| Sep 03, 2010 / 24 Elul 5770 | Kol Shalom, Rockville, MD deb@kolshalom.com 301-493-8198 |
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Kol Shalom Talmud Torah     Kol Shalom Talmud Torah2010-2011 / 5771 Enrollment Packet “If you truly wish your child to study Torah, study it yourself in their presence.”
-- Rabbi Menachem Mendel The Kol Shalom Talmud Torah (KSTT) provides a rich and inspiring learning environment for children and their families. Our curriculum is designed to impart both knowledge and hands-on experiences that will foster a lifelong commitment and love for Jewish learning, practice and values. KSTT’s unique and dynamic curriculum:
KSTT provides its students with the tools necessary to become knowledgeable and active participants in Shabbat and holiday services, and encourages a level of kavanah (intention), which deepens throughout their education. Each Sunday the 3rd – 6th graders participate in a learning service led by Talmud Torah parental volunteers and/or the Principal. Designed not only to familiarize students with specific prayers and increase their comfort level with the service, it also provides an opportunity to discuss individual prayers in depth with a larger segment of the school population. In 2010-11, the 6th Graders will begin preparations for their Bar/Bat Mitzvah by learning the Torah Service and other prayers. 6th Graders will graduate to the Siddur Sim Shalom (the prayer-book used at all Kol Shalom services). Holidays are opportunities for special preparations, and learning pieces. Our goal is to deepen the student’s understanding of the home and synagogue rituals as well as to encourage family participation in Kol Shalom’s holiday celebrations and services. Yet, KSTT’s curriculum is designed to do more than transmit synagogue skills and Hebrew ability. From creating personalized Torah story scrolls, to intensely debating interpretations of the Chumash, to baking Hamantashen near Purim and Matzah before Pesach, KSTT etches children’s memories with sensory activities and participatory events. Creatively designed classroom, synagogue and family learning experiences create a reservoir of positive Jewish memories for each student. As students mature and enter KSTT’s upper grades, the curriculum will celebrate their increasing mastery with ever greater challenges and opportunities. Building on its core foundation, KSTT’s goal is to provide increasing Hebrew literacy and to assist students in developing into active and respected members of the synagogue community on their way to becoming Bar or Bat Mitzvah. 7th Graders will join parents and other Kol Shalom adults for a monthly Sunday morning weekday minyan led by Rabbi Jonathan Maltzman. 7th Graders will wrap tefilin and don talitot as part of their learning and preparation for entry into the community as adults in the year ahead. KSTT students are continually engaged in Mitzvot and G’milut Chasadim (acts of kindness). In 2009-10, KSTT students and parents dedicated themselves to putting their learning into action by leading prayers at Kol Shalom Shabbat services, and leading Kiddush and HaMotzi at home, and Tikkun Olam (repairing the world) by packing food for the homeless and doing other projects to benefit those in need. The Kids HaKavod program was KSTT’s philosophy of applying what we learn in the classroom to our synagogue, home and community in action. In 2010-2011, KSTT students will explore how their American and Jewish traditions and value systems enrich their lives and help them thoughtfully build their own identities. In addition, 3rd to 7th graders will study and make meaning of the Shabbat Shacharit service from Birchot HaShachar to the Torah Service and will glean the myriad of Jewish values, beliefs as well as understand the flow, structure and themes of Tefilah. KSTT’s goal is to consistently engage the entire family in the education process. Our religious school is a way into Judaism, not just for students, but for whole families. Parents are encouraged to participate in the Learning Service, to visit their children’s classroom(s) to observe and learn each week, to learn and be counted in the monthly Sunday morning weekday minyan, and to take part in adult learning programs. The 2010-2011 academic year will be the ninth year of our school. Our curriculum is being developed to meet the needs of students according to the grade clusters created during that year. All students will benefit from a curriculum, which was written and taught in the last four school years. We are indebted to the visionary and hard work of Daniella Friedman and Gail Lipton in creating and continuing to guide the development of our curriculum, and the contributions of many parents in the formative years of KSTT. In addition, KSTT participated in the Partnership for Jewish Life and Learning’s Commendation Program funded by the Covenant Foundation. Our educational leadership and teachers benefited from working with educational consultants to update and expand our curriculum. Rabbi Jonathan Maltzman is our community’s Mara d’Atra and provides spiritual and halakhic guidance and oversight to KSTT. Executive Director Deb Finkelstein is the administrative and supervisory backbone of the synagogue and has provided invaluable strategic and logistical advice on behalf of the school. We value your participation in the process of improving KSTT. Larry Renbaum is the chair of the Education Committee which provides oversight and input on all aspects of the program, and helps develop the volunteer corps which supports the school. We are hopeful that next year we will be celebrating the Chanukat HaBayit of Kol Shalom’s new home on Darnestown Road. So many people in the Kol Shalom community have worked hard to make this dream possible and we thank them in advance for the possibilities for KSTT to grow in the future. KSTT Philosophy Teaching Values
Encouraging Participation
Creating Memories
Kol Shalom: Our CongregationKol Shalom is an egalitarian community of Jews committed to the continuity of the Jewish people and Jewish traditional observance as a guide to full participation in American society and the modern world. We strive for spiritual growth through prayer, Torah study, and observance of mitzvot. We take personal responsibility for Tikkun Olam (repair and improvement of our world) through our individual paths of halakha (traditional ethical and ritual guide for thought and action), family life, and social action to help others. We value our community, and look for ways to reach out to other members of the community to share joy and sorrow, mark lifecycle events, and help in times of need. We embrace our obligation to sustain our Congregation through our commitment of time and resources according to our means and talents. We respect the dignity of all congregants and do neither value rich above poor, nor those with greater Jewish knowledge above those with lesser knowledge. We strive to be inclusive, reaching out to Jews from diverse backgrounds and circumstances in our congregation. We value action over word. We value derekh eretz (respect for others) in word and deed. Israel We recognize the centrality of the state of Israel as the homeland for the Jewish people. We support Israel to ensure its continued survival, prosperity and moral character. We advocate for the affirmation of all streams of recognized Jewish thought and observance within Israeli society and seek to support and assist the Masorti movement. Torah We affirm the Torah as the source of law and teaching for the Jewish people and commit to study of Torah as a guide for thought and action. We value the mitzvot (commandments) and strive to act in accordance with mitzvot in our daily lives. We commit to the continuing study and interpretation of Torah, as has been studied throughout Jewish history, as essential for adapting Jewish observance to historical and social circumstance. We embrace Jews regardless of their level of observance of mitzvot or knowledge of Torah. Avodah We affirm the place of prayer and spiritual connection with God in our lives as individuals and as a Congregation. We strive to make avodah (worship) meaningful through traditional texts, song and melody, private thought, and connection with the world’s beauty. G’Milut Hasadim We strive to demonstrate our commitment to Torah and prayer through actions to help the poor, the sick, and the unfortunate. We perform g’milut hasadim (acts of kindness) through social and political action, direct service to those in need, and financial support. ENROLL NOW KOL SHALOM TALMUD TORAH 2010-2011 SCHOOL YEAR FOR REGISTRATION MATERIALS or for more information
contact Alan Caro |
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 Affiliated with The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism |
