Welcome to the First Grade at Or Chadash Religious School! We have adopted the CHAI curriculum -- a flexible and comprehensive educational system specifically designed to facilitate lifelong Jewish learning within Reform congregations. CHAI concentrates classroom learning on three main areas -- Torah (study), Avodah (worship) and G'milut Chasadim (acts of loving-kindness), focusing on big ideas at the core of Jewish education. Teaching foundational concepts ensures that learning goes beyond specific classroom activities and leads students to a deeper, enduring understanding, establishing a basis for lifelong Jewish learning and living.

The core curriculum theme for First Grade is "Discovering Myself in the Jewish Story." The First Grade students will also be introduced to the letters in the Hebrew alef-bet.

Each week, Tzedakah money is collected in class. The students will understand that Tzedakah means doing acts of justice and righteousness, and at various times during the year they will help decide how and where the class Tzedakah funds will be used.

My goal this year -- my seventh as the First Grade teacher at Or Chadash -- is to ensure that the First Graders learn a lot and have fun doing it, and that, each and every week, they leave class excited about being Jewish. 

SNACK LEADER SHOULD BRING:

12 juice boxes
6 small water bottles
2 loaves PLAIN challah
20+ napkins

CHAI: Learning for Jewish Life