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CONGREGATION SHA’ARAI SHOMAYIM
RELIGIOUS SCHOOL
 The Congregation Sha’arai Shomayim Religious School under the leadership of Director Glen M. Mutchnick, currently enrolls approximately 100 students and has a faculty/staff of 22. We are very proud of our accomplishments and especially proud of our faculty and staff who define our Religious School, and are responsible for our success. Our faculty and staff are hard working and professional. They are very dedicated to Jewish education. Not only do we have on staff, PK-12th grade teachers, but we also have a Jewish Cooking teacher, Adult Religious School teacher, A Resource/Special Needs teacher, Music Director and staff, and an Advanced Studies (post confirmation) teacher. Our staff includes Phylis and Susan in the office, who have been very supportive, have helped us take care of so many details, and have contributed greatly to our success and, of course, Rabbi Kunstadt, who has been an invaluable asset to our staff from music to educational assemblies, he has been fantastic. We are especially thankful for our parent volunteers. We have organized five parent committees, with over thirteen volunteers serving in each committee. They include the breakfast committee, substitute list, security committee, special programming committee, and teacher workday committee.
Every year we have two teacher in-service and training programs one at the beginning of the year, and the second, mid-year on topics such as “How to be the Best religious School teacher you can be…for the Children”, and “How to get the most from the CHAI Curriculum”. Because of a generous benefactor, we are able to bring in nationally recognized workshop facilitators and educators, and “teachers-of-teachers”. We have also have monthly faculty meetings. We have had equipment (copier, computer system, trees for Tu B’Shevat, Music CD’s, etc..), as well as financial donations from various sources to our religious School. We have a wonderful new music program with guitars, drums, and lots of singing and “joyful noise”….come by one Sunday and walk down the hall, and you too, as many others have, will smile as you hear our Religious School come alive with music!!
We are committed to our core curriculum, the “Chai Curriculum” produced by URJ. This curriculum is modeled after “Understanding By Design” which was the basis for Director Mutchnick’s most recent post-graduate research. Our creative teachers, however, have supplemented this curriculum with all kinds of exciting projects and lessons… The new “Advanced Studies Program” that the Director teaches, meets once a month, has 15 young people, grades 11th and 12th (post-Confirmation) participating. We have class discussions, debates, and lectures….We bring in guest speakers and have an informal class setting at Mutchnick’s home…Topics for class include: “Selecting a College from a Jewish Perspective”, “The Middle East today”, “Israel and the United States”, “World, National and Local Politics…from a Jewish Perspective”, “The Southern Jewish Experience”, “Anti – Semitism…does it still exist?”, “ Jewish- African American relations”, “Christian-Jewish Dialog”, “The Holocaust”, “Religion and Science”, “Dating, Mixed Marriages, Conversion and the Jewish Home”…and many more…
We are very excited about the success of our annual “Religious School Night” held in November. We have service participation by all of our Religious School students, special poems, readings and art presented by our students, our new Progressive Music Program, and an Open House ~ to meet & greet our wonderful teachers and aides, and a wonderful dinner after services! During the year, we also have “Family Education Programs”, A Shabbat Religious School held on Saturday to celebrate Tu B’Shevat, A Friday Night Simchat Torah and Consecration service and ceremony, A special Purim Megillah reading, costume parade and contest and the annual Purim Carnival, our annual Passover Model Seder, the end-of-the-year festivities celebration of Israel Independence Day and our Religious School Teacher Recognition and Appreciation Service in May.
In addition to our “regular” Sundays of Jewish Education we have special “Theme” Sundays throughout the year where teachers have special lessons planned, there are art projects, guests and assemblies on topics such as Shabbat, High Holy Days, Sukkot, Thanksgiving, Chanukah, Martin Luther King, Jr., Purim, Passover, and Yom Ha Shoah. We have a Tzedakah Fair, a school newspaper, and new programs planned in coordination with the Temple Archivist. We plan to expand our programs including Music, Curriculum, Resources and expand our classes.
It has been so wonderful working with our Faculty, Staff, our President, Chair of the Religious School Committee, Rabbi Kunstadt, Helen Small; Hebrew School Director, Phylis Anglin, and Susan Herring. All of these people help every day in making our Religious School the best it can be!!
Haven Volunteer Coordinator, Kathie Ono (left) and Haven Volunteer Julie Ford (right) accept a $255 check from Rebecca Denson, who
represented the Springhill Avenue Temple Religious School. Earlier this year, the students held a Tzedakah Fair. This is equivalent to “charity”, but its
meaning in Jewish practice is one not only of benevolence, but of righteousness, justice and fairness. The Haven tied with the Anti-Defamation League to
earn the students' generated donations because, as the Haven members were told, it was the right thing to do.
Members of the Springhill Avenue Temple Religious School gathered recently to present a $255 donation to The Haven, a no-kill animal shelter in Fairhope.
Seated on the floor in front of the members are (from left) The Haven’s volunteer coordinator, Kathie Ono, Haven volunteer Julie Ford, and Glen Mutchnick,
the Temple’s Religious School Director.
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Hebrew School
About the Director
e-mail the Director:
gmutchnick@aol.com
e-mail the Rabbi:
rabbi@springhillavenuetemple.com
Religious School Calendar of events and classes
Pictures
Curriculum of our Religious School
The CHAI Curriculum is designed to facilitate lifelong Jewish learning within Reform
congregations. It is designed for Religious School students grades 2-9, Religious School teachers, Education Committees,
congregational Boards of Directors, parents of children ages 0-14, and families with children ages 7-14. It focuses
classroom learning on Torah, Avodah and G'milut Chasadim and expands beyond
these topics in other educational programs. CHAI lessons are based on the
"Understanding By Design" curriculum development model, which is
widely used in the field of general education.
Links:
http://urj.org/educate/index.cfm
www.cage.org
http://nate.rj.org
Advanced Studies Program
Adult Religious School Classes
This year we have started a very successful and popular program of religious studies for adults as a part of our regular Religious School. Taught and
facilitated (and founded) by Dr. John Webster, but also led by various members of the class as well as by Cantor Mark Opatow, this class of very dedicated
adults meet weekly during regular Religious school hours to discuss, debate, analyze, and learn.
The primary focus of the class is Torah. The class is open to all congregants and hopefully will be expanded in the future to include Talmud, and current
topics of the day.
The texts currently being used:
Torah Commentary for Our Times: Three-volume Boxed Edition
Harvey J. Fields, Illustrated by Giora Carmi
Torah: A Modern Commentary: (English Opening)
Edited by W. Gunther Plaut
Parent/ Congregant volunteer opportunities and committees
We are especially proud and thankful for our parent/congregant volunteers. As we had
last year, we have five parent/congregant committees this year.
They include:
breakfast committee
substitute list
security committee
special programming committee
teacher workday committee
Please consider being a congregant volunteer, even if you do not have children in the religious school. Please the
temple office if you are interested in helping this year.
Religious School News
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