Religious School
The Beth Shalom Religious School (RS) is a synagogue-based program committed to providing an inclusive, nurturing, stimulating, and safe environment for children in our community. In this atmosphere, we seek to enhance children’s sense of the width and breadth of a full Jewish life through study, worship and caring for the community. Following the rhythms of the Jewish calendar, the program will immerse children in Jewish culture, song, and language, and foster their connection with Jewish traditions and values. We use the current knowledge and research of how children develop, grow, and learn as the framework for incorporating the best and most appropriate educational practices, as well as the best ways to foster growth of the spiritual and moral values inherent in Judaism.
Schedule
Sundays
10:00 - 10:30 am: tefilot
10:30 - 11:30 am: Judaica for all grades
11:30 - 11:45 am: recess
11:45 - 12:30 pm: Hebrew for 3rd-7th grade
(aftercare available for younger children)
Tuesday afternoon Hebrew schedule (optional)
Families may choose to enroll their child in place of the Sunday Hebrew option or in addition to the Sunday Hebrew. These are proposed times. Other times might be possible based on registration responses.
4:00 - 4:25 pm Hebrew for Beginners
4:30 - 5:00 pm Intermediate Hebrew
This year religious school will be in session on Sundays from August 25, 2024 through April 27, 2025, with weeks off aligned with IU and MCCSC schedules. Additional information on educational vision, dates, and pricing can be found here.
Benny Press during virtual tefilot
Overall Goals
Judaic
* To provide opportunities for each child to take part in an enriched Jewish life.
* To promote the partnership between the school, home and Beth Shalom, in order to strengthen families and integrate them into congregational life.
Social and Emotional
* To develop a sense of self-esteem and exhibit a positive attitude toward Jewish life.
* To promote skills of independence, self-confidence, self-control and responsibility.
Intellectual
* To provide opportunities for children to be active participants in their own learning process, constructing their own best way to learn through varied and repeated experiences.
* To provide a continuum of skills and experiences that meet the needs of individual students as they grow and develop within a dynamic classroom setting.
* To develop learning experiences which engage the whole child – mind and body.
* To enable the child to explore, discover and exert creative effort in order to problem-solve and make sense of her world through logical thinking.
* To acquire concepts and thinking leading to a fuller understanding of their Jewish world.
*To promote caring for and protection of our environment and the world around us.