Those of us involved with Temple Sinai Religious School believe it to be a very special place filled with much warmth and excitement. The joy of learning about Judaism that we hope pervades our school is created by all of us working together - parents, teachers, and students. We have been blessed with enthusiastic, creative, knowledgeable teachers, hard-working, committed parents, and interested, cooperative students. We are thrilled that you have joined this special group. One of the means by which we foster the sense of cooperation is through open communication.
Our school begins with a pre-school Tot Shabbat program and continues past Confirmation in 10th grade, with a monthly discussion dinner for 11th and 12th graders. It is our expectation that all students will begin as soon as possible and continue until at least 10th grade. Students must minimally be enrolled in Religious School from 4th grade on to qualify for Bar/Bat Mitzvah at age 13. Any student entering later than that will need to make special arrangements with the Education Director and Rabbi to make up work covered in the grades missed.
We have as our goal for our school to educate our children to become Jews with a strong knowledge of Jewish practice and belief, and with a strong commitment towards Jewish values and traditions. This is not an easy task today. While we can easily teach the facts -- the history, Jewish practice, Jewish theology, the hows and the whys -- it is the love of Judaism that we must strive to impart unto our children. This is something that takes careful nurturing from us all.
While the school can plant seeds of knowledge in the minds of our young, it is the parents who need to develop a strong sense of roots. Judaism is not a subject of study, it is a way of life. We, as parents and educators, must work as partners to teach the Jewish way of life to our children. One of the ways we try to foster this partnership is to create curriculum which requires parental involvement.
In grades K-3, students have some activities to do each week at home with parents. Parents will be receiving weekly accounts of what is happening at school and suggestions for stories to be discussed at home or ideas to add to practices of Jewish holidays and traditions. In grades 4-7, parents are needed to encourage and listen to daily Hebrew reading. This is also an age that can learn much from family discussions on subjects such as God, Holocaust, Israel, and topics found in the news which can be clarified for ourselves and our children by interpreting them through a Jewish point of view. Synagogue attendance is a major part of our curriculum. Attending services with one's family is a real way to make what is learned in school come to life. We hope our students are not attending services only to fulfill a requirement for school. Rather it is our goal that our school exists to make the synagogue and all Jewish experiences more meaningful to our students while they are children and through their adult lives.
Other ways to create a strong sense of Jewish identity for your child? Your celebration of holidays and traditions, your action in tzedakah and community service events, your involvement in Temple life all send a message of the importance of being Jewish to your children. Religious school is not only for the young -- our Parallel Education Program allows parents to study at the same time students are learning in class. Adult Education courses will be offered on any topic, if the demand is there. Learning along with your child can also be exciting -- what better way to learn Hebrew than by sitting down in 3rd and 4th grade with your child and learning the letters? We also invite parents in throughout the year for special family education programs which promote opportunities for families to learn together.
We are living in a society where the Jewish way of life is not a strong part of the world surrounding our children. In order to ensure that our children and all Jewish children have a strong hold on Jewish practice and belief in years to come, we must all work together diligently. I invite you to join in a partnership with us to that end.
- Religious School Goal and Curriculum
