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As the beginning of the new school year looms, the final touches on DTA’s new campus are happening at “light year pace.” Rochel Ramstetter, Executive Administrator of Chabad, recently took the school administration on a guided tour of the almost completed building. First stop on the tour was the Early Childhood wing. The entrance to the wing is framed by a brightly colored sign indicating the preschool’s name, “Torah Tots”. The walls are painted with flowery designs that will both enthrall and calm the three and four year old students. The ECE section also has its own multipurpose room and playground and large, spacious, classrooms.
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Each year, in the month of May, the students of Desert Torah Academy take the Terra Nova Standardized Test. Rabbi Rodman, principal of DTA explained “These tests serve a very important purpose. The results allow schools to measure not only each student’s progress but also the academic success of the school as a whole. The scores are norm referenced (i.e. compared to the scores of student throughout the country) so they can really measure a school’s progress. The Terra Nova is a highly recognized test and favored by many private schools.”
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DESERT TORAH ACADEMY’S 7TH AND 8TH GRADE STUDENTS VISIT SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
DTA’s seventh and eighth graders recently came back from a spectacular graduation trip to Southern California. The students left DTA early on a Tuesday morning and arrived at Shoreline Village in Long Beach in the afternoon. They spent the day enjoying the ocean, the boat filled harbor, shopping in the quaint Shoreline Village stores and riding bikes on the boardwalk.
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This has been an exciting year at DTA. Everyone is amazed at how quickly the new school building and campus are nearing completion. Since the new campus is adjacent to the main Chabad Center that currently houses the school, everyone has been able to watch the progress on a daily basis.
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At the end of each trimester, DTA holds a special awards ceremony to honor its students for their individual success. The following awards are given:
Dean’s List: for all A’s
Principal’s List: for all A’s or B’s
Citizenship: for doing the right thing all the time
Effort: for trying you’re hardest
Service: for doing something extra to help the school, a staff member or one of your classmates.
Punctuality: for coming to school on time.
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RRRCC at DTA. “What’s that!?” you ask. Why it’s Rabbi Rodman’s Rock Climbing Club at Desert Torah Academy, of course.
The Rabbi explained, “I recently decided that it was time for this pleasantly plump principal to spend more time exercising. I therefore decided to join the local “Y”. I noticed that the “Y” near our school has a beautiful rock climbing wall and that I hardly ever see anyone using it. I spoke to the people in charge and they said that they would love to have our school form a club and use the facility on a regular basis.
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Extracurricular activities are a very important part of any school’s program. Desert Torah Academy is very proud of the many fun and enriching activities that it provides for its students. One of these activities, Club Time, has just started its second session.
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The entire DTA family, parents, teachers and students alike are anxiously awaiting the completion of the school’s new campus. The new school will be housed on Vista Drive and is adjacent to the school’s present facility on Arville. Once the new campus is completed, the entire Arville facility will be dedicated to Chabad outreach and synagogue activities.
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The school day is long at DTA, starting at 8:30 and ending at 4:00 pm. Nevertheless, on Wednesday’s students are ready to stay for another hour. That’s because Wednesday is club day at Desert Torah Academy.
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DTA is pleased to welcome three new teachers to its staff. Ms. Jennifer Starks is teaching both kindergarten and first grade. When asked about her teaching philosophy, Ms. Stark stated, “I really like to create a safe learning environment for my students. This is really important when teaching the early primary grades.” Ms. Stark also noted that she aims to make all of her instruction intentional and specific. She added that even in younger grades time should not be wasted. Ms. Starks comes to DTA with a Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education from East Washington University and five years experience as an elementary school teacher.
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Sukkot 5770 was celebrated in grand fashion at DTA. It has become a tradition at DTA to invite the parents of each student to a special lunchtime Sukkah celebration. The program started with a delicious meal prepared by Shani Segelstein of Rafi’s Catering. While the parents, teachers and students were happily munching the scrumptious food, one of the Rabbis went around and invited the participants to say the blessing on the Lulav and Esrog. Morah Dina Harlig, Director of DTA then shared an inspiring D’var Torah about the holiday.
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The days before Rosh Hashanah were days of great excitement at DTA. The students learned about the many traditions of the Holiday and why we practice them. Each class also took on a New Year resolution which all the students will try to keep. The classes also took time to view the elaborate Rosh Hashanah table that was prepared by School Director, Mrs. Dina Harlig.
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| On Monday, August 24, Desert Torah Academy began a new school year. Mrs. Dina Harlig, director of the school, reported, “We are beginning the new school year with the same enrollment as last year. We are actually very pleased about that. Of course, we hope to keep growing, but times are very tough in Las Vegas. Las year, a number of our school families left the area because they could not find employment. We are happy that we found new families to replace those that left.” |
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DTA holds a special awards ceremony at the end of each trimester. Students can win up to five awards for:
1. Dean’s List (all A’s) or Principal’s List A’s and B’s
2. Punctuality
3. Behavior
4. Effort
5. Special service to the school
While DTA is proud of all of its award winners, it has become a tradition to publish the names of three, four and five award winners in the local Jewish newspapers. This last trimester the follow students won:
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This past week two graduations were celebrated at Desert Torah Academy. The Kindergarten graduation took place on Tuesday, June 9th. Mrs. Dina Harlig, School director commented, “We started doing a Kindergarten graduation when our school was just a Preschool and Kindergarten. We decided to retain this tradition because passing from Kindergarten to first grade is really a milestone for young children.” The children who graduated Kindergarten at DTA this year are: Tal Benkel, Hadassa Berrebi, Yaakov Csillag, Chana Dana, Michaella Gazala, Channel Haran, Yossi Harlig, Dov Ber Kinn, Maor Amiel Kohen, and Liora Mayer. We are proud of and congratulate all of our students.”
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The Seventh and Eighth graders of Desert Torah Academy recently returned from their bi-annual trip to Washington DC. The students, who were chaperoned by school principals Rabbi Moishe B. Rodman and Dr. Phyllis Meckley and by the school’s English and Social Studies teacher, Ms. Lora Key, enjoyed three days of whirlwind activity in the nation’s capital.
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| We have recently completed the holiday of Pesach. This holiday emphasizes the importance of a proper Jewish education for our children. This is seen from the wording of the commandment to retell and relive the story of the Exodus: “And you shall tell your son on that day…” Similarly, the Talmud notes that our Sages incorporated many customs into the Seder in order to arouse and maintain the interest of young children. |
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Wednesday is a special day at DTA because of “Club Time.” Students from first to eighth grade are given a choice of a number of fun activities to participate in. This year, clubs have included computers and art, chess, choir, drama, soccer and basketball.
This might seem like a lot of choices, but school principal, Rabbi Rodman, wanted to add one more club. The Rabbi commented, “One day I was driving on Sahara and much to my surprise, I saw a large sign advertising Krav Maga. I know that I don’t look like your typical martial arts aficionado, but I actually had the privilege of studying Krav Maga for a number of years when I lived in California. Krav Maga is the official martial arts |
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Passover is the most difficult Jewish holiday to prepare for. Our homes must be entirely cleaned from chometz and many holiday meals must be prepared. The story is told of a Jewish couple, Abraham and Sarah, who lived in an anti-Semitic country. They were constantly pressured to convert and finally gave in. After many years, Abraham decided that he had to start living again as an openly observant Jew. He rushed home to tell his wife. Sarah quickly responded, “Abraham, that’s wonderful, but did you have to make this decision less than a month before Passover!”
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This year Purim was celebrated in grand fashion at DTA. On Monday night, March 9th, DTA students gathered at the school to hear the Megillah. The reading of the ancient scroll was accompanied by a modern slide show depicting the story of Purim. Students then participated in a Purim costume fashion show. The evening’s festivities included delicious refreshments served by Rafi’s Catering.
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