RTA Students Light Menorah at Weinstein JCC

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Dec. 20, 2017 2 Tevet, 5778 JCC Menorah Lighting 1 RTA Students Light Menorah at Weinstein JCC After School

Saturday, Dec. 30 Shabbat ends 5:46 p.m.

1 Dec. 20, Tevet, 5778 JCC Menorah Lighting 1 RTA Students Light Menorah at Weinstein JCC After School Activities Schedule 2 The PEP Program! 4 Parsha 5 Candle Lighting Friday, Dec. 22 4:37 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 23 Shabbat ends 5:41 p.m. Friday, Dec. 29 4:42 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 30 Shabbat ends 5:46 p.m. RTA students led the Menorah lighting at the Weinstein JCC on the 7th night of Chanukah, and followed it up with some awesome singing and dancing! The RTA staff gratefully thank all of the families who contributed so generously for the wonderful and much appreciated Chanukah gifts for the Faculty & Staff!! And thank you to Yali Klestzick and the PVA for facilitating this beautiful, thoughtful endeavor! Thursday, Dec Monday, Jan. 1 Winter Break No Classes Thursday, December 28 Fast of 10 Tevet 6:00 a.m. - 5:43 p.m. Tuesday, January 2 Classes Resume Wednesday, January 3 Board Meeting

RTA AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES Winter Session 2018 RTA Scratch Coding Club 2 nd grade and up Students will learn to create their own animations, simple games, and digital art using the MIT developed

2 RTA AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES Winter Session 2018 RTA Scratch Coding Club 2 nd grade and up Students will learn to create their own animations, simple games, and digital art using the MIT developed language, Scratch. They'll use creativity, learn programming concepts, and develop problem solving skills in this fun class. Mondays 3:40-5:00 January 8 - March 26 Cost - $80 for 10 weeks Learn to Speak Spanish! 4th grade and up Hablemos Espanol! In RTA we have a dual language program every day. Why not make it a third?! In this class your child will have the opportunity to take a crash course to learn the basics of one of the world s most popular languages. Tuesdays 3:40-5:00 January 9 - February 27 Cost - $65 for 8 weeks RTA Construct 3 Coding Club 3 rd grade and up Construct 3 is a Game Creation Tool that uses drag & drop and Javascript to create games. This program is used worldwide by programmers to make games for mobile, pc, and video game consoles. Each student will learn to create a game from start to finish. Thursdays 3:40-5:00 Sign-up deadline for all after school clubs is: FRIDAY, JANUARY 5 January 11 - March 22 Cost - $80 for 10 weeks For those not in a club, RTA now offers daily supplemental childcare Monday-Thursday, from 3:35-5:00 pm. Cost is $15 per day, with discounts available for long-term sign-up, as well as multiple child discounts - please contact Rabbi Bart for more information about pricing.

3 RTA After School Activities Form (Please bring this form with payment enclosed to the RTA office by Friday, January 5)

4 Page 4 V ahavta Just when you thought your days in the classroom were over.(!) WHAT IS IT? The PEP (Parallel Education for Parents) Program is a nationally acclaimed program piloted by RTA in PEP is designed for parents of all ages to come together with their children and their Jewish studies teachers for an exciting evening of learning and fun! The evening will be followed by tasty refreshments (including our traditional PEP M&M s). WHY IS IT? There is little that we as parents value more than our children s education, growth, and happiness. You know how excited children are when they come and share with you something they learned at school. Now you have a unique opportunity to have your children actually share their school, their classroom, and their learning experiences with you as they happen. WHEN IS IT? Tuesday, January 9, 6:15-7:30 p.m.: Kindergarten - Morah Perel Wednesday, January 17, 6:15-7:30 p.m.: First Grade - Morah Joan Tuesday, January 23, 6:30-7:45 p.m.: Second Grade - Morah Aronowitz Tuesday, January 30, 6:30-7:45 p.m.: Third Grade - Rabbi Sherman Tuesday, February 6, 6:30-7:45 p.m.: Fourth Grade - Rabbi Skaist Tuesday, February 13, 6:30-7:45 p.m.: Fifth Grade - Morah Aronowitz Tuesday, February 20, 6:30-7:45 p.m.: Sixth Grade - Rabbi Sherman Tuesday, February 27, 6:30-7:45 p.m.: Seventh/Eighth Grade - Rabbi M. Sherman Come with your child and experience an unforgettable evening of learning and fun!!

5 Page 5 V ahavta Parsha Points Each week we feature an article on the weekly Torah portion. Vayigash (Genesis 44:18-47:27) The True Challenge of Giving We know that the Bible is full of righteous individuals. But Yosef is the only biblical figure referred to specifically as "hatzaddik" -- "the righteous one." What is it about Yosef that marks him out as the paragon of righteousness more so than others? There is one character trait that we find epitomized in Yosef: He always takes responsibility. Starting with his brothers, he tells his father the mistakes they are making. While it is true that he erred by not speaking to his brothers directly, his motivation was sincerely to ensure that proper behavior was followed. In Potiphar's house, and then in prison, he ends up running the show. When he leaves prison, he gives sage advice on how to handle problems (while always giving the credit to G-d) and he ends up running all of Egypt. When his brothers come to Egypt, he first helps them grow past their mistakes, and then provides for the whole family. We often think of a righteous person as someone who does a lot of good. But how much good? How does one quantify? The Torah answers for us: It's not enough to just "do a lot of good." In order to be truly good, you have to consistently take responsibility for yourself, and for others. We all have a good part that wants to give and to share. And that part will naturally express itself at times. Even the most selfish of people will feel like giving sometimes. But the challenge of giving is not when you feel like doing so. It is to give when you don't feel like doing so. And when you take responsibility for others, you are committing to giving even when you don't feel like doing so. Giving to a homeless person in the street means dropping some money into his cup. Taking responsibility for him means sitting with him and talking about what his needs are and then figuring out how to solve those problems. It's not quite as comfortable as dropping him a few pennies. Giving to an office colleague means making her a cup of coffee when you're making one yourself. Taking responsibility would mean proactively approaching her when she seems down, giving her your time, then suggesting concrete ways which could be of assistance. Giving to your friend means responding to their needs and sharing. Taking responsibility, however, means also rebuking them sometimes, even though it might cause friction. It means listening to them and understanding them, not just expressing your own opinion. It means taking time to figure out how to help them grow, then actively and patiently encouraging them to move in that direction even though they might resist initially. Giving comes naturally -- to a greater or lesser extent -- to every one of us. Taking responsibility for others, however, is the true challenge of giving. The one who is willing to take responsibility for one s self, and for others - in all areas of life - is the truly righteous person. That was Yosef hatzaddik. Adapted with permission from the award winning website,

Don't miss the RTA Blue-Lions Home Opener this Monday, 6:00 pm, at the JCC! RTA Classroom Fun

Don't miss the RTA Blue-Lions Home Opener this Monday, 6:00 pm, at the JCC! RTA Classroom Fun Jan. 4, 2019 27 Tevet, 5779 RTA Classroom Fun 1 RTA Basketball Schedule 2 After School Activities Schedule Parsha 5 4 RTA Classroom Fun Our students, returning from their winter break, were happy to be