Elisheva (Capland) Balouka (8th Grade Class of '00) on the birth of a son,

   Moshe Arie

Rabbi Benyomin and Ahuva Weinschneider on the birth of a daughter

Board member Hal Tanenbaum on the marriage of his granddaughter,

   Natania Tanenbaum, daughter of Mark Tanenbaum (8th Grade Class of

   '71) to Choli Feinblum of South Africa

Is that a phrase that you have heard in your home?  We hope so.  We've been hearing it here at school.  If you are looking for something before Chanukah, key chains are available for $5 each.  An order will be going in for navy long sleeved polos.  Shirts are $20 each.  Other logo items will be available later in the year.  To order, please send email to Shari at [email protected] and payment to the front desk.  All orders need to be submitted by Friday, December 19 for a January order. 

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know: We have a rich and hearty diet in Upper School Judaics and endeavor to jam a whole lot into six years. But what about the stuff we don't cover?  What about the burning question that really has nothing to do with the particular topic your class is learning? "Question & Answer" days have been a popular treat here for years but Mrs. Savage has taken it to the next level: every Friday, Mrs. Savage's students look forward to their weekly discussion that is based on the questions they have submitted to the "question pale". Students bring up a variety of philosophical topics that interest them and have a chance to probe the topic in an open conversation. Topics have included understanding berachot, modesty, marriage and various areas of Jewish living.

 "I love it! It's my favorite day! I have learned so much about why we do all sorts of mitzvot" - Dani Lane

"It's really added so much meaning and depth to my understanding of Judaism" - Rachel Wolf

Food for Thought: Yosef's dreams in this week's parsha (Vayashev) begin this interesting association between Yosef and dreams: Next it's with the butler and the baker and then with Pharaoh. What is the underlying connection between Yosef's nature and the concept of dreams?

Chanukah is around the Corner:  Throughout the grades, the students are continuing to review and prepare for Chanukah. When walking through the hallways, one can hear, see, and touch various things such as songs, projects, chanukiot and more. I would like to invite all parents to come participate in and enjoy the Chanukah festivities taking place on Friday, December 19, Grades K-4, and at the Chanukah Hop on Sunday, December 14, at the JCC.  On Friday, December 19, the children will continue their celebration by going to the Student Council's Chanukah Carnival. More details to come.  

The 12 Tribes visit the Fourth Grade:  As the fourth grade finishes their study of the birth of the 12 tribes, they are using their Chumash skills in order to create a poster about each tribe.  Each student chose one of the tribes and created a poster with information about each son, what their name means, what was special about him and the tribe that descended from him.  This was a great opportunity for the students to learn about Jewish names that continue to be used today.  Can you count the 4th graders who share names with Ya'acov's son's? You will be able to enjoy these projects at the Achievement Fair.

Way to go Neil Kalef, champion and Bella Abelman, runner up in the recent Junior High Spelling Bee!  The students practiced words at home that were chosen from the National Spelling Bee list.  The experience is a chance to bring healthy competition and academics together.  Thank you to Mrs. Moreno and Mr. Guinan for their input as moderator and judge.

Last Friday, the Upper School held community meetings for both High School and Junior High.  The community meetings are a chance for students, faculty and administration to get together to share what has been happening at school.  This quarter, the students were asked to comment on the new school logo and were prompted to consider what fourth word they would add to the new tagline:  Inspire. Learn. Achieve.   The purpose of the exercise was to connect our students to the new logo and tagline and their reflections were very interesting.

In a small school like Torah Academy, it is easy to collaborate across the grades and across disciplines. 10th grade students from Mrs. Schwendenman's and Mr. Kramer's Algebra II classes teamed-up with Mr. Pray, their U.S. History teacher, to spend a special block-period using math skills to evaluate interesting sets of related statistics. Deriving data from current political and social issues reported in a recent Harper's Magazine article, the students were tasked with utilizing a central skill promoted in their history class: analyzing sets of authentic data, and then constructing relevant meaning.  This combined class had students finding the proportionality of related numbers in a way that sparked discussion and even some civic-minded outrage. Sophomore Noah Ziv, commentating on government expenditures for I.T. support, decried the cost and performance of government computer networks.  "Congress has to watch how it spends all of this money."  Noah's specific epiphany was never planned, but by using math to better derive meaning from media was precisely the purpose of the lesson.  Mr. Pray commented, "I think that when a student discovers the importance of, (even a pretty dry topic e.g.) strong government accountability and oversight, and has an emotional reaction to that discovery, it's much more powerful and long-lasting than being told that it's important." Schwendenman, Kramer and Pray plan to continue tailoring the lesson architecture and presenting new data as opportunities arise later in the school year.

This Tuesday's Kindergarten Night at the Games was a raucous of success as almost all of our 33 school spirited students in kindergarten came and brought their families to the Junior High games.  Families enjoyed the open concession stand with hot dog dinners and baked potatoes, hot pretzels, pickle on a stick and more!  All the kindergarteners received pompoms and at half time they were called out on the court to say "Go Lions!"  Everyone should mark their calendars for 1st grade Night at the Games on January 8 and watch Dateline for all Home and Away Varsity and Junior High games.  Thanks to the Wolt family for sponsoring KG night and if you would like to sponsor any grade nights, contact [email protected].

This is National Influenza Vaccination Week. I encourage anyone who has not had a flu vaccine this year to get one! According to the Columbus Dispatch, the Center for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) is predicting that the flu season will be more severe this year. Hospitalizations for the flu are double compared to last year's flu data. For more information please check the CDC or The Ohio Department of Health influenza information online: www.cdc.gov/flu/index.htm 

www.odh.ohio.gov/features/odhfeatures/seasflu/seasonalinfluenza.aspx 

GIVE THE GIFT OF FITNESS THIS CHANUKAH: Save $50 on a JCC Annual Membership plus new first time personal training clients can receive a one time $20.15 rate (reg. $70).  Call 559-6227 for more information.

PARENTS' NIGHT OUT:  December 13, 6:15-9:00 pm.  Have you been meaning to finish some holiday shopping or just need a night out?  Drop off your kindergarten bound through 6th graderat the JCC and let our expert youth staff entertain them with games, activities, movies and dinner!$20 for the first child and $10 for the second child.  RSVP by 12/8 to Halle [email protected].

HANDS-ON-HANUKKAH:  Thursday, December 18, 5:00-8:00 pm, at the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium.  Hosted by the JCC and J-Reach, the day will include raffles, a scavenger hunt, and other activities.  A community Hanukkah Menorah lighting will take place at 6:30 pm.  Special discounted prices are: $10/Adults (normally $14.99), $7/Children ages 2-9 (normally $9.99) and Children under 2 will be admitted FREE!  To receive discounted tickets, community members must contact Becca Nitzberg at the JCC by emailing [email protected] or calling 614-559-6215.

It has been a time-honored Jewish tradition to give tzedakah in recognition of important events. Todah Rabah to the following for their donation:

To the Scholarship Fund:

The Holiday Gift Fund List can be downloaded and printed from the CTA website - www.torahacademy.org or stop by the front office to pick up a copy.

By demand, the E-Dateline will now be offering advertising space in its weekly newsletter.  Space is limited and rates are weekly as follows:

Weekly Dateline Sponsorship $150 (includes tribute line at top of newsletter)

Full Weekly E-Dateline Sponsorship:  $150 - Name at top

Full Size Submission:  $75 - size is 780 x 432 pixels/10 x 6"

Half Size Submission:  $50 - size is 390x 216 pixels/5.4 x 3"

1/3 Size Submission:  $30 - size is 260 x 144 pixels/3.6 x 2"

Rates are weekly and all submissions must be received by Wednesday at noon.  At this time advertising is only available in the e-Dateline, not paper version.  Advertising submissions are subject to content review. Contact [email protected] for more information.