Dear Religious School Parents,

We are delighted to welcome you and your child to another year of Jewish learning.

The underlying goal of our program is to help our students develop an enduring Jewish Identity and a life-long love of Jewish learning. Through religious school classes and activities, family programs, communal Shabbat experiences, trips, mitzvah projects and more we do our best to help each child become a knowledgeable Jew who finds fulfillment in Judaism and in our community.

We teach our children that Jewish living does not begin or end when we open the door to the temple.  Rather, every decision we make, every action we take can be influenced by the wisdom found in our sacred texts. We walk in the world as Jews. 

Judaism affects every aspect of our lives influencing our decisions, actions and beliefs. At Temple Ner Tamid our students come to understand and appreciate the influence Judaism has on their lives as they prepare to take their places as active, thoughtful adult members of our Jewish community.

The link between religious school, home and synagogue is strong. Our children do not exist in a vacuum; Judaism begins at home. Ever cognizant of our partnership with our religious school families, we strive to reinforce, enhance, and supplement the Jewish values learned at home and to provide a myriad of opportunities for family participation in all aspects of our religious school program. 

Jewish learning is a lifelong endeavor. In our community B’nai Mitzvah, Confirmation, and Religious School graduation in 12th grade are milestones along the way to continued Jewish learning as adults. Our educational program is designed to help students discover their own personally meaningful path through Jewish life which we hope will last a lifetime.

We challenge each of our students to discover their own connection to our sacred texts, to appreciate what it means to live as a Jew and to find personal meaning in the beliefs that have, for generations, held us together as a people.

The journey that lies before each of our students is an important one and an exciting one. We look forward to your active support and participation during the coming year.  Please make sure you stop by the office to say hello so that we can get to know each other!

We welcome your family again to another year of Jewish learning.

Biv’rakha,

Iris Schwartz

Director of Education

The Religious School of Ner Tamid


The Religious School of Temple Ner Tamid, directed by Iris Schwartz, offers exciting and challenging education opportunities for children of Temple members. Hebrew and Judaic studies classes provide each child with the necessary tools to create a meaningful Jewish life as an adult. Each year the curriculum is published in the Religious School Parent Handbook which is mailed to all families of school-age children in the congregation. One of the strengths of religious education at Temple Ner Tamid is the Confirmation program. Weekly courses on Wednesday evenings are offered for students in grades 8-12. Students are encouraged to explore Judaism from a more critical yet informal perspective. The tenth grade or Confirmation year features Rabbi Kushner as the primary instructor as well as an extended weekend trip to Amsterdam. An annual end-of-year trip is planned for our 12th grade students.

Additionally, the Madrichim program offers post-B'nai Mitzvah students the opportunity to work in the Religious School as classroom aides.

All questions regarding the Religious School should be directed to Iris Schwartz.

School Calendar  2009 - 2010

September
13, Sunday	First Day of School, Grades K - 6
	Parent Orientation, Grades K - 6
	Religious School Open House
14, Monday	First Day Monday Session Classes
16, Wednesday	First Day of School, Grades 7 - 9
	Parent Orientation, Grades 7 - 9
20, Sunday	Rosh Hashanah - NO CLASSES
23, Wednesday	Parents Meeting, Grades 11/12
27, Sunday	Erev Yom Kippur - NO CLASSES
28, Monday	Yom Kippur - NO CLASSES
30, Wednesday	First Day of School, Grades 10 - 12

October
4, Sunday	Sukkot - NO CLASSES
10, Saturday	Consecration for New Students - Simchat Torah Celebration
11, Sunday	Simchat Torah - NO CLASSES
12, Monday	Columbus Day - NO CLASSES
18, Sunday	Temple Tots Class Begins (New start date)
23, Friday	Potluck Shabbat Dinner, Grades 5/6 Families
25, Sunday	Sip-N-Schmooze, Grades 3/4 Parents
	Why Be Jewish? Family Program

November
1, Sunday	Sip-N-Schmooze, Grades K/1/2 Parents
7, Saturday	Wake Up Shabbat
	High School Overnight Trip - Midnight Run (NYC)
8, Sunday	NO CLASSES
13, Friday	Grade 4 Overnight Trip - Philadelphia Zoo
15, Sunday	Temple Tots Class Meets
	Why Be Jewish? Family Program
20, Friday	High School Overnight Trip - YSOP (NYC)
22, Sunday	Sip-N-Schmooze & B'nai Mitzvah Sharing, Grade 6 Parents
25 - 29	Thanksgiving Break - NO CLASSES

December
4, Friday	Potluck Shabbat Dinner, Grades Tots/K/1/2 Families
6, Sunday	Hanukkah Program
	Grade 7 Trip - Community FoodBank of NJ
13, Sunday	Temple Tots Class Meets
20, Sunday	Why Be Jewish? Family Program
23 - 3, January	Winter Break - NO CLASSES

January
3, Sunday	Winter Break - NO CLASSES
4, Monday	Religious School Classes Resume
8, Friday	Grade 3 Shabbat Dinner & Hebrew Names Program
10, Sunday	Sip-N-Schmooze, Grades 5/6 Parents
16, Saturday	Havdalah Program, Grades 4/5/6 Families
17, Sunday	Faculty Professional Development Day - NO CLASSES
18, Monday	Martin Luther King Jr. Day - NO CLASSES
24, Sunday	Why Be Jewish? Family Program
	Temple Tots Class Meets
30, Saturday	Wake Up Shabbat
31, Sunday	Grade 6 Trip - MItzvot of MetroWest (Whippany)
	Grades K - 5 - NO CLASSES

February
7, Sunday	Grades K/1/2 Trip - Jewish Museum (NYC)
	Grade 3 Trip - Children's Galleries for Jewish Culture (NYC)
10 - 15	Grade 10 Confirmation Trip to Amsterdam
14 - 17	Presidents' Week Break - NO CLASSES
21, Sunday	Temple Tots Class Meets
28, Sunday	Purim celebration during religious school
	Purim Carnival

March
7, Sunday	Grade 7 Trip - Museum of Jewish Heritage (NYC)
	Camp Harlam Presentation
14, Sunday	Passover Program
	Parents Sip-n-Schmooze
19, Friday	Potluck Shabbat Dinner, Grades 3/4 Families
21, Sunday	Temple Tots Class Meets
	Grade 5 Mitzvah Trip - Dorot (NYC)
24, Wednesday	Grade 7 Model Seder
28 - 31	Passover Break - NO CLASSES

April
4, Sunday	Passover - NO CLASSES
5, Monday	Passover - NO CLASSES
10, Saturday	Havdalah Program, Grades K/1/2/3 Families
11, Sunday	Yom HaShoah Program
	Temple Tots Class Meets
18 - 25	Spring Break - NO CLASSES
24, Saturday	Wake Up Shabbat
25, Sunday	NO CLASSES

May
2, Sunday	Temple Tots Class Meets
9, Sunday	Honor Teachers/Madrichim during Family Tefillah
12, Wednesday	Last Day of Class for Grades 7 thru 9 and 11/12
16, Sunday	Mitzvah Day
19, Wednesday	Shavuot - NO CLASSES
21, Friday	Grade 10 Confirmation
23, Sunday	Last Day of Classes for Grades K thru 6

June
11, Friday	High School Graduation (New Date)

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