Summer 2014 Kayitz 5774
Kol
Juda and Maria Diener Lower School
קול הלל
Hillel
Samuel and Henrietta Scheck Middle School
Ben Lipson Upper School
20/20 Vision is Clear An excerpt of Dr. Ezra Levy’s “20/20 Vision” presentation from Scheck Hillel Community School’s 2014 Annual Meeting (June 2) follows. He spoke as both Incoming Head of School and as a father. A vision is defined as a suggestion of destination or direction. An image of what we can and should become over the years. And it’s deeply embedded in the values, hopes and dreams we share as parents. Our vision has guided the work we accomplished this year and will continue to direct our work for years to come. We hope for our children to find success in the field of their dreams. We want them to be educators, doctors, Rabbis, lawyers, entrepreneurs, scientists, politicians, maybe even Heads of School and so much more.
2014-2015 Areas of Focus:
Academic Offerings & Judaic Literacy
Such long-term vision comes to life through partnership between home and school. My team of educators and I share with you the commitment to give your children the experiences, opportunities and learning they need to become academically independent, confident, secure and happy students who mature into global citizens with enduring Jewish identity, rich appreciation for their Judaism and love for Israel. As we work toward creating a long-term plan for our school, I share some growth of this past year, as well as some goals for the year to come. This school year, we chose three areas of focus: Professional learning, curriculum and assessment.
2011 Blue Ribbon School
Professional Learning Quality instruction means the very best teachers and meaningful curriculum. That’s why, through a faculty committee, we established systems to increase accountability, created development plans for teachers to map out goals and hosted peer-led workshops. We developed our own set of teaching standards and are in the process of publishing them for all to reference at any time. We strengthened our evaluation/observation process to make it yearround so teachers feel the partnership of colleagues from the start of the year. We deepened collaboration among teachers through CAJE’s Jewish New Teacher Project, Instructional Coaches Academy and the more than 70 workshops our teachers developed for each other.
Curriculum We revisited the process of defining the skills students should have when they start and end a grade level. Our teachers are writing this scaffolded curriculum to outline a structure of skill built upon skill, from Early Childhood through the highest level of AP and honors classes. We have begun outlining our academic courses with their scope and sequence profiles and curriculum maps, which break down each of the individual skills and content subjects taught. The longterm goal is to publish a school-wide scope and sequence for current and prospective parents to be able to see the skills being taught at each grade level throughout the year.
Continue reading on page 4...
What’s Inside:
20/20 Vision is Clear (Continued)......................................................................4 Student Spotlights..................................................................................................2-3 Mazel Tov, Class of 2014......................................................................................8-9 Alumni Notes..............................................................................................................10 Lion Pride....................................................................................................................16
International Baccalaureate® IB World School
ושננתם לבניךLearning for a lifetime