Dear Religious School Parents,

We are delighted to welcome you and your child to another year of Jewish learning.

The underlying goal of our program is to help our students develop an enduring Jewish Identity and a life-long love of Jewish learning. Through religious school classes and activities, family programs, communal Shabbat experiences, trips, mitzvah projects and more we do our best to help each child become a knowledgeable Jew who finds fulfillment in Judaism and in our community.

We teach our children that Jewish living does not begin or end when we open the door to the temple.  Rather, every decision we make, every action we take can be influenced by the wisdom found in our sacred texts. We walk in the world as Jews. 

Judaism affects every aspect of our lives influencing our decisions, actions and beliefs. At Temple Ner Tamid our students come to understand and appreciate the influence Judaism has on their lives as they prepare to take their places as active, thoughtful adult members of our Jewish community.

The link between religious school, home and synagogue is strong. Our children do not exist in a vacuum; Judaism begins at home. Ever cognizant of our partnership with our religious school families, we strive to reinforce, enhance, and supplement the Jewish values learned at home and to provide a myriad of opportunities for family participation in all aspects of our religious school program. 

Jewish learning is a lifelong endeavor. In our community B’nai Mitzvah, Confirmation, and Religious School graduation in 12th grade are milestones along the way to continued Jewish learning as adults. Our educational program is designed to help students discover their own personally meaningful path through Jewish life which we hope will last a lifetime.

We challenge each of our students to discover their own connection to our sacred texts, to appreciate what it means to live as a Jew and to find personal meaning in the beliefs that have, for generations, held us together as a people.

The journey that lies before each of our students is an important one and an exciting one. We look forward to your active support and participation during the coming year.  Please make sure you stop by the office to say hello so that we can get to know each other!

We welcome your family again to another year of Jewish learning.

Biv’rakha,

Iris Schwartz

Director of Education

The Religious School of Ner Tamid


The Religious School of Temple Ner Tamid, directed by Iris Schwartz, offers exciting and challenging education opportunities for children of Temple members. Hebrew and Judaic studies classes provide each child with the necessary tools to create a meaningful Jewish life as an adult. Each year the curriculum is published in the Religious School Parent Handbook which is mailed to all families of school-age children in the congregation. One of the strengths of religious education at Temple Ner Tamid is the Confirmation program. Weekly courses on Wednesday evenings are offered for students in grades 8-12. Students are encouraged to explore Judaism from a more critical yet informal perspective. The tenth grade or Confirmation year features Rabbi Kushner as the primary instructor as well as an extended weekend trip to Amsterdam. An annual end-of-year trip is planned for our 12th grade students.

Additionally, the Madrichim program offers post-B'nai Mitzvah students the opportunity to work in the Religious School as classroom aides.

All questions regarding the Religious School should be directed to Iris Schwartz.

School Calendar  2010 - 2011

September
19, Sunday	Jewish Family Journeys Program for Grades K - 1 begins (Offsite)
26, Sunday	First Day of School, Grades K - 6
	Temple Tots Class Begins
27, Monday	First Day Monday Hebrew Classes and Mitkadem Tutoring
29, Wednesday	Sukkot Day 7 - NO CLASSES
30, Thursday	Consecration for New Students - Simchat Torah Celebration

October
3, Sunday	Religious School Classes Resume
	Parent Orientation, Grades K - 6
	Religious School Open House
6, Wednesday	First Day of School, Grades 7 - 12
10 - 11	Columbus Day Holiday - NO CLASSES
13, Wednesday	Religious School Classes Resume
	Parent Orientation, Grades 7 - 9
17 - 24	Religious School Book Fair
22, Friday	Potluck Shabbat Dinner, Grade 3 Families
24, Sunday	Temple Tots Class Meets
	Jewish Family Journeys Program meets (TNT)
30, Saturday	Wake Up Shabbat Program (All Grades)
31, Sunday	Jewish Family Journeys Program meets (Offsite)

November
4, Thursday	Grades 8 thru 12 Day Trip - YSOP (NYC)
12, Friday	Shabbat Dinner, Jewish Family Journeys Program (Offsite)
12 -13	Grade 4 Overnight Trip - Philadelphia Zoo
14, Sunday	Temple Tots Class Meets
	Jewish Family Journeys Program meets (TNT)
19, Friday	Potluck Shabbat Dinner, Grade 6 Families
21, Sunday	Parents Sip-N-Schmooze
	Jewish Family Journeys Program meets (Offsite)
24 - 28	Thanksgiving Break - NO CLASSES
29, Monday	Religious School Classes Resume

December
5, Sunday	Hanukkah Program during Religious School
	Grade 7 Trip - The Community FoodBank of NJ
12, Sunday	Temple Tots Class Meets
	Jewish Family Journeys Program meets (TNT)
17, Friday	Potluck Shabbat Dinner, Grade 5 Families
18, Saturday	Jewish Family Journeys Program Havdallah (Offsite)
19, Sunday	Parents Sip-N-Schmooze
22 - 2, January	Winter Break - NO CLASSES

January
2, Sunday	Winter Break - NO CLASSES
3, Monday	Religious School Classes Resume
9, Sunday	Family Education Program, Grades K/1/2
	Temple Tots Class Meets
	Jewish Family Journeys Program meets (TNT)
16, Sunday	Faculty Professional Development Day - NO CLASSES
17, Monday	Martin Luther King Jr. Day - NO CLASSES
19, Wednesday	Religious School Classes Resume
21, Friday	Grade 3 Shabbat Dinner & Hebrew Names Program
23, Sunday	Jewish Family Journeys Program meets (Offsite)
	Sip-N-Schmooze & B'nai Mitzvah Sharing, Grade 6 Parents
30, Sunday	Grade 6 Trip - MItzvot of MetroWest (Whippany JCC)

February
11, Friday	Shabbat Dinner, Jewish Family Journeys Program (Offsite)
11 - 14	Grade 9 Trip to Religious Action Center (Washington, DC)
13, Sunday	Temple Tots Class Meets
	Jewish Family Journeys Program meets (TNT)
16 - 21	Grade 10 Confirmation Trip to Amsterdam
18 - 21	Grade 11 Trip to Boston
20 - 21	Presidents' Weekend - NO CLASSES
23, Wednesday	Religious School Classes Resume
27, Sunday	Family Education Program, Grade 4
	Grades K/1/2 Trip - Jewish Museum (NYC)
	Grade 3 Trip - Children's Galleries for Jewish Culture (NYC)

March
4, Friday	Potluck Shabbat Dinner, Grades K/1/2 Families
6, Sunday	Family Education Program, Grade 5
12, Saturday	Wake Up Shabbat Program (All Grades)
13, Sunday	Family Education Program, Grade 6
	Jewish Family Journeys Program meets (Offsite)
20, Sunday	Purim celebration & Megillah reading during Religious School
	Purim Carnival
27, Sunday	Temple Tots Class Meets
	Jewish Family Journeys Program meets (TNT)
	Parents Sip-N-Schmooze
	Grade 7 Trip - Museum of Jewish Heritage (NYC)

April
3, Sunday	Family Education Program, Grade 3
	Jewish Family Journeys Program meets (Offsite)
8, Friday	Potluck Shabbat Dinner, Grade 4 Families
10, Sunday	Passover Program during Religious School
	Temple Tots Class Meets
	Grade 5 Mitzvah Trip - Dorot (NYC)
13, Wed	Grade 7 Model Seder
17 - 25	Passover & Spring Breaks - NO CLASSES
27, Wednesday	Religious School Classes Resume

May
1, Sunday	Yom HaShoah Program
8, Sunday	Jewish Family Journeys Program Trip
15, Sunday	Temple Tots Class Meets
	Jewish Family Journeys Program meets (TNT)
	Honor RS Teachers & Madrichim during Family Tefillah
16, Monday	Last Day Monday Hebrew Classes and Mitkadem Tutoring
18, Wednesday	Last Day of Class for Grades 7 thru 9 and 11/12
22, Sunday	Mitzvah Day - Last Day of Classes for Grades K thru 6

June
3, Friday	Grade 10 Confirmation
17, Friday	Graduation, Grade 12

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