Religious Education Program
Click
here for the complete school calendar for 2008-2009.
Congregation B'nai
Emet Religious School provides a program aimed
at developing concepts that will strengthen the fabric of Jewish
life and ensure the future of Judaism. Our goal is to deepen the
Jewish experience and knowledge of students in order to strengthen
their faith in God, love of Torah and identification with the
Jewish people through involvement in the synagogue and participation
in Jewish life.
The School provides
classes for Kindergarten through Judaica High School. With the exception
of Judaica High School, classes are held on Sundays for three
hours, including a half-hour morning service, a Judaica session based on the child's grade in public school and a session
of Hebrew based on the child's competence. Grades 8-10 (Judaica High School) attend
class weekly on Monday evenings.
Curriculum
Kindergarten and
First Grades

In Judaica, Bible
personalities are studied, with emphasis on the Patriarchs and
Matriarchs. Shabbat and holidays, with an emphasis on home celebration
and symbols of the holidays, are learned. Values are studied
through the giving of Tzedakah. Basic Hebrew Blessings, holiday
vocabulary and the first ten letters of the Alef-bet comprise
the curriculum in the Hebrew session.
Second and Third
Grades Judaica teaches
the uniqueness of Judaism, the concept of Mitzvah and some of
the most important Mitzvot are emphasized, such as peace at
home, telling the truth, repairing the world, honoring parents
and Tzedakah. The history and major concepts of each holiday
and how we relate to them are also studied. In Hebrew, the Alef-bet,
vowels and reading of basic prayers are emphasized.

Fourth and Fifth
Grades Judaica explores
some of the Jewish characters in the Bible, the situation with
which they were confronted, what might we do in their place,
and how these stories have relevance to our lives. Holidays
are reviewed, with an emphasis on the social, political and
religious aspects of each. Additional Hebrew prayers are introduced.
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- Sixth and Seventh
Grades
The Torah is reviewed
in depth, with the study of its importance and relevance to
us as Jews today, its basis for our beliefs, its structure and
basic familiarity. Biblical history is begun. More prayers are
studied in preparation for the child's Bar/Bat Mitzvah service.
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- Judaica High
School
- This program involves
a three-year cycle of classes for all students 13-16 years of
age. The courses of study include the Holocaust, Sayings of
the Fathers, Jewish ethics and Judaism in modern society. Upon
completion, students receive their confirmation at a ceremony
held at a Friday Night service.

B'nai Mitzvah One year prior to the actual date of the bar or bat mitzvah, students will start attending B'nai Mitzvah Class for one hour, 12:15-1:15, in addition to the regular Sunday schedule. The class will study the meaning of becoming a Jewish adult as well as learn additional prayers and melodies.

Students are monitored and tutored individually in preparation for their special day. Additional tutoring is available during the week as the big day approaches.
Milestones in Jewish Education
Each class will help conduct one Friday Night Shabbat service
each year. At this service, the class will demonstrate achievement
of the following milestones, based upon their level in school:
Kindergarten and First Grades

Students will participate in a consecration by reciting blessings,
simple prayers and songs in English & Hebrew. They
receive little torahs as well as certificates to
welcome them to religious school.
- Second and Third Grades
Hebrew and Siddur Initiation. Students will participate by
leading some prayers and songs in Hebrew and English. Third
graders receive beaded necklaces with their Hebrew
names.
-
Fourth and Fifth
Grades

Bible
Initiation - Students will conduct much of the service.
Fourth graders make their own prayer shawls and
Fifth graders receive their own prayerbooks.
Sixth and Seventh
Grades Graduation - Sixth
grade students present a Purim pantomime. Seventh
graders
will conduct their graduation service and read prayers they
have written.
Eight through
Tenth Grades
 Confirmation -
Held during Shavuot, all Judaica High School students will
participate
in a Torah service and confirmands will present a special program.
Field Trips Depending on their
ages, students will take supervised trips to local
places of Jewish interest to take advantage of the
many opportunities for Jewish learning available
in the Los Angeles area.
- At
the Skirball Museum
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Questions Regarding School: If you have any questions concerning your child's Jewish
education time, please feel free to leave a message for the Vice President of
Schools at (805) 581-3723 or contact School Administrator Meridith Patera at
mspatera@earthlink.net.
Meridith Shaw
Patera has
been involved in Jewish
education since 1969, following her junior year
at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. A native
of Long Island, NY, she received a BA in Political Science
with a certificate in Middle Eastern Studies and an
MAT in Social Sciences and Hebrew from the State University
of New York at Binghamton. She has taught
preschool through adults in public, Jewish day and
congregational schools in New York, Florida, Texas
and now in California. She has been with CBE Religious
School since 1988 and became School Administrator
in 1992. Meridith is the author of two books, Kings and Things: 20
Plays for Jewish Kids, and
Skits and Shpiels,14 Plays for Grades 4 to 9, and several plays for adults. She
lives in Moorpark with her sons Bennett, Sam and
Max.
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