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  Temple Sinai
3509 S. Glencoe Street
Denver, Colorado 80237

Phone (303) 759-1827
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CONFIRMATION (Grade 10)

OVERVIEW

This grade is the culmination of the Religious School program at the Temple. During the year, the class will choose a theme and create their own Confirmation service. Requirements for Confirmation include attendance at the weekly classes, participation in a Fall Shabbaton, a Spring retreat, and 18 hours of community service. They are also expected to attend two events sponsored by a Jewish Youth Group (recognized groups and events will be determined in consultation with Temple Sinai’s Youth Committee).

At the end of the ninth grade, students are given a Literacy List (Me’ah Achuz) to review over the summer with parents. A literacy test on selected terms is given at the beginning of the Confirmation year. The test is graded and retumed prior to delving into the curriculum for the year.

Students must pass the Literacy Test with a score of 75% to participate in the Confirmation class. If attendance in Grade 9 was less than 75%, make-up work must be completed in order to register for Confirmation. Make-up work includes written papers and a Kallah (Study Session) with the Rabbis and Confirmation teachers.

Students are urged to continue their studies in 11th and 12th grades at the Community High School .sponsored by the Colorado Agency of Jewish Education.

Note that the curriculum below serves as a guideline.  At the start of the Confirmation year, students are asked to identify topics of interest and concern to Jewish teens.  These topics are covered in conjunction with the curricular goals laid out below.


JEWiSH VALUES
Subject Matter I

  • Modern Problems and Jewish Choices

Objectives

  • Students will describe the Jewish approach to such contemporary issues as substance abuse, tattooing/piercing, homosexuality, and AIDS.
  • Students will explain the Jewish value of being responsible for our own bodies.
  • Students will learn the tactics frequently used by cults and missionaries, and explore ways to confront them.
  • Students will research contemporary Responsa on the issues studied.
  • Students will state and defend their own views on these issues.
  • Students will demonstrate their ability to make informed choices based on Jewish teachings.  Students will describe the process of decision making in the various Jewish denominations.

Subject Matter II

  • American Jewish History

Objectives .

  • Students will demonstrate familiarity with the contributions which Jews have made to American society over the past 350 years.

Subject Matter II

  • American Jewish History

Objectives .

  • Students will demonstrate familiarity with the contributions which Jews have made to American society over the past 350 years.

JEWISH CUSTOMS & PRACTICES
Subject Matter

  • Sacred Books
  • The Jewish Legal System
  • Minhag and Halachah
  • Mitzvah and Ma’asim Tovim

Objectives

  • Students will describe the contents of the sacred literature of Judaism.
  • Students will explain the difference between minhag and halachah.
  • Students will describe their own experiences with various types of Jewish practice.

BIBLE & HISTORY
Subject Matter

  • Little-known Bible Stories

Objective

  • Students will explore stories from the Bible that they have not covered in previous grades (e.g., Judah and Tamar, David and Bathsheba, etc.)

PRAYER & GOD
Subject Matter

  • Jewish concepts of God
  • Spirituality

Obiectives

  • Students will develop and describe their own view of God based on their understanding of various Jewish concepts of God.
  • Students will define spirituality for themselves.
  • Students will choose a theme and create a Confirmation service that reflects their personal beliefs.

TEAM BUILDING
Subject Matter

  • Working together as a.class

Objectives

  • Students will appreciate the difference between the group experience of the Confirmation year and their previous experiences in Religious School.
  • Students will attend a Confirmation retreat designed to foster Class unity.
  • Students will study in a variety of small-group settings so that they may learn from one another.

MISCELLANEOUS
Subject Matter

  • Determined by class interest.

As mentioned in the overview to the Tenth Grade curriculum, student interests and community events are taken into account as the curriculum for the year is developed. So, for example, to tie in with a visit by author Joseph Telushkin (The Ten Commandments of Character), a unit on ethics was incorporated. Following the release of Mel Gibson’s film The Passion of the Christ, a discussion on the film, its facts and fallacies, and its local impact was conducted.

 

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