Dear Families,
Shalom!
On behalf of the teaching staff and the Education Committee, welcome to the 2023-2024 (5784) year of Religious School!
Registration is now officially open! Please register by Friday, August 4, so I can plan appropriately for the new school year.
What is staying the same as last year?
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We start at the end of August (first day is August 27, 2023) and end the week before Mother’s Day (last day is May 5, 2024). See below or click here for the calendar.
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Breakfast will be served for the entire family from 9:00 – 9:30 am every Sunday. The K – 8th grade classes will meet from 9:30 – 11:30 am, with as many 9th – 12th graders helping as possible.
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Confirmation class for the 9th and 10th graders will meet from 10:30 – 11:30 am.
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As with last year’s registration form, there are several questions that ask about your child’s health and learning/behavioral issues. We work very hard to meet the individual needs of each child, whether they have learning or behavioral needs, medical challenges, or gifted abilities. The information you share with me (Rabbi Janine) is completely confidential and will only be shared with your teacher if needed. It is not discussed in public, in the office, or the halls. I take your trust seriously.
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You are welcome to pay in full, through a payment plan (half at the time of registration and half on December 1st), or you may request a confidential scholarship. As always, we never want finances to get in the way of a child’s education. Please feel free to contact me if you need a confidential scholarship or any other individual arrangement for your family. (See below for more details about tuition and payment options.)
What is new?
First, we have restructured our class for our youngest Religious School students and our TE Tots program to allow for a more successful learning environment. This year our weekly Religious School program will begin with the Kindergarten year.
- This means that our Pre-K students (4-year-olds) are invited to join us for our TE Tots program and will be able to join Religious School formally when they enter Kindergarten next year. We look forward to having them in our program.
- This year the TE Tots program will be open to 2, 3, and 4-year-olds only in order to enable us to offer more age-appropriate programming. The class will continue to meet every other week from 9:30 – 10:30 am (after breakfast from 9:00 – 9:30 am). This class is open to members and non-members alike and the children, with their adults, will be able to enjoy the class on a drop-in basis with no RSVP’s or registration necessary.
Second, we have set the goal of bringing the tuition for the youngest students up to the same level as the older students, since all our students receive the same excellent education. We wish to do this slowly, though, so this year we have raised the tuition for the Kindergarten and 1st graders by just $50. This year’s tuition remains the same for the 2nd – 10th graders and for the optional Hebrew program. Please remember there are scholarships available if this is a hardship for anyone. We never want finances to get in the way of a child’s Jewish education. So here are the tuition rates for the 2023-2024 year:
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PreK – 1st Grades: $170
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2nd – 10th Grades: $325
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Additional Fee for Optional 3rd – 6th Grade Hebrew: $290
One last note: there are three options for payment:
- Pay with a credit card using the link on the registration form. Please consider adding 3% to cover our fees.
- Pay with Venmo (@Temple-Emanuel-StL and be sure you include the StL part or your tuition will go to Temple Emanuel in Dallas - oy!).
- Mail a check made out to “Temple Emanuel” to Temple Emanuel, 12166 Conway Rd, St. Louis, MO 63141.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me. On behalf of the staff and the Education Committee, we look forward to a wonderful year!
Rabbi Janine
Rabbi Educator
O: 314-432-5877 x 3
C: 206-658-3702
