Special Activities (Chugim)

Reading, writing and arithmetic are the core of a children’s education during the day, Monday through Friday. Without these skills, it is difficult to learn other subject areas. In the synagogue school setting, the same can be said for learning how to read Hebrew and relating topics back to Jewish ethics and values.

The Am Yisrael School of Jewish Studies is beginning a new program this year which is “out of the box”. We are looking to replicate some of the informal education that is such a large success in several Jewish summer camps and youth groups.

In the kindergarten through fifth grade years we have had an art, music and dance program for several years. Last year we took the first steps to adding Skyping with students in Israel and password-protected wikis, iPads for blogging, and SMARTBoard activities into our school experience. We even began collaborating with a partner school in Kiryat Gat, Israel.

This year we are going to take our informal education to new heights. While building upon the successes of the arts and our technological advances, we are adding the following activities during our school hours. Students in Gimel (third grade) through Zayin (seventh grade) will have the opportunity to participate in up to three of the following Jewish-based activities once a week:

• Photography
• Newspaper
• Band
• Choir
• Specialized art
• Israeli culture

Our students in the primary grades will do more cooking of Jewish foods than in the past and we will build a program that may mirror the one outlined above, during the year or for the following school year. As you will see from our Prozdor (Eighth Grade), Pardes (Ninth Grade) and Confirmation (Tenth Grade) classes, we have also added informal aspects which are crucial for reaching our students where they are.