This week's Kol Torah is generously sponsored by. Kosher Foods and More LLC. 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 7:31 PM 12 Iyar 5778/April 27, 2018 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 Pick a problem. Any problem. While you are at it, pick a big problem. What was your first inclination when you tried to solve it? My bet would be that you, like the rest of the world, looked for a quick fix --- an easy, painless solution to the problem. In this week's Parsha, we read that the Kohanim are forbidden to shave their heads or tear their flesh out of grief. Chazal tell us that idolatrous priests would often engage in these practices to mark themselves as holy and pious. Rav Yehoshua Leib Diskin points out that a Kohain is instructed otherwise. In order to qualify as holy to Hashem, one must make internal changes, not external changes. The Torah instructs the Kohanim to avoid the trap of relying on outward appearances of sanctity. Rather, the Kohain must rely on personal growth and development. That course, while sometimes slow and painstaking, will ultimately lead to Kedusha (holiness). Quick fixes rarely work --- for cars, homes and for people. Sometimes it seems so easy to just change one external behavior, method of dress or even speech, and we can instantly be deemed as holy by others. But we all know that such steps more often than not backfire. CTA has engaged in methodical, painstaking efforts to develop the outstanding educational product that we offer today. This did not come about by flashy external changes, but by constant, daily learning and growth. Every day, I marvel at the growth of our student body and the literal growth of our school by way of our capital building project. However, I know that these are merely external manifestations of the real work that has occurred every day over the past

3 years - by teachers, by students and by our lay leadership. This work, best expressed by our Blueprint for Inspired Learning is what truly sets us apart and puts on the real road to growth. Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Isaac Entin RABBI ENTIN' S RECO MMENDED READING To read Rabbi Entin's recommended reading, CLICK HERE! Sunday, April 29: PTO Designer Bingo UPCO MING EVENTS Wednesday, May 2: 8th Grade Mission to Harrisburg Thursday, May 3: Lag BaOmer Field Day/Bikkur Cholim Walk-A-Thon Friday, May 18: Erev Shavuot, 1PM Dismissal Monday, May 21: Shavuot, No School Monday, May 28: Memorial Day, No School Sunday, June 3: Celebrate Israel Parade Thursday, June 7: Names Not Numbers Program Monday, June 11: 8th Grade Graduation INSIDE THE CLASSROOM -1ST GRADE LIMUDEI KO DESH For s 'ה Kinderlach in Kittah Aleph, this has been a very special week. We have.הר סיני become a link in the chain going all the way to The children received their חומשים before the Yom Tov of התורה.קבלת Expressing how fortunate we feel, we sing the song- Tate ich loib Dir Tate ich donk Dir... Veil ich bin a Yid. I thank you my Tate for making me a Yid. Until now, we spoke to Hashem through the Siddur. Now, B"H, we listen to Hashem speaking to us through the Chumash. אשרינו מה טוב חלקנו! Morah Perman

4 INSIDE THE CLASSROOM - MIDDLE SCHOOL ENGLISH Over the past few weeks, 7th Grade Boys have been writing historical fiction stories, bringing to life historical time periods with their own characters, plots and creations. As they finish these off and turn in their final copies, complete with book covers and author biographies, they are also jumping into the mysterious world of The Westing Game, where nobody is who they seem to be, and no clues seem to add up. We will be analyzing characters, themes and plot progression with each new chapter. Midway through the book, we will hold an intensely heated debate about the true identities of the characters living in Sunset Towers. The 8th Grade Boys and 7th and 8th Grade Girls recently completed the classic novel, Animal Farm. Our classroom was filled with lively debates about the values inherent in a society, the drive to become good or evil, and the importance of being an educated and curious citizen. These themes will carry over into our upcoming discussions of Twelve Angry Men, a play that takes place in a jury room where biases and assumptions leave a group of men confused and self- doubting. Our students will act the scenes out in the classroom as they bring the jurors to life and learn just how difficult it is to see clearly when we are so blinded by the misconceptions we bring to the table. I look forward to an exciting last few weeks of school!

5 Mrs. Bauer NAMES NOT NUMBERS As the year slowly comes to a close, the 8th graders are well into the final phase of the Names, not Numbers program. After spending a few months learning about the history of the Holocaust, understanding our Jewish identities, and incorporating the lessons of our heroes into our own lives, the students had the opportunity to interview individual survivors, video them, and edit the testimony. As a culmination of this deeply moving project, we invite our community to view our footage and meet the survivors portrayed in the videos. Please save the date for our community closing event on the evening of June 7th. More details coming soon! Sponsorships are available. Enrichment Clusters ENRICHMENT PRO GRAM Spotlight on "Torah Tube," with Rabbi Friedman - Grades 6-8 How to tie your shoes, how to boil pasta, how to paint your house... you can learn how to do many different things from online video tutorials. After learning how to poach an egg from an online tutorial (and enjoying eating poached eggs), and analyzing what makes a quality video tutorial, the Torah Tube students set out to prepare tutorials and educational videos about Torah and halacha themes. Our students researched and worked both collaboratively and independently to put together videos about the origins of cholent, tefillin and how to hang a mezuzah. They presented their videos to the 4th and 5th graders during our final week of clusters. Spotlight on "Dig It," with Dr. Feeley - Grades 6-8 Our budding archaeologists watched videos about, and conducted research about, archaeological discoveries in Israel. These students dug deep to uncover the connections between discovered artifacts and stories of Tanach and Jewish History. Students worked on PowerPoint presentations about Masada, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Qumran community, ancient Ashkelon, and the Arch of Titus, and presented their discoveries to 4th and 5th graders. First Grade Enrichment Clusters Our first graders will begin their Enrichment Cluster session this coming week! Check out our exciting menu of first grade clusters here. ECP SPO TLIGHT There are so many special things happening in ECP! Here are two of the week's highlights.

6 When we enter school in the morning, we are often greeted by the exciting sounds of drilling. Our students wonder why the drilling is loud, what they are up to in the construction process, and what is happening behind the beautifully painted wooden partition, which was formally Morah Elana's music room. In an attempt to answer all of these questions, each ECP class went on a tour with Mr. Michael this week, who took us behind the partitions to witness the construction. Mr. Michael explained that Morah Elana's classroom is being transformed into new bathrooms. We got to see the piping and spaces where the new toilets and sinks will be kept. We then got to see the area which used to be the Mikvah, and is now an open space. After seeing the piles of bricks from the wrecked walls, our students understand where the drilling comes from. We learned that sometimes we need to break things down in order to rebuild and it takes a vision to accomplish what our hardworking team is building! Now that Shabbos starts later, the ECP gathers together each Friday for Shabbos Shira, a meaningful time when we sing Shabbos songs together. The words of Shalom Alechem and Lecha Dodi fill the room, and the excitement is palpable. With Morah Sara on the guitar, and Morah Rivka handing out tickets for participation, it's a special time that we all enjoy. Wishing everyone a meaningful Shabbos! Morah Rivka

7 MISSIO N TO HARRISBURG DERECH ERETZ INITIATIVE Mazal Tov to this week's Derech Eretz raffle winners: Maya Gordon 4G Meytal Benjamini 4G Shira Silver 3A Nate Bleier 3B

8 DERECH ERETZ 25 AWARD Mazel Tov to the following students for earning the "Derech Eretz 25 Award," upon receiving 25 or more Derech Eretz cards: Rivky Kupfer, 1st Tali Snitman, 1st Rina Rosner, 3B Nili Obstfeld, 5G You are role models in behaving responsibly, respectfully and carefully, and this is what all CTA students represent. We are so proud of you - Keep up the beautiful behavior! THANK YOU Thank you to our ECP teachers, led by Morah Rosie, for transforming our temporary construction walls into a bright, cheerful and fun piece of art! SWEATSHIRTS The only sweatshirts that may be worn in school are either the CTA sweatshirt or a plain, navy zip-up sweatshirt. CTA sweatshirts are available for purchase in the Admissions Office. PTO BINGO

9 WALK-A-THO N

10 P IANO RECITALS

11 PTO NEWS Ongoing PTO free FUNdraisers make a big difference!!! Please save the following items on behalf of the 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 re- register for the new school year. 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 jeisenberg345@gmail.com. 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

12 Click Here for the School Calendar

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