There is so much going on around the Cheder that it is hard to know what to write about first.
At the end of January we had tree plantings and Tubishvat Sederim, all of which went really well despite the rain! The children should all have taken home their carefully planted pots of parsley, which hopefully will be in full bloom in time to become karpas for Passover. After the February half term it will be super busy again as we prepare for the three festivals that fall in March and April.
Purim – We’ll begin by getting ready for Hamantashen Cheder Hospitality, followed by the Purim Shpiel, which will take place during Cheder on Sunday, 16 March. We hope all the parents will come along and join us for the Shpiel and hamantashen. To make sure we have enough hamantashen, some of the classes will be making them on 9 March. We need adults to help make, bake and supervise, so please contact Vicki if you can help out. There will be no Gan on 16 March, but there will be activities for them during the hospitality. Children not performing in the Shpiel will engage in Purim activities with their teachers until 11 am. Please note, this is still a Cheder day, but the family can come along too!
Passover – Seder Night this year is on Monday, 14 April and, following our tradition, the synagogue will have a Communal Seder on the second night. We are trying to organise an earlier seder on Tuesday, 15 April for families with young children. To do this we need help with the organisation, setting up and clearing away – if we do not get help we are unlikely to be able to do it. If you can help please contact Vicki or Linda. Please note that this is in the planning stage at the moment and all details and dates have to be confirmed.
Yom Ha’Shoah – We have a long break over Passover this year, as the last day of term is Sunday 30 March and we return on the April 27, which will be marked by the Yom HaShoah service. The service is led by the children, but is for the whole community and it is important the we show the children that we, the adults, are willing to demonstrate how much we respect our past generations.
Youth Groups – As you can see, we have lots going on for our teenagers (and nearly teenagers). Please see the article on p. 8 for more details. But if you have younger children, Maccabi at Catford is up and running again. We will send out emails to parents in the Cheder when we know it’s running, but if you would like to get more details and to get on their mailing list, please contact catfordandbromleymaccabi@hotmail.co.uk
Shalom