Fox Valley Jewish School 2012-2013
FVJS: Fox Valley Jewish School
FVJN’s Jewish religious school program information.
Please read all below: Description, Calendar, Curriculum.
Questions? Contact Barb Anderson: barb.anderson58@att.net, or info@fvjn.org.
Fox Valley Jewish School
A religious school that fits your family!
• Preschool-8th grade
• Optional Hebrew program
• Bar/bat mitzvah tailored to your child and family
• Sensitive to the needs of interfaith families
• Focus on what it means to be Jewish in our communities and our world
• Ethics, history, holidays, community service, field trips
• 2 Sunday mornings/month
• Reasonable tuition
More information can be found in the curriculum below. Return the completed registration form to ensure a spot for your child in this year’s class!
FVJS is a part of Fox Valley Jewish Neighbors, an unaffiliated organization of Jewish and interfaith families in the Fox River Valley.
For more information email school@fvjn.org.
Registration form:
http://www.fvjn.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Fox-Valley-Jewish-School-2012-13-registration-materials.pdf
Fox Valley Jewish School 2012-2013 Curriculum
Preschool-2nd Grade
| Date: | Topic: |
| September 9 | Welcome back breakfast 9:30-10:30 Rosh Hashanah |
| September 23 | Yom Kippur Ethics-Respecting the Elderly |
| October 14 | Fall field trip |
| October 28 | Bible-Jacob and Essau World Jewish Experience-Folktales |
| November 4 | American Jewish Experience-Parts of a synagogue Ethics-Be kind to animals |
| November 11 | Community Service |
| December 2 | American Jewish Experience-Living in a non-Jewish society Hanukkah |
| December 16 | Bible-Joseph Israel-Geography |
| January 6 | World Jewish Experience-Jewish Foods Ethics-Protecting the Environment |
| January 27 | Winter field trip |
| February 10 | American Jewish Experience-Early Settlers Bible-Moses birth/childhood |
| February 24 | Purim American Jewish Experience-Life cycles |
| March 3 | Bible-Commandments World Jewish Experience-Family history |
| March 17 | Passover Sedar-1 hour Art- 1 hour |
| April 7 | Yom Hashoah-Differences/Prejudice/Different & Alike Ethics-Bad speech |
| April 21 | Spring field trip |
| May 5 | Bible-Making the Sabbath Ethics-Befriending the lonely |
| May 19 | End of year breakfast 9:30-10:30 End of year activity-Teacher’s Choice |
| Date: | Topic: |
| September 9 | Welcome back breakfast 9:30-10:30 Rosh Hashanah |
| September 23 | Yom Kippur Ethics-Respecting the elderly |
| October 14 | Fall field trip |
| October 28 | Bible-Introduction to Leviticus: What is Holiness? World Jewish Experience-European Vs. American Jews |
| November 4 | American Jewish Experience-Famous authors Ethics-Be kind to animals |
| November 11 | Community Service |
| December 2 | American Jewish Experience-Civil Rights Heroes Hanukkah |
| December 16 | Bible-Stumbling Blocks Israel-Industry/Inventors/Inventions |
| January 6 | World Jewish Experience-Jewish Foods Ethics-Recycle |
| January 27 | Winter field trip |
| February 10 | American Jewish Experience-Different Branches of Judaism Bible-Rebuking others |
| February 24 | Purim American Jewish Experience-Famous Jewish musicians |
| March 3 | Bible-Holiness of the Earth World Jewish Experience-Civil War/WWI |
| March 17 | Passover Sedar-1 hour Art- 1 hour |
| April 7 | Yom Hashoah Ethics-Befriending the lonely |
| April 21 | Spring field trip |
| May 5 | Bible-Love your neighbor World Jewish Experience-Holocaust |
| May 19 | End of year breakfast 9:30-10:30 End of year activity-Teacher’s Choice |
FVJN
Post Office Box 346
Geneva, IL 60134
630-465-0356
Mark Your Calendars:
August 10: Shabbat Evening 6:30 p.m. at Peck Farm
August 11: FVJN Gardening in Geneva
August. 12: FVJN Board Meeting
August 14: FVJN Book Club
August 19: Adult Ed. Movie Club (New time and place!)
Aug. 25: FVJN at NIFB
FVJN Shabbat Evening:
Family Service & Potluck!
Friday, August 10, 6:30 p.m. at Peck Farm Park’s Orientation Barn
The evening will begin with a family service, led by Rachel Yackley,
followed by a vegetarian/dairy potluck.
Please bring non-meat dishes, only.
RSVP asap and to rachely@fvjn.org with what you will bring
(so we can plan accordingly).
If your last name begins with:
A – G: Desserts and beverages (apple and/or white grape juice)
H – N: Set-up/clean-up
(*Please come 15 minutes early and stay 15 minutes after.)
O – T: Salads or side dishes
U – Z: Main dishes
Paper products will be provided.
Peck Farm Park is located on Kaneville Rd. in Geneva,
just west of Peck Road.
Services are offered throughout the year.
Please see our calendar at 
FVJN Garden in Geneva — A Great Way to Start the Day!
Sat., Aug. 11, 8 a.m.
All Are Invited!
FVJN volunteers of all ages are needed to help with planting on Saturday, Saturday, Aug. 11, starting at 8 a.m. Meet at the SW corner of Third St. and State St. (Rt. 38)
FVS students and families are especially encouraged to come help as well as learn about the art, design, nature, prayer and more, which all contribute to our garden.
The garden we are responsible for is on the southwest corner of State St. (Rt. 38) and Third St., in Geneva. You can just show up or contact our volunteer garden coordinator: marci@worddesigner.net.
FVJSchool Registration Open!
The FVJSchool is set to open for its third school year this fall, with educational, engaging and exciting Jewish experiences for our students!
FVJSchool is held from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. every other Sunday, during the school year. Hebrew class will be offered from 11:30 to 12:30, on FVJS mornings.
This program has classes for children beginning
at age 3 and continuing through 8th grade.
FVJS welcomes children from those with no formal religious education or Jewish
knowledge, to those who have previously attended religious education
programs. The FVJS program provides a general Jewish education and does not
adhere to any one particular branch of Judaism.
Information and registration forms are available at www.fvjn.org.
or email Barb Anderson: barb.anderson58@att.net.
Recently, while on vacation, I purchased an antique mahjong set. I
have yet to learn the game, but my sister, who has become a participant
in a weekly game, said she would teach me.
My mother, who passed away last December, played twice a week, during
the past few years. My great aunt was also a fan of the game, and had her
own set (with ivory tiles; mine are wood), which unfortunately got lost after
she died.
While the familial connection is an important one to me, I’ve always been
intrigued by this game which crossed the seemingly unconnected cultures of
Chinese to Jewish. How on earth did that happen?
Calling for four players using 152 tiles to make matches and sequences,
this Chinese game of skill and chance has deep roots in the American-
Jewish lifestyle dating back to the 1920s. It also points to parallels between
Jews and Chinese.
“The relationship between American Jews and Chinese-Americans is a very interesting one,” says Andrew Coe, author of Chop Suey: A Cultural History of Chinese Food in the United States.
“Most of the direction of the affection seems to go from American Jews being interested in Chinese culture, but there’s a mutual feeling that Jewish and Chinese cultures are both very old world cultures with deep, long-held traditions.”
Much of the interest from American Jews in Chinese culture began in the 1920s, when mahjong swept the US because of widespread interest in the “mysticism” of the East, which also made Chinese food popular.
Mahjong ultimately faded from popular American culture, but both mahjong and Chinese food have remained popular mainstays of Jewish-American tradition.
It’s fascinating to see that China’s favorite game has a history among
Jewish-Americans. It’s another of many links connecting two of the world’s oldest and most continuous cultures. For instance, there are the Jews of Kaifeng, the legacy of the Sassoons of Shanghai, and the Jewish heritage sites still standing in Shanghai as testament to the sanctuary the city provided from the Nazis.
“What’s the difference between Jewish and Chinese mah jong?” the
protagonist of Amy Tan’s “The Joy Luck Club” asks her mother about
the quintessential Chinese game. Her mother replies, “Entirely different
kind of playing…. Jewish mah jong, they watch only for their own tile,
play only with their eyes.”
For additional information, visit: 
