Hebrew classes for the Religious School 2010 - 2011 held on THURSDAYS at 3:30 to 5:30 pm.
Emily Krasinski, Ph.D. ~ Principal
emilykrasinski@earthlink.net
Temple Beth Shalom’s Religious School works in partnership with parents to help our congregation’s children and young people develop a positive identity as Jews, and a lifetime commitment to their heritage through study and enriching activities.
Our academic program is designed to support and complement the ongoing Jewish learning environment in the home. The Religious School provides the formal educational component where learning takes place through:
The study of Jewish texts
The study of Hebrew
Shared participation in communal worship services
Participation in Jewish cultural activities
Celebration of Jewish holidays and ritual events, and
Through the performance of G’milut Hasadim, acts of loving-kindness.
Through participation in the Reform movement’s youth programs and ongoing contact with Reform leadership, our students also deepen their ties to the larger Jewish community and to Israel.
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Temple Beth Shalom’s Religious School meets every Thursday afternoon at the synagogue. The program begins with a short service. Focused on student participation, the service allows the children to experience the davening process and become familiar with the different parts of the prayer service while making it fun and interesting. If a rabbi or cantor is visiting, the students then spend time with them, learning new songs, listening to stories and having meaningful discussions.
Following this collective experience, the students are divided into three age-specific classes: kitah alef, kitah bet and kitah gimel. In these settings, the students learn to read Hebrew and understand what is being read; study the Jewish holidays and traditions; and read stories from the Torah and perform projects based on these readings. Students also participate in fun activities, such as learning new songs and Israeli dances. Occasionally, the students join with the adult congregants for special events, such as Hannukah, Tu B’Shevat, Purim and Pesach celebrations.
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La Escuela Religiosa del Templo Beth Shalom se reune cada jueves por la tarde en la sinagoga. El programa comienza con un servicio religioso corto. Enfocado en la participación de los estudiantes, el servicio permite a los niños conocer las distintas etapas del servicio religioso y familiarizarse con éste de forma pedagógica y entretenida. Si un rabino o jazán está de visita, los alumnos comparten con ellos, aprendiendo nuevas canciones, escuchando historias y experimentando interesantes debates.
A continuación de esta experiencia colectiva, los estudiantes son divididos en tres grupos según su edad: kitah alef, kitah bet y kitah gimel. En estas clases los alumnos aprenden a leer hebreo y entender lo que leen; estudian las fiestas y tradiciones judías; leen historias de la Torah, y desarrollan proyectos basados en dichas lecturas. Los estudiantes también participan en entretenidas actividades, como el aprendizaje de nuevas canciones y bailes israelíes. En ocasiones los alumnos se reunen con los adultos para eventos especiales como las festividades de Jánuca, Tu B'Shevat, Purim y Pésaj.
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 Trees, we saw trees everywhere in Cayey where TBS Religious School students, congregants, and visitors gathered to celebrate Tu B'Shevat. The idea to celebrate Tu B'Shevat by planting trees in the countryside was intitated by Gloria Waldman at the Parent's meeting. Zuly Ortiz Lochard arranged to have our activities take place in the Escuela Intermedia Dr. Ramón Emeterio Betances in Cayey. While some of us watched the documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth", the younger crew painted a wall mural with Zuly. The mural was later hung in the school entranceway, leaving a message of friendship and shared environmental concern for the Betances school students from TBS-PR religious school youth.
In the documentary, Al Gore presents the strong scientific evidence for Global Warming. Trees were portrayed as the "lungs" of the earth, helping reduce the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The movie sent a powerful message that we have failed as stewards of the earth and as a result, all the earth's indicators show a trend of world-wide temperature increase. Though much of the ecological damage has already been done, Gore ends the movie with a message of hope that it is not too late to implement international policies that will work towards slowing down this alarming trend.
Rabbi Waldorf's remarks to the group centered on a New York Times article that with 90% reliability, humans are responsible for recent increases in the rate of rising temperatures. To teach our children that we must be proactive in our fight to save the environment, the Religious School collected $100 for the Jewish National Fund's Northern Renewal reforestation project (thanks to all, especially our very generous visitors, Fred and Beatrice Sorkin from New York) and we ended our Tu B'Shevat celebration with a planting of trees and plants (donated by UPR-Cayey and Teresa Hernández) on the grounds of Ramón Emeterio Betances school.
Our thanks go especially to Zuly Lochard, Belkis Klau, Debra Ruben, Gloria Waldman, and Michael Rubin for organizing a wonderful and enlightening Tu B'shevat.
Definitely a fun day.
 
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Captive Audience
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Stories from Norma
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Guided Tour
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We gather as always for a short service.
After the service, the children and youths were in for a surprise. Mariana and Savina planned a Scavanger Hunt to celebrate the last day of school.
Everyone was instructed on how to play the game and the hunt began !
The Emus and the Macabee Warriors worked very hard creating their banners.
The clues were hidden and challenged the hunter’s knowledge of TBS and biblical facts. Some of these puzzles were,
Who was the first Temple Beth Shalom president?
Name the Hebrew numbers from one to ten.
Name the three patriarchs and four matriarchs.
What was the Parasha of the week?
Are you able to solve these puzzles? In addition there were many other puzzles hidden all over the synagogue.
The children worked hard to answer the puzzles so they could progress to the next clue. Points were given for being respectful of property, cooperating with each other, and keeping hand contact with team members to form a chain while searching for the clues. After an hour, both teams had solved all the clues, the first one to do so was the Emus. The Macabee Warriors graciously conceded defeat.
 
The celebrations ended with the awarding of diplomas. Mazel Tov to all!
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