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NSP Kollel, our kids’ education program, is in full swing for its second year! Kindergarten through 6th grade meet on Saturday mornings from September through June.
Registration is closed for the 2022-2023 school year. If you have previously been in touch with Liora about registering late, you may still reach out: liora@newsynagogueproject.org. Our K-3rd grade classes are full, and we can only admit additional students in 4th-6th grade.
Participation in the program is contingent on membership at NSP. You can learn more about membership and join here or speak with a leader of NSP’s membership team by emailing membership@newsynagogueproject.org.
The Education Program will be geared toward rising kindergarteners (children 5+) through 6th grade, and will not have capacity this year for pre-k to participate in regular classes.
If you have any questions about the program or would like to learn more, please email Liora, the Education Director, at liora@newsynagogueproject.org.
NSP Kollel emphasizes living the rhythms of Jewish life, connecting to the NSP community, and taking action for justice by linking Jewish principles to applied experiences. Classes will often meet outside the classroom in other community locations (in accordance with NSP’s Covid-19 protocols) to show how Jewish practice can be applied to the world at large or inside the home.
Our yearly curriculum covers holidays, Shabbat practice, and basic liturgy and Hebrew. Each year, we will focus in-depth on a particular Torah story and its related themes and contemporary justice topics. The 2022-23 curriculum will focus on renewal and tikkun (repair) through the story of Noah.
We will ground our lessons in six areas of content which will explore this focus in depth and be guided by the following goals and understandings. All age groups will explore these focuses in depth through a coherent curriculum across age groups, adapted to be developmentally and educationally appropriate for each class. This will encourage siblings and families to learn together and to extend conversations in the home, and allow classes to explore the program’s goals and understandings through new lenses each year.
Caregivers and community members are invited to be involved in Kollel as participants, volunteers, or leaders. Some programs will be geared directly at educating the entire family unit with the aim of supporting home-based practice and learning. Community members and NSP teams will be invited to support and enrich thematic learning, with the goal of integrating the education program into the greater NSP community.
We will meet primarily on Saturday mornings between 9:30am and 1:30pm. Classes will be split by age, based on registration numbers. We expect that 4th-6th graders will meet from 9:30am to 11:00am, and K-3rd graders will meet from 11:30am to 12:30pm. We may have a separate class of 2nd-3rd graders meet from 9:30am to 11:00am if registration numbers require an additional classroom.
Sometimes, the entire group will be together for a field trip or extended activity.
In honor of Shmita, the biblical sabbatical cycle, the 2021-22 curriculum focused on renewal, the creation story, and Shabbat practice. Find out more:
Jewish Art/Culture/Song
Humor and joy are integral to our culture and traditions.
Jewish culture is alive: we draw from the past to create contemporary culture.
Hiddur Mitzvah, “beautifying the mitzvah,” is a Jewish value.
Social Justice
Values are integral to Judaism. We express our values through the choices we make, justice work and learning, and mitzvot. We choose ways to take action for justice.
Ritual
Judaism is dynamic: we activate our traditions, and express our Jewish identities in unique ways.
Jewish prayer and ritual helps us to practice gratitude and wonder, identify hopes and purpose, and connect with Divinity.
Text Study
We are active readers: text study allows us to learn and interact with our ancestors, narratives, values, and traditions. We respond, interpret, and ask questions that enable us to make personal and communal meaning, ground ourselves in tradition, and enrich our lives.
The Jewish Year
The Jewish year is full of moments and cycles that connect us to nature, Jewish history, and the larger Jewish community.
It is a mitzvah to observe Shabbat. Shabbat is holy and “set apart.” On Shabbat we focus on rest, renewal, and community.
Jewish History and World Culture
Judaism changes throughout time and space. There are many ways to “be Jewish.”
History informs Jewish life today.
Shabbat is a time for resting and learning, leisure and pleasure. It is also a time to be present in the world and with one another in a sacred way, different from the rest of the week. Shabbat is central to our community life. NSP observes Shabbat as sacred. At the same time, in NSP spaces, we do not observe all of the prohibitions around Shabbat found in classical halacha (Jewish law). We expect and respect that individuals and households will decide for themselves how they will observe Shabbat in their homes.
In practice, this means that our education program will honor Shabbat as a holy time dedicated to joy, community, spiritual growth, prayer, Torah, and reflection. Teachers, NSP staff, volunteers, and service leaders will generally refrain from activities on phones and computers that often pull us away from the present moment and the people in front of us, including work communications and commercial activity. We will not be actively enforcing this practice with parents and other members of the community. If there is anything outside of this policy that we expect to happen during Shabbat, staff will be in touch with parents in advance.
We welcome:
We will avoid:
We will do our best to accommodate the needs of students who have personal or family Shabbat observance practices that differ from this policy.
Tuition is $800 per child, and $600 per additional child in a family, for those who can afford to pay that amount. Those who cannot afford full tuition are asked to pay an amount that is affordable and meaningful to you - $0, $200, $400, or $600. Those who can afford to pay more are encouraged to make an additional contribution to help keep the program accessible to all regardless of means.
We are committed to a set of shared values that are embedded in the everyday practices and structures of our community, including justice, equity and liberation. Access to the community and its programs regardless of financial means is core to our mission and values.
The total cost of this program is estimated at $75,000. Our budget is based on an estimated tuition payment of $800/child. We expect tuition to cover roughly 45% of the total cost of this program, and are raising seed gifts from NSP members and their families to support and grow the program. If you are able to make a gift in addition to tuition, or have family members who might be, please contact Rabbi Yosef at rabbi@newsynagogueproject.org. This is our second year, and we will evaluate the suggested tuition scale at the end of the year.
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