SHAGN Brochure

SILVERSTEIN HEBREW ACADEMY OF GREATNECK

Where children are taught with an open mind and an open heart

WHO WE ARE

Founded in 1998, SHA has provided an inclusive, progressive, and passionate Jewish education to our students for almost twenty years. We pride ourselves on our academic excellence and commitment to Judaic study and practice. From preschool through 8th grade, we look at our students as a whole, and we strive to provide for all of their needs: physical, intellectual, and spiritual. This outlook is reflected by our community, with its diverse range of members, and consistent focus on bettermentas individuals and as a whole. Welcome.

SHAGN OUR OMMITMENT

school is more than just the sum of its parts. It is the atmosphere that our children absorb as they begin to navigate the world. Built on Torah values, and utilizing the latest in cutting edge educational technique and technology, we are a school that is grounded in timeless tradition with an eye firmly fixed on the future. Our goal is to nurture students who will become great scholars, caring neighbors, passionate leaders, and most of all - proud Jews. Through our commitment to academic excellence, broad Judaic knowledge, and community building, we strive to instill these values in our students, and it is by the dedication of our well-trained and passionate staff that we do so. The atmosphere at SHA is unlike that of any other school you will find in Long Island, or even around the world. We welcome you to learn more about who we are

BRINGING VALUES TO LIFE

Each school year is marked by a theme that carries through in everything we do. From classroom decorations to group projects and schoolwide plays and assemblies, each year’s theme is felt palpably by all of our students. In the past, themes have ranged from “Veahavta L’Reicha Camocha,” on the importance of love, acceptance, and community-collaboration, to “Derech Eretz,” learning to respect ourselves and others. The yearly theme is just one way that we bring the ideals we teach about in the classroom into sharp and practical focus for our students.

BUILDING A COMMUNITY

“HaMayseh hu haIkar” - What matters most is what you DO. Through organized community service projects, we teach our students that the true value of their education lies not in how it can benefit them, but how it allows them to help others. Be it Zumba with the elderly (for our little ones) or raising money to help support an orphanage, these projects teach real-life skills while imparting our children with timeless lessons. Through the early training of our “giving muscles,” we help our students grow into individuals that are as kind and caring as they are intellectually capable.

SHAGN

ACADEMICS

INSIDE OUR CLASSROOMS

In recent years, SHA has been lauded for its growing commitment to academic excellence. Our drive for constant academic growth and achievement comes out of the belief that every child should be provided with the tools they need to succeed in life. Small classroom sizes and dedicated staff members make for a learning environment that is both fun and effective. Our students are treated as young scholars, encouraged to think critically and apply what they’ve learned to all areas of their lives. It is these skills that they will carry on with them, enabling them to flourish and grow in whatever envionrment they find themselves.

INNOVATIVE LEARNING

SHA will be launching new coding, robotics, and engineerng programming this upcoming school year! Having been selected by CIJE* as one of only thirty-five schools that will be working with them to pilot a new engineering program where traditional book-based science instruction is replced with hands-on, experiment-based courses. The program is designed to encourage our students’ natural curiosity and provide a fun framework in which they can explore the worlds of physics and engineering, as part of our ongoing commitment to innovative STEM learning.

ENCOURAGING EDUCATORS

Over the past two years, SHA has partnered with Yeshiva University’s professional development program to bring teams of PLCs (Professional Learning Communities) into our classrooms. These teams work with our staff on differentiated instruction, assessments, and classroom management. This exciting initative has enriched the ongoing training and consultation programs offered to our staff members and proved an invaluable resource for both our staff and students here at Silverstein Hebrew Academy.

*Center for Initiatives in Jewish Education

JUDAICS

JUDAICS SOLID

FOUNDATION

home is only as strong as the foundation upon which it is built. From its inception, SHA has based itself in the timeless wisdom and values of the Torah. Our aim is to educate a generation of Torah literate scholars who will have a deep and broad understanding of Judaism, and a healthy dose of Jewish pride. This means giving our students the tools necessary to access the Jewish texts on their own, and the keys to understanding and applying them to everyday life.

OUR CHUMASH CURRICULUM

SHA uses the “Lehavin uLehaskil” curriculum for teaching Chumash to our students. Using the basic building blocks of grammar and vocabulary, the program gives each student the skills necessary to read, comprehend, and analyze pesukim on their own. Beginning in early grades and reaching all the way through middle school, the curriculum is designed to build upon itself, year after year, with assessments and benchmark tests along the way.

TORAH BOWL

Six Jewish schools in Long Island have come together to test their Chumash knowledge in a fun and fast-paced competition. Over the span of six months, our students take part in four “Torah Ball” competitions hosted by different schools. Our kids spend weeks in preparation, increasing their mastery of topics and skills in Chumash learning, and have gone on to do quite well during the competition itself.

JUDAICS

THANK YOU TO OUR FOUNDERS

In 1998, two visionaries launched the campaign that would build the Silverstein Hebrew Academy of Great Neck.

Recognizing the crucial role of education in building a viable Jewish future, noted benefactors Raine and Stanley Silverstein took the initiative to help build a Hebrew Academy in Great Neck. The school would include the best of general and Judaic studies, and serve as a beacon of light for future Jewish generations in Great Neck. Silverstein Hebrew Academy is that school, and it is an ongoing source of pride to its founders.