love
for Judaism and Jewish pride.”
Chaya comes to us after study
ing in Montreal. She shares
Rochele’s goals. Chaya will main
tain classroom continuity when
Rochele leaves us in January to
get married.
First Grade - Channie Weiss
Prior to coming to Charlotte fif
teen years ago, Channie taught at
day schools in New York and New
Jersey. Channie is our lead Judaica
teacher. Channie expresses her
objective as follows: “I want my
students to always remember to be
proud Jews and to carry their
(Continued on page 34)
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