Sunday school meets three times a month from 9:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. during the school year. Classes are taught Pre-K through 8th grade, including Bar and Bat Mitzvah preparation.
Kids learn about Jewish traditions, major festivals, and biblical heritage from a social and cultural perspective. At all levels, children join the adults for singing in Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino and English.
| Grade | Theme |
| preK-K | Jewish Life of Our Community: Holidays and their symbols, mitzvot, and secular humanistic Jewish ethics and values such as love of learning, ethical action, Tzedakah, social justice, respect for life, friendship, personal responsibility for our actions and consequences. |
| 1st/2nd even years |
Our Celebrations: Jewish holidays and their origins; how they are celebrated in our homes, our community, other Jewish communities, and in the world; relevant music, food, art and dance; links to non-Jewish observances like Thanksgiving and Solstice; life cycle events such as birth, B’nai Mitzvah, marriage, death |
| 1st/2nd odd years |
Jewish Lives: Defining our values as secular Jews, doing the right thing, having a positive impact on the world, expressing our values through action, and learning about some famous people who exemplify this theme; also how Jews around the world celebrate holidays. |
| 3rd/4th even years |
Our Stories: Historical context of the Bible, Bible stories in the secular context and as a way to teach values, cultural practices, and our history, history of ancient Israel |
| 3rd/4th odd years |
Our History: History of the Jews and Judaism, culture in ancient times, issues of class, discrimination and resilience, social justice, intellectual tradition, early Diaspora and Jewish life in various countries, shetl life |
| 5th/6th even years |
Jews in the U.S.: Different phases of immigration to the U.S., Jews in early U.S., involvement in social movements (labor movement, civil rights), American Jewish experience and culture, assimilation, class issues, branches of Judaism, Jews in Chicago, Jewish literature focused on the U.S. , and the history of secular Jews in the U.S. |
| 5th/6th odd years |
Jews in the Larger World: Diaspora continued, the Holocaust, establishment of modern state of Israel, Kibbutz movement, history of the Middle East conflict, our tradition of critical analysis and questioning, discrimination and resilience in the recent past and present, identifying and fighting prejudice, literature focused on the Holocaust or Jews in other countries |
| B’nai Mitzvah | Becoming B’nai Mitzvah: In addition to preparing the students for the B’nai Mitzvah celebration, which includes an exploration of their family history, a social action project, interviews with significant adults in their life, Bible study, and the opportunity to express their individual beliefs and values at the ceremony, some time is spent trying to understand the history, the culture, the significance, and the meaning of secular Judaism. |
Each class is encouraged to complete a service or social action project that is tied to the topic of that year, and that the students help to select. Each class (excluding preK-K) is encouraged to have a field trip which is relevant to the content they are studying. Examples are a trip to a museum, social service agency, or nature facility.
In addition, there are threads that are woven through all of the grades in different ways. The threads include how secular Jews celebrate Jewish holidays, and Jewish culture (e.g., music, food, dance and humor).
Please email [email protected] with any questions about Sunday School or registration.
Amy Kudlov and her family have been members of the SJCS community for over a decade. Amy looks forward to helping pre-K/Kindergarteners begin their SJCS learning journey through the lens of play, stories, movement and crafts.
Amy holds a Master's degree in Education from Northwestern University and has twenty years teaching experience as a High School Math Teacher. She now works as Physical Therapist Assistant at Eyas Landing, a pediatric therapy clinic. Her therapy is informed by meeting children where they are in order to build a therapeutic alliance that will foster their growth. Her outside interests include yoga, jogging, biking, traveling and spending time with family.
Ethan has been a part of the SJCS community since its inception in 2003 when he was still attached to his mother’s hip at the age of two! He graduated with the 2014 B’nai Mitzvah class and went on to TA for the 1st/2nd grade class for the next three years. He is a recent graduate of the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign where he received his bachelor's degree in Elementary Education. In addition to his university training, he was inducted into the Golden Apple Scholar program in 2019 which provides additional teaching training and expertise. Ethan is a 3rd grade teacher at Lovett Elementary in CPS.
In his free time, Ethan enjoys going on walks, playing soccer, and riding his bike. He is excited to return to SJCS to teach the 1st/2nd grade class and help them develop their Secular Jewish identities through the study of our celebrations and values. He is dedicated to creating an inclusive environment where all students can expand their learning and work in a collaborative way.
Ari Buslovich is from Minneapolis, Minnesota and is new to the Chicago area as she is studying Occupational Therapy at the University of Illinois Chicago. Ari grew up immersed in several types of Jewish communities. Most notably, Ari was a camper, staff and inclusion specialist for a total of twelve years at Herzl Camp, a pluralistic independent Jewish overnight camp in Webster, WI. She also has a background as an assistant teacher in high school and college.
Ari is very excited to work with the 3rd/4th graders this year, bringing bible stories to life! “Shtick” (silliness) and “ruach” (spirit) are pillars of Ari’s Jewish experience and engagement that she hopes to bring to the classroom. In her free time Ari usually likes to garden, go on walks or cook and bake!
Georgia and her family are longtime members of SJCS. She graduated with the 2011 B’nai Mitzvah class and went on to be a TA in the 3rd through 6th grades for the next five years. She studied Government and Education at Lawrence University and in 2020 received her BA in Government with an emphasis on Education Policy. She continued to live and work in Wisconsin as an educator until 2022. She moved back to Chicago last summer and is now working as an Assistant Teacher at Chiaravalle Montessori. She is thrilled to return to SJCS as the 5th/6th grade teacher.
When not teaching, Georgia finds joy in performing arts! This summer she worked and played at Logan Square Farmer's Market, Avrom Farm Party, and Pitchfork Music Festival, and in her spare time she records a spreadsheet of every live performance she has seen in 2023 (feel free to ask to see it).
Aaron Podolner leads our young adults through the transformative experience of becoming B’nai Mitzvah. The B’nai Mitzvah class is very project oriented, and Aaron enjoys connecting Secular Judaism to each of the projects.
Aaron grew up as a Secular Jew in Oak Park and has taught physics at Oak Park and River Forest High School for twenty-three years. He earned his bachelor’s degree in physics and education at Kalamazoo College and completed his Masters in Curriculum and Instruction at National-Louis University.
Aaron and his family have been an integral part of SJCS since first joining the community in 2012. When not teaching, he enjoys making stuff in his shop using a variety of saws, a 3D printer, and laser engraver.
Bri grew up in Oak Park in a mixed-faith family. She currently works as an Occupational Therapist in the Chicago Public Schools and the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. Bri taught K/1st/2nd grade at SJCS for three years and loved learning and exploring Secular Judaism with her students.
Bri has worked with children in many different settings: coaching Oak Park’s coolest soccer players in AYSO’s VIP league, running cooking camps for young chefs at The Chopping Block, and working towards healthy lifestyles with families in Pilsen who have children with disabilities. When she is not teaching at SJCS, you are likely to spot Bri at the farmer’s market, reading at a coffee shop, or walking her dog Mila.
Noel and his family have been members of SJCS since 2014. In that time Noel has taught the 3rd/4th grade class, worked as a substitute teacher, and served on the Sunday School Committee. He is also a proud parent of an SJCS grad.
Noel has worked as a School Psychologist within the Chicago Public Schools for more than twenty years where he has focused on providing direct services to students that have been identified as having Autism Spectrum Disorder. Outside interests include hiking, camping, biking, writing, and reading.
Claire Bergen is a credentialed educator, experienced teaching artist, and current student in the Rabbinic Program of the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism. Claire spent 16 years as an educator in Los Angeles, where they taught music with the LA Philharmonic and in the public schools, and was Lead lerer (teacher) and Curriculum Specialist at the secular Jewish Sholem Community. Claire holds M.A. degrees in Teaching and in Jewish Studies, and is currently Mensch Academy Facilitator and Professional Development Specialist at Mishkan Chicago. Claire is looking forward to continuing their Curriculum Specialist work at SJCS.
When not working on becoming a secular rabbi, Claire enjoys singing, drawing, talking to their plants and going back to LA to visit their families (biological and chosen).
