Our religious education revolves around the Five Core Values of our temple: Torah (study), Avodah (prayer and spiritual practice), G’milut Chasadim (acts of loving kindness), Community (creating and nurturing friendships and comfort zones within the temple), and Israel (the State and peoplehood).
These core values are reflected in every one of our educational programs each day that our students come together to learn and to grow.
Our Jewish Learning Center (JLC) is an innovative and deepened approach to Judaic and Hebrew studies. Using the entire temple campus as an important tool to creating enriching and meaningful study for our students ages kindergarten through 12th grade, a new and exciting curriculum has emerged. Read this great article that was posted about our JLC in the Deerfield Review!
Our curriculum embodies the temple’s Five Core Values and the Five Foundations of Jewish Learning as developed by Rabbi Karyn Kedar.
Our Five Core Values are:
Torah (Jewish learning)
Avodah (meaningful worship and spiritual practice)
G’milut Chasadim (acts of loving kindness)
Kehillah (community)
Israel
Read more about our Five Core Values >>
The Five Foundations of Jewish Learning are:
Transactional Learning
Transformational Learning
Community
Ethical Living
Joy and Delight
Read more about the Five Foundations of Jewish Learning >>
Every lesson and every activity experienced by our students will be based on these Values and Foundations. The integrated Judaic/Hebrew curriculum deepens these experiences. The learning environment reflects the way our students learn today, and includes individualized learning, independent study, and community learning.
Please feel free to contact Emily Lusardi, Director of Education, with any questions about the JLC at 847-940-7575.
ABOUT THE JLC
JLC Sunday
Kindergarten through 6th grade
The JLC provides an inspiring and everlasting learning experience for our youth that reflects BJBE’s five core values. Sundays are filled with engaging and meaningful learning opportunities, transforming our students' Jewish identity through thought-provoking and relevant activities, and creating and sustaining community through shared experiences. In each grade, we introduce students to new concepts and challenge them to explore their Judaism in new ways. Parents are invited to learn with their children throughout the school year.
JLC AfterSchool
3rd through 6th grade
JLC AfterSchool is for our students in 3rd-6th grades. In 3rd grade, students learn the Hebrew alphabet and begin to read phonetically. The program for students in 4th-6th grades reinforces and builds upon reading skills and develops synagogue fluency, enabling students to read and comprehend the prayers of our worship service. Students attend school on either Tuesday or Wednesday afternoons.
Chai School
7th-12th grade
As they journey to high school, college, and beyond, Chai School provides a pivotal forum for our teens to explore their Jewish identities and solidify their Jewish foundations. Our 7th-10th graders gather on Sundays to enjoy lunch as a community, followed by learning with their peers, led by teams of master teachers and our clergy in small and large group settings.
7th through 10th grade
As our teens journey to high school, college, and beyond, Chai School provides a pivotal forum for them to explore their Jewish identities and solidify their Jewish foundations. Our 7th-10th graders gather on Sundays to enjoy lunch as a community, followed by learning with their peers, led by teams of master teachers and our clergy in small and large group settings. In 7th-9th grades, teens have autonomy in their learning, choosing from various electives. 10th grade is our Confirmation year at BJBE, when the teens explore our five core values and find which one is their portal to Jewish engagement.
11th and 12th Grades
Our juniors and seniors meet our clergy monthly for dinner and conversation about the topics they want to know more about.
Madrichim Teaching Assistant Program
8th to 12th graders comprise our nationally-recognized Madrichim teaching assistant program. Upon completion of a semester class in 7th grade that includes developing an understanding of the different ways students learn, as well as lesson planning and instruction, Madrichim are then qualified to assist teachers in JLC Sunday and JLC AfterSchool classes. During the school year, Madrichim meet regularly for additional training. This program exemplifies our mission to create lifelong Jewish learners and perhaps future teachers.
Contact: Victoria Douzamy
JLC Campus
When entering our Jewish Learning Center building, you will walk down a vibrant, pictorial "Hall of History," 200 feet of wall murals displaying hundreds of archival, museum quality photos, maps, and documents - teachable moments that spark curiosity and interest. The school features five distinct learning Centers that each embody one of BJBE's five core values; each is unique in design, decor and theme. In addition, a state-of-the-art Creative Studio provides a home for art, crafts, and technology, and a second studio supports performance, dance, and movement activities. The 20,000 square foot JLC is connected to the main building by an enclosed link, the Rabbi Mark S. Shapiro Gateway, creating a campus environment.
Click below to see a video of our building! (Link opens in a new window.)
