jLAB FAQ

Just give me the highlights.

• Choice of day for middle school; choice of time for elementary learners on Wednesday
• Elementary: Saturday mornings PLUS Wednesdays with choice of workshops
• Middle School: Hebrew PLUS choice of Jewish Studies Track
• Engaging programing for high school teens
• Experiential Learning

What are the options this year (2023–2024)?

For grades K-5, families can register for either 2:30-4:30pm OR 3:30-5:30pm on Wednesdays. This includes two workshop options. All elementary learners attend from 9:30-11:30am on Saturday.

For grades 6-8, families can register for either 4:30-7:00pm on Monday in person at the Temple OR 7:00-8:30pm on Tuesday via Zoom.

Grades 9 & 10 can register for Monday evenings 6:30-8:00pm exclusively.

Do I have to be a member of Temple Beth Sholom to register my child?

jLAB registration is a benefit of membership. To learn more about becoming a TBS member, please contact Craig Berko: craig@tbsmb.org.  

What are the different options for middle school?

We are excited to offer choice and flexibility for our Gesher middle school program.

Learners are invited to select a Jewish Studies Track that best accommodates their interests:

• Film Production
• Musical Theater
• Visual Art

All learners will study the same topic at the same time; they will explore each unit of study through the modality of the Jewish Studies Track they choose.

Gesher learners can attend on Monday afternoons in-person at the Temple OR Tuesday evenings online. The curriculum is the same for both attendance options.

Will Wednesday Workshops get full?

YES! Please register for a workshop that is available in your child’s grade and contact Barb so we can add your child to a waitlist. 

What is jLAB Shabbat and who is it for?

jLAB Shabbat is our Saturday morning experience for learners in grades K–5. At 9:30am on Saturday mornings, families come together for our jLAB Shabbat morning service, by Mason Duboff with TBS Clergy. This is a perfect way for families to celebrate Shabbat together within the jLAB community. From 10:00-11:30am, jLAB learners are in their classroom spaces, learning together within their peer community. jLAB Shabbat includes the Hebrew Through Movementcurriculum.

What about Hebrew?

jLAB is an #onwardHebrew program, adopting the principles of sound-to-print learning by integrating these four pillars into our Hebrew learning:

• Adopting Hebrew Through Movement
• Enriching Hebrew usage in T’filah/worship
• Integrating Jewish Life Vocabulary
• Introducing Hebrew decoding after learners have developed a rich foundation in the sounds of Hebrew (5^th grade)

Every learner in grades K-5 participates in the Hebrew Through Movement curriculum on Saturday morning. Learners receive exposure to Hebrew words sprinkled throughout our curriculum (“Jewish Life Vocabulary”). In younger grades, learners are exposed to the Hebrew letters, and begin to recognize them. Decoding begins in 5th grade and continues through 7th. Beginning in 6th grade, learners are divided into small groups by level. Learning includes reviewing the Alef-Bet up through learning modern Hebrew. Learners are expected to have a baseline ability to decode Hebrew prior to beginning their B-Mitzvah tutoring.

I didn’t think my child needed to attend religious school until at least 4th grade. Why should I consider enrolling earlier?

jLAB is a comprehensive program that begins in kindergarten and ends in 10th grade. While learners must be enrolled by their 10^th birthday to receive a B-Mitzvah date, we strongly encourage parents to register their children sooner so as not to miss out on vital learning and community-building opportunities that are the foundation of Jewish education in the upper grades.

What is experiential learning?

Experiential learning is a philosophy of learning that emphasizes hands-on experience and reflection over passive learning. It is the process of learning through experience and is more narrowly defined as “learning through reflection on doing.” This type of learning occurs when learners actively engage with the material they are learning, rather than simply being told what to do. This makes experiential learning a more effective way to learn new skills and knowledge, as it allows learners to apply what they have learned in real-world situations.

The four stages of the experiential learning cycle are:

1. Concrete experience: The learner has a new experience.
2. Reflective observation: The learner reflects on the experience and what they learned from it.
3. Abstract conceptualization: The learner develops a new concept or understanding based on their experience.
4. Active experimentation: The learner applies the new concept to a new situation.

Experiential learning has been shown to be an effective way to learn new skills and knowledge. Studies have shown that experiential learners are more likely to retain information, develop problem-solving skills, and be more motivated to learn.