Welcome to Congregation of Reform Judaism

STEINMETZ FAMILY SCHOOL OF CHAI

The Steinmetz Family School of Chai strives to provide each student with a comprehensive Jewish education in a caring, innovative, and vibrant environment. Our school will enable each family to understand and express Judaism through Torah, prayer, and acts of kindness. We will inspire each family to be a vital part of our community and to build a Reform Jewish identity and a foundation for a lifelong commitment to Jewish living.

This mission statement, as created by the Youth Education Committee in 2008 for the Steinmetz Family School of Chai, reflects the environment that our school provides. Our goal is to inspire our students with a warm and engaging faculty, a Jewish milieu where lifelong friendships can be made, and a steady environment for students to develop clear Jewish values and decision-making skills. We also encourage strong family participation and hope to inspire a love of lifelong learning both at school and at home. As Religious School Director, I look forward to making connections with each of you!

L’Hitraot,
Sheryl Sacharoff, M.Ed. (SEE BIO BELOW)
Religious School Director

Welcome to the Steinmetz Family School of Chai!
We offer a unique educational experience for grades K - 6. Our classes meet on Sundays (for grades K - 6) from 9:30 am-12:30 pm, Wednesdays (for grades 3rd - 6th) from 4 pm - 6 pm and on Thursdays from 4 pm - 5:30 pm for our students in southwest Orlando at Windy Ridge Elementary School. Our pre b’nai-mitzvah class, known as Chevrutah meets under the supervision of Rabbi Engel every Wednesday from 4-6 pm. For more information about The Steinmetz Family School of Chai, please contact Sheryl Sacharoff, Religious School Director at 407-645-0444 or email at ssacharoff@crjorlando.org.

Judaics
Our Judaics Curriculum is the Union for Reform Judaism’s curriculum known as the Chai Curriculum. Students in Grades K-6 will have the opportunity to learn in an interactive and fun environment. This curriculum offers teachers 27 lessons broken into three categories: Torah, Avodah (Prayer), and G’milut Hasidim (Acts of Loving Kindness). Our talented faculty will be supplementing this curriculum with other fun and educational activities, thus adding even more creative ways for children to learn at the Steinmetz Family School of Chai through such modalities as singing, acting, cooking, and creating artistic projects.

Ivrit
Our Ivrit (Hebrew) Curriculum allows our students the opportunity to learn Hebrew in a prayer-based curriculum. Students are introduced to the aleph bet letters and sounds beginning in Kindergarten, as studies show that foreign languages are absorbed easier at a young age.

Camp Chai
The Steinmetz Family School of Chai offers a unique concept in experiential learning which we call Camp Chai. We offer different specialty classes: Arts and Crafts, Cooking, Drama, Music, and Sports. All of these activities will be infused with a special Judaics component and should be enjoyed by all who participate.

Prayer Studies
Students have weekly T’filah Jam with Cantor Jacqueline Rawiszer which allows our students to learn the tunes, choreography and words of our Services in a fun and “ruach” filled setting. Additionally, our students learn prayers within their Hebrew and Judaics studies.

About the Religious School Director:
Sheryl R. Sacharoff became Religious School Director at The Steinmetz Family School of Chai at Congregation of Reform Judaism in 2009 after previously holding several other roles within the school as well as in lay leadership in the synagogue. Sheryl has been in the field of education for over 30 years and has taught on all levels including middle school, high school and college. Previous roles have included educational director of a residential program for at-risk adolescents, teacher of special needs students in an inner-city public school, and Modern Hebrew I and II instructor at Rollins College. Sheryl has also taught several courses in adult education at Congregation of Reform Judaism.

Her passion is in helping children to become creative and critical thinkers who are self-confident and caring individuals. Sheryl has a Masters Degree in Education from University of Massachusetts Boston and a Bachelor in Education from Bridgewater State College. She is currently working on her dissertation in Hebrew education as a Doctoral candidate at Nova Southeastern University in Special Education with an integrated focus in Jewish studies. Sheryl is a member of the National Association of Temple Educators.

Sheryl is married for more than 24 years to Dr. Alex Sacharoff, a past President of CRJ, and they have two sons, Justin and Cory.