At our Pre-school, we believe that children are unique individuals who thrive in a warm, secure, and stimulating atmosphere that allows them to achieve their fullest potential. By providing an environment that is a safe place for risk-taking, and that promotes the sharing of ideas, we aspire to help students grow and mature physically, emotionally, intellectually, and socially. We believe that several elements contribute to fostering this environment:
The teacher is not the single source of information, but rather a guide, facilitating the students’ search for knowledge, training them to find answers to their questions. When students are provided opportunities to explore and discover for themselves, they learn critical thinking skills. Practicing those skills in multi-sensory, hands-on situations allows the students to construct knowledge in their own individual ways. We strive to provide students a variety of activities and allow them adequate time and space to use materials that have been carefully chosen to support the immediate subject. We believe that doing so fosters individual discovery and encourages the construction of knowledge.
Having the opportunity to study things that are age-appropriate, meaningful, and applicable to one’s own life and interests is deeply important to self-discovery. When developing our own curriculum, we take into account the students’ interests, heritage, and culture, to inspire the fundamental motivation and enthusiasm to learn. We invite student dialogue about lessons and units of study, to help us point their learning in a direction that is relevant to their lives and interests. When we encourage their input, students create activities and set goals that are much richer than we could ever imagine on our own. Inspiring this ownership of the curriculum induces high-level participation, ultimately facilitating mastery of the skills necessary to reach their goals.
We encourage the students to cultivate a deep love and respect for themselves, others, and their environment through open sharing of ideas and a sensible, consistent approach to discipline. We advocate an environment in which every student’s voice is heard, and students feel free to express themselves. We believe that when children feel secure, and are clear about what is expected of them, they invariably have greater respect for their teachers, their peers, and their environment. We therefore demonstrate our respect for the students and their time by establishing fair and consistent rules at the outset, and clearly stating the importance of every activity.
Our primary hope is to instill a love of learning, Judaism, and Torah in our students by expressing our own love of these ideologies. Hence, we venture to be kind, loving, compassionate human beings who are keenly devoted to the highest standards of care for children. Today’s societal demands necessitate a strong, sound education for every child. We endeavor to provide the added value of an education that is sensitive to the individual needs of every child as well.