Estelle and Melvin Gelman Religious School
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Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. -- Proverbs 22.6
Gishron – Second Grade
Our students in Gishron, Kindergarten, First and Second grades join us on Sundays for a morning full of learning, singing, praying and playing.
They participate in Shacharit Live, a dynamic, interactive morning service led by our music educators and staff and they are encouraged to sing and dance as they practice their tefilot (prayers).
Stories and educational games are all woven into their classroom learning and a team of exciting specialists add music, art and dance to their experiences.
In addition, each grade has an overarching theme and age appropriate Hebrew goals.
In Gishron the students are immersed in Jewish prayer, rituals, stories and culture. They focus on Jewish values, symbols, and holidays.
Our kindergarteners are introduced to the Hebrew alphabet in a multitude of different ways drawing on their many senses. They begin their Torah study with the book of Breishit (Genesis) and “Torah gems” are shared each week in addition to lessons planned around holidays, prayer, ritual and Jewish thought.
Our first graders begin to read Hebrew as we introduce vowels alongside reinforcing the alef bet. Their Torah learning continues with the book of Shemot (Exodus) alongside our Judaics curriculum in partnership with ShalomLearning.
When the students enter second grade, they should have a good foundation in the Hebrew alef bet and the vowels, and they continue to work on these skills as they begin to read Hebrew words from the Siddur. Their Torah study is focused around parshat hashavua (the Torah portion of the week) and they continue their ShalomLearning journey.
Third-Sixth Grade
In our third – sixth grade classes, we offer a dual-strand curriculum of Judaics and Hebrew/tefilah.
We use the ShalomLearning curriculum in Judaics. This curriculum, based on seven values, integrates a variety of stories, text studies, holiday content, and blessings to highlight for our students how decisions they make on a daily basis are influenced by their Jewish values, and by extension their Jewish history, tradition, and culture. Each grade looks and learns about these values through a different lens: family, self, peers and community. Click here for the ShalomLearning curriculum grid.
Our Hebrew department supports our tefilah curriculum. Students meet virtually in small groups to work on the prayers they encounter in services and home rituals.
The third-sixth graders have tefilah each time they are in school—Shacharit on Sunday morning and Mincha or Maariv (dependent on season of the year) during the weekdays.
Giving the students a chance to spend time with their peers in a different setting is also important and we look forward to welcoming the students for grade-based experiential learning over the course of the year.
