5th
Teacher: Charna Schakow 
The fifth graders come to Religious School once during the week and one session on Sunday. The students study the sweep of Jewish history in America and then going back in time to review the travels of Abraham and Sarah, their children and grandchildren up to the creation of the modern state of Israel. Fifth Grade families will go on a tour of Jewish Gold Rush country on October 28 with Charna as their guide. After learning about the local travels of the Jewish people the students will be looking at the four major routes taken after the destruction of the Temple by the Romans in 70 C.E. The four routes correspond to the four major “edot” (geo-ethnic groups of the Jewish people): Sephardi, Mizrachi, Ashkenazi, and Romani. The Jewish holidays will be experienced in the style of Spanish, Yemenite, Polish, and Ethiopian Jewish groups. The year will include an Ashkenazi style “Shabbat Seder” on February 8; and a Sephardic “Crypto-Seder” on April 12 at 4:30 PM.
5th grade Hebrew studies will focus on the mastering the tefillot of the Shabbat evening Service. The students will be learning the basic “roots” (“shorashim”) of the Hebrew language that are used most frequently in Jewish religious texts.
Our Rabbis and Cantor will be mentoring the 5th grade parents. Each family will have a meeting with one of the Rabbis or Cantor during the Fall and will have group sessions together on November 14th and January 22nd at 7:30 pm.
5th graders are also invited to join the Simcha our 5th and 6th grade youth group. Watch out for flyers about this year’s kick off event!!