Honey Tasting, Sukkah Building – The Kesher Picnic

Yesterday our Start of the Year Picnic at Kesher set our year off to a sweet start. Kesher families started gathering and as evening came our green lawn was full of colorful picnic blankets. It was delightful to meet the families, especially many younger brothers and sisters of Kesher kids as well as some proud grandparents.

Rafi blew the Shofar to announce the beginning of the new year and introduce the tzevet members.

A honey tasting activity left a sweet taste in our mouths, and we can reveal that the most popular honey was an unassuming own-brand clover honey from Shaws! The kids got to work creating a huge paper chain to decorate our new Sukkah. Chemda notes that we got a lot of help from the Kesher kids’ younger brothers and sisters. Family members, started to build the Sukkah in which we’ll be celebrating Sukkot all through next week. It seemed to be especially popular amongst the dads. Hopefully next year we’ll present more balanced gender roles ; )

The Sukkah will host our storytelling event on  October 4th and is available for Kesher families to use throughout the holiday.

Lee

Al Chet – Preparing for Yom Kippur

Working towards being 'on target'

The Ivrit term for ’sin’ -chet- derives from an archery term meaning to ‘miss the mark’ – we use this concept with the kids to explore the idea of Teshuva or repentance/return.  The image encourages students to think about mistakes in a less binary way. Behavior can be closer to, or further from the ideal or ‘mark’. It also suggests that returning is a process – it is by practice and commitment that we get closer to our ideals, just as repeated work improves our aim.

A few highlights from the kids preparations for Yom Kippur:

• Shorashim preparing skits depicting kids ‘missing the mark’ and then showing them taking steps to do teshuva.

  

  The Nitzanim Room Became a Place of Reflection - Literally and Figuratively
• Nitzanim being dazzled by the environment that Chemda and Bryna created for their lesson – walls covered in aluminum foil provided an inspiring space to think about the process of ‘reflection’.

• Anafim discussing how to alert one another that they have missed the mark, whilst heeding the traditional prohibition on shaming.

Tapuchim U’Dvash L’Rosh Hashanah – Apples and Honey for the New Year

Fighting Fall ‘Flu – Scrubbing up for Kibud (snack)

Kesher’s First Day

The first day is over. I’m left with a sense of both relief and exhilaration. Relief that everything went smoothly, and exhilaration at the potential that I feel from both the tzevet (staff) and kids.

I’m amazed to be reminded that as much as the Kesher teachers work to create Kesher’s special atmosphere, that the kids too are powerful bearers of Kesher’s distinct culture, both in terms of their knowledge of Kesher’s little rituals, games, songs etcetera, but more importantly in the way that returning students already start the year with such a strong expectation that Kesher will be a place of both fun, learning, and Kavod (respect). The new teachers have all spoken to me today about how delighted they are by the kids, and their attitude and energy. Sometimes the kids teach the teachers what Kesher is all about.

Kesher is starting it’s 18^th year.

…it’s not off to college yet though.

Friday.

End of the first week. A lot of games, singing, artwork, Ivrit, some first day tears (but not too many), and a lot of smiling, excited kids. We need more photos on this blog. We’ll make sure to take some next week.

Rafi

The Chevruta Project

Over orientation, we began our work with Dr Orit Kent of the Mandel Center for Jewish Education at Brandeis, and long term Kesher Maven Allison Cooke on a new strand of our teacher development program. Orit has  recently completed some fascinating and highly original research into the pedagogy of chevruta learning (chevruta being a traditional Jewish mode of dialogical text study). Following an encounter with Orit at a conference on teaching Rabbinic literature at Brandeis, I became convinced that this research, with it’s emphasis on collaborative learning and the interpersonal dimension of text study, has important lessons for Kesher.  Orit, keen to find the right venue to put her research to practical use, together with Allison, teacher-trainer extraordinaire and a long-time part of the Kesher family, is working with us on a project to develop collaborative learning informed by the chevruta model in Kesher classrooms. This is really innovative work, and follows Kesher’s commitment to progressive education anchored deeply in the Jewish tradition

Our first session with Orit and Allison was incredibly rewarding and teachers are extremely excited about this work going forward. The tzevet (staff) will continue to work together with Orit and Allison to develop our understanding of this unique mode of learning, and to find ways to incorporate our new understandings into our teaching practice.

Tzevet Orientation

Rafi Esterson

Kesher starts early for Kesher tzevet (staff). The teachers spend an intense week and a half full-time getting ready for the new Kesher year. Spending time engaged in high-level Jewish study, and teacher-development, as well as working out new games to play with the kids, and turning our dingy basement into a warm, colorful environment ready for the kids to arrive. It’s hard work, but also a lot of fun as the tzevet members get to know one another and build a lively and supportive learning community that mirrors the one that we are about to start building with kids and families!

We are also thrilled to learn that Kesher teacher Michal Shein (Benayim, 7^th and 8^th grade) has become engaged to Jonas! Mazal Tov Michal!!!!