THE CONSERVATIVE SYNAGOGUE RELIGIOUS SCHOOL

Welcome to the TCS Religious School, where our youth and teens in grades K-12 connect to Jewish history, Israel, culture, Hebrew and prayer through a program rich in experiential learning.

Grades K – 2

Grades K-2 meet once a week for two hours, with an interactive, hands-on curriculum that covers introduction to Jewish history, holidays and mitzvot as well as a specially designed Hebrew language program that is geared to prepare our youngest students to have the ability to read Hebrew letters and words by the time they enter the third grade.

Grades 3-6

Students in grades 3-6 meet twice a week for two hour sessions, where they study Hebrew language, prayer, Jewish history and culture. All of our students have a unique prayer experience; each session focusing on the mechanics, essence and meaning of prayer, which is led by either our rabbi, cantor or religious school director. In addition, we have two music specialists who use music and dance to connect us to our Jewish roots and create a bridge to Jewish communities around the world.

To foster a partnership with our families, our curriculum is enriched with Family Education programs, designed to engage the entire family. We begin with Shabbat which is brought to life through our class Shabbat services and dinners. Each class Shabbat gives our families the opportunity to join together and celebrate Shabbat as a community. This year we have implemented a new Saturday morning Shabbat experience— Mishpacha (Preschool), Be’yachad (K-2) and Kehilah (3-6)— which bring our students and families together for a spiritual Shabbat morning experience.

Our experiential learning comes alive in our cultural and holiday programs. This year's highlights include the making of sufganiyot and our own olive oil and candles for Hanukkah, virtual class trips with our new 30 foot life-size map of Israel, and a hands-on a 5th grade Living Museum program, which features a trip to the Museum of Jewish Heritage and the Lower East Side. We also have special visits from various community leaders, such as our sofer who wrote our new Torah.

To engage our families in preparing for their upcoming Bar/Bat Mitzvah we have introduced a B’nei Mitzvah seminar for our six grade students and parents. Through this seminar, the group explores conversations such as what it means to become a Bar/Bat Mitzvah and why we wear tallit and tefillin. Each workshop introduces a new theme of Bar/Bat Mitzvah, which is highlighted through an experiential process such as learning to tie our own tzitzit and writing our own mezuzah, as well as engaging in Tikkun Olam (social action) projects.

Atid and Kollel Teen Programs

Our teens in our middle school/high school program continue their Jewish learning and connection to TCS. The 7th and 8th graders in our ATID program meet once a week from 6:15pm until 8:30pm, where they choose from electives such as You Be the Judge, Holocaust studies, and Israel: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. The 9th through 12th graders in our Kollel program have the option of selecting from Ulpan or our Madrichim leadership class, which provides training to work as an aide in our religious school classrooms, as well as a special weekly seminar run by the Rabbi, focusing on modern ethical issues, politics and more. Both age groups enjoy a half hour social break to connect with friends and end the evening with a fifteen minute school-wide discussion led by Rabbi Tobin. For details on our Atid and Kollel programs, click the link below:
 

RELIGIOUS SCHOOL NEWS

As I write this bulletin article, I hope we are all enjoying the warmth and heat of summer.  Summer is generally a time for rest and relaxation, but our Jewish calendar keeps on moving.  During the summer, we observe one of the saddest days of the Jewish people— Tisha B’Av.  Tisha B’Av is a fast day, like Yom Kippur, which begins at sunset on August 9 and ends at sundown August 10.  So why do we observe this fast day of Tisha B’Av?

On this day, throughout Jewish history, tragedy has fallen upon the Jewish people.  It has been said that both the first and the second temples where destroyed on Tisha B’Av; that the Spanish inquisition was declared on Tisha B’Av; and several other tragic occurrences befell the    Jewish people.  Tisha B’Av has come to signify a day of national mourning for the Jewish people, for us to connect with our communities both near and far.

In addition to fasting on Tisha B’Av, people gather together to read the book of Eicah (lamentations), where the prophet Jeremiah weeps about the destruction that has occurred to Israel.  If you have not been to a Tisha B’Av service, it is a unique experience.  As we read the book of Eicah, generally we sit on the floor and read by candlelight.  It is also tradition to not wear leather shoes, to show that we are in mourning for our loss as a people.  If you would like more information on Tisha B’Av and its rituals, please refer to page 7 or visit www.uscj.org.

So now to change speed a little, we are hard at work    putting together our educational program for this coming year.  If you have not yet registered your child(ren) for our Kindergarten through sixth grade program, please do so ASAP, as our process of ordering books and supplies is contingent upon how many students attend.

We cannot wait to kick off our year on Sunday, September 7 for all our Grade K-6 students at 9:00 am.  You won’t want to miss out on our NEW Youth  Bonanza that will take place from 11:15 am –  2:00 pm.  And we look forward to our September 9 start of Atid and Kollel.  More information to follow…

Danny

Religious School Director

Download our Atid and Kollel Brochure and Registration Form.