The Temple Micah Religious School has gotten off to a busy start. For the past several weeks, the K- grade Family School has been discussing Biblical Prophets, and students and their parents have presented "their" assigned prophet to each other using art projects, skits, short videos, board games, songs or stories. By the end of the semester, all involved will have a new understanding and appreciation for the Prophets.

The 3-5 grade Family School has been studying Gemilut Chasidim. We have made cards for soldiers in Iraq, learned about the genocide in Darfur and had a visit by a Seeing Eye dog. A wonderful panel of Temple Micah congregants talked about how it was to grow up Jewish in the 1920s, and even treated us to a sampling of Yiddish.

The last day of Family School is Dec. 2; we canceled it for the rest of the school year to give teachers needed time in the classroom. Instead, parents and children will spend the first 30 minutes of Religious School in the sanctuary for Boker Tov time, featuring prayers, Torah discussions, stories and singing.

The Religious School is also learning about our "sister" congregation in Haifa, Or Hadash. Celia Shapiro and Bob Dorfman spoke to the students about the Ethiopian children in the Gan. Our school will be working on projects throughout the year so that we can make personal connections with the students at Or Hadash. We have begun by collecting school supplies for the pre-school children. They need basic supplies, such as crayons, pencils, erasers, sidewalk chalk, colored pencils, clay. There is a collection box in front of the office. Congregants going on the Micah Israel trip will take these supplies with them to Haifa, so please bring these supplies in by Dec. 9.

In December, our students will have their pictures taken and write letters to the children in Or Hadash School, who are just beginning to learn English. The younger students at Micah will, with their parents, draw pictures and write short descriptions of Thanksgiving. Most Israeli students are unfamiliar with this American holiday, and it will be fun to introduce them to Pilgrims, Indians and pumpkin pie, as well as to explain to them that this quintessentially American holiday is based on Sukkot.

Grades 6 through high school had a special morning in November when they watched a film called Mechina: A Preparation, about young Israelis preparing to join the army. The filmmaker, Maital Guttman, joined the group in a post-film discussion. Students learned what it is like for Israeli students to go straight from high school into the army, rather than to college.

In addition to all these programs, of course, students are studying Hebrew, Jewish history, holidays, Bible, prayers. We are looking forward to an all-school pancake breakfast from 9:30-10:30 a.m. Dec. 9, and many more exciting and interesting programs. From everyone in the Religious School to you, a very Happy Hanukkah.