Religious School

Welcome to our Religious School, also known as our Youth Education Program!

We warmly welcome all students from grades Pre K through high school. Our school year starts in September and runs through May. We have many award-winning courses and a highly motivated and committed faculty, yet it is our constant quest to find ways to make our school programs more interesting, engaging, and challenging.

General Information       Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah       Journey Onward      Confirmation      Family Education      JewDo

Vision

Congregation Beth Israel’s Religious School creates a nurturing and creative environment, inspired by the ritual, spiritual life, and Jewish values of Reform Judaism. We believe that through teaching,  students and their families will develop a positive Jewish identity and an understanding of Jewish heritage that leads to lifelong learning. The school strives to provide every family a spiritually rich, relevant, and engaging experience. We are committed to providing an environment driven by traditional and non-traditional learning and teaching styles, enabling Religious School students and families to enhance their Jewish journeys.

Goals:

Develop curriculum that supports our vision.

1. Create an awareness of Jewish history, holidays, festivals, and lifecycle events.
2. Create familiarity with Torah and Mishkan T’Filah, (the Reform Judaism prayer book), Hebrew, and Jewish music in order to provide a sense of familiarity and comfort in any Reform synagogue.
3. Encourage thoughtful spiritual awareness in an open and safe environment.
4. Create understanding of the concepts of Covenant, mitzvot, tzedakah, and tikkun olam in our community.
5. Develop a spirit of Klal Yisrael (Peoplehood) and strengthen the connection to Israel, its history and its people.
6. Provide the necessary tools for Jewish living that compliments the Jewish learning in the home.
7. Maintain our commitment to the professional development of our staff to be current with educational teaching techniques, tools and technologies.

General Information

Our Religious School provides a Jewish educational program for students in pre-Kindergarten through high school.

Sessions are held on Sundays, 9am to 11:30am, for grades pre-K through 7th grade.

Grades 3 through 6 attend Hebrew language lessons on Wednesday afternoons, 4:30 to 6pm.We also hold a Hebrew language program for grades 3- 6 at the Farmington Public Library for families who live in the Farmington Valley. The sessions are held on Tuesdays from 4 – 6pm.

Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah

During the 5th grade, students receive information about becoming a Bar or Bat Mitzvah.  The Bar or Bat Mitzvah ceremony usually occurs during 7th or 8th grade. You can see our current B’nai Mitzvah program manual. (Scroll to the bottom of the page).

Journey Onward

Journey Onward  is a program for students in 8th and 9th grades.  Journey Onward’s schedule varies, as the class is often out and about in the community!

Confirmation

Students in 10th grade are invited to participate in Confirmation, a year long intensive program. Confirmation classes are held on Wednesday nights, starting at 6:30pm.

Family Education

We also offer Family Education programs throughout the year. These programs encourage children and parents to learn together, sometimes by parallel teaching and sometimes by learning together through music, art, drama, and text.

JewDo

JewDo is a program that combines Jewish learning with the fun, excitement, and practical skills of martial arts. CBI kids in grades 2-5 are invited to join Rabbi Dena Shaffer each Sunday after Religious School. This is a great way to decompress on Sundays afternoon and blow off some of that weekend energy!  Click here for more information and the registration form you can print and mail in (in pdf format).

Contact: Rabbi Shaffer, 860-233-8215 x226.