elcome to Temple of Israel Religious School. Proudly, we remain small enough to provide personalized attention to each student and each family.
At the same time, we belong to the world’s largest network for Jewish education, the Reform movement.
Applying Reform’s newest nationally developed curriculum, the Chai Curriculum (described below and at www.urj.org/chai), we provide state of the art education, in a friendly, hospitable atmosphere. We strive to help each student actualize his or her “particularity” (Martin Buber), his or her unique roles as an individual and a member of our Jewish community.

On this web page, you will find descriptions of --
(Please click on any of them to link to that section):

Our Classes
Our Co-Curricular Activities
Our Goals for Each Student
Our Classes (for all age groups)
Staff Profiles
Our Chai Curriculum

We offer learning for children, and their families, covering grades pre-K to 12, divided into Rishon (early childhood for ages 0 to 5); Aleph (K – 1st); Garin (2nd – 3rd); Maskilim (4th – 5th); Noar (6th – 7th); and STARS/ Talmidim (8th – 12th). We also provide Tefilah (Hebrew prayer learning and understanding) classes for grades 4 to 7.

Our core classes, K to 7, meet Sunday mornings, from 9:30 am to Noon, (click to see our calendar, below). Tefilah classes, for grades 4 to 7, meet on Wednesdays, from 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm. Our innovative STARS high school activities (click to see description, below) usually meet on Sundays. Our early childhood programs (click to see description, below) meet on Sundays and Saturdays.

Core Ages, Grades K to 7:
Using the Chai curriculum, described below, we strive to reach the goals, described above. Our small classes allow for much individual attention from our experienced and talented staff (learn about staff here). Our many co-curricular activities, described above, create a lively and engaging day for our students. Each class participates in community service projects, often chosen by the students.

Tefilah, Grades 4 to 7:
We provide four years of preparation for Bar and Bat Mitzvah, focusing on learning to read and chant most of our main prayers and stressing understanding of what our prayers mean and why they are significant. We emphasize relevance and questioning over rote learning. We use the Mitkadem program, from the national Chai Curriculum, described below.

B’nai Mitzvah Preparation:
Beyond our Tefilah classes, our students meet with Rabbi Harley for about six months to prepare their D’var Torah (“sermon”), and Introductions to their Torah reading and their Haftarah. We also provide tutoring, when needed. Students complete an extensive Mitzvah Project, some form of community service. A full B’nai Mitzvah Manual is provided to each student and family to enhance the significance of the process and to reduce stress.

STARS:
Our innovative Synagogue-Temple Alternative Religious School now offers a wide variety of learning opportunities for high school students, from grade 8 to grade 12. Students earn credit by attending classes, with a large menu of choices. Our teachers include members of our Temple, of the Synagogue, B’nai Israel, faculty of UNCW, and other local experts. They also earn credit for participating in any form of Jewish education, from BBYO (B’nai B’rith Youth Organization, our High School Youth Group, described here), summer camp, Jewish travel and conferences, adult education classes, work as a teaching assistant and individual study and community service projects.
Students who earn sufficient credits will be honored and receive incentive gifts, at culminating events, including Confirmation, usually at the end of 10th grade, and Graduation, at the end of 12th grade.
If you want to learn more about this spectacular new approach to high school learning, please contact our coordinators, Sherry Grooms and Angie Holcombe, or our Rabbi, or Rabbi Waxman from Congregation B’nai Israel.

Early Childhood:
For ages 0 to 5, our early childhood programs already offer our Rishon class, also called Mazel Tots, each month, with the rest of our school, from 9:30 am to Noon, plus and Tot Shabbat, on the first Saturday of each month, from 10:00 am to 11:30 am. Our youngest students also participate in the many school social events (click here for dates) and our Family/ Chavurah Shabbat Services on the third Friday of each month, with Services starting at 6:45 pm, preceded by a pot luck dinner at 6:00 pm. With input from our families, we plan more early childhood activities.

Music, arts & crafts, stories, and food play central roles in our early childhood activities. Elisa Harrington-Verb, who coordinates our programs, also leads music for Shabbat Services as our Temple’s Soloist and helps develop music learning for students of all ages.

Principal/ Rabbi Harley Karz-Wagman: Please see his fuller biography on our web site (click here). Our Rabbi has served as Principal of small Temple religious schools for 13 years. Our five goals, above, reflect his passions and the opposite of his experience as a child.

Further staff profiles will be posted soon.

Our teachers are:
Rishon -- Early childhood –
Elisa Harrington-Verb (Tot Shabbat)
Aleph -- K/1 – Jenise Murray
Garin -- 2/3 – Linda Reece
Maskilim -- 4/5 – Amy Woodcock
Noar -- 6/7 – Adam Katz & Joel Puritz
Talmidim -- 8 – 12, STARS – Angie Holcombe
Tefilah 1 (4th – 5th grade) – Amy Woodcock
Tefilah 2 (5th – 6th grade) – Angie Holcombe
Tefilah 3 (7th – 8th grade) – Rabbi Karz-Wagman
STARS (8th to 12th grade) – coordinated by Angie Holcombe & Sherry Grooms

Designed to facilitate lifelong Jewish learning within Reform congregations, CHAI 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.

Curriculum Core: Torah, Avodah, G'milut Chasadim
CHAI lessons utilize an approach that begins with desired outcomes in mind. The lessons aim to nurture "enduring understandings," values that have lifetime meaning for all Jews. The curriculum core is designed around the fundamental lessons of Torah, avodah, and g'milut chasadim. Each level of the curriculum core consists of 27 one-hour lessons, adapted to fit the schedule of Temple of Israel and the needs and desires of our students and their families.

Mitkadem: Hebrew For Youth
The Mitkadem curriculum is a five-year program beginning with Hebrew letter recognition and decoding skills, and progressing through the study of a series of blessings, prayers and ritual observance. It is a self-paced, individualized, comprehensive program of Hebrew learning for youth that embraces Hebrew as a sacred Jewish language through t'filah (prayer) and Torah. Mitkadem is divided into ramot (levels) based on students' competency level rather than grade level.

Teacher Development
An important distinguishing feature of the CHAI curriculum is the intensive teacher support and training which accompanies it. The Union is committed to helping congregations implement the program. A full range of professional resources and ongoing assistance are available to support the CHAI educational initiative in every congregation.

Family Education
The CHAI Initiative includes a complete Family Education curriculum with three components: 14 ready-to-teach lesson plans, a Jewish Family Education Guide and a Family Shabbat Workbook. Each can be ordered separately.

Early Childhood Parent Education
The CHAI initiative offers nine complete sessions to help parents of children in the early childhood setting create a Jewish home and nurture the Jewish identity of their children. Topics include how to raise caring, compassionate children, how to create a Jewish home, sibling rivalry in Jewish texts -- and homes -- and Jewish education choices beyond pre-school.

Parent Education for School-Age Children
Parent Education sessions provide parents with the tools they need to be Jewish teachers and role models for their children. The series is based on the same components as the Curriculum Core: Torah, Avodah, and G’milut Chasadim.

CHAI represents a Reform Movement collaboration between the Union for Reform Judaism, Hebrew-Union College--Jewish Institute of Religion, the National Association of Temple Educators, and the URJ Press. Ongoing evaluation of CHAI is conducted by the Jewish Education Service of North America.

Our Religious Education Committee, known as the REC, serves as “school board,” which sets policies, sets basic procedures, and hires staff. The current Chair is Sherry Grooms, and, as of October, Glen Tetterton will take the reigns. Our Rabbi serves as “principal.” He coordinates implementation of policies; teaches on Sundays; coordinates Kehilot; supervises staff; and advises the REC. Administrative tasks are shared by our Scott, our School Administrator, and Joyce, our Temple Administrator, the one whom you contact when you call or email our office. Then, the REC members, as volunteers, fulfill many typical roles of a Director and an administrator, such as: plan & implement events; coordinate early childhood programs and music; picnics; curriculum review; advise BBYO; finances; communication with parents; and publicity.
We always have more tasks for volunteers, whether you are a parent, or not. Please contact the REC Chair or our Rabbi, if you can help.