| Our School
One of the goals of the Temple Sinai Religious School is to help connect our students with their tradition in a meaningful way. Our objective is to foster, strengthen and maintain Jewish identity through a wide variety of positive experiences within a safe and nurturing environment. Below is a brief outline of our newly revised curriculum, beginning with Kindergarten and continuing through Grade 12. As you will soon discover, the curriculum coincides with the developmental stage at each grade level and builds upon knowledge learned from year to year. It is our hope that your child's sense of Jewish identity will be strengthened and clarified through their participation in our program.
Kindergarten Students in our Kindergarten class will study holidays, mitzvot, music and aleph-bet. Each week, the children will complete a colorful aleph-bet pamphlet that can be taken home and shared. In Kindergarten we also introduce the cycle of the Jewish calendar, beginning with Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot and Simchat Torah. The start of a child's life-long study of Judaism in general and Torah in particular is a cause for celebration. Therefore, we will celebrate the beginning of our Kindergartners' Jewish learning with a Consecration ceremony on Simchat Torah, the holiday of rejoicing with the Torah. All new religious school students will receive from Rabbi Vogel a mini Torah at Consecration on October 25th at 7:00 p.m. Grade One Our goal in Grade One is to nurture the child's sense of Jewish identity. Holiday and biblical themes will be explored through literature, songs, experiential activities, and crafts in a manner that is challenging and age-appropriate. "The New Siddur Program: Reading Readiness" curriculum will be introduced to the students, building upon the letter recognition skills begun in Kindergarten. Innovative activities - such as occasional cooking projects - will be incorporated into the lessons, helping children to make the holidays their own. Grade Two In Grade Two the children's repertoire of Hebrew brachot (blessings) is developed. Classroom routines are conducted in simple Hebrew, and new oral Hebrew vocabulary is introduced for calendar, colors and weather. Students will enjoy studying significant biblical stories and personalities, such as Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham and Sarah, Rebecca and Isaac, and Joseph and his brothers. The "Shalom Aleph-Bet" pre-primer will provide students with letter recognition skills and a gentle introduction to the vowels. Grade Three Grade Three is a milestone year as students learn to read and write Hebrew, and utilize their classroom vocabulary in preparation for the Siyum HaSefer on March 24th. (A Siyyum HaSefer is a special ceremony that celebrates the students' mastery of the Hebrew aleph-bet). Using Seymour Rossel's classic text, "A Child's Bible: Lessons from the Torah," third graders will learn to grapple with text as they attempt to relate the stories to their own lives. Finally, the class will engage in "The Great Israel Scavenger Hunt" and learn about the major cities and amazing sites of Eretz Yisrael. Grade Four, Five The fourth and fifth graders will continue to refine their Hebrew reading skills as prayer, singing and reciting blessings become an important part of classroom learning. The "Kid's Mensch Handbook" will help teach your child what it means to behave ethically in today's world. Using real-life examples, midrashic and historical vignettes, the program will enable students to learn what makes a mensch. Holidays will be an important theme this year as the class studies the feasts, fasts and festivals that mark the Jewish year. All students will receive a subscription to "BabagaNewz," a monthly magazine introducing students to Jewish current events. Grade Six Using the colorful new pamphlet series, "The Jewish History Observer," students will explore our earliest history - from Moses through the Second Temple period. Students will learn what makes a Jewish hero as they study some of the important mitzvah makers of yesterday and today, including Hannah Senesh, Sandy Koufax and Golda Meir. In addition to their Hebrew studies, sixth graders will study mitzvot, such as Gemilut Chasadim (the performance of kind deeds), Pikuach Nefesh (saving a life), and K'lal Yisrael (Jewish solidarity). Grade Seven How wise was King Solomon? Why did great scholars run out the back door when Rabbi Meir's wife came in? Our seventh graders will discover the answer to these questions as they engage in a year-long history curriculum designed to engage their imaginations and intellectual curiosity. A new values curriculum, "Count Me In," will help students explore universal values (such as peace, persistence and free will) through their everyday relationships and decision making. Using an exciting new Hebrew textbook, " Yesodot Halashon," students will perfect their conversation and sight reading skills in preparation for Bar and Bat Mitzvah. Please note that students in Grades 3 - 7 will have brief Tuesday afternoon "Tefillah" services with Rabbi Vogel every other week. All students will participate in a year long mitzvah project in preparation for Mitzvah Day on April 2. K-7 students will also have a weekly music class with Emily Aronoff. High School: Grades 8 - 10 The high school is divided into trimesters. Our course offerings first session will include "Bridging Our Faiths," taught by Sharon Spivak, "The Disengagement from Gaza", taught by John Davis, and a new core values curriculum, taught by Amy Goodman. Grade Ten students will engage in a year long Confirmation class with Rabbi Vogel. Social action seminars, facilitated by rabbinic intern, Chaim Koritzinsky, will take place throughout the year to enhance the high school experience. High School: Grades 11 - 12 Our post Confirmation students will be meeting two Sundays each month to study with Amy Goodman and Rabbi Vogel, sometimes at a local restaurant! Together the class will grapple with some of today's pressing issues, both Jewish and secular. Participants will have an opportunity to discuss and analyze such issues as God, human rights, war and terrorism. For more information, contact Amy Goodman at amy_goodman(at)massbio.org . Heidi Smith Hyde Director of Education |  Heidi Smith Hyde, Director of Education  |
