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THANK YOU STUDENTS, FAMILIES, AND TEACHERS!

It is hard to believe that the 2024-25 school year has come to an end. It has been an incredible year with our wonderful students, families, and teachers!

We have learned songs and stories.

We have studied Jewish values .

We have celebrated holidays.

We have baked and cooked.

We have learned the stories of the Torah.

We have explored the people and places of Israel.

We have engaged in social action projects.

We have painted, glued, built, and created.

We have played on temple basketball teams.

We have learned Hebrew and studied prayer.

We have learned that we are Better Together through our L’dor V’dor program with teens and seniors.

And, we have spent time playing and connecting with Jewish friends and classmates.

Over the past year our 7th and 8th grade students have participated in the national Better Together program. This included classroom lessons bringing about awareness of issues facing seniors in our community through the lens of Jewish values and meeting with seniors building intergenerational relationships across our Jewish community. Some of our Better Together joint activities included baking honey cakes and hamantaschen, joining Sisterhood for the Period Project and building Refugee Assistance Kits, participating in our annual Story Swap and the Better Together Essay Contest, and sharing a beautiful Shabbat dinner and intergenerational Shabbat service.

Special thanks to GJF for their partnership and to our Better Together facilitators - Barbara Baum and Michael Steinberg!

Also, thank you to our seniors who participated in Better Together programs!

Congratulations to Better Together Essay contest winners:

Laurel Garst 2024 Winner and 2nd place national contest winner!

Rebecca Baum 2025 Winner

Thank you to Dave Barrett and the TOI Security Team including Stuart Blackman and Westin Rainey for all of their support during Sunday School!

Congratulations to our 7th Grade B'nei Mitzvah students - Mazel Tov!

Evan Baum

Ronin Chambers

Lily Chuk

Logan Gage

Eliana Nevalainen

Emily Steinberg

A special thanks to our amazing teachers!

Pre-k and Kindergarten co-teachers – Cynthia and Alex Mascolo

1st and 2nd grade co-teachers – Gwen Sterling and Tovah Baker

3rd Grade Religious Studies – Colby Meyer

4th Grade Religious Studies – Ezra Moore

5th and 6th Grade Religious Studies – Ezra Moore and Liam Baker

7th/8th Grade Better Together – Michael Steinberg and Barbara Baum

3rd Grade Team Basic Hebrew – Jeff Chambers

4th Grade Hebrew – Pia Gordon

5th Grade Hebrew – Devon Anker

6th Grade Hebrew – Roger Thompson and Jen Hutchison

7th Grade Hebrew – Barbara Baum

Wednesday Hebrew – Miika Nevalainen and Pia Gordon

Floating sub – Adam Smith

9/10th Grade, B’nai Mitzvah, Family Services, Spiritual Leader, Purim, holidays, and song leader – Rabbi Rose

Welcome to the Temple of Israel Religious School!

My name is Kym Klapperich, and I have been the Education Director at the Temple of Israel Religious School since 2010. Before taking on the role of director, I was a parent in the school and member of the congregation for over 5 years. Our school offers a Jewish Education and a Jewish community to children ages 3 through 10th grade. We meet on Sunday mornings for Family Tefilah, Religious Studies and Hebrew classes. And, our 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students also meet on Wednesday evenings for an additional Hebrew class. Our 6th and 7th grade students experience a rewarding and supportive experience working directly with Rabbi Rose to prepare for B'nai Mitzvah.

The Temple of Israel Religious School is a proud partner of the ISJL, Institute for Southern Jewish Life. We follow the ISJL curriculum and work with the ISJL to bring the best possible Jewish educational experience to our students and families. Speaking of families, we also believe in religious school being a place for the entire family and enjoy having parents and siblings join us for Sunday Morning Tefilah as well as holiday and special events throughout the year.

The Vision and Mission of the Temple of Israel Religious School

Fostering our students in building a strong and positive Jewish identity.
Helping our students build relationships with Jewish peers, with our congregation as well as with the greater Jewish community both locally and globally.
Helping students understand Jewish values and how they fit into their everyday lives.
Celebrating holidays, traditions, and life cycle events.
Engaging with Hebrew, both liturgical and modern, so students know and understand prayers and how the Jewish language informs Jewish values.
Engaging in acts of Tikkun Olam, Tzedakah, and G'milut Chasadim.

Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions, just to chat, or to set up a time to visit our school. You can reach me by email at principal@templeofisrael.org or by phone at 864-414-3668 (cell) or 864-292-1782 (temple).

Sincerely,
Kym Klapperich
Education Director, Temple of Israel
principal@templeofisrael.org
Cell: 864-414-3668