Blog

Reflection, asking questions, and looking toward the future are important Jewish values, all of which we practice constantly in our Education Center. As we bring the Deutsch Early Childhood Center and Temple Israel Religious School year to a close, we reflect on all we've learned and accomplished by hosting parent-teacher conferences and Hebrew assessments, and by commemorating our Preschool graduates at their graduation ceremonies, our third graders at Kabbalat HaSiddur, and our Confirmands at Confirmation. We hold end-of-year reflection meetings with each of our teachers where we chat about personal accomplishments and goals they've met as a class. We ask ourselves and each other how we can better our programs, ourselves, and our community to match the pace of the ever-evolving world around us. 

We then turn toward the months ahead and dive into all the preparation involved when planning for the next school year. Our teachers begin to envision what they want the new school year to look like. There are always more teachers to be hired and kids to be enrolled (and parents to be reminded that enrollment is open, which it currently is!). The summer and Camp Shook definitely bring a slower rhythm for both DECC and TIRS, but we are always planning, always brainstorming, and always thinking about the amazing things we can accomplish next!

So, in the spirit of reflection and looking ahead, we wanted to share some highlights from this year and some plans for 2025-26!
 
DECC
We started DECC enrollment back in March and we're thrilled that many of our classes are full with a nice combination of returning children and new students and families, too. We always joke that we have rolling admissions all summer and throughout the year, so assuming we have space in a particular class, we’re thrilled to welcome additional children! Our 2024-25 school year ended with an all-new Lizard “Undernight,” where the Preschool kids got to come to school on a Saturday night for dinner and a movie as a celebratory send-off before they move on to Kindergarten. We ended the year on such a high, positive note and we are looking forward to starting the next in the same way!
 
TIRS
While keeping with its traditional format, we are always looking for ways to make little tweaks to enhance our programming, community building, and teaching practices. In the upcoming year, we are adding a special Friday night Shabbat for each grade level so families can meet one another and make connections with other families also on the Religious School and B'nai Mitzvah journey. We like to make little tweaks to already established programming, like TIYuL, our elective-style classes for all post B’nai Mitzvah students. TIYuL will continue to be elective style for all students, however, for 8th and 9th graders, it will now be required if they plan to become a Confirmand. TIRS registration is open and ready to welcome returned students and new community members as well! Find out more about all of our TIRS learning opportunities at: 
www.ti-stl.org/TIRS

L’shalom,
Lesley Goldenberg              Sidni Weglarz 

Find out more and register for school!
Preschool: www.ti-stl.org/DECC
Religious & Hebrew School: www.ti-stl.org/TIRS