Friday, Feb 26, 8:30-noon

Grade 4-7 parents: Don't forget to register your child for the Public Speaking Contest at the JCC on March 15 at 7 p.m.

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR PAC HOURS?

Tamara Collet in the learning commons is seeking parent volunteers to help re-shelve books. Please contact Tamara if you can help.

Community Calendar

UBC Vaccine Study
Looking to interview parents with children ages 6-12

The Power of Resilience: An Evening with Dr. Sam Goldstein
Sunday, Feb 28, 7 p.m.
JCC
Advanced ticket purchase required

Israel Law Seminar with Rabbi Jonathan Infeld & Israeli Legal Experts
Info session on
Thursday, March 3 at 7:30 p.m.

Rabbi Leiby Burnham presents "The Price of Happiness"
Shabbat dinner at Schara Tzedeck
Friday, March 4

Call it Democracy: An Evening with Mira Oreck and Sharon Abraham-Weiss
Monday, March 14, 7:30 p.m.
Temple Sholom
FREE

If you are aged 9-19 and love to sing, dance, act and perform, Gotta Sing, Gotta Dance is auditioning for its summer program (July & Aug)
Deadline to apply: April 1
Details here

An Evening of Jazz & Soul to benefit the resettlement of two Syrian refugee families (with VTT alum, Benjamin Millman)
Saturday, April 9, 8 p.m.
Temple Sholom
Ticket info here

Come hear Hootsuite CEO & Founder, Ryan Holmes at the JFSA Innovators Lunch
Wednesday, May 4
Hyatt Regency Hotel

We have a new Facebook group.

Click this link to join!

Support VTT through purchasing on Amazon.

Visit talmudtorah.com/amazon

GENTS DINNER 2016:

RAISING FUNDS FOR STEM EDUCATION & PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT

By supporting our Gents Dinner, you will be supporting two important initiatives:

- The purchase of iPads, LEGO (for robotics) and procurement of professional development for faculty to better incorporate STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) Education into the curriculum;

- Addition of a dedicated preschool playground and an indoor climbing wall in the new campus's gymnasium

Purchase tickets here

PURIM IS COMING! GET YOUR HAMANTASCHEN THROUGH THE PAC!

The VTT PAC is pleased to sell Oznei Haman (hamantaschen) for Purim. Kosher & delicious, they are handmade by Linda Hertzman of Classic Impressions.

Choose from prune, poppy or chocolate.

6 for $12

12 for $18

Must be the same flavour for each 6 or 12 order

Order by Tuesday, March 15th.
Pick up on Monday, March 21st.

Visit talmudtorah.com/purim to order

CODING IS COOL!

Several of our faculty members have begun to introduce coding during instructional time. After fourth grader Brody Sewell gave it a try, he excitedly went home and created the above "program." Cool!

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GRADE 2 TEFILAH BREAKFAST--AN ANNUAL TRADITION

Grade 2 parents gathered in the school shul this week to observe their children impressively leading a morning Shaharit service. Families were then served breakfast by their children by selecting from a Hebrew menu, which they created. Kol Ha'Kavod to Morah Judith and Morah Ruthi for their dedication and hard work in getting the students prepared for this milestone event. VTT parent and photographer, Shira Gold, snapped beautiful photos of the 2C service. Click on the button below to see all the photos.

See the 2C photos here

VTT IS PROUD OF THIS SUPERHERO

He may only be five, but Adley Hefter, currently a Kindergarten student at VTT, launched a crowdfunding initiative called Project Goodly, to raise funds to combat Bullying. His t-shirt campaign (see image below) raised close to $1,200--all of which went to Bullying Canada.

EAGER ENTHUSIASM FOR THE WALKING SCHOOL BUS

Grade 4 students were happy to empty their closets and containers of much loved toys, books and stuffies in an effort to help raise funds for The Walking School Bus. The toy fair, which was held today, was a HUGE success. (Proceeds have not yet been tallied. We will post the total amount raised next week.) Yishar Ko'ach to our army of fourth graders who eagerly embraced this fundraising initiative.

WEEKLY TORAH PORTION/ PARASHAT HA'SHAVUA

Last Saturday evening, seventh grader Mattea Lewis, celebrated her Bat Mitzvah at Schara Tzedeck. We wish her parents, Shoshana & Shawn Lewis, mazal tov on this special milestone. Read Mattea's interpretation below of the meaning behind the mitzvah of havdalah.

I would like to thank you for joining me tonight as I celebrate becoming a bat mitzvah.

Around twelve years ago in New York City, my parents lived in a small apartment with one cat. They had been living there for around five years and decided they wanted to have a child. They had the potential of having a family and had to start somewhere. I was a good place to start.

They had me at NYU hospital on November 14, 2003. So there I was, my mom and my dad holding me in their arms and giving me my name, Mattea. I was a little baby, with a lot of hair, who had the potential to do great things. But what would I be? So much potential to be realized. This theme of potential and reality has a lot to do with what I'd like to speak with you about tonight.

Becoming a Bat Mitzvah literally means daughter of the mitzvot - the commandments. More practically, it means a young woman who has become the age when she is responsible for the mitzvot. I have to take all of them seriously, as it is no longer my parents' responsibility. All 613 mitzvot, such as fasting on Yom Kippur, hearing the shofar, giving tzedaka and not speaking lashon hara. I could go on and on, but today, I am going to take one mitzvah to focus on as symbolic of the entire 613. That mitzvah is Havdalah. Havdalah, which means separation, separates Shabbat from the rest of the days of the week.

Who would have imagined 12 years ago in NYU hospital that we would be here today talking about Havdalah..... but it was a potential...

To better understand the mitzvah of Havdalah, it is helpful to understand what it is. Havdalah, at its essence, is a blessing. What then is a blessing? The purpose of a blessing is to take something from its potential and make it an actual.

As I was mentioning before, you can see that potentials and actuals have a lot to do with my life. Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik derives this idea - that a blessing takes something from its potential to its actual - from the first time that the word Baruch appears in the Torah. It says...