education

Parents and children can deepen their understanding of Judaism together when they participate in our family education programs. These programs are for families with children from pre-school to sixth grade.

Experiencing Jewish Life (EJL): Pre-School and Kindergarten
Experiencing Jewish Life (EJL) is our Family Education program for 4 and 5 year olds and their parents. This program meets for 2 hours one Sunday morning a month. Children and their parents learn together in class. Parents also have the opportunity to discuss the topic at an adult level with Rabbi Rim Meirowitz and other facilitators. Jewish identities are strengthened through the celebration of holidays and traditions.
Monthly meetings on Sunday mornings, 9:30–11:30 AM
Location: Vinson-Owen School, 75 Johnson Road, Winchester

Katan v’Gadol! A program for 2–6 year olds
Katan v’Gadol! (Little & Big!) is our program for pre-readers of our prayer book. The katan and their parents (the gadol) join us throughout the year for holiday and Shabbat celebrations oriented towards 2–6 year olds and their families. Katan v’Gadol includes Tot Shabbats (one Saturday morning per month), holiday parties, picnics, and Havdalah (Saturday afternoon) events.

Mitzvah Makers (Grade 6): On Being a Jewish Adult
As your child stands at the edge of Jewish adulthood, you and your child will clarify your own values and gain an understanding of what it means to be a Jewish adult. We’ll pray together, talk together, study together, and create a group understanding of Jewish adulthood. This course will also enable you to gain a deeper context for understanding the bar/bat mitzvah ceremony. There will be an additional parent session at the end for those families planning to have a bar/bat mitzvah.

We have a special staff for Mitzvah Makers. In addition to the sixth grade teachers, Rabbi Rim, Beth Levin, and family therapist Howard Wolfe staff the sessions. This is an evolving program, so even if you have been through it before or heard about it from the past, many aspects will be new.

The Mitzvah Makers program is required for sixth graders and their parents.
Six sessions (including a Shabbaton).
The fee for this program is included in the sixth grade tuition.

Temple built by first-graders and their parents
Family Program Schedule

Generally Sunday mornings, 9:30–11:30 AM
Location: Vinson-Owen School, 75 Johnson Road, Winchester

First Grade: Hanukkah Relived
The first grade learned about the role of the Temple in the early Jewish community. They designed and recreated a child-sized version of the Temple that was destroyed.

Second Grade: Light
The second grade learned about the significance of light to the holiday and the season. They explored designs of ancient oil lamps and mad their own oil-burning lamp.

Third Grade: Courage
The third grade discussed the meaning of courage as it applies to the story of the Maccabees and to their own sense of Jewish identity today. They created family identity shields together.

Fourth Grade: The Creation of the Torah
The fourth grade studied the Torah as a series of biblical family stories and created their own "Family Torah."

Fifth Grade: Sayings from Kohelet
Our exploration with the fifth grade took a look at the poetic writings from our tradition, “A time to be born, a time to die…” and examined the cycle of life and death.

Sixth Grade: Mitzvah Mensches: Tikkun Olam Project
We started a new Social Action track where sixth graders and their parents work together to form a community engaged in healing the world.

The Religious School of Temple Shir Tikvah serves pre-school through high school students. Our educational philosophy offers our children and their families an enriching learning environment where they can participate in a living Jewish tradition. The curriculum stresses the understanding and celebration of Judaism as an evolving religion and culture. Our program seeks to foster moral and ethical judgment, pride in Judaism, competency in Jewish practice, and basic Hebrew literacy.

We are guided in the pursuit of our vision by a set of Jewish values, which include:

Lower School: Grades 1–3
The students develop an understanding of what it means to be “A Jewish Child.” Their Jewish identities are enhanced through the celebration of holidays and traditions. Bible stories and biblical personalities are explored. Hebrew is introduced through the use of experiential activities (games, crafts, song, dance, drama) and practice.

Upper School: Grades 4–6
The three main themes of the upper school are Torah, Hebrew, and Exploring our Roots and Traditions. Students study the Five Books of Moses (Torah) with special attention to Jewish values and ethical choices. Hebrew preparation focuses primarily on creating competent and knowledgeable readers of the prayer book and other rituals. The history of the Jews from the Golden Age of Spain, shtetl life in Europe, the history and culture of Israel and American Jewry is covered.

Sunday mornings, 9:30–11:30 AM
Location: Vinson-Owen School, 75 Johnson Road, Winchester

Grades 4 & 5: Tuesday afternoons, 3:45–5:45 PM
Grade 6: Wednesday afternoons, 3:45–5:45 PM
Location: Temple Shir Tikvah

Seventh Grade: Entering the Adult World
Seventh graders attend “Ethics and Action in Judaism,” which meets for 10 Sunday sessions. This class addresses difficult ethical issues using text, current events, and much classroom discussion. In addition, seventh graders attend the Wednesday afternoon program, which offers a yearlong class on the History of European Jewry and the Holocaust, and a course in Synagogue Skills taught by Rabbi Rim. Students will experience, among many topics, laying tefillin, reading the Torah with knowledge and respect, and a close examination of the prayers of the Shabbat service and other holiday celebrations. Through these direct encounters, students will become fully inaugurated as practicing members of the Jewish community.

Location: Temple Shir Tikvah
Wednesday afternoons, 3:45–5:45 PM (see School Calendar)
Ethics and Action in Judaism — 10 Sundays, 9:45–11:45 PM (see School Calendar)

Youth and Social Action (YASA)
This Youth mitzvah corps works in conjunction with the Tikkun Olam Committee to develop an agenda of Tikkun Olam (plan to repair the world). Most of their meetings and projects take place on Wednesday afternoons.

Be a Part of the Grade 5 Books for Krakow Project
The Fifth Grade and the Tikkun Olam Committee are embarking on an exciting project to collect a wide range of contemporary books and magazines by and/or about Jews for the Czulent Library in Krakow, Poland. Bring your books and magazines to the Mitzvah Table at religious school on Sundays. Learn more.

These courses are intended for students in grades 8–12. The school year is divided into 3 trimesters. Two trimesters consist of electives and the third includes core classes. Our Wednesday evening meetings begin with music with Beth and a pizza dinner. In addition, we celebrate the holidays together, create a Purim Shpiel for our community, and engage in other school-wide activities.

Wednesday evenings, 6–8 PM
Includes pizza supper
Location: Temple Shir Tikvah

Eighth Grade Core Course — Got Religion?
You’ve been learning about Judaism all your life. What about the other world religions? We will look at what Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Hindu, American Indian religions have to say about good and evil, life after death, their clergy, nature, heaven and hell, and many other hot topics. Of course, we will explore these ideas within in Judaism as well.

Ninth Grade Core Course — How to I Decide?
What do you care about? How important am I? How important are other people? How important is the world, the earth, the universe? Why do I even need to think about any of this? This class will take on lots of edgy, difficult issues through meditation, discussion, yoga, and Jewish texts.

Tenth Grade Core Course — Pluralism: Jews Are One and Many
We will study the amazing variety of Jews from Jewbu’s (Jewish Buddhists), Renewal Jews, Transdenominational Judaism, Modern Orthodox, to the New Jewish Feminism. How does our version of Judaism, Shir Tikvah "Reform," fit into this complex picture?

Eleventh Grade — Rebuild New Orleans Trip
Ten students and ten parents traveled to New Orleans during February vacation week to rebuild two houses. First we learned about the situation in New Orleans, what to expect when we got there, and basic carpentry skills. It was an eye-opening and intense experience for all. Click here to watch a video of Shir Tikvah 11th grade families helping to rebuild homes in New Orleans, shot and edited by one of our own talented high school students. Here is a photo of the experience by Dan Stone.

Israel: Love It or Leave It?
What is the story with Israel today and why? How are the Palestinians treated and what are they asking for? Is there any way out of this mess?

The Mystery of Hebrew Letters
Did you ever notice how beautiful Hebrew is? You will learn to become a scribal artist, look at Hebrew prayers closely, and create your own gorgeous Mezuzah. Experience the physical and spiritual beauty of prayer! This course will be taught by Rabbi Rachel Schoenfeld, an expert in the scribal arts, Reconstructionist rabbi, and generally cool person.

I Eat, Therefore I Am, Reloaded
New recipes! How do the food and traditions of different Jewish cultures define them? Learn about the Jews of Azerbijan, Iran, Chile, and many others through their food. We will actually cook and eat interesting dishes as we consider the impact that regional cultures have on being Jewish. Come hungry but go home satisfied!

What's the Talmud Got to Do with It?
This class is for people who like to argue. Did you know that the Talmud, not the Bible, is the real book that created the Judaism that we know? Find out what the Talmud says about how to live a proper life. Hear all the arguments for and against various points of view and contribute some of your own.

Youth Leadership
Opportunities include learning to be a Religious School aide, becoming an administrative aide in the Temple Office, taking on leadership roles on Temple committees, and performing special projects.