Jewish News Supplement - Education Matters 12.13.21 by United Jewish Federation of Tidewater

n o i t a c u d E s r e t t a M Supplement to Jewish News December 13, 2021 jewishnewsva.org | December 13, 2021 | Education | JEWISH NEWS | 13

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Education Matters

Konikoff Digital Dental Studio opens at Touro College of Dental Medicine

successful local dentist, Dr. David Konikoff understands the importance of all sorts of education, and uniquely, that of dental education. Konikoff also believes in helping others where and when he is able. And so, he and his family made a $1 million gift to the Touro College of Dental Medicine (TCDM), enabling the school to officially open its highly anticipated Konikoff Digital Dental Studio located within Touro Dental Health, the clinical training facility in Hawthorne, N.Y The state-of-the-art Konikoff Digital Dental School joins other education-focused commitments by David Konikoff including the Sofia and David Konikoff Dental Hygiene Care Facility at Old Dominion University and the Konikoff Learning Center at United Jewish Federation of Tidewater. “I wanted to honor Sophie, my B’Shert (soulmate), with this gift,” says Konikoff,

whose son, Josh, is now a dental student at Touro. In appreciation, Touro honored Konikoff last month with the Visionary Achievement Award “in recognition of his “generous support of Touro College of Dental Medicine and…dedication of making the world a better place.” The award was presented at TCDM’s fifth annual Gala at The Rockleigh in New Jersey, which approximately 500 supporters of the school attended. In 2022, TCDM will also open the Konikoff Education and Broadcast Center. This 3,500-square-foot space will be designed to accommodate teaching methodologies geared for today’s changing educational landscape focusing on small group learning, distance education, and teaching, along with the ability to professionally broadcast. Konikoff’s gift will further strengthen the school’s progressive education in

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digital dental technologies and enable faculty at Touro Dental Health to perform “same day dentistry” which reduces multiple patient visits into a single visit—not commonly practiced in a dental school environment. With the aid of his invaluable gift, TCDM will honor Konikoff ’s life’s work and the Philanthropists Dr. David and Sofia A”H Konikoff. memory of his late wife, Sofia A”H, by providing dental education at the highest will accommodate four new CAD/ possible level, so that students, in turn, CAM milling machines and MillBox can give back and support their commuby CIMsystem software, a state-of-thenities with integrity, professionalism and art dental CAM solution that simplifies compassion. nesting and toolpath creation. With the “Through the immense generosity of addition of four multi-purpose design and the Konikoffs, we have taken an incredible implant planning workstations, it will step forward to deliver dental education in also be home to sophisticated DGShape the most advanced setting,” says Ronnie Corporation dental mills designed to Myers, D.D.S., Dean at TCDM. “Since rapidly cut and shape dental crowns, our founding, we have been committed bridges, and other prosthetic devices. to providing our students with the techTwo automatic sintering ovens will pronology, education and hands-on training vide finishing to the prosthesis being essential to the delivery of exceptional manufactured onsite. Well positioned on patient care. The addition of the Konikoff the third floor of TCDM’s dental training Digital Dentistry Studio, and eventually facility, the studio is outfitted with a the Konikoff Education and Broadcast viewing window so that TCDM students, Center, will allow us to continue that mispatients , and visitors alike can see the sion for years to come.” multitude of innovative digital systems Initially housing multiple 3D printin action. ers, 3Shape intraoral scanners, and a number of other advanced digital instrumentation, the Konikoff Digital Dental Studio will be both an onsite laboratory as well as a space for small-group classes, allowing dental students to gain hands-on experience with the technology and manufacturing processes that will prepare them for the future of dentistry. The sizeable space Konikoff Digital Dental Studio. jewishnewsva.org | December 13, 2021 | Education | JEWISH NEWS | 15

STEIN FAMILY COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP The Stein Family College Scholarship is dedicated in loving memory of Arlene Shea Stein who was unable to finish college due to financial hardship.

Application is open Dec 1, 2021 to March 1, 2022 To apply or for more information, visit:

bit.ly/tjf-stein

ELIGIBILITY This annual college scholarship of up to $10,000 per year is awarded to Hampton Roads Jewish students entering college. Applicants are evaluated on financial need, Jewish/community engagement, and academic potential. Scholarship applicants must: • Identify as Jewish • Maintain residency in the Tidewater region • Demonstrate academic ability • Demonstrate a history of service and engagement in their academic, Jewish, and broader communities through extracurricular and volunteer activities

Education Matters

At Strelitz International Academy— it takes a community Carin Simon

hen walking into Strelitz International Academy, one of the first things to see is the school’s four core values posted in the lobby: Kavod (Honor), Tikkun Olam (Repairing the World), Torah v’Lishma, and Kehillah (Community). As Tidewater’s Jewish Community Day School and International Baccalaureate® World School, ‘Community’ is SIA’s middle name. SIA students learn through their IB® concepts that communities come in many forms and include the school community, the Tidewater community, and the global community. The importance and need for a school community was apparent with the COVID-19 pandemic. SIA was thankful to have its student and faculty community in school last year, but there was a palpable absence of SIA parents who were not permitted into the building due to safety precautions. This year, SIA has had in-person attendance and participation by parents in programs SIA has reimagined. During SIA’s Back to School Meet and Greet in August, parents were giddy with excitement as they stepped into the school building loaded up with supplies and ready to meet their children’s teachers in-person. SIA’s signature Shabbat Singalongs were redesigned from the pre-COVID crowded multipurpose room venue to the campus outdoor tent. The community’s warmth made chilly weather a nonissue. In October, the annual Family Pasta Dinner in the Tent was sold out. Families were so happy to be together that the pouring rain didn’t dampen anyone’s fun. These events, followed by a parent breakfast in the sukkah, the Early Years Fall Festival, and Hanukkah celebrations were all amazing, spirited events. The community is restored, and parents certainly will not take for granted attending school events for the foreseeable future.

SIA’s Parent Volunteer Committee is also back in action, with parents planning a special Teacher Appreciation Breakfast to show SIA teachers how much they appreciate their hard work. The second circle of SIA’s community is the Tidewater community. SIA is fortunate to have thriving partnerships with the agencies on the Sandler Family Campus. Jewish Family Service of Tidewater provides SIA’s school counselors and many community service opportunities such as restocking the food pantry and providing Hanukkah gifts for less fortunate families. The Simon Family Jewish Community Center provides a summer camp for students to attend, School Day Out Camp, and additional afterschool programming for SIA students from yoga to basketball to Mad Science. United Jewish Federation of Tidewater provides funds and grants to support SIA’s programming and upkeep of the building. The Sandler Family Campus provides excellent security and maintenance and the Cardo Cafe offers a school lunch program. In turn, SIA families fill the building daily and take advantage of the many programs and amenities the campus offers. As an authorized International Baccalaureate® World School, SIA is an important part of the global community. The IB® curriculum provides opportunities for SIA students to learn from other perspectives and experts around the world. SIA students are taught Hebrew and Israeli culture to enable them to learn about their Jewish heritage from a global perspective. Through their IB units of inquiry, students gain knowledge of how the world works and ways to take better care of the planet. SIA’s IB ® World School designation has attracted local students from all over the world including Israel, Denmark, Norway, and Czeck Republic who have further enriched the SIA community.

Ronald and his mom, Alena Anglen and Liam and his mom, Nina Kruger.

Vanessa, Jim, and Reagan Freihofer.

In keeping with the ancient African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child,” at Strelitz International Academy, it takes a community—a community working together with common values, a strong vision, and an open mind. For more information about the Strelitz International Academy, contact Carin Simon, admissions director, at 757-424-4327 or csimon@strelitzacademy.org.

jewishnewsva.org | December 13, 2021 | Education | JEWISH NEWS | 17

Education Matters Torah Live breathes new life into education Gaming site creates game-changer for Jewish families and teachers Toby Klein Greenwald

“

The sense of community here is strong and provides a foundation for lifetime relationships with teachers and peers.

n recent years, there’s been a noticeable downward spiral of students’ attention spans. In 2010, the trend was apparent when Rabbi Dan Roth walked into a classroom of American students in Israel who had dropped out of their families’ Orthodox lifestyles. The students ignored him; some even left the classroom. He walked out knowing he had crashed and burned. Rather than look for another profession, he returned to the classroom with the same material in the form of a multimedia slideshow. This time, the students reacted with enthusiasm. But his goal was not just to reach his students, but to reach the world, and the seeds of Torah Live were sown. Fast forward to the autumn of 2021. Torah Live’s graphics, animation, and film level are highly professional and their team includes more than 30 scriptwriters, animators, video editors, and sound and special effects artists. While the world was in lockdown, Torah Live kicked in big time. Since COVID, more than a million and a half videos have been viewed, and the website has been accessed by 168,000 active users. It has hundreds of thousands of viewers throughout North America and the world, including in Moscow, Paris, London, Australia, and South Africa. “We have long been fans of Torah Live for their innovative, creative and accurate content,” says Rabbi Sender Haber of B’nai Israel Congregation. “When our camps and schools were closed due to COVID‑19,

– Leila ’21

Valued voices. Exciting choices. For students in grades 1 - 12. 757-455-5582 norfolkacademy.org Seder table.

18 | JEWISH NEWS | Education | December 13, 2021 | jewishnewsva.org

Family performing in Torah Live.

Rabbi Roth reached out and offered free content to every household in the community. This gesture was both gracious and game-changing. Families were able to continue to educate their children and to make learning Jewishly into a family activity.” Rabbi Mordechai Loiterman, former principal, Toras Chaim Day School, says “We started using Torah Live videos for our Sunday school program because we had an obstacle. We needed to provide high level programming for the students that at the same time they would find interesting and that would keep them excited about the learning and Torah Live was really the perfect thing to put in— all of the resources, the worksheets, the materials, the background information gives a rebbe a tremendous amount of material to prepare from…and then, once the students learn, they go to “Reward”… students really enjoy watching all the videos, they come back and they quote all the lines and they tell me their favorite parts…and there are some of them that they want to watch two or three times, over and over again.” Students agree, describing how much they love learning with the project. They call it “amazing,” “exciting,” “fun,” “and we’re learning at the same time.” Rabbi Noach Gruen, a teacher at Toras Chaim, says, “My boys are really taken by the great graphics and technology used to produce the Torah Live videos. The tremendous videos on tefillin I recently showed my class enabled them

Education Matters to see all parts of tefillin, inside and out!” Ely, a 13-year-old in Norfolk, seems to be an expert on any given topic. When asked “How do you know that?” the answer is often the same: “We learned that on Torah Live.”

In addition to their programs on Jewish ritual and mitzvot are those that relate to one’s behavior, such as judging one favorably, the quality of patience, the value of a smile, the importance of humility in leadership. A new gaming website was recently added to their rich reservoir. The gaming program is advised by Rabbi Yaakov Deyo. A graduate of Harvard, he is the CEO and Founder of Black Hat Consulting in the N.Y. area, was previously managing director of the Jewish Enrichment Center of Manhattan, the volunteer CFO for Jewish Impact Films, director of Partners in Torah in New Jersey, and was involved in many other Jewish educational projects. “We’re basically looking to create something between Fortnite and Kahn Academy, a platform that will not only engage players, but draw them into a world of Torah...by learning via film, performing mitzvot, and submitting pics of their work, creating positive impacts in the world around them. “Gaming is extremely misunderstood. It’s fundamentally about leveraging the core drives that underlay human activity. Consider: math is an essential skill in life, and golf is not. Even so, solving a math problem in a time-tested, efficient manner is so much less enjoyable than trying to get a small white ball into a hole by hitting it in a blatantly inefficient way with a club. How do you explain that?” Students are given the tools to create their own written content, animated shorts, and can also upload their own photos and short videos. Parents or

teachers can create their own program to incentivize their children. The kids choose their picture from an avatar and, at higher levels, they can send their photos to Torah Live, who will “cartoonify” it for them. Each player has his own dashboard and it goes up to 36 levels, alluding to the “36 full-fledged righteous individuals in each generation” (Talmud, Succa 45b, translation by Sefaria). Points in the gaming element are based on creativity, quality, effort. As they participate, they also earn badges. Rabbi Roth says, “The child earns virtual coins, called ‘dinars.’ They can decide how to spend them,” like sending food to a poor family for Shabbat, or sending flowers to an elderly person in a retirement home. “We hope through partnerships to help fulfil the child’s wish… Our hope is that when the child grows up, he’ll give real money to charity, not virtual money.” Among the more than 30 rabbis who offer video approbations on the site are Rabbi Asher Weiss, a renowned Halachic authority in Jerusalem, Rabbi Hershel Schachter and Rabbi Meir Goldwicht, both Rosh Yeshivas of Yeshiva University, Rabbi Yisroel Reisman, Rosh Yeshiva, Torah V’Daas, Brooklyn, and Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky, Rosh Yeshiva, Yeshiva of Philadelphia. Torah Live materials are used by all ages, by all denominations of Judaism, and even by some non-Jews who are learning for conversion or who are simply seeking knowledge. In addition to their programs on Jewish ritual and mitzvot are those that relate to one’s behavior, such as judging one favorably, the quality of patience, the value of a smile, the importance of humility in leadership, and a magnificent 18-part unit on “The Power of Speech.” Everything is filmed among the magnificent vistas of Israel, including the ocean (to explore the snails from which the blue dye for tzitziot comes). Toby Klein Greenwald is an award-winning journalist, director of Raise Your Spirits Theatre, an educator and the editor-in-chief of WholeFamily.com. She was happy to discover many of her actresses in Torah Live films.

Exploring Questions &

Developing Answers International Baccalaureate School Early Years and Primary Years Ages Infants through Grade 5

Education Matters

The Hurrah Players are back in action!

ith 38 years of experience teaching the performing arts, The Hurrah Players, Virginia’s Leading Family Theatre Company, is thrilled to be back in-person with its students. From jazz to musical theater to camera acting, Hurrah Players students learn it all. Learning performing arts skills, such as teamwork and self-discipline serve Hurrah Players students for a lifetime. For information on how to ‘be a star at Hurrah’ go to hurrahplayers.com.

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20 | JEWISH NEWS | Education | December 13, 2021 | jewishnewsva.org