CITY FOCUS:

The Hebrew Academy of Huntington Beach teaches about 350 Jewish students from preschool to high school. Students are educated in Torah studies as well as secular subjects, but now they’re getting a new kind of education — conserving energy and recycling.

With the help of donors, the school has installed 189 solar panels that now supply a significant portion of its power, school Marketing Director Carol Koenigsberg said. The switch has been flipped in recent weeks, and the panels don’t supply just energy; along with a new recycling program started at the school, they’re a source of education about social responsibility, she said.

How does environmentalism fit into Jewish ethics? Quite well, Koenigsberg said. There’s a concept in Jewish thought called “tikkun olam” — sometimes translated as “repairing the world” — that ties into many kinds of social responsibility, she said.

“It’s about taking care of the Earth that takes care of us,” she said. “That concept is what we’re educating our students about. It really follows directly into recycling and going green, and that’s what we’re trying to teach them. A lot of kids think you flip on a switch and the light just turns on, but we’re teaching them about the cost.”

Principal Ron Bank helped start a recycling program — now supported by Rainbow Disposal — that has parents and faculty planning to use money raised to support the school, she said.

The educational experience will all culminate in an April 9 ribbon-cutting and Earth Day celebration, Koenigsberg added. At the event, speakers on the environment and Mayor Debbie Cook will address the school community about the importance of environmentalism to the community, she said.

“We even ordered this giant Earth ball — it’s 40 inches in diameter,” Koenigsberg said. “We really want to open the kids’ eyes about the planet.”