Religious School Update — 9/24/21

rabbi alexis pinskyDear B’ShERT Parents and Families,

I, along with our staff and teachers are so thrilled to welcome our students back to in-person Religious School on September 25th!

I hope that your High Holy Day season has been meaningful and rejuvenating, and we can’t wait to continue the holiday festivities with our opening day Family Sukkot Celebration.  As we look toward our 2021-2022 Religious School year, I wanted to send you some information and updates. This note is packed with important information, so please make sure to read all the way through!

We are cautiously moving forward with plans to hold Religious School in person this Fall. As mentioned, our opening day will be Saturday, September 25th with a welcome back family Sukkot celebration, and then lessons will officially begin on Saturday, October 2rd. Our Religious School day will run from 9:45am – 11:30am. Please see the attached link for our B’ShERT 2021-2022 Religious School Dates and calendar!

Safety:

With the safety of our community as our number one priority, our Religious School Committee has been working in conjunction with B’ShERT’s Reopening Committee as well as the temple’s Security Committee to come up with the safest plan for how to move forward this Fall. Our COVID protocols are as follows:

  • All staff will be fully vaccinated

  • Students 12+ must be vaccinated (As vaccination expands, this will likely extend to younger students as well)

  • All students and staff are required to wear a mask during B’ShERT programming, regardless of vaccination status

    • (We will have extra adult and child-sized masks on-site, but ask you to send your student with a mask of their own that they are comfortable in)

  • Hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes will be widely available in all religious school spaces

  • Each classroom will be equipped with large air purifiers that have HEPA filters as well as UV-light technology

We will continue to update these policies, and keep you informed as new information or recommendations come to light.

Registration:

If you have not yet registered for Religious School, the time is now! Please note that you will need to fill out a separate form for each of your children (we have streamlined the registration form to make it more user friendly).

To register, visit this link (https://forms.gle/ccS5ZpSHRpALJMgb6).

Hebrew Instruction:

Enrollment for students in 3rd-7th grades includes weekday Hebrew lessons. Hebrew instruction takes place “chevruta” style, a partnered model where 2 students of a similar level are paired with a teacher for private online instructional lessons. Follow this link (https://forms.gle/p71fKChSbbzPGSdJ6) to our form with more information, and to select a weekly Hebrew time slot.

Spread the word!

If you know anyone who might be interested in registering for our 2021-2022 school year, please feel free to pass on this information. You will also find a link to registration on our B’ShERT website bshert.org.

B’Shalom,

Rabbi Alexis Pinsky