School Curriculum

A Grade by Grade over view of the Or Hadash curriculum: 

Pre-K/Kindergarten and 1st Grades: Focus on Jewish Holidays especially Shabbat, Basic Blessings, An Introduction to Bible Stories, Beginning Hebrew Letter Recognition, Ethics and Values and Basic Facts about Israel 

2nd Grade-5th grade: (A Multi-aged experiential approach)

Focus on Jewish Holidays, Ethics and Values, Life Cycle, Bible Stories, Israel, and strengthening Jewish Identity in a variety of ways including:

• Cooking
• Art
• Music
• Theater
• Discussion
• Creative Writing

6th Grade: Study of Parshat Hashavua, the Torah Portion of the week, Holocaust Study, Torah Cantillations, Ethics and Values 

3rd-6th graders-focus on Prayer Hebrew one day/week in an experiential manner

(in addition to the above Judaic studies)

7th Grade: Focus on Jewish Holidays especially Shabbat, Torah Study, Ethics and Values, Beyond B’nai Mitzvah 

Confirmation (Grades 8 - 10) 

Our Post B’nai Mitzvah program meets on Sunday mornings for 16 sessions during the year. The curriculum is based on the concept that students are ready for adult conversation about important issues that affect their daily lives. All three years include informative trips and tzedakah projects in the community as well as two retreats.  

8th-9th grade

• Our will be participating in TEL (Teens Experience and Learning-a program run by the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation)  Each year, the teens explore one of the Values of Spiritual Peoplehood with two weekend retreats and classes once a month.  The Values of Spiritual Peoplehood can be found at http://www.campjrf.org/parents/philosophy.htm
• In addition, the 8th-9th graders will be learning with students from Christs Lutheran Church about shared values in an effort to become more aware about the similarities we share with other religions. 
• Social action trips and Innovative speakers will round out our school year.

10th grade

Taking action in our communities and in our world: Using Jewish values to make a better world (Tikkun Olam)

• Empowering all, including the elderly, the homeless, abused women and children and people with disabilities
• Life and death issues:  abortion, euthanasia, medical ethics, capital punishment
• Israeli Government/Israeli People
• World Peace
• Jewish environmental ethics
• Jewish mourning customs
• Learning the skills to plan and lead a creative confirmation service

• Panim El Panim, Hebrew for “face to face,” is a program that allows our 10th grade students to explore social justice and public policy through a Jewish lens during a 4 day seminar in Washington D.C. It is an integral part of our confirmation program.