OC General Info

Attendance: Students are expected to attend all sessions. If an absence occurs, the student is responsible for requesting an assignment from the teacher and making up the missed work. Attendance will be taken.

All teachers and teaching assistants should initial the sign-in sheet in the office. Teachers and teaching assistants should then go to their rooms and await the arrival of students.

Book bags: Upon enrolling at Or Chadash Religious School, each child will be provided with a book bag. Additional book bags are available for $5.00. If you need an additional book bag, please speak with the Religious Education Director.

Books: All required books and materials will be given to the students on the first day of class. Students who lose books will be required to purchase new ones.

Class Parents: Each grade will have a class parent who will be responsible for communicating school closings and other administrative activities. If you are interested in volunteering, please speak with the Religious Education Director.

Classroom Appearance: The Temple building is our collective home and should be treated with respect and care. Students and teachers are responsible for leaving the classroom clean and orderly. How we treat our building is a reflection of how we feel as a community.

Classroom Behavior: Students are expected to bring the required books and materials, paper, pencils/pens and completed homework assignments for each class session. Students are expected to behave appropriately during all school activities, showing respect for teachers and other students. Students are expected to maintain this level of respect in all Temple activities. If there is a problem with a student that cannot be handled by the teacher, a call and/or meeting with the parent(s) may be required. The Rabbi and the Religious School Director will be notified of such situations and will be available to assist where necessary. The use of cell phones or other toys is not permitted while school is in session unless special arrangements have been previously arranged.

Drop off and Pick up: Timely arrival is expected on the part of all families involved in the Religious School. Parents are encouraged to participate in selected school activities with their children. Parents should pick up their children promptly at the end of class.  Parents are required to enter the building to do so. If your child is carpooling with another parent, please be sure to let the Religious Education Director know in advance.

Lateness and Early Departure: Prompt arrival and attendance through the entirety of sessions is vital to the success of our program. In instances when it is unavoidable to arrive late or leave early, please notify the teacher in advance.

Events: Special programs and events for the school and its students may be scheduled throughout the year. Families are encouraged to attend, as well as teachers and teaching assistants.

Homework: Classroom work is reinforced through regular homework assignments. Though the school attempts to provide the best education possible, we are much more effective as a partner with the home. Therefore, assignments often involve family participation. If there are any questions about any assignment, please feel free to contact the teacher or Rabbi.

Library: The Jenny Weller Memorial Library is a wonderful resource for the Temple. For specific recommendations of appropriate and interesting material, please contact either the Rabbi or Religious Education Director. We hope everyone will take advantage of our growing library.

Registration and Emergency Information Forms: The registration and emergency information forms that you have completed have been shared with the teachers. Please advise the Religious School Director of any changes to this information.

Service Attendance: Students and parents are encouraged to attend and participate in regular Shabbat worship and holiday and festival celebrations. Special services geared toward different grade-level participation may be scheduled as well. Regular attendance reinforces Hebrew prayer skills and helps everyone become familiar and comfortable with our worship customs. Seventh grade students are also strongly encouraged to attend each other’s services when their peers become B’nai Mitzvah.

School Closings: In the event of an emergency or inclement weather, a message will go out to all families via email, and a message will also be left on the Or Chadash answering machine: (908) 806-2122. A closing message will also appear on our website.

Tefillah: Each Sunday from 10:15-10:45 the students will attend Tefillah which will include songs, stories, blessings and other creative learning opportunities. Parents are encouraged to attend. We hope that you will be an active participant during this time, as it will be fun and informative. 

Tzeddakah: In each Judaica classroom there will be a tzeddakah collection. The class will decide how the funds collected will be distributed. Additionally, at many holidays we will have school wide tzeddakah projects. Please encourage your family to participate in these activities.

Visitation: Parents are welcome to observe our classrooms. Please advise the teacher that you would like to observe a class session.

Parents and students with questions or concerns about any aspect of our program are urged to contact the Rabbi and/or our Religious Education Director.

Tzeddakah is the traditional Jewish commitment to justice and righteousness. Or Chadash Religious School has a tzeddakah program that involves all of our students in local community activities. We teach our students how to identify needs in the community, how to collect resources and how to distribute them to those that can benefit. We hope that in the following ways, the students will be inspired throughout their lives to try to do what is right:

Classroom Tzeddakah: Tzeddakah money is collected in our Judaica classes on Sundays and on Thursdays. At the end of the year the class votes on where or how the money should be donated. In past years, money has been donated to organizations like the Jewish Federation of Somerset, Hunterdon, and Warren Counties, the Union for Reform Judaism, the New Israel Fund, and Mazon.

School wide Programs: Samples of recent programs have included our Sukkot Mitten Mitzvah when children were asked to bring a pair of mittens or gloves to decorate the Sukkah; collecting books in November for Jewish Book Month; collecting Arts and Crafts supplies for Darts Mill Day Care Center, creating artwork for the Central New Jersey Jewish Home for the Aged.

Mitzvah Project: This program is designed to help our b’nai mitzvah students develop an understanding of mitzvot, the sacred commandments of Judaism that guide our behavior. Some examples of the mitzvot our students have performed as a class include helping out at holiday celebrations and collecting art supplies for needy children; donating time at the Flemington Food Pantry and Dart’s Mill Day Care Center; participating in school fund raisers; collecting supplies for a local animal shelter; collecting baby clothing and videos/music for the local Family Promise homeless network; and collecting novels for a kibbutz in Israel.

Background: Each year, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Canadian Paediatric Society publishes a “Recommended Childhood and Adolescent Immunization Schedule.” Practicing pediatricians across North America consider this the standard of care, and indeed the context in which they practice. In addition, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has established vaccine standards for adults.

Given the overriding Jewish value that puts a premium on maintaining health, including taking preventive measures, along with the clear public health based need to protect the community as a whole, we are requiring that all children, staff, faculty, and their families planning to attend our Religious School programs must be immunized in the manner below.

Case Statement:
Parents send their children to Religious School and assume that their children will enjoy themselves, have positive social interactions, learn from the rich Jewish environment and be safe and healthy. Safety and public health are priorities for our synagogue. The vaccination of all members of the community is essential in order to maintain a safe environment and decrease the risk of transmission of preventable illnesses. The establishment of a safe environment must therefore include the requirement that all members of the Or Chadash community be adequately immunized against all of the preventable diseases as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. While parents may choose to defer the vaccination of their children, for Or Chadash this is not an issue of individual rights and choice, but an issue of public health and policy. The routine vaccination of all children, staff and faculty is an important public health matter especially in the confined environment of a school, with some vulnerable populations present.

Policy Statement:
ALL THOSE WHO ARE IN ENROLLED IN RELIGIOUS SCHOOL are required to have age-appropriate vaccines recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Center for Disease Control (CDC), with the exceptions noted.
• DTaP, DT, Td, or Tdap (Diphtheria, Tetanus and Pertussis)
• Tdap vaccine is now required for children over age 11
• IPV (Poliovirus)
• HIB (Haemophilus influenza type b bacteria)
• PCV 13 (Pneumococcal) vaccine
• Rotavirus vaccine
• Hepatitis B
• Hepatitis A- strongly recommended
• MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) or serologic evidence of immunity. Adults born before 1957 are assumed to be immune to measles
• Varicella vaccine (Varivax – for Chicken Pox), or serologic or historical evidence of immunity
• Menactra (Meningococcal disease / Meningitis) – required for those age 11 and older

Or Chadash strongly recommends the administration of the Hepatitis A vaccine according to the standard AAP/CDC vaccine schedule. Please consult with your doctor about the recommended AAP/CDC schedule for the Hepatitis A vaccine.
Due to recent outbreaks of Pertussis and to the possibility that immunity may deteriorate over time, we are strongly recommending the Tdap booster for those 7 and over who need a Tetanus containing booster and who have not already had one Tdap.
As there have been a large number of flu cases this season, largely due to Influenza Flu A Virus, we strongly recommend that everyone receive a flu vaccine.

Or Chadash makes the following exception:
• Gardasil or Cervarix (HPV vaccine): though recommended by the AAP and CDC, it is not a required vaccine, so and we are not in a position to mandate its use.

Policy Exceptions: We recognize that individuals, who have had a documented allergy or severe adverse reaction to a particular vaccine, will not be able to receive further doses of that individual vaccine. In addition, individuals with medical conditions such as congenital immunodeficiency or HIV, malignancies receiving chemotherapy, transplant patients, and persons receiving immunosuppressive drugs and chronic steroids, will not be able to receive certain vaccines. In these instances, a physician documenting the problem and exempting the child from further doses of that specific vaccine must be furnished to the synagogue. In addition, if an individual or his/her family believes that a specific situation poses extenuating circumstances, and furnishes a letter from a medical doctor (MD) substantiating this contention, the synagogue will review such situations on a case-by-case basis.