Community Magazine December 2003

leaders makes a tremendous impression on the boys and helps develop their yirat shamayim and ahavat haTorah. We hope to invite many other speakers over the course of the school year. Through the diligent efforts of our Assistant Menahel, Rabbi Amram Kuessous, Project DERECH, a formalized middot program is new to the halls of Shaare this year. Each week, the students are introduced to a new halacha emphasizing a different aspect of derech eretz. Instilling fine character has always been of primary importance at Shaare and we are delighted to further these goals through weekly study and discussion. The enthusiasm and excitement thus far has been most rewarding! At Shaare Torah, while appreciating scholastic achievement, we are proud to recognize the talents of our students in other areas as well. Our choir consists of an outstanding group of boys who continue to entertain and inspire us all. It is evident through their beautiful songs that the boys are developing their love and awe of Hashem. A fantastic CD of the choir was sent out to the community this fall and has received rave reviews. We are truly looking forward to the choir’s annual gala performance in January, which is always a high point of the school year. Our secular studies department is now benefiting from the dynamic leadership of Rabbi Mair Wolofsky. In the short time since he has joined the Shaare Torah family, he has made a major impact which is felt the moment you walk through the front door. Working together with wonderful, veteran teachers as well as a host of talented new staff members, Rabbi Wolofsky has raised the level of classroom instruction to unprecedented heights. He can rarely be found in his office during class time as he is constantly observing and mentoring each teacher. This active involvement puts Rabbi Wolofsky in touch with every aspect of the teaching process and enables him to positively influence and monitor each class’ achievements. One of Rabbi Wolofsky’s fabulous contributions to Shaare was the computerization of our entire student database. This new program keeps track of each student’s grades, attendance, awards and conduct. With the press of a button, Rabbi Wolofsky can access all of this information and can easily assess the progress of every boy in the school. In an effort to improve students’ standards in General Studies subjects, Rabbi Wolofsky has made many changes in our English curriculum. He has expanded our existing library, allowing our students to enjoy thousands of quality books and research materials. Working with new English Language Arts textbooks, teachers of all grades are placing a strong emphasis on developing excellent writing skills. All parts of the writing process are stressed and the results have been truly remarkable. In the math department, Rabbi Wolofsky is closely gauging the skills of the boys, ensuring that they are fluent in the information required for each grade level. For the students that are able to handle more, Rabbi Wolofsky is offering accelerated math courses which will eventually enable our 8th graders to take the Math A Regent one year ahead of time. Our students are enjoying and understanding science like never before thanks to our inventory of FOSS Science Kits. FOSS is a Full Option Science System that offers all our students, grades 1-8 equipment which they use to experiment with and discover how our world works. These manipulatives allow the students to go beyond the textbook material and really experience hands-on, such concepts as electricity, astronomy, the human body and much more. It goes without saying that these stimulating activities promote education that will remain with the students forever. Our school is proud to now stand at the cutting edge of technology with our new state of the art BASCOM laptop computers, which are fully loaded with the most up to date programs. The computers are all attached to a central server and are placed on a rolling cart. This makes them easily accessible to every classroom and student. Each teacher is now able to present any computer course from the comfort of his or her own classroom. Lessons come alive as students view primary documents, photographs and more. Computers have become an integral part of the learning process for all subjects. For example, during a science study of the human body, the boys logged onto a program which enabled them to explore the human body from the inside—fascinating! These are but a small sampling of the wonderful things that are happening every day at Shaare Torah Boys Elementary. Indeed, we are experiencing a high point in our educational career. We are so proud to see our dreams becoming reality day by day. We invite you to become a part of this unique institution as we continue to grow in the derech of Hashem.