Introduction to Jewish History and Community

The ninth grade curriculum is designed to help students gain an understanding of the religious and cultural diversity of the Jewish people, the responsibilities and privileges of begin a Jewish citizen of the United States in the 21st century, and a sense of their relationship to the Jewish homeland of Israel and its people. In the second and third trimesters, the course introduces students to the academic study of Jewish history through an exploration of the American Jewish experience from 1654 to the present. Students learn about the periods of Jewish immigration to America in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and the increased significance of the American Jewish community on the world stage following World War II. Students also investigate the development of modern American religious movements including Reform, Conservative, Modern Orthodox and Reconstructionist. Special attention is given to the origins and development of freedom of religion in America as well as how the unique American context has impacted the Jews. Throughout the course, students are challenged to explore their own identities as Jews as they learn about Jewish history for the first time.

In the second year of the five-year Talmud curriculum, 9th graders will be exposed to topics in the Jewish legal system as addressed within the Talmud, focusing on holidays in the Jewish calendar. Selections will be made from various Talmudic tractates. The students will also study later Halakhic works to see how the discussions of the Talmud evolved into normative Jewish practice. This year will focus on building a vocabulary of key terms in the Talmud, while teaching the students how to maneuver through the page apparatus of a Talmud folio.

In this, the first-year component of the Tanakh curriculum, students examine the Megillot in detail, while continuing to sharpen their textual skills. The course will make use of selections from the Talmud and other relevant texts to illuminate the students’ understanding of the content and historical context of the Megillot.

Torah is the first part of the four-year Tanakh curriculum in the Yahadut track. The student will receive an overview of the Torah beginning in the Torah portion of Sh’mot (Exodus 1) and continuing through until the very end of the Torah. (Students will cover Bereshit (Genesis) in their junior year in the Biblical Commentary class.) The focus of the course will be on the narrative portions of the Torah, with an emphasis on the ethical and legal commandments and their ramifications in today’s world.

Ritual is the first part of the four-year Foundations of Judaism course. The goal is to examine basic areas of Jewish ritual through the categories of The Jew at Home and in Shul, in Space and in Time. Emphasis will be placed on the study of the classical rabbinic texts in English translation, as well as contemporary articles relating to the topics. In addition, the class will discuss the underlying theological principles of the rituals - the “Why” as well as the “How.”

Tefila is an integral part of daily student life at Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community High School. Beth Tfiloh students represent a broad spectrum of Jewish observance, and as such the school is committed to an approach to daily prayer which is both rooted in our ancient tradition, and serves as the basis for the prayer service of all of Judaism’s branches. A variety of tefila groups reflect a range of approaches to Jewish prayer consistent with our mission as a community school. Our goal is to give students the fundamental tefila skills they need to feel comfortable in whatever synagogue or temple they choose to worship.

 

A choice of all girls’ and all boys’ services, as well as a mechitza minyan, provides male and female students with the opportunity to lead services and read from the Torah. Our daily girls'/women's tefilah groups merge on Rosh Chodesh to enhance the davening on those days. The goal of the daily tefila program is to provide students with the fundamentals of traditional Jewish prayer that have been shared by Jews throughout the ages and that continue to unite Jews across the world today. Daily Shacharit and Mincha (morning and afternoon) services are a welcome time for self-reflection as well as a time to offer prayers for the ill, prayers for peace in a world of turmoil, and prayers of thanksgiving for the new month and festive holidays.

This textbook-based course is a continuation of Spanish I, providing practice in all four language skills: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Attention is focused on verb tenses, and more useful vocabulary is introduced. To encourage verbal expression and increase the students’ awareness of the Hispanic world, a youth-oriented Spanish magazine will be used periodically. The Spanish II students will master the basic grammar, verb tenses, and vocabulary necessary to read and understand longer written passages.

 

Topics covered will include, but not be limited to extending and responding to invitations, asking and giving directions, talking about past events, stem changing verbs, reflexive verbs, and the preterite tense of -ar verbs, ir, and jugar. Students will also be able to respond freely in correct Spanish to questions based on the vocabulary and grammatical structures that have been learned.

Spanish III is an intermediate level textbook based course aimed at strengthening both written and oral language skills. All basic instructions in the classroom are given in Spanish, with the students expected to listen and respond appropriately. Selected reading comprehension passages explore the cultural aspects of Spanish-speaking countries. Directed composition work is emphasized with a heavy focus on the learning and usage of additional verb tenses. All verb and structure topics are reinforced with oral exercises and in the students’ written work.

 

Topics covered will include, but not be limited to, describing yourself and others, talking about likes and dislikes, talking about feelings, making and responding to suggestions, and asking for and offering help. Successful completion of this course will prepare students for the beginning of literature study in Spanish IV.

Through the process of discovery, this course focuses on how science formulates questions and addresses them through reasoning, evidence, argumentation, and skepticism. Topics range from biochemistry, ecology and the environment, cells and how they work, molecular and human genetics, and plant and animal functional biology. Additional topics including genetics, biochemistry, evolution, cell theory, and biodiversity will be explored in order to help our students understand the important societal questions of our time.

The ninth grade classes participate in physical education three days out of the ten day cycle. Students develop competency in a variety of physical activities, enabling them to participate effectively both inside and outside of class. Students demonstrate motor skills and movement patterns in sports, lifetime activities and fitness components that are continued from their previous years of PE. Male and female students are given the opportunity to work with a strength trainer throughout the class on the fitness components of muscular strength, endurance, cardiovascular strength and flexibility for that individual student, making modifications for their individual needs.

An after-school fitness program has been developed as an alternative for female students to fulfill their PE requirement for that trimester. Students are responsible for attending a specified number of fitness classes after school in order to receive full credit for the class during the trimester including but not limited to Yoga, Zumba and Body Sculpt.