Our outstanding religious school provides a comprehensive Jewish education for students from kindergarten through high school. Our goal is to help our children become integral members of the Jewish community and to develop an awareness of themselves and an understanding of their Jewish heritage. Family involvement is an important component of our children’s religious foundation.  We are also welcoming to interfaith families.

The schedule for the religious school is as follows during Covid:

Wednesdays:

• 4:30 P.M. to 6:30 P.M. in-person or virtual for students in classes 2/3, 4/5 and 6/7.  Grades K/1 & 8 do not meet on Wednesdays.

Sundays:

• 10:00  to A.M.11:35 A.M.: for students in grades K thru 12
• Grades K-8 can either meet in-person or virtual
  Grades 9-12 meet in-person only.
• 9:00 A.M. to 9:45 A.M., and 11:45-12:00 noon: 1-on-1 Hebrew reading practice with our madrichim (8th-12th graders)

The schedule for the religious school is as follows during non-Covid times:

Wednesdays:

• 4:30 P.M. to 6:30 P.M. for students in grades 2 thru 7

Sundays:

• 9:30 A.M. to 12:00 noon: for students in grades K thru 8
• 9:30 A.M. to 12:00 noon: Hebrew High: 9th-12th grades meet bi-weekly (and are madrichim helping in the classroom during the other weeks)
• 8:30 A.M.  to 9:15 A.M.: individualized instruction for students recommended by teachers

Our cadres of madrichim (paid teacher assistants) are an invaluable help to our school. Madrichim are eligible to assist in the classroom if they attend Hebrew High.  Hebrew High is where students are able to apply classic Jewish texts to their lives as modern teenagers.

Let's have a conversation!  Contact Director of Education David Schwartz at principal@wsthz.org or 708-366-9000.

Our Curriculum

Curriculum Content

We teach the following content areas in age-appropriate ways:

Prayers - Students learn how to sing, translate, and connect to the meaning of prayers.  These prayers are ones which they will then lead for their B’nai Mitzvah ceremonies.

Holidays - In a ground-breaking curriculum being implemented around the world, students learn facts about each holiday in the earliest grades, and then have a different grade-appropriate theme each year for each holiday.  This helps students see that the holidays add meaning to their lives regardless of age.  

Tanach - By the time students have graduated from the Koven Religious School, they have studied the Tanach from beginning to end, plus learned about the Second Temple period (after the Bible closed) and studied rabbinic texts.

Shabbat Dinner - Students in Grades 1-4 learn the blessings for Friday night (candles, grape juice, challah), learn the major parts of Birkat Hamazon, and learn how to sing 2 traditional Z’mirot or songs:Tzur Mishelo and D’ror Yikra.  The learning is spaced out over 4 years so they are able to master the parts they are learning each year.

Lifecycle - Students in Grades 5-8 learn about the Jewish lifecycle events of B’nai Mitzvah, Wedding, Birth, and Death.

Hebrew - Starting in Kindergarten, students become familiar with the Hebrew alphabet.  By the end of 2nd grade, students are reading Hebrew.  They then go on to learn to write, speak, and translate written Hebrew as well.  The emphasis in this area is on Modern Hebrew.  

Israel - Israel is a special place for the Jewish people, and students develop a connection to Israel at the Koven Religious School.  By the time students explore the complexities of modern Israel in 8th grade, they have developed a love of Israel that allows them to want what is best for the country.

Social Action - It is important that our students not only learn but experience the Jewish imperative to make the world a better place.  That is why each grade has a social action theme, both grounded in Jewish text and experienced with a project.  The 4 themes repeat, so that students can re-experience them from an older perspective.

Other - There are just some things that won’t fit into the aforementioned categories, and that is why each grade has an “Other” topic.  These topics include things like Jewish peoplehood, G-d, and Jewish food, to name just a few.

Curriculum Content By Grade

Grade K/1 
 

• Prayer - Shema;
• Holidays - Basic facts;
• Tanach - The weekly Torah portion;
• Hebrew - Naming letters;
• Israel - Symbols;
• Social Action - Honoring the elderly;
• Other - Intro to the Synagogue

Grade 1 / 2
 

• Prayer - V’ahavta;
• Holidays - Review facts, grade-specific themes for each holiday;
• Tanach - Genesis: Creation through Abraham;
• Shabbat Dinner - Blessings for Candles, Grape Juice, and Challah, Shir Hama’alot, the first paragraph of Birkat Hamazon, and the first paragraphs of 2 Z’mirot (Tzur Mishelo and D’ror Yikra);
• Hebrew - Read Hebrew;
• Israel - The National Anthem;
• Social Action - Healing the sick;
• Other - Home rituals

Grade 2 / 3
 

• Prayer - Barchu;
• Holidays - Review facts, grade-specific themes for each holiday;
• Tanach - Genesis: Isaac-Joseph;
• Shabbat Dinner - Review, Kakatuv paragraph of Birkat Hamazon, and the next paragraphs of Tzur Mishelo and D’ror Yikra;
• Hebrew - Write Hebrew;
• Israel - Jewish Homeland;
• Social Action - Environment;
• Other - Jewish Peoplehood 

Grade 3 / 4
 

• Prayer - Friday evening Kiddush;
• Holidays - Review facts, grade-specific themes for each holiday;
• Tanach - Exodus-Deuteronomy; Shabbat Dinner - Review, Uv'nei Yerushalayim paragraph of Birkat Hamazon, and the next paragraphs of Tzur Mishelo and D’ror Yikra;
• Hebrew - Present tense;
• Israel - Demography;
• Social Action - Hunger;
• Other - Jewish foods

Grade 4 / 5
 

• Prayer - Ashrei;
• Holidays - Review facts, grade-specific themes for each holiday;
• Tanach - The weekly Torah portion;
• Shabbat Dinner - Review, the Shabbat Harachaman and Migdol paragraphs of Birkat Hamazon, and the next paragraphs of Tzur Mishelo and D’ror Yikra;
• Hebrew - Speaking conversational Hebrew;
• Israel - Geography; Social Action - Honoring the elderly;
• Other - G-d

Grade 5 / 6
 

Prayer - Vayomer;

• Holidays - Review facts, grade-specific themes for each holiday;
• Tanach - Joshua through Solomon;
• Lifecycle - B’nai-Mitzvah and Wedding;
• Hebrew - Writing conversational Hebrew;
• Israel - History;
• Social Action - Healing the sick;
• Other - Kashrut

Grade 6 / 7

• Prayer - Aleinu;
• Holidays - Review facts, grade-specific themes for each holiday;
• Tanach - The rest of the Tanach;
• Lifecycle - Birth;
• Hebrew - Reading stories;
• Israel - Planning a trip;
• Social Action - The environment;
• Other - Jewish values

Grade 7 / 8

• Prayer - Mourner’s Kaddish;
• Holidays - Review facts, grade-specific themes for each holiday;
• Tanach - The Second Temple period;
• Lifecycle - Death;
• Hebrew - Read newspapers;
• Israel - Complexities;
• Social Action - Hunger;
• Other - Holocaust

Grades 9-12

• Tanach - Rabbinic Texts;
• Other - Modern Issues

Holiday Curriculum:

Click on the image below to see a readable table: