In the Lower School (kindergarten through fifth grade), students participate once a week in creative arts, fine arts, the library, and twice a week in physical education. Beginning in first grade, students also regularly attend computer classes. These specialty classes are each taught by experts in their fields, and the curriculum in each enrichment area is tied to the classroom curriculum whenever possible.
In the Middle School (grades six through eight), students have creative art each week. Additionally, students sign up for electives each semester. They can choose between computers, art, Spanish, yearbook, and percussion, and each year must sign up for at least two choices. They attend their elective class once each week for a double period where they are able to spend time studying their elective subject in depth. Additionally, all Middle School students attend physical education twice each week.
In addition to our enrichment classes during the school day, Tehiyah also offers a wide array of after-school specialty classes. Through our after-school program, students participate in our musical theater program, our athletic league sports, martial arts, specialty art courses, and a variety of other offerings.
Visual, Performing and Digital Arts Department Faculty
Katja Cooper
, ext. 144
Music
Katja Cooper’s Class
Class Page
From Berkeley, CA, Katja Cooper originally trained on violin and then switched to percussion during her studies at the International School of Amsterdam and at the Rainbow Academy in Holland. In 1986, Katja moved to Israel pursuing a musical career as a performer, workshop leader, recording artist, and accompanist for prestigious modern dance companies. She absorbed the culture and music styles of the Middle East as well as studied with expert ex-patriots from Brazil, Spain, North, West & South Africa, and Cuba. She joined forces with local and international artists as well as regularly performed on Israeli national television and radio with the top-charting pop artist Rami Kleinstein. As of 2001, Katja has traveled for seminars in Spain and, upon invitation, participated in music projects in Peru, Holland and Switzerland before resettling in the East Bay Area. She’s an accompanist for the UC Berkeley dance department and performs with various bands. She taught in the Oakland Public School district while playing regularly for congregations, Jewish ceremonies and JCC events before she became involved with Tehiyah in 2006.
Janet Lipkin
, ext. 215
Visual Art
“If I could say it in words I wouldn’t paint.” This quote from Edward Hopper strongly expresses Janet’s philosophy in teaching art. All children are creative and have a strong visual language. It is Janet’s goal to expose children to all media, teach some art history and provide a lot of room for discovery and experimentation. Children learn to look at an appreciate works of art. Janet has been teaching art to adults and children for the past 35 years. This is her 14th year at Tehiyah.
Janet Lipkin graduated from Pratt Institute with Honors in 1970. Janet is one of the founders of the ARTWEAR movement in the United States. Her Artwear is in the permanent collections of many museums. She is exhibited nationally and internationally. In 1975 she received a Fulbright-Hays Scholarship to study the textiles of Ghana, Africa.
Eric Silverberg
, ext. 214
Creative Arts and Digital Media
Eric Silverberg joined the Tehiyah staff for the 2008-09 academic year as the creative arts teacher. Eric is an actor, vocalist, and musician who recently moved to the Bay Area from Chicago where he taught creative drama in the public schools and performed with Barrel of Monkeys (www.barrelofmonkeys.org), a local children's theater company. Eric holds an undergraduate degree in theater from Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., and a graduate degree in creative arts in learning and elementary education from Lesley University in Boston.
"I love guiding students through imaginative play, improvisation, and storytelling to help them make sense of their world and experiences. I believe the arts play a crucial role in children's social, emotional, and academic development. For today's students technology and digital media are an important way for them to express themselves creatively, collaborate and communicate. In order to navigate the world of the future students need to be active producers as well as educated consumers of new media. This creative work can be a very powerful tool to help our children learn to build community, equity, and to help give them ownership over their own learning."
