Dear Friends,

Welcome to the 5768 school year.  This year, as we celebrate Israel’s 60^th birthday we at Sinai Temple Religious School also have lots to celebrate.  Our Kindergarten through 7^th grade students will be learning in a single session on Sunday mornings, allowing us to create an environment and community of learners where options for learning are expanded, interest based and developmentally engaging, last year’s successful change in our weekday Hebrew program will continue as will our terrific 8^TH , 9^TH, AND 10^TH grade programming.  

Enclosed in this handbook are important policies that will help you navigate through the school year.  I look forward to greeting you and your children on Sunday, September 9^th.  Please be certain to come in and visit.  

Along with Rabbi Shapiro, Cantor Mekler, the Religious School Committee and the entire teaching staff, I bid you welcome to a wonderful year.

Shalom and Shana Tova

Sheila

RELIGIOUS SCHOOL COMMITTEE

Susanne Simon-Chair

Robin Dunn-McDonagh

Susie Awad

Bernie Cohen

Richard Black

Joel Solomon

Mark Stone

Joseph Dow

Jennifer Metsch

Gloria Wald

Religious School Philosophy

The Sinai Temple Religious School is designed to help families provide a Jewish Education for their children and growth as a family.  We seek to nurture in our students a positive, active, committed, knowledgeable Jewish identity.  As a Reform Jewish institution, we seek to enable our students by helping them acquire knowledge and skills to discover their own path to authentic relationships with God, Torah and the Jewish people.  We believe that the Jewish religious tradition offers a worldview, a set of values and a way of life that can provide an enormously precious anchor in the midst of a turbulent and rapidly changing world.

Our goals

v        To develop a sense of community within the religious school and connection to the congregation

     To provide opportunities to explore and develop a personal relation with God.

     To help students develop a commitment to living Jewishly.

     To make a connection between Jewish moral values and actions that contribute to tikkun olam - repair of the world. 

• To impart a basic foundation of Jewish literacy that allows students to participate fully in Jewish spiritual and communal practice.

SCHOOL SCHEDULE

SUNDAY

GRADES KINDERGARTEN-GRADE 7

9:00 A.M.-12:00 Noon

TUESDAY OR THURSDAY

HEBREWCLASSES

Grades 3-6

3:30 – 5:00 

Grade 7  Simchat Sheva

Tuesday only  5:00- 6:30 

Grades 8  

Tuesday only  6:30 – 8:30

Wednesday 

Grade 9 

6:30-8:00 

 Grade10 Confirmation

6:00 –8:00

POLICIES and PROCEDURES

These policies are designed to assist in providing a positive learning environment and experience for  our students.

REGISTRATION

Registration is held each spring during May and June. Please register as soon as possible. Getting registration in on time is crucial to the efficient running of the school.  Accurate registration numbers are required for setting up classes, hiring teachers and ordering texts and materials.  Late registrations make it difficult for us to plan effectively. We don’t want parents and children to miss important information because they are not registered.  

TUITION & SCHOLARSHIP

School tuition covers many different things.  For all grades, it covers the books and materials the students use.  Seventh through tenth grade tuition includes the cost of dinner and snacks and partially covers the cost of trips.  However, tuition only pays for part of your child’s education.  Funds from the Temple, the Jewish Federation, as well as fundraisers and grants pay the remaining costs.  In order to meet our obligations on time, it is necessary for families to pay the tuition on time. Fifty percent of tuition should be paid on or before October 31, 2007.  Any remaining balance should be paid by February 28, 2008.  A prerequisite for enrollment in the current year’s Religious and Hebrew School is the clearing of any outstanding debt.  

Please do not let money be an obstacle in the Jewish education of your child. Scholarships are available in limited quantity. Please call either Connie Kennedy in the Religious School Office or Karen Sprenkle in the temple office to request a scholarship application.  All scholarship application must be completed and returned to the Religious School office no later than October 31, 2007.  Please note that dues from 2006-2007 must be paid in full in order for your child to attend Religious School.  If this is an issue, please contact the temple office to discuss dues abatement.  We do not want any child to be deprived of a Jewish education.

ATTENDANCE:

It is of great importance that students are in attendance when school is in session. With the intent of encouraging the success of all of our students, the Religious School Committee has adopted the following policy regarding absence and early dismissal of students from all classes. 

In order for a student to progress effectively and be prepared for the following class, a student who misses a class, will be sent a brief outline of the content covered in class, and, a reading and/or written assignment that is reflective of the content missed.  A student who is dismissed within the first 90 minutes of 2 hr. classes or the first 60 minutes of 90 minute classes may also be sent an assignment.  

An assignment should be completed as soon as possible after it is received. Space is provided for a parent to acknowledge their awareness of the assignment. The acknowledgement should be returned to the student’s teacher at the next class session.

We recognize that children have busy lives and engage in many activities, Religious and Hebrew School being one or two of them respectively. Because of the limited time we have to teach, a great deal of work is done in each session.  When a student misses school he/she is missing the information to progress effectively and to feel competent to participate in class.  

We endeavor to make a student’s time spent in Religious and Hebrew School worthwhile.  The best chance for your child to be successful is to view his/her time here as a serious commitment.  Your support in encouraging this attitude is greatly appreciated.

HOMEWORK

We realize that students have demanding schedules.  While teachers limit the amount of homework students receive, assignments may be necessary.  This is particularly true for the acquisition of Hebrew.  Students will be sent home with reading practice.  Hebrew School students are requested to spend 15 minutes at least three times per week practicing their reading.  A monthly reading log will be given to your child to help track his/her practice sessions.  We ask parents to initial this log so that you can give appropriate positive feedback to your child for his/her effort. The log should be returned at the first class of the next month.  Parent interest goes a long way to encourage student participation.  If you have any questions or concerns about homework, please contact the teacher or the Director of Education.

SNACKS AND FOOD:

Any food used for any purpose in Sinai Temple Religious School must be considerate of the needs of all students in our school. Please send snack for your child only. 

Weekdays

We understand that our weekday Hebrew students sometimes come directly from school to Sinai Temple and do not have time to go home for a snack.  If this is the case, please keep in mind the following:  Water is recommended for an appropriate drink.  Please do not send juice boxes or soda.  Snacks may be eaten during the first 10 minutes of class only. Please keep this in mind when providing snack for your child.  Students who may arrive late are requested to have had snack prior to their arrival.  

Sunday

If you wish to send a small snack for your child on Sunday mornings, there will be an opportunity for him/her to eat it between 10:45 and 10:55.  Please send only that food that can be consumed during that time. Water is recommended for an appropriate drink.  Please do not send juice boxes or soda. Food will be supplied for students during club meetings on October 14, November 18, January 27 and March 30.  Food may be utilized occasionally for special programs, and may be integrated, with discretion, into specific curriculum and class procedures that will be enhanced by its use. You will receive notification from your child’s teacher prior to this occurring. 

RELIGIOUS  SCHOOL BEHAVIOR

We at Sinai temple recognize that all children want to be accepted and valued and to behave in a manner acceptable to those around them.  To encourage appropriate behavior, the professional staff models and positively acknowledges acceptable behavior.

The standards that have been established for appropriate student behavior include the expectations that:

v     Students behave in a respectful manner to those with whom they interact, including teachers, other students, temple members, and visitors to the building; (“Respectful” is defined as, listening to others when they are speaking, responding  to others in an acceptable tone and with an acceptable attitude, and carefully considering the viewpoints, thoughts and feelings of others before responding)

v      Students demonstrate respect for the rights and property of others by not damaging any property belonging to the temple, teachers, or other students and by returning all items to their proper location when finished using them.

v     Students attend class regularly.  Please see the attendance policy for information regarding absences.

v     Students come to class prepared to participate in all classroom activities and having completed assignments as requested.  

A Word About Discipline

We work to make classes engaging, interesting and developmentally appropriate for the students attending Sinai Temple’s educational programs, thereby reducing the need for disciplinary intervention.  Most incidents involving inappropriate behavior can be rectified with minimum intervention by redirecting the student’s energy to the established task at hand.  Occasionally, greater intervention may be necessary and the teacher will, in addition to redirecting his/her behavior, speak to the child regarding the inappropriateness of the behavior.  On occasion administrative intervention may become necessary.  Should this happen, the Director of Education will speak to the child in an effort to resolve the issues causing the behavior. If these efforts are unsuccessful, and a student’s behavior interferes with the learning of others or in some way jeopardizes the learning environment or safety of the classroom, parents will be called and required to pick their child up early.  Upon return, the student must demonstrate that his/her behavior will no longer interfere with the learning or safety of others.

   Parents will be kept informed of any behavioral concerns the staff may have, and teaching staff and administration will work cooperatively to resolve any concerns.

Education Requirements for Becoming A Bar/Bat Mitzvah

• Any student planning to become a Bar/Bat Mitzvah must be enrolled in and attending Sinai Temple Religious School or an equivalent school which is organized and run under Jewish auspices.

This means that if the child becomes Bar/Bat Mitzvah in Seventh Grade, he or she must be enrolled in, attend, and complete the Seventh Grade Sunday, and mid-week Hebrew programs.  (There is a minimal requirement of three years in our Sunday and Hebrew programs for anyone moving into the area after Third Grade, which is the grade in which students begin their formal Hebrew studies.)

If the child becomes Bar/Bat Mitzvah in Eighth Grade, he or she must be enrolled in, attend, and complete the Eighth Grade program offered by Sinai Temple.

It is also our understanding that Bar/Bat Mitzvah is part of the larger educational program at Sinai.  All students are expected to continue learning through to the end of Tenth Grade Confirmation.

• Students who previously attended a Jewish day School, but are not presently attending one, will be required to attend Sinai Temple’s Sunday program.  In addition, they will be evaluated by the Rabbi, Cantor and/or Director of Education to determine their competency in Hebrew.  Any child attending a Jewish Day School at the time of Bar/Bat Mitzvah but not during the previous few years will be evaluated to determine their competency in Hebrew.  If the child’s competency is deemed satisfactory, he/she will be considered to have met the equivalent of the Hebrew program at Sinai.  If the child’s competency is unsatisfactory, individualized assignments according to need will be developed by the Director of Education and/or the Rabbi or Cantor.

Sinai Temple Religious School will make every reasonable effort to meet the needs of special needs learners.  Parents of children with documented special needs may, in addition, elect to provide individual Hebrew tutoring for their children based on the following criteria:

• To be eligible, the child must have a current IEP in place and be receiving special services in school.  Parents should share the IEP, relevant assessments and/or other appropriate information with the Director of Education. 

• The Director of Education will monitor each child’s progress with a minimum of 2 evaluations per year. 

• The child’s family must meet with the Rabbi, Cantor and Director of Education at least one year prior to the Bar/Bat Mitzvah to discuss the specifics of the ceremony. 

Exceptions to the Bar/Bat Mitzvah requirement policies will be considered if submitted in writing to the Religious School Committee.  The Committee will respond in writing within seven days following its next regularly scheduled meeting.  If the family is not satisfied, they may seek review of their request by the Sinai Temple Board of Trustees.  (All decisions of The Board of Trustees are final).

Dressing Up” for Temple”

The Board of Trustees passed the following resolution at its meeting on December 16, 2004.  The resolution originated with the Ritual Committee as a result of some concern about the way in which some congregants have been dressed during Shabbat Services.

Although a Jew can pray anywhere or any time on his or her own, there is something special about praying in a community setting.  Although services at Sinai Temple are not overly formal, there is something holy about what we do in the sanctuary.  That is why the Ritual Committee and the Board of Trustees believe that dressing appropriately for services is important.  In particular, we believe that anyone who participates in a service by coming up to the bimah should be aware of the following:

1.     Wearing skirts that are more than several inches above the knee is inappropriate.

2.     Girls exposing the midriff is not appropriate for the bimah.

3.     Boys will want to remember that when they are on the bimah, their shirts should be tucked in.

In general, Sinai Temple recommends that children who participate in services or come up onto the bimah should dress the way they would dress for a public school concert. 

Modesty and respectful dress is always appropriate.

SCHOOL CLOSING:

Should it be necessary to cancel school due to inclement weather, we will notify Television stations WGGB 40 and WWLP 22.  If Longmeadow Public Schools are closed, there will be no Hebrew School.   Please remember you can always call Sinai Temple for information.

 AND OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION

COMMUNICATION/EVALUATION:

It is our hope that communication between teachers and parents will be on-going.  We encourage our teachers to be in touch with you, both about the class and about your child, through the mail and by telephone or e-mail.  At the beginning of the school year, teachers will send home a letter of introduction which includes their telephone number and other ways to be in touch.  (Please do not call teachers or the Director of Education on Shabbat).  Written progress reports will be sent home in the winter and the spring.  If there is an important occurrence in your child's life (family illness, birth of a child, etc.), it would be helpful to us and to your child if we are notified.  These types of occurrences may effect your child’s functioning in school and we want to be of assistance if we can.  Should you have concern about your child's progress, please speak with the teacher or the Director of Education.  The earlier we can identify and discuss any problems, the more likely we are to be able to find a constructive and successful solution.  In other words, even if your concern is over something small, call!  Better to deal with the concern when it is still small.  Of course, it is also wonderful to hear from parents who have positive feedback to offer!

SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENTS:

We want all students to have a positive Jewish education and to part of the classroom and synagogue community to the greatest extent possible.  To that end, please notify us at the beginning of the year about any learning disabilities or other special needs to which we should be sensitive.  For students with special needs, it is most helpful for parents (and the student as applicable) to talk about specific needs.  Any written evaluations are also helpful.  The information is then shared with the teacher (with permission of the parents) either through the Director of Education or in a meeting with the parents.  We know that this can sometimes be difficult. Please be assured that all information is kept strictly confidential.  To the extent that we are able, we try to provide students with additional materials and personnel to assist them in the classroom. 

TZEDAKAH:  The mitzvah of tzedakah (righteous giving) is an important part of understanding Jewish values and putting them into action.  During the course of the year the school will embark on several projects.  We hope that each student will bring a small amount of tzedakah every week.  Taken together, the school as a whole can raise a great amount of money for the sake of important projects around the world.

THE MITVAH HABIT:

Help us feed the hungry

You can’t miss it!  Every time you enter the Temple, you see the box for THE OPEN PANTRY on the floor outside the Temple office.  Sometimes the box is full; sometimes it’s fairly empty.  But every week the Open Pantry truck comes by to scoop up whatever the box contains and take it back to the Open Pantry.

You can help keep the box full.  Here’s how.  Whenever you go shopping, buy an extra non-perishable food item.  Then whenever you come to the Temple, bring along your food item and drop it in the box.  If you’re coming to a meeting or services, if you’ve got business in the office, if your child is coming to Religious School, start a new MITZVAH HABIT.  Bring some food along and place it in the box for the OPEN PANTRY.

SIX THINGS TO MAKE 5768 THE BEST YEAR EVER

Make sure that your child attends school regularly and on time.

Become familiar and involved with your child’s Jewish learning.

  Encourage you child to behave appropriately in class.

   Model Jewish living and learning for your child by celebrating Shabbat and holidays at home and at the synagogue, attend family services, be part of the PACT program. Do some studying for your own learning.

     Encourage your child to tell you what he or she has studied by asking questions that require more than a yes/no answer.  Send the message that Jewish education is important to you.

 Be in touch with your child’s teachers. 

V’shinantam l’vanecha - Teach the tradition diligently to your children so that they may in turn teach it diligently to theirs.  At Sinai Temple we take this charge to heart.  We look forward to an association with parents and children that helps children to develop a strong sense of Jewish identity and a foundation of learning that enables them to make Judaism a part of their lives so they will indeed pass their heritage on to others.