Upper School at B’nai Shalom Day School 

Where Leadership Grows, Curiosity Thrives, and Community Deepens

At B’nai Shalom, Upper School includes grades 5 through 8, a time when students step more fully into themselves as learners, leaders, and compassionate community members. We’ve designed our Upper School program to challenge students academically, nurture them socially and emotionally, and encourage them to lead with Jewish values.

A Connected Community

Upper School students begin their day in mixed-grade advisories, building friendships and mentorships across grade levels. This structure creates a wider, stronger social network and supports students in forming meaningful relationships outside their immediate grade.

Students also participate in mixed-grade specials, including:

🎨 Art
🎵 Music
🧠 Social Emotional Learning
🏃 Physical Education

💻 Technology
🎭 Drama
📚 Library Science

Each trimester, students select an additional elective based on their interests.

Past electives have included Cooking, Dungeons & Dragons, Jogging, and Knitting—ensuring every student has a chance to explore something new or dive deeper into a personal passion.

At B’nai Shalom, we are proudly one school, one community. Every day, students in Kindergarten through 8th grade eat lunch outside and share recess together—often leading to spontaneous soccer games between kindergartners and 8th graders. These moments of connection across ages are part of what makes our school so special.

Learning by Doing

By the time students reach Upper School, they are already skilled users of our FabLab, a dynamic maker-space that blends technology, creativity, and design. Whether building prototypes, coding interactive projects, or designing solutions to real-world challenges, students use the FabLab regularly across subject areas to bring learning to life.

Our academic program is deeply personalized, with differentiated instruction in all subjects. Thanks to small class sizes and close attention from teachers, every student is working above grade level in math, supported and stretched according to their individual needs.

Jewish Learning & Leadership

In Upper School, Hebrew and Judaics are taught separately, allowing for deeper learning in each discipline. Students attend unaffiliated services multiple times a week, engaging with Jewish tradition in a way that is inclusive, thoughtful, and participatory.

Leadership is woven throughout Upper School life. Students regularly lead t’fillah, Havdalah, and Shabbat services, taking on roles that build confidence and a sense of responsibility. A beloved elective, Buddies, pairs Upper School students with Preschoolers for weekly visits—forming lasting relationships and modeling the Jewish value of "arevut" (mutual responsibility).

The Alliance Program

B’nai Shalom is proud to participate in the Alliance Program, a unique partnership with other small Jewish day schools across the country. Through this initiative, Upper School students build community beyond our campus, engaging in weekly virtual learning with peers nationwide.

The Alliance experience culminates in a capstone trip each year that connects learning with real-world experience:

  • 6th Grade travels to Alabama on a social action-focused trip, exploring the Civil Rights Movement and engaging in meaningful service work.

  • 7th Grade heads to Washington, D.C., where students learn how government works and lobby on behalf of issues they care about with our North Carolina representatives.

  • 8th Grade culminates their B’nai Shalom journey with a transformative trip to Israel, strengthening their understanding of Jewish identity and their deep connection to the land and people of Israel.

These experiences help students see themselves as part of a larger Jewish story—locally, nationally, and globally.