Sign In Forgot Password

Hinei Mah Tov – How Good it IS for us to be Together

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM OVERVIEW

In the fall of 2023, Kindergarten will meet monthly on Sundays, 9 - 11:30 AM
1st - 5th grade classes meet on Sundays from 9 - 11:30 AM.

Our students participate in a music-filled, interactive service, Judaic studies, Hebrew through Movement (a technique of teaching Hebrew through auditory learning and responding to Hebrew commands with movement), dance, art, and they will spend time with our Rabbi and Cantor. Throughout the year, students and families join in holiday community programs such as a Hanukkah family concert, Purim carnival, and experiential life cycle rituals and Passover programs. Our Madrichim (Teen Aides) offer creative electives and serve as peer leaders and role models for our younger students. (Please scroll down for more specific class descriptions)
REGISTER HERE

MIDDLE SCHOOL CURRICULA OVERVIEW – VAV/ZAYIN (GRADES 6 & 7)
“JOURNEY TO B’NEI MITZVAH”

Wednesdays, 4:30 – 6:30 PM

While in the elementary grades, there is a focus on Hebrew preparedness and building skills for Hebrew decoding, our classes in Vav/Zayin (6th and 7th) grade now focus on helping students achieve fluency in Hebrew prayers for the Friday night and Shabbat morning prayer services. Our afternoons begin with “Kehillah / Community Connection” which are ice breakers / games to encourage relationship building. Students enjoy an evening "nosh"which helps builds community in our upper grades and allows our students time to socialize and bond with one another. (Please scroll down for further specific content by grade)
REGISTER HERE

HIGH SCHOOL OVERVIEW – (GRADES 8 - 12)
“Rav Kav” / CJL Flex Pass

Wednesdays, 4:30 – 6:30 PM

The CJL “Rav Kav” is a kind of “Flex Pass” – with CJL Registration, a student can participate in our Wed. afternoon classes with our Clergy and CJL Faculty, serve as  Madrichim/ot (Teen Aides) on Sunday mornings, and engage in community service/ social activities through the CJL. In the 11th/12th grade, our CJL students can design and fulfill a synagogue/CJL internship. With CJL registration, a student can choose to participate in one or all of our High School activities. (Please scroll down for more specific information about each grade/class)

REGISTER HERE

Class Descriptions

KITAH GAN (Kindergarten)

Monthly Sundays, 9:00 - 11:30 AM

Our CJL Gan/Kindergarten meets monthly. Our students learn about the synagogue and Jewish holidays through music, crafts, and stories. Our Madrichim (Teen Aides) help facilitate this class with a CJL Instructor as part of their teacher and leadership training.

REGISTER HERE

ALEPH / Bet (1st / 2nd Grades)

Sundays 9:00 - 11:30 AM

Our Aleph/Bet class is introduced to mitzvot, commandments, Jewish holidays, and the matriarchs/patriarchs Genesis stories through the story of Joseph. They learn the foundational Jewish prayer, Sh’ma and the brachot (blessings) associated with Shabbat, are introduced to the Hebrew alphabet and explore the Hebrew language using Hebrew Through Movement, an interactive program in which students are exposed to modern Hebrew through active listening and movement. A core part of the curriculum is the Jewish value of tzedakah (righteousness), and the class often holds a food drive and visits the Pleasantville Food Pantry to learn how to help those who are hungry. 

REGISTER HERE

KITAH GIMMEL / Dalet  (3RD and 4th GRADEs)

Sundays 9:00 - 11:30 AM

Building on the earlier foundational years in the CJL, our students continue learning  about the Book of Exodus and the Ten Commandments. Our students build their Hebrew skills through a rotation of Hebrew game stations such as Hebrew twister and Hebrew football/basketball, depending on the season. By the end of the year, we aim for our students to blend Hebrew consonants and Hebrew vowels. During a regular year, our students’ learning of brachot culminates in a Shabbat Family Program during which families come together to bake challah, sing, and recite prayers in a welcoming family gathering on a Sunday morning. As part of our exploration into our Jewish values curriculum, our students plan and visit the elderly at a local nursing home. In doing this, the students participate in the Jewish value of kibud zekaynim, honoring the elderly.

REGISTER HERE

KITAH HAY (5TH GRADE)

Sundays 9:00 - 11:30 AM 
 

Hebrew in Harmony is the digital-based curriculum core for our fifth and sixth grade students in which students learn Hebrew through learning traditional and contemporary melodies of Jewish prayers. As students delve into the history and meaning of our prayers, they also watch short videos of contemporary Jewish musicians and then students discuss the modern interpretations of these prayers. In Judaica studies, our fifth graders also learn about Jewish life-cycle events which includes mock Jewish ceremonies such as a baby-naming and a mock wedding. Watching our students come to CJL on a Sunday morning dressed up and excited for the mock wedding is truly memorable. Our fifth-grade students also are paired with an Israeli school and hold live video conferences with Israeli students of similar ages. Through regular correspondence with this school and students throughout the year, our students learn about Israel from their peers and how our Israeli brothers and sisters practice Judaism. They also learn how similar they are to one another as they embrace the same trends, widgets and iPhones! In past years, Kitah Hay visited the Eldridge Street Synagogue in NYC to learn about the Jewish history of the Lower East Side.  Also no trip would be complete without also a trip to a famous bagel/bialy and candy shop! As a student once commented during the trip, “This is my best day ever!” We hope to visit again this upcoming year!

REGISTER HERE

KITAH VAV (6TH GRADE)

Wednesdays 4:30 - 6:30 PM

Throughout the year, our students in Kitah Vav take part in multiple Judaica and Hebrew class rotations for a colorful and varied CJL experience. For Judaica, these rotations include Diverse Jewish Communities, History through Jewish Heroes, and Pathways through Torah. Students are exposed to different modalities of Hebrew learning through Hebrew through Harmony (learning Hebrew prayers through contemporary Jewish melodies), an Introduction to Cantillation (learning the music of Hebrew trope, specific chanting melodies to the Torah portions and prayers), a Hebrew blessings review class, and Hebrew through Movement (learning modern Hebrew through auditory commands). Our sixth-grade students learn and live the Jewish value of Bikur Cholim (visiting the sick) by visiting the residents of the Montrose VA Hospital. Our sixth-grade families participate in a Havdalah (end of Shabbat) service in the spring. During this service, our students receive their own Hebrew prayer book, symbolizing the commencement of their journey toward becoming b’nai mitzvah, children of the commandments.

REGISTER HERE

KITAH ZAYIN (7TH GRADE)

Wednesdays 4:30 - 6:30 PM

With b'nai mitzvah on the forefront of their minds, our students begin their year with honing their Hebrew skills by practicing prayers for their upcoming b’nai mitzvah service. This is followed by an examination of the Holocaust and World War II and learning about the establishment of the State of Israel, and reflecting on components of Jewish identity. TA core component of the seventh grade Judaica curriculum is the Mitzvah / service project, a process in which students plan and complete their 18-hour community service hours as part of their b’nai mitzvah journey. Kitah Zayin year students will present their idea for a Mtizvah project in the fall and then present their mitzvah projects wand their connection to Jewish values during a Kitah Zayin dessert reception.

REGISTER HERE

PATHWAY TO CONFIRMATION – (8TH/ 9TH GRADE)

Bi-monthly Wednesdays 5:00 - 6:30 PM
Sunday Madrichim Program 9:00 - 11:30 AM
 

The 8th/9th grade program is a blend of social, communal, and learning activities on a bimonthly basis. Our teens will discuss current events through a Jewish lens. 8th/9th graders also have the opportunity to participate in our Sunday morning Madrichim (Teen Aide) Program which includes leadership training and discussions on topical issues. Our goal is to cap the year with a class planned trip to NYC. 

 

REGISTER HERE


CJL High school (10TH - 12TH GRADEs)
 

Bi-monthly Wednesdays 5:00 - 6:30 PM
Sunday Madrichim Program: 9:00 - 11:30 AM

During the CJL High School years, students explore and deepen their identity as young Jewish adults and students learn to engage with Jewish texts and traditions on an adult level. In a student-driven curricula, students learn how to apply Jewish values to their daily lives, and to their role as citizens of our greater community and our nation. This year, Rabbi Jaech will teach 10th – 12th grades and lead interested teens on a four-day trip to Washington DC to participate in the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism's L'Taken Social Justice Seminar for teens. This trip culminates in a visit to Capitol Hill where the students make presentations to congressional staff. At the end of the senior year in high school, students lead a worship service in celebration of their confirmation. During the service, students speak about what they value about being a young Jewish adult. Temple Israel honors those who have been confirmed here by permanently displaying their class photographs in our downstairs hallway. 10th - 12th grade teens may participate in our Madrichim Program on Sunday mornings with the culmination of a synagogue internship during their junior and/or senior year. 

REGISTER HERE

Tue, March 19 2024 9 Adar II 5784