*The primary department had a family program about Passover where families learned more about the seder and made several items for use at their home celebrations.

*Third grade had their family Hebrew name program, Kids on the Block and a field trip to a nursing home and a deli.  They also had a Shabbat afternoon program with their families.

*Fourth grade made life cycle books, Prophets powerpoint programs and had a family program on death and mourning practices.  For their Shabbaton they put on short skits of several nursery rhymes using several Hebrew words in each one.  In addition they prepared most of the Shabbat dinner in advance, including making challah, matzah balls and soup, kugel and salad.  It was all delicious.

*Fifth grade had a family program about Israel.  Their Shabbat program was a Saturday night dinner with their family, followed by Havdalah.  The students then stayed on for sleep-over at the synagogue.  They had a scavenger hunt, made Havdalah sets and played many co-operation games.  A great time was had by all and everyone slept, even if just for a short while.

*Sixth grade had an Ellis Island experience as well as Bar/Bat Mitzvah workshop with their parents.  Their Shabbat program was a Shabbat morning service that they wrote.  It was a beautiful service and a culmination of their year long study of the Shabbat morning service.

*Seventh grade family program was a regular class session in which the parents participated in the regular discussions with their children and Rabbi Cosnowsky.  For their Shabbaton, they led Shabbat services and presented two plays completely in Hebrew.  Their gestures and expressions helped congregants understand the stories.   Both stories were familiar children stories.

*The intermediate department had two special programs.  One morning in the fall the students simulated a day at OSRUI.  Besides having a lot of fun, there was learning that went on as well.  This summer we have more students attending OSRUI than any other synagoue has ever had!  On another Sunday morning parents came with their children to have a morning of studying Torah in many different ways.  Part of the morning families had the opportunity to learn from a sofer about writing a Torah.

*Eighth graders had several special projects. As the culmination of their unit on the Holocaust, they wrote a led a moving Yom HaShoah service. As part of their unit on Judaism and Poverty they had a grocery store experience in which they had to purchase food for a family of four for a week for $50.00. Students each brought $10.00 and, after shopping, took the food to a food pantry. They also prepared and served dinner one evening to our PADS guests. As part of their comparative Judaism class they spent a morning in West Rogers Park visiting synagogues and shopping on Devon Ave. Some of the students made and presented games and activities for the primary grade classes.

*Ninth graders spent half the year helping out in the younger grades. During the other half of the year they studied current events, literature and Ketuvim, the Writings. Some of the students put on little plays for the primary grade students.

*Tenth graders went to the Hindu Temple and a mosque as part of their Comparative Religion class. In their Tikkun Olam class they delivered Maot Chitim packages for Rosh HaShanah and they cleaned an area at Lymon Woods.

*The upper department had a family program about Honest Reporting in the news and the media. Everyone learned how pictures can be doctored and left with tips on being a careful reader of the news.


Besides all the special programs, all of the day-to-day lessons prepared by the teachers were done thoughtfully and the children were given many opportunities to expand their knowledge and warm feelings about Judaism. I am very proud of our wonderful staff for being such a caring community. 

All School Programs

Our Modern Hebrew words and phrases CD is available in the lobby.  It was produced by our 7th graders.