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Congregation Agudath Achim Religious School
OVERVIEW
Congregation Agudath Achim's Religious School, located at the
Jewish Community House at 133 High Street in Taunton, provides a comprehensive
curriculum for children from early childhood through high school in small
classes with credentialed lead teachers.
The mission of our Religious School is to develop Jewish adults who
are able to develop a relationship with God and who can demonstrate love and
pride in their Jewish heritage. Our students develop a strong understanding of
Judaism to enable them to build their lives around its ethics, history and
practices with an appreciation of the Hebrew language and for our spiritual
homeland, Israel.
SCHEDULE
Our school year mirrors that of secular schools, with a start date
near the end of August and concluding the week before Memorial Day, with
appropriate breaks for secular and Jewish holidays.
Classes for Grades 1 to 7 are held on Sunday mornings
from 9:30 to 11:30 AM and on Thursday afternoon from 4:00 to 5:30 PM.
We offer preschool family education for preschool and
kindergarten children and their parents. These sessions meet two or three
Sunday mornings from 9:30 to 11:30 AM each month and on a few Thursday
afternoons from 4:00 to 5:30 PM for specific holidays. There are 25 sessions
in total - 9 "Jewish and Me" holiday sessions (Sundays and the few Thursday) and
16 "Torah and Me" Judaic and Hebrew/Alef-Bet sessions (Sundays). A full list
appears later on this webpage.
If you're preschool/kindergarten parents just getting started and
want a get-acquainted, first-timer schedule of sessions, you might want
to join us for just the 9 "Jewish and Me" holiday sessions.
Special Shabbat mornings called "Shabbat Rishona" (first Shabbat) include incorporate
learning activities as a part of morning services which are fully participatory.
Our Mini-Minyan (9:00-10:00 AM) and Learners' Minyan (9:00-11:15 AM) are the
center point of the morning. There is no school on a Sunday after Shabbat
Rishona.
B'nai Mitzvah:
Bar and Bat Mitzvah preparation is arranged in consultation with Rabbi/Cantor
Anne Heath. We currently have two to seven Bnai Mitzvah celebrations per year.
In order to foster class community and mutual learning, we schedule Bnai
Mitzvah celebrations in either May or June, at the end of seventh grade,
rather than immediately after a student's 13th birthday.
The Rabbi's Roundtable (Kevutzat HaRav): Post-B'nai Mitzvah opportunity leading to Confirmation.
CURRICULUM
Preschool Family Education - Sunday
Judaic/Hebrew Sessions: The core curriculum comes from the Behrman House series "Torah
and Me" with Alef-Bet learning from the Sarah and David Interactive materials.
Preschool Family Education - Holiday
Sessions: The core curriculum comes from the
Behrman House series "Jewish and Me" enhanced by the new Shalom Sesame DVDs and
accompanying Behrman House materials.
Grades 1 to 7 - Judaics:
The CHAI curriculum, developed for
synagogue religious schools by the educational leadership team at the Union for
Reform Judaism (URJ) and used in both Reform and Conservative religious schools,
is based on three vital threads of Judaism: Torah (study) Avodah
(worship), and Gemilut Hasadim (behaving righteously).
The curriculum authors wrote clear
teaching goals using the "Understanding by Design" model of curriculum
construction. Full teacher guides offer our faculty a solid foundation on which
to tailor the teaching goals to our setting.
Grades 1 to 7 - Hebrew:
The Sarah and David Interactive curriculum embodies the belief
that Hebrew
reading is central to Jewish identity and its developers, Diana and Lily Yacobi,
are committed to making that learning process a good and engaging experience.
A
problem-solving approach guided the design of their curriculum teaching the
Hebrew alphabet, reading, writing and language. The learning strategies
specifically anticipate common reading difficulties and counteract them with
challenging activities and exercises. As a result of Sarah and David’s ‘user
friendliness’, a child’s need for spirit and snap in his or her reading
materials has at last been recognized and rewarded.
FACULTY
We pride ourselves in maintaining an experienced faculty of credentialed lead
teachers assisted by adult volunteer teachers and teen teacher aides.
Religious School faculty includes Principal, Rabbi/Cantor
Anne Heath and Teachers/Volunteers/Aides Lauren Coelho, Stacey Gay, Nancy Marin,
Gail Nathan, Alice Nussbaum, Gail Peckman, Josh Sherman and Jessica Yarman. The
Religious school committee, chaired by Lauren Coelho, meets monthly to establish
and review policies and procedures.GETTING STARTED
Please call the Jewish Community House
at 508-822-3230 concerning religious school at Congregation Agudath Achim or
drop us an e-mail by using our online
email form.
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