Grade 10 meets once a week with the Rabbis and the Confirmation staff. Several areas of study addressing many different issues and questions important to our young adults are covered during the year. From such courses as life cycle, theology, the history of the Jewish people and the prayer book, students are encouraged to develop their creative ideas to be expressed and presented in an original Shavuot service.

In order to be eligible to participate in the Confirmation ceremony, a student must have successfully completed Grades 8, 9, and 10 in the Religious School. If a student has missed one of these years, he or she may petition the Religious School Committee for reinstatement. Reinstatement will be conditioned upon completion of a special course of independent study.

Confirmands will be expected to participate in all activities including special activities such as retreats, trips, class dinners and synagogue community service projects.

At the discretion of the staff, absences may require make-up work so the student can remain matriculated. Further information can be obtained from our Confirmation handbook, distributed at the end of the Ninth grade and found in the Confirmation section of the Temple directory.

The Upper School program is designed to help our students gain new perspectives of themselves and others. This is the age when teens are seeking individuality and starting to make personal choices about essential issues. Through a variety of approaches - structured core classes and electives options – these teens have an opportunity to grow and to view Judaism as a continuous resource to them.

The curriculum for each grade in Upper School includes a core course and a series of electives. The core courses are:

Tenth Grade - Rabbis’ Seminars

Some of the electives from which students have to choose are:
Bet Din - The People’s Court
Bioethics
Conversational Hebrew for Teens
God Talk
Jewish Cultural Arts
Modern Jewish Literature

Sherut L’am Program

Upper School students participate in a variety of projects which give service to the community. Most of these activities coordinate with Montgomery County school community service hours. Students in Grades 8, 9 and 10 arrange to donate ten (10) hours of volunteer time each year in the Washington community. Some students work in the Temple Beth Ami Religious School (where they may earn up to half of their hours), and many choose projects from the Temple’s To Bring About program. To Bring About booklets describe projects in the community and are mailed to congregants. Hours and assignments are arranged on an individual basis.