Jewish center’s pupils
learn in the community
Instead of staying cooped up with textbooks, students at Congregation Bet Shalom’s Jewish Learning Center will get out into the community and the synagogue’s garden.
The new year of classes for students in kindergarten through eighth grade begins Sunday.
Every Sunday from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., students will explore Jewish traditions and Hebrew in an interactive setting, departing from more traditional styles of study the congregation has typically offered, said Avraham Alpert, the cantor and spiritual leader.
“We’re going to be using the resources of Tucson to teach our kids about life and Jewish life,” said Saul Ostroff, one of the center’s teachers.
For the first part of the class, students in sixth through eighth grade will study the Talmud with adults, and then join younger students later.
Congregation Bet Shalom, 3881 E. River Road, also offers a variety of mostly free classes for adults throughout the week.
Tuition for students in kindergarten and first grade is free. Tuition for children in second through eighth grade is $436 for the school year, which concludes in May.
For more information or to register, visit cbsaz.clubexpress.com or call 577-1171.
Topic: Welcoming those
with mental illness
A Sunday class at Saint Francis in the Foothills United Methodist Church will educate churchgoers on how to welcome individuals with a mental illness.
The Rev. Mary Alice Do, a retired Disciples of Christ minister, will present the class “The Church as a Place of Welcome and Support for Those with Mental Illness,” according to press materials.
Do works with churches to equip them to help individuals and families that experience mental illnesses.
The free class runs 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday at the church, 4625 E. River Road.
For more information, visit stfrancisumc.com or call 299-9063.
Baptist church to host Beth Moore simulcast
Mountain View Baptist Church will host a simulcast of Beth Moore’s Living Proof Live conference for women on Saturday, Sept. 12.
The cost to attend the simulcast, which runs from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., is $20 and includes lunch. To purchase tickets, contact the church office at 3500 W. Overton Road. The office is open from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday. The deadline to purchase tickets is Monday, Aug. 31, according to press materials.
Moore is a speaker and author of best-selling books and Bible studies for women. She is the founder of Living Proof Ministries, a Bible-based organization for women.
For more information, visit mvbctucson.org or call 744-9141.
Jewish preschool uses Montessori principles
To teach Jewish preschoolers to sort and separate, Esther Becker may ask them to distinguish between kosher and non-kosher animals.
Sorting is a popular activity at Montessori schools, and starting Monday, Aug. 31, Congregation Chofetz Chayim, 5150 E. Fifth St., will host the Tucson Jewish Montessori for preschoolers.
As far as Becker knows, it’s the first Tucson school to apply Jewish learning to Montessori methods, an approach to education that emphasizes hands-on and self-directed discovery.
Esther Becker will work with the preschoolers, along with her husband, Rabbi Israel Becker, a teaching assistant and a Montessori teacher. Lessons will include Jewish stories and the letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
The school for children ages 3 to 6 opens Monday, Aug. 31 at Congregation Chofetz Chayim. Children will be in a blended class from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, with additional child care available before and after. Tuition is $650 per month.
For more information and to register, visit tucsonjewishmontessori.org
