THE TUTORS’ ROLES
We are very lucky to have very talented and expert tutors who meet with our children 24 times prior to the Bar/t Mitzvah . They are: Janet Jeddah, Mark Elber, and Dahlia Sandberg. Six months prior to the Bar or Bat Mitzvah, children will begin working with the tutors. Appointments are scheduled directly with the tutors and will be at yours and their convenience. The tutors work with the kids for the entire six months and bring them to where they need to be in terms of chanting their prayers, Haftarah and Torah portions.
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
It probably sounds trite but keeping our kids practicing daily is essential to their success on the bimah. Six months is a handful of months to adults but in the 12-13 year old psyche, it’s an eternity! They always have “plenty of time” before the Bar or Bat Mitzvah, but big people know better—they don’t. Parents have the right and the responsibility to remind their children that they have a job and it’s called homework. The tutors and the Cantor will always assign homework at the end of each private sessions. When kids show up for their lessons having completed their homework, they can move forward with new material. If they come in unprepared, and it happens week after week, progress is obviously impeded. The cramming and anxiety that sometimes happens in the two weeks prior to the simhah is no fun for anyone. Steady progress is what we encourage and shoot for and parents play an indispensable role in making that happen.
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Updated July 12, 2006 
