Religious School & Hebrew Lab
WHERE LIVING & LEARNING JUDAISM IS A JOY!
TBO Religious School Opening Day:
T.B.A.
We begin with breakfast
TBO Religious School:
Sundays, 9:30 AM - 12 PM
TBO Hebrew Lab:
Wednesdays, 4 PM - 6 PM
LEARNING AT TEMPLE BETH OHR IS
ENGAGING!
Temple Beth Ohr utilizes the Chai and Mitkadem curriculum of the Union for Reform Judaism to creatively engage our students in exploring Jewish holidays, history, Hebrew and culture. We encourage interactive classroom settings, the use of computers and internet, as well as intergenerational and family learning opportunities to further enhance our students’ learning experience. Our students, in turn, feel a greater connection to Judaism and to Temple Beth Ohr.
RELEVANT!
More than routine reliance on memorizing facts and figures, our educational program strives to connect our students to the meanings of Jewish holidays, prayers and historical experience. We encourage our students to interact with each other, their teachers, learning materials, and Rabbi and Cantor, in a supportive environment. We strive to foster in our students feeling Jewish as much as knowing about Judaism.
AFFORDABLE!
Religious School Fee:
$500/student
Pre-School Fee:
$250/student
Hebrew Lab Fee:
$500/student
Bar/Bat Mitzvah Fee:
$725/student
(not including facility fee)
Confirmation Fee:
$1175/student
(includes L'Taken Seminar)
Our Educators
Rabbi Mark Goldfarb is the director of our Religious School and Hebrew Lab. Under his guidance and with the help of our dedicated Education Committee, a number of creative school-wide activities are part of our students learning. Our students experience the joy and light of Hanukkah during our Hanukkah Happening event. They’ve made candles to use, learned the history of the Maccabean revolt, watched olive oil being made, and more. For Tu b’Shvat, our students share in a special seder celebrating trees with nuts and fruit. And Passover is truly an experience wherein the students make a variety of charoset, taste test grape juice, and have a seder in PJ’s on the floor!
The TBO Hebrew Lab is nothing like the Hebrew School of old. Using the URJ Mitkadem curriculum and online learning sources, students learn not only to read the Hebrew prayers, they also learn the meaning of those prayers. The student centered focus of the materials enables the students to learn at their own pace and gain mastery of the prayers in a supportive atmosphere.
Rabbi Mark is also the instructor for the Confirmation program. Our tenth-grade students have the opportunity to interact and study with the Rabbi, exploring Jewish history, values, mysticism, and engage in Tikkun Olam, the repair of our world. One of the highlights of the TBO Confirmation program is our participation in the L’Taken Seminar of the Religious Action Center of the URJ. This four-day political advocacy seminar, held in Washington DC, gives our students the opportunity to learn about the issues facing our nation and speak to their Member of Congress about ways the Federal Government can help respond to those issues.
My name is Linda Selander and I taught kindergarten and first-grade students for 21 years in the Norwalk/La Mirada Unified School District. Throughout these years, my goal as an educator was for my students to feel excited about coming to school, become self-confident and develop habits that enable them to become lifetime learners.
Currently, I am teaching preschool, kindergarten, and first grade at Temple Beth Ohr, and I have enjoyed this experience for 40 years. My students learn in a positive and welcoming environment about their wonderful Jewish heritage. The curriculum includes interactive learning about the Torah (Bible stories), Avodah (religious holidays), and G'milut Chasadim (kindness, caring, and respecting others in the community). Also, students learn about Tzedkah, which involves the giving of money or items. Students actively participate in their learning with stories, crafts, songs and music movement.
Alyssa Hess has worked as a teacher at TBO for the past 6 years. She began working in Hebrew Lab in 2015 and then moved to become the Religious School teacher for 8th, 9th, and 10th grade in 2018. Now she is back in Hebrew Lab working with the 5th and 6th graders learn about the prayers they say at their B’nai Mitzvot. Alyssa holds a master’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Loma Linda University. She also holds two bachelor’s degrees in Cognitive Studies and Health Care Administration. She currently works as a Speech Language Pathologist with TK-8th graders at Lowell Joint School District in La Habra/Whittier. Alyssa loves working with kids and teaching them about Hebrew and Judaism.
I, Peggy Horwitz, have been a religious school teacher at Temple Beth Ohr for over 30 years. I even had the pleasure of educating my own three children. I now pinch-hit in teaching with a former student, Hannah Yungman, who is amazing. We use the Union of Reform Judaism Curriculum–CHAI, Learning for Jewish Life, which is a depth-evolving curriculum year upon year. Students blossom with this venue that includes art, poetry, stories, skits, and deep thinking.
My name is Laura Milhander, and I teach the middle elementary grades on Sunday mornings. I use the URJ’s Chai Curriculum to teach lessons in Torah, Avodah, and Gemilut Chasadim, as well as other materials and sources to teach the Jewish holidays in a creative and meaningful way. My family joined the TBO family in 2014, and I joined the teaching staff a year later. I have been teaching in Jewish and general education environments for 35 years. I love sharing my joy of celebrating Jewish customs and learning with children and look forward to doing so for many years to come.