Dear Parents,
 
By way of introduction, my name is Aviv Shamash, and I will be teaching the seventh grade this year at Temple Beth Elohim. I grew up in the Boston area, attended high school at Gann Academy, college at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and recently graduated from Suffolk University Law School.  The director of Temple Beth Elohim’s Religious School, Leann Shamash, is my mother.  


As we set out on a new and very important year at CBE, I want to express my excitement at meeting and working with your children.  I am sure it will be a pleasure to spend time teaching and getting to know each of them.


As many of you may know already, the part of the seventh grade curriculum that I will lead this year deals with the Holocaust.  Be aware that I realize that this is powerful and difficult subject matter, and that I will make every effort to approach it sensitively.


Our curriculum begins by providing a framework and terminology for studying the Holocaust, and then progresses through a variety of concepts – anti-Semitism in Europe, the rise of the Nazi party, life in the ghettos, the Nazi party’s “final solution,” Jewish resistance to the Nazis, and rescuers and non-Jewish resistance to the Nazi party.  The way in which I intend to approach this subject matter is through a combination of sources, including letters, images, and first person narrative accounts.  Although the lessons will be grounded in the history of the Holocaust and the events preceding and following it, the primary method by which we will engage in these materials is through discussion. Other methods will be employed as well, including group work, writing, and examination of primary source materials.  One of my primary concerns will be framing the materials to the students in a manner relatable to a seventh grader, particularly when discussing the events and social climate in Europe in the years preceding the Holocaust.


Each week, the morning will be broken down into three hour long segments.  During each of the first two hours, half of the class will be with me, and half with Bryna Chalmers.  The students will switch for the second hour.  After the second hour, we have a 10-15 minute break for snack. Snack is an important part of class each week.  On August 13, each of you should have received an email from Leann Shamash assigning each student with the responsibility of bringing snack for the whole class one week.  If you do not bring snack on these weeks, there is usually no food for the class to eat during the snack period.  So please, check the email you received on August 13, and make a note of when your child is responsible for snack.


During the third hour of some weeks this year, I will be leading an elective on Jewish cuisine.  One part of this elective will be to prepare traditional Jewish foods.  Often, the dishes prepared will be designed to coincide with the Jewish calendar.  Sometimes, however, we will prepare foods that are not necessarily linked to a specific Jewish holiday, such as Challah, which relates to Jewish cuisine more generally.  We will also discuss the history and cultural significance of each of the foods we prepare.

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any questions or comments.  You may either comment below or contact me at aviv.shamash@gmail.com.  


Wishing each of you a sweet new year,


Aviv Shamash