Our Religious School

Rabbi Gross and our educators have created an innovative curriculum designed to engage students in a dynamic, interactive learning experience that includes Hebrew. Classes are held only on Sunday mornings.

Our programming is project-centered, whereby students rotate through five-week units on God, life cycles, mitzvot, history, ethics, ritual, and other aspects of our heritage and faith. These concepts are uniquely taught through cooking, art, nature, drama, music and other interactive activities.

Working closely with the rabbi, Bar and Bat Mitzvah candidates are encouraged to personalize their ceremonies to create a more meaningful experience.

The Confirmation program begins in 8th grade. Our students make a two-year commitment to study with Rabbi Gross to develop a strong sense of Jewish ethics and become young Jewish leaders in our community.

The success of our programming can be measured by the reactions of our students and parents who have expressed joy, exhilaration, and unparalleled commitment. Parents have described the experiences of their children as "incredibly positive," and are elated to observe children "bouncing out of religious school, grinning from ear to ear."

2008 - 2009 Religious School Application

New Program for 6th & 7th Grade 

HCRJ has just received a grant from the Houston Jewish Community Foundation to be used to develop and implement a fabulous new program the 6^th and 7^th grades.  This program is called Mitzvah Corps, and it will be structured around the following educational objectives:

·                     Mitzvah:  One of the primary elements that will bring this group together will be the doing of mitzvot.  A variety of mitzvah projects will fill the year including a number of mitzvah oriented day trips.

·                     Community: Creating a community of friendship and trust is one of the primary goals of this program.  This will be established through the nature of the classroom experience as well as mitzvah trips and retreats.

·                     Leadership Training:  Our congregation takes great pride in peer leadership and teaching.  This 2 year program will provide these students with leadership training, the skills of which will translate into stronger teaching assistance in the future.

·                     Torah:  Students will explore the values and teachings of the Torah portions that they will be reading at their b’nai mitzvah ceremonies. 

·                     Prophets:  Students will have an opportunity to explore the messages of the Major Prophets and then select a their own Haftarah portion based on what they have learned. 

·                     Prayer:  Our current Hebrew program focuses primarily on preparing our students to recite the prayers with fluency.  This class would explore prayer content and meaning.  Students will have an opportunity to write their own prayers which will later be used at the bar/bat mitzvah ceremony.

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