JS: Holidays at the Day School

TO LEARN, TO VALUE, TO DO!

ללמוד, להעריך, לעשות

The fall - Tishrei - holidays are significant in Jewish life.
Please click here to learn more about the upcoming holidays.

The Day School provides a framework for students to learn about, experience, and celebrate the holidays. The holidays give a unique rhythm to our year, and as students move through the Early Childhood program, Lower School and Middle School, they encounter them in ways that make sense Jewishly, developmentally, and curricularly.

In nursery and junior kindergarten, the children begin to listen to stories, sing songs and do projects that introduce them to the holidays.
As they move into senior kindergarten, students approach the holidays through their senses. For example, what do we taste, smell, hear and touch on Rosh HaShana? We also ask another question, creating an awareness of life in Israel: How do children in Israel celebrate this holiday?
In first grade the emphasis is more on answering these questions: What does the holiday celebrate? What is the story of the holiday? Students also add a new layer of Hebrew vocabulary relating to the holiday in this and subsequent years.
Second grade learning focuses on how the holiday is celebrated at home and in the synagogue.
Third graders discover a mitzvah at the heart of the holiday. This third grade theme relates directly to the Jewish Studies mitzvah curriculum.
Fourth grade explores the text of the special Kiddush for the holiday. Students also explore its roots in the Torah, as they have just begun their study of Torah and will learn which are biblical holidays and which come later.
The fifth grade examines a particular prayer that is said on the holiday, as they are developing proficiency in tefila this year.
The sixth grade learns those segments of the Mishna, code of Jewish law, which describe how ritual practices developed historically.
Seventh graders encounter a text from Tanakh that is read on the holiday, either from the Torah or from the Prophets, as they are immersed in learning prophetic texts.
And, finally, the eighth graders discover the historical context of the holiday and its connection to Israel, as they study Jewish history and prepare for their trip to Israel.

Along the way, students learn the blessings, perform the customs, sing the songs, prepare and taste the foods, and enter the spirit of the holiday with the school community.

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of Jewish Life and Learning

TO LEARN, TO VALUE, TO DO!

ללמוד, להעריך, לעשות

The fall - Tishrei - holidays are significant in Jewish life.
Please click here to learn more about the upcoming holidays.

In nursery and junior kindergarten, the children begin to listen to stories, sing songs and do projects that introduce them to the holidays.

As they move into senior kindergarten, students approach the holidays through their senses. For example, what do we taste, smell, hear and touch on Rosh HaShana? We also ask another question, creating an awareness of life in Israel: How do children in Israel celebrate this holiday?

In first grade the emphasis is more on answering these questions: What does the holiday celebrate? What is the story of the holiday? Students also add a new layer of Hebrew vocabulary relating to the holiday in this and subsequent years.

Second grade learning focuses on how the holiday is celebrated at home and in the synagogue.

Third graders discover a mitzvah at the heart of the holiday. This third grade theme relates directly to the Jewish Studies mitzvah curriculum.

Fourth grade explores the text of the special Kiddush for the holiday. Students also explore its roots in the Torah, as they have just begun their study of Torah and will learn which are biblical holidays and which come later.

The fifth grade examines a particular prayer that is said on the holiday, as they are developing proficiency in tefila this year.

The sixth grade learns those segments of the Mishna, code of Jewish law, which describe how ritual practices developed historically.

Seventh graders encounter a text from Tanakh that is read on the holiday, either from the Torah or from the Prophets, as they are immersed in learning prophetic texts.

And, finally, the eighth graders discover the historical context of the holiday and its connection to Israel, as they study Jewish history and prepare for their trip to Israel.