Spotlights on...

PJA’s fourth-grade Jewish Studies curriculum focuses on many of the mitzvot (commandments) in the Torah that address the way we treat one another, in particular mitzvot that teach us to show compassion and respect for people who are less fortunate and for people who are in need of help.

As a school, you know you are doing something right, when your students choose reading as a form of celebration. This happens a lot at PJA. Recently, there have been several special occasions that incorporated reading into the celebration - or even highlighted reading as the focus of the celebration. 

PJA's Purim spiel, inspired by our fifth grade studies, written and directed by Kim Schneiderman, and performed by our students, was a fantastic success! The spiel, named Purim of Protest was set in the 1960's and it imagined what would have happened if protest and social action drove the story forward.

What a week at PJA! Our Middle School Drama class put on an incredible performance of William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

This year’s Taglit came at just the right time, after weeks of gray and rainy days, students and faculty were ready to break up the routine and brighten up our days! Taglit (תגלית) is the Hebrew word for “discovery.”

Sixth graders concluded their Jewish Studies unit on David with the fourth annual Trial of King David. In this version of The State of Israel vs. David, son of Jesse, students argued whether Yetzer Hara (the evil impulse) or Yetzer Hatov (the good impulse) was more decisive in David's choices.

The power and passion of our 5th grade were on full display in the protest songs they wrote and shared this week at the Justice Campfire Sing-along. The students were introduced to the history of protest songs through their novel study of One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia.

In 7th grade, students are studying the Cornerstones of Culture, a unit of study that covers a variety of subject areas: Geography and Natural Resources, Economy, Social Structure, Technology, Government, Arts & Entertainment, Religion, Language, and Story.