Sandberg Religious School Mission Statement

Throughout the history of Temple Reyim, emphasis has been placed upon developing an intimate sense of community. It has expressed itself through the participatory nature of our congregational life where each person is accorded equal opportunity and assumes individual responsibility. In this environment, the task of the Religious School is to provide each child with a Jewish education to prepare him/her for a significant role in synagogue life and the Jewish community. We recognize, respect and encourage the individuality of each child and seek to foster his/her Jewish potential.

The religious and educational goals of the Religious School conform to the tenets and practices of Conservative Judaism:

• To instill in each child a love of G-d, Jewish community and synagogue, the study and practice of Torah and Jewish tradition.

• To develop in each child a positive Jewish identity based upon the moral and ethical teachings of Judaism.

• To impress upon each child the significance of Torah as a guide for Jewish living and to encourage the continuance of Jewish education as a lifelong pursuit.

• To evoke from each child a commitment to Jews in America, Israel and the greater world community through the act of Tzedakah.

• To reinforce each child’s Jewish education through interaction and cooperation of synagogue, school and home.

• To promote in each child a recognition of Hebrew as a language of the Jewish people and of Jewish learning.

Hebrew Language, Tefillah

Jewish Holidays

Shorashim (Kindergarten/First Grade):
Students are introduced to customs, symbols, and vocabulary of the Jewish holiday cycle.  Holiday observance is brought to life through stories, songs, and craft activities. The Shorashim class will study a special unit on Shabbat.  As part of the unit, students will take turns bringing home a Shabbat box (containing ritual objects) to enhance Shabbat home observance. 

Kitah Bet (Grade 2)
Students study the Jewish holiday cycle.  The holiday symbols, basic rituals, and their relation to the home, the synagogue and the season of the year connect the students with the holiday experience. Students continue learn additional Hebrew vocabulary associated with each holiday. 

Kitah Gimel through Hey (Grades 3-5)
In grades 3, 4, and 5, students use Project Curriculum Renewal by the Jewish Education Center of Cleveland. This curriculum is written to explore each holiday in depth. Only four or five holidays are studied at length in each grade while the others are studied briefly as the holiday occurs on the calendar. By the end of the three-year curriculum, each major holiday will have been studied in depth.

• Kitah Gimel (Grade 3)
  This grade’s curriculum focuses on the cycles of our Jewish lives, the ways they anchor us as a people and how they connect us to one another. Major emphasis is on Simhat Torah, Shabbat, Rosh Hodesh, and Shavuot. Students also learn about the Jewish calendar.
• Kitah Dalet (Grade 4)
  During this year of study, five holidays are studied with emphasis on responsibilities defined by the mitzvot that guide our lives: Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Tu B’Shevat, and Purim.  Students will learn how the holidays serve as a reminder of the mitzvoth, the history and rituals involved in each of the five holidays emphasized, and that performing mitzvoth connect us to God and the Jewish people.
• Kitah Hey (Grade 5)
  Within the context of Freedom, students will learn the background and rituals of  Chanukah, Pesach, Yom Ha’atzmaut, and Lag Ba’Omer. Students will learn what Jewish texts say about freedom and learn about the centrality of the value of freedom in Jewish life.

Grades 6 and 7 (Kitah Vav and Kitah Zayin)
In grades 6 and 7, holiday instruction focuses on special Torah readings and Haftarot for each holiday, special liturgy for each holiday, and selected themes.

Jewish Texts

Shorashim (Kindergarten/Grade 1)
Students study selected stories from Breishit and Shemot (Genesis and Exodus).  Students will become familiar with the stories, characters and events through arts and crafts, stories and music.

Kitah Bet (Grade 2)
Students study the plots, characters, and vocabulary of classic Bible stories through published texts, discussion, and hands-on activities. 

Kitah Gimel and Kitah Dalet (Grades 3 and 4)
Students begin an in-depth study of Bereishit and Shemot. Using a translation of the biblical text that was developed specifically for this age group, students learn directly from the text instead of embellished stories.  Students become interpreters of the text and understand the story on their own terms and in their own words.

Kitah Hey (Grade 5)
Students study selected stories and subjects from the Torah from the aftermath of Har Sinai to the end of Devarim (Deuteronomy). These stories/subjects include the Golden Calf, kashrut, Shabbat, Caleb and Joshua and the spies, Miriam’s bout of leprosy, Amalek, and mitzvoth such as lending; the treatment of strangers, widows, and orphans; respect for elderly; and not to hold a grudge.

Kitah Vav (Grade 6)
Students study the prophets, kings, and judges of the books of Prophets and Writings. Using the text students become familiar with the historical background Prophets and Writings. Students look for lessons in the texts that apply to their lives.

Kitah Zayin (Grade 7)
Pirkei Avot (Chapters of the Fathers) is a section of Talmud devoted to ethical and interpersonal behavior. In Kitah Zayin, students explore this text with these questions in mind: What are the character traits that help define who we are as individuals? What are the ways we can interact positively with others? What are our responsibilities to improve the world?

Israel

Shorashim (Kindergarten/First Grade)
Children are introduced to the concept that Israel is the Jewish homeland. The students will be able to recognize the Israeli flag. Hebrew instruction begins in this class, introducing them to the official language of the State of Israel. Students will become familiar with major cities and places in Israel.

Kitah Bet (Grade 2)
Students will learn how Israel plays a major role in their Jewish heritage. Students will understand the link between Israel and Jewish tradition, discover the variety of life in Israel today, and learn the primary vocabulary associated with its people and places, celebrations, and daily life.

Kitah Gimel (Grade 3)
Students continue to build their relationship with Israel as they learn about the geography of Israel by exploring modern Jerusalem and Jerusalem’s Old City, Tel Aviv, Haifa, the Galilee, the Judean Desert, the Negev, and the Coast.

Kitah Dalet (Grade 4)
Students are introduced to the history of Zionism and the establishment of the modern state of Israel.

Kitah Hey (Grade 5)
Students explore Israel through the eyes of our matriarchs, patriarchs, prophets, and kings and learn about locations described in Tanach and their significance in ancient Jewish history.

Kitah Vav and Zayin (Grades 6 and 7)
Over the course of two years, students focus on the periods, personalities, and events important to the establishment of the state of Israel. These include: The Balfour Declaration, The Birth of Israel, The Five Aliyot, The Six Day War, David Ben Gurion, Theodore Herzl, Golda Meir, and Henrietta Szold.