school

Temple Beth Ahavath Sholom Religious School
Principal
Rabbi Garson Herzfeld

School Administrator	Janet Schlesinger
Temple Presidium	Karen Bello and Karyn Davis
Religious School Committee Chair	Karyn Davis
Parent's Association Co-Presidents	Beverly Berkowitz & Caren Kramer
Temple Music Director	J. David Williams
Songleader	Amy Dattner

Teaching Staff
Second & Third Grade
Alef-Bet Hebrew
Fourth Grade & Fifth Grade/Daled Hebrew & Bar & Bat Mitzvah Tutoring	Shifra Brodsky
Sixth & Seventh Grade/Gimmel Hebrew
Pre-Confirmation & Music Grades 4-7	Amy Dattner
Grades 4-7 Drama

We are especially proud of our Hebrew/Religious school for children in kindergarten through tenth grade. Our Hebrew program prepares students for meaningful participation in all aspects of Jewish life. The faculty of our school are outstanding teachers devoted to the children. They are Reform Jews who believe in the values they teach.

Support Our School


Save those General Mills cereal box tops and keep them coming in! Don't forget! If you already have a Visa Card from the box top program, please use it! And if you don't have one, please get one! Applications are available on the information table, or see Tamara Kerner. The proceeds from both these programs go directly to our school. Thanks for your support and please keep it up! Beverly Berkowitz
	Religious School News
	Please note that classes will not be held during the week of Passover, including both Monday, April 21 and Wed, April 23.

Mission Statement for Temple Beth Ahavath Sholom Religious School

The purpose of our supplementary school is to help parents educate children about their Jewish heritage and to instill in them a sense of confidence and interest in doing Jewish activities of all kinds.

Educational Goals for the Religious School from Kindergarten through Confirmation

To achieve our mission, our Religious School Board & our teachers have established a set of goals which our school strives to fulfill. Should your child attend the Temple Beth Ahavath Sholom Religious School from Kindergarten through Confirmation in the tenth grade, his or her education will reflect the following goals:

BIBLE & JEWISH TEXTS
         to foster understanding of the Torah & the rest of the Bible & its stories
         to expose students to various Jewish texts & show how they function
         to learn & discuss the parashat hashavuah (weekly Torah portion)

COMPARATIVE RELIGION/COMPARATIVE JUDAISM
         to compare & contrast Judaism with other major religions, & to learn first hand about these religious from their practitioners.
         to teach about Reform Judaism in relationship to the other movements & explore why & how we are similar & different.
         to foster pride in being Jewish & in Reform Judaism in particular.

ETHICS & VALUES
          to explore ethical & moral questions which have historically presented themselves to Jews, & to use the basic Jewish approach to ethics & apply it to current issues.
          to encourage social concern through Jewish values.
         to help teach strategies for conflict resolution

GOD
to explore each student's beliefs about God, & attitude toward religion
to teach about Jewish understandings of God & how we have & can continue to experience God in our lives.

HEBREW
         to teach some conversational Hebrew & convey the fact that Hebrew is a used, living language
         to teach prayerbook Hebrew; recitation & chanting of prayers, & prayer vocabulary
        to teach fluency & appropriate use of blessings

HISTORY
to teach the historical highlights of the Jewish people
to teach about contemporary Jewish heroes, newsmakers, & current Jewish events

HOLIDAYS
        to teach about & do selected rituals, & the meaning & use of the ritual symbols and ritual objects we use
        to familiarize students with the origins & practices of the holidays
        to do a hands-on activity for each holiday to create interest & a sense of ownership of that holiday

ISRAEL
to instill a love of, interest in, & connection to Israel as a historical place & as the current homeland of the Jews
to acquaint students with the basic geography of Israel, & expose them to the way of live of Israelis.

JEWISH COMMUNITY, CULTURE & FAMILY
         to expose students to & cultivate appreciation of Jewish culture
         to visit places of Jewish interest
         to teach about home observances & encourage students & families to practice Judaism actively in the home
          to learn about the role of the temple in Jewish community & about other Jewish institutions.

JEWISH IDENTITY
          to encourage positive feelings about being Jewish & spending time in the synagogue
          to instill a positive Jewish image
          to help children deal with issues that arise from being a Jew in a mostly non-Jewish country
          to relate Judaism to everyday life.
          To guide the students in the process of self-exploration to develop self-esteem & to identify a variety of the possible avenues of meaningful Jewish expression
          to provide a climate where the importance of Jewish community & the value of individuality are both encouraged
          to build loyalty & trust in TBAS as their second home and second family

PRAYER & RITUAL
          to explain worship rituals & allow students to experience & become comfortable in a worship service
          to teach the rituals of the life cycle in Jewish practice
          to increase comfort with & participation in Shabbat observance
          to do tefillah (worship) in school.

CURRICULUM BY GRADE LEVEL

KINDERGARTEN AND FIRST GRADE

Children in our youngest level learn about Jewish holidays, Bible stories (such as Noah, the Creation, etc.), and the value of tzedaka. Singing, crafts, and stories are major components of the class. First graders begin learning Hebrew letter recognition.

SECOND GRADE & THIRD GRADE

Second and third graders learn about the origin and celebration of holidays, the Ten Commandments, read Torah stories, study the importance of tzedaka, and learn to read and write the Hebrew alphabet, & words & learn simple Hebrew vocabulary. The class includes singing and arts.

FOURTH GRADE & FIFTH GRADE

Fourth and fifth graders alternate between the following 2 curricula each year:

A) Jewish life cycle & its ceremonies, discuss Bible stories and the way of life these stories reflect. They are encouraged to make the themes of these stories relevant to their own lives.

B) The Jewish world, its institutions, & leaders. Focus is on life in Israel & Jewish current events. The students also learn about Jewish holidays in more depth than previous years.
Students continue their study of Hebrew, learning basic prayers, blessings and vocabulary & participate in a regular worship workshop.

SIXTH AND SEVENTH GRADE

Sixth and seventh graders alternate between the following 2 curricula each year:

A) The lives & contriubtions of Jewish heroes (both historical & contemporary)
B) Comparative Judaism & comparative world religions.

Each year the sixth & seventh graders study Jewish ethics & translate Jewish teachings into social action projects. Units in ethics will include environmental concerns, kindness to animals, the value of visiting the sick, etc. Some of these units will culminate in field trips where students apply their new knowledge.
Students will continue to improve their Hebrew reading, vocabulary & focus on Hebrew conversation.

PRE-CONFIRMATION

Students in eighth, ninth and tenth grade study together the Jewish life cycle, comparative Judaism, major Jewish concepts of God, and will explore the nature of human relationships. The emphasis of Pre-Confirmation is on individual decision-making and independent thinking using Jewish teachings as a guide. Each six weeks the class watches a contemporary movie and discusses the very real issues that arise in the film.

CONFIRMATION

In the tenth grade year, students work with the Rabbi in preparation for the confirmation ceremony which is held on Shavuot. Students lead the service which celebrates their Jewish learning and commitment to the Jewish people.

Temple Beth Ahavath Sholom Religious School Principal Rabbi Garson Herzfeld