At Frisch, academic excellence, rigor and intellectual pursuits are not only preparation for one’s future academic and professional careers, but are also crucial components of the worldview of Modern Orthodoxy; that General Studies, when it informs and is filtered through our Jewish identities, can also make us better, even more spiritual citizens and Jews. The integration of Torah and General Studies allows students to see how their Torah Studies can be enriched by general culture and how their general studies can be inspired and informed by Torah values.
Frisch’s General Studies curriculum is designed to challenge students to think critically and creatively. Courses in every discipline are offered at multiple levels in order to meet the individual needs of every learner. Students are encouraged to pursue their intellectual interests and have the opportunity to choose from a multitude of electives. Additionally, motivated students can engage in a directed study in which they conduct original research under the guidance of a faculty mentor.
The goal in all Limudei Kodesh classes is to foster love and enthusiasm for Talmud Torah both as a means of developing one’s relationship with God, and as a spiritually enhancing intellectual endeavor.
In English courses at Frisch, students are exposed to the best of classical and contemporary literature which they analyze, discuss and write about throughout their high school years. The English curriculum is predicated upon a series of interconnected goals: students learn to write clearly and effectively conforming to conventions of standard written English, including appropriate mechanics and diction; through the study of fiction and non-fiction they learn to read and think critically and make intelligent inferences; students learn to understand and use critical sources when researching and to integrate secondary sources in well-conceived and constructed essays and papers.
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Frisch offers a variety of world languages including Spanish, French, Arabic, Italian, Mandarin and Yiddish. In freshman and sophomore years, the goal is to provide students with the skills to become proficient at a novice to intermediate level in the language that they choose in the three modes of communication: interpersonal (person to person), interpretive (listening and reading), and presentational (spoken and written production). Students also learn about various aspects of the culture of those language communities.
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The History Department seeks to convey to students a sense of the complexity of the historical past and the way that people’s choices and decisions have shaped the modern world. Using a wide variety of primary and secondary sources, students are encouraged to attempt to re-experience previous eras through the eyes of people who lived through them, as well as to examine eras dispassionately through the lenses employed by historians. As students recognize the recurring themes of the human past, and thoughtfully examine the choices made by historical actors, they become more engaged and nuanced thinkers about the world they inhabit today
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Frisch Research Fellows, a cohort of self-motivated and intellectually curious students from grades 9-12, are provided with a semester-long opportunity to explore an area of interest in a directed study. As a supplement to their rigorous course load, these directed studies teach students how to conduct sophisticated research, organize materials, and produce an academic paper/project.
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Student Support Services at Frisch offer students supplementary academic support to ensure success in the rigorous dual curriculum of a yeshiva high school. Students are placed in appropriate tracks in an effort to cater to individual needs. Additionally, learning specialists, all trained in multiple learning issues for the high school level, meet with students in small groups in the Learning Center, to support classroom learning in General and Judaic Studies. With the help of the Learning Center, students improve their ability to express their ideas in writing, enhance their reading comprehension and critical thinking skills, strengthen executive functioning skills, and develop their study and test taking strategies.
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The Mathematics Department at Frisch offers a progressive and innovative college preparatory program. Students are not only taught a wide range of topics in math, but also how to think and view the world from a quantitative perspective. Using the most progressive technology, real time assessment, blended learning, group work, and frontal teaching, Frisch students receive a rich and sophisticated math education which prepares them for standardized tests and future college level studies in mathematics. Multiple tracks of every math course are offered to meet the needs of our students’ different learning styles.
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Frisch has a comprehensive athletic program featuring
competitive teams, physical education classes, and clubs
that offer sports. In the interest of fostering a lifelong
commitment to physical fitness, Frisch offers a variety of
options for physical education. The many opportunities
encourage students to find a passion that they will continue
to pursue long after high school.
Frisch’s comprehensive, lab-based science program enables students to understand themselves and their environment from a scientific perspective. In Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Engineering, and Scientific Research courses, students gain an appreciation for the complexity of the universe and the application of scientific knowledge in their daily lives.
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Talmud shiurim at Frisch focus on the textual analysis of sugyot, while using the text as a springboard to analyze global concepts in Shas. Each sugya is dissected to gain a working understanding of the Talmud and its commentaries. Students explore disputes of the tannaim, ammoraim, rishonim and achronim to discern not only the substance of the argument but the rationale behind differing views.
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Tanach classes engage students in the creative process of exploring the meaning of the text and enable them to develop the analytic and textual skills which are prerequisites for independent study. The focus is on analyzing the text of Tanach aided by classical and modern commentaries. Students gain an appreciation of parshanut as they engage in the same quest as commentators. As students prepare texts prior to class, they are empowered as active learners.
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At Frisch, technology is considered an essential tool to further our curricular goal of promoting student-centered learning. Through the use of technology, students can interact directly with primary sources of information and, through the active facilitation of our teachers, become more independent and engaged learners. To further our educational mission, Frisch offers a 1/1 iPad program for every student as they enter their freshman year. iPads are the ideal device to combine the ease of use and portability of mobile technology with the powerful resources available on the web and through specialized educational apps in various disciplines to promote student-centered learning.
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