Chai School
Chai School” meets the challenge of providing a meaningful Jewish education for adolescent age students (Grades 7 – 12) by allowing them to design their own program of study! Chai School meets on Tuesday nights during the school year from 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM.
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Program Dates for 2021-2022
6th Grade Shabbaton at Camp Ramah, New England
February 11 & 12, 2022
8th Grade The Great Boston Adventure: April 9 & 10, 2022
9th Grade New York City Experience: March 18– 20, 2022
10th Grade Religious Action Center L'Taken Program
March 4 – 7, 2022
Post Confirmation American Heritage Philadelphia Experience: November 5 - 7, 2021
7th & 8th Grade
Grade 7: Hineini – Here I Am as an Emerging Jewish Adult - Using the curriculum created by Facing History and Ourselves, our seventh-graders link history to ethics by engaging in a journey from identity, through the study of a specific historical cases (Holocaust), provoking questions that are both particular and universal. Students study traditional Jewish sources focusing on responses to anti-Semitism and difficult historical times. Students also use a curriculum designed by our staff to learn how to prepare a D'var Torah (Torah Interpretation) and how to use Torah commentary in their writing. Actual Torah study turns to B'reishit and Commentaries, focusing on a few stories of individuals who grow and learn.
Grade 8: Making Judaism Work for Me! – The 8th graders study comparative religion and the land and people of Israel. Students discuss and learn about each of the world's major religions and debate how Judaism is both similar and different from them. Learning about the land and people of Israel is an integral part of our program and students will be able to gain knowledge and understanding of our Jewish homeland. If permitted, students will also participate in intergenerational programming with residents from The Willows and with special guest speakers on the topic of aging.
9th Grade
Grade 9: Coming to America - Our 9th graders, using contemporary materials and specifically designed curriculum, explore the political, social, economic, and religious history of the American Jewish community during the Eastern European migration to America. Students travel as a group to New York City and experience their curriculum "first hand" during our Jewish New York Educational Seminar.
9th graders also explore ethical and moral issues and learn how to apply Jewish principles and concepts to their everyday lives. Jewish text study and group debate and discussion make up the core of our ninth-grade program.
Confirmation
Grade 10: Confirmation - What is God? Is there more than one way to perceive of God? How can we know God? What does God want from us? How does God fit into my life? If there is a God, why do bad things happen in the world? This is a course about God. More specifically, it is a course about ways in which Jews have spoken about and to God through four thousand years of Jewish history. Students will also explore the Book of Ruth. This text is read on Shavuot when Confirmation takes place.
The tenth graders also participate in a social action program in Washington D.C. They join students from all over the country to experience our nation's capital through Jewish lenses. Our tenth-grade year culminates in a Confirmation ceremony on Erev Shavuot. Under the guidance of the Rabbis, the tenth-grade students create and lead the service, offering their own insights and teachings to the congregation.
Post Confirmation
Our Post Confirmation program is designed to ensure that our students are ready for the challenges of post high school graduation. When they graduate high school, our students will come into contact and interact with students from all racial, ethnic, and religious backgrounds. When they are talking with their friends and questions come up about what Judaism believes in, this course will assist them with the answers. This two-year curriculum focuses on Mussar and dilemmas facing teens. Highlights of the year include a seminar in American Jewish History in Philadelphia or a Social Justice weekend in Los Angeles.
Madrichim
These teens are transformed into role models, and young students look up to them. Confidence, pride and a renewed passion for learning – that’s what this program creates for our teens. Madrichim prepare lessons, lead small group discussions and tutor children in Hebrew, introduce exciting games to review classroom material, provide a safe and loving environment for every student, make it “cool” to be Jewish, and bring a sense of ruach (spirit) to the classroom and youth events.