Religious School News: HALFWAY HOME
Sunday, February 5 is conference day at Religious School. We have begun our second semester, and it’s time for parents and teachers to look at each student’s progress and set goals for the end of the year. It’s also time for me to assess where we have gone this year and see if we are moving toward our goals.
Some things are going very well. Our Wednesday classes are providing our students with history and ethics studies far beyond what we have had in the past. We have time to learn about holidays and the State of Israel with projects that we couldn’t squeeze into a busy Sunday morning. We are getting a clearer picture of where our kids are in Hebrew as they move through the Hineni curriculum. Our Hebrew High School students seem to be embracing their new curriculum with enthusiasm. Workshops and family lunches are well attended.
Some things have been challenging. Switching to a new school-wide history curriculum has left some of our classes playing catch-up—an inevitable consequence of starting something in the middle. A dearth of families with very young children has kept our parent-child drop-in center in the hypothetical stage. We don’t have enough music. We aren’t giving our children enough opportunities to use their synagogue skills.
Fortunately, we don’t have any insurmountable problems. Catch-up becomes caught-up. More music requires a little adjustment of our assembly time. Kids are ready to participate in family services in a meaningful way, and they’ll be doing just that beginning with Scout Shabbat on February 10. As for bringing families with young children to the Temple on Sundays, that is a job for all of us.
We still have enough time to finish our school year in a blaze of glory. Purim and Pesach lie ahead, each with more opportunities for learning and celebration than we could exhaust in a lifetime. Our high-schoolers’ social action projects are beginning to bear fruit. We’re seeing enough energy from our students to light up our classrooms on the darkest winter days. I am optimistic about the course of this year. Dedicated faculty and bright, engaged students are a combination destined for success.
Kitty Hall, Religious School Principal
Religious School Forms and Manuals:
Registration Forms for the 2011-2012 school year