Schechter Shavua: September 19, 2025

Connecting the Metric System to Rosh Hashanah

At Schechter, student learning about Jewish holidays is incorporated in some unexpected ways, in addition to the more “traditional” subjects like Judaic Studies. Step into a Middle School Science class, and you find students gathered excitedly around a game board. The challenge: in order to move to the next space, a student had to solve a Rosh Hashanah-themed word problem! With scrap paper at their sides, they calculated with enthusiasm to advance their pieces…a perfect way to review the metric system!

Check out some of the other ways Schechter students discuss and learn about Rosh Hashanah:

Nevatim students (gr. 5-6) held discussions about Rosh Hashanah as a time of judgement, connecting it to the theoretical (Why do you think judgment happens at the start of a new year?) and the specific (If someone is going to judge you at the end of this school year, what do you hope they will say about you?) These discussions sparked students to reflect upon personal qualities and goals they will strive to achieve this year.

Grades 7 and 8 explored the themes of teshuvah (repentance) through the teachings of Maimonides. Grade 8 focused on the idea of teshuvah gemurah (complete repentance) from Hilkhot Teshuvah 2:1,2,4—examining how change happens through conscious action and debating whether a lifetime of wrongdoing can be redeemed at the very end. Grade 7 began with the foundations of repentance in Hilkhot Teshuvah 1:1,3, comparing the concept of self-driven repentance with models of vicarious atonement, such as the Yom Kippur scapegoat and Christian beliefs about Jesus.

Some lower school students (grades K-4) conducted taste tests of different honey varieties and rank them as a class; others wrote holiday messages entirely in Hebrew or created artwork to decorate their home for Rosh Hashanah.

Early Childhood students created beautiful family treasures that incorporate use of their fine motor skills and creativity while teaching them about the holiday. They also love to read books and play holiday games that help them practice their colors and counting.

Click HERE to see photos of Rosh Hashanah learning.

Strengthening Writing and Analysis with the Help of a Pigeon

In Anafim’s (gr. 1-2) English Language Arts class, students strengthen their writing skills through a multi-step, cross-curricular lesson that captivated their attention.

Students began by reading Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems. After reading, they held a class poll: Would you let the pigeon drive the bus? Why or why not? This sparked thoughtful discussion and opinion writing, as students supported their answers with reasons.

By incorporating deeper thinking, math skills (through data collection and analysis of the poll), reading comprehension, and structured writing practice, the lesson focused on bringing all of these elements together in a fun and engaging way.

Click HERE for photos of their process of reading, calculating, and writing.
 

Life Science: What Students Learn from a Square Meter

In Middle School science this year, the focus is on Biology, the study of LIFE.  Students were tasked with plotting out a quadrat (a simple frame one square meter in size) to study, in detail,the distribution of plants and small animals in that specific area (the biotic factors). They also collected data on abiotic factors (things like sunlight and temperature) that impact living things in that square meter. This kind of in-depth study and close evaluation of a small area is a skill that will serve them well in the future..
 

Parashat Nitzavim/pre-Rosh Hashanah—The importance of the right challenge

When it comes to setting standards and learning expectations, public schools have it easy. Professors and curriculum companies establish grade-level standards based on statistics and bell curves. “A normal fourth grader should be able to read X.” “That book is at a seventh-grade reading level.” The schools adopt those standards as expectations. At that point, all it takes is standardized testing to assess whether any individual student is at, above, or below “grade level.” 

There are tremendous benefits to this approach. It is efficient in the same way that clothing sizes are efficient. Clothing stores can order a few of this size, a few more of that size, knowing that most customers don’t exactly fit into one of those sizes, but trusting that they will go to a tailor to make it fit just right—or that they will just live with an almost-fitting pair of pants. Similarly, this model of education allows schools to plan easily. Teachers are expected to start with what’s “normal,” and then, as the final step, tailor as necessary to make it fit better. 

At Schechter, our commitment to student-centered learning means that we don’t wait until the last step to differentiate. We start from the position that all students learn differently, are motivated differently, and need different challenges. We use professional, commercially-available materials, but our planning starts with a knowledge of who each student is, and what each student needs.  It’s not easy, and it’s not as efficient as a model driven primarily by standardized tests—but it lets us give all of them what they need to launch themselves forward.

In this week’s parashah , we see this personalized approach in a beautiful way. When Moshe talks to the people about teshuvah /repentance, he presents it in a very particular way: “It is not too impossible for you … it is not in the heavens, so that someone might say, ‘Who can go up to heavens and get it for us?’… rather, it is close to you ; it is in (the ability of) your mouth and yourheart to do it.” 

Moshe might have just said, “It is not too impossible.” “It is close.” He could have tried to apply a one-size-fits-all standard for what is hard, and what is easy. Instead, he makes the point that each of us has different challenges, and different things that seem easy to us but are hard for someone else. Moshe, the consummate teacher, wanted every student Israelite to know that the challenge was right for them. That was what our ancestors needed to hear back then—and what our children need to hear today.

Shabbat shalom and shanah tovah,

Rabbi Jonathan Berger
Head of School

Questions for the Shabbat/Holiday table:

1. What are some tasks/skills/activities that are challenging for you, but easy for someone else in your family? How do you handle those differences?
2. How is Rosh Hashanah, and the process of teshuvah (introspection-resolution-personal change), different for each person? What are your teshuvah goals this year?