Welcome to a brand new year of religious school. As a result of the work of the Education Task Force our new religious school calendar and curriculum are designed to respond to the needs of 21st century Jewish families.

Choice is a key component. New scheduling options will help busy families maximize their time at the temple. Parents will be able to choose the same sessions of religious school on both Sundays and Wednesdays for all of their children in grades K through 6.

Jewish Studies, our concentration for Sundays, will focus on all aspects of Jewish identity using the construct of believing, behaving and belonging.

• We strive to instill a strong sense of community in our students and provide them with the tools with which they can fully participate in holiday and life cycle events and all aspects of Jewish life.

• We want our students to develop a knowledge and appreciation of age-old Jewish values so that they can apply these teachings in their own lives on a daily basis.

• We tackle questions related to what is it Jews believe. We strive to create opportunities for our students to struggle with their personal relationships with God through involvement in discussion, worship, mitzvot, and as a safe haven for asking questions.

Wednesdays will be devoted to Hebrew study for 4th, 5th and 6th graders. We use the Mitkadem curriculum, a self-paced child centered approach to learning Hebrew that allows each student to achieve according to his or her own ability.

Mitkadem Mondays give all of our Hebrew students an opportunity to enrich their learning, catch up on assignments due to illness or bolster skills that need strengthening.

Beginning this fall our once a week 7th grade curriculum will reinforce and supplement b’nai mitzvah studies. In the spring our 7th graders transition into our pre-Confirmation program. Participation in our High School program remains strong with the 10th grade Confirmation class trip to Amsterdam with Rabbi Kushner a favorite for all. The culmination of religious school is our 12th grade trip and graduation ceremony. The class of 2008 spent a week in New Orleans building houses.

Last, our Wake Up Shabbat programs enable adults and children opportunities to learn and pray both together and in parallel, enhancing the time families spend in the temple and creating a stronger community for all.

We encourage you to read our Parent Handbook for a more detailed look at our religious school program and for specific schedule and curriculum information.

Newly Revised Class Schedule 2008 - 2009

Religious School begins:
Sunday, September 7, 2008 for grades K through 6
Wednesday, September 10, 2008 for grades 7 through 9
Wednesday, September 17, 2008 for grades 10 through 12

Religious School ends:
Wednesday, May 13, 2009 for grades 7 thru 9 and 11-12
(Grade 10 will continue to meet until the Confirmation ceremony)
Sunday, May 17, 2009 for grades K through 6

Grade	Days	Class Hours
Temple Tots	Sunday, September 14 Sunday, October 19 Sunday, November 9 Sunday, December 14 Sunday, January 25 Sunday, February 8 Sunday, March 8 Sunday, April 5 Sunday, May 10	11:15am - 12:45pm
Kindergarten 1st Grade 2nd Grade	Sundays	10:30am - 1pm
3rd Grade 4th Grade 5th Grade 6th Grade	Sundays   Wednesdays	8:30am - 11am  or 10:30am - 1pm and 3:30pm - 5pm   or 5:10pm - 6:40pm
4th Grade 5th Grade 6th Grade 7th Grade	Optional Mitkadem Mondays	4pm - 5pm  or 5pm - 6pm
7th Grade 8th Grade 9th Grade	Wednesdays	7pm - 9pm
10th Grade 11th Grade 12th Grade	Wednesdays	7:30pm - 9pm

FAQS for the new schedule

Q. Why change?
A. A temple task force on religious education has been studying ways to create an even richer religious school experience while also making parental logistics simpler. We are restructuring our curriculum and making scheduling changes to meet your needs. Most significantly, families with two or more children in Grades K-6 can enroll in the same session! Our mission is to make life-long Jews and to make meaningful religious education easily accessible for all ages.

Q. What is the new schedule?
A. A chart of the new schedule can be found just above on this page.

Q. So is Tefillah (prayer) part of both sessions of Religious School on Sunday?
A. Yes, both sessions overlap so students and families can attend. The service, led by clergy, will be lively, musical, and welcoming so families can sing and pray together. We hope that students and their parents will find that attendance at Tefillah is a wonderful way to improve familiarity with prayers, with the service and with the Rabbi and Cantor. As time goes by, students and classes will be leading parts of the service.

Q. Am I right that Wednesday Hebrew will be for an hour and a half?
A. Yes. This kind of concentrated instruction will provide children uninterrupted learning time in addition to being more compatible with individual schedules. Sunday tefillah (prayer) and regular attendance at Shabbat services will also help boost prayer skills.

Q. How will the Monday program work?
A. On Mondays there will be 2 sessions of 1 hour each of instruction for students who want an opportunity to enrich their learning, catch up on assignments due to illness or bolster skills that need strengthening. Some assignments will be made based on assessments by teachers, parents and the Cantor. Appointments will be necessary for all. No regular Mondays—and you probably won’t need to hire a tutor!

Q. Will the curriculum change?
A. There is a strong desire to evolve the whole curriculum and the new schedule facilitates these changes. Next year the curriculum changes are for 4th-7th grades. 4th-6th graders will have Hebrew and Judaic studies on separate days. 7th graders will meet once per week focusing on B'nai Mitzvah related topics in the fall semester and then will be fully integrated into the Pre-Confirmation high school program in the spring semester. In addition, several months prior to their Bar/Bat Mitzvah they will be coming on Mondays to sharpen Hebrew reading and fluency, as needed.

Q. Tell me more about the Hebrew curriculum.
A. 3rd graders learn to master Hebrew reading and the Hebrew curriculum is integrated into each Sunday and Wednesday class session. 4th through 7th grade will be using Mitkadem, a self-directed Hebrew curriculum. This program can take students from elementary prayers to very advanced Hebrew skills. Weekly participation in the short service on Sundays will help all students improve their Hebrew skills and provide them with more familiarity with prayers.

Q. Are there changes in the program for Tots or K-2?
A. There is no change, but the youngest children will all be in the second session. No more early Sunday mornings for the littlest ones! This is a good opportunity to enroll them in the lower grades and get them comfortable in the community at a young age.

Q. Is there any difference between what will be taught to 3rd-6th graders in the first and second sessions, either on Sunday or Wednesday?
A. No. The classes will offer the same curriculum.

Q. Are there any differences in the 8th-12th grade program?
A. The only difference is a slight time adjustment. Grades 8 & 9 will meet 7-9pm.; grades 10-12 will meet 7:30-9pm. Pizza will still be available.

Q. How do I sign my family up for the session we want?
A. There is a Family Session Selection form that you should use and send in as soon as possible. Those who pre-register before July 15th will receive placement preference priority.

Q. If too many people want the same session of Religious School that I want, what happens?
A. All families with students in multiple grades will receive priority for the session they request. For Wednesdays, priority for the second session will be given to students attending schools that dismiss too late for the first session. If there are too many requests for one session after these factors are determined, there will be a lottery to place your child. Those who pre-register prior to July 15 will receive priority in the lottery. If you sign up after July 15, you will have no priority in placement decisions, although we will do our best to honor everyone’s preference and will be adjusting assignments until Religious School classes start. We hope to give everyone first choice, but there are no guarantees. Registration will remain open until school begins in September.

Q. What does sending in the Family Session Selection form commit us to?
A. Once we receive the form you have committed your child to attend Religious School for next year and we will be staffing based on your selections. Temple billing for Religious School will be generated upon our receipt of your form.

Q. What is the expanded Shabbat experience?
A. Three times during the year—Nov. 1, Jan. 10, and April 11, from 9:30 am-12:30 pm—there will be spirited Wake Up Shabbat programs beginning with interactive learning activities for children concurrent with stimulating study opportunities for adults. The study sessions will be followed by a B’yachad (family-style) Shabbat service of approximately one hour, appropriate for all ages and all members of the Ner Tamid community. The service will be participatory and filled with music. And of course, there will be lots of food. (There will be no Religious School the next day!)

Q. We’ve always enjoyed the family education programs. Will those also be on the schedule?
A. The Wake Up Shabbat programs will take the place of family education grade level programs. Other parent-child learning opportunities are also on the drawing board.

Q. What will be available for adult learning?
A. Adult Education programs are currently being planned and many will be offered concurrently with Sunday Religious School. We encourage adults to take advantage of the consolidated schedule to learn while their children are in the temple.

IMPORTANT CONTACT INFORMATON:

Religious School Director
Iris Schwartz
973/338-1500
ischwartz@nertamid.org

Religious School Administrator

Maribel Leon
973/338-1500
mleon@nertamid.org

VP, Education

Ann Yaffe Phillips
phillips329@comcast.net

Chair, Religious Education Committee

Peter Kaplan
peter@processhouse.org

Chair, Education Task Force

Jodi Nussbaum

januss59@hotmail.com

Co-Chair, Education Task Force

Sarah Segal
sksegal@verizon.net

VP, Early Childhood Education

Amy Karas Plaut
amykarasplaut@comcast.net

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