Religious School

A cornerstone of our congregation is our religious education offerings for our students. The religious school program includes weekly sessions on Sunday mornings for students from age five and up. The program is divided into three age groups:

• Early learning class for students in kindergarten and first grade
• Intermediary class for students in second through fourth grade
• Pre-Bar/Bat Mitzvah learning for students in fifth through seventh grade

The hallmark of our program is the small class size achieved by a module system of learning.  Beginning in the second grade, students have short units of learning in Hebrew, religious studies and music.  Students also work with post Bar/Bat Mitzvah students who serve as peer tutors and teach seasonal and contemporary worship tunes and drama.  Students also enjoy arts and crafts and creative games as part of their classroom discussion.

In the upper grades, the program is more refined so that each student learns Hebrew individually with a post-Bar/Bat Mitzvah peer tutor or adult tutor, working on areas that correspond to the student’s level, from basic decoding to parasha preparation. The older students also enjoy a component of computer-based Hebrew learning as well as exposure to modern Hebrew in a mini-Ulpan. These students also learn liturgical and seasonal music designed to support their Bar and Bat Mitzvah preparation.

Our older students also attend midweek Hebrew one afternoon per week. Beginning one year prior to their Bar/Bat Mitzvah, students have additional one-on-one instruction with Rabbi Werner. Our students are fully engaged in their Bar/Bat Mitzvah ceremonies as they lead the entire Friday night Shabbat service, the entire Saturday morning Shabbat service, prepare the Torah reading and a d’var Torah, a commentary on their Torah portion.

Bar/Bat Mitzvah students also select and participate in a community service project, and they speak about that project as part of the Friday evening Shabbat service.

In addition to the regular religious school program, we host a monthly toddler group for students from as young as two in order to acquaint them with the idea of coming to religious school and to make their first experiences with Jewish education sweet memories.

Our religious school staff is composed of a dedicated brigade of parent and other adult volunteers with the help of our committed post bar and bat mitzvah students who generously give of their time to insure the quality of our program.

Our Religious School Board includes many parent volunteers who work with our staff to develop programs and special events for our students throughout the year. Events include monthly Sunday morning parent socials, Purim Carnival and Teacher Appreciation luncheon.