Sinai Academy is guided
by core Jewish values which include:
Tzedakah
(justice and righteousness exemplified by the
giving of one’s time and resources for
those in need)
Sinai Academy encourages our students to become
heavily involved in service to others. We strive
to help our children realize, from the youngest
age, the mutual, reciprocal rewards that come from
being responsible, creative participants and leaders
in our society. As a simple example, preschoolers
are imbued with the importance of tzedakah with
a colorful hand-made “mitzvah
train” that is prominently displayed on
the classroom wall, and applauds every-day acts
of kindness toward our local and the larger community.
Children in grades K-5 are involved in a special
tzedakah program that raises charitable funds through
student-led Israeli Dance-a-thons or Read-a-thon
each year. Moreover, our students decide amongst
themselves how and to whom they will distribute these
funds. Past beneficiaries include Magen David Adom
(the Red Star of David, the emergency response organization
in Israel), the hearing impaired program at Camp
Ramah, the Berkshire Humane Society, an organization
in Israel supporting animals, and programs supporting
widows and orphans of the firefighters lost in the
attack on September 11. Additionally, as part of
our Rosh Chodesh (first day of the Jewish month)
celebration, we honor the Jewish tradition of linking
times of rejoicing with acts of tzedakah by asking
students to bring non-perishable food items to
donate to the various community organizations that
help the less fortunate.
Derech Eretz (respect and kindness to our fellow
human beings and responsibility for the community):
The values of caring, dignity and mutual respect
embodied in the concept of derech
eretz are integral
to a Sinai education. We nourish each student’s unique strengths
and talents, and offer a curriculum designed to develop
our children’s self-esteem while challenging
them to excel. In our multiage
classroom environment,
varied and innovative teaching strategies are employed
and adapted to the particular abilities and learning
styles of our students. In fact, it is common for
a teacher to utilize several different textbooks
within one lesson to accommodate the diverse needs
of individual students.
We emphasize teamwork for building lifelong social
skills, and we help our children to develop flexibility,
to become adaptable and comfortable in a variety
of different communities and cultures. Our children
receive numerous opportunities to excel in academic
as well as non-academic ways. For example, in Sinai’s
after-school “Destination Imagination” program
(a creative problem-solving program that enables
children to expand on the skills and knowledge they
learn in school and apply them in creative and non-traditional
ways), children work as a team, but each child has
his/her own specialty within that team. Not surprisingly,
Sinai has historically received very noteworthy scores
in statewide Destination Imagination competitions.
Mitzvah (obligations we bear toward God, the Jewish
people and humanity)
Through daily prayer (tefillah) at Sinai, our students
develop a personal relationship to God, the Jewish
people, all of humanity, and of course, their relationship
to self. The prayers are mostly sung, and the sound
of our children's spirited and pure voices is quite
uplifting and moving. Another lovely tradition at
our school is Kabbalat Shabbat, when we welcome the
Sabbath each Friday afternoon prior to school dismissal
with Israeli songs and the blessings over candles,
wine and bread. Many parents and grandparents attend
these weekly events and there are often special visitors
as well who are invited to share a story or another
Shabbat-related activity with our students. At other
times, a class or an After
School Program group will
share a presentation with the whole school. Birthdays
and other special occasions are also celebrated at
this time. To participate with the entire school
body, including teachers, together with parents and
grandparents, is an experience of joy, and the candle-lighting
ceremony and the snack of grape juice and challah set
the tone for the joyous Shabbat holiday to come.
Talmud Torah (devotion to the lifelong pursuit of
learning):
Sinai feels a keen responsibility to ensure Jewish
continuity by providing our children with a Jewish
and general education of the highest quality, and imbuing
them with a lifelong devotion to the learning process.
Some students come from families who practice traditional
Jewish observance and some from those who prefer to
honor the Jewish culture in a secular manner. There
are also families who are not observant at all. Bridging
these differences of religious practice is our common
bond of humanitarian values and pursuit of scholastic
and ethical excellence.
Sometimes, the joy which meaningful ritual brings
is transferred and suffused within the families of
our students. While Sinai certainly does not require
any family religious participation or devotion, we
are prepared to assist in helping families understand
and integrate the lessons our children may bring home.
We thus offer opportunities for Jewish learning
beyond our curriculum in which parents, teachers
and children may grow together. The shared discovery
of practical and meaningful Jewish tradition, ritual,
and learning tends to open hearts and further deepen
family bonds. For example, one of our recent family
programs was an evening of “Havdalah Magic” for our
Beit Yeladim (preschool) and Nitzanim (kindergarten
and first grade) families. (Havdalah is the ritual
which marks the end of the Sabbath, and involves candles,
spices and wine.) It took the form of a “pajama
party,” with an arts and crafts station (for
students to make their own havdalah sets), lots of
singing, story-telling and a “how to” demonstration
of the havdalah ritual. The pajama-clad children
(and parents and teachers) were left with a renewed
appreciation for the benefit of creating sacred time
and space out of our everyday lives.
Sinai considers education to be a dynamic process,
always evolving, and ultimately inspiring excellence
of mind and heart. Continuing faculty education is
integral to the Sinai vision, and our teachers are
strongly supported to hone their professional skills
through course work, advanced degree programs, and
specialized conferences and workshops.
Ahavat Israel (love for the people of Israel, its
culture, language and land)
Sinai Academy uses a bilingual (English/Hebrew) curriculum,
as well as courses on Jewish history and culture
and instruction in Israeli dance to help endow our
children with an early and lifelong bond to Israel.
We proudly fly the Israeli flag in all our classrooms
as a symbol of our unity with the State of Israel and
Jewish people everywhere.
B’tzelem Elohim (each and every human
being, unique and holy, is created in the Divine
image):
At Sinai Academy, we consider it our responsibility
to understand, listen to and respect our students,
and to validate their emotions, thoughts and individuality.
We recognize that all children bear a unique gift and
that truly successful education is founded in supporting
the distinctive aspirations and creative spirit within
all children. At the same time, we aim to challenge
our students to think and to question, and to discover
their own ways of contributing to our world. We help
them to stretch their imaginations and their intellect
so that they discover and value the best in Jewish
teachings, American culture and themselves.
Morasha - Torah is the inheritance of all the people
Israel
Commitment to make our education available to any Jewish
child in our community, including those of limited
means.
Halacha - All activities of the school will be conducted
in such a way that Shabbat, Yom Tov and Kashruth are
observed.
