Director Judy Alexander also teaches 7th grade Hebrew. Judy has her Master’s degree in Elementary Education and Curriculum and Development. Before coming to Temple Sinai in 1998, Judy taught Hebrew school at Israel Congregation in Manchester, VT. Judy has 2 children who were confirmed here at Temple Sinai and 3 grown stepsons. She tutors students for their B’nai Mitzvot, sings in our Shabbat and High Holiday choir, and enjoys playing Mah Jongg, reading, studying guitar and writing plays. Judy is married to the choir director, Bruce Chalmer. Read Morah Judy's Blog
Early childhood education (grades prek-2)
Patty Greenfield has been teaching at the Religious School for 11 years, in a variety of grades from Kindergarten through high school. She lives with her husband, Steve, and their two sons, Ben and Dan, in Williston, where she works in the EEE pre-school. In her spare time she likes to read, cook and garden.
Primary grades (3- 5)
Michael Bortin is from Milwaukee, WI and is in his first year as 3rd grade teacher at Temple Sinai. He graduated with a psychology degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in May and moved to Vermont in August to take an AmeriCorps position working with seniors at the Champlain Valley Agency on Aging (CVAA) in Essex Junction. Michael enjoys keeping up on current events and has a deep connection with Israel. He plans to return to Israel after his AmeriCorps year. He has a sister who is a Junior at UVM and a brother who works for Senator Feingold (D-WI) in Washington D.C.
Nancy Rondeau has been teaching with us, in fourth and fifth grade, since 1993. Nancy has been teaching in the Chittenden South Supervisory Union for 25 years and is a Reading Recovery and Leveled Literacy Intervention Teacher at Allen Brook School in Williston. She has two grown children, a son Evan age 30, who works and resides in Chicago and a daughter Erica, age 33, who works and lives in Boston. Nancy went to Israel with the Temple Sinai group in 2000 and hopes to return one day. Nancy is a member of Sisterhood and enjoys singing in our choir. She also enjoys travel, playing Mah Jongg, biking, skiing, gardening and cooking. This past summer Nancy learned about beekeeping and assisted in extracting honey. She also renewed an old interest in canning, and preserving jams and jelly. In the next year Nancy will be working with her daughter to plan Erica’s wedding and designing her chupah.
Barbara Sklar is a native Burlingtonian. She has taught in Religious School since Temple started having an educational program. Over the years she has taught primarily Hebrew classes and also several secular classes. In the early years she also tutored Bar & Bat Mitzvah students. Barbara teaches special education at Hunt Middle School, still lives in Burlington with her husband, Gene, has two grown children, and is still teaching Hebrew and enjoying it.
Abby Rehkugler loves teaching 5th Grade Hebrew. In addition to raising her three children, Abby runs the Sisterhood Temple Gift Shop. She grew up in Queens, NY, attended Hebrew School and was Bat Mitzvahed at Hillcrest Jewish Center. She learned to speak Hebrew while attending one year of high school at Kfar Silver, in Ashkelon, Israel.
Upper grades (6-7)
Melissa Goraj is a senior at the University of Vermont studying Philosophy and English. Melissa is a native of Mt. Holly, Vermont and has recently returned to Burlington after a semester studying at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She is an avid member of the University of Vermont debate team. Melissa loves to be outside, bake and learn Hebrew. She is very excited to teach Jewish history to sixth grade this year.
