Orna Sonnenschein
Welcome to Temple Beth Am

As the Director of Education of Temple Beth Am, I am pleased to make available, on-line, my thoughts which are found in Temple Beth Am's monthly newsletter, TEBEAM.

My articles are available on-line and are readily available for viewing or downloading and reading at your convenience.

Director of Education’s Message
Tebeam
March 2008

We have a very busy March this year.  The calendar is filled with school and temple activities.  I suggest that you mark your calendars in advance (if you haven’t already done so) to be sure you can attend those events that interest you.

We start off the month with the 4^th grade Junior Congregation Service on Saturday March 1 at 8:30am.  For those of you whose children still need Saturday morning service credits this is a perfect service to attend.  Our Jr. Congregation services begin early and are over in about one hour.  This enables students to participate in the service before their Saturday extracurricular activities begin. 

The following day, Sunday March 2^nd is our Tallit program which I mentioned in last month’s article.  Hopefully I’ll get some good pictures and will have them published in the April tebeam.  I am assuming that this program will be offered next year so if any 5^th grade parents are interested in stopping by (or any other parent) you are more than welcome to.  We’ll be in the Social Hall. 

On Friday March 7^th our 5^th graders will be helping to lead services.  Jason Oppenheimer our Youth Educator and 5^th grade teacher is working with the students on a creative service.  Again this is a great opportunity for those students who need Friday night service credits.  As usual there will be a Shabbat Dinner offered before the service.  A notice reminding families to R.S.V.P. will be sent out closer to the date.

On Sunday the 16^th I will lead a program for 2^nd graders and their parents.  In preparation for Passover parents and students will be making Passover Haggadot.  You do not need to know anything about Passover to participate in this program.  Each family will choose what they want to include in their Haggadah and the finished product will go home with each family to be used at their own Seder.  Incidentally, a few parents approached me about how one goes about leading a Passover Seder.  I will be offering a class sometime in March or early April for those who would love to host a Seder but don’t know where to begin.  Once I have a date and time I will notify those who are on the school’s email list.  If others are interested feel free to email me directly.  (education@tempbetham.org) 

We also have our annual Purim Carnival on the 16^th at 1:15pm.  Sisterhood really does a phenomenal job organizing this wonderful event for our youngsters.  Keep an eye out for more information in the coming weeks.

There is no Hebrew School on Wednesday March 19^th and Thursday March 20^th.  I hope that students will take that time to do their homework so that everyone can come to the Megillah reading on the 20^th at 6:30.  Come in costume and win a prize!  I hope to see you all there.

L’Shalom,

Orna Sonnenschein