Cohen School celebrates another successful year

The Cohen School at Temple Torat Yisrael, in East Greenwich, celebrated its graduates and students at closing ceremonies on May 22. 

The children were blessed under a large tallit by Rabbi Aaron Philmus, and parents and other family members watched a slideshow of school events from throughout the year.

The ceremony was followed by an ice cream sundae social, entertainment from a balloon artist and a Lag B’Omer gardening program led by Philmus and farmer Steve Sherman.

The slideshow showcased the hands-on learning and programs that the students participated in during the school year, including practicing Hebrew reading and decoding skills while playing games, watching relevant videos, singing prayers, and creating arts and crafts. Photos also showed the students learning about Jewish holidays and the Bible, as well as Jewish ethics, how to be a mensch and Jewish life-cycle events. Happy students were seen participating in the High Holiday services, decorating the sukkah and attending the Hanukkah party, Purim Carnival and a Dr. Seuss megillah reading.

In addition to all the learning in Sunday School this year, the Cohen School continued to build a feeling of community, kehillah, that taught the children to help people. The school’s hope is to inspire in the students a lifelong commitment to helping others, and to tikkun olam, repairing the world, through shared Jewish values and a sense of belonging to the Jewish community.

These valuable school experiences connect young Jewish families with other families and the local community. This year, students and their families built connections with the R.I. community through Community Tzedakah Projects, which included tying fleece blankets for the animals at the Cranston Animal Shelter, making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and soup to feed the hungry at St. Luke’s Food Cupboard, painting beautiful crafted menorahs that were delivered to elderly residents at the Tamarisk Assisted Living Residence in Warwick, and baking  hamantashen that were delivered in decorated mishloach manot (Purim baskets) to Torat’s elderly community members.

Each student is a link to the community. Students were asked as part of the closing  ceremonies to answer one of the following questions and write their answers on a foam link: Something I can do for my community?; Something I did in Sunday School that helped my community?; or One thing/program/craft that I enjoyed this year in school is? 

After reading their answers aloud, the students connected their foam links to create a long school chain that will be hung in the sukkah in the fall.

The Cohen School also celebrated the accomplishments of its seventh-grade graduates, Livia Adler-Maranhao, Jennefer Berman, Samantha Finder, Jordan Kalinsky, Stella Mayo and Ryan Silverman.

Special memorial awards were presented to three students. The Anna R. Sholes Award recipient was Sarah Hochhauser, the Michelle Pam Ross Award recipient was Jennefer Berman, and the Wendy B. Adler Award was presented to Livia Adler-Maranhao. Mazal tov to the families and the graduates!

The Cohen School also thanked its dedicated staff, Rabbi Joel Hoffman, Alyse Teitelbaum, Tracey Bosco and Brittany Borkum, for a wonderful year of learning. Barbara Dwares, the school’s Community Tzedakah teacher, was singled out for her great support of the school’s mitzvah programs.

The school has some great new programs planned for next year, including the introduction of a Tzedakah Super Heroes project. 

DORI ADLER is education director of the Cohen School at Temple Torat Yisrael, in East Greenwich.