About the Etgar Program
As your child enters the next step in their Jewish education, we are excited to invite your child to become part of Etgar, the collaborative elementary educational experience for the children of Beth Sholom and Adath Jeshurun Congregations. Building on the love of Jewish life that your child has experienced at the Brodie Early Learning Center, Etgar will enrich your child’s relationship to Jewish learning, Jewish life, Jewish values and Jewish community. Our educational goals and curriculum will provide a solid foundation for your child’s lifelong Jewish learning.
Our teachers are experienced in providing the best education possible; most of our faculty are seasoned educators who have been sharing their love of Judaism for many years. Our teachers in our younger grades have all had experience teaching in preschool settings and have a unique understanding of the needs and learning abilities of younger children.
Our program goals:
- Know the basics of Hebrew reading, prayer, history, culture and ritual so that our students see themselves as an integral part of continuing the Jewish story.
- Learn sacred texts and stories so they can integrate Jewish values into their lives and today’s world.
- Understand Jewish history as a way to understand the past and move forward in a meaningful way.
- Reaffirm the importance of a Jewish homeland and part of the lives of all Jews.
- Learn about the importance and practice customs of the Jewish holiday cycle.
Our pedagogy:
- We want our children to have Jewish life in Jewish time. We integrate Shabbat and holiday experiences into the school curriculum, which means holding Shabbat school once a month so that families will experience Jewish life in Jewish time.
- We respect learning differences and tailor learning to each student’s visual, auditory, reading/writing, kinesthetic needs. Because our children are technologically savvy, we incorporate technology as an additional modality of learning.
- Use both online texts and hard copy textbooks to reinforce class experiences and help parents understand their child(ren)’s learning and progress.
- Education model: Teachers use a multi-faceted text-based approach, combining frontal and experiential learning.
- Most texts offer online and app access.
Emphasis on Hebrew:
- Decode and read Hebrew with confidence and competence. Learn basic vocabulary/concepts based on Hebrew as a Heritage Language.
- Familiarity with the text of the siddur and an understanding of the prayers
- Incorporate Hebrew into all parts of learning, including snack time, where students learn Hebrew months, days and holidays, Milat HaShavuah (word of the week), Birkat HaMazon and Hatikvah
- Offer concierge Hebrew taught by Israeli teachers with 1:1 weekly sessions to 5th through 7th grades
- Hebrew across curricula linking biblical vocabulary with prayers, keywords and spoken Israeli Hebrew.
For more information, or to register click here.
