Jewish Life

JCoSS is a vibrant and dynamic pluralist Jewish environment, where all voices are heard and everyone is invited to engage with a wide range of Jewish experiences through our formal and informal Jewish Education department.  Our values of machloket (respectful disagreement) and Menschlichkeit (always doing the right thing) infuse our formal and informal curriculum.  Our aim is that students and staff alike live a Jewish cycle through the weekly, monthly and annual observances and rituals which mark our calendar, and have a positive and hands on experience of as many elements of this as possible.  We celebrate all the Jewish festivals as a community and offer a wide range of volunteering, interfaith and Jewish learning trips and experiences to students.

Rosh Chodesh (the new month) is celebrated in school with prayer, discussion and reflection and students are encouraged to participate in ways which are meaningful to them.  We welcome in Shabbat every week and offer students different ways to engage with the themes and experiences of the Jewish year. 

JCoSS also observes the more recent commemorations and celebrations in the Jewish calendar; marking Yom Ha Shoah, Yom ha Zikaron and Yom HaAtzmaut in school as a whole community.  In addition students are offered the opportunity to experience both Poland and Israel with the school, engaging in a meaningful and challenging discourse with themes relating to the 20th Century Jewish experience in Europe and the State of Israel.

We also have a strong tradition of Social Action at JCoSS, with fundraising and volunteering as the practical manifestation of the core Jewish values of Tzedaka and Tikkun Olam.  Students are offered a variety of options to volunteer, raise funds and develop their leadership potential in doing so.

JCoSS is a Jewish school with a strong identity which also actively engages with our multi-cultural society.  We are committed to engaging with people of other faiths and students are given opportunities to learn about world religions and celebrate British values

 We aim to send open minded, knowledgeable and passionate Jews out into the world, who have the confidence and experience necessary to make meaningful Jewish choices in their lives and who embrace the values of pluralism and machloket to lead our community forward into the 21st century.