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Middle School 6-8

TVT Middle School students flourish in their daily lives on campus. They are happy, healthy, and eager to learn. Our student and faculty culture is welcoming, nurturing, supportive, and inclusive, making all students feel comfortable to take risks and strive for their goals. Our faculty enjoys not only teaching in the classroom but also working with the students on a deeper level in order to better understand and know each and every student.

TVT students value and embed the six key values -- truth, kindness, respect, repairing the world, justice, and community -- throughout their years in Middle School. TVT students challenge one another inside and outside of the classroom. Our students have the opportunity to be leaders in their community with service projects, to become involved citizens within their religion and community.

The Middle School offers several ways by which students can expand their academic knowledge or personal interests. Students can attain new leadership skills, pursue an interest by joining an extracurricular club, expand their academic knowledge through experiential learning, and, of course, have fun. All students are able to not only find a passion but also learn about who they are. We are a tight-knit community where all students know one another and are able to share experiences and grow together.

Jewish students learn what it means to have a strong Jewish identity. They connect with their roots and share their love for their culture through their Hebrew and Judaic Studies courses as well as in Tefilah and Kabbalat Shabbat.

How we usher our students into larger communities and responsible adulthood is similar to a parent teaching a child to walk. The Bal Shem Tov shares a story of a parent setting down a child, taking a few steps away, beckoning that child to come closer, and then as the child takes its first steps, the parent backs up. The distance the parent creates, according to The Bal Shem Tov, is not to reject or abandon that child, but to teach the child to come close on his or her own. Here at TVT, we too begin to take a few steps back as each student matures. We know that closeness and affection in our interactions is essential for a child’s confidence to try something new, yet it is also our ability to make space for the child that allows the child to venture out and grow. The more we maintain that balance, the more we ‘bless the space between us,’ as the Irish poet John O’Donohue phrased it, and the better we foster each student’s innate curiosity and search for meaning and purpose.