Since 1998, we have been offering students and families a meaningful experience in our program by exploring and expanding our traditions, nurturing students’ big ideas and questions, and helping them build a Jewish community they want to be a part of.
Our students learn to question what it means to be a Jew and how being Jewish affects our values, beliefs, and behaviour. Together, students and teachers will ask questions such as “What does it mean to be Jewish?” and explore what a Jewish identity means personally, within the family, the Jewish community, and the global community-at-large. A key component of the program is respect for the broad spectrum of identities within Judaism, as well as those that co-exist and intersect with Judaism. Above all, we aim for our classrooms to feel like microcosms of our DJC community – meaning that each member is welcome, valued, and included.
Our program values Judaism as a dynamic living religion, rooted and nourished by tradition while evolving with contemporary questions, sensibilities, and concerns.
We offer students many avenues to encounter our rich traditions, while empowering them to conduct their own investigations and consider their own experiences. Certain themes and goals are integrated throughout all levels of our program – especially our commitment to tikkun olam (‘repairing the world’).
Our curriculum reflects the inclusive nature of the Danforth Jewish Circle and the wide range of student backgrounds and experiences within Judaism.
We offer a diversity of teaching methods, which ensures that our teaching reaches all types of learners (and that our classes are fun)!
Classes include a combination of discussion and debate, music, drama, Hebrew language, sources and stories, special guests, holiday learning, family activities, and Jewish rituals, as well as an engagement with both Jewish history and current events.
At our school, each year builds on the year before, but we also welcome new students at every level of study. Although each grade engages with themes and topics central to Judaism (including Jewish holidays, Torah, rituals, and the formation of Jewish identity), each grade also has its own specific themes and learning outcomes. In addition to major themes and sub-topics for each grade, the information below also identifies skills and middot (Jewish values) related to the curriculum that we aim to explore and cultivate throughout our program.
Our program takes place on Thursday afternoons, 4:15 – 6:15 PM, from September to May.
2022/2023 Classes begin September 15th!
Want to Learn More?
CLICK HERE to email Alysse Rich, Director of Education
Yearly Fees
The Children’s Jewish Studies program is following the DJC’s fee structures and offering a sliding scale. We invite you to pay the amount that feels comfortable for your family, and we thank you for your support.
Our program is subsidized by grants and the generosity of the DJC community. If you are able to increase your fees as a way of making a donation to the school, this money will help to fund and enrich our programming, as well as helping us to continue to offer subsidies to those who need them.
2022-2023 Fees
DJC Members (per child): $950 – $1650
Non-DJC Members (per child): $1200 – $1850
Registration will be open from July 1 to August 21. After that date, students will be placed on a wait list, and invited to register if there is space available.
For more information, please contact Alysse Rich, our Director of Education.
Funding
The Danforth Jewish Circle membership generously supports our Children’s Program by providing core funding, as well as tuition bursaries to families in need. Special thanks go to the Jewish Connection Partnership, Miles Nadal JCC, and the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, whose grants have enabled our program to flourish and grow.