It is a tradition for the graduates to deliver a personal
speech at Sinai’s Graduation Ceremony. As each
child takes his or her place behind the microphone,
we have a chance to witness first-hand the self-confidence
and poise he or she acquired in the years at Sinai.
Parents and visitors alike have commented that our
graduates project a feeling of being comfortable in
their own skins, of being at ease with who they are
as Jews and as human beings.
Sinai’s graduates are well equipped to deal
with the academic challenges that lay in their future.
They have a strong academic foundation and have developed
a love of learning that will serve then well for the
rest of their lives. Our graduates have adapted well
to the middle schools they attend, public or private,
and most of them excel in their studies.
It is with great pride that we witness, year after
year, the Sinai graduates become bar or bat mitzvah
in their respective synagogues, and continue to be
involved in synagogue life after that. As our first
graduated class approaches the high school years, we
are looking forward to our alumni’s involvement
in youth groups as well as watching them take their
place leading services, tutoring, and undertaking other
positions of responsibility in the community. Many
of our students and graduates have the opportunity
to attend Jewish overnight camp in the summer, which
provides an additional level of experience that contributes
enormously to the cementing of the Jewish identity
our students begin to develop during their years at
Sinai.
Our students leave Sinai well prepared for the challenges
of the pre-teen and teenage years ahead of them. During
their years at the school, we plant in them the seeds
of values and morality, which will come to flourish
in their young adult years and beyond. We nurture their
sense of self and we celebrate their uniqueness as
individuals, as well as the common bond they share
with the Jewish people and humanity at-large. They
know that the way we treat other creatures in God’s
world matter, and so does the way we treat ourselves,
our families, our friends and neighbors, and the environment.
Our graduates are sensitive to the many ailments that
affect people near and far and understand that, although
they are not expected to finish the task of saving
the world, they are expected to make a difference in
it. We hope they are prepared to make good choices,
even when the good choice is not the popular one. Our
alumni had many experiences of appropriate conflict
resolution, collaborative team work, critical thinking,
and problem-solving. These will serve them well in
their future, at school and beyond.
