Kulanu Hebrew (3-6)
Our Hebrew Programs
We look forward to working with your child in our Hebrew programs. Please reach out to rabbiwalden@shirhadash.org with any questions about our program.
Useful Hebrew School Quick Links:
- NEW! 2023-2024 Kulanu Calendar (PDF) or view our online calendar
- Register for Kulanu (you must log in to your Shir Hadash account to register)
- Tuition and Fees
Shir Hadash Hebrew Options 2023-2024:
- Sunday Morning Hebrew Class: 8:30am-9:45am - 75 minutes per class, one class per grade level is anticipated. Learn more about the new class structure for the curriculum this year.
- Hebrew Pods Pilot (four-student pods) - 60 minutes per session, Shir Hadash will facilitate the pod student matching, teacher pairing, location selection, and scheduling, to best ensure this is a success for pod families!
- Hebrew Private Tutoring - 60 minutes per session, If you have a preferred private tutor your student is familiar with, please send an email to rabbiwalden@shirhadash.org after you register to let us know.
Goals for our Students
- Enable students to feel positive about Hebrew and confident in learning/knowing their letter sounds and phonetic reading from the prayerbook.
- Grow students’ cultural Hebrew vocabulary and comfort with Hebrew phrases, folklore, stories, holiday vocabulary, and simple conversational phrases in Hebrew.
- Grow student confidence in knowing the melodies and words of our prayers and songs.
- Prepare students to be ready for their B’nai Mitzvah with confidence.
Our Curriculum
For the 2023-2024 year we are trying a refreshed model for the Hebrew program, introducing Hebrew through prayer and Jewish culture - working to develop a sense of Hebrew that is part of synagogue life AND everyday experience for our learners, which will go as follows:
3rd Grade Hebrew:
- 1/2 Alef-Bet Hebrew letter-sound learning
- 10 Minute Break - friendship/teambuilding game
- 1/2 Hebrew Play and Games
4th Grade Hebrew:
- 1/3 Play and Games Practicing Decoding
- 1/3 Hebrew Culture and Stories Exploration and Cultural Vocabulary
- 1/3 Prayer Singing and Reading Practice
5th Grade Hebrew:
- 1/3 Hebrew Play and Games Practicing Decoding
- 1/3 Hebrew Culture and Stories Exploration and Cultural Vocabulary
- 1/3 Prayer Singing and Reading Practice
6th Grade Hebrew:
- Focused learning which supports B'nai Mitzvah readiness.
We encourage families to reach out to Rabbi Walden and to dialog with their student’s teacher to ensure that you feel confident in helping your child each week with homework and review.
Pilot Program - Hebrew Pods
A new pilot program “Hebrew Pods” forms 4-student pod groups to learn Hebrew in ways tailored to the unique student needs of each micro-group. We want to gauge interest in this model - a limited number of spaces will be available in the pilot year. We encourage families to reach out to Rabbi Walden with any questions.
Tuition
See tuition and fee details for the costs related to our Hebrew youth education offerings.
PRIVATE HEBREW Tutoring (Alternative to KULANU Hebrew)
Our Private Hebrew Tutoring program is for those students who need to learn at their own pace or whose schedule prevents them from attending on Sundays or Tuesdays. Tutors meet with students weekly for 45 minutes at Congregation Shir Hadash or via Zoom for a total of 26 sessions (equivalent to the total number of sessions of the school year), at a time that is most convenient for the student.
Attendance
It is the policy of the Kulanu Hebrew School that a child who misses any session needs to contact the teacher or class peers to make up missed work. If there are three absences in a row, the family may be required to engage a tutor to assist with the missed material.
Special Needs
Kulanu is sensitive to the educational journey of our students and understands that each child is unique and should be allowed to learn in a manner that is appropriate for their learning needs. In Pirke Avot (22:6) we are told, ”Teach each child according to his or her own abilities.” We work hard to help all of our students to realize their fullest potential and skill level. Preparation for a student’s B'nai Mitzvah is individualized and is adapted based on the B'nai Mitzvah's learning needs. Please reach out to Rabbi Walden so that he can work with you and your child(ren) to ensure a meaningful experience in our program.