New Head of School Announcement

Dear Parents and Friends,

It is with great pleasure and excitement that we introduce you to Mr. Naty Katz, New England Jewish Academy’s new Head of School.

Mr. Naty Katz

Mr. Katz impressed the Search Committee, Board of Directors and parents during his visit to the area. His energy, his relentless pursuit of institutional improvement, his vision for elevating the role of the school in the community, his personable manner and his lifelong commitment to the ideals of Modern Orthodox Judaism were clear drivers of his past success and motivations for the future.

“We believe that Naty is exactly the right person to lead us at this time,” says Dr. Sid Ulreich, chair of the Search Committee. “With his background as a successful businessman, as an accomplished Head of School and as a day school veteran, Naty brings the kind of expertise that we need to take NEJA forward in this complicated period.”

During ten years leading Maimonides School in Brookline, Mass., Naty oversaw a full curriculum review and overhaul and transformed the process of hiring and developing teachers. He added an ECC division to the school and guided an administrative team of ten leaders, while also increasing the school’s fundraising capacity. During this past year, Mr. Katz has served as the interim Head of School of Hillel Day School of Detroit.

Prior to joining Maimonides in a professional capacity, Mr. Katz founded two successful startup companies (H2O Furnishings and Dana Lighting) while also becoming an active member of the Maimonides School Board of Directors, with a focus on fundraising and marketing for the school. When Maimonides was in need of renewed professional leadership, Mr. Katz’s passion for Jewish education led him to take on the role of Executive Director in 2008 before transitioning into the Head of School role.

With his long-time connection to Maimonides, Mr. Katz is a lifelong devotee of Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, z”l, considered the founder and spiritual pillar of Modern Orthodox Judaism in the 20th century.

We find ourselves in very challenging times, when the present seems so uncertain and confusing. At the same time, we believe that successful organizations keep looking towards the future and we are thrilled that Mr. Naty Katz will help guide us towards an exciting and promising future for Jewish education in the Western Mass., Hartford and New Haven areas.

Please stay safe and healthy,

Dr. Yitz and Juanita Moss, co-Presidents
Dr. Sid Ulreich, Chair, Head of School Search Committee

Middle School Students Create Non-Linear Interactive Slideshows in Google Slides

Middle School students have been busy learning how to create non-linear interactive slideshows using Google Slides. 

Students were required to create a slideshow on the planets of the solar system in a way that allowed the user to hop back and forth between slides that provided information about each planet. The students were required to insert muted, auto-playing videos related to each planet as well as use transparent shapes to link to other slides within the slideshow, creating the illusion of a linked hotspot on the image; all using the skills taught during distance learning in computer science class. 

Students were presented with a starter image of the solar system but were rewarded with bonus points for originality, visual presentation and technical proficiency.

The students work can be found below:

Preschool Backyard Scavenger Hunt

A science Experiment, The Tiny Seed, Scavenger Hunt and More

Efram Hersh enjoyed the science experiment he did online with Miss Kathleen, using baking soda and vinegar! Preschoolers also listened to parts of “The Tiny Seed” by Eric Carle, and discussed how the wind helps the tiny seed. The students completed a worksheet on what things help the tiny seed and what things hurt the tiny seed, and had lots of fun singing songs about planting time and acting it out. Their favorite part of the lesson was the backyard scavenger hunt, searching for butterflies, squirrels, sticks, mud, leaves, ants, flowers, rocks, and other outdoor items! 

Lower School Faculty Visit Students in a Parade of Cars

In honor of Yom Ha-Atzmaut (and because we miss our kids so much), the Lower Division faculty led a parade of cars throughout our students’ neighborhoods. Rabbi Silver and the teachers said hello and spread cheer to the children in a caravan of private cars. Nachum Silver (NEJA 2023) added to the festivities with some juggling fun!

Third Quarter Honor Roll

Mazel Tov to our High School students who achieved Honors and High Honors!

High Honors

Harry Gold
Noah Grosberg
Ariella Gutfreund
Elijah Kesler
Hillel Kofsky
Morissa Kranc
Maya Oberstein
Brian Silberman
Nachum Silver
Liya Simon
Aaron Snyder

Honors

Elaine Braunshweiger
Levi Kofsky
Kobi Luzhanskiy
Aliya Moss
Kiryl Nenadovich
Talia Rapaport
Holden Shapiro
Moshe Skoglund

100th Day in Kindergarten

Today was our 100th day of school! Students had an opportunity to participate in a number of 100th day activities. We made necklaces and crowns as we celebrated 100 days of school. In Language Arts we celebrated by reading books about the 100th day of school and writing about what we would do with 100 __?__ .  In math we counted to 100 and colored 100 shapes. We all had a fun and exciting day to learn and talk about the number 100!