Ohio Jewish Chronicle. (Columbus, Ohio), 1991-12-12, page 01 |
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^.^:..L-'u^.,j-**»«* •v.fcv^s***1 ■i»l>..^X H* ii * I 151 w i P ii pi f P* I (-' nrttp The Ohio Jewish Chronicle , Serving Columbus and Central Ohio ■*. /rarish Gommuni'fy for Over 60 Years ■ VOLUME 69 NUMBER 51 DECEMBER 12,1991 5TEVET5752 DEVOTED TO AMERICAN AND JEWISH IDEALS Columbus residents Ohio Hist.Society 1982, Velma Ave. Columbus, Ohio L'ibr honored by Yeshiva page 2 David Duke The next steps page 3 Tifereth Israel plans weekend with scholar page 6 Red Gross needs blood donations now ' ■ ' ■ Page 8 Gpmmunity gears up for more resettlement page 10 EARLY DEADLINES Thursday, Dec. 26, issue', NOON, THURSDAY, DEC. 19 Thursday, Jan. 2, issue \ NOON, THURSDAY, DEC. 26 The OJC office will be closed on Wednesday, Dec 25, and Wednesday, Jan. 1 In The Chronicle At The JCC '. 14 Community ...... 4-8 Federation ,...• 'J 10,11 FrontPage .... , 2 Lifecycle ■...'.• 12 Marketplace 15 New Generation ...,....,, 9 , Scoreboard ...........:,,.;....... ^ .14 Synagogues ....... ..-A\,,,,,...: .v 13 Viewpoint ...,,,............'.,.,,.'._ 3 COMMUNITY FEATURE Torah Prep opens its doors By S. Henfield Torah Prep has come to Columbus. The newest addition to the community's growing number of Jewish educational alternatives held its first open house on Wednesday, Oct. 9. The school, offering both preschool and kindergarten programs, is located at 3589 E. Main St., in Whitehall. "The great success of the first open house far exceeded our expectations and confirmed our belief that there is an ever emerging segment of our community that is interested in the type of program Torah Prep has to offer," said Yehudis Blumberger, an active Torah Prep board member. Blumberger and her husband, Avraham, who manufactures one of America's largest lines of Jewish children's board games, moved to Columbus three years ago. "We lived in New York and Detroit before moving to Columbus," commented ^Blumberger, "and we saw how the emergenceof new schools in a community not only helped the community, but also served as a catalyst to attract new families to a community. We're sure this will be the case in Columbus, too." The establishment of Torah Prep is noteworthy not only as a testament to the growth of Jewish services offered in Columbus; but particularly because of its unique educational program. The classroom dynamic at Torah Prep is a synthesis of the Montessori approach to early childhood education with a more traditional format that encourages the development of social interaction skills; according to kindergarten teacher Chani Cap- land. The Montessori approach which emphasizes each student receiving individual at tention and progressing at a pace appropriate for him/her is employed extensively in the., language arts program and the development of reading skills. The standard method of dividing students, into various reading group levels often results in Children inadvertently being labeled as "smart" or "slow," Capland pointed out. With reading being done on a personalized basis students are never aware of how fast or slow their classmates are progressing. Another feature of this individualized approach is that the teacher is able to keep a daily chart which notes the child's strengths and weaknesses in reading skills and exactly what should be stressed the next day or during the next week. In this way, the teacher is also able to give parents very specific feedback on their child's progress as well as definite suggestions on how parents can help at home with their child's learning. The results of this approach speak for themselves. At the time of the open house, the kindergarten students were well on their way to mastering reading and writing the English alphabet as well as reading the Hebrew aleph beis and the vowels. Those who attended the open house had a chance to see the innovative manner in which the classroom is set up, were able to speak with other parents whose children attend Torah Prep and listened to Capland explain what a typical day at Torah Prep is like and what the curriculum is designed to achieve. In general, Capland said, Torah Prep is ; committed to much more than teaching traditional skills. The school plaices great emphasis on nurturing Jewish values, fostering caring and sensitive character traits and making a concerned effort to give each student the space necessary to develop his/her own talents and strengths and to afford students the opportunity to express their personalities in the classroom. •*-■■■---■:• "Multidimensional is a word that aptly describes our classroom," said Capland. "We create different activities, art projects, games and songs to reinforce the weekly lessons. Whether we are learning aleph-beis, math or the weekly Torah portion, there is always a lot going on in the classroom that relates to these themes for the week." Steven Delott, an attorney, commented that "the informal style of the classroom with various activities set up in all sections of the room allows the children a lot of exciting options during their free- play time. This is ideal for our sons' active and curious pei>- sohalities." His wife, Barbara, agrees. Learning at Torah Prep is designed to be experimental. The approach to English and writing skills is especially popular with the children. Each letter is assigned its own personality and comical char-. acter. The week of the open house the children were learning the letter and sound "M" which was personified as Mr.-Munching-Mouth-M. All week long children would go home and flip through their parents' magazines looking for pictures that began with munching-mouth-m. Another learning experience came along with learning the letter "F." Funny-Feet-F was the humorous theme for the week. Undoubtedly the week's highlight was when the children traced the shapes of their feet on big pieces of paper and then had a great time coloring in their own steps in a rainbow's array of colors. Anyone who visits Torah Prep immediately sees the love and enthusiasm which the teachers bring to the classroom. Esther Kaltman, a graduate of Beth Rivka Teachers College in Brooklyn, N.Y., teaches the pre-school students. Her warmth and genuine concern for the children have been essential in helping some anxious youngsters successfully take those tentative steps from their parents' home to a classroom environment. "At first our daughter, Tali, was apprehensive about her new school," said Yael Levi, "but she adjusted quickly. Now, even when she wakes up from a nap, she wants to know if it's time to go to school. The teachers are very" warm and friendly and the classroom set-up encourages a lot of interaction between the kids which we feel has been very beneficial for our daughter." Capland has many years of teaching experience and has created a number of programs and curriculum materials which have, been acclaimed by Torah Umesorah (the national group of day school teachers across North America). Recently Torah Prep was visited by Reba Sharfstein, a nationally recognized authority on early childhood education and a Montessori teacher at the Cincinnati day school. After observing the Torah Prep program for learning about Shabbat, Sharfstein commented, "I don't think there is anything in the country like this .., this curriculum should be published and distributed nationally." The Shabbat curriculum is unique in the way that it blends science and the language arts to teach about what one can or cannot do on see TORAH pg. 4, V A
Object Description
Title | The OJC the Ohio Jewish chronicle. (Columbus, Ohio), 1991-12-12 |
Subject | Jews -- Ohio -- Periodicals |
Place |
Columbus (Ohio) Franklin County (Ohio) |
Creator | OJC Pub. Co. |
Collection | Ohio Jewish Chronicle |
Submitting Institution | Columbus Jewish Historical Society |
Rights | This item may have copyright restrictions. Online access is provided for research purposes only. For rights and reproduction requests or more information, go to http://www.ohiohistory.org/images/information |
Type | Text |
File Name | index.cpd |
File Size | 3556 Bytes |
Searchable Date | 1991-12-12 |
Format | newspapers |
LCCN | sn91075643 |
Date created | 2016-10-31 |
Description
Title | Ohio Jewish Chronicle. (Columbus, Ohio), 1991-12-12, page 01 |
Searchable Date | 1991-12-12 |
Full Text | ^.^:..L-'u^.,j-**»«* •v.fcv^s***1 ■i»l>..^X H* ii * I 151 w i P ii pi f P* I (-' nrttp The Ohio Jewish Chronicle , Serving Columbus and Central Ohio ■*. /rarish Gommuni'fy for Over 60 Years ■ VOLUME 69 NUMBER 51 DECEMBER 12,1991 5TEVET5752 DEVOTED TO AMERICAN AND JEWISH IDEALS Columbus residents Ohio Hist.Society 1982, Velma Ave. Columbus, Ohio L'ibr honored by Yeshiva page 2 David Duke The next steps page 3 Tifereth Israel plans weekend with scholar page 6 Red Gross needs blood donations now ' ■ ' ■ Page 8 Gpmmunity gears up for more resettlement page 10 EARLY DEADLINES Thursday, Dec. 26, issue', NOON, THURSDAY, DEC. 19 Thursday, Jan. 2, issue \ NOON, THURSDAY, DEC. 26 The OJC office will be closed on Wednesday, Dec 25, and Wednesday, Jan. 1 In The Chronicle At The JCC '. 14 Community ...... 4-8 Federation ,...• 'J 10,11 FrontPage .... , 2 Lifecycle ■...'.• 12 Marketplace 15 New Generation ...,....,, 9 , Scoreboard ...........:,,.;....... ^ .14 Synagogues ....... ..-A\,,,,,...: .v 13 Viewpoint ...,,,............'.,.,,.'._ 3 COMMUNITY FEATURE Torah Prep opens its doors By S. Henfield Torah Prep has come to Columbus. The newest addition to the community's growing number of Jewish educational alternatives held its first open house on Wednesday, Oct. 9. The school, offering both preschool and kindergarten programs, is located at 3589 E. Main St., in Whitehall. "The great success of the first open house far exceeded our expectations and confirmed our belief that there is an ever emerging segment of our community that is interested in the type of program Torah Prep has to offer," said Yehudis Blumberger, an active Torah Prep board member. Blumberger and her husband, Avraham, who manufactures one of America's largest lines of Jewish children's board games, moved to Columbus three years ago. "We lived in New York and Detroit before moving to Columbus," commented ^Blumberger, "and we saw how the emergenceof new schools in a community not only helped the community, but also served as a catalyst to attract new families to a community. We're sure this will be the case in Columbus, too." The establishment of Torah Prep is noteworthy not only as a testament to the growth of Jewish services offered in Columbus; but particularly because of its unique educational program. The classroom dynamic at Torah Prep is a synthesis of the Montessori approach to early childhood education with a more traditional format that encourages the development of social interaction skills; according to kindergarten teacher Chani Cap- land. The Montessori approach which emphasizes each student receiving individual at tention and progressing at a pace appropriate for him/her is employed extensively in the., language arts program and the development of reading skills. The standard method of dividing students, into various reading group levels often results in Children inadvertently being labeled as "smart" or "slow," Capland pointed out. With reading being done on a personalized basis students are never aware of how fast or slow their classmates are progressing. Another feature of this individualized approach is that the teacher is able to keep a daily chart which notes the child's strengths and weaknesses in reading skills and exactly what should be stressed the next day or during the next week. In this way, the teacher is also able to give parents very specific feedback on their child's progress as well as definite suggestions on how parents can help at home with their child's learning. The results of this approach speak for themselves. At the time of the open house, the kindergarten students were well on their way to mastering reading and writing the English alphabet as well as reading the Hebrew aleph beis and the vowels. Those who attended the open house had a chance to see the innovative manner in which the classroom is set up, were able to speak with other parents whose children attend Torah Prep and listened to Capland explain what a typical day at Torah Prep is like and what the curriculum is designed to achieve. In general, Capland said, Torah Prep is ; committed to much more than teaching traditional skills. The school plaices great emphasis on nurturing Jewish values, fostering caring and sensitive character traits and making a concerned effort to give each student the space necessary to develop his/her own talents and strengths and to afford students the opportunity to express their personalities in the classroom. •*-■■■---■:• "Multidimensional is a word that aptly describes our classroom," said Capland. "We create different activities, art projects, games and songs to reinforce the weekly lessons. Whether we are learning aleph-beis, math or the weekly Torah portion, there is always a lot going on in the classroom that relates to these themes for the week." Steven Delott, an attorney, commented that "the informal style of the classroom with various activities set up in all sections of the room allows the children a lot of exciting options during their free- play time. This is ideal for our sons' active and curious pei>- sohalities." His wife, Barbara, agrees. Learning at Torah Prep is designed to be experimental. The approach to English and writing skills is especially popular with the children. Each letter is assigned its own personality and comical char-. acter. The week of the open house the children were learning the letter and sound "M" which was personified as Mr.-Munching-Mouth-M. All week long children would go home and flip through their parents' magazines looking for pictures that began with munching-mouth-m. Another learning experience came along with learning the letter "F." Funny-Feet-F was the humorous theme for the week. Undoubtedly the week's highlight was when the children traced the shapes of their feet on big pieces of paper and then had a great time coloring in their own steps in a rainbow's array of colors. Anyone who visits Torah Prep immediately sees the love and enthusiasm which the teachers bring to the classroom. Esther Kaltman, a graduate of Beth Rivka Teachers College in Brooklyn, N.Y., teaches the pre-school students. Her warmth and genuine concern for the children have been essential in helping some anxious youngsters successfully take those tentative steps from their parents' home to a classroom environment. "At first our daughter, Tali, was apprehensive about her new school," said Yael Levi, "but she adjusted quickly. Now, even when she wakes up from a nap, she wants to know if it's time to go to school. The teachers are very" warm and friendly and the classroom set-up encourages a lot of interaction between the kids which we feel has been very beneficial for our daughter." Capland has many years of teaching experience and has created a number of programs and curriculum materials which have, been acclaimed by Torah Umesorah (the national group of day school teachers across North America). Recently Torah Prep was visited by Reba Sharfstein, a nationally recognized authority on early childhood education and a Montessori teacher at the Cincinnati day school. After observing the Torah Prep program for learning about Shabbat, Sharfstein commented, "I don't think there is anything in the country like this .., this curriculum should be published and distributed nationally." The Shabbat curriculum is unique in the way that it blends science and the language arts to teach about what one can or cannot do on see TORAH pg. 4, V A |
Format | newspapers |
Date created | 2009-10-14 |