Skip To Main Content

Goals & Curriculum

Our Curriculum – General and Judaic Studies

In Middle School, students learn a variety of core subjects and specialties, with a talented and dedicated faculty.  Unlike in the Lower School, the day is no longer divided into a half day of Judaic and general studies, but rather subjects are intermingled throughout the day.  This is easily accomplished since the MS is departmentalized--students now have a different teacher for most of their subjects.  Classes will meet for 40 minutes and there’s a 4-minute pass time between classes.

Core Academic Areas:

Chumash, English, Hebrew, History, Math, Navi, Science, Mishna/Gemara

Specialties: 

Art, Music, Physical Education, and Innovation Lab

About Our Curriculum

  • The day begins with tefillah, in which there are parallel minyanim, Ashkenazi and Sephardi. We daven mincha as a whole community. Our fifth grade has their own service and sixth through eighth graders have the option of attending our Exploratory Service on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.

  • The Middle School’s dual academic curriculum is measured by its relevance, rigor, and high standards. While we value the Common Core Standards adopted by most states, we strive to exceed these standards and challenge students to expect more of themselves and their classmates.
  • In many of our classes, students are grouped heterogeneously. For mathematics, Hebrew language, and seventh and eighth grade Judaic Studies, students are grouped appropriately, enabling more individual instruction and learning.
  • Chumash and Navi are primarily taught Ivrit b’Ivrit.
  • Specialty classes in art, music, physical education, innovation lab, and advisory complete a student’s weekly schedule.
  • Learning Center specialists and skills classes in writing and research are made available to support qualifying students.
  • Students are encouraged to engage in a meaningful chesed project as part of their becoming a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. We also incorporate chesed opportunities into the school year as well. 
  • Technology is integrated into the Judaic and general studies curricula. For example, students produce documentary films as part of their study of the Holocaust, create Facebook pages for an element on the Periodic Table, and use SketchUp to create a 3-D model of a city in Israel.

Beyond Our Classroom

We enhance our students’ learning experiences, leveraging our unique location in one of the world’s finest cultural, financial, creative, scientific, medical, and architectural urban hubs. Some examples include: 

  • Jewish Museum Partnership
  • The MET
  • The Israel Experience
  • Central Park Hikes and Field Trips

Educational and Co-Curricular Programming

The Middle School offers a  rich variety of educational programming, ranging from hands-on chesed projects, team-building activities, special guest speakers, observance of Jewish and national holidays. We also engage in bonding activities such as white water rafting, ice skating, hiking in Central Park and much more. A central focus of ours is participation in meaningful  chesed in our greater community, whether through food and coat drives, challah bakes, mishloach manot packing and  distribution, METLife Council, and visiting area homebound seniors. We are excited to share our programming and chesed opportunities with your children when they arrive this fall. 

Our Joyful Approach to Judaism

Shabbat, holidays, milestone celebrations, Ahavat Israel, Hebrew as a living language, chesed activities, overnight trips, and text study are observed, taught, and integrated into our curriculum order to cultivate joy and pride in being Jewish, and lay the foundation for students to become future Jewish leaders that will engage in their communities and the greater world to help repair and heal.