Spotlight

This week Torah Day School was very excited to welcome our new Limudei Kodesh Principal, Rabbi Chaim Siff. In preparation for assuming the role as Limudei Kodesh Principal for the 2026-2027 school year, Rabbi Siff spent two days meeting with staff members and observing classes in action so that he can get to know our staff members and students better! On Wednesday night he also enjoyed a beautiful dinner hosted by Rabbi Meir and Mrs. Daliah Cohen, to welcome him to the staff and then hopped over to the house of Amir and Shira Shuster where many of the school's parents were waiting to welcome him to the TDSA community!

To mark their conclusion of their unit on produce in Ivrit, the second grade girls made "Salat" (Salad) with Morah Helen. After identifying various vegetables B'Ivrit the girls picked the vegetables they wanted and cut them up themselves to create beautiful and delicious salads. The girls enjoyed their "Agvania" (tomatoes), "Palpel" (pepper) and "Melafifone" (cucumbers) and had a great time comparing and discussing their favorite salad vegetables!

As a reward for their hard work, learning, davening and doing chessed over Pesach Vacation, the middle school boys joined their Rabbeim and a few chaperones for a packed evening trip. After a stop at Brewster's to enjoy some ice cream the boys headed over to bowling and had a great time celebrating their accomplishment! Keep up the good work!

Of the many dramatic moments in Sefer Beraishis, Birchas Yaakov-Yaakov's blessings to his children before his passing, is a particularly poignant one. Fourth grade girls completed their unit on Birchas Yaakov and treated their parents and family members to a beautiful and dramatic play outlining the various blessings each Shevet received and why. The care and effort the students put in was evident in every line they delivered and every song they sang. Their play was a captivating reminder that we should embrace the beauty of our differences, because our unique strengths can all be used to serve Hashem in a personal and meaningful way!

This Tuesday at TDSA was a joyous occasion. The school celebrated Lag Ba'Omer in a number of ways! Lag Ba'omer marks the 33rd day of the Omer with bonfires, outdoor play and bows and arrows to commemorate the Yortzeit of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. While the 6th-8th grade girls took off to Thompson Park for a fun Lag Ba'Omer activity, the lower school students gathered around the "bonfire" to hear a beautiful story from Rabbi Freundlich! Rabbi Freundlich was a riveting as always and the students hung on his every word. When they returned to their classrooms there was more lag-baomer fun, 1st graders made mini bonfires out of pretzels and red twizzlers and and "roasted" mini marshmallows before enjoying actual smores. The second grade girls made their own bonfire out of shoes and danced around it, while the Kindergarteners went outside and did some target practice with toy bows and arrows. The middle school boys marked the occasion with an edge-of-your seat volleyball tournament as a capstone to their Beautiful Ben Torah Program! All-in-all TDSA had a lot of fun on Lag Ba'Omer!

Monday marks the first day of teacher appreciation week and it's off to a fabulous start. Our amazing PTA and parent volunteers visited every classroom and provided teachers, staff members and classroom assistants the perfect morning pick-me-up to show our appreciation for everything they do. There's plenty more amazing appreciation coming our teachers'' way so stay tuned to see what the PTA does the rest of the week!

In Mrs. Castle's science class our seventh graders launched themselves into the study of physics. Physics, as a science, provides us with an understanding of motion and energy. To bring these concepts to life, students are building roller coasters out of paper to increase their understanding of potential and kinetic energy, gravity, friction and more! They can't wait to learn more about the fascinating physical forces that direct our lives (and amusement park rides!)

Mark your calendars! We're ready to break ground! Everyone is welcome to join us on June 7th as TDSA breaks ground for our new Track/Field and playground! Looking forward to seeing you there!

Mrs. Storch 6th grade Navi class celebrated a Siyum to mark the completion of Perek Gimmel of Shmuel Alef. The students learned all about Shmuel's first experience with Nevuah (prophecy) and the punishment of the House of Eli, as well as many lessons relating the content to their daily life. They demonstrated their knowledge of the perek by putting on skits, dances and other performances for their classmates. The class then celebrated with a Pasta Bar and slushies!

Just after returning from Pesach break, On Target Pediatric Therapy debuted the Target Zone, a brand new sensory room at TDSA open to all students. Complete with muted lighting, a sensory tent, giant bean-bags and more, the Target Zone is a place where any student can go for a few minutes to decompress and self-regulate. The Target Zone was designed with input from the expert occupational therapists at On Target Pediatric Therapy and TDSA's teachers and support staff. One fourth grade enrichment group even got in on the act, providing a calming puzzle, weighted blanket, and sensory bottles they made themselves. They're still working on improving the space with posters about calming and self-regulating techniques ready to go up soon. We hope that the Target Zone will be useful in helping students manage their stress, regulate and see greater success in their studies throughout the day.