Congregation Beth Torah Religious School

At CBT, we are a small, but thriving school, that instills a love of Judaism in its students. We offer religious instruction for children from kindergarten through Bar/Bat Mitzvah year. Our students learn Hebrew, Prayer, Torah, Jewish Holidays and History, and Ethics. Students have the opportunity to participate in special activities such as our monthly Family Night Service, a model Passover Sedar, and Mitzvah projects. Classes are held throughout the traditional school year. We welcome our Sunday School teacher, Dale Korman, and our Hebrew School teacher, Janet Niederman.

Religious School Mission Statement

Our mission is to help nurture Jewish boys and girls who can go out into the world (1) knowing what makes Judaism unique and precious, (2) who have gained some experience of Jewish spirituality and practice, and (3) who can represent this to the world. We seek to have our graduates become lifelong learners in Judaism, engaging and grappling with Jewish issues the day after their Bar/Bat Mitzvah and beyond. Our educational style is guided by the twin principles of competence and creativity. We seek to create lesson plans that are as student-focused and as active/hands-on as possible. We expect to divide the students into two groups based upon their grade, ability level in Hebrew, etc. Depending on the unit being taught, we will teach the groups separately, or team teach all the children together. Focus on particular units will typically vary from 20 to 45 minutes at a time in order to sustain the students' attention and participation. Topics to be covered over the course of the academic year include:

Torah	Prophets
Prayer	History
Shabbat	Holiday Observance
God	Midrash
Ethics	Mitzvah projects
Israel	Other Jewish communities
Hebrew - traditional & modern, emphasis on comprehension

Depending upon the unit, a variety of activities will be utilized, such as:

• Creative prayer services and plays written by students
• Art, singing, Israeli dance
• Student newspaper; blogging re: current events, speeches
• Reading buddies between older and younger groups
• Snacks using spoken Hebrew only, as well as brachot and birkat
• Mitzvah projects, such as Happy Hats for children with cancer
• Monthly Friday night family service for all; Saturday morning service for pre-Bar/Bat Mitzvah students