CLP Year End Report 5772

A year in the life of a growing learning program....

Kolot K’tanim was a successful intergenerational learning program in which parents joined their children ages 4-years-old through 1st grade for stories, movement, food, and art projects related to themes of Shabbat and holidays. It was enriched by Cantor Lisa Segal starting it off every month with energetic singing!

Kitah Daled Urban Planning Project

We ended up with 72 students in the Monday Children’s Learning Program alone! (Which is 2nd through 5th grades). In this program, we achieved levels of Hebrew learning, tefillah study, and hands-on art projects never previously experienced in Kolot’s education program. 

Kitah Bet students wrote and illustrated personal tefillah books.

Kitah Gimmel painted their own mezuzot and wrote their own klafs to place inside.

Kitah Daled designed their own cities based on rabbinic teachings and halakhah.

Kitah Hay produced a music video based on the song Al Shlosha D’varim.

A weekly Hebrew letters and vocabulary homework sheet reinforced the learning students did in the classroom, allowing us to go deeper and retain the information better given how limited our time together is.

Kitah Bet & Gimmel families came together for a spirited Kabbalat Shabbat service and dinner, while Kitah Daled & Hay families joined the whole congregation for a Shabbat morning service and a lunch and learn session afterwards.

The Family Havdalah Program was a sweet ritual and participants decorated their own bsamim boxes (made from re-purposed jars) so they can enjoy this end of Shabbat ritual at home!

The year ended with each kitah sharing their Siyyum project with a younger kitah and the parents coming together for a Parent Feedback Session facilitated by the helpful and dedicated Education Committee.

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In the Bnei Mitzvah Program, after years of working and wondering, we have put into place a strong and clear Hebrew curriculum! The first year students explored tefillot while the second year students studied the weekly Torah portion.

The Bnei Mitzvah students also took a trip around the world, studying Jewish cultures from Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and Africa. 

Needless to say, when students walked the catwalk wearing the talitot that they made themselves, it was a highlight of the year! We were so grateful to the Kolot members, friends, and parents who volunteered their sewing machines and their sewing skills, time, and energy to help our bnei mitzvah complete this ambitious and exciting project.

We finished the year exploring questions of money, power, and privilege through the lens of tzedakah, the Jubilee laws, and other Jewish teachings.

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The third year of the Bnei Mitzvah Program- What’s Up?!#jewishyouthartjustice- was a smashing success! Our 8th graders produced a riveting and deeply moving multi-media show including original music, movement, theater, video, poetry and visual art.  They raised funds for Kolot Chayeinu to continue this program as well as for the two organizations they collectively decided to support with the proceeds from the ticket sales: Taayush in Israel/Palestine and the Ali Forney Center here in NYC.

Vocabulary Key

Tefillah- prayer

Mezuza- a case fixed to the doorpost by some Jewish families as a sign and reminder of their faith

Klaf- a small parchment scroll placed inside the mezuza, inscribed with Deuteronomy 6:4–9 and 11:13–21 (the Sh’ma and V’ahavta prayers)

Halakhah- Jewish law

Al Shlosha D’varim- a well-known Jewish song referring to the three things (shlosha d’varim) the world stands upon according to tradition- prayer, Torah, and acts of loving-kindness

B’samim- the fragrant spices smelled during the Havdalah ritual

Havdalah- the ritual to end Shabbat on Saturday evening

Kitah- class/grade

Siyyum- culmination

Talitot- prayer shawls