Parshat Re'eh 8/30/24 - Dr. Rapoport
Ohr Chadash Academy (OCA) is a Torah-driven Orthodox Jewish day school for boys and girls in early childhood through 8th grade, where the divine spark and unique worth of each individual are celebrated. We emphasize the inherent kedusha of both Judaic and general studies and promote a personal relationship with Medinat Yisrael, Eretz Yisrael, and Am Yisrael.
Within a warm, nurturing environment, we instill the values of chesed and middot in our students and foster intellectual curiosity and critical thinking skills through experiential learning and collaborative problem-solving. At OCA, we inspire students to be independent and inclusive, caring and confident, educated and engaged members of the community and society as a whole.
Every August, when our faculty and staff return to school, we begin by anchoring our work in our school’s mission. It is this statement that shapes how we teach and engage with one another, define our goals and expectations, and make educational decisions.
Our mission echoes the message Moshe delivers in this week’s parsha, Parshat Re’eh. Just before Bnai Yisrael crosses the Jordan River and enters Eretz Israel, Moshe informs the people that they will receive abundant blessings if they always remember to adhere to Hashem’s commandments. Moshe cautions Bnai Yisrael that although they are to inhabit the land, they must not be enticed by the ways of those around them. Their path, our path, is to remain true to the Torah.
Balancing between living in the world, while maintaining the integrity of our emunah and commitment to Torah observance, is arguably the hardest path to walk. But, for us it is a rich experience, filled with opportunities to participate fully in Hashem’s world and be a light unto the nations.
To prepare our children to live lives of commitment to Torah and personal and professional achievement, we set high expectations in terms of their middot, spiritual growth, academic accomplishment, and genuine care for others within the community of the classroom, the OCA community, and the broader communities beyond our walls. Helping our students grow to meet those expectations are our outstanding teachers, administrators, and support staff who provide supportive and consistent encouragement, setting our students on the path to being their best selves.
This year, our professional development efforts will be dedicated to elevating our classroom environments. Building upon the existing Responsive Classroom model in the Elementary School, our teaching staff from ECC-MS will be focused on creating classroom communities in which mutual respect, collaboration, and personal ownership over one’s learning are taken to the next level.
Teachers will be designing systems, routines, and strategies to support the development of healthy self-regulatory and prosocial community-building skills to foster environments of caring and collaboration. In addition, our team will be organizing the physical learning spaces of our school in myriad ways that stimulate student learning and engagement. In so doing, our goal is to continue to excel at immersing our students in a culture of learning that not only builds cohesive and mutually supportive classroom communities, but also motivates student ownership and achievement. We are excited about the possibilities for innovation in learning that lie ahead.
May Hashem shower us with brachot in the new school year, as we continue His holy work of educating His children to be proud of themselves, take care of one another, be sure of their identity, and always follow in the ways of Torah.
Shabbat Shalom!