Jewish Holidays School Newsletter Template: Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Hanukkah for Teachers

Jewish holidays appear throughout the school year and carry very different levels of significance and observance. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the High Holidays that fall in September or October, are among the most widely observed Jewish holidays. Hanukkah, which falls in November or December, is culturally prominent in the United States but is actually a minor holiday in the Jewish religious calendar. Treating each holiday accurately is one of the most important things a school newsletter can do.

This template covers three major Jewish holidays, how to present each one honestly, and five topic ideas for communicating with families about Jewish observances throughout the year.

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur: The High Holidays

Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year, a two-day holiday involving synagogue services, festive meals, apples and honey, and the sounding of the shofar. It marks the beginning of the Ten Days of Awe, a period of reflection and repentance that culminates in Yom Kippur.

Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement, the most solemn day in the Jewish calendar. Many observant Jews fast for 25 hours, attend synagogue for most of the day, and refrain from work and school. If Jewish students will be absent for Yom Kippur, the newsletter should explain this clearly so absences are understood and pre-excused. Send the High Holidays newsletter at least a week before Rosh Hashanah so families have time to communicate absence plans to the school.

Hanukkah: What it actually is

Hanukkah is an eight-day festival commemorating the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem and the miracle of oil that lasted eight nights. It is observed with the lighting of a menorah (or hanukkiah), games, gifts, and fried foods. While Hanukkah is culturally prominent in the United States partly because of its proximity to Christmas, it is not a major holiday in the Jewish religious calendar.

A newsletter that explains Hanukkah on its own terms, rather than as the Jewish equivalent of Christmas, is more accurate and more respectful. Jewish families are generally aware that Hanukkah is a minor holiday and appreciate when the school communicates that accurately.

How to structure the newsletter

For the High Holidays newsletter, a four-section structure works well: what Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are, expected student absences and how to plan for them, a note of acknowledgment to Jewish families, and any classroom activities or learning connected to the holidays. For Hanukkah, include what the holiday is, what your class is learning, and one or two resources for families who want to explore further.

Five topic ideas for the Jewish holidays newsletter

1. The shofar and its meaning. The shofar, a hollowed ram's horn, is blown during Rosh Hashanah services as a call to reflection and repentance. The sound of the shofar is one of those genuinely distinctive details that students find memorable. Describing it accurately in the newsletter gives families a concrete image and a natural conversation starter.

2. Apples and honey: food with meaning. On Rosh Hashanah, it is traditional to eat apples dipped in honey as a symbol of hope for a sweet new year. This is a detail that translates easily into classroom activities for younger grades, and it is a specific, culturally accurate detail that gives families who do not celebrate the holiday a glimpse of how Jewish traditions carry meaning in everyday practices.

3. The dreidel and the story behind it. The dreidel is a spinning top used during Hanukkah with Hebrew letters that stand for a phrase meaning "a great miracle happened there." The game is simple and the story behind the letters is historically interesting. Describing it in the newsletter gives non-Jewish families something concrete to discuss with their children.

4. Teshuvah, tefillah, tzedakah: The language of the High Holidays. The three Hebrew concepts at the center of the High Holiday period are teshuvah (repentance and return), tefillah (prayer), and tzedakah (charity and justice). These are themes that resonate beyond their religious context. A brief explanation of these concepts in a school newsletter gives all students and families something substantive to think about.

5. The diversity of Jewish practice. Judaism encompasses Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist, and secular expressions, as well as Ashkenazi, Sephardic, Mizrahi, Ethiopian, and many other cultural traditions. A newsletter that acknowledges this diversity rather than presenting one form of observance as the Jewish norm serves Jewish families from different backgrounds and teaches all students that religious communities are not monolithic.

What to avoid

Avoid pairing every Hanukkah mention with Christmas in a "holiday season" framing that treats them as parallel celebrations. They are not. Hanukkah falls near Christmas on the calendar but has entirely different religious and historical significance. Treating them as equivalent reduces both holidays.

Also avoid framing Jewish students as cultural informants. Do not ask Jewish students to explain their holidays to the class or demonstrate traditions for others. Ground the classroom learning in curriculum materials and teacher-led instruction.

Sending it with Daystage

Daystage makes it easy to send a culturally accurate holiday newsletter without spending hours on format. Build the newsletter in blocks, add a personal note to Jewish families, and send directly to family inboxes. You can reuse the template structure year over year and update only the dates and any new classroom content.

Accuracy is the most respectful approach

Jewish families who receive a school newsletter that accurately describes Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, correctly explains Hanukkah without inflating its significance, and acknowledges Jewish students' absences with genuine consideration feel something that many school communications fail to deliver: actual respect for their religious practice as it is, not as the school imagines it to be.