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Light Rain Chabad of Oceanside students to compete in JewQ event
Thirty-five students from the Chabad of Oceanside’s Hebrew school will compete at the Long Island JewQ Regional Championship on Sunday.
The children, ages 9 to 13, have been practicing all school year for the competition, learning the material with Chabad teachers each Sunday and studying outside of the classroom. The school also offers study sessions with pizza and snacks to review before the big day.
“It’s a lot of self-motivation,” said Rabbi Levi Gurkov, of the Chabad of Oceanside. “The information is level or grade-based. Every year, in each grade, they’re learning new information.”
The JewQ competition is a “Jewish Jeopardy” of sorts. It will be similar to a game show, where young contestants will sit on a stage and answer trivia questions based on the book “Living Jewish.”
JewQ started last year, and this is the Chabad of Oceanside’s second year participating. More than 500 students from across Long Island will compete at the event on Feb. 2 at Chai Centre in Dix Hills.
One Long Island student will advance to the international stage in New York City, where Hebrew students from across the world will compete.
Gurkov noted that while he hopes an Oceanside student goes on, the competition is overall a great learning tool for the students.
“There’s a lot more excitement and individual incentive to learn information and properly process it,” he said. “They apply competitive nature to their lives, as opposed to just sitting in a room listening to a classroom teacher.”
From last year, participation in JewQ is up to 35 students from about 20, Gurkov noted. “The bug is spreading and people are talking about it,” he said. “The parents really like it. It’s something that will keep growing.”
