Noar Sunday

Noar Sunday is Temple Sinai’s innovative learning experience for students grades Pre-K–6th. At Noar (youth), children begin their Temple Sinai journey as they build lifelong connections, explore spiritual growth through t’filah (prayer) and holiday traditions, and discover mensch middot (Jewish values) to strengthen their Jewish identity. Our pillars of learning—personal choice, community building, and hands-on learning and experience—engage children in authentic Jewish content.

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What does a Noar Sunday look like?

Each student is placed into an eidah (unit) based on grade level with its own curricular focus (lifecycle events, Torah stories, Jewish history, etc.). We explore social-emotional spiritual learning through the mensch middot (Jewish values) to help students learn to be active, engaged members of their communities and to be their best selves. We know that students learn best when they have engaging choices, so our students move through rotations including Hebrew, small group learning, community building, t'filah (prayer), and chugim (electives).

A typical Noar Sunday might look like this (sample schedule):

9:15 am-9:30 am: Carpool, community building games, independent activities to help kids transition into Noar.

9:30 am-10:00 am: Boker Kehilah (Morning Community Circle)
We build kehillah (community) through different activities and circle games. This is where we introduce each day’s learning targets and Jewish life vocabulary. It’s our foundation for building strong friendships!

10:00 am-10:30 am: Bayit (Home Base)
This is your child’s core small group learning time. Building on the kehillah (community), this small group of students will remain consistent throughout the year to reinforce friendships. Each bayit (home base) experiences Jewish learning through different modalities to engage every type of learner: through games, hands-on projects, visual art, and more!

10:30 am-10:45 am: Hebrew through Movement or Extended Bayit
Students in Pre-K-3rd Grade LOVE Hebrew through Movement: a kinesthetic, conversational Hebrew immersion class led by a Hebrew speaker. Through movement games and challenges, kids embody the foundations of Hebrew learning and get a taste of Noar Hebrew that begins in 4th Grade.

10:45 am-11:30 am: Chugim (Electives)
Kids learn best when they feel empowered. Part of each Noar session is made up of elective courses for students to choose from (or different weekly rotations for our younger learners). A chug might focus on sports, art,drama, music, gardening, STEM -- you name it!

11:30 am-12:00 pm: T’filah (Prayer)
Each Noar Sunday, students attend a T’filah with our clergy as an eidah (unit). Students learn how to pray as a Jewish and how the prayers relate to what they are learning in bayit and chugim. In Grades 4-6, we focus on prayers that are learned in Noar Hebrew to experience them in context.

12:00 pm - 12:10 pm: Carpool Questions
Experiential education ends with reflection so each child can process what they learned. It’s important to note that through experiential education, students may be learning different things rather than cold, hard facts. We’ll reflect at the end of our session as a group. Then, we ask you to partner with us by asking “Carpool Questions,” at pick up (which will be sent as you wait in the carpool line each week). Through this practice, we are able to help each child connect the experience that day to their Jewish education and informally assess their skills -- and it helps to continue the conversation at home!

12:10 pm-12:30 pm: Afternoon Dismissal

For Noar Families: Throughout the year, there will be opportunities to participate in t’filah (prayer) with your children, activities to take home as a family, and we’ll update you at the end of each session with carpool questions to continue the conversation at home. There will also be events outside of Sundays to engage with other families in your child’s grade level.

Each “eidah” (unit) includes the following grade levels.

Go here for details about each eidah.

Click here for Frequently Asked Questions.