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UPCOMING EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
Religious School Applications are Due by June 20
2011-12 Religious School Application
Many of you have already registered your children for September Religious School. We thank you for sending in your registration forms early. We have put a due date of June 20th on the forms because it gives us time to plan appropriately for September in terms of staffing, materials, special events etc. If you have not as yet sent in your registration forms, please do so as soon as possible.
We hope you have a wonderful, safe summer and we look forward to seeing you at Shabbat throughout the summer months. See the calendar for the special times. If you have any questions, please feel free to call at any time.
If you are not currently a member and would like to enroll your child in our religious school, please contact Alice Kintisch, our Membership Liaison, at (201) 848-1800 or alicek1847@barnerttemple.org.
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BARNERT TEMPLE RELIGIOUS SCHOOL
View a Welcome Message from Our Director, Sara Losch
Barnert Temple has a thriving Religious School program that offers classes for children in kindergarten through high school. To become Bar/Bat Mitzvah at Barnert Temple, students must begin their studies in 3rd grade. (For additional information, visit our Bar/Bat Mitzvah Resource Center.) However, we have many families whose children enter our Religious School in kindergarten and 1st grade. The strength of our program is evident when you see the proud group of teens who decide to continue with their Jewish education after becoming Bar/Bat Mitzvah. Our program and staff help those in our religious school program develop a lifelong love of learning and a strong sense of Jewish pride.
Religious School Goals
The primary goals of our Religious School are:
- To instill Jewish pride by raising children who are Jewishly literate,
- To encourage lifelong Jewish connections towards living and learning, and
- To increase family participation in Jewish holidays and rituals
Our school environment is stimulating, loving and creative. Our students know that:
- They have the respect of their teachers who care about their individuality and their individual learning styles and needs
- All fair and reasonable suggestions will be heard by school personnel who will listen, and will be proud and challenged by them
The URJ CHAI Curriculum
Our children will pave the way for future generations of Jewish children. To help our students become committed, involved Jews, we continue to work with the Union for Reform Judaism's (URJ) CHAI Curriculum. The curriculum is based on the belief that the world stands on three "legs" - Torah (study), Avodah (worship) and Gemilut Chassadim (Acts of Loving Kindness). This truly remarkable curriculum includes the exploration of:
- God in our lives
- Making prayer meaningful
- Tikkun Olam (Repairing the World)
- Holiday celebrations
- Torah study
- Shabbat worship
- Modern Hebrew language
- Jewish literacy
- Jewish Life Cycle
- Israel
To help our students develop essential Hebrew literacy, reading and comprehension skills, we utilize Mitkadem, a Hebrew program in which students work independently, at their own pace, with staff support. The reaction to the program has been so overwhelmingly positive, that we are continuing to use it in the 4th, 5th and 6th grades.
Our 7th graders explore the Holocaust, from the origins of anti-semitism through the wonder of the Righteous Gentiles. They also participate in a family trip to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., as well as view live dramatic performances to enrich their curriculum. Ethics and age-appropriate components of Sacred Choices will be part of their curriculum, too.
Our 9th graders share their thoughts on making Sacred Choices for their bodies. This is another very important part of the curriculum from the URJ that was introduced in recent years.
Contact Us
We encourage you to contact us to learn more about our thriving Religious School program. If you have questions or would like to set up a meeting, please contact our Director of Lifelong Learning, Sara Losch, at (201) 848-1027 or welvkds@barnerttemple.org. Also, feel free to review our Religious School Family Guide for more information about our program. |
