Now that the Sukkah is finished, what would you do differently next time? Why?

In my opinion it wasnt really worth it to make a slanted wall. This is because a lot of people only look at it for a few seconds and then they are over it. Also, it made us go above budget. Next, it took a lot of extra time to put in studs(because we had to cut them). Then, it took extra time to cnnect/secure the walls(because they were all different lengths because two of four walls were slanted). Lastly, when we put in plywood and deocrations, there wasnt a lot/ enough time because we went over budget with slanted walls/over time building it (so we were not able to get/make a lot of other materials because of that).

Now that the Sukkah is finished, what are you most proud of ? Why? 

I am most proud of the fact that we got the Sukkah done(for the most part)! This is because we were really struggling with teamwork as a class in the start, so I was afraid we wouldnt be able to make the Sukkah in enough time. We still made it look pretty nice, in the amount of time we had left.

What are three pieces of advice you have for the current 6th graders as it relates to their Sukkah?

1.Make sure you dont mess up your budget/stick to your budget (by checking with a teacher and each other).

2.Dont create a slanted wall(because of what I mentioned in the first question).

3.Dont make the walls so tall(because there is no point in doing so and its extra work that you just dont need to do).

Here is a picture of someone organizing materials that we had not kept so organized through the whole Sukkah building process.

Here is a picture of a banner that says “MJDS” on it.

Here is a picture of a pot that we used for deocration.

1. Explain how the Sukkah represents Judaism to you. If it does not, explain why.

The Sukkah represents Judaism to me because a Sukkah is Jewish. Also, it follows the rules of what a Kosher Sukkah is/looks like. An example of this is that there is Skach(roof) and there is more shade than sun which is a rule.

2. What part of the Sukkah building process are you most excited to share with families/friends? Why?

I am most excited to share the final product because this shows all our hardwordk and teamwork come together as one!

3. What aspect of the building have you felt most connected to? Why?

I have felt most connected to the learning process of what makes a Sukkah kosher.  This is because I feel that I am good at research and learning rules. This was also the easiest part because it was what I was most comfortable with.used to.

4. How has building the Sukkah as a class helped grow your sense of community?
Building the Sukkah as a class has grown my sense of community because I feel that we have really learned each other’s strengths and weaknesses and when/what our breaking point is.

5. When your family comes to the Sukkah on Wednesday night, what is one thing you are going to tell them about? Why?

When my family comes to the Sukkah on Wednesday night I am going to tell them the process of how we built this Sukkah! This is because if it were not for each and everyone of those steps, the Sukkah wouldnt be the exact same way that it is currently!

Here is a picture of someone attatching some plywood to one of the walls of our Sukkah.

Here is a picture of a ladder that we have been using to attach plywood in higher places than what we can reach.

Here is a picture of someone carrying plywood.

1. Sukkot represents impermanence. Explain if you believe or disagree that our Sukkah, which is safely standing on its own, is violating that.

I believe that our Sukkah is not violating this rule. I say this because all the materials we can/will take apart when done. I believe that it can be permanent, but we are not doing so. Therefore, that gives me the mindset that it isnt permanent.

2. Describe how this Sukkah project has changed your perspective/ you. 

This Sukkah project has changed me for the better. This is because I have learned actual life skills. Some of these skills include building/learning how to build and teamwork. Also, I learned that someone isnt always going to be there to help you or to solve your problems, so you have to learn how to problem solve by yourself(independance).

3. Explain how you have used your body thus far to build this Sukkah.

I have used my body to build this Sukkah by carrying/moving/building materials(arms and legs). Also, communication(mouth).  Lastly, thinking(brain).

4. How do you plan on getting guests into the Sukkah?

I plan on getting guests into the Sukkah by making it sound exciting(pitching). We can do this by lunch or another time where there is a large amount of people to talk about this to. I can also ask teachers if they are able to take their kids into the Sukkah and maybe our class could be there for guidance?!

5. What are some activities you wish to do in the Sukkah?

Some activities I want to do is eating(which is something that you are so post to do in the Sukkah). Also, since there will be pillows, people can just relax because our Sukkah kind of has a relaxing/cozy theme to it. While relaxing, people can look around and appreciate all the hard work we put into this creation.

Here is a picture of some of the plywood we will be using to cover our walls.

Here is a picture of someone cutting part of a tree to make Skach(roofing).

Here is a pciture of someone cutting  a whiteboard so it will fit correctly in the Sukkah.

1. What did you do today ?

Today I helped to bring a whiteboard and plywood and milk carton letters(as part of decoration) to where our Sukkah is being put up. I did this by carrying the board and plywood and milk carton letters with other classmates to get it to wher it needed to go. After that, I put up the fourth(and final) wall. I did this by lifting the wall(with other classmates) and then lining it up to two other walls so that it can get connected with the other walls. Then, other classmates connected the fourth wall to the other walls. I also helped to connect the window to our wall. I did this by holding the window in place(so it wouldnt move), meanwhile groupmates connected the window.

2. What is one thing you have done so far you were initially scared/worried about, but now feel more confident in after all this practice? 

At first, I was scared about carrying heavy things(such as walls) because I didnt want them to fall on anyone. Today, I faced that fear by carrying a wall and very heavy whiteboard(with classmates help). At first, due to poor communication, we all dropped the object(when we were not supposed to) and by accident hurt a group member. This was because we did not do a good job of notifying them of what was going on. We all apologized and from then on learned that we needed to count down from 3-2-1 until we dropped the object so everyone was prepared and no one got hurt.

3. Give a step by step account of what you have done so far to get our Sukkah up to where it is today.

1.Learned the meaning behind a Sukkah(the why)

2.What makes it safe/Jewish

3.How to build a wall/Sukkah

4.Different groups made different Sukkah designs

5.Voted on design and decorations to use/make/get

6.Got a sheet with the wall that we needed to build

7.Figured out where to put studs and window

8.Got a budget

9.Went to buy supplies needed/ used supplies that we aleady had

10.Made the frame of wall

11.Measurments for studs/Cut studs(to fit our design)

12.Put in studs

13.Cut out area for window to go

14.Bring wall over to where we will combine it with other walls

15.Connect all walls(except for wall four)

16.Make milk carton letter design

17.Bring fourth wall towards other walls and connect fourth wall

18. Carry whiteboard and plywood and milk carton letters over to where Sukkah is being put up

19.Insert window into fourth wall

Here is a picture of the whiteboard and milk carton letters that we will be using as a part of the decoartions for our Sukkah.

Here is a picture of a classmate connecting the fourth wall.

Here is a picture of our Sukkah before we inserted the window.

Here is a picture of the widnow that we inserted into our Sukkah.

What did you do today ? 

Today some partners and I finished creating the letters(that we started yesterday) out of milk cartons. We finished this by painting the letters the colors of our school logo. We also glued milk cartons back together that came apart. Then I took a 2 by 4 outside. This is to help secure the walls while connecting them together.

What is one thing you have done so far that you were initially scared/worried about? Although, now feel more confident in after all this practice?

In the start of the process I was scared about not knowing how to connect the pieces of wood together(studs). I got more confident with this by having people explain in more detail what to do and from practice I got better. Now I can proudly say I know how to put screws and nails in a piece of wood(stud) by myself!

3. Give a step by step account of what you have done so far to get our Sukkah up to where it is today.

1.Learned the meaning behind a Sukkah(the why)

2.What makes it safe/Jewish

3.How to build a wall/Sukkah

4.Different groups made different Sukkah designs

5.Voted on design and decorations to use/make/get

6.Got a sheet with the wall that we needed to build

7.Figured out where to put studs and window

8.Got a budget

9.Went to buy supplies needed/ used supplies that we aleady had

10.Made the frame of wall

11.Measurments for studs/Cut studs(to fit our design)

12.Put in studs

13.Cut out area for window to go

14.Bring wall over to where we will combine it with other walls

15.Connect walls(except for wall four)

16.Make milk carton letter design

Here is a picture of our finished wall(minus plywood).

Here is a picture of a partner of mine using glue to reconnect two milk cartons that broke apart from each other.

Here is a picture of a partner of mine painting one of the letters for our logo design.

Here is a picture of most of the walls of our Sukkah put together.