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HEADLINES: (click on links below to go to articles)
► Schechter Kindergarten's Community Service Project Highlighted on WKYC-Channel 3 click here for the story ► Gross Schechter Day School Students Shine in Science and Geography Competitions ► Gross Schechter Day School chosen for taping of television program ► Schechter Campus Observes Tree Nut Free Policy ► 1st Annual Camp Schechter Opens ► Outstanding Graduates Honored ► Schechter Wins National USDA Healthy School Award ► Schechter Teacher Wins National Award! ► Schechter Wins "Best Day School" & "Best Jewish Preschool" Awards!
Fourteen Schechter students garner accolades from the Northeast Ohio Science and Engineering Fair and Geography Bee Competitions. Schechter 7th grader brings home a 1st place in Physics! For the press release, click here.
Schechter Highlighted on the NBC-WKYC Channel 3 Sunday morning broadcast.
National Food Service Management Institute's Cooks for Kids program tapes an episode at Schechter. For Press Release click here. To view the webcast click here.
Schechter Creates a Tree-Nut-Free Environment for Students. For Press Release click here.
June 2007
Gross Schechter Day School opened its first-ever summer camp for preschoolers and kindergartners on June 18th. The camp will run through July 27, 2007.
Many exciting activities and projects are planned. With an emphasis on the outdoors and the environment, the children’s activities will focus around water play, nature walks, and picnics. Each week, there will be a different general study or Judaic theme with cooking and crafts.
Schechter’s current kindergarten teacher, Tracey Bortz, will serve as the camp director and current preschool teachers will serve as instructors.
Schechter recognized four 8th grade graduates at June graduation ceremonies who stood out from the crowd in four specific areas of accomplishment: (1) academic excellence in both general and Judaic studies, (2) commitment to Jewish living, (3) unselfish acts of loving kindness, and (4) academic achievement and individual character.
Ariel Shoag won the Torah Award for outstanding academic achievement in both general and Judaic studies. Sara Rosenberg was the winner of the Avodah Award for her strong commitment to Jewish living. Sam Ginsburg won the Gemilut Hasadim Award because of his compassion and unselfish acts of loving kindness. Morell Frankel was this year's Coleman Brosilow Award recipient. Named after the founder and first president of the school, Morell was recognized for demonstrating both academic excellence and a high level of individual character.
Congratulations to these and all of our graduates in the class of 2007 - Tamar Atwell, Lisa Bolman, Avi Epstein, Morell Frankel, Arielle Ginsburg, Sam Ginsburg, Rachel Katz, Adam Kugelman, Ari Levine, Adam Benjamin Sass, and Ariel Shoag - as they prepare to enter area private and public high schools in the fall!
March 2007
(click here for pictures of the Award Assembly)
It’s official! Gross Schechter Day School is the only School in Ohio to be recognized as a Gold Award Level Winner by the USDA's (US Department of Agriculture) "HealthierUS School Challenge" program, part of their Team Nutrition initiative.
"This is the first Gold Award winner in the Midwest Region. This is truly an honor," says Samia Hamdan, Regional Nutritionist for Special Nutrition Programs at the USDA Food and Nutrition Service. "The HealthierUS School Challenge recognizes schools that lead in nutrition excellence. We congratulate the school's efforts in creating a healthy school environment; one that provides healthy eating and physical activity choices, and incorporates the recommendations of the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans."
Schools have the opportunity to become certified as either a Silver or Gold School, depending on meeting certain criteria. The Gold Level criteria include offering (1) school lunches that meet the USDA nutrition standards and demonstrate healthy menu planning practices and principles of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans; (2) Nutrition education for at least half of the grade levels in the school as part of a structured and systematic unit of instruction that involves multiple channels of communication; (3) the opportunity for physical activity in every grade, except kindergarten, on a regularly scheduled basis each school week during the entire school year; and (4) llunches each school day that include a fresh fruit or raw vegetable, and a whole grain food. To go to the Team Nutrition website, click here.
December 2005
Schechter Teacher Wins National Award! (click photo to enlarge)
Anne Sportas, 1st grade Judaics teacher at Schechter, won national recognition at the United Jewish Communities’ General Assembly held recently in Toronto. Sportas was one of 64 teachers from across North America who received the “Grinspoon-Steinhardt Awards for Excellence in Jewish Education”. The Awards honor outstanding classroom-based teachers in formal Jewish educational settings (early childhood through grade 12) for exceptional achievement in Jewish education and their significant impact on students and the community. Sportas was nominated by Schechter administrators and selected by the Grinspoon-Steinhardt National Awards Panel to receive the award.
“It was such an honor to be given this award and be recognized at the Annual assembly of Jewish communities from all across North America,” says Sportas, who has spent the last 21 years of her career at Schechter, voted “Best Day School” and “Best Jewish Preschool” in the Cleveland Jewish News 2005 “Best of…” survey (related story below). “I love my work and the children I teach, and I am constantly amazed at how much they teach me, as well. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing that sparkle in the eyes of a young child who suddenly understands something new about his or her world.”
Rabbi Jim Rogozen, Schechter’s Headmaster, says Sportas “is an amazing teacher who has touched the lives of her students, their families, and the community deeply. Whether nurturing students in her classroom, teaching Schechter parents about the Torah portion of the week, or planning life cycle events, Anne’s impact is profound.”
Grinspoon-Steinhardt Award recipients each receive $2,500 consisting of $1,500 in stipends for professional development and $1,000 to be used at the recipient’s discretion. They are also invited to a professional development seminar and reception in their honor and eligible for future professional development opportunities sponsored by JESNA, the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, and Jewish Life Network/Steinhardt Foundation.
Founded by Massachusetts real estate entrepreneur Harold Grinspoon in 1993, the Harold Grinspoon Foundation works to enhance the vibrancy of Jewish life through education and experiences that impart Jewish knowledge and values and the joys of being Jewish. The Jewish Life Network/Steinhardt Foundation was founded in 1994 by Wall Street money manager Michael H. Steinhardt to help strengthen and transform American Jewish life in a free society. The two organizations have collaborated with each other and with JESNA, the Jewish Education Service of North America, since 1996 to recognize outstanding teachers in formal Jewish educational settings throughout North America.
November 2005
The results of the Cleveland Jewish News (CJN) 2005-06 "Best of ..." survey are in, and Gross Schechter Day School is a winner! Voted "Best Day School" and "Best Jewish Preschool", CJN readers selected Schechter as #1 among Cleveland's day schools and Jewish preschools, and at a time when Schechter continues to grow, reaching a record enrollment this year of 304 students (related article below).
"We're proud to receive such wonderful recognition from the Jewish community. I think it speaks volumes of the strengths of the school, our staff, and a program that imbues students with the superior academic skills, vibrant Jewish learning, and confidence to realize their individual potential and pursue the ideal of tikkun olam - repairing the world," says headmaster Rabbi Jim Rogozen. "All the Jewish day schools are an excellent option for families seeking the best in both general and Jewish learning," says Rogozen, "and with lower tuition available, in part through the Jewish community Federation's Centennial initiative, now is certainly a great time to consider Jewish day school education."
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