Jewish Websites

What is your favorite Jewish website?  There are so many great ones out there. There are technically useful ones like www.hebcal.com for when you need information about the Jewish calendar. There are educational ones like www.myjewishlearning.com for when you need some factual information. There are videos for the parsha on www.g-dcast.com. There is www.kveller.com, a twist on Jewish parenting. There is www.punktorah.org a website of Independent Jewish spiritual culture for those of us who are a bit more adventurous and cutting edge.  There are so many great Jewish websites.

I would love to hear about the websites you frequent, or wish you had time to frequent. It’s about time we updated our list of websites to the right. So share your resources either on the blog or on our facebook page http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=602586159 and ask your kids what their favorite Jewish websites are - they may visit some real gems!

Joyful Noise

In my September bulletin article I spoke about Joyful Noise. 

"I love the image joyful noise conjures, people joining together in a vibrant, loving, welcoming community to pray in a joyful, happy, noisy manner. I started to wonder what Joyful Noise during prayer would look like and sound like at B’nai Amoona?"

This Shabbat we are going to find out! This Saturday, Nov. 5th we are having a special Family Shabbat Service. There is no Pardes on Sunday so we are asking all families to join us. Rabbi Kaiman and I will be leading a special family service from 10:30-11:30 in the chapel which will be followed by the Consecration Ceremony in the main sanctuary to welcome our new students into their Jewish Educational Journey. 

Join us this Shabbat  &  make some Joyful noise!

Our students keep coming back!

Now that we are in week three of our school year, I am beginning to get a handle on the number of students we have in our school. The first few weeks that number is like a moving target. But I am excited to share that we have 247 students in 13 grades this year!

I am super excited to share that in K-6th grade we had 100% retention from last year (with the exception of two students who moved out of state and one who switched to day school.) And in 7th-11th we are averaging an 83% retention rate. This number is something we should all be proud of. It speaks very highly of our Pardes program, our fabulous teachers, our synagogue community and our families. Together, we are showing that life long Jewish learning is a priority in our community. 

In many religious schools, students leave after their Bar/Bat Mitzvah. I am thrilled to say that we have 25 students in our 8th grade class. And so far they are loving it, thanks to Morah Jan (who doesn't love Morah Jan) and an exciting and meaningful, hands-on curriculum based on Tikkun Olam (making the world a better place.) 

Pardes Tishrei Video Contest

Announcing the first ever Pardes 

Tishrei video contest

Grab your family, or some friends and make a video about the upcoming holidays. Then enter it into the first Pardes Tishrei video contest. All videos will be shared on the B'nai Amoona Youtube channel and the winner will get a special prize. 

Here are all the details for the contest:

1. Videos can come from individuals, groups, families, classes - anyone who want to participate as long as the person who enters the video is a B'nai Amoona member.

2. All videos must be between 30 seconds and 5 minutes in length

3. Each video must be digitally sent to Jennifer@bnaiamoona.com or Jessica@bnaiamoona.com

4. The video must be related to the Tishrei holidays: Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot or Simchat Torah

5. All videos must be electronically submitted no later than Monday, October 3rd

6. All videos will be posted to the B'nai Amoona Youtube channel.

7. The winner will be announced Tuesday, Oct. 11th

I can't wait to watch all the videos!!!!

Welcome back to Pardes

Welcome back to Pardes. The summer is over and we started this past Tuesday with a great first day. At our opening ceremony, the chapel was packed with students and parents. Rabbi Kaiman led us in Havdalah to symbolize our transition from the summer to the school year and Jennifer Newfeld told us a story reminding us that people grow from the inside out. Rabbi Kaiman, Jennifer and Jessica Rosenblit, our new Assistant Principal, shared blessings with the students for the year.  We sang some songs and then all the students excitedly went off to their new classrooms to start soaking up Judaism. For snack, students ate traditional first day of school, big chocolate chip cookies so that we can all have a sweet, gooey, fun new year.

 My prayer for you is to grow from the inside. Be the best person you can be: to yourself, your friends, your family, your classmates and your community. Always strive to be a good person. Let others see your inner beauty shining thought. Embrace your Judaism and be opening to all that this wonderful tradition has to offer you. Come to Pardes with an open heart and an open mind. And have a wonderful year of learning and growing. 

Jennifer Newfeld

Havdalah and Siddur Ceremony

This week we had three great ceremonies. Our Kitah Bet (2nd grade) had their Havdalah Ceremony, Kitah Gimmel (3rd grade) received their first siddur during the Siddur Ceremony and tonight we are confirming 17 tenth graders in a special Friday night which includes presentations, Shabbat service and dinner.

I love the end of the year when we are able to display and honor all the great learning our students have accomplished!!

Here are a few highlights, see many more pictures on Flicker. Confirmation picutres will go up early next week.

Families and Students at our Siddur Ceremony

Kitah Gimmel receives their Siddurim

Kitah Bet Havdalah Ceremony

Kitah Bet did an awesome job!

Youth Groups

This week BAUSY, B'nai Amoona's chapter of United Synagogue Youth elected their 2011-2012 leadership board. 

BAUSY is one of our three award winning youth groups. B’nai Amoona youth groups are a wonderful opportunity for our child to hang out with their B’nai Amoona friends, participate in fun activities and live Jewish values. We have three wonderful youth groups. Atid Amoona is for students entering 4^th & 5^th grade and meets approximately monthly. Kadima meets monthly for our 6^th-8^th graders. USY for our 9^th -12^th graders has a variety of weekly events, Shabbat experiences and weekend regional conventions.

This past year we had some exciting new programs, such as the overnight at the zoo, traditional favorites such as USY Shabbat dinners, and record attendanceat our Atid Amoon and Kadima events.

Come join the bunch – it’s a fun and important part of our Jewish education.

Mazel Tov!