Words From Our Administrators
Message from Zena Herod
Head of School
I believe a Community Jewish Day School has the unique opportunity of providing our children with very special advantages.
* Character Education – Where better than to look within our own religion that is built upon ethics and morality.
* Diversity – The goal is to appreciate our differences and celebrate the common traditions that bind us together as Jews. In addition, how wonderful that we also trace our roots back to the cultures of just about every country in the world. What wonderful jumping off points for teaching about diversity.
* Bilingual Skills – At a time when schools try to add a foreign language to the curriculum of the elementary school and children get just one or two short periods a week of training their ears and minds to that study, where better to reap the educational rewards of bilingual education than in a Community Jewish Day School where the study of a foreign language – OUR language – is a part of every day.
* Rigorous Curriculum – At a time when parents want the best education for their children, where better than a Community Jewish Day School that teaches a dual curriculum and is able to send its graduates onto all the best independent schools in our area.
Helen Kisser
Director of General Studies, Hebrew Academy of Tidewater
The crux of my philosophy is that education must be student centered, with the student being very involved in his/her own education process. It is important that an educational team consisting of the teacher, student and parents is formed early in the school year. Open lines of communication are vital as is the value of establishing classroom routines early in the year, and maintaining them throughout.
I also like to involve students in creating the classroom rules, giving them a sense of ownership and control. In the end, when all members of the team know and 'buy-in' to the expectations, our students are set up for success.
Alene Kaufman
Director of Strelitz Early Childhood Center
I enjoy a hands-on approach to learning. When students engage in actual projects and activities, what they are doing
takes on meaning. They develop patterns and connections to previous experiences and “own” what they discover, developing curiosity along the way. Children have the privilege and right to explore in depth the things that interest them. Education should not only be a receptive learning experience – an opening up of the brain and pouring information in. It should be a process of learning through discovery, asking questions, and developing problem-solving skills through this process. This philosophy of open-ended learning and meaningful investigations begins with our youngest students, hopefully creating a learning environment where education is joyful, meaningful and celebratory.
Jewish education is my passion, not only for our young students, but for their families. We strive to impart not only the “how-to” of Jewish life, but the moral values and ethics of our tradition. As a preschool that is open to all members of the Simon Family JCC, Jewish or not, we know that everyone can find value in these ethical teachings. The preschool is a place where we successfully integrate all sections of our curriculum into our learning environment.