Candle Lighting 5:54 PM 30 Tishrei 5778/ October 20, This week's Kol Torah is generously sponsored by. Wishing everyone a Good Shabbos!

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1 This weekly publication is ed to all of our subscribers. The newsletter recaps the week's events at Caskey Torah Academy and informs readers of upcoming programs and events. A printed copy is sent home on Fridays to each CTA family. Happy reading and have a Good Shabbos! Candle Lighting 5:54 PM 30 Tishrei 5778/ October 20, 2017 This week's Kol Torah is generously sponsored by Kosher Foods and More LLC Wishing everyone a Good Shabbos! If you would like to sponsor an issue of Kol Torah in honor or in memory of a loved one, please contact Rachel Mazurek at rmazurek@taphila.org. PICTURE OF THE WEEK

2 MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL Many trees have been felled on account of one word in the first pasuk of this week's parsha- "B'dorosav". The Gemara records a dispute about whether Noach was righteous in his generation by its standards (but not in any other generation) or whether Noach's righteousness would have been stellar in any other generation as well. The famed master of Mussar, The "Alter" of Novardhok, comments that the two sides of the argument are really two sides of the same coin. Either way, Noach was a tzaddik - he resisted the overwhelming urge toward base behavior that had enveloped the entire civilized world in which he lived. Whether his specific madreigah (spiritual status) was on par with other generations or not, it made no difference. By force of his devotion to his beliefs, by sticking to his principles and doing what was right in the eyes of the Al-Mighty,.he was a landmark example, a tzaddik for generations. Our children face a very different world than the one in which we grew up. I, or anyone else involved in Chinuch, can attest that the past decade has brought about changes that make our students fundamentally different. It is our job to guide and mentor them in an environment that feels, and indeed is, very unsteady. The answers to this dilemma are vastly complex and a one page newsletter message is not the place to find them. Nonetheless, we can seek a guiding thought, a firm place to plant our feet - and the "Alter" gave us the key.

3 The very fact that our children are able and willing to resist external influences and involve themselves in spiritual matters - davening with a minyan, sitting in a sukkah, singing zemiros or learning on a Shabbat afternoon - in a world which hardly recognizes such behavior, means that our children are budding superheroes and we should celebrate them. We must be willing to put aside grades, and numbers of p'sukim or daf gemara, and look at our children's neshamot. We will see that their neshamot are burning bright and we should bask in their incredible strength. They are truly Noachs. Yet there are real threats to them and we cannot be blind to the attrition that affects our children (if you have not read the research and commentary on the recent Nishma survey, you should do so HERE). And then, after that moment of Nachas, we need to look internally, and to ask ourselves how we will nurture our children to maintain their love of mitzvot, their love of Torah, their Ahavat Yisrael. For starters, we can model those behaviors for them. Yet there is so much more that we need to do. We need to begin to have conversations about this - as families, as shuls, as communities. It is the place of Caskey Torah Academy to play a major role in our students' spiritual growth, and we do that through our powerful learning and inspiring ruach. But we can't relegate this experience and message only to school hours. There is so much that we can talk about at our Shabbat tables (my ears occasionally ring!). Perhaps this week we can ask ourselves the most basic fundamental question: How will I help my children grow up to be committed Jews? Wishing you an inspirational and thought-provoking Shabbos, Rabbi Isaac Entin RABBI ENTIN'S RECOMMENDED READING To read Rabbi Entin's recommended reading, CLICK HERE! UPCOMING EVENTS Sunday, October 22: First Sunday School (Boys) Sunday, October 29: Mommy/Daddy and Me Program Monday, October 3 0 : LMSD Health Screening Monday-Monday, October 3 0 -November 6: Scholastic Book Fair

4 Thursday, November 2: Picture Day Sunday, November 5: Wandering Que at CTA Sunday, November 12: Messibat Chumash Monday, November 13 : Parent Teacher Conferences, 6-9 PM Tues day, November 14: Parent Teacher Conferences, 9AM-5PM, No School Thursday, November 16: Math in Focus Parent Night (Grades K-3) INSIDE THE CLASSROOM - MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE Middle School students have arrived ready to tackle all topics in science class. The beginning of the year, unfortunately, had several natural disasters. Time was taken to address these teachable moments. We discussed hurricanes, earthquakes and eclipse events. Students devised evacuation suitcases to consider what is needed to survive if one has to leave home. Additionally, students used past hurricane data to predict storm paths and to determine whether to issue hypothetical warnings to various nations. Classes also reviewed science process skills, the scientific method, the experimental format and metrics. Students enthusiastically engaged in a poster contest on lab safety rules. Classification has been approached by researching the taxonomy of organisms important to Rosh Hashanah and Succoth. Students were also introduced to the concept of matter and its various states. Our classes are looking forward to the STEM program supplied by the Center for Initiatives in Jewish Education, which will be interspersed throughout the year. TA is not having a science fair this year, but stay tuned for an alternative event later in the year. There will be a club for students who want to participate in the Montgomery County Science Fair. Any interested student should speak to Mrs. Appel or Mr. Gilman.

5 INSIDE THE CLASSROOM - 6G LIMUDEI KODESH Welcome to 6G! Entering Middle School comes with many responsibilities and a lot of excitement about all of our special programs. The students of 6G are adjusting well to the Middle School routine and learning is already in full swing. We are learning Shmuel Alef this year. Before the chagim, we were introduced to Shmuel's family and learned about how his mother davened to have a son. We will now be learning about Shaul Hamelech and his reign. In learning Navi, our focus is exploring the personal lessons we can learn from the stories, while simultaneously working on our textural skills. One of this year's projects is that for each Perek, the girls will be tasked with writing a creative and interesting newsletter. In Chumash, we just started learning Parashat Yitro. We will be focusing on Rashi skills and understanding Rashi's questions and explanations, while continuing to build on our basic textual skills so that we can eventually learn on our own. I look forward to a great year of learning and personal growth. Have a Shabbat Shalom! Mrs. Avtzon STUDENT DVAR TORAH - SHMUEL STIEGLITZ

6 And Noach did all that Hashem had commanded him, and Noach was six hundred years old and the flood waters were upon the earth. And Noach came and his sons and his wife and the wives of his sons with him into the Ark because of the waters of the flood. (Breishis 7:5-7) Because of the waters of the flood: Even Noach was from the small believers. He both believed and didn't believe that the flood would come, and therefore he didn't enter the Ark until the waters forced him. (Rashi) Noach was a small believer? He didn't believe the waters of the flood would really come? How is that possible? He worked for 120 years and was ridiculed while building the Ark! The verse said "Noach did all that Hashem had commanded him." How could he be from the small believers? A similar accusation is made about Sara when she heard that she would be having a child. She prayed the length of her life for a child acknowledging that "Hashem has held me back from bearing." When she heard she was going to have a child, she laughed. Therefore she was in need of the rebuke, "Is something too wondrous for Hashem?!" The Chofetz Chaim points out that this faltering of belief is a foreshadowing of a future time when good Jews, who have lived with the fervent hope that the Jewish People will again be restored to the Holy Land and the world will be set right, will confront the realization of their dreams. What will that good-hearted, loyal Jew think when he glances at the headlines one morning and discovers the announcement, in clear terms, of what he had hoped for his entire life? A good portion of him is in total disbelief, denying it strongly as a hoax. How can one both believe and not believe simultaneously? Simple! A person is not one thing. Some pass the written exam of life and still fail the driving test miserably. It is this insufficiency that we are warned about by Noach's reaction to the arrival of the flood waters and Sara's response to even good news. ECP SPOTLIGHT

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8 DERECH ERETZ INITIATIVE Mazel Tov to this week's Derech Eretz raffle winners: Adina Cohen 3A Rina Rosner 3B Yehuda Lynn 4B Ezra Steinerman 5B and to this month's Class With Class: 5B BAR/BAT MITZVAH PROGRAM Mazel Tov! In preparation for the upcoming Bar andbat Mitzvahs to come, the 6th grade girls and the 7th grade boys each enjoyed a "Mock Bat/Bar Mitzvah." This event was a simulation of a real simcha, as they might celebrate with their friends. The goal of these evenings was to teach, model, and practice Derech Eretz at a simcha. After an opening message from Rabbi Entin, the students played an entertaining, interactive game about Bar/Bat Mitzvah and etiquette, and then practiced their skills in realtime at the 'kiddush.' The evenings continued with a meal, speeches, and of course, instructional dancing! Thank you to all the teachers, Noa and Noa, and students who helped make these evenings so memorable and successful!

9 EXCITING PROGRAMS

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11 PTO NEWS Ongoing PTO free FUNdraisers make a big difference!!! Please save the following items on behalf of CTA PTO...and urge friends and family to participate in these easy, no cost programs. Currently, we are collecting Box Tops for Education logos (go to for a complete product listing and for offers and sweepstakes) and Brown's Shoprite and Fresh Grocer receipts (must be current...within the last 5 months). A collection box for these items is at the front security desk. Please register your Giant Bonus Cards ( to benefit CTA PTO (use CTA id # 23875)...anyone with a Giant card can participate in this program and you can support up to 2 schools. Once you have registered, there is no need to reregister for the new school year.

12 CTA also participates in the Amazon Smile program and in the and programs, so keep CTA in mind as you shop online. For any questions about these programs, please contact BULLETIN BOARD OF THE WEEK Host our B'not Sherut for a meal Click here to view and sign up for the meal schedule. TA Text Messaging Stay informed with important TA information such as emergency announcements, school closings and event reminders. To opt in - click here CTA SNAPSHOTS

13 Click Here for the School Calendar

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