Religious School

Temple Beth Shalom was built in Sun City and so did not originally have a religious school. More than a decade ago, the congregation decided to make a conscious effort to aspire to become a multi-generational community. Part of that effort involved opening a religious school. We welcome students from the entire West Valley.

 

We have a very small school which allows us to provide individual attention. We have a team of volunteer teachers from our community who work with students under the guidance of the rabbi. Families of our religious school students are actively involved in the religious and social life of the temple including attending services on Friday nights. 

 

Our Temple is committed to providing a warm and caring environment for all students to explore their spirituality. We aspire to inspire each student to develop a love of Jewish learning and provide the opportunity for them to participate actively in Jewish ritual and holiday observances. Learning is both individualized and personalized. 

 

We also want to help each student to feel emotions related to the biblical stories and ritual acts they are learning about. Our educational experience is not just about learning facts but is centered on what those facts can and do mean for us as human beings. We also engage them with a series of values based on Professor Martin Seligman’s positive psychology. 

 

With the limited hours available, American religious schools cannot teach students as much as they would really need to become highly educated Jews. What we do hope to do is to inspire them to want to continue their education into their college years and far beyond. 

 

We offer study opportunities leading to confirmation at a minimum age of 15 and bar and bat mitzvah at a minimum age of 13. 

Please contact the TBS office for further information. You can call Charlotte Trujillo at 623.977.3240 or email her at charlottetbsaz@gmail.com.