In this Edition
Join us for the SSSQ Tribute Dinner... A Night at the Museum | Message from our Head Education Administrator | Monthly Highlights |
SSSQ Pre-Purim Bash | StandWithUs Visits SSSQ | First Grade Siddur Celebration | Lashon Harah | Community Building at Glaze-A-Riffic | To Infinity and Beyond | Israel Send Off | SSSQ Model Seders | Matzah Baking with Chabbad | Burning the Chametz | Visiting Israel | Yom HaShoah | Kudos |
Alumni Corner | Upcoming Events | PTA Announcements|
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Dear Friends,
We are excited to invite you to the upcoming 2019 Solomon Schechter School of Queens Tribute Dinner.
We sincerely hope you will be available to attend this beautiful, fun, and elegant evening celebrating our most deserved honorees.
To learn more about our honorees, RSVP, or place an ad in our virtual journal please click anywhere on the invitation below.
Come join us! Free parking will be available near the venue at PV Parking Astoria on 34-11 Steinway St, Long Island City, NY 11101.
For more information please contact Paul Friedman at
pfriedman@sssq.org
or 718-591-9800 ext. 305.
Looking forward to greeting you at the dinner!
SSSQ
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Message from our Head Education Administrator
Dear Faculty and Staff
As we enter National Teacher Appreciation Week, which begins on Monday, May 6th, I want to take this opportunity to thank not only the teachers, but all faculty and staff members for everything you do to make SSSQ such a great place to work and learn each and every day. You have one of the most exciting, fulfilling, exhausting, overwhelming, incredible jobs. Despite the challenges you face you devote your lives to providing our children with the best Judaic and secular education. You do precious and invaluable work and deserve to be respected, valued and supported.
When visitors and parents walk through our hallways they see children learning, working, smiling and laughing. This does not happen by chance, but as the result of your hard work and dedication to our children and our school.
On behalf of the Board of Trustees and the school administration we acknowledge and deeply appreciate each of you for your commitment and the outstanding job you do. Please know it has not gone unnoticed.
Sincerely,
Sheldon Naparstek
Head Education Administrator
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The SSSQ PTA organized for the very first time the 2019 SSSQ Purim Bash! We had a great time celebrating Purim as everyone got dressed up in their favorite Purim costumes, played games, watched the magic show, ate cotton candy and fresh popcorn, and enjoyed a special megillah reading led by Rabbi Tomsky. We would like to thank our fantastic PTA for their incredible efforts to organize a beautiful Purim program at our school and the SSSQ community for participating and making this such a wonderful event!
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It was a privilege having guest speaker Maria Ntourlia from StandWithUs visit SSSQ to teach our 7th and 8th grade students how to identify and respond to legitimate criticism toward Israel and antisemitism. Unfortunately, it has become necessary for Jewish Day Schools to educate and expose their students to the many different forms of antisemitism, especially when it relates to Israel. This program empowers students by giving them speaking techniques to respond to antisemitism if they should ever encounter it. Thank you Maria and
StandWithUs
for teaching our students such an important lesson.
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First Grade Siddur Celebration
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Last month, we had a great time at the First Grade Siddur Celebration! Our first grade students were so excited to receive their first Siddur! This was a big moment as it celebrates their ability to read and write from the Siddur. They also put on a play in front of the school and parents, where they acted out skits related to Shabbat, spoke about the meaning of the Brachot, and sang songs about Israel! We are very proud of our first grade students for reaching this milestone in their education.
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The 7th grade students in Morah Ben-Harari's class have been learning about the numerous laws pertaining to Lashon Harah-improper gossip and speech. The students displayed their fantastic work and presented their research this week to our middle school. They emphasized to their classmates the importance of being sensitive to the feelings of others by being cognizant of what we say. We thank Morah Ben-Harari for her efforts in educating our students about this most important topic!
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Community Building at Glaze-A-Riffic
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Earlier last month the Board Of Trustees and a member of the Education Initiative did a team building exercise at Glaze-A-Riffic. We each selected pottery to paint ideally to use at our Seders. We had a wonderful experience painting diverse pieces that represent our culture and identity. While we each may choose a different piece or paint with different colors, we are all Jews coming together as a community to get ready for Pesach. We would like to thank Judy Krinitz who helped make this experience possible and look forward to the next team building exercise!
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On April 11
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, all of our students watched in great anticipation the first Israeli spacecraft to ever visit the moon. A remarkable achievement for a country that is only 70 years old! Israel will become only the 7
th
country to reach the moon, and they are by far the smallest country to ever do so. Our students learned about space, gravity, and all of the hard work that goes into making a trip to the moon successful.
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The Israel send-off celebration was a fantastic experience! The 8th graders are so excited for their upcoming trip to Israel and put on a wonderful performance at the school! We are very proud of our students and would like to thank the community for coming out and participating, all of our guest speakers (Rabbi Wise, Rabbi Kogan, Shahar Azani, Israel Nitzan) who took time out of their busy schedules to explain to our students the significance of going to Israel and visiting our homeland, and Mrs. Aharoni who worked hard to create a beautiful program with our students. We wish our 8th graders a safe, fun, and meaningful experience as some will be visiting Israel for the very first time on this trip!
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Our students had a great time during their model Seders at SSSQ! They ate Matzah, sang songs, had some grape juice, and learned about this important moment in Jewish history in preparation of Passover. We thank all of our faculty and community members who made this a meaningful experience for our students. Hoping everyone had a Happy Passover!
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Making Matzah with Chabad
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Our Pre-K students had an incredible experience learning how to bake matzah before Passover! It was the first time our students ever had the pleasure of eating their very own matzah! The students learned why Jews eat matzah during Passover and why we still practice this tradition today. We would like to thank Chabad of Queens for running a fun and interactive program to teach our students about Passover!
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Our students had so much fun learning and helping the school get rid of all the chametz to ensure we are kosher for Passover! We would like to thank the
New York City Fire Department (FDNY)
for making sure our students were safe, being friendly, allowing them to climb into the fire truck, beeping the horn, and running the sirens, which the students loved! We taught the firemen about burning chametz before Passover to ensure the house is Kosher and they taught us about the different things that go into a fire truck and what they are used for. It was a wonderful experience shared by all!
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The 8th graders and SSSQ staff are looking forward to visiting Israel! Students could hardly contain their excitement as they were boarding the plane. For some, this will be their very first visit to Israel! We wish everyone a safe, fun, and meaningful experience as they tour the Jewish homeland with their peers. Look out for more Israel updates in the next edition of the Scoop!
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We had a meaningful Yom HaShoah program take place today at the school organized by Mrs Ben Harari and her 7th grade students. It began with our students describing the events of the Shoah (Holocaust) to the audience. We lit 6 candles to represent the 6 million Jews that were murdered during the Shoah. Then we had Holocaust survivor and guest speaker Bronia Brandman visit from the Museum of Jewish Heritage to share her incredible testimony with the students. We learned the tragic story of how Bronia lost all the members of her family during the Holocaust simply because they were Jewish. She left our students with a powerful message and explained that Holocaust survivors are all very old today and are slowly dying. The survivors will now pass the torch of educating others about the Holocaust to the younger generation of Jews, for if we do not teach people who will? It is our responsibility to be proud Jews and share our story. We thank Bronia for coming to our school to help teach our students this most important lesson on Yom HaShoah.
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Dear Alumni: If you would like to share your news (engagements, weddings, births, career milestones,
B'nai Mitzvot
, etc) with us or visit the school, please contact Naomi Horowitz at
nhorowitz@sssq.org
or 718-591-9800 ext. 323.
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Eric Benaim - CEO/President/Co-founder – Modern Spaces
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We are especially proud and excited to present Eric Benaim ‘93
Alumni of the Year!
A sought after voice in the borough of Queens and the real estate market, Eric Benaim’s entry into real estate began in 2001 after a successful career as owner of a live event production and marketing firm. Initially concentrating on Manhattan luxury sales, Eric later recognized the untapped opportunity in his own beloved borough, and turned his focus exclusively to Long Island City. The result was the sale of 50 residences in 2006 alone.
In the midst of 2008’s severe economic crisis, Eric instinctively decided the time was right to launch Modern Spaces, permanently changing the perception and value of real estate in LIC. In just 10 years, Eric’s insightful and personal approach resulted in the swift expansion of Modern Spaces, including opening additional offices in Manhattan and Astoria where 100 agents work, capturing a 70% market share in Long Island City. Most recently, in 2019, Modern Spaces crossed the river to capture 10% of the burgeoning market share over the next three years, in Jersey City.
He is responsible for successfully completing over $5.5B in sales and is currently responsible for overseeing over $4B in real estate, which translates to over 8000 units. Eric was the first person to be recognized as a 40 Under 40 Rising Star in both Queens and Brooklyn by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Brooklyn Borough President, Marty Markowitz, respectively. Eric received the 2018 Community Impact Award by the LIC Partnership, as well as the Community Hero award by the Long Island City YMCA.
Eric is a member of REBNY, and serves on the Advisory Board of Mount Sinai Hospital, as well as the Board of Directors for the Long Island City Partnership. In 2016 the City and State Award honored him for Corporate Social Responsibility.
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Eric is consistently called upon to speak at a diverse array of events and is frequently featured, quoted, interviewed and profiled in prominent outlets including CNN, Fox Business, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CRAIN'S, The Real Deal, CNBC, and NY1. Eric is an art collector and avid supporter of the arts. As the informal ‘Mayor of LIC,’ it is his passion for building a prosperous community that informs Modern Spaces ‘unparalleled perspective. He currently resides in Long Island City with his wife Stephanie and son Greyson.
“Solomon Schechter played a major role in my life; not only for the education I received, but because of the values I was taught including my Jewish identity which was instilled in me from a young age. Solomon Schechter is where I learned about Jewish traditions and history, reading and writing Hebrew, which I still use today, and look forward to passing onto my son. I was exposed not just to warm, funny and smart teachers, but to other Jewish students from whom I also learned a great deal and who helped shape my character and personality. Solomon Schechter was the single most important educational experience I have had in my entire life.” – Eric Benaim ‘93
We look forward to honoring Eric at Schechter’s 2019 Tribute Dinner and hope you’ll join us on May 30
th
at the Museum of Moving Image when he receives this well-deserved award!
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Naomi Danis '64
on publishing her new book,
While Grandpa Naps
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Steve Goldstein '70
on spearheading
the
Ramah Sports Academy
.
Together with Gabe Nechamkin, founding lay leader of Schechter Westchester High School, Dave Mendelowitz, a Schechter Long Island graduate, and Dave Levy a parent at Schechter Manhattan this project became a reality.
Ramah Sports Academy
is an overnight summer camp in Fairfield, CT, offering elite sports instruction within an inspiring and joyful Jewish community.
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Seth Offenbach '96
on publishing his first book,
The Conservative Movement and the Vietnam War - The Other Side of Vietnam, 1st Edition.
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Melissa Glassman '06
on passing the New York State bar.
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Vered Musheyev '11
and Joseph Fuzailov on their marriage which took place January 10th in Queens.
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Condolences to Dina Yakar and her family on the passing of her dear grandmother Beverly (Adler) Scherer, beloved Schechter Queens English teacher for 25 years.
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5/21/19
- Shesh Besh Tournament
5/23/19
- Lag B'Omer
5/27/19
- Memorial Day - No School
6/02/19
- Salute to Israel Parade
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If there are any parents or Board Members who wish to donate Raffle prizes for the upcoming 2019 SSSQ Tribute Dinner, or if you would like to contribute material for the monthly newsletter, please contact Paul Friedman Director of Development & Public Relations at
pfriedman@sssq.org
or 718-591-9800 ext. 305.
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The Solomon Schechter School of Queens
76-16 Parsons Boulevard
Flushing, NY 11366
Tel: 718-591-9800
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