Student Life

Community
At the Wise Religious School, we are committed to ensuring that every child feels welcome and comfortable, and that your whole family views the Religious School as just one part of your involvement in the Wise community. While We are committed to creating a warm and cohesive parent and family community within the Center for Youth Engagement, Religious School families are encouraged to pray with the larger Stephen Wise Temple community for Shabbat, celebrate on holidays, and participation in the many programs and opportunities offered to the congregation.

Experience
Based on our belief that Judaism is to be lived and loved, Wise Religious School strives to give its students an experiential complement to classroom learning. Whether it is a morning in our community garden, a Tu B’Shvat hike in the neighboring hills, or even a multi-media lesson on our beautiful campus,  our educators, teachers, and specialist strive to balance traditional education with first-hand experiences.

iLearn
Students in our 4-6 grades may choose Hebrew enrichment through our online platform. In iLearn, our web-based video conference classroom, students can interact on a virtual white board, create a digital record of their progress, and video chat with teachers, all from the comfort of their home. To learn more about this option, click here.

Music
The rabbis teach that there is no prayer without music, and music is in many ways the soul of Jewish practice. Working with our cantors, our inspiring song leader works with students on the sounds and tunes of prayer as sung at Stephen Wise Temple, as well as holiday, Israeli, and popular Jewish music as related to their specific curriculum.  At our two CYE Soulful Shabbat services, our students will have a chance to show their stuff and jam on the bimah.

T’fillah (Prayer)
Each Sunday, our students gather in Plotkin Chapel, for an age-appropriate prayer experience. In addition to helping our students develop their own personal spiritual life, our Sunday tefillah bolsters skills and lessons learned in the classroom, and also allows students to connect with our Stephen Wise Temple clergy, who we know will be a part of significant moments throughout their lives. Parents are invited to join us for tefillah on any Sunday morning.

Tzedakah (Righteous Giving)
As part of our commitment to gemilut hasadim (acts of loving kindness), each student at Wise Religious School learns firsthand about giving tzedakah. We ask that you send your child to school with something to contribute each Sunday morning; students have a chance to allocate the collections at the end of the year.

Tikkun Olam (Social Action)
In addition to weekly tzedakah, our students and families are encouraged and expected to take part in community-wide social action projects, in conjunction with the synagogue and Wise School. While these projects change from year to year, we are proud to partner with organizations such as: SOVA, Jewish World Watch, Light up Literacy, and Save the Syrian Children.