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Curriculum

Kindergarten

In our hands on, music filled, drama enriched, and art focused kindergarten class, our youngest learners are sure to find Jewish life exciting and engaging.  In class, students are invited not only to learn about, but also to experience Jewish holidays, Bible stories, and Shabbat.

First Grade

Our students continue to delight in the joys of Jewish holidays, rituals, and Bible stories.  The year is also filled with a number of legacy projects.  Students and parents will make keepsake Shabbat candlesticks, participate in a canned food drive for Second Harvest, and create gift baskets for the Ronald McDonald House. Families also participate in a Jewish book exchange program.

Second Grade

Our students are invited to explore all aspects of their synagogue.  Highlights of the year include a visit and “Chat with the Rabbi” in Rabbi Cohen’s office, a tour of the sanctuary, a temple-wide scavenger hunt, and chances to get to know TBS community leaders.  Second graders participate in fun-filled holiday celebrations, continue their study of Bible stories, and serve as buddies to our kindergarteners and first graders.

Third Grade

Our students begin the year by exploring Genesis.  We make our foundational text come alive through drama, art, and kinesthetic activities.  In small learning communities, students are encouraged to ask questions and uncover new answers.  Their conversations will continue into the second semester as the students engage in “God Talk.”  Each session is based on a different fundamental question, beginning with “Why don’t we see or hear God today like they did in the Bible?”

Fourth Grade

Our students jump back into their Torah exploration in “Exodus and Homeland.”  In this wildly creative curriculum, students feel themselves a part of the Exodus story and experience the joys and disappointments of life in the Land of Milk and Honey.  In the second semester, students will fast forward in history to modern life in Israel.  Together, they will explore Eretz Yisrael, the land of Israel, through our deeply experiential Israel curriculum.

Fifth Grade

Students will jump into “MTV: Mitzvah Torah Values,” as they explore the values and rituals we hold dear to our lives.  Students will explore their won Jewish history and appreciate how all Jews are connected.

Sixth Grade

In “Writings and Beyond,” our students will get to know the biblical characters Ruth, Esther, Jonah, Daniel, and more.  Highlights of the year include a bibliodrama and large-scale scavenger hunt.  Together, students will rediscover many of our Jewish holidays through text.  In the second semester, students will be invited into our “TBS Time Machine,” as they travel through Jewish space and time, visiting Jewish communities from antiquity to the present, in diverse places around the globe. 

Seventh Grade

Students meet with Rabbi Cohen for B’nei Mitzvah Class either on select Shabbat (Saturday) and Sunday mornings throughout the first semester of their seventh grade year (see Schedule and Calendar for details).  Together, they explore what it means to be a Jewish adult, tackling issues from keeping kosher to observing Shabbat. The B’nei Mitzvah class is enhanced by a series of family programs and a special TBS seventh grade retreat.  Additionally, students take part in our TBS Teen Night, Tuesdays 6:30 – 8:30 p.m., in a program called ATID (Future). During ATID students participate in a B'nei Mitzvah Hebrew Class and select from a variety of elective classes, including Conversational Hebrew, Guitar & Jewish Song Leading, Current Events, Cooking, Drama & Video, Art, and more.

Eighth Grade

In eighth grade, students continue their participation in our TBS Teen Night, Tuesdays 6:30 – 8:30 p.m., in a program called ATID (Future).  Students choose from a variety of core and elective classes, including Leadership Training, Sacred Choices, Conversational Hebrew, Current Events, Cooking, Holocaust Studies, Drama & Video, Guitar & Jewish Song Leading, Art, and more.

Ninth Grade

TBS students join ninth graders from all over Orange County and Long Beach in the TALIT Program, a community-wide program sponsored by the Bureau of Jewish Education. TALIT Ninth Grade includes an opening day orientation, a series of three 9th-12th grade retreats, three camp-prep Sundays, and a Siyyum graduation event. For more information, visit the Bureau of Jewish Education website.

Tenth Grade

In Confirmation, students return to our TBS Teen Night on select Tuesdays 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. (see schedule & calendar).   Confirmation students have an opportunity to reflect on their own Jewish identities and confirm their commitment to Jewish life.  Along with the Confirmation class, which is taught by Senior staff, students participate in a TBS Confirmation camping trip and lead the congregation in a Confirmation ceremony.  Throughout the year, students will wrestle with foundational questions, such as: What is Reform Judaism?  Who or what is God?  What is the Hebrew Bible supposed to teach me?  How can I live an ethical life? Why and how do we pray? How can I affect change in the world?

Eleventh and Twelfth Grades

Post-Confirmation students gather on select Sunday and Tuesday evenings (see schedule & calendar).  At each gathering, students will have the chance to learn and share dinner with a member of the TBS Senior Staff.  The location for these gatherings will shift each month, usually taking place at local homes or restaurants. Post Confirmation students will also travel on an exciting Jewish heritage trip to New York City.