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The Community School for Jewish Learning

honoring the legacy of Irv and Edna Newman

A Bigger Community
As of the 2011-2012 school year, the Newman Religious School of B'nai Israel Jewish Center has joined forces with the Dor Hadash Religious School of Congregation Ner Shalom in Cotati. By so doing, we have doubled the size of our student body and parent community. We will be able to offer our children a strong peer group and good critical mass in their classes to help make learning fun and exciting. The school includes learning opportunities for young people from pre-school through high school.

Educational Goals
In the Community School for Jewish Learning (CSJL), we help our young people learn Jewish values, develop strong Jewish literacy, deepen their sense of spirituality and develop lasting friendships with their classmates.

At CSJL, our younger grades study mitzvot, Torah stories and holidays, and learn basic Hebrew reading. Our older classes learn Hebrew prayer, Jewish values and Jewish history, all in a way that allows them to bring their own life experience to bear in understanding what our tradition means to them. The 5th-7th class also prepares Bar/Bat Mitzvah students through learning prayer, melodies, Torah trope, and ways to understand and relate to Torah content. The program also includes young people who have chosen not to have a B-Mitzvah ceremony. Understanding the role of an adult in the Jewish community and in this world is relevant to all our kids.

Special Needs Track
CSJL is proud to offer a special course of engagement for young people with severe disabilities and their families. Now in its fifth year, the Celebrations Program, in partnership with the Jewish Community Federation (JCF) of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties, offers a pioneering program for children with special needs who cannot comfortably participate in a traditional religious school setting. Click here to find out more about the "Celebrations" class and community.

Where, When & How
CSJL meets Sunday mornings from 9:30-12 (parents are invited to stay for Tefilah Circle for from 9:30-10) and, for fourth grade up, Thursday afternoons from 4-6. The year will begin with Sundays at Ner Shalom and Thursdays at B'nai Israel.

You can download registration materials here. For more information on CSJL, contact Rabbi Ted Feldman by e-mail at school@bnaiisrael.net or by phone at (707) 765-2937. Tuition scholarships may be available for families in need.