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Quick Links:
Religious School and RSPA Calendar
· Religious School Parents' Assn
Key Religious School Documents and Links
· Religious School
Blog
School Closing Policy for Inclement Weather
· NoVA JYPI for 8th & 9th Graders
Creating
the Best
in Jewish Education
Congregation Beth
Emeth's Religious School
gives students the basic tools to live their lives as Conservative Jews. The
curriculum offers instruction in Hebrew, prayer and ritual; Jewish history
and cultural heritage; Torah studies and ethics; Israel, politics, and
current events; and Jewish music and arts. A curriculum is also provided for
Jewish children with learning disabilities.
For 8th, 9th and
10th graders, “Chai School” provides a variety of courses so students may
pursue their own Jewish interests, culminating in Confirmation around
Shavuot in the 10th grade year.
A Word About Our Innovative New Religious School Program
Kids enjoy
coming to the new CBE Religious School. After a year of study and
consultation with experts, we have re-invented our school with a curriculum
that emphasizes relevancy, family education and experiential learning
(formal and informal).
Kindergarten and first grade meet on Sundays, while students in grades 2 – 7
attend core classes on Sunday and one weekday. Sundays are filled with
excitement for all students as they rotate throughout the building to enjoy
interactive classes on Judaism and Hebrew as well as music, Tefillah and
Torah exploration. On Saturdays, students commonly join their families in
the sanctuary for Shabbat services.
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Chanukah T-Shirt Making
in Morah Gwen's Class |
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B’Yahad Programming
The Religious School
joins with the Youth Department on a monthly basis to implement a special
B’Yahad program by combining several of our grades together
to celebrate
Shabbat or Havdalah. Each program is family oriented and full of fun and
rewarding experiences, including Shabbat dinner, special family
participation Services, entertainment and informal activities that involve
the synagogue’s youth groups.
Mifgash
One Sunday in
the year, each grade meets to hold a unique program for parents and student
together that we call Mifgash, which can be translated from the Hebrew as an
encounter. Mifgash provides quality time for parents and students to
interact Jewishly, through enjoyable hands-on activities and discussion:
parent-student and parent-parent.
Our goal is to
build understanding that Judaism is not merely a set of laws about religious
aspects of life, but a way of living and thinking that influences all
aspects of life. We celebrate the fact that modern Jewish families are
members of numerous communities (school, work, sports, etc.) and we seek to
find connections between our Jewish and secular lives.
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Scenes from Mifgash |
2nd Monday Program
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2nd
Monday: Dreidel Spin-Off |
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2nd
Monday: Jewish Cooking Class |
New this year to the
Religious School/Youth schedule is the 2nd Monday Program. This is a FREE
program for our 2nd-7th graders registered in Religious School. The program
is designed for students to attend an organized event (arts & crafts,
homework room, game room, Hebrew tutoring room, leadership training and
more) with their peers. The program is held at CBE the 2nd Monday of
every month from 4:30-6:30 pm. Dinner is included in the program. (See
below for details on April/May 2010 programs.)
Field Trips
Students in grades 4-10
participate in curriculum- based field trips, the dates of which are listed
in the school calendar. Signed permission forms are required for students’
participation. Permission forms listing all pertinent information including
dates, times, places and fees are distributed to parents well in advance of
each event. Parent volunteers are asked to either chaperone and/or drive to
the event. For the health of our students, only smoke-free cars and/or buses
are on field trips.
Rosh Chodesh
Once-a-month, each
grade level will gather for Rosh Chodesh Celebrations. K-5 will have these
during their overlap times on Sundays. The celebrations will occur during
the following times and places: K: 10:30-11 AM in Rooms 8 & 9, Grades 1 &
2: 10-10:30 AM in Rooms 11 & 12, Grades 3-5: 10:30-11 AM in the Sanctuary,
and Grades 6 & 7 at 6:00 PM in the Social Hall on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
The theme for this year’s Rosh Chodesh Celebrations is “Tzedekah.” In
addition to prayer and song, we will also celebrate students’ birthdays
which occur that month.
Caleb’s Challenge
Caleb’s Challenge is
CBE’s award-winning program in which Rabbi Steve visits with our 5th and 6th
graders, summarizes the weekly parsha (Torah portion), and then asks a
provocative, open-ended question, which one class writes answers to, “off
the top of their heads.” The other class continues a verbal discussion of
the question. A “winner” is chosen, and that student a) reads his/her answer
during Shabbat morning services and b) receives a gift certificate to CBE’s
Gift Shop. While most weeks, students write their answers, we have recently
broadened our venues to include art, poetry, and even photographs of “living
sculpture.” Students’ critical-thinking skills have improved noticeably
during the 15 years since Caleb’s Challenge was inaugurated, and we trust
the program will continue to flourish and expand our students’ imaginations
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Beth Emeth
School Spirit |
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Student Services
In addition to our basic
classroom religious school, many student services are offered, such as
Junior Congregation, K'tongregation, Torah for Tots and Family Services.
Our students have an opportunity to attend various religious
services throughout the year. Special events during Jewish holidays, such as
Passover, Purim and Chanukah, are celebrated during the school year with
programs designed for family participation.
Bar/Bat Mitzvah Preparation
Individualized
instruction for bar and bat mitzvah is provided in addition to
the regular curriculum during the time leading up to event, generally during
the 6th and/or 7th grade years. Our bar and bat mitzvah tutors help to
prepare the children as they reach this important life cycle event. In
addition, families of these students are required to help usher at services
and participate in several sessions of Minyanaires, or group preparation,
during bar/bat mitzvah preparation.
Jewish Youth Philanthropy Initiative
(JYPI)
This spring, five Northern
Virginia Jewish congregations/temples are partnering with the Partnership
for Jewish Life and Learning (PJLL) to run a Collaborative Teen Philanthropy
Group for interested 8th and 9th graders. More information and registration
form are available on the JYPI page.
Inclement
Weather Closing Policy
On Monday through Thursday,
CBE Religious School follows Fairfax County Public School’s decision to
cancel school or cancel after school activities. On
Saturdays and Sundays, the Religious
School does not follow Fairfax County Public Schools’ decision to
close. If Religious School and student programs are cancelled on
Saturday or Sunday, the report is available on the synagogue’s voicemail system,
and is sent via school email lists. Decisions are based upon
anticipated weather conditions for early morning. On Sunday mornings, both
“A” and “B” sessions are cancelled. Thus even if the weather improves by
10:00 a.m., the Religious School remains closed. Saturday afternoon school
programming and Chai School closings are evaluated separately. A message is
available on the synagogue’s voice mail and on the radio stations in the
late afternoon.
Special
Events:
Please check the
Religious School and RSPA calendar for more special events.
Key Documents and Links
Religious
School Forms
Religious
School Informational Documents
Links
School Closing Policy for Inclement Weather or other
Events
Inclement Weather
On Monday through Thursday, during inclement weather, the religious school
follows Fairfax County Public Schools' decision to cancel school or cancel
after school activities. School cancellation notification will be recorded
on the synagogue's voicemail system.
On Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, the religious school does not follow
Fairfax County Public Schools’ decision. The decision to close school will
be made by the Religious School Director, in consultation with the Executive
Director. If religious school and student programs are cancelled on Friday,
Saturday, or Sunday, the announcement will be available on the synagogue’s
voicemail system, and it will be distributed via our “relschool” Yahoo!
group email list. Cancellation decisions will be based upon anticipated
weather conditions for early morning. On Sunday mornings, both “A” and “B”
sessions will be cancelled. Thus, even if the weather improves by 10:30
a.m., the Religious School will remain closed. Saturday afternoon Religious
School programming and Chai School closings will be evaluated separately. A
message will be available on the synagogue’s voice mail system, and it also
will be distributed via our “relschool” Yahoo! group email list in the
afternoon. In addition, you should see an update in the orange box in the
left-hand column of this page labeled "Urgent Notices".
Other Closings
In the event of an emergency which causes Religious School to be closed,
parents will be contacted by phone as soon as the information becomes
available. When appropriate, a phone tree system will be implemented. If a
parent cannot be reached by phone, a message will be left at both the home
and work numbers (if applicable). A message also will be posted on the
“relschool” Yahoo! group email list, on the synagogue’s voicemail system and
in the orange box in the left-hand column of this page labeled "Urgent
Notices".
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