Tuesday Night Program is our Judaica education program for 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th graders.  Each grade shares a curriculum as well as a community.  Between 6pm and 8:15pm on Tuesday evenings, Beth Am’s campus belongs to our teens and tweens.

Contents of the TNP page:

TNP LosAngeles Trip

6^th Grade Core Curriculum – Middot & Mitzvot

7^th Grade Core Curriculum – Torah: Genesis & Exodus

8^th Grade Core Curriculum – Torah: Leviticus, Numbers, & Deuteronomy

The Torah Text

Chugim – Electives

Examples

Aruchat Erev – Dinner

Kehillah – Community

Traffic & Safety

Coverage & Supervision

Tzedakah

For more information on the Reform Jewish View of Torah, Go to… http://ccarnet.org/documentsandpositions/platforms/

Calling all Eighth Grade Students and Parents,

Are you ready to explore Los Angeles with your Beth Am Friends?!   

The Eighth grade class will be visiting Los Angeles on the weekend of April 29 - May 1, 2011.  This trip is an exciting addition to our program which will strengthen friendships within Beth Am and enhance our learning.  It promises to be a terrific weekend!

Our weekend together will begin at Beth Am on Friday morning, April 29 at 6:15 a.m.  Previous year's activities included:

• Shabbat dinner and services at Stephen S. Wise Temple
• Museum of Tolerance at the Simon Wiesenthal Center
• Lunch at a Canter's Deli at the heart of Fairfax Avenue (a street filled with Jewish stores & culture!)
• Universal Studios Theme Park & Studio
• Santa Monica Pier & Promenade

 We will arrive back at Beth Am at approximately 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 1.  

The students will be accompanied by several staff and by several volunteer parent chaperones.  We hope your child will join us too!  This trip is open to any 8th grader who has attended at least 80% of TNP this year. Cost will include all chartered bus ground transportation, lodging, meals, snacks, entrance fees, programming and supervision.  This trip is also generously subsidized by our clergy.  Scholarships are available; please contact mmason@betham.org for information.

We do hope that each student will participate.  It is an enriching part of our curriculum and provides a unique opportunity for students to get to know their classmates, make new Jewish friends, and build a stronger, more cohesive community.

For further questions or information please contact mmason@betham.org.

Watch here for a registration form.

6th Grade Core Curriculum – Middot and Mitzvot

Middot (Jewish Values)

Mitzvot - (Divine Obligations)

Goals:

Through this tochnit (program), we intend to…

• Introduce and distinguish between the concepts of Mitzvot (commandments) and Middot (Jewish values/virtues)
• Demonstrate ways in which we can perform these mitzvot and adhere to the middot in our daily lives
• Encourage students to be responsible for themselves and for others
• Demonstrate how to lead a moral and divinely-inspired life
• Discuss themes of contemporary life through text
• Question our pre-existing definitions of God

Objectives:

By the end of this tochnit, each participant will be able to…

• Explain the mitzvot and middot that they are already performing
• Integrate the performance of mitzvot and middot into their daily lives
• Explain how Jewish texts and values inform the way in which we deal with other people
• Apply middot and mitzvot to his/her decision making

Basic Concepts:

1. All Jews are responsible for each other.
2. Jewish texts guide our behavior now.
3. We are obligated to take good care of ourselves.
4. God wants us to behave righteously.
5. Jews are obligated to repair what is broken in the world.
6. As Reform Jews we understand Tikkun Olam to encompass a wide range of mitzvot including both ethical and ritual obligations.
7. Our tradition not only permits us to question our beliefs, it demands it.
8. At Beth Am, we value a decision-making process about living our Judaism that is the result of serious reflection on the implications of choices—for self, family, community, and world.

Course Outline:

Unit 1: Me & My Community – Ani Ve’Kehillati

Unit 2: Me, Myself & I – Ani Ve’Atzmi

Unit 3: Me & God – Ani Ve’Hashem

Unit 4: Me & the World – Ani Ve’Olami

7^th Grade Core Curriculum - Torah: Genesis & Exodus

The 7^th grade curriculum focuses on the study of Genesis and Exodus as a way to learn lessons for our daily lives.  We will explore the stories, characters, decisions, and commandments of Torah.  We will facilitate the students’ connection between the text and their personal experiences. 

Goals:

Through this tochnit (program), we intend to…

• Remind our students that it is our privilege to study something challenging, difficult, sophisticated, adult, never-ending, and multifaceted
• Not overwhelm our students
• Recognize the fact that we value that our answers/questions/theories change through the years
• Recognize that questioning and examining will always be part of our lives
• Torah provides case studies, questions, rules as a springboard for theology and philosophy
• Inspire students to process the big questions and themes of Torah
• Discuss themes of contemporary life through the text
• Question our pre-existing definitions of God
• Question our understandings of our Jewish forefathers
• Introduce how commentary is used to unpack the meaning in the text

Objectives:

By the end of this tochnit, each participant will be able to…

• Recite the Hebrew and English names of the five books of Torah
• Explain one new conception of Torah
• Analyze a piece of text from multiple perspectives
• Use a line of text to “prove” a personal theory
• Explain the Reform Movement’s view of Torah (provide Reform platform excerpt)
• Explain why the stories are only part of the reason why we study Torah
• Create their own text-based commentary

8^th Grade Core Curriculum – Torah: Leviticus, Numbers, & Deuteronomy

In 8th Grade, we continue to provide our students with tools and experiences in order to broaden and deepen their Jewish Literacy.  We also provide a curriculum that allows groups of students to discuss biblical text and connect their lives to the timeless issues the texts present.  Students will study Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. 

Goals:

Through this Tochnit (program), we intend to…

• Introduce Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy
• Help students feel comfortable studying Jewish texts
• Reinforce their knowledge of Genesis and Exodus
• Provide opportunities for students to God-wrestle
• Recognize the fact that we value that our answers/questions/theories change through the years
• Recognize that questioning and examining will always be part of our lives
• Discuss themes of contemporary life through the text
• Question our pre-existing definitions of God
• Introduce how commentary is used to unpack the meaning in the text

Objectives:

By the end of this school year, all students should be able to…

• Recite the Hebrew and English names of the five books of Torah
• Describe the Books of Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy briefly
• Explain at least two Torah stories that explore issues that are similar to their own issues/struggles/questions/concerns
• Describe at least five “characters” or “personalities” in Torah
• Describe at least two Torah stories that influence the way they “characterize” God.
• Find a citation - book, chapter, and verse - in the Tanach
• Explain at least two reasons WHY we study Torah.
• Create their own text-based commentary

The Torah Text – the New JPS Bible – Every student receives a Bible in their 7th grade year.  Beth Am stores the Bibles for the students over the summer between 7^th grade and 8^th grade.  In 8^th grade students receive their same Bible to use for the year.  At the end of the 8^th grade year, students take home their Bibles.

Chugim (Electives):

7^th & 8^th Grade students participate in 4 quads of chugim.  6^th graders select chugim in the second semester.  Chugim (electives) are 45 minutes each week and there are 4 sessions in each quad. 

We include chugim in our curriculum because:

1. We believe that “traditional” classes are not the only way to teach Judaism.
2. Students like choices.
3. Students learn better when they study want to learn.
4. Every elective has a mix of fun and Jewish meaning.
5. Our teachers are role models in many senses – they have Jewish passions – film, art, food, etc.  They want to talk about what matters to our kids.
6. Judaism enriches every aspect of our lives – the food we eat, the films we watch, the newspapers we read, etc.

Tuesday Night Program Shabbat Dinners - Fridays, 7:30 p.m.

6thGrade - Friday, November 19, 2010 and Friday, January 7, 2011

7th Grade - Friday, November 5, 2010 and Friday, February 11, 2011

8th Grade - Friday, October 1, 2010 and Friday, January 21, 2011

Regarding Tuesday Night Program Dinner

Beth Am provides vegetarian pizza, salad, and drinks for Tuesday Night Program students every program evening.  If your student has special dietary needs of any kind, please contact us at youthed@betham.org. 

 

Dinner Schedule (subject to change) - will be listed in September, 2010.

September 28, 2010
October 5, 2010*
October 12, 2010
October 19, 2010
October 26, 2010
November 2, 2010*
November 9, 2010
November 16, 2010
November 30, 2010
December 7, 2010*
December 14, 2010
January 11, 2011*
January 25, 2011
February 1, 2011*
February 8, 2011
February 15, 2011
March 1, 2011*
March 8, 2011
March 15, 2011
March 22, 2011
March 29, 2001
April 5, 2011*
May 3, 2011*
May 10, 2011

*Salsa Bar in BAJY Room from 5 - 6 p.m.

Dinner has a number of purposes:

1. We like to feed the students so they have the strength to study until 8:15pm.
2. The students learn the blessings for before and after they eat
3. The students learn the routine that is used in communal meals at TNP and at most Jewish summer camps and youth group retreats.
4. Students have informal time to interact with other students, teachers, and madrichim   12^th graders who work as teaching assistants).

Every year, for the first eight weeks of Tuesday Night Program, core classes sit together. They sit together for the following reasons:

1. It takes a while to get used to the routine of the blessings and the clean up.
2. It takes a while to get to know your teacher.
3. Many kids who don’t have any friends make friends in those eight weeks of regular, close, continued contact.
4. Teachers can make sure that no kid is sitting alone.

For the remaining 17 nights of TNP, the kids can sit wherever they wish with whomever they wish within their grade during dinner.

Creating Class Community:

Regarding Class Assignments

The following factors play a role in setting up core classes

1. Requests by students for particular teachers or particular “kinds” of teachers
2. Requests by students for particular friends
3. Balancing the classes’ gender dynamics
4. Keeping the size of the classes reasonable for learning as well as socializing

Regarding Switching Classes

1. When students ask me to switch classes, I usually ask them to try out the class they are originally assigned for three weeks.
2. When parents ask me to switch their students, I try to honor that request within that session day.
3. The best way to switch classes is to email me at least 24 hours before the program day and to arrive 15 minutes early that program session.

Madrichim are part of our staff.  We hire 11th and 12th Graders to watch over our students during all transition times, such as: break, starting classes, ending classes, choosing electives, etc.  Madrichim also support teaching staff during chugim (elective classes).

If your student experiences any teasing or bullying at Congregation Beth Am, please let the Education Team know as soon as possible.  If the experience occurs during a program, please let the program director know as soon as possible.  You can reach the Director of Tuesday Night Program,, by email at Mike Mason or by calling 650.493.4665.

Tzedakah
Righteous Giving

Tzedakah is money donated for righteous organizations.  Students bring donations to each class session.  Donations can be any size.  Some parents expect students to bring a percentage of their allowance for Tzedakah.  Often students donate a percentage of the gifts they receive when they become bar or bat mitzvah.

Each semester each class counts the Tzedakah they’ve collected.  Together, they decide where to allocate their Tzedakah collection.

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Congregation Beth Am
26790 Arastradero Rd
Los Altos Hills, CA 94022
Phone: 650-493-4661
Email: Info@betham.org

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