Learning at Rashi
Grades 6-8
It is a very special moment. A 12 or 13-year-old Rashi student stands at the bimah before peers, teachers, and parents to recite his or her parasha (Torah portion) at a school minyan (morning weekday prayer) to celebrate becoming bar or bat mitzvah. Chanting of Torah fills the room and we are reminded of the meaning of the middle school years: students arrive in sixth grade as children, and graduate three years later as young Jewish adults.
At Rashi, we understand that the middle school years are a time of great growth. Academically, socially, spiritually, and emotionally, students reach out and take risks and yet they thrive on high expectations and clear boundaries. We foster and maximize that growth because we are a small, close-knit kehillah (community), where every teacher knows every child.
Experiencing a Challenging Academic Program
Rashi Middle School’s demanding and engaging academic program combines general and Jewish studies.
Across the curricula students master organizational skills and develop a strong sense of academic responsibility. Among their wide range of classroom experiences, Rashi students:
- debate ethical issues from history and the modern world;
- recreate classic experiments to learn basic scientific principles and develop original methods to test their own hypotheses;
- tackle nuanced and difficult literary issues present in such works as The Merchant of Venice and To Kill a Mockingbird;
- explore complex mathematical abstractions while developing computational precision;
- develop close knowledge of tanakh, and search out the connection of Jewish texts to their daily lives.
In support of academic learning and strong community, our students travel together on Jewish-themed outdoor education trips and study US government and American history in Washington DC. Rashi students join other Jewish day school students at “CSI”-style scientific investigations at MIT. Finally, our eighth graders travel to Israel, where they join students from Haifa’s Leo Baeck School for two weeks of exploration, self-discovery, and friendship.
Integrating Jewish studies and Jewish life
The academic program at Rashi is set in a rich Jewish context, with Jewish values and practices seamlessly present in every day and every week.
Middle School students explore various forms of Jewish prayer twice a week in Minyanim. A Rashi student prepares for and celebrates bar or bat mitzvah with a cohort; this vital rite of passage creates among students a sense of unity and growth. Our school year is deep in ritual: Rashi Middle School students build a sukkah each autumn, and unfurl Torah on Simchat Torah. Each Friday afternoon, we close with our weekly Hachanah L’Shabbat (preparation for Shabbat) gathering, where Jewish learning blends with a spirited community time.
Curricular integration permeates Rashi Middle School. Our middle schoolers speak and write capably in Hebrew and Spanish, and learn about Jewish populations in Spanish-speaking countries. In Social Studies, they study the lives of Jews during the American Civil War. A synagogue architecture project blends sophisticated geometry, writing, and Jewish history.
Opportunities Beyond the Classroom
The Rashi Middle School program is rich in co-curricular and extracurricular opportunities.
Weekly meetings in small Gar'in (seed) advisory groups help young adolescents develop social skills and discuss issues important to them. During twice-weekly electives, students explore music, cooking, architecture, yoga, set building, web design, social justice, and art, to name just a few. Each year, several electives are developed and co-taught by students themselves. Middle schoolers stage several dramatic productions a year, including a grade 8 musical entirely in Hebrew and award-winning participation in the State Drama Festival. We field competitive interscholastic girls’ and boys’ teams in soccer, basketball, and baseball/softball that are open to students at all ability levels. At Rashi, we believe that all students should be encouraged to try a variety of activities, and our program is structured to support this belief. Students graduate with an openness to trying new things, and with the notion that anyone can do any activity. At Rashi, you can be an athlete, a singer, and a chess player!
The goal of the Rashi Middle School is to help students become independent, capable and confident learners, young adults who can and will pursue academic success, self-knowledge, and leadership roles in their Jewish communities. Academically motivated and deeply skilled, our graduates thrive in the most challenging private, Jewish, and public high schools. Most importantly though, we teach our students to be whole, integrated individuals who understand that they can contribute to the unifying power of community.
