Kol Hillel: Winter 2023 | Scheck Hillel Community School

2022-2023 / 5782-5783

BOARD OF GOVERNORS

Isaac Marcushamer, Chair

Marc Haime, Vice Chair

Philip Solomon, Treasurer

Sharon Minski ‘97*, Secretary

Michelle Azout ‘02*

E. David Bensadon

Jacques Bessoudo

Anita Givner

Sara Sevillia ‘03*

Jeffrey Scheck* Alex Wolak

Joseph Woldenberg

About Us

2022-2023 / 5782-5783

EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION

Rabbi Ari Leubitz, Head of School

Rabbi Shlomo Sprung*, Rabbinic Head

Craig Carpentieri, Chief Academic Officer

WELCOME!

Welcome to highlights of Semester 1 of the 2022-2023 school year! Rabbi Ari Leubitz and Scheck Hillel Community School faculty and staff welcomed 1,247 students - 200 new to Scheck Hillel - and have been teaching them what it means to ROAR: Respect, Optimism, Accountability and Responsibility. This issue of Kol Hillel celebrates the educational experience Chai to Chai - 18 Months to 18 Years - through the lens of each of our school divisions. Look for ideas and ideals that unify learning throughout all of Scheck Hillel. Write to news@eHillel.org with your thoughts and news!

Christopher Johnson, Director of High School

Joshua Meisels*, Director of Samuel and Henrietta Scheck Middle School

Dr. Monica Wagenberg, Head of Juda and Maria Diener Lower School

Orly Dromi, Early Childhood Education Coordinator

Rabbi Avi Greene, Ed.D, Director of Judaic Studies and Hebrew Language, Grades 6-12

Dror Karavani, Director of Judaic Studies and Hebrew Language, Kindergarten-Grade 5

Robin Rimon, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Kindergarten-Grade 5

Eileen Ginzburg, Director of Academic Services

*Scheck Hillel Alumnus/Alumna

From early childhood through Grade 12, Scheck Hillel Community School educates and inspires students to become exemplary global citizens with enduring Jewish identity, values and a commitment to the State of Israel, through a college preparatory curriculum and meaningful co-curricular experiences. Guided by Orthodox teachings and set within a nurturing, diverse community, Scheck Hillel is one of the world’s largest Jewish community day schools and a National Blue Ribbon School.

Accreditations & Affiliations

National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), COGNIA/Southern Association of Colleges and Schools/AdvancED (SACS), National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), National Council for Private Schools Association (NCPSA), Middle States Association (MSA-CESS), National Association of College Admissions Counseling (NACAC), College Board, Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day Schools, Greater Miami Jewish Federation, Center for the Advancement of Jewish Education

Pictured on our cover, l to r: Gabrielle Levy ‘24, Le-am Hamami ‘24, Jonathan Almosny ‘24 and Elie Tamir ‘25

WHAT FUELS YOUR

#LION PRIDE?

We asked our faculty and staff what makes them excited about their mission-driven work. This is a selection of responses. Get to know our professional team through Community Spotlights in our Shabbat Shalom Message and on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.

“Faculty and staff at Scheck Hillel fuel my LionPride: The level of care, commitment and devotion my team members have in ensuring the children are learning at a high level, embracing them as their own, fuel my LionPride.”

CHAI TO CHAI

KOL HILLEL | Scheck Hillel Community School

-Eric Givens, Grade 7 Physical Education Teacher

“I get energized by helping the students understand more about the world around them and how to navigate it.”

-Cyndi Schulman, High School Social Studies Teacher

“The Jewish values the school promotes - Kavod, Shalom, Emet, Ruach, Chesed - and instilling these values in the youngest lion cubs in our school”

-Shoshana Mitrani ‘04, Early Childhood Education Teacher

“What fuels my #LionPride is knowing that my class could be the thing that turns a child’s day around and sparks joy in their life.”

-Dr. Michel Klein, Lower School Music Teacher

18 Months to 18 Years

BUSY HANDS CURIOUS MINDS,

Happy faces, curious minds and busy hands are abundant in our Early Childhood Education program. Our cubs are engaged in their learning spaces and have made many friends. They are learning early literacy and math skills in the classroom and social skills on the playground. They prepared for Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot and Chanukah through tefilot, art projects, songs and “wrote” their own Sifrei Torah to celebrate Simchat Torah. A Miami-Dade County fire truck provided hands-on learning about fire prevention, and our field was the perfect place to practice gross motor skills in P.E. All this was topped off by an incredible ECE Family Shabbat B’Yachad. This rich curriculum earned our ECE program 100% in every area of National Association for the Education of Young Children accreditation in 2022: a point of pride for our dedicated faculty and staff.

CHAI TO CHAI 18 Months to 18 Years

KOL HILLEL | Scheck Hillel Community School

EMPOWERED TO GROW AND ACHIEVE

Our Kindergarten-Grade 5 students embraced new challenges and opportunities. In the classroom, Leading a Reading Life initiative has empowered students to demonstrate learning in novel ways, such as creating games based on stories, to advance in their skills at their own pace. Reading, writing and oral expression flourished in English and Hebrew, and Spelling Bee competitions in Grades 1-8 motivated students to hone their spelling and vocabulary skills. Mazal Tov to Mark Saba ‘31, who will represent Scheck Hillel in the Miami Herald Spelling Bee. A special shoutout to Moises Saba ‘26 for spearheading the contest across school divisions, very much in the spirit of “Chai to Chai.”

Student life, chessed and athletics also opened new doors. Year-round, grade levels visit the JCS Kosher Food Bank to shelve goods and give back to the community. The Shuk - our student-run shop - opened to high customer demand! Students also learned about the importance of elections in November, and in Grade 2, they applied the lesson by holding an election to name Scheck Hillel’s mascot. The Lion’s official new name is Ari: short for Aryeh, which means lion in Hebrew. In observance of Veterans Day, our students wore red, white and blue, wrote letters to veterans and displayed patriotic art. In athletics, our Lower School boys found success on the field, winning the flag football championship for Scheck Hillel.

Students were thrilled to follow Nancy Penchev’s adventures in Vietnam as a Fulbright award recipient. Via zoom calls and blog, their science and technology teacher shared facts about the country and the children she has met.

CHAI TO CHAI

KOL HILLEL | Scheck Hillel Community School

NEW DYNAMICS, DEEPER LEARNING

For our Middle School students, core academic subjects opened doors to challenging content and deep exploration. Students develop analytical skills in the dual curriculum through study, experimentation and research. The annual Grade 8 Science Fair showcased projects reflecting diverse student interests, a culminating point in Middle School science learning. The annual Grade 8 trip to Washington, D.C. brought social studies to the forefront. The Spelling Bee spotlighted spelling and vocabulary skills, and English classes embraced character study in literature.

Bravo to all the Middle School band and orchestra students who performed in the Winter Concert and to the cast and crew from “Pure Imagination” for their dedication and talent. From student government to Chessed Club, Middle School enthusiastically embraced chances to give back by working with our community’s elderly and with community organizations. Central to Middle School’s mission is supporting our students via social-emotional education. School counselors facilitated discussions about ageappropriate topics, connecting middot (positive character traits) with life skills and executive functioning.

Middle School fielded two league teams: Boys’ Flag Football and Girls’ Volleyball; in addition, Middle School students also had the opportunity to play on Varsity Golf and Cross Country teams.

Ben

CHAI TO CHAI

KOL HILLEL | Scheck Hillel Community School

LEARNING FOR COLLEGE AND LIFE

High School students took on greater responsibility as learners and leaders, balancing rigorous academic workloads with cocurricular activities this season. Our honor societies (right) reflect national-level academic excellence across subjects; new additions are the Judaic Studies and Hebrew Language Honor Societies. Thirty three students earned 2022 Advanced Placement (AP) Scholar Awards from the College Board and Class of 2023 Senior Jamie Kurzer was named a National Merit Commended Student, placing among the top scorers of more than 1.5 million students who entered the competition by taking the 2021 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®). She will be attending Duke University next year.

In parallel, the ongoing Circles program empowered students with social-emotional skills (e.g the ability to manage stress, make more independent choices, care for themselves) that will serve them for a lifetime. Leadership initiatives such as Mensches In Action and programs led by Jaime and Raquel Gilinski Hillel Ambassadors helped new students feel at home on campus.

At press time, Early Decision and rolling admissions acceptances to date include Boston University, Duke University, New York University, Northeastern University, Tulane University and University of California, Davis, with many more to come. Look for updates on social media and eHillel.org.

Ben

Months to 18 Years

CHAI TO CHAI 18

Scheck Hillel Community School Academic Honor Societies

National Honor Society

National Junior Honor Society

Tri-M Music Honor Society

National Art Honor Society

Rho Kappa National Social Studies Honor Society National English Honor Society National Economics Honor Society Mu Alpha Theta - Mathematics Honor Society

International Thespian Society

Science National Honor Society

Computer Science Honor Society

Judaic Studies Honor Society

Hebrew Language Honor Society

KOL HILLEL | Scheck Hillel Community School

PURSUING PASSIONS

Co-curricular programs provide outlets for expression: A full schedule of sports and theatre, band and orchestra performances is paired with thriving After-School Enrichment and Student Life & Leadership programs. Highlights have been on stage, on the field, on the court, in the conference room and throughout the community. These artists, athletes and leaders are all united by a shared commitment to exemplifying core values while making a difference, exploring new interests and pursuing passions.

CHAI TO CHAI 18 Months to 18 Years

KOL HILLEL | Scheck Hillel Community School

ALUMNI NOTES

Keren Lifshits and Eitan Marks ‘04

Jamie Shub and Saul Cohen ‘06

Stephanie Cohen ‘08 and Claire Deliso

Shelley Greenspan ‘08 and Reuben Smith-Vaughan

Claudia Fleischman and Salomon Beda ‘12

Stephanie Dadon ‘12 and Jonathan Haber

Nicole Birnbaum and Ari Feldman ‘12

Dana Wasserman ‘12 and Jacob Bennett

Rena Greene and Elliot Goldberg ‘13

Rivky Wigder and Ariel Sadon ‘13

Senaya Savir ‘13 and Sagie Haziza

Reine Shattah ‘13 and Henry Bergman

Erika Mars ‘14 and Joey Berezdivin

Aileen Guenoun ‘15 and Aaron Fuhrman

!בוט לזמ

MARRIAGES BIRTHS

Daniela Atun and Jacques Kaswan ‘15

Pamela Motola ‘15 and Jacob “Duff” Bedrosian

Nicole Peicher ‘15 and Moises Hazan ‘13

Andrea Waxman ‘15 and Bradley Brecher

Raquel Abraham ‘16 and Frank Horowitz

Leana Ammar ‘16 and Brandon Bouhnik

Sofia Kiblisky ‘16 and Isaac Missrie

Rosa Rostoker ‘17 and Eli Cohen

Sara Saiovici and Keith Bonwitt ‘18

Sophie Kryss ‘18 and Yohanan Michaan

Shelly Albergel ‘19 and Yaniv Assraf ‘19

Naomi Tangir ‘20 and Eithan Martinez Abramovich ‘17

Shelly Argy (alumna) and Yaacov Poston

Valentina Lustgarten (alumna) and Bryan Shneiderman

Rebecca (Schwarzberg) ‘04 and Tim Dornford welcomed a baby boy.

Ellie and Jacob ‘06 Rimon welcomed a baby boy.

Shachar (Dagan) ‘07 and Scott Edelsberg welcomed a baby girl.

Meryl (Wolfe) ‘07 and Sacha Touret welcomed a baby girl.

Danielle (Neuman) ‘07 and Jason Gutman welcomed a baby boy.

Debbie (Milhem) ‘08 and Raymond Beda ‘00 welcomed a baby boy.

Arielle (Ehrlich) ‘09 and Dan Sharff welcomed a baby girl.

Kelsey and Alex Mafdali ‘09 welcomed a baby boy.

Ceceil (Mendal) ‘09 and Ariel Bengio welcomed a baby girl.

Michelle (Zighelboim) ‘09 and Max Gaby welcomed a baby boy.

Judy (Abadi) ‘10 and Rocky Kaller welcomed a baby boy.

Zina and Isaac Perlman ‘10 welcomed a baby boy.

Esther (Amselem) ‘10 and Israel Rubinstein welcomed a baby girl.

Abby and Mark Brener ‘11 welcomed a baby boy.

Shiran and Ariel Ibgui ‘11 welcomed a baby boy.

Sheina (Stiberman) ‘12 and Robert Dalis welcomed a baby boy.

Tamar (Lapco) ‘12 and Pablo Bertisch welcomed a baby girl.

Michelle (Sher) ‘12 and Michael Abady welcomed a baby girl.

Ettie (Bauer) ‘13 and Rafi Goldglanz welcomed a baby boy. Sophia (Brener) ‘13 and Ariel Licht welcomed a baby girl.

Nicole (Dolman) ‘13 and Maxi Sultan welcomed a baby boy.

Stephanie (Getzel) ‘13 and Amid Bennaim welcomed a baby boy. Bianca (Kaswan) ‘13 and Gabriel Sultan welcomed a baby boy.

Alice (Serfati) ‘13 and Alexander Feldman welcomed a baby girl.

Andrea (Talmaciu) ‘13 and Samuel Bentolila welcomed a baby boy. Avigayil and Natan Sredni ‘14 welcomed a baby boy.

Dalia (Szkolnik) ‘14 and Nissim Franco ‘14 welcomed a baby boy.

Andrea and David Woldenberg ‘14 welcomed a baby girl.

Sharon (Benalloun) ‘15 and Joseph Benhamu welcomed a baby girl. Tania (Benasayag) ‘16 and Kevin Aserraf welcomed a baby boy.

Leba (Levy) ‘16 and Michael Ehrlickman welcomed a baby girl.

Ashley (Stambouli) ‘16 and Eduardo Cohen welcomed a baby boy.

Leah (Savir) ‘17 and Avi Bahar welcomed a baby girl.

Esther and Joshua Meisels (alum) welcomed a baby boy. Josh is director of our Samuel and Henrietta Scheck Middle School.

This fall, our families enjoyed many opportunities to gather on campus. From the opening session of Rabbi Sprung’s Chagim Series to assemblies celebrating student achievement and interactive holiday programs, families continued to enhance and strengthen our school. Thank you, HIP/PTA, for hosting events like Challot B’Yachad, Scholastic Book Fair and Magic of Sukkot with only more to come this semester. Scheck Hillel is energized by your dedication!

GOL D S I LVE R

PEARL

19000 NE 25th Avenue

North Miami Beach, Florida 33180 eHillel.org