Supporting Students
Student Support / Learning Center
We are deeply committed to supporting students N – 8 and offer additional academic support in our Learning Centers. The focus of this work includes skill development, strategy usage, and self advocacy skills.
Health & Wellness
Students engage in Health and Wellness classes in the 4th through 8th Grade. The content of these classes varies depending on the age of the students but, overall, includes social-emotional self-care and decision-making, physical self-care (sleeping, eating and personal hygiene), reproductive anatomy and pregnancy, gender identity and sexual orientation, mental health challenges, and issues related to substance and alcohol use.
Middle School Advisory
The Advisory Program is the centerpiece of the Middle School experience at Rodeph Sholom School. Each student is paired with one advisor in 5th Grade to help them transition into the Middle School and then each student is paired with a new advisor in 6th Grade, who serves as their advisor for the final three years of their Rodeph Sholom School experience. Advisors serve as chief advocates for their students throughout their time in Middle School, constantly consulting with other teachers, parents, and any other people that can help a child grow academically, socially, and emotionally. Because every Middle School teacher serves as an advisor, the Middle School is filled with high quality educators who are not only experts in their subject matter, but also experts in helping middle school students navigate the trials and tribulations of adolescence.
Middle School Trips
5th Grade – Camping Trip
5th graders attend a fall trip to Frost Valley where they bond as the newest incoming Middle School class and challenge themselves with activities ranging from hiking to rock wall climbing to boating.
6th Grade – Washington, D.C.
6th graders travel to Washington, D.C. for a two-night, three-day exploration of the nation’s capital that includes a visit to Reform Judaism’s Religious Action Center. This trip engages students in numerous ways. Among other things, students get the chance to visit the Museum of African American History, participate in an interactive workshop about Julius Cesar at The Shakespeare Theater Company, spend meaningful time with the National Coalition for the Homeless, and learn about the effects of gentrification at Ben’s Chili Bowl. Students will also explore D.C. monuments and the National Mall, along the way.
7th Grade – The US South
For an entire week during the spring, 7th Grade students tour the southern United States while learning about the convergence of Jewish activism and the Civil Rights Movement.
8th Grade – Israel
8th graders culminate their experience with a two-week trip to Israel which both cements their identity as a class and asks them to ponder their responsibilities as Reform Jews when they leave Rodeph Sholom School and go forward to area high schools, and, indeed, the rest of their lives.
Social Emotional Learning
Two psychologists and a Wellness Educator/Guidance Counselor work closely with teachers, advisors and Division Heads to ensure that we are being proactive and responsive to students’ social emotional needs.