Bet Shalom Religious School 7th Grade Newsletter
by Ali King and Kelsey Toetschinger
In spring of 2024 Bet Shalom’s 7th graders produced and distributed their first annual newsletter to the Religious School families. They did another newsletter, Ha Kehillah, this May. Ali and Kelsey explain how this fun project came about.
Ali, please tell us about the genesis of this great collaborative project.
In 2022 I wrote a grant proposal to Minneapolis Jewish Federation for a set of iPads so the 7th graders could utilize the many digital resources available for Jewish education. This was initially rejected, maybe due to the request itself or the nature of other requests that were submitted that year.
The following year I wrote another grant proposal for iPads and Bluetooth keyboards to be able to implement a program where our 7th graders, whose curriculum focuses on Jewish Values, could create a newspaper to share religious school "happenings" with the broader Bet Shalom community. The request focused on the Jewish value of k’hilah kedoshah, קהילה קדושה which means "holy community." This project was meant to bring the Bet Shalom community together by involving 7th graders in curriculum outside of their own room and bridging the religious school community with the broader Bet Shalom community. The 7th graders would engage with other classes, students and staff; work with their peers to create a school newspaper; and then connect with Bet Shalomians who may not be aware of what is happening in our religious school program. This was well-received, and we were awarded the grant that funded 20 iPads and 20 Bluetooth keyboards. Best of all, 7th graders have loved the project.
So it was about much more than acquiring the iPads and keyboards?
Yes! A big goal of the grant was to build community at Bet Shalom. A lot goes on in the congregation that others may not know about. We’re teaching kids what else is going on in the Religious School, and we’re getting kids to work together and meet staff who they may not have ever interacted with. Sharing these events, groups and activities builds community, involvement, engagement and pride.
Another goal I discussed in the grant proposal was to increase volunteerism: if congregants saw something in the newsletter being done in school that they were passionate about, then they might be more inclined to volunteer in that area.
How else do you plan to use the iPads and keyboards in the Religious School?
In the grant proposal I discussed how we could use the technology for learning, such as with Hebrew apps, research, online prayer resources, videos, and communicating with our twin school in Rehovot, Israel. We've played around with offering photography as a chug. We have used an online program where kids could record themselves reciting prayers and teachers could check them from home and offer help. Teachers have also used Google Earth to let kids explore Israel. There is so much available!
Are there any plans to have other grades do their own newsletters?
Right now, no. I like that it relates directly to the 7th grade curriculum, is geared toward the abilities of older students, and is something special that students get to do once they reach this grade. Other grades could create a different type of project if they'd like to and share it with the broader congregation.
Kelsey, you teach the only class of 7th graders. How did you explain and frame up creating the newsletter to them?
The 7th grade class last year actually wanted to do a newsletter before the project was even introduced to them! They had a ton of ideas, but they did need to be refined to fit the needs of the grant. Ali explained that the purpose was to build community and let religious school families know what was happening in religious school (with the intent of communicating to the broader community in the future), hence the title they came up with, Ha Kehillah, which means “The Community.”
This year I presented the topic by hyping up the second annual 7th grade newsletter. They jumped on board right away, but had different ideas for headlines. They kept things similar with interviewing different chugim, but also included a Torah portion and Jewish Wordle. They even highlighted one of the many field trips/speakers they had.
How did the project fit into the 7th grader’s curriculum?
The 7th grade curriculum is Jewish values and Jewish history. This project definitely fits into the Jewish values piece. We covered a wide range of values, and a lot of them are tied into the concept of being kind. I believe that the students all displayed kindness in working together and with staff to produce such an amazing product.
Who did the work? Were parents involved much?
Ali and I did a bit of editing, but the students did 90% of the work. Unless a parent was being interviewed, parents weren't involved at all. Some students even worked on their pieces outside of religious school. I was really impressed by their dedication.
This year the 7th grade class needed a little more hands-on guidance, but parents were still not involved. The students also had a shorter timeline, so they needed to stay focused. They chose a different platform from last year, Canva, which I was not familiar with, so they really took the lead organizing it.
How did the students manage the parts of the project?
Last year students decided to use Google as the platform. They found a newsletter template for Google Slides and went from there. The nice thing is that each iPad has a Gmail address linked to it, so I created a 7th grade folder on the Drive so they were able to share all of their materials and collaborate. Most of them partnered up to complete pieces. We spent each Wednesday for about two months working on the newsletter.
I had worked with this group of students for 4 years and knew I could trust them. They were able to independently check in with staff, arrange the interviews, and complete their parts. They were dedicated! I remember getting a couple panicked emails outside of religious school hours wondering how to complete something and worrying they wouldn't get it done in time.
This year there was an entire class session dedicated to the organization of the newsletter. Everyone knew what their job was. They voted on the platform, and we put together a timeline. 7th grade this year really benefited from very clear expectations.
Please share the students’ reactions and comments with us.
I don't recall exact quotes from students, but I know that they were proud. They felt a huge sense of accomplishment. There were high expectations because they were setting the bar for future 7th grade classes.
How can other congregants see the finished newsletter?
Here is the link to the 2025 newsletter. You have to log in to ShulCloud to access the newsletter to keep the work of the students limited to congregants.
Here is the link to the 2024 newsletter.