Temple Emanu-El Preschool

Tonight as I headed to our annual dinner night out fundraiser at Round Table Pizza I was feeling a bit bummed. This event is always filled with kids running around, parents meeting new and old friends and the staff having a time to breathe and chat but tonight would be different. In the quick drive I was realizing I would show up alone, get my pizza and drive away without making that TEPS connection but boy was I wrong! Yes I did get my pizza but I also had the joy of seeing ...so many of our current and former families showing up to get their pizzas and support TEPS! Yes our night was very different as we all went home and couldn’t be together but this year is about pivoting and our Temple Emanuel-El Preschool family knocked it out of the ballpark!! I snapped a few pictures tonight of our families and I know I missed many more but a giant thank you to every family, teacher and both Rabbi and Cantor for showing us all the strength and power of TEPS. #teamteps See more

Tonight's the night!!!!! Please support TEPS with a take out order from the Round Table on The Alameda in Santa Clara. Mention our school and we receive 15%. Please share below your favorite type of pizza!!

Please support TEPS in our annual Pizza Night Out fundraiser! Unfortunately this year we are unable to be all together but that doesn't mean we have to skip this special event. Please consider supporting TEPS on October, 13th by ordering "Pizza To Go" at Round Table Pizza, 2615 The Alameda, Santa Clara, CA 95050. Mention Temple Emanu-El Preschool and we will receive 15% of the profits. Thank you in advance for being a part of our world!!

I wanted to send this out earlier today but life at TEPS has been a bit busy lately!!! Today was a special day as today is the birthday of our preschool! TEPS is officially 19 years old!!. Here is a little back story. I was hired at the end of August 2001 to create a preschool for Temple Emanu-El and I remember at my interview being asked when I could open. I picked a random date of 9/24/2001 and I was determined that I would make it happen. Of course at that moment I nev...er could have imagined what would take place on 9/11 and how that would eventually impact our opening as people became worried about joining many faith based schools at that time.. During the 3 weeks between starting work and opening the school I spent time on advertising, decorating and creating curriculum while also meeting with Rabbi Magat to learn about and then develop our Jewish curriculum. It was a busy few weeks but we did it and I opened our doors as planned 19 years ago today with one single student. Raya Magat, Rabbi's son, was our very first student and for that first month Raya and I spent a great deal of time together and he even helped me to create our preschool logo of the boy and the girl. A little known fact is that the girl looks like me as a child and the little boy with that mop top hair looks just like Raya! We doubled our enrollment in October that year, doubled again in November and we did it once more in December. By the time we closed for Winter break we had 8 kids and I was sure I would be looking for a job come January. Well, all of that advertisement worked and in January we took off and have continued to thrive ever since. I am so incredibly proud of our school, teachers and students. Even during this time of uncertainty with Covid and the tensions in our world, our TEPS family remains strong and determined to provide the very best for our little friends. Thanks for being part of our world. (Our first 4 kids!!)

In this year of changes it is comforting to have traditions that we can hold close such as celebrating Rosh Hashanah with our friends and family. We wish everyone a year of peace, happiness and good health. Here are the lyrics to one of our favorite Rosh Hashanah songs! L'Shanah Tovah Le’Shana Tovah Ti’ka’te’vu, Le’Shana Tovah... Te’cha’te’mu. A good year, A year of peace, We wish to you! (check the comment section for a video of the Shofar blowing this morning!!)

One of our favorite preschool activities is picture day! We didn’t want to miss out on the tradition but we also needed to find away to keep it safe! Thank you to Csmeadphotography for spending the morning (and tomorrow too) taking pictures of our amazing little people and doing it at least 8’ away and of course all masked up! This year we also are capturing a school picture for our distant learning elementary school kids. Enjoy an early peak at some of the proofs!

We had a very special Shabbat visitor today! Rabbi Magat joined us for a social distance Shabbat with everyone spread apart in their own little cohorts. The kids were so excited to see him and he was ecstatic to get a little dose of TEPS. I posted a video in the comment section below. Shabbat Shalom! #teamteps

One thing we have definitely learned throughout this pandemic is that life changes and learning to pivot is a great strength. Normally at TEPS our school is filled with 2-6 year old children but let's face it there isn't much normal in our lives right now. As former students began their new school year through distant learning at home, we have opened up our doors to our newest class who we are calling the Owls. The Owls are a group of k-4th graders who are bringing their s...upplies and doing their distant learning here at TEPS under the watchful eyes of 2 of our wonderful teachers. The teachers are helping the kids with signing in, staying on task, speaking in Spanish for our students attending Spanish emergent classes and lastly providing the kids an opportunity to be with other children again. While the Owls have taken over the clergy side of the campus our preschoolers are still enjoying the wonderful world of TEPS on their own side. The guidelines for this temporary program are strict, social distancing and masks are needed as often as possible and we are all incredibly busy, but the sound of their laughter and joy makes every second worth it. See more

Enjoy a little glimpse into our world. We love being together again! #teamteps

Gosh what a fun memory!!

Gold E. Lox is determined to help Grandma who has a broken arm. From shopping for challah ingredients and even hampster food for grandma’s pet to wearing her mask Gold E. Lox is performing acts of mitzvot!

Our big kids wrote their very own play, Gold E. Lox and the 3 mitzvot. (I will post soon) After their performance today they also led Shabbat with their puppets as the participants. I hope this brightens your day and Shabbat Shalom!