Pesach goes virtual for Silverstein Hebrew Academy students

The Island Now

Silverstein Hebrew Academy continues to bring out the best in their students despite the difficult circumstances. SHA has used this time to create an interactive, virtual environment for students and their families to continue to learn. In addition to the number of exciting activities for students to take part in on a regular basis, SHA has made it their main priority this past week to ensure their students are able to lead the Passover Seder in a virtual setting.

Prior to the Seder, Early Childhood teachers safely delivered bags with Haggadahs for students to work on from home with their teacher.

“We take great pride in how our school has made distance learning meaningful and productive for all students,” said Shireen Butman, head of school at SHA. “Although our students and teachers are separated for the time being, we wanted to ensure that our students knew the traditions and halakhot that relate to the Seder and were comfortable and able to lead a Seder.”

In order to celebrate properly, the school even added two mornings of learning during the Passover break to help children celebrate a virtual model Seder.

This was then followed by a program that included a word unscramble game, Dvar Torah with Rabbi Ezagui as well as Musical Hallel and a Passover scavenger hunt. Kindergarten through second-grade students at SHA had their very own virtual model Seder, a ritual feast that marks the beginning of Pesach.

Third-grade students virtually honed their artistic skills by creating a Pesach painting of the splitting of the Red Sea. Early Childhood students had an exclusive program just for them that included music, storytime, and dancing.

These creative initiatives, a robust online learning platform through Zoom along with weekly wellness check-ins are giving students the personal connection that they need in these challenging times despite the sudden shift from a physical school setting to learning from home.

This is how the Silverstein Hebrew Academy ensures that their principle of educating children with an open mind and an open heart still stands.

For more information about the Silverstein Hebrew Academy, visit us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SilversteinHebrewAcademy or call the school at 516-466-8522.

Share this Article